May Is Busy with Health Observances

I haven't checked to see if May is the busiest month when it comes to health observances, but if it's not, it's way up there. Do campaigns for specific causes have any impact on you? I have a personal interest in this because of Sepsis Alliance, which brought about Sepsis Awareness Month this past  September.

Anyway, for the busy month of May, this is what I found for the United States:

Arthritis Awareness  Month

Better Hearing and Speech Month

Global Employee Health and Fitness Month

Healthy Vision Month

Hepatitis Awareness Month

Lupus Awareness Month 

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month^®

Mental Health Month

National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

National Celiac Disease Awareness Month 

National High Blood Pressure Education Month

National Mediterranean Diet Month

National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month 

National Toxic Encephalopathy and Chemical Injury Awareness Month 

Ultraviolet Awareness Month

And then there are weekly observances:

May 6 to 12

Children's Mental Health Awareness Week

North American Occupational Safety and Health Week

National Stuttering Awareness Week

Air Quality Awareness Week 

May 13 to 19

Food Allergy Awareness Week

National Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week

National Women's Health Week

May 14 to 18

National Neuropathy Awareness Week

May 21 to 27

Recreational Water Illness and Injury Prevention Week

And now for the daily observances

May 12: Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awarenesss Day

May 14: National Women's Check-Up Day

May 18: HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

May 19: Hepatitis Testing Day

May 20: National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

and World Autoimmune Arthritis Day

May 25: Heat Safety Awareness Week

May 30: National Senior Health & Fitness Day

May 31: World No Tobacco Day

Are there any here that surprise you?

It's Friday.... any plans for the weekend?

Friday is often a happy day - it's the end of the week for Monday to Friday workers, the beginning of a weekend and time is yours.

Do you bring work home with you to do on the weekends? If so, is that because you want to or you have to? I have to admit, I do a lot of work on the weekend but that's because my job (freelancing) allows me to do other stuff during the week. So, to make up time, I end up working on the weekend. It's probably not the healthiest way to do things though, so it's probably time to start rethinking my work habits. But not this weekend... I have too much to do. :-)

Today on Help My Hurt:
Friday Fun
Older people with IBD may develop more frequent infections
Jerry Seinfeld’s car accident could have been a lot worse
5 great reasons to visit your dentist regularly

News for Today:
Your Neighborhood Can Affect Your Health
Beta blockers show promise in treating asthma
Mumps vaccination schedule may need tweak: study
More suspect deaths linked to heparin: FDA
Washing produce doesn't remove bacteria: report
Climate change brings health risks
Does the internet really influence suicidal behavior?

Breathing easy isn't always possible

I have a little experiment for those who don’t have asthma or a breathing disorder or any kind. Put one end of a straw in your mouth. Close your mouth tightly around it; now pinch your nose closed. Try to breathe through the straw – both in and out. The exhaling part is important here. Do that a few times if you can.

This exercise is one that gives people an idea of what it’s like to have an asthma attack. Of course, it doesn’t have the emotional and fright aspect to it that kicks in when you can’t breathe, nor the coughing that many asthmatics have instead of wheezing, but it does show how hard it is to get that air out of your lungs so that you can get more in.

The rate of asthma, a chronic disorder that causes difficulty breathing because of swelling in the bronchi (airway), is still increasing. According to an article published in May of this year, “an individual had a two-in-five chance of developing asthma before the age of 40.” Statistics Canada reports that approximately 3 million people in Canada have asthma. In 2003, 287 Canadians died because of asthma. Similar statistics are found in the United States. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, approximately 20 million Americans have asthma. They point out that the incidence of asthma has increased 75% between 1980 and 1994. Sadly, there are also about 5000 deaths per year in the US that are associated with asthma.

As recent as when I was a child, asthma was still considered to be more psychological than physical, so many people with the disorder weren’t treated properly. With time, doctors learned that asthma is a very frightening illness that is made worse by emotions, not caused by emotions. Speaking from experience, I can attest to that. A physical cause will trigger the asthma. In my case, cigarette smoke or high humidity, for example. If the attack is managed with medications, all is fine. But if the attack is severe and breathing is difficult, the anxiety kicks in and can cause the attack to get worse. I also have the unfortunate trigger of laughter. I can’t have a good belly laugh because if I do, I start to cough and cough – and cough – and cough. It can go on for hours. Makes going to see a comedy show a bit difficult!

Asthma isn’t just a childhood disease though. People can develop it any time in life, as shown by the story about workers at the 9/11 site . Also, asthma doesn’t go away. When I worked in a medical ward, I used to have patients who had been admitted with what is called status asthmaticus. That is an asthma attack that is out of control and just can’t be managed. Many times, the patients would tell me that their asthma had gone away and they hadn’t had an attack in many years. What often happens is that the asthma is triggered by some sort of shock or stress to the body. This shock or stress can be physical (a bad cold, a pregnancy, etc.) or psychological, and the resulting asthma attack can be more frightening than ever because the patient thought that the asthma was gone.

Can we do something to decrease the rate of asthma? Yes, there are some things. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in the United States, provides this interesting page on allergies and irritants, and preventative strategies.

If you want to read more about asthma, check out the asthma section at the MayoClinic.com or the section at the AAAAI.

I’m asthma-free at this moment, so maybe it’s time to stop and smell the flowers while I can. J

News for Today:
Born in the summer? You're more likely to be nearsighted
A Heart Drug May Hold Off Alzheimer's
Treating diabetes during pregnancy can break link to childhood obesity
Methamphetamine study suggests increased risk for HIV transmission
Survey finds elevated rates of new asthma among WTC rescue and recovery workers
Stopping statins after stroke raises risk of death, dependency
New treatment effective for most severe kind of headache

Yup, it was a hot day yesterday

It was hot in Montreal yesterday. Very hot, with a high of 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) and with the humidity factor, a temperature that felt like in the 40s (over 104 F).

Environment Canada has this Humidex chart that gives you an idea of how the temperatures feel according to the humidity in the air.

We don’t have air conditioning in our house. It’s a 45-year-old home that has hot water heating, so to put in central air would be expensive. We’d have to go with the ductless type. Window units drive me crazy with their noise, but we do have one in our bedroom we use on the really hot nights. I’m lucky in that I don’t often feel the heat, but I do feel the humidity. Oddly enough, it shows when it’s humid because I can’t laugh. My asthma is affected by the humidity and if I laugh, I have to take a deep breath and I can’t. So, I end up coughing away for hours all because I laughed. I know, I said it was odd. :-)

We’re young though, we’re healthy, so the heat is really more annoying than anything else. But I worry for those who aren’t young and aren’t healthy. The elderly who live in top floor apartments or flats so not only does the heat rise, but they have the sun beating down on them. Those with limited resources can’t afford to air condition their homes. Our city does declare an emergency when we hit a certain temperature for three days in a row, so that is some consolation. When that happens, they open shelters and air conditioned areas for those who need the help.

We know the drill of how to stay safe in excessively hot weather: drink plenty of fluids, stay inside as much as possible, don’t do anything strenuous if you can avoid it, and so on. But there are still a lot of people who don’t take it seriously enough and do develop heatstroke, or hyperthermia.

How serious is heat stroke? According to the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, during the period between and including 1999 to 2003, there were 3442 deaths related to heat. Of these 3442, 65% (2239) were directly caused by the heat. Heat was considered a contributing factor to the remaining number of deaths. Some of these deaths make the news, like when it’s a student athlete: Heat-related deaths in middle, high school football players spikes in 2006.


The Red Cross has this very informative page about heat-related illnesses. They discuss the prevention, the different stages, and emergency interventions for people who are affected.

Oh, and one more thing – watch out for Fido. Dogs feel the heat too. Don’t let them overexert themselves in the heat. Walks should be kept to a minimum and don’t forget that the pavement is burning hot on those paw pads. And please, please, please, don’t leave your pooch in the car, even with the windows cracked. It’s like leaving him in an oven.


News for Today:

Screening improves detection of major stroke risk factor
Ontario to provide teenage girls with HPV vaccine
Alberta gets first human case of West Nile
Breastfeeding moms quitting too soon, officials say
Many heart attack patients still not getting emergency clot-busting treatment
Heat-related deaths in middle, high school football players spikes in 2006

July 1 - Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

Despite all our grousing, it’s a pretty darned great place to live. If you’re reading this from another country, come visit us. We’re pretty nice here. J

Smoking is in the news again. Surprise, surprise – second hand smoke is dangerous. Really? Forgive the sarcasm, but do we really need more studies to tell us the obvious?

My father smoked a pipe and cigars. I remember him smoking his pipe in the car, the windows closed. I remember stinking of my mother’s cigarettes and my father’s pipes and cigars. Today, I have asthma. Try telling me that those are likely not related.

I can’t handle cigarette smoke, it sends my lungs into overdrive and I start to cough, a very deep, I can't catch my breath cough. I know that smoking is still a legal activity but the problem is that when a smoker smokes, it affects much more than the smoker.

When my kids were young, we went to DisneyWorld. Standing in line with others, there were always some smokers. There was this gorgeous weather, fun atmosphere, lots of kids, and those darned cigarettes and the smoke heading right for us so many times. When my kids played baseball and soccer, we’d be in the stands watching them, and sure enough, someone downwind would light a cigarette and I’d start coughing.

I understand people my age who are addicted – it’s a tough addiction to break. What I don’t understand is the number of young kids, 12, 13, 14 years old who I see smoking. First of all, here in Quebec, cigarettes are pretty darned expensive now, so where do they get all the money to buy the smokes? And with all the news out there, how can they not know how dangerous it is? I know that teens don’t/can’t look that far in the future, but it just doesn’t make sense? How cool does it look to be huddled outside in minus whatever temperatures in the middle of winter so you can have your puff of smoke?

I’m so torn on this. Since it’s a legal activity, I can’t say I wish everyone would just stop, but it’s so frustrating to go places and have to dodge the smoke. Right now, Quebec law says you can’t smoke within a few metres of a public building entrance. Well, I can assure you that this law is *not* being followed. I was taking a class at a university here and the only door I could use was on St. Catherine Street in downtown Montreal. I would have to take a deep breath before running the gantlet of smokers when I went in and then when I left. They would be leaning up against the doors, even. And that’s the not only place.

It’s not a matter of I don’t want people to smoke. I want them to realize that some of us get truly sick when exposed to their smoke.

Today's News:
Just a bit of smoke dangerous, study says
Rickets still a problem in some parts of Canada
Vitamin waters don't meet daily intake recommendations, experts say

Ear infections, antibiotics, kids and asthma

Checking the health news today, I see that there are a few things making the top stories. One story caught my eye; it’s about antibiotics given to young children may lead to higher incidences of asthma. My three children, especially the oldest and the youngest, had many, many ear infections. The newest thinking is that not all such infections need to be treated with antibiotics. However, when you’re up at 3 in the morning with an infant who is screaming because he is in so much pain from a double ear infection, and you can’t get his fever down with the appropriate medications, I personally find it hard to believe that antibiotics aren’t the answer.

Of my three, my middle one had the fewest ear infections – and she’s the one with medication-controlled asthma. Luckily, she’s in a period where the asthma is not active, but when it is, she is on long-term asthma treatment. The two boys, the ones with multiple, treated, ear infections are relatively asthma-free. The youngest does have a cold-induced asthma attack occasionally.

Of course, my story is anecdotal. My asthma isn’t antibiotic related, but I did grow up in a home with smoking parents. I remember being in the car with the windows closed and my father smoking a pipe even. It’s not hard to see the connection there, in my opinion.

I’m not saying that we aren’t over using antibiotics, I do believe we are. Many people insist on getting antibiotics for viral infections even though antibiotics will do absolutely nothing for them. I remember patients even insisting on them for colds. I would hope that the doctors wouldn’t give in to the pressure of handing out antibiotics like that, but some do, unfortunately.

Asthma is a scary illness – I know that from the point of view as a parent of a child with it, from the point of view as a patient, and also from the point of view of a nurse who has cared for patients in status asthmaticus, the emergency situation of severe asthma. I guess we all must be a little more careful about what we do and how we do it, even in terms of getting our kids antibiotics for their ear infections. Would I do the same thing again if I could do it all over? I don’t know but I have to admit, probably. Ear pain is horrendous and untreated ear infections can cause serious problems. When my son was screaming in pain from his sore ears, I find it hard to think that I’d be able to look down the road and think about how treating him now may affect him in the future. I just wanted my little guy to feel better.



Today's News:

Antibiotic use before age one linked to asthma
Worriers show higher risk for age-related memory loss: study
Please shake my hand, patients tell doctors