Signs Of Shingles

Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox and remains in a person's nerve tissue.

The June issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource recommends seeing a doctor immediately if shingles are suspected. The earliest warning signs and symptoms are a burning, tingling or numbness in the skin and a red rash that follows a nerve pathway around one side of the face or body.

Within a week, the rash turns into fluid-filled blisters. Even after the blisters dry up -- usually in one to two weeks -- pain can persist and be severe. In some cases, the blisters can become infected and cause skin scarring. Blisters near the eye can cause lasting damage or blindness. Other problems may include hearing loss or brief facial paralysis, the newsletter advises.

Although there is no cure, prompt treatment with anti-viral medications can reduce the disease's severity and complications.

1/3 Of Americans Pre-Diabetic?

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has concluded in a recent study that about 33 percent of adults are diabetic and do not even know they have the disease. The report appears in the June issue of Diabetes Care.

According to the researchers, they note that about 95 percent of all cases of diabetes in the United States fall under the category of type 2 disease -- a gradual loss of insulin production and sensitivity that's usually linked to overweight and obesity.

Here are some overall statistics: According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2002 indicate diabetes among people aged 20 and older has gone from about 5.1 percent of the population in the older survey to 6.5 percent by 2002.

Physically Active Teens Stay Out of Trouble

By Amy Norton

Teenagers who stay active, participating in anything from football to skateboarding, are less likely than their sedentary peers to smoke, drink or take other health risks, new research shows.

Much has been made about the importance of exercise in fighting the swelling problem of childhood obesity. But just as important are the effects regular physical activity can have on kids’ behavior, according to Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, the lead author of the new study.

There are clearly benefits to exercise other than weight control, said Gordon-Larsen, an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Kids who spend their free time in front of the TV are missing out on those benefits, she added.

But beyond whatever effects media may have, she said, children who spend their free time on the couch miss out on the socialization, team work and skill development that comes with being active.

Among the nearly 12,000 middle- and high-school students in her study, those who were physically active were less likely than their couch-potato peers to smoke, drink, use drugs or have sex. Also, they often had higher self-esteem and better grades. "Across the board, children who engaged in any kind of activity were better off than kids who watched a lot of TV." said Gordon-Larsen.

The findings, which are published in Pediatrics, also show that activity does not simply mean traditional sports.

Kids who favored "alternative" activities, like skateboarding, had higher self-esteem and were less prone to taking health risks, Gordon-Larsen pointed out. The bottom line for parents, according to the researcher, is that they should encourage their kids to pursue whatever physical activities they happen to enjoy.

If mom and dad can handle a skateboard themselves, even better. Teens in the study who engaged in sports and exercise with their parents were particularly likely to stay on the straight and narrow.

Lung Capacity And Dementia Relation?

Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy in Goteborg, Sweden, found a strong statistical correlation between lung capacity and dementia. The study covers a total of 1,291 women whose lung capacity was first monitored in 1974 and then in 1980 when the women were in middle age. The monitoring was then repeated several times up to 2000. Of these women, 147 had developed dementia, 96 of them in the form of Alzheimer's disease.

The study shows that there is a clear statistical correlation between the functioning of their lungs and their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. "Our theory is that poor lung function leads to the brain receiving less oxygen, and this in turn increases the risk of dementia," says Xinxin Guo, a post-doctoral fellow at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

The findings are presented in the American journal Neurobiology of Aging.

Second Hand Smoke Exposue Linked To Acting Out

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- U.S. researchers show that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with behavior problems in children.

Kimberly Yolton, a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, examined 225 children and pre-teens exposed to at least five cigarettes a day.

To measure exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, Yolton measured levels of cotinine in the children's blood. Cotinine is a substance produced when nicotine is broken down by the body and can be measured in blood, urine, saliva and hair. It is considered the best available marker of environmental tobacco smoke exposure.

Yolton found a relationship between cotinine levels and increases in acting out; increases in holding things in, often manifested by anxiety and depression; increases in behavior problems as rated by parents and behavior and school problems as rated by teachers; and decreases in the ability to adapt to behavior problems.

"The greater the exposure to tobacco smoke, the greater the problems these children had," Yolton told the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.

Hidden Caffeine?

Chemists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing a test they say could be the first home testing kit for caffeine.

"We envisioned that a simple method to measure caffeine, even in hot beverages, such as coffee, would be of value to individuals and institutions wanting to verify the absence of caffeine," says study leader Jack H. Ladenson. "This will greatly assist individuals who wish to avoid caffeine."

Many consumers are trying to avoid caffeine due to unwanted health effects, including insomnia and irritability, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has specifically advised pregnant women to avoid or limit their intake of caffeine. Unfortunately, products do not always indicate whether they contain caffeine, and drinks that are labeled "decaf" can contain detectable amounts of caffeine, according to the researchers.

The new test only determines whether caffeine is present and does not indicate the exact amount or concentration of caffeine, according to the study in the June 1 issue of the American Chemical Society's Analytical Chemistry.

University Of Florida Study On Exercise And Aging

University of Florida researchers find trimming a few calories from the daily diet may help lessen the effects of aging in a study performed on rats. The study, published in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, found that eating a little less food and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage.

Earlier research had found that a drastic 20 percent to 40 percent cut in calories slowed aging, but the new study indicates even small reductions in calories could have big effects on health and aging.

"This finding suggests that even slight moderation in intake of calories and a moderate exercise program is beneficial to a key organ such as the liver, which shows significant signs of dysfunction in the aging process," said senior author Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, an associate professor of aging and geriatric research.

Leeuwenburgh found that feeding rats just 8 percent fewer calories a day and moderately increasing the animals' activity extended their average lifespan. An 8-percent reduction is the equivalent of a few hundred calories in an average human diet, and moderate exercise is equivalent to taking a short walk. In other words, every little bit of exercise will have a cumulative effect throughout a day or lifetime.

Can Pets Improve Health?

A new look at studies on pets suggests that your furry friend may be linked to better physical and mental health, especially for elderly people.

Evidence for the health benefits of pet ownership has been conflicting. While early studies concluded that pets help to reduce the risk of asthma in children and cardiovascular disease in adults, more recent data has found otherwise. But researchers in a recent review, published in the British Medical Journal, point to the close relationship between pet and owner that drives the positive benefits.

Studies have found that pet owners may benefit from their companions in one of two ways. First, pets promote social contact with other people. Dogs force individuals who live on their own to get out of the house for walks, while also creating a "social catalyst" aiding interaction with others.

But the innate exercise involved in owning a dog may confer benefits, too. One study found that dog owners were more likely to survive one year after a heart attack than cat and non-pet owners, an outcome that may be caused by the physical benefits of dog walking. Besides helping individuals get out of the house pets often fill the hole that individuals may miss when living alone.

Lower Back Tattoos Could Present Childbirth Problems

Large tattoos on the lower back can possibly lead to problems for women during childbirth, as the markings could prevent doctors from applying a local anaesthetic, reported the German medical journal Arzte Zeitung.

Tattoos are frequently positioned on the lower back, precisely where doctors inject the painkiller along the spine. Injecting through tattooed skin carries the risk of transmitting allergens or poisonous pigments into deep tissues, leading to irritation.

The study was based on work by a researcher at the University of California in San Diego. Doctors have been encouraged to use a different, more complicated method of providing anaesthesia to women with such tattoos.

Bike Helmet Safety

With warmer weather and longer days, your children will likely be pulling out their bikes and going for a ride. With that in mind, anyone who is looking to participate in bicycle riding will need to make sure they have proper safety equipment, including a helmet that fits correctly.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2004, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated approximately 151,000 head injuries suffered by bicyclists. Proper helmets could have prevented many of these injuries.


To select a proper bicycle helmet, the CPSC offers 6 tips:

Bicycle helmets manufactured after 1999 must comply with the CPSC bicycle helmet mandatory safety standard;
Chin straps must be strong enough to keep the helmet on the head and in the proper position during a fall or collision;
Bicycle helmets should be comfortable and snug;
Helmets should not tilt back on top of the head or pulled low over the forehead;
Helmets should not move in any direction when adjusted properly; and
Chin straps should be securely buckled to prevent helmet movement during a fall or collision.

Keep safe and watch out for children and bike riders.





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Beverage Companies Stop Selling Sodas In Schools

This story bothers me more than it should, and I am not sure why. Major beverage companies like Pepsi and Coca-Cola have agreed to stop selling sodas with sugar in schools. This agreement was worked out in conjunction with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. On the surface, it looks good. It is attacking the problems of obesity of younger children in schools.

The problem I have with this agreement is the lack of focus on the bigger picture. Parents will complain to local school boards about the mere sight of "Pepsi" or "Coke" on a scoreboard in the basketball gym, yet forget the large amount of money Pepsi or Coke donates to help fund the sports. Are their kids so weak-willed they can not make an actual choice not to drink the soda? Mom and Dad must not have done a good enough job educating children on nutritional choices.

I think the bigger problem is the lack of physical education classes in all levels of schools. Kids are not getting as much movement today as they were 10-15 years ago. When I was in high school, we had Pepsi machines. Sometimes I bought one, sometimes I did not. What I remember is that I had P.E. every day, and always had something fun to look forward to, whether it was a new skill, or an in-class soccer game. Reviewing back further, I had P.E. every day in junior high and elementary school. My daughter on the other hand has P.E. twice a week.

Parents have to pay through the nose to get their kids involved in a sports league as well. Where is the Clinton Foundation to assist the activities portion of obesity? Using my daughter as a reference, she had to pay a $75.00 sign up fee for softball. Seems reasonable for field rent, I suppose, if they get charged for rent and uniform tops. Then, she gets pimped out to sell $40 worth of candy bars. Where is the outrage for the sugar there in the candy? What about the parents who can't afford something simple as a team sport?

I'm sorry this has come off as a rant, but I would prefer people be able to make their own choices rather than have to cave in to public pressure. Soda is only part of the problem.