Health Tip: If Your Teen Smokes
If your child is lighting up, these suggestions from St. Louis Children's Hospital may help your teen quit:
* Make it difficult for your teen to light up by banning smoking in your home and car.
* If you smoke, stop. Children often take their cues from their parents.
* Don't be a supplier. Refuse to buy your son or daughter cigarettes.
* Spend more time talking about tobacco and its dangers.
Smoking is a serious addiction, so be patient. Don't give up trying to help your child quit.
Health Tip: Exercising to Excess
There's little doubt about the health benefits of exercise, but in an effort to control their weight, some teens work out compulsively.
Over-exercising, especially when coupled with an eating disorder, can lead to stress on the heart, according to Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio.
Your child's exercise routine may have turned into an unhealthy obsession if he or she:
* Forces herself to work out, even if she doesn't feel well.
* Chooses exercise over spending time with friends.
* Becomes upset over a missed workout.
* Bases the amount she exercises on how much she eats.
* Has trouble sitting still because she doesn't think she's burning enough calories.
* Is never satisfied with her physical achievements.
* Uses diet aids, steroids or chemicals to help enhance her physique.
If this sounds like your child, discuss the problem with her doctor.
Health Tip: Bringing Your Lunch to Work
If last night's leftovers are tomorrow's hot lunch, make sure the food is safe.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency offers these tips for taking hot food to work:
* Heat dishes like soups, chili and stews above 140 degrees.
* Use an insulated container to store hot foods, and keep it closed until lunchtime.
* Preheat the insulated container by filling it with boiling water. Let it stand a few minutes, pour out the water and add the hot food right away.
Health Tip: Keeping Baby Food Safe
Protect your infants against foodborne illnesses by taking special precautions with the foods they eat.
The U.S. National Network for Child Care offers these tips:
* Keep formula-filled bottles cold until feeding time, and throw out any formula that's left in the bottle after feeding.
* Cover home-prepared baby food immediately and put it in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays. Once the food is frozen, put the cubes in a plastic freezer bag to prevent freezer burn, and don't refreeze thawed food.
* If the food comes from a baby food jar, put the amount to be eaten in a bowl and refrigerate the rest. The refrigerated portion should be eaten within two days.
6 Floridians Died From Generator Exhaust After 2004 Hurricanes
At least six people in Florida were killed by portable generator exhaust in the wake of last year's four major hurricanes that left millions without power, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released Thursday.
Misplacement of the gasoline-powered generators led to the carbon monoxide (CO) deaths of at least six people and caused non-fatal cases of CO poisoning in at least 167 others, the agency said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC said the tolls may have been higher because it measured statistics from a sample of 10 hospitals. Between Aug. 13 and Sept. 25 last year, the state was battered by a record four major hurricanes: Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.
The agency reminded the public that these generators should never be used indoors, in garages, or outdoors near windows. A typical 5.5 kW generator produces as much carbon monoxide -- an odorless, colorless gas that can kill within minutes -- as six idling cars, the CDC said. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, and loss of consciousness.
In a related report, the CDC said 48.7 percent of Florida residents had no evacuation plan before any of the hurricanes; this included people in the direct paths of the storms. The agency called on the state and local governments to do a better job of devising hurricane-preparedness programs.
3 Deaths Linked to Recalled Medical Pumps
Baxter Healthcare is recalling all models of its Colleague Volumetric Infusion Pumps that could shut down while delivering vital fluids or medications to patients, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
Baxter has reports of three deaths and six serious injuries associated with the pumps. The FDA issued a statement saying it has categorized the recall as Class I, its most serious recall in which there is a reasonable likelihood that the product could cause death.
Affected models include: 2M8151, 2M8151R, 2M8161, 2M8161R, 2M8153, 2M8153R, 2M8163, and 2M8163R. In addition to the shut-down problem, the FDA said users might inadvertently press the on/off key instead of the start key when attempting to start an infusion.
Some 255,000 of these pumps are now in use, including 206,000 distributed in the United States. They have been sold to physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical facilities.
Consumers who have questions about the recall should contact Baxter Healthcare at 800-422-9837. Those with technical questions should call the company at 800-THE-PUMP (800-843-7867).
Cholesterol Drugs Could Harm Some Diabetics: Study
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins could harm, and possibly kill, some severely ill diabetics, new research finds.
A study of Lipitor conducted by the drug's maker found that diabetics who required kidney dialysis and took the medication were twice as likely to die of a stroke, the Associated Press reported.
The study, funded by Pfizer Inc., involved 1,255 Europeans with Type 2 diabetes. There were 27 fatal strokes among the 619 people on Lipitor, compared to 13 among the 636 users who took a placebo, the AP said. The findings were reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Robert Stanton, chief of kidney diseases at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, said this single study probably didn't offer enough proof to limit the use of statins like Lipitor in this group of patients, the AP quoted him as saying. He was not involved in the research.
Lipitor is the world's most prescribed drug, the wire service said.
Medicare to Offer Doctors a Free Electronic Records System
Medicare will soon offer U.S. doctors free software that will allow them to computerize their patient records, The New York Times reported Thursday.
An office with five doctors could save more than $100,000 by choosing the software provided by Medicare rather than buying a similar product from a private provider, the newspaper said. Medicare has said it considers lack of electronic records a major impediment to improving health care.
The software is a version of a program called Vista, which has been used for 20 years by hospitals and doctors associated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Times said.
However, the program has a history of being difficult to install, the newspaper said, which is why Medicare will also provide doctors with a list of companies that have been trained to install and maintain it.
Merck Says It Didn't Perform Early Heart Studies on Vioxx
Merck & Co. didn't conduct any studies on whether Vioxx caused heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems before the painkiller was approved in 1999, the company's top epidemiologist testified Wednesday.
Testifying in an Angleton, Texas, courtroom at the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial, Nancy Santanello said Merck had no indication before the painkiller went on the market that it could cause heart attacks, the Associated Press reported.
The plaintiff in the case, Carol Ernst, contends that her 59-year-old husband, Robert, developed an abnormal heart rhythm after taking Vioxx for eight months. He died in 2001. Merck, which has vowed to fight all Vioxx-related suits, contends there's no proof that Ernst's heart problem was caused by the once-popular painkiller.
A 2000 study showed Vioxx could increase some users' risks of heart attack by five times, compared with people who used older painkillers, the AP said. Vioxx was pulled from the U.S. market in September.
Colleagues Seek Liver for Dying PR Exec
Two years ago, Shari Kurzrok was spearheading the public-relations push for the nation's largest-ever blood drive, for the American Red Cross.
Today she's fighting for her life.
The 31-year-old executive for Ogilvy Public Relations in New York City needs a liver transplant. Doctors say she'll die within days if she doesn't get one.
Kurzrok was admitted to New York University Hospital last weekend, and within 24 hours was told she needed a new liver to save her life. Her still-unexplained sudden illness has taken her family, friends, and doctors by surprise, colleagues say.
Kurzrok led the 345-city "Save-a-Life Tour," which collected 3.2 million pints of blood in 2003 and registered more than 38,000 new potential donors, a statement from Ogilvy said.
Blood is a factor in her plight too, since she needs a liver from someone who is Type A or Type O. For more information or to help, call 877-223-3386, or email: liverforalife@yahoo.com.
Food Fact:
Ginger, no ail.
Want a neat trick for making health-giving ginger easier to grate? Freeze it first. You'll be glad you did: Spicy, lively, fresh ginger has a way of waking up all the other flavors around it. Look for large, firm, buff-colored knobs when buying fresh ginger. Traditionally used in Asian cooking, it's making its way into all sorts of savory dishes and delivering loads of healthful antioxidant compounds. Ginger may also decrease your heart attack risk. A few studies have found that both fresh and dried ginger inhibits blood levels of thromboxane B-2, a compound that promotes dangerous blood clots. It also has a longstanding folk reputation as a remedy for nausea. Clinical studies have found it useful in treating motion sickness, as well as post-surgical nausea.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Dyna-band on the run.
Next time you head out on a business trip, pack a Dyna-band and a jump rope -- small items with big rewards. When time or the weather doesn't permit a gym visit or running, you can work up a sweat in your room with resistance training and cardio exercise using these two compact helpers. Nothing boosts your energy, creativity and effectiveness on the road like a workout.
FAQ of the day:
Can I be fit and fat?
While obesity is strongly associated with increased health risks, recent population studies suggest much of that risk may stem from poor fitness. Increased physical activity makes a difference when combined with a calorie-controlled diet. As your fitness improves, you'll boost your health and feel better, even with only modest weight loss.
No comments:
Post a Comment