After months of frigid temps, dodging rainstorms and wrapped in warm blankets, Memorial Day is the first holiday to celebrate the start of warmer weather. the sun is out. Sunglasses are on. Sweat is glistening. Finally, there’s hope that summer is on the way.

Most Memorial Day celebrations are outside in the heat, gathering with friends or family over food, or consuming alcoholic beverages. Yet, even in May’s typical 70- to 80-degree weather, being healthy and preventing illness should be on the forefront of the brain.

Please pass the potato salad… with a side of food poisoningThe lack of refrigeration at barbecue lunches invites bacteria to join the party. the biggest culprits are dishes made with mayonnaise, such as potato salad or coleslaw. Not fully cooking meat on the grille and accidentally touching cooked food with the raw meat utensils are also setups for food poisoning.

Food poisoning symptoms are not subtle. the abdominal pain, cramping, vomiting and diarrhea often hits suddenly, after two to six hours of eating the offending food. most times, it has to simply runs its course. but, remember to stay hydrated and avoid milk or dairy until the diarrhea stops.

Pregnant women, children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems have to be especially careful.

In order to prevent infection, cook meat until fully done. Keep raw food far away from cooked food. And, keep the cold items in a good quality cooler with lots of ice. Maintain the cooler as close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit as possible.

Don’t shrivel upDuring hot weather months, especially when exercising, make it a point to drink more fluids. Waiting until thirst sets in is not always a reliable judge of dehydration, especially in older adults. many people are already dehydrated long before feeling thirsty. the best judge of hydration is the color of urine. a well-hydrated person’s urine is clear or pale yellow. anything darker, and it’s time to drink up.

Children and elderly adults are most sensitive to severe dehydration. but, regular, healthy adults are still 60 percent water. Even a small amount of dehydration can keep the body from working optimally. Women are suggested to drink eight glasses a day of fluids and men, 12 cups.

Alcoholic and caffeinated beverages — such as coffee, green tea and soda — actually dehydrates even more because the person loses fluids by urinating. so when drinking caffeinated liquids, increase fluid intake to make up for what’s lost.

Running out of steamHeat illnesses usually happen from staying in the heat too long. Sweating is the body’s way of releasing internal heat, but sometimes sweating alone can’t keep up with the body’s rising temperature. Horsing around or exercising too much in hot weather increases the risk of dehydration. Young children, older adults and being overweight adds to that risk.

Heat exhaustion is characterized by profuse sweating, lightheadedness, nausea, headache and vomiting. Muscle cramps may occur and even precede heat exhaustion. Immediate treatment should involve getting out of the heat, sitting in front of a fan or using cold water and ice to get cool.

If not, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which is life-threatening. the dizziness and lightheadedness worsens, the person becomes confused, has seizures or can fall into a coma. the person is no longer sweating and the pulse is fast and weak. People with heat stroke need to be immediately cooled and brought to a hospital.

Alcohol and energy drinks make heat exhaustion and stroke more likely due to the dehydration. Also, ingredients in energy drinks — especially caffeine — can alone raise the body’s temperature in hot weather.

Poisoned by a good timeDrinking many alcoholic beverages back-to-back — typically five or more — over a short period of time can cause alcohol poisoning. when the blood’s level of alcohol increases to dangerous levels, the person can become unconscious and breathing can slow down, decreasing oxygen to the brain and body. If the person vomits while unconscious, they can choke to death on their vomit. If any of these symptoms occur after someone drinks alcohol, get them to medical attention immediately.

And driving this weekend? Remain sober. Nearly half of motor vehicle accidents involve alcohol. And, that number goes up around holidays and proms, making Memorial Day weekend a prime danger.

Copyright 2012 by the Associated Press. all Rights Reserved.

By Rich Damante, Rural/MetroSpecial to Today Publications

In Arizona, heat related injuries are very common. We must respect our environment, and plan our activities accordingly.

WHO IS AT RISK….Children, the elderly, and family pets are the most common risk group.  An infant less than 3 months old does not yet have the ability to adapt and overcome a heat related emergency. Immediate action is needed.

FACT….DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, IF THE OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE IS 100 DEGREES F, THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE a LOCKED CAR, EVEN WITH THE WINDOWS CRACKED, WILL REACH TEMPS OVER 130 DEGREES F IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS. Never keep a child or pet in the car while you run errands.

HEAT CRAMPS, EXHAUSTION AND STROKE….a loss of body fluids and electrolytes leads to dehydration. this can lead to a condition known as HEAT CRAMPS.  Treat the patient in a cool place with rest, and plenty of fluids. HEAT EXHAUSTION is more severe. Signs to look for are dehydration, weakness, headache, nausea, and clammy skin. Treat the patient in a cool place, loosen or remove constricting clothing, give plenty of fluids, and bathe in cool, not cold water. HEAT STROKE is the most severe of the heat related emergencies, and can be life threatening. the body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature. Signs and symptoms include weakness, sluggishness, and possible seizures. Body temperature can go as high as 106 degrees F. CALL 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY, treat for heat exhaustion, but do not give fluids.TIPS TO PREVENT HEAT/SUN INJURIES…..drink plenty of fluids prior and during activities, wear light colors and loose fitting clothing, outdoor activities before noon, and after 6pm.  Respect the sun, and use plenty of sunblock. Avoid caffeine, soda, alcohol, and energy drinks.BROUGHT TO YOU BY RMFD HOMETOWN HEROES

To comment on this article and others, please visit: Facebook.com/SanTanValleyNEWS or send us an email at this e-mail address is being protected from spambots. you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Barnoldswick IBD sufferer backs awareness campaign

3:00pm Friday 18th may 2012 in Pendle by Lisa Woodhouse

REFLECTIONS Angela Stevenson’s condition has curtailed so much of her active life

ANGELA Stevenson used to attend the gym three times a week, play badminton and swim regularly.

But all that changed when she was struck down with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 11 years ago.

The 35-year-old from Barnoldswick said she would also go trekking or camping and even climbed Ben Nevis before her illness.

But like the majority of sufferers she found it difficult to keep up her active lifestyle.

Now she is backing an awareness campaign, led by Olympic athletes, to help people with her condition get back into exercise.

According to a survey by Crohn’s and Colitis UK a high proportion of people living with the disease have been forced to stop taking part in sport or fitness activities, as a result of their illness.

The charity has teamed up with a number of athletes with the condition, such as Olympic gold medal winning rower, Sir Steve Redgrave, footballer Russell Martin, Paralympic weight lifter Ali Jawad and dancer Della Thielemay to highlight the symptoms and offer support.

Angela, an occupational therapist, said: “I was a generally a very active outdoor pursuits type of person.

“Since my IBD symptoms started, I would go through phases of exhaustion for no reason and loose weight rapidly without changing my diet. I almost died following a massive flare-up requiring surgical intervention.

“Since then it took years to build up enough stamina to get through a full working day.”

Angela has undergone multiple surgeries for the condition and hopes to gradually increase the number of fitness activities she takes part in.

Angela says her husband has been very understanding about her condition for the past 11 years.

She said: “As a result of surgery I am unable to have children and am currently being assessed as to whether I can have IVF. “I am happy living with my IBD and accept that we have to do the best in our situation by being realistic but maintaining our goals and aspirations in life.”

She said key issues affecting her involvement in sports were lack of toilet facilities, lack of privacy, fatigue and a weak bladder as a result of the surgery.

Around 10,000 people are diagnosed annually with these incurable, fluctuating conditions.

For more information visit ibdsportandfitness.co.uk

We welcome reader feedback! Learn more about our new commenting system. when posting, please keep this in mind:

DO: discuss the subject, express yourself creatively, be polite, and cite and link to sources.DON’T: attack others, make unverified factual claims, excessively copy others, or use foul, derogatory, racist or violent language.

Users are solely responsible for their comments. We reserve the right to remove any comment and revoke posting rights for any reason. Please flag questionable posts click on the “Report” box by the comment. Thanks.

Guest blog post by Jaclyn Zubrzycki

Exhaustion, stress, disengagement, cynicism, inadequacy: Not feelings that anyone seeks out, or that any educator wants to foster. but 16-year-olds in Nordic countries have been reporting these symptoms of burnout more and more over the past decade. why?

Researchers Katariina Salmelo-Aro and Lotta Tynkkynen, of the University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and the University of Jyväskylä, respectively, looked into the role of school transitions and educational tracks in fostering burnout, paying particular attention to differences in the experiences of boys and girls, for “Gendered Pathways in School Burnout Among Adolescents,” published in the Journal of Adolescence.

Students in many European school systems hit a pivotal moment when they choose between or are placed in a vocational or academic track at some point in their adolescence. The researchers hypothesize that the increased demands and competition of academic track could lead to feelings of inadequacy and exhaustion and thus to more burnout than the vocational track.

The researchers surveyed 687 students (327 girls, 360 boys) from a medium-sized town in Finland. The students answered questions about burnout twice during their ninth grade year—the last year of comprehensive schooling—and twice the year after, during the first year of their transition to secondary schooling. Twenty-one students dropped out of school in the interim, and their results were not included. Burnout was measured using a School Burnout Inventory developed by researcher Salmela-Aro and others, which measured exhaustion, disengagement and cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy.

The study finds that that burnout decreased slightly between ninth grade and the first year of secondary school for students on the vocational track. Both boys and girls on the academic track, however, saw a significant increase in burnout. Girls on the academic track were most likely to experience burnout, but boys on the academic track were likely to see a bigger increase in burnout. Girls scored higher on exhaustion than boys; boys, especially those on the academic track, were more likely to be cynical. The researchers plot the changes in students’ responses on a series of graphs that you can view in the Journal of Adolescence article.

Why the differences between the genders? The researchers suggest that “girls may turn stress inward and feel inadequacy on the academic track, while boys may direct it outward toward school and other institutions and feel cynicism.” they also suggest that girls, who generally do better in school but are, they write, more averse to competition, might be more likely to experience feelings of inadequacy and exhaustion, whereas boys, who may feel their interests aren’t addressed in the academic classroom, may be more likely to experience cynicism.

The researchers are careful to highlight the fact that adolescents undergo many changes at this time in their life in addition to the transition to secondary school, and that many of these factors might influence burnout. they also follow this cohort for only one year, which means that there may be a natural variation in burnout over time that would show up in a longer-term study.

There’s a lot to unpack and to continue to explore here. I wondered if the academic track is inherently more conducive to burnout, or if there are schools that are both academically rigorous and less burnout-inducing. I also wondered if the academic track had longer-term benefits that overrode the negative mental health impacts on teenagers, and what exactly the dropout rates were from each track. Would the researchers argue in favor of more students pursuing vocational education?

The researchers do suggest that educators should intervene and work with students who are showing symptoms of burnout in order to reduce depression, dropping out, and the marginalization that often follows that decision, but they don’t say what, exactly, should be done. As schools continue to search for ways to improve their graduation rates, figuring out how to reduce school burnout seems like an important puzzle piece.

Here in Perth, Australia, everything seems brighter: the sun streams off the sleek, modern buildings; the dust settles on the old colonial turrets off Murray Street.

We’re here for the Perth International festival. After a 24-hour sleepless journey, exhaustion seems to heighten the senses, the world somehow etched clearer. in trying to stay up until evening, we naturally find our way to a bar, or rather, the festival gardens. This is the hub of the festival, and makes a change for those of us used to the duplicitous chill of Edinburgh in August. Twinkling under the stars and the skyscrapers, the makeshift hostelry serves local beer alongside paella stands and burger stalls. everyone seems to be relaxed, healthy and beautiful. the beer, heat and jetlag soon have me slumped in my chair.

We have a couple of days off while the stage management works hard to get the show ready in our beautiful theatre. Naturally, we actors acknowledge their labours by hitting the beach, and as we saunter down Cottesloe Beach, the warm sand playing between our toes, all the insecurities and financial grind of being an actor are repaid. it is also repaid in the joy of doing a great show. when we take our curtain call for The Winter’s Tale, the “Bravos” and whistles taking my breath away.

Sadly, the next night my breath is taken away in a different way when I start feeling crook a couple of hours before Henry V. by the time the show begins I am irrigating Perth in my own special way. Crunched over with stomach cramps in the middle of the traitors’ scene, I stagger offstage to be sick in a bucket. Dugald, playing Henry, has to improvise madly, as he now has only two traitors to deal with. I manage to come back on as Montjoy, the French herald, and feebly get through some of the speech, but I am a doomed man. on all fours and unable to move, my head in a bucket, St John Ambulance are called at the interval and worry about my low pulse and rocketing temperature. For a moment, in the throes of the worst food poisoning I have ever had in the heat of the Australian night, I genuinely think for the first time in my life that I am going to die. they call the paramedics and describe my symptoms, finally adding: “He’s also very pale, but he is a Pom and he’s only just come over here.” from my bucket, I manage to say: “At least we won the Ashes.”

While the boys get on with the rest of the show, I experience how bumpy Perth’s streets are while high on oxygen in an ambulance. Whisked through triage and placed on a drip with all sorts of things being pumped into my system, three hours later I walk back to the hotel from the hospital, extraordinarily grateful to all the fantastic people that have treated me. twelve hours later, I go on and do two shows. we get a standing ovation. Life seems brighter here now, in many ways.

Dressed in red, staff in the Department of Cardiology at Nassau University Medical Center took part in the go Red for Women campaign on Feb. 3. go Red for Women was initiated by the American Heart Association in 2004 after statistics revealed that more than 500,000 women die from heart disease each year, claiming more lives than any other disease, including cancer.

To raise awareness and promote a heart healthy lifestyle, cardiology staff members gathered in the lobby at NUMC and offered free blood pressure screenings.

Staff members and a heart disease survivor also spoke about their experiences. Guest speaker Sylvia Martin said she was diagnose with congestive heart failure at NUMC after a car accident last October. “I was going to the doctor all along,” she said,” but nobody every detected it.”

Martin’s road to recovery was slow and she was at NUMC for nearly two months due to injuries sustained during the car accident, but eventually agreed to undergo surgery and a defibrillator was inserted on Jan. 27. The electronic device will constantly monitor her heart rhythm and will help her heart beat normally. “I can see by the spring I’ll be blossoming again,” Martin said.

Some staff members also attended a videoconference with the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, who offered a special presentation for go Red for Women.

During the conference, numerous specialists discussed the importance of making proactive heart-healthy choices, including Dr. Jennifer Mieres, senior vice president of North Shore LIJ’s Office of Community and Public Health. “Remember to make a promise to yourself beginning today,” she said. “Most importantly, listen to your body. if something is different, if you’re not feeling right, if you’re a little bit out of sorts, do not just write it off.”

Mieres told the audience to start with small steps like making a more colorful plate by adding vegetables, laughing for at least ten minutes each day, walking more and getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. “Making that commitment out loud will ensure sustainability on the road to heart health,” she said.

Administrative Director of Cardiac Services at NUMC Lorinda Bauer said that most women don’t pay attention to their bodies and emphasized that men and women do not present with the same symptoms. She said the most common heart attack symptoms in women are indigestion, exhaustion, anxiety, back pain and jaw pain. She added that women should know their baseline cholesterol and blood pressure and have a routine electrocardiogram, EKG, performed each year.

by Carolyn Roesbery – for the Cordova Times

Keeping a sense of humor about this winter’s abundant snowfall is one way the folks at Harborside Pizza are dealing with things, helping to put a smile on all our faces by creating these bumper stickers which they have been handing out for free. Jennifer Gibbins/The Cordova Times

1328220900

According to measurements at Humpback Creek, 120″ of snow had accumulated at the beginning of 2012, and then came the big snow which became an official disaster on January 6, 2012. The sound of snow plows running all night; clinking of chains, beeping back up and varying pitch of heavy engines lost its aura of annoyance and became the sound of rescue as comforting as the music from a child?s ballerina jewel box.

The rest of this article is archived, and is only available to subscribers. Subscribe to the Cordova Times today and access our archives, PDF library, and more!

The Schmallenberg virus causes serious birth defects and has spread from Germany to Britain

A new livestock disease – first detected six months ago in Germany – threatens farmers in northern Europe, including Britain. it causes a high level of miscarriage and birth defects in lambs and calves.

Veterinary scientists are scrambling to understand Schmallenberg virus, which is named after the site of an early outbreak. They believe the virus is spread by midges – like bluetongue fever, another serious disease of ruminants.

Schmallenberg has hit several hundred farms in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and north-east France. Infected midges, blown across from the continent, are probably responsible for the dozen or so outbreaks reported in Britain. all the UK farms affected are in south-east England and East Anglia.

“Everyone is wondering whether the cases detected so far are just the tip of the iceberg and this will turn out to be a serious threat to livestock farmers – or whether it will soon disappear again,” says Peter Mertens, head of the vector-borne diseases programme at the UK Institute for Animal Health.

Although the virus can cause symptoms in adult livestock, such as fever, diarrhoea and reduced milk yield, its main impact is on the growing foetus. Horrific malformations and miscarriages occur in an estimated third to a half of cases when the mother is infected. Experts, therefore, fear that many more cases will be reported during the spring lambing and calving seasons.

According to an initial assessment by public health authorities in the Netherlands and a follow-up analysis by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the risk to humans from Schmallenberg virus is very low. but the UK Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency points out that there are still some uncertainties, so farmers and vets are advised to “take sensible hygiene precautions when working with livestock.”

Schmallenberg is a member of a large viral family transmitted mainly by insects and affecting ruminant animals, called the orthobunyavirus group. few are known to cause serious human disease. when bluetongue emerged suddenly as a serious threat to European livestock in 2006/07, animal health researchers in the public and private sectors moved very fast to develop and use a vaccine against the viral strains responsible. “Bluetongue was an almost perfect scenario for stopping a disease through vaccination,” says Mertens. “It has been eradicated in the UK.”

Whether it will be technically possible to develop a Schmallenberg vaccine so fast – and whether the disease is serious enough to justify a crash programme to do so – remains to be seen.

…………………………………………….

Little Ice Age triggered by volcanic eruptions

For more than a millennium up to the late Middle Ages, temperate regions of the northern hemisphere enjoyed generally balmy weather. Then it got cooler and a period that climatologists today call the Little Ice Age set in.

There has been little scientific consensus about the onset of the Little Ice Age – either its timing or cause. Some experts believe an important factor was a slight reduction in the amount of solar energy reaching earth.

But an international study, led by the University of Colorado, Boulder, suggests that the cooling started quite rapidly, with a series of four huge volcanic eruptions between 1275 and 1300. these eruptions blasted vast amounts of sulphates and dust particles into the upper atmosphere, reflecting solar energy back into space for a few years. this led to an expansion of Arctic ice and a related change in Atlantic Ocean currents, which prolonged the cooling for several centuries.

“This is the first time anyone has clearly identified the specific onset of the cold times marking the start of the Little Ice Age,” says Gifford Miller, lead author of the study published in Geophysical Research Letters.

The researchers reached their conclusions by analysing ancient samples of dead plants collected from beneath the margins of what are today receding ice caps on Canada’s Baffin Island.

They found a cluster of “kill dates” between 1275 and 1300, showing that the plants were quickly engulfed by expanding ice. Confirmation came from ice cores of Iceland’s Langjökull ice cap, which suddenly thickened over the same period. Then computer modelling showed how this cold shock could persist for centuries, even without further volcanic cooling.

“If the climate system is hit again and again by cold conditions over a relatively short period – in this case from volcanic eruptions – there appears to be a cumulative cooling effect,” Miller says.

…………………………………………….

Camera sees coral reef in a new light

A coral reef looks very different to the creatures that live there than it does to human divers ooh-ing and aah-ing at the coloured marine life.

A shrimp poses for the polarised camera

Now researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a specialised camera that allows scientists to see the reef as some of its inhabitants do. The camera captures an aspect of light to which humans are essentially blind: its polarisation. Many marine animals are sensitive to polarised light, whose waves are vibrating more in some directions than others.

The Bristol team will take the camera to Australia’s Lizard Island to capture images of the Great Barrier Reef, which they hope will provide new insight into this underwater world. The camera converts its images into false colours that represent different polarisations of light.

“Many reef-dwelling animals, like octopus, crabs, shrimp and maybe even some fish, are sensitive to polarised light,” says Shelby Temple, project leader. “It’s hard for us to understand what that means because we really can’t see the polarisation of light without some kind of aid, like polarised glasses or specialised polarisation converting cameras like this one.”

Preliminary results suggest this dimension of the underwater world is more complex than previously thought. “There’s evidence that all types of communication and camouflage are going on, which we’ve essentially been blind to,” says Temple.

…………………………………………….

Official: massage has the feel good factor

Scientists now have a molecular explanation for the way massage relieves pain and reduces inflammation in muscles after strenuous exercise.

A study at McMaster University in Ontario and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California shows that massage stimulates muscle cells to produce numerous anti-inflammatory and pain-killing factors. it also promotes the growth of mitochondria, which produce the energy to power cells.

But surprisingly the research, published online by the journal Science Translational Medicine, demolished one oft-repeated idea: massage turns out not to help clear the lactic acid that may cause pain when it builds up in tired muscles.

The researchers analysed muscle biopsies taken from the legs of 11 young men who had exercised to exhaustion on a stationary bicycle. One leg was randomly chosen for a 10-minute massage. Biopsies were taken from both legs before the exercise, immediately after the massage treatment and two and a half hours later.

Simon Melov of Buck says the pain reduction associated with massage may involve the same mechanism as anti-inflammatory drugs. “There’s general agreement that massage feels good – now we have a scientific basis for the experience,” he says.

“The potential benefits of massage could be useful to a broad spectrum of individuals including the elderly, those suffering from musculoskeletal injuries and patients with chronic inflammatory disease,” adds Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster.

January 19, 2012

Q: I gave birth to a baby girl about six months ago and have been feeling sad and have no energy. I’ve heard of postpartum depression, but could my symptoms be something else?

A: Postpartum depression, also known as PPD, affects as many as one in 10 women. but what many women don’t know is that postpartum thyroid disease is equally as common, and may actually be the underlying cause of the PPD in some women.

Even though some degree of fatigue and mood change is expected by doctors after the arrival of a baby, often both PPD and postpartum thyroid disease are written off as normal for a new mother, and not diagnosed and treated properly.

So, before your doctor diagnoses postpartum depression, you should be evaluated for postpartum thyroid disease. even among women who have never had any thyroid problems prior to pregnancy, thyroid problems after pregnancy occur in 10 percent of all new mothers.

Symptoms of postpartum thyroid problems can mimic postpartum depression, with a few critical differences.

• an underactive thyroid — postpartum hypothyroidism — may worsen the fatigue and exhaustion and may cause a woman to gain weight during the postpartum period, experience cold intolerance, constipation and dry skin.
• an overactive thyroid — postpartum hyperthyroidism — may cause rapid weight loss, rapid heart rate, anxiety, irritability and possible tremors.

For some women, postpartum thyroid problems can be temporary, lasting anywhere from several months to as long as a year. For other women, however, thyroid imbalances after birth are the beginning of a lifelong autoimmune condition, such as Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease, that requires ongoing monitoring and treatment.

I would advise you to make an appointment with your primary care physician or obstetrician. if your doctor suspects postpartum thyroid disease, you will have various tests, including blood tests, and in some cases, ultrasound or other imaging tests, to make a proper diagnosis.

Yardlie Toussaint-Foster, DO, is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. she specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at PMC Physician Associates in East Stroudsburg, Tobyhanna and Bartonsville.

Ads by Google