How to protect kids from whooping cough outbreaks

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Parenthood Seems to Protect Against Catching Colds: Study

HealthDay – Fri, Jul 6, 2012 FRIDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Parents are about half as likely to catch a cold as people without children, regardless of their preexisting immunity, a new study says.

The researchers said that unknown "psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents" might help explain their findings.

"We found parenthood predicted a decreased probability of colds among healthy individuals exposed to a cold virus," study leader Rodlescia Sneed of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and co-authors reported.

For the study, the researchers examined information on 795 adults from three previous studies. Volunteers in the studies were given nose drops either containing rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, or a flu virus.

After being exposed to the virus, about one-third of participants developed a cold. The study found, however, that there was a 52 percent lower rate of colds among parents compared to volunteers who didn't have any children.

This protective effect increased along with the number of children parents had. And when parents didn't live with any of their children, their risk of having a common cold dropped even more -- to 73 percent lower than nonparents.

The study is published in the July issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Parents were less likely to catch a cold regardless of whether they had protective levels of antibodies, the study authors noted in a journal news release. Being married had no effect on the findings. However, the risk of colds was not lower for the youngest parents studied, those aged 18 to 23.

Psychological or behavioral factors could play a role in their findings, the investigators said.

The researchers also suggested that being a parent may improve the regulation of immune factors that are triggered in response to infection. More research is needed, they said, to explain how being a parent affects the body's response to the common cold.

"Our results, while provocative, have left room for future studies to pursue how various aspects of parenthood (

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As Heat Builds, Take Steps to Protect Yourself

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago WEDNESDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- As the first major heat wave of the summer engulfs the continental United States, health experts are urging people to take special precautions when dealing with scorching temperatures and oppressive humidity.

One of the most important things to do is to drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration, said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Sports drinks that contain electrolytes such as sodium and potassium with small amounts of glucose may help to combat dehydration, Glatter noted, but caffeinated beverages and products with high amounts of sugar can worsen dehydration.

Because children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to dehydration, they should be checked on often and encouraged to drink lots of fluids, he added.

Many seniors take medications, including diuretics and some blood pressure drugs, that hamper the body's ability to cool itself through sweating, and people who are overweight may also be prone to heat sickness because of their tendency to retain more body heat, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Along with consuming lots of fluids, try not to stay outside any longer than necessary, Glatter added.

"Stay indoors if possible, preferably in an air-conditioned space," he said. "If only a fan is available, misting with cool water may help to cool you by evaporation."

If you do have to spend time outdoors, wear loose, light-colored clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, to shield yourself from the sun's rays, Glatter noted.

The CDC recommends a "buddy system" when working in the heat, to monitor the health of your co-workers and have them do the same for you. Heat-induced illness can cause a person to become confused or lose consciousness, and you should call 911 immediately if you see this happening.

Even short periods of searing temperatures can cause serious health problems, so the CDC recommends that you listen to local media reports or contact local health departments for safety updates. Overexerting yourself on a hot day, spending too much time in the sun or staying too long in an overheated place can all cause heat-related illnesses.

According to the CDC, there are several types of heat illnesses that you need to watch out for, both in yourself and among others:

Heat stroke happens when the body can't regulate its own temperature. Your ability to sweat stops, and your body is unable to cool down. Your body temperature may rise to 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher in the space of 10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not given. Some of the symptoms include red, hot, dry skin, a rapid and strong pulse, a throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea and confusion. Once these symptoms occur, the victim has to be cooled rapidly using whatever methods you have, which include putting the person in a cool tub of water or a cool shower, spraying the person with a hose or wrapping the victim in a cool sheet. Do not give the victim fluids to drink, and get medical help as soon as possible.Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heat illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and lack of fluids. Those most prone to heat exhaustion are elderly people, those with high blood pressure and people working or exercising in a hot environment. Symptoms include heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting or fainting. The skin may be cool and moist, and the pulse rate fast and weak while breathing may be fast and shallow. Help the victim to cool off, and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen or last longer than an hour.Heat cramps typically happen after you sweat a lot during strenuous activity. The low salt level in the muscles may be the cause of heat cramps. Heat cramps may also be a symptom of heat exhaustion. Symptoms include muscle pains or spasms, usually in the stomach, arms or legs. You should stop all activity immediately and sit down in a cool place. Drink clear liquids or sports drinks, and do not return to strenuous activity for a few hours. Seek medical attention if the cramps do not stop within an hour.

More information

For more on heat waves, go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Some Sports May Help Protect Men's Bones

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Positive feelings may help protect cardiovascular health

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2012) — Over the last few decades numerous studies have shown negative states, such as depression, anger, anxiety, and hostility, to be detrimental to cardiovascular health. Less is known about how positive psychological characteristics are related to heart health. In the first and largest systematic review on this topic to date, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that positive psychological well-being appears to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events.

See Also:Health & MedicineHeart DiseaseMental Health ResearchWorkplace HealthMind & BrainChild DevelopmentChild PsychologyMental HealthLiving WellReferenceLow density lipoproteinHormone replacement therapyHigh density lipoproteinCoronary heart disease

The study was published online April 17, 2012 in Psychological Bulletin.

The American Heart Association reports more than 2,200 Americans die of cardiovascular disease (CVD) each day, an average of one death every 39 seconds. Stroke accounts for about one of every 18 U.S. deaths.

"The absence of the negative is not the same thing as the presence of the positive. We found that factors such as optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness are associated with reduced risk of CVD regardless of such factors as a person's age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, or body weight," said lead author Julia Boehm, research fellow in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at HSPH. "For example, the most optimistic individuals had an approximately 50% reduced risk of experiencing an initial cardiovascular event compared to their less optimistic peers," she said.

In a review of more than 200 studies published in two major scientific databases, Boehm and senior author Laura Kubzansky, associate professor of society, human development, and health at HSPH, found there are psychological assets, like optimism and positive emotion, that afford protection against cardiovascular disease. It also appears that these factors slow the progression of disease.

To further understand how psychological well-being and CVD might be related, Boehm and Kubzansky also investigated well-being's association with cardiovascular-related health behaviors and biological markers. They found that individuals with a sense of well-being engaged in healthier behaviors such as exercising, eating a balanced diet, and getting sufficient sleep. In addition, greater well-being was related to better biological function, such as lower blood pressure, healthier lipid (blood fat) profiles, and normal body weight.

If future research continues to indicate that higher levels of satisfaction, optimism, and happiness come before cardiovascular health, this has strong implications for the design of prevention and intervention strategies. "These findings suggest that an emphasis on bolstering psychological strengths rather than simply mitigating psychological deficits may improve cardiovascular health," Kuzbansky said.

The study was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio through the grant "Exploring Concepts of Positive Health."

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Turmeric extract may protect heart after surgery: study

Reuters – 9 hrs ago (Reuters) - Extracts from turmeric spice, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may help ward off heart attacks in people who have had recent bypass surgery, according to a study from Thailand.

During bypass surgery the heart muscle can be damaged by prolonged lack of blood flow, increasing the patient's risk of heart attack. But the new findings, published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Cardiology, suggest that curcumins - the yellow pigment in turmeric - may ease those risks when added to traditional drug treatment.

The conclusions are based on a relatively small group of subjects and needs to be confirmed in larger studies, said researchers led by Wanwarang Wongcharoen from Chiang Mai University. Turmeric extracts have long been used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine.

Research has suggested inflammation plays an important role in the development of a range of diseases, including heart disease, and curcumins could have an effect on those pathways, said Bharat Aggarwal, who studies the use of curcumins in cancer therapy at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

"It's very, very encouraging," said Aggarwal of the study, which he did not take part in.

The researchers studied 121 patients who had non-emergency bypass surgery at their hospital between 2009 and 2011.

Half of those patients were given one-gram curcumin capsules to take four times a day, starting three days before their surgery and continuing for five days afterwards. The other half took the same number of drug-free placebo capsules.

The researchers found that during their post-bypass hospital stays, 13 percent of patients who'd been taking curcumins had a heart attack, compared to 30 percent in the placebo group.

After accounting for any initial pre-surgery differences, Wongcharoen and his colleagues calculated that people on curcumins had a 65 percent lower chance of heart attack.

Researchers said it's likely that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumins may have helped limit heart damage in the patients.

"Curcumin has for many years now been shown to reduce inflammation and to reduce oxygen toxicity or damage caused by free radicals in a number of experimental settings," said Jawahar Mehta, a cardiologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, who didn't work on the study.

"But that doesn't mean that this is a substitute for medication," he said, noting that drugs like aspirin, statins and beta blockers have been proven to help heart patients and people in the current study were taking those as well.

One limitation was that the study was relatively small. Another is that while curcumins are thought to be safe, there could be side effects at very large doses.

"Taken in moderation or used in cooking, (curcumins) are quite useful. But I wouldn't go to a health food store and start taking four grams of curcumin a day, as was done in this study," Mehta said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/HEnC5f

(Reporting from New York by Genevra Pittman at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies and Jeremy Laurence)

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