The Health Blog

All toys, no matter how safe, may not be appropriate for children of all ages. Other toys may have moving parts or sharp edges that make them inappropriate for children of any age.

Here are suggestions on how to choose safe toys for your child, courtesy of the American Academy of Family Physicians:

* Don’t give your child toys with small parts that can be easily removed or broken.
* Follow safety information and age guidelines listed on toys.
* Look for toys that say “non-toxic,” or “washable/hygienic materials” on stuffed animals that can be washed.
* Make sure your child only has access to toys that are appropriate for her age.
* To prevent choking, don’t allow young children to play with marbles, or other small toys less than 1 3/4 inches diameter or 2 inches long.

Product Details
Book Publisher: McGraw-Hill (10 February, 2005)
ISBN: 0071444815
Book author: Mason W. Freeman, Christine E. Junge
Amazon Rating: 5.0

Book Description:
From the experts at one of the world’s most respected medical schools–your complete guide to managing cholesterol and staying healthy for life. Everybody knows that high cholesterol is something to be concerned about. But what does it really mean when your doctor tells you that your cholesterol levels are high, and what should you do about it? If you’re worried about your cholesterol, here’s your chance to get the answers you need from a top expert at the Harvard Medical School.

Product Details
Book Publisher: Collins (13 April, 2004)
ISBN: 0060746378
Book author: Mayo Clinic
Amazon Rating: 5.0

Book Description:

This new Mayo Clinic book on pregnancy provides you with practical information and reassurance on pregnancy and childbirth. Compiled by Mayo Clinic experts in obstetrics, it offers a clear, thorough and reliable reference for this exciting and sometimes unpredictable journey. This comprehensive book includes:

• A month-by-month look at mom and baby
• In-depth “Decision Guides” to help you make informed decisions on topics such as how to select a health care provider, prenatal testing options, pain relief for childbirth, and many others
• An easy-to-use reference guide that covers topics such as morning sickness, heartburn, back pain, headaches and yeast infections, among others
• Information on pregnancy health concerns, including preterm labor, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, along with an overview on being pregnant when you have pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or hyperthyroidism

Women’s Health Magazine lists 100 simple ways to burn calories. Do five of them a day and you can lose a pound a week. The list shows us that it is possible to lose weight from simple daily activities.

1. Slather on lip balm 765 times.

2. Relive the ’80s. Lip sync George Michael’s Faith 16 times.

3. DVR an episode of Arrested Development and watch it commercial free. (Ten straight minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories–no joke.)

4. Watch the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. (Serious stuff doesn’t scorch as many.)

5. Wiggle while you watch for 40 minutes: Fidgeters burn up to 350 more calories a day than couch potatoes.

May 29, 2007 — The CDC today announced that a U.S. traveler may have put his fellow fliers at risk for a potentially deadly form of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The traveler, an unnamed man from Atlanta, has extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB), which is rare but can cause serious illness and death.

XDR TB is an infectious disease spread from person to person through the air. But unlike most tuberculosis cases, XDR TB resists the first and second preferred drug treatments.

While XDR TB is rare, it can cause severe illness and death and is an emerging problem worldwide, CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, told reporters in a news conference.

In light of the man’s condition, the CDC issued its first federal quarantine order since 1963 for the patient. He is under medical isolation in Atlanta and will remain quarantined until public health officials deem him no longer a public health threat.

The CDC is also encouraging other passengers on the man’s flights to get tested for tuberculosis.
Patient’s Flights

A few days back, I’ve listed some of the health benefits and risks of coffee intake. An addition to its benefits was found out by a study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of British Columbia and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The findings were based on a study of more than 45,000 men over 12 years.

According to the study, men who drink a lot of coffee may lower their risk of developing the painful inflammatory disease gout.

Although few would suggest that men live awash in coffee, which could have its own health consequences, the researchers found that the more their study subjects drank, the less likely they were to develop the disease.

WebMD lists 15 ways to make your foods safer:

1. Consider your source. Eating locally grown food is becoming more popular, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safer than supermarket produce.

2. Map your supermarket route. Don’t cruise the store aisles aimlessly. Gather nonperishable items first, fresh or frozen goods last. That strategy minimizes the time that perishable goods sit in your shopping cart instead of in a freezer or refrigerator.

3. Be choosy. Select fresh produce that isn’t bruised or damaged. Check that eggs aren’t cracked. Look for a clean meat or fish counter and a clean salad bar. Don’t buy bulging or dented cans, cracked jars, or jars with loose or bulging lids. If fresh-cut produce (such as half a watermelon or bagged salad mixes) is on your shopping list, choose those that are refrigerated or surrounded by ice.

The American Heart Association has issued eight new recommendations to help reduce congenital heart defects in babies.

The recommendations include actions women can take before becoming pregnant.

The recommendations, printed in the journal Circulation, are as follows:

• Take a multivitamin that contains folic acid.
• Get preconception and prenatal medical care.
• Get screened for diabetes. If you have diabetes, manage it carefully during pregnancy.
• Get vaccinated against rubella and influenza (flu).

If you have an inherited disease called PKU (phenylketonuria), which affects your diet, talk to your doctor about proper nutrition during pregnancy.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), commonly referred to as “heartburn” because of its primary manifestation which is a painful or burning sensation in the esophagus, just below the breastbone caused by regurgitation of gastric acid. The pain often rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw. GERD is a condition in which acid from the stomach refluxes into the esophagus.

Various foods are frequently cited as aggravating factors. Avoidance of these triggers may provide significant relief of symptoms and should be considered by patients with GERD as theeMedicine newsletter listed them.

1. Dietary fat intake. Fatty foods have been implicated as precipitating factors in symptomatic GERD. Dietary fat has been shown to decrease LES pressure and may increase the sensitivity of the esophagus to refluxed acid.

The FDA has recently approved Lybrel, the first low-dose contraceptive pill that gives women an option to stop their menstrual cycle for an indefinite period of time.

About Lybrel:
It is the newest form of birth control approved by the FDA. The drug is developed by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which contains 90 micrograms of levonorgestrel and 20 micrograms of ethinyl estradiol, a combination similar to that found in other low-dose oral contraceptives.

It differs, however, with other contraceptive pills because it replaces the four- to seven-day placebo pill with continuous daily dosing for nonstop birth control with no menstrual periods.

Rest and ice applied early after the injury help to decrease swelling and pain.

1. Ice helps to decrease swelling by constricting blood vessels, by decreasing fluid accumulation, and by cooling and numbing the area.

• Apply ice for 20 minutes an hour every hour while awake, for the first 24 hours. Ice should not be applied directly to the injury.
• To avoid potential cold injury to the site, wrap the ice in a cloth or use a commercial ice pack. A bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth makes a good ice pack.

2. Protect the area from further injury. Stay away from athletic or other possibly injurious activities until after the eye has healed.