5 Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

The CDC reported this week that the majority of Americans - especially minorities - are still not aware of the 5 warning signs of a heart attack. Since heart disease is still the #1 killer in our country, let's review:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Jaw, neck or back pain or discomfort
  
• Weakness, lightheadedness or feeling faint
  
• Shortness of breath
• Arm or shoulder pain or discomfort

The American Heart Association tells us that chest pain is most common in men, for women it is shortness of breath or jaw pain.

What should you do if you experience these symptoms? Call 911 or get to the nearest emergency room immediately.


Thank you slurv for use of photo: Slurvs Sacred Heart of Easter 2007.

Labels: heart attack, warning signs

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AMD awareness month - Are You at Risk?

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in adults over age 65. Prevent Blindness America observes the month of February as a time to raise awareness about this important health issue, which not too many people know about yet millions are threatened by.
Risk factors for AMD are:

• Caucasian race
• over age 65
• Smoking
• Eating a low nutrient diet
• Family history of AMD

My grandmother had AMD and she was a really cool, fit, healthy, witty woman well into her 80's. I mean, the woman wore halter tops and shorts and sat cross legged on the living room floor discussing politics with anyone. At 5' and 98 lbs., that's just cute. She was always independent, "spunky", she called herself, lived in her own house, did her own cooking. But when her vision started fading due to AMD and she could no longer write her own checks, she kind of gave up on life...

Don't let that happen to you or your loved ones. Get annual vision exams. Discuss nutrition strategies with your eye doctor. Lots of green leafy vegetables and antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, beta carotene (vitamin A) and omega-3 fatty acids may help.

New treatments are now available:

• Lucentis (ranibizumab) was approved in 2006 to treat AMD and is injected into the eye.
• Macugen (pegabtanib) was approved in 2004 to treat wet AMD
  
• Laser treatments:
• Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
• Photocoagulation

Discuss treatment options today with your ophthalmologist if you have been diagnosed with AMD.

Thank you anentz for use of photo of Blurred Vision.

Labels: AMD, anti-oxidants, laser treatment, Lucentis, Macugen

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February 24 - March 1 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Truejeans.com has partnered with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) for an Embrace Your Genes Campaign. The idea is to promote healthy body image based on YOUR genetic makeup and find jeans that fit your body type. For every discount redeemed Truejeans.com will donate $20 to NEDA for eating disorders research and awareness promotion.

How do parents promote healthy body image in children and prevent or correct dangerous childhood obesity? It's tricky business but here are some tips:

• Do fun things together with your children as family exercise
• Go roller skating
• bike riding
• take walks or hikes together
• Make these habits that you do on a regular basis so that children look forward to them as part of their routine
• Role model making healthy eating choices, body acceptance and exercise
• Help children be aware of messages in media that encourage unhealthy body images
• watch TV shows together that address eating disorders (like DeGrassi Jr. High) and discuss together
• Promote self-esteem for children's accomplishments and achievements rather than their physical appearance
• Include males in household chores and remember that they too are prone to eating disorders

Thank you pulihora for use of photo Jeans.

Labels: body acceptance, body image, eating disorders

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Give Kids A Smile! Thanks to the American Dental Association

Every February, the American Dental Association (ADA) celebrates National Children's Dental Health Month to focus awareness on the need for good oral health for children. During this month, dental health speakers from the ADA are available to come to your school to talk to kids about teeth and their importance for overall health. The ADA website has a wealth of Fun Activity printable materials appropriate for elementary school kids for promoting dental health.

February 1st was Give Kids A Smile Day, the ADA and Colgate centerpiece of the Children's Dental Health Month. Almost 12,000 dentists and over 33,000 others participated to give restorative and preventive dental care to over 457,000 children nationwide.

Dental care begins as soon as teeth erupt. Talk to your pediatrician and dental professionals about oral health and dental care for your children today!

Thank you tinkernoono for use of photo.

Labels: dental health, kids, teeth

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Respect & Responsibility: Use a Condom Every Time

While our thoughts turn to love this week, the American Social Health Association reminds us it is National Condom Week February 10- 16. Think ahead and be prepared. Have condoms with you and remember just how many diseases you and your partner are susceptible to without them - no matter what your age. In the US alone, we see close to 20 million new cases of STDs annually - don't be one of them! So many infections have no symptoms, you or your partner may not even be aware you are infected.

Consistent, safe condom use cuts your risk of contracting HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HPV, genital herpes and trichomoniasis. Once you are in a monogamous long term relationship and both parties have tested negative to all of the above infections, you can forego the condoms.

Just be kind to your partner if you happen to stray - and use a condom to save yourself from answering embarrassing questions later.

thank you kjunstorm for use of photo Dance of Love...

Labels: condoms, safe sex

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Eat Fruit & Live Longer: Feb is National Cancer Prevention Month

Worried about cancer? Researchers keep finding more evidence confirming that what you eat may help prevent cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) wants us to know that 2/3 of our diet should be fruit, vegetable, beans or whole grains. Also, excess body fat increases the risk of some cancers - of the esophagus, pancreas, kidney, colorectum, endometrium and breast - so maintaining a lean body weight decreases your cancer risk.

AICR recommends these nutrient dense foods for cancer prevention:

• tomatoes
• garlic
• flaxseed
• beans
• berries
• broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
• grapes and grape juice
• soy
• whole grains
• dark green leafy veggies

So grab a piece of fruit for a snack, pack some for the kid's lunch, and live longer. Easy, huh?

Thank you Lyubov for use of photo Rose colored grapes.

Labels: cancer prevention

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Celebrity Drug Overdoses - Who's Really To Blame?

John Belushi, Dana Plato, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, River Phoenix, Chris Farley, Anna Nicole Smith...and now Heath Ledger. You may have guessed already what the connection is... untimely death due to "accidental" drug overdoses.


Really? "Accidental"? The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (okay, so I used a British dictionary but hey...the language is theirs afterall...) defines the word "accident" as "something that happens unexpectedly and is not planned in advance". Granted, some of the aforementioned celebrities died from overdoses of illicit drugs that could not have been monitored by medical professionals but for those who didn't, I hardly think that what could very well be considered medical malpractice or even gross negligent conduct should be classified as an accident. Well-documented clinical evidence abounds regarding drug interactions with a lot of the major culprits so prescribing them all together or practicing polypharmacy can hardly be described as an accident.

Before I go on, I will give the medical practitioners under whose care these people were the benefit of the doubt that perhaps their celebrity patients were practicing "poly-medicine", i.e. using multiple physicians to get medications and not letting one doctor know what the other might be doing by withholding that information. In this situation, the medical providers can't be held as responsible. Lots of addicts with drug-seeking behavior will do this...it's nothing new. However, in the (more likely) situation that they were under the care of one primary provider then this is where my rant begins.

As a medical professional, it is expected that by virtue of your training you ought to know what is in the best health interest of your patient. Therefore, why exactly one would prescribe multiple drugs that have well documented fatal interactions with each other to a patient who is not being closely monitored...or even monitored at all, is beyond me. But it doesn't end with the prescribers. Those prescriptions have to be filled at a licensed pharmacy somewhere right? Pharmacists are usually the last stop and final check point before a patient is off on their own. Should such drug interactions have been caught and acted upon? Most definitely, yes!

But lest I come off as a "medical professional hater"...I'm one of them, so that would be self-hatred... far from it. I do know that some patients get really creative when it comes to deceptive practices. Using multiple physicians, multiple pharmacies, and sometimes multiple aliases (as I have heard some celebrties are also known to do), thus making it hard to keep track of what is really going on medically with a given patient. So what's the solution? Centralized electronic medical records that are tied to one's DNA or retinal scan and accessible to any medical professional involved in one's care... don't knock the idea... it could happen, and should... soon.

Shameless plug: in the meantime, anyone is free to use our very own Healthline Drug Interaction Checker tool to look up drug interactions between drugs they are taking themselves. The tool is free and comes with a tutorial if you need extra help. And just in case you forgot what the medication in that brown bottle is because you transferred it out of its original container (yes, this actually does happen way too often), then you can also use our very own Healthline Pill Finder tool. Plug in the description of the pill - color, shape, visible markings - and voila!

Photo courtesy of Miyoko Schmez aka Laura

Labels: drug interactions, drug overdose, heath ledger

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National Girls and Women in Sports Day: Support Title IX

February 6, 2008 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, celebrated to honor the achievement of and encourage the participation of female athletes. Besides the obvious health and fitness benefits of participating in sports, adolescent athletes have better body-images and higher self-esteem.

Participating in sports helps girls learn to work with others to achieve common goals and accept defeat as well as success. Female athletes learn to set goals and trust their bodies and their own abilities. With all of the negative media hype around young female starlets, girls need all the help they can get.

Yet ever since Title IX, the 1972 Education Amendment declaring it unconstitutional to discriminate against females in school sports, was passed people have been trying to tear it down. Each school receiving Title IX funding should have a designated Title IX Compliance Officer - do you know who yours is?

June 23, 2007 was the 35th anniversary of Title IX, yet discrimination against girls in sports and female athletes continues, and in fact, Title IX has been watered down. Review your school's policies about female athletes and girls in sports and fight for equity for our daughters. A healthy future depends on it.

Thank you Michael for use of photo of MHS girls basketball.

Labels: female athletes, girls sports, Title IX

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