Monday, May 31, 2010

Summer Safety Tips

This weekend is the unofficial start of summer. So, here are some tips to keep you and your family safe all summer long.

As the saying goes, “it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt”. So here are some simple steps that can help make sure summer stays fun.

Remember that with our intense sunshine, using sunscreen to prevent burning and drinking fluids to prevent dehydration are important for everyone, even on cloudy days. This is even more important for visitors.

After a long winter, bicycles and scooters will be your children’s best friends. Just make sure they always wear a helmet, even if just in your driveway. Head injuries happen easily and can be devastating. Most kids don’t like helmets at first, but if the house rule is “no helmet, no bicycle” they’ll quickly get used to them.

Also, only let them ride during the daylight hours, wear reflective clothing and add safety lights to the front and rear of the bike. And drivers, do your part and start to keep a look out for children on bicycles or scooters.

With the warmer temperatures, we’ll also start venturing outside more to exercise. After a slow winter, you need to allow your body time to adjust to a new exercise routine. Start slowly, increasing the distance or intensity of your workout over days. Also, spend less time at first outdoors to allow your body to adjust to the hotter temperatures. Again, don’t forget to keep hydrated.

The goal here is to enjoy Colorado’s beautiful summer with your family but to do so with safety in mind.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

MRSA

If you haven't heard about the dangerous superbug called MRSA, you will soon.

We are seeing more and more children getting hospitalized with infections from this tough to treat "superbug".

As a matter of fact, over the last 10 years, the number of children getting hospitalized with this dangerous drug resistant staph infection has gone up 10 fold. Back in 1999, when the study was started two out of every 1,000 hospitalizations had this type of infection. By 2008, that number had jumped to 21 cases for every 1,000 hospitalized children.

Researchers looked at 25 different Children's hospitals and found in the 10 year time period, almost 30,000 children were hospitalized with MRSA, or methicillin resistant staph aureus, infections, and 374 of them died.

Part of the reason this is happening is because this type of bacteria is becoming more resistant to antibiotics and is now spreading outside of hospitals. It often begins as a pimple or boil on the skin and can look like a spider bite. But it quickly spreads and can cause a person to get sicker even with normal antibiotics. There are some antibiotics that will still work against this superbug but they aren't usually used in routine infections so, often aren't the firsts ones prescribed. So, you best bet is to follow up with your doctor if you notice a skin infection worsening, even if you are on antibiotics.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Battery Health Problems & Kids

You see them everywhere but probably don't pay much attention. But small batteries can pose a big health problem for your young kids.

It's these small "button" batteries used in all sorts of electronics today. Unfortunately they have a bad combination---they are easy to swallow and if they get stuck inside the body can cause a lot of damage.

Researchers, reporting in the journal Pediatrics, have found the rate of severe poisonings in children from swallowing batteries has gone up in the last twenty years, mainly because of the lithium type batteries we are talking about.

Most objects children swallow tend to pass on their own without causing problems. But these "button" batteries, especially the common 20mm size--which is about the size of a nickel, can get stuck in a child's esophagus, that's their eating tube. When that happens the battery can create an electrical current that can burn the surrounding tissue. Most of the time no one sees the child swallow the battery, and early symptoms of a problem can be vague. So often the problem goes unnoticed until it gets even worse and in some cases this small battery has caused the death of a child.

So you best bet is to both keep these batteries and even the electronics that have them inside out of a child's reach.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Swimming & Getting Sick

It's a summer ritual, hitting the swimming pool on those hot days. But the government is warning us to be more careful before taking a dip.

It's about making sure you or your kids don't get sick swimming this year. But right up front this isn't a "don't swim warning," but more of a "take a few precautions" before getting in the pool.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just issued a report identifying violations from routine swimming pool inspections done in thirteen states.

According to this report, recreational water illness have been happening more often with gastroenteritis--causing belly pain, vomiting and diarrhea--- being the most common. They say 1 out of every 8 pools could pose some type of risk mostly because they aren't disinfected properly.

But again, don't take this as a reason to miss out on pool fun this summer---but there are some steps they recommend to make sure you or your children don't get sick. Among these are common sense things like not swimming if you have diarrhea, that will only help spread it to others. Also, shower off with water "and" soap before getting in the pool. And perhaps most importantly don't swallow pool water and wash your hands when you get out.

If you are taking kids along have them take bathroom breaks or check their diapers often during the day. If you do change a diaper, go inside the bathroom so nothing from that diaper gets in the pool.

So this summer make sure you not only have fun in the pool but also keep healthy while you're doing it.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Summer Vacation Insurance

School is almost out and that signals the start of summer vacation. But if your plans include a trip outside the country, you might need to pick up one more item.

It's insurance in case you get hurt or sick on your trip. It's a lot more important than most of us think!

And I'm not just talking about health insurance but you also need to think about evacuation insurance to get you back to the U.S. if needed. When you travel outside the country you may or may not be covered by your current health insurance. The best way to find out whether you are, or to what extent, is to call you insurance company now. But even if you are covered, finding where to go if you do get sick or hurt can be tough.

So, here are some steps you can take now to avoid problems on your trip. Looks at getting or expanding your health insurance to cover treatment in whatever country you'll be in. And before you go, register with the State Department. They can help you locate doctors and even notify family and friends back home if needed.
But one of the biggest concerns is getting back to the U.S. if you're sick. Medical evacuation flights can cost well over 50,000 dollars and aren't always covered by most normal insurances---and depending on how sick or hurt you are, you might not be able to fly on a normal airline. So think about buying a policy before your trip.
These few steps can save you big headaches later on.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sunscreen Tips

This weekend will be sunny and a great time to go outside. Here are some sunscreen reminders to get us ready.

First and foremost, you need to apply sunscreen at least 20 to 30 minutes before going out in the sun. It works by reacting with your skin and needs that time to provide you the most protection. And regardless of the type of sunscreen you're using you need to apply enough to cover all exposed parts. We all need someone else to apply it to our backs---we just can't reach that far. Then reapply every 2 hours, regardless of how much protection the bottle says it has. You're sweating, swimming and toweling off--all of these remove whatever sunscreen protection you have, so reapply every 2 hours.

And when you buy a sunscreen, get one that has both UVA and UVB protection. For UVA protection, look at the label for zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, oxybenzone or avobenzene, or Mexoryl. Although sunscreen's UVA protection doesn't last as long as it's UVB counterpart, you need both to keep you safe.

Experts recommend sunscreen have an SPF of 30 or more, but recent studies at Aspen and Vail have shown that the high altitude sun of Colorado might require even higher SPF, the best protection came from sunscreens with SPF of 70 and 80.

So when you head outside this coming weekend remember to protect you and your kids from getting too much sun.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Meat & Your Health

When it comes to eating healthy not all meats are created equal. And what you choose can have a big impact on your health.

Some meats that are much worse for you than others are the processed meats. A newly released study, in the Journal Circulation, found that hot dogs, bacon and sausages along with other processed meats can raise your risk of having a heart attack or developing diabetes. But by the same token, the researchers in this study also found that eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb didn't seem to have that same risk. They said this suggests that preservatives and salt used in processed meats may be what's causing these health problems.

The researchers in this study looked at over 1,600 other studies from around the world and re-analyzed them to find the difference between processed and unprocessed red meats. They defined processed meats as any that is preserved by smoking, curing, salting or with the addition of chemical preservatives. On the average, they found that each 50 gram daily serving of processed meat a day, equivalent to one hot dog or one to two slices of deli meat, increased your risk of having heart disease by 42 percent and diabetes by 19 percent.

The American Meat Institute didn't agree and says this was only one study and it stands in contrast to other research and to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

But your best bet is to use my "moderation" guideline, especially when it comes to summer cooking and snacking.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Hookah Pipe Dangers

It's a popular trend but one that may be more dangerous than what it replaces.

We are talking about the hookah pipe, sometimes known as a water pipe. It originated in the Middle East centuries ago but now is catching on here, especially with the high school and college age. By one estimate, from a study just published in the Journal of Pediatrics, about one in four from this age group has used a hookah in the last year.

The big concern is that this is replacing cigarettes because of widespread myths that it's healthier for you. With a hookah pipe, tobacco and flavoring are burned and pass through water before being inhaled. A lot of users think the smoke is safer to inhale since it went through water, so even those that wouldn't smoke a cigarette, for health reasons, have been smoking from a hookah pipe.
But the truth about its safety is just the opposite of what they think. Recent research has shown that hookahs expose a smoker to more smoke and carbon monoxide, along with similar amounts of nicotine, as cigarettes. By some estimates, a single session with a hookah is the same as smoking up to 10 cigarettes, that's half a pack. And hookah water pipes have been linked to lung cancer.

So remember, just because the tobacco goes through water and the smoke might be smoother than that of a cigarette, the dangers from a hookah pipe are at least the same, if not more.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Kids & TV Impact

You might want to keep your TV off if you have a small child in the house.

Mainly because it looks like too much TV during early childhood could have big consequences later in life.

There's been a huge debate as to how much TV influences children. Some say educational programs are OK, others say they shouldn't watch at all. But until now, researchers hadn't looked much at how TV affected children as young as 2 years old.

This study, published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, decided to look at just that. And the researchers involved found that watching TV at 2 years old can have an effect on the child even when they are in 4th grade. They found those watching too much TV at 2 years old had less engagement in 4th grade classroom activities, did less exercise on weekends and had a higher chance of being picked on when they were 10 years old.

They think it's because TV is a passive intellectual activity, in other words it doesn't take too much thinking. And when this happens at 2, a crucial age when the brain is developing and lifestyle habits and preferences are being shaped---it can have an undesirable effect later in the child's life.

So you best bet might be to turn off the TV when they are very young and let them explore the world around them. Let their own natural curiosity keep them thinking.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

School Bullying

Bullying still goes on is school but who they target may surprise you.

So, who's getting bullied the most?

It's obese and overweight kids. And the surprising thing is that this hasn't changed much in the last few decades even though the number of obese and overweight children has skyrocketed over the same time period.

A new study, published in the journal "Pediatrics" looked at third graders to find out who was bullied the most. Bullying has been around as long as schools have been around but more attention to it is going on now because of some deaths and suicides related to bullying.

Researchers found that regardless of race, family income or whether they were boys or girls, being overweight meant a child's chances of bullying went up. As a matter of fact, being overweight meant a child's chances of getting bullied were over 60 percent higher than their classmates. They report parents of obese kids rate bullying as their top health concern and children that are bullied do suffer more depression, anxiety and loneliness.

Although the researchers do admit there is no simple solution to this issue, experts hope one simple step will be that parents and other adults start to model good behavior by not making negative comments about other people's weight. This, along with schools focusing on the problem of bullying, will hopefully go a long way to stopping this age old problem.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Feel Better, Head Outside

Do you want to feel better about yourself? It might be as easy as a quick trip outside.

The beauty of it all is that not only will it help you feel better about yourself, but it's also free and very abundant here in Colorado.

We're talking about going outside for just five minutes of “exercise” on a daily basis. Up until now we've known from many studies that exercising in the outdoors can do wonders to lift your spirits. And in this case, exercise means anything from a quick walk around the block to gardening, to even a little bit of fishing. The important part is to get outdoors.

But even though other studies showed that being outdoors can boost your mood and chase away depression, we really didn't know how much time you needed to spend outside. Until now. This study found that just doing these activities for five minutes a day of what the researchers called “green exercise” helped people feel better about themselves and boosted moods.

Although any area outdoors will do, researchers also found green areas with water seemed to have the most positive effect. So, to feel you best you might want to spend just a little bit of time outdoors, especially in a park or mountain trail, everyday that you can.