Infant Ear Infections Becoming Less Common

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, March 28, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Painful ear infections remain a scourge of childhood, but fewer American babies are getting them now compared with 20 years ago, new research shows.

The study didn’t dig into the reasons for the decline. But experts say the credit likely goes to certain childhood vaccines, rising rates of breast-feeding and the drop in Americans’ smoking rate.

The new research found that 46 percent of babies followed during 2008 to 2014 had a middle ear infection by the time they were 1 year old.

But while the infections were common, those rates were lower when compared against U.S. studies from the 1980s and ’90s, the researchers added. Back then, around 60 percent of babies had suffered an ear infection by their first birthday, the study authors said.

The decline is not surprising, according to lead researcher Dr. Tasnee Chonmaitree, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston.

“This is what we anticipated,” she said.

That’s in large part because of a vaccine that’s been available in recent years: the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Chonmaitree said. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine protects against several strains of pneumococcal bacteria, which can cause serious diseases like pneumonia, meningitis and bloodstream infections.

Those bacteria are also one of the major causes of children’s middle ear infections, Chonmaitree said.

She added that yearly flu shots, which are now recommended for children starting at the age of 6 months, are probably helping, too: Ear infections often arise after a viral infection like the flu or common cold, the study authors said.

Vaccinations “could very well be one of the drivers” behind the decline in infant ear infections, agreed Dr. Joseph Bernstein, a pediatric otolaryngologist who wasn’t involved in the study.

But there are other important factors, too, both he and Chonmaitree said — namely, rising rates of breast-feeding and a decrease in babies’ exposure to secondhand smoke.

“The data really do suggest that breast-feeding — particularly exclusive breast-feeding in the first six months of life — helps lower the risk of ear infections,” said Bernstein, who is director of pediatric otolaryngology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, in New York City.

Why does breast-feeding matter? The main reason, Chonmaitree said, is that breast milk contains antibodies that can help protect babies against infections.

There’s also the fact that breast-fed babies are less likely to spend time drinking from a bottle while lying down, Bernstein noted. That position can make some infants more vulnerable to ear infections, he said.

The study findings were based on 367 babies followed during their first year of life. By the age of 3 months, 6 percent had been diagnosed with a middle ear infection; by the age of 12 months, that had risen 46 percent, researchers found.

Not surprisingly, babies with ear infections also suffered more colds during their first year — almost five, on average, versus two among babies who didn’t develop an ear infection, the study authors said.

Breast-fed babies had a lower ear infection risk, however. Those who’d been exclusively breast-fed for at least three months were 60 percent less likely to develop an ear infection in their first six months, the study showed.

To Chonmaitree, the findings underscore evidence that breast milk is the best nutrition for babies. “Breast-feeding is good,” she said. “Parents should be encouraged to do it if they can.”

Bernstein stressed the “if they can” part. Some mothers, he noted, simply can’t exclusively breast-feed for a long time — because of work or other reasons.

But whether babies are breast-fed or not, they will benefit from routine vaccinations, Chonmaitree said. “Parents should make sure they’re on schedule with the recommended vaccines,” she said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), most children with middle ear infections get better without antibiotics, and doctors often recommend pain relievers — like acetaminophen — to start. But with babies, Bernstein said, antibiotics are often used right away.

The AAP recommends antibiotics for infants who are 6 months old or younger, and for older babies and toddlers who have moderate to severe ear pain.

The study was published online on March 28 in the journal Pediatrics.

More information

The AAP has more on middle ear infections.

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Pets Help Homeless Youth, Study Finds

SUNDAY, March 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Pets may bring many health benefits to homeless children, but they can also make it tougher to find shelter or to use other social services, new Canadian research suggests.

A team of researchers, led by scientists at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, found homeless young people who have pets are less likely to abuse drugs or engage in risky behavior.

Pets may also help ease depression among those living on the streets, according to the study published recently in the journal Anthrozoos.

“So many of these youth have lost trust in people, and the animal gives them unconditional love. They will do anything for their pets, which means they are less likely to commit potentially harmful acts,” study author Michelle Lem, a graduate of the veterinary college, explained in a University of Guelph news release.

Jason Coe, a professor of population medicine at Guelph, added that, “We also found those without pets are three times more likely to be depressed, though we have not yet determined if this is directly relatable to having a pet.”

Homeless young people with pets may also confide in veterinarians about the personal difficulties they are facing, the researchers found.

“We’re able to collaborate with public health and social workers as they attempt to reach these marginalized people, essentially using the human-animal bond and veterinary care as a gateway to provide accessible social support and health care,” said Lem. She is also the founder and director of the Community Veterinary Outreach, which offers mobile veterinary services to homeless people in Canada.

Despite these health benefits, there is a downside to pet ownership for homeless youth, the study showed. Pets can become a barrier to social services for these young people.

“Many shelters do not allow pets, so these youth may be limited in where they can sleep,” Coe explained.

The researchers argued that pet-friendly shelters are needed to accommodate homeless people who have dogs and other animals.

“There is an opportunity here to use this information when we’re developing services and plans for young people,” said Bill O’Grady, a sociology and anthropology professor at Guelph.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on the health benefits of pets.

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4 Ways Feeling Grateful Can Improve Your Life

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Fill your marriage with gratitude: It’s been shown to boost commitment.

Showing appreciation, counting your blessings—whatever you call it, gratitude is a key component of physical and emotional well-being. In fact, feeling thankful translated to better mood, higher sleep quality, and reduced inflammation in heart-failure patients, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. And day-to-day perks like these make the habit all the more worth it.

RELATED: 9 Ways Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Fitter, and Richer

It improves your week

Try jotting down those “Hooray!” moments as you go through your day. A study from gratitude expert Robert Emmons, PhD, showed that people who kept weekly gratitude journals were more optimistic and happier overall than folks who recorded hassles or uneventful happenings.

It tightens our bonds

When college students who were mentoring high schoolers received a handwritten thank-you note from their mentee, they rated the mentee as having a warmer personality, found a 2015 study in Emotion. And they were more apt to give the high schooler their contact information.

RELATED: This Is the Secret to a Long and Happy Marriage, According to Research

It makes you resilient

Undergrad students who expressed gratitude—by thanking others, for example—tended to have higher self-esteem and, in turn, appeared less vulnerable to depression or hopelessness, according to 2015 research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.

It bolsters your patience

In a study published in Psychological Science, participants who were asked to recall a time they felt grateful, then choose between getting a smaller monetary reward soon or a bigger one later, were more willing to wait for the bigger payout than those who didn’t think thankful thoughts.

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Injuries More Common in Teens Who Focus on Single Sport

SATURDAY, March 26, 2016 (HealthDay News) — High school athletes who focus on a single sport may be at increased risk for knee and hip injuries, a new study suggests.

“Make sure your children are getting breaks in competition,” said study author David Bell, assistant professor in the Departments of Kinesiology and Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“There are so many great aspects to sports participation and we don’t want this information to scare athletes or parents — we just want them to be wise consumers and to participate as safely as possible,” he said in a university news release.

The study included more than 300 athletes at two high schools, one large and one small. About 36 percent of the athletes had high levels of sports specialization. Nearly 29 percent had moderate specialization, and about 35 percent had low specialization, the researchers said.

The one-year study found that athletes from the smaller school were less likely to specialize than students from the larger school. Those in the high specialization group were more likely to report a history of overuse knee injuries than those in the other two groups. Athletes who trained in one sport for more than eight months during the study were more likely to have a history of knee and hip injuries, the researchers reported.

The study was published recently in The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

“Recommendations already exist to try and limit athletes’ year-round exposure to sports,” Bell noted. “Yet we don’t know how well these recommendations are known to the average person.

“Our next step is to survey parents and athletes regarding their knowledge of sport participation recommendations, and also their attitudes toward sport specialization,” he said.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers sports injury prevention tips.

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ER Docs Only Ask Half of Suicidal Patients About Guns, Study Shows

FRIDAY, March 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Only half of suicidal patients in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) are asked if they have access to guns, a new study finds.

National guidelines say doctors should ask suicidal patients about their access to guns or other deadly items, the researchers noted.

They interviewed more than 1,300 emergency department patients in seven states who had either attempted suicide or were thinking about it. The investigators also examined the patients’ medical charts.

“We found in about 50 percent of cases there is no documentation by the doctor that anyone asked the patients about firearms access. That means there is a large group of patients we are missing a chance to intervene for,” study lead author Dr. Emmy Betz, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a university news release.

About 25 percent of the patients who had guns at home said they kept at least one gun loaded and unlocked. Half said they had easy access to guns, which puts them at increased risk for suicide in the future, according to the study published recently in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

About 8 percent of all emergency department patients are admitted to the hospital for either attempting suicide or thinking about it. That shows the important roles emergency rooms play in suicide prevention, the researchers said.

“Multiple ED visits appear to be a risk factor for suicide, and many suicide victims are seen in the ED shortly before death,” the researchers said in the news release. “Based on models using national suicide statistics, ED-based interventions might help decrease suicide deaths by 20 percent annually.”

Previous studies have suggested that emergency room doctors are skeptical about the important role they can play in suicide prevention, and this new study appears to confirm that, the researchers said.

“This rate of assessment falls short of national guidelines recommending that all suicidal patients receive counseling about reducing access to firearms and other lethal means,” Betz said.

“It is legal and appropriate to ask about this when it is relevant, as it is in the case of suicide attempts or suicidal ideation,” she said. “Do it in a respectful, nonjudgmental way, and it will usually be well-received. Still, there isn’t a lot of training on this. As a result, we are missing the chance to save a lot of lives.”

Asking about access to guns is especially important because of the high risk of death. For example, about 90 percent of suicide attempts with guns are fatal, compared with 2 percent of medication overdoses, the researchers said.

More information

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance has more on suicide prevention.

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CDC Sets New Guidelines on Sex After Zika Exposure

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Men who know they’ve probably been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus should not have sex without a condom for six months, according to new federal health guidelines released Friday.

Numerous cases of sexually transmitted Zika infection — which is thought to cause severe birth defects in some cases — have been confirmed in the United States, said officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Mounting evidence supports a link between Zika and microcephaly, and possibly other problems such as miscarriage,” Dr. Denise Jamieson, co-lead of the Pregnancy and Birth Defects Team of the CDC’s Zika Virus Response Team, said during an afternoon news conference.

“The rate of these conditions is not known yet,” she said. “We know there is a risk, but it is important to remember that even in places with active Zika transmission women are delivering apparently healthy infants.”

The goal of the latest CDC guidelines is to give doctors the best advice possible to share with their patients about pregnancy planning and sex, Jamieson added. However, they are are based on the best evidence to date, and not on a definitive understanding of Zika, she noted.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that’s been tied to thousands of cases — mainly in Brazil — of a severe birth defect called microcephaly. In microcephaly, a newborn’s head is smaller than normal, with the potential for long-term neurological damage.

While the bulk of Zika cases leading to microcephaly may occur via maternal infection during pregnancy, cases of sexual transmission from a man to his female partner have come to light, the CDC said.

A team led by CDC investigator Alexandra Oster notes that, as of March 18, there are now “six confirmed cases of sexual transmission in the United States associated with this outbreak.”

Just how long might the Zika virus linger in semen? According to the report, semen collected from one man still showed signs of the virus 62 days after he began to exhibit fever linked to Zika infection.

Zika infection is usually a transient, mild illness in adults, and many cases may occur without symptoms, experts say. However, because of the risk to babies, the CDC is advising that men with known or suspected infection with Zika refrain from sex — or only have sex with a condom — for six months after a diagnosis.

The agency also advises that, for couples involving a man who has traveled to or resides in an area endemic for Zika:

• the couple refrain from sex, or use condoms during sex, throughout the duration of a pregnancy.
• they refrain from sex, or use condoms during sex, for eight weeks if the man has returned from travel to a Zika-endemic area but has not shown signs of infection.
• for couples living in a Zika-endemic area, they refrain from sex or engage in sex only with a condom for as long as active Zika transmission persists in that area.

The latest guidelines also recommend that women who know they’ve been infected, have no symptoms but have recently been to a Zika-endemic area, or think they might have been exposed via sex, should wait at least eight weeks before trying to get pregnant.

The CDC has also advised that all pregnant women consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. If a pregnant woman must travel to or live in one of these areas, she should talk to her health-care provider first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

On Friday, CDC officials also said that 273 U.S. residents in 35 states have now tested positive for infection with the Zika virus.

“All are travel-related or sexually transmitted cases,” Jamieson said. “In addition, there have been 261 cases reported from Puerto Rico, 14 cases from American Samoa and 11 cases from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these, 99 percent are presumed to be locally transmitted by mosquitoes in the territories.”

In the majority of Zika infections, symptoms included rash (97 percent of cases), fever and joint pain.

“Zika virus disease should be considered in patients with acute onset of fever, rash, arthralgia [joint pain], or conjunctivitis [pink eye] who traveled to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission or who had unprotected sex with someone who traveled to one of those areas and developed compatible symptoms within two weeks of returning,” the CDC said.

And earlier this month, scientists reported more evidence supporting a link between the Zika virus and microcephaly.

Researchers now believe that one in every 100 pregnant women infected with the virus during the first trimester will give birth to a baby with the birth defect.

The Zika virus is suspected of causing an epidemic that started last spring in Brazil, where there have been more than 5,600 suspected or confirmed cases of microcephaly.

Zika has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can occasionally lead to a fatal form of paralysis.

Speaking earlier this month, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said that “we are learning more about Zika every day. The link with microcephaly and other possibly serious birth defects is growing stronger every day. The link to Guillain-Barre syndrome is likely to be proven in the near future, and the documentation that sexual transmission is possible is now proven.”

First discovered in Uganda in 1947, the Zika virus wasn’t thought to pose major health risks until last year, when it became clear that it posed potentially devastating threats to pregnant women.

Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It is not expected to pose a significant threat to the U.S. mainland, federal health officials have said in the past.

In Puerto Rico, however, the situation is “of great concern,” Frieden said.

“Puerto Rico is on the frontline of the battle against Zika,” said Frieden, who had just returned from the island. “And it’s an uphill battle.”

By next year, Frieden said, there could be hundreds of thousands of cases of Zika in the territory, and “thousands of infected pregnant women.”

In a separate report released Friday, the CDC stressed that effective contraception needs to be made much more readily available to Puerto Ricans. In a statement, the agency noted that, “approximately two-thirds of pregnancies in Puerto Rico are unintended, indicating a potentially unmet need for access to birth control.”

The agency said that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will boost its efforts at family planning education in Puerto Rico, so that women can help prevent unintended pregnancies — especially those jeopardized by Zika infection.

The Zika virus has now spread to over 38 countries and territories, most in Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Health Organization estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year.

More information

For more on Zika virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To see the CDC list of sites where Zika virus is active and may pose a threat to pregnant women, click here.

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6 Signs It’s Time to Break Up With Your Personal Trainer

Photo: Getty Images

Every fitness journey has its ups and downs. You might rock your routine for weeks, and then suddenly run out of motivation, or stop seeing results. This is where a good personal trainer can make all the difference, by keeping you accountable, and encouraging you to push your limits.

But that doesn’t mean your client-coach relationship is destined to last forever. For a variety of reasons, there may come a point when you’re better off breaking up. Here are six signs it’s time to find a new trainer or forge ahead on your own.

RELATED: 4 Rules for Hiring a Personal Trainer

Your workouts aren’t progressing

When you hit a plateau, it’s your trainer’s job to rethink your workout so you are challenging your body in new ways. If she has you busting out the same number of reps with the same sets of weights week after week, that’s a clear sign the sessions aren’t worth your money or your time.

Your trainer keeps looking at his phone

He should be checking your form, not his social media. In fact, he shouldn’t even have his phone on hand during session, unless he’s using it to track your workouts. 

RELATED: 9 Fitness Trainers to Follow on Instagram

You don’t feel heard

If you’ve told your trainer more than once that squats bother your knees, and she hasn’t made any suggestions to address the issue, that’s not okay. Trainers are supposed to tailor your workouts to your individual needs. They aren’t called personal trainers for nothing!

The enthusiasm has fizzled

Maybe when you started working together, your trainer seemed super excited to help you reach your goals. But recently, it’s as if he’s just showing up. If you don’t feel that he’s invested in your fitness success, it’s time to cut him loose. Your trainer is there to build you up, not bring you down.

RELATED: 25 Genius Ways Fitness Trainers Stay Motivated to Exercise

Your sessions start late

Plain and simple: If your trainer is often behind schedule, or needs to reschedule, it’s time to move on. She is a professional. Reliability is a must.

You’ve got the tools to train on your own

The reason to break up with your trainer could be a positive one: If you’ve become more fit, confident, and motivated than when you started, congrats! This is the point you were hoping to reach. It may be time to spread your wings and go solo.

Looking for more articles like this? Check out 5 Legit Reasons to Skip a Workout, According to a Fitness Professional.

Jennifer Cohen is a leading fitness authority, TV personality, entrepreneur and best-selling author of the new book, Strong is the New Skinny. With her signature, straight-talking approach to wellness, Jennifer was the featured trainer on The CW’s Shedding for the Wedding, mentoring the contestants’ to lose hundreds of pounds before their big day, and she appears regularly on NBC’s Today Show, Extra, The Doctors and Good Morning America. Connect with Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter, G+ and on Pinterest.

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Nearly All U.S. Doctors ‘Overprescribe’ Addictive Narcotic Painkillers: Survey

FRIDAY, March 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — When American doctors give their patients narcotic painkillers, 99 percent of them hand out prescriptions that exceed the federally recommended three-day dosage limit, new research suggests.

And some doctors exceeded that limit by a lot: Nearly one-quarter gave out month-long dosages, despite the fact that research has shown that a month’s use of prescription narcotic painkillers can cause brain changes, the National Safety Council survey found.

“Opioids do not kill pain. They kill people,” Dr. Donald Teater, a medical advisor at the safety council, said in a news release. “Doctors are well-intentioned and want to help their patients, but these findings are further proof that we need more education and training if we want to treat pain most effectively.”

The problem has reached the point where these highly addictive painkillers, which include commonly prescribed drugs such as Oxycontin, Percocet and Vicodin, now account for more drug overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined, according to the report.

Unfortunately, the survey further revealed that while almost 85 percent of doctors screen for signs of prior narcotic painkiller abuse, just one-third ask about a family history of addiction. Only 5 percent offer direct help to patients when signs of abuse are uncovered, and less than 40 percent refer such patients for treatment elsewhere, the survey found.

The survey results, conducted in early March and released Thursday, come at a time when drug overdoses have reached record highs in the United States. Just this month, two federal agencies proposed measures to try to curb the narcotic painkiller abuse epidemic.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered that warning labels be used for prescription narcotic painkillers. And last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued tough new guidelines for doctors on prescribing these medications.

In December, the CDC announced that fatal drug overdoses had reached record highs in the United States — driven largely by the abuse of prescription painkillers and another opioid, heroin. Many abusers use both.

According to that December report, more than 47,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdose in 2014, a 14 percent jump from the previous year.

The safety council survey, of 200 doctors, found other troubling trends: Roughly three-quarters of doctors indicated that they believed that pain relief is best achieved by offering patients one of two opioids: morphine or oxycodone (Oxycontin). But experts from the safety council noted that over-the-counter pain relievers (including ibuprofen and acetaminophen) are more effective at providing short-term pain relief.

Misinformation particularly seems to be at play when it comes to tackling back pain and dental pain. While more than 70 percent and 55 percent of doctors say they prescribe narcotic painkillers for back pain and dental pain, respectively, these drugs are not considered the ideal treatment for either condition, according to the safety council.

Interestingly, the safety council found in an earlier survey that roughly half of all patients are actually more inclined to see their doctor again if non-narcotic painkillers are offered.

More information

There’s more on the prescription narcotic painkiller abuse at the U.S. National Safety Council.

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Some Fruit Juice Has a Day’s Worth of Sugar

This Shocking Find About Breakfast May Be Why You’re Gaining Weight

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For years I’ve been trying to downplay the importance of breakfast in my head. I’m just not a breakfast girl. When I go to brunch with friends I get irrationally angry if there aren’t enough lunch options on the menu. Breakfast just isn’t my thing.

RELATED: Kids Are Getting Weight “Report Cards” At School, But Do They Work?

But here’s the thing—it needs to be. A study published in Pediatric Obesity shows that eating two breakfasts is actually better for you than eating none at all.

The study, conducted by researchers at both Yale and the University of Connecticut, followed 600 middle-schoolers from fifth to seventh grade, logging their weight and how many times they ate breakfast in a day (at home, at school, or at both). As it turns out, those who ate two breakfasts a day didn’t have more weight gain than the average found among all of the kids. But the children who didn’t eat breakfast (or only occasionally start their day off with the morning meal) were double as likely to be overweight or obese than the kiddos double-dosing on breakfast.

RELATED: Aerie Launches the Body+ Underwear Campaign For Guys

Unfortunately this is where the information stops—the researchers don’t have solid evidence as to why two breakfasts are better than none at all. They theorize that if you skip breakfast in the morning you may overeat later in the day to compensate.

So there you go, breakfast believers, just another reason to keep chowing down before 10 AM. Now if only I could persuade myself to enjoy an egg white omelet instead of a burger.

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

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