Stay Alert for Child Drowning Dangers This Summer

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — School’s out and the temperature’s rising and that means more people will be cooling off at beaches, lakes and pools. But a new report reveals that parents and caregivers need to be extra vigilant when kids are around the water.

Nearly 800 children drowned in 2014 in the United States, and more than half were younger than 5, according to a research report by Safe Kids Worldwide, a global nonprofit organization. Two-thirds of drownings occurred from May to August, the report said.

Drowning is a leading cause of death among children between 1 and 4 years old. And even as kids get older, drowning is still a concern. Accidental drowning is the second leading cause of death among kids between 5 and 14 years old and the third leading cause of death of teens between 15 and 17 years old, the report noted.

Children’s risk for drowning is affected by their age and their location, the report found. Babies less than 1 year old are more likely to drown in the bathtub or in a bucket. Children between 1 and 4 years are more likely to drown in a pool. Meanwhile, children age 5 years or older are more likely to drown in a natural body of water, such as a pond, lake or river, the researchers said.

There are lingering misconceptions about water safety that put children at risk for drowning, the report cautioned. Some of these include:

Myth: Drowning children can be heard splashing, struggling or screaming.

Fact: Drowning is silent. There are usually few signs of splashing, waving or screaming by a child who is drowning. Unfortunately, many parents or caregivers believe they will hear their child if they are struggling in the water or drowning nearby. This isn’t the case, the report emphasized.

Myth: Looking away or taking attention off of swimming children for just a couple of minutes isn’t dangerous.

Fact: Drowning happens quickly. Once a child begins to struggle in the water, parents or caregivers may have less than 60 seconds to react and respond.

Myth: Parents don’t need to watch their children if a lifeguard is on duty.

Fact: Lifeguards are not keeping a close eye on any specific child. They are trained to enforce pool rules, scan, rescue and resuscitate. Parents must still be responsible for their own children while they’re swimming or playing in water.

Myth: Children who’ve had swimming lessons won’t drown.

Fact: Even children who know how to swim can drown. Children’s swimming skill levels vary. In fact, a review of kids who had drowned in a pool revealed than nearly half of those between 10 and 17 years old knew how to swim.

The report also provided the following water safety tips:

• Children should always be supervised when they are in the water.
• Young children should be within arm’s reach of an adult at all times. Older children should always swim with a partner.
• Parents who are socializing while children are swimming should take turns, assigning one person to be a “water watcher.”
• Make sure children learn to swim and can perform the following water survival skills: Step or jump into water that is over their heads; return to the surface and float or tread water for one minute; turn around in a full circle and find an exit from the water; swim 25 yards to the exit; exit from the water or pool without the use of a ladder.
• Parents should also receive CPR training.

More information

The American Red Cross provides more information on water safety.

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Religion a Buffer Against Suicide for Women, Study Suggests

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Women who regularly attend religious services may have a lower risk of suicide than those who don’t, a new study suggests.

U.S. researchers reviewed data on nearly 90,000 women. They were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study from 1996 to 2010. During that time, there were 36 suicides.

About 19 percent of women in the study attended religious services more than once a week. Around 41 percent attended once a week. Approximately 16 percent attended services less than once a week, and about 24 percent never attended religious services, the study found.

Women who attended religious services at least once a week had a five times lower risk of suicide than those who never attended services, the study showed. However, the study could only show an association and not a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study authors also noted that most of the women in the study were white, Christians and nurses, which means the findings may not apply to a wider population.

The study was published online June 29 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

“Our results do not imply that health care providers should prescribe attendance at religious services. However, for patients who are already religious, service attendance might be encouraged as a form of meaningful social participation. Religion and spirituality may be an underappreciated resource that psychiatrists and clinicians could explore with their patients, as appropriate,” Tyler VanderWeele and co-authors wrote. He’s from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.

The findings “underscore the importance of obtaining a spiritual history as part of the overall psychiatric evaluation, which may identify patients who at one time were active in a faith community but have stopped for various reasons,” Dr. Harold Koenig wrote in an accompanying editorial. He is director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University, in Durham, N.C.

“Nevertheless, until others have replicated the findings reported here in studies with higher event rates [i.e., greater than 36 suicides], it would be wise to proceed cautiously and sensitively,” Koenig added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on suicide prevention.

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Has Butter Gotten a Bad Rap?

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Spread the news: Butter may not be the unhealthy food many Americans believe it to be, new research suggests.

However, that doesn’t mean that butter provides any real health benefit, the researchers were quick to add.

“Overall, our results suggest that butter should neither be demonized nor considered ‘back’ as a route to good health,” study senior author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston, said in a university news release.

His team’s review of the data on butter and health found no significant rise in risk of death or heart disease for people who favored the spread.

One nutritionist said her views on butter remain unchanged, however.

“Despite the findings of this study, I am not about to make a huge shift in the recommendations I make about consumption,” said Dana White. She is a dietitian and professor of sports medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.

“Butter remains a very high-calorie and high-fat food with little nutrient density to offer, and therefore still needs to be consumed in strict moderation,” White said.

The new study was funded by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Mozaffarian’s team reviewed data from nine studies that included more than 636,000 people living in 15 countries.

Average butter consumption for individuals in the study ranged from about one-third of a serving to just over three servings per day. One serving equals about one tablespoon of butter, the team said.

The findings showed that eating butter was only weakly associated with increased risk of premature death and not associated at all with heart disease. There was a slight association with protection against diabetes, the study found.

All of these results were associations only; the study was unable to prove any cause-and-effect relationship between butter consumption and health outcomes.

The bottom line: “Even though people who eat more butter generally have worse diets and lifestyles, it seemed to be pretty neutral overall,” said study co-leader Laura Pimpin, a former postdoctoral fellow at Tuft’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is now a data analyst in public health modeling for the U.K. Health Forum.

“This suggests that butter may be a ‘middle-of-the-road’ food: a more healthful choice than sugar or starch, such as the white bread or potato on which butter is commonly spread and which have been linked to higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease; and a worse choice than many margarines and cooking oils — those rich in healthy fats such as soybean, canola, flaxseed, and extra virgin olive oils — which would likely lower risk compared with either butter or refined grains, starches and sugars,” said Pimpin.

Erin Keane is assistant clinical nutrition manager for outpatient services at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Reviewing the new findings, she agreed that her “healthful eating recommendations as a dietitian remain unchanged” in regards to butter.

“Consuming enough monounsaturated/omega-3 fats while being reasonable with [less healthy] saturated/trans fat is key,” Keane said.

“Monounsaturated and omega-3 fat sources (flaxseed, extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, almonds, walnuts, salmon, avocado, natural peanut/almond butters) in place of higher saturated/trans fat foods (such as red meat, dark meat of chicken and poultry, nut butters containing hydrogenated oil, cheese, butter) can positively affect cholesterol levels,” she explained.

But what about the finding that butter might lower diabetes risk — at least a little bit? Study author Mozaffarian urged consumers not to read too much into the finding.

“More research is needed to better understand the observed potential lower risk of diabetes, which has also been suggested in some other studies of dairy fat,” he said. “This could be real, or due to other factors linked to eating butter — our study does not prove cause-and-effect.”

The study was published June 29 in the journal PLoS One.

More information

There’s more on heart-healthy eating at the American Heart Association.

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Sufficient Sleep May Help Protect Men Against Diabetes: Study

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Too much or too little sleep may raise the risk of diabetes in men, but not women, a study by European researchers suggests.

“Even when you are healthy, sleeping too much or too little can have detrimental effects on your health. This research shows how important sleep is to a key aspect of health — glucose [sugar] metabolism,” said senior study author Femke Rutters. She’s with the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The study involved nearly 800 healthy adults in 14 European countries. Compared to men who slept about seven hours a night, the men who slept the most or the least were more likely to have an impaired ability to break down sugar and to have higher blood sugar levels, the research found. This put them at increased risk for diabetes, the investigators said.

But compared to women who slept an average amount, the women who slept the most or least were more responsive to the hormone insulin and also had enhanced function of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. These findings suggest sleep problems may not increase women’s risk of diabetes, the scientists said.

The study is the first to show the opposite effect of sleep problems on diabetes risk in men and women, the researchers said, although they did not prove that sleep problems cause diabetes risk to rise in men.

During the last 50 years, the average amount of sleep for individuals has decreased by 1.5 to two hours a night, and the prevalence of diabetes has doubled, according to Rutters.

The findings were published online June 29 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explains how to reduce your risk of diabetes.

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Allergists: Daily Bath OK for Kids With Eczema

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Although some doctors advise against giving a daily bath to kids with the skin condition eczema, a new paper says a daily soak is fine as long as it’s followed by plenty of moisturizer.

Eczema occurs in adults and children, but is most common in babies. It results in extremely dry, itchy skin, and sometimes inflamed rashes. Some medical professionals believe infrequent bathing (less than once a day) helps prevent skin irritation.

However, others contend that bathing at least once a day helps keep skin hydrated, as long as baths are followed by immediate use of a moisturizer to seal in moisture. This process was dubbed “soak and smear” in the paper written by Dr. Ivan Cardona, an allergy and immunology specialist from Portland, Maine, and colleagues.

“A number of medical groups have commented on the general role of bathing in eczema. But they don’t all agree on the best bathing practices,” Cardona said in an American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) news release.

Parents may have received conflicting advice about bathing, and often bring their questions to the allergist, Cardona said. He and his colleagues reviewed past studies published on the topic to see if there was agreement on just how often children with eczema should be bathed.

The researchers concluded that daily baths are fine, followed by thorough moisturizing.

“The smear part is really the most important element, because unless moisturizer is applied immediately, then the skin is likely to dry out even more,” said paper co-author Dr. Neal Jain. He is an allergist-immunologist from Gilbert, Ariz.

“The weight of the evidence in the literature we reviewed and our experience in caring for these patients suggests daily bathing with ‘soak and smear’ is more effective for soothing dry skin from eczema,” Jain said.

The paper was published June 28 in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on eczema.

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For Better Skin Cancer Checks, Partner Up

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Check this out: Getting a partner trained to spot potential skin cancers can be a lifesaver for melanoma survivors, a new study shows.

“‘Skin check partners’ help melanoma patients to see areas they cannot easily see by themselves, and assist in making a decision about whether the mole changed and they need to see the doctor,” explained lead researcher Dr. June Robinson.

Together, “the trained pair works together successfully to find early melanoma,” explained Robinson, who’s a professor of dermatology at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Melanoma patients are at increased risk for developing more melanomas, so early detection of new melanomas can save their lives.

In the new study, Robinson’s team assigned 494 melanoma patients and their partners to one of two groups: standard care or special training in skin self-examination. The training was provided either in person, in a workbook or on a tablet.

Training included how to recognize changes in the border, color and diameter of moles, the researchers explained.

During two years of follow-up, 66 of the patients did go on to develop a new melanoma.

However, 43 of those melanomas were spotted by the patient-partner pairs in the skin self-examination training group, compared to zero among the patient-partner pairs who hadn’t gotten the training.

One skin cancer expert called the approach “brilliant.”

“Once someone has a diagnosis of melanoma, they tend to think everything new on their skin is a skin cancer, and their sense of anxiety about any the other lesions on their skin is often greatly increased,” said dermatologist Dr. Doris Day, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“Having special training on the specifics of what to look for — and what may be a concern — gives them powerful information that can allay that anxiety and provide excellent information for the dermatologist taking care of them as well,” she said.

The “partnership” aspect of the approach is key, Day added.

“It helps encourage regular checks, it creates a partnership in the process and allows for the patient and their partner to have a sense of control,” she said.

And if a blemish does look suspicious, see a professional.

“Skin cancers can be a variety of colors, sizes or shapes, so any new growth or lesion that has been present for more than a few weeks is worth a trip to your dermatologist,” said Dr. Katy Burris, a dermatologist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y.

According to the American Cancer Society, over 76,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, and more than 10,000 will die from the disease.

The study was published online June 29 in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on melanoma.

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Progress Against Heart Deaths Starting to Wane, Report Warns

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — America’s war on heart disease and stroke may have suffered a setback.

A new study warns that the rate of decline in deaths from heart disease and stroke has stalled.

“It is likely that the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes, which began around 1985, are the major contributors to the deceleration in the decline of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and stroke death rates,” said lead researcher Dr. Stephen Sidney. He is director of research clinics at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, in Oakland.

“If these trends continue, important public health goals, such as those set by the American Heart Association to reduce cardiovascular and stroke mortality by 20 percent from 2010 to 2020, may not be reached,” he added.

The researchers found the annual death rate dropped nearly 4 percent for heart disease and nearly 5 percent for stroke from 2000 to 2011. However, those rates dropped less than 1 percent from 2011 to 2014. Through this time, the annual rate of decline in cancer deaths remained stable, at nearly 2 percent.

The slowing in the decline of the death rate from heart disease and stroke occurred in men and women, and in most racial and ethnic groups, the investigators noted.

Before 2011, it was anticipated that the death rate from heart disease would become lower than the cancer death rate, and heart disease would no longer be the leading cause of death in the United States for the first time in nearly 100 years, Sidney explained.

But, “because of the deceleration in the decline of heart mortality, it still remains the leading cause of death,” Sidney said.

To trace trends in deaths from heart disease and stroke, Sidney’s team used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The overall decrease in deaths from heart disease and stroke has been attributed to better medical care and more people having their blood pressure and cholesterol under control, as well as fewer people smoking, the researchers said.

“Efforts from the cardiovascular health care community have had an immense impact on the decline of cardiovascular death rates,” said study co-author Dr. Jamal Rana. He is a Kaiser Permanente cardiologist and clinical adjunct researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

“However, given the startling trend pointed out in this study, the cardiovascular community needs to reaffirm its commitment to continue developing innovative ways to improve heart disease prevention at the population level,” he added.

Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, pointed out that deaths from heart disease and stroke have shown a steady decline for four decades. “But in the last several years there has been a flattening in these death rates, which is quite concerning,” he said.

The previous declines were due to reduced smoking rates, some improvement in diet, better control of cholesterol and blood pressure, and much better care of victims of heart attacks and strokes, he noted.

“Perhaps we have maxed out in our benefits from those things. But it’s more likely that these things are still beneficial. The problem is they are being offset by the obesity epidemic,” said Lloyd-Jones, who wrote an accompanying editorial.

That trend may continue, and there might be rising deaths due to heart disease as the effect of the obesity epidemic really kicks in, he suggested.

“This is a wake-up call for a need to change national policy,” Lloyd-Jones said. “We can’t just keep doing more of the same. We have to get serious about preventing overweight and obesity in our kids and adults.”

Another study in the same journal issue found that among older adults, moderate exercise did not reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

“The major benefit of a walking program for people over 70 is in reducing disability and improving mobility,” said lead author Dr. Anne Newman. She is chair of the department of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

It is possible that exercise needs to be started earlier in life to reduce heart attack and stroke, or that even more exercise is needed, she suggested. “Studies of cardiac rehab do show that recurrent heart attacks are prevented with exercise,” Newman said.

Both studies were published online June 29 in the journal JAMA Cardiology.

More information

Visit the American Heart Association for more on heart disease.

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FDA Asks How Safe Is That Hand Sanitizer?

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Millions of Americans use hand sanitizers every day, believing they safely kill bacteria. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to find out if that’s really true.

The agency Wednesday requested makers of antibacterial hand sanitizers and related products to provide data showing the products’ active ingredients actually reduce bacteria and are harmless over time.

Of particular concern are the long-term effects of these sanitizers on pregnant women and children, the agency said.

“These products provide a convenient alternative when hand washing with plain soap and water is unavailable, but it’s our responsibility to determine whether these products are safe and effective so that consumers can be confident when using them on themselves and their families multiple times a day,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release.

The agency wants more data on the active ingredients in hand-sanitizing products such as towelettes, gels and rubs that purport to kill bacteria. Alcohol — ethanol or ethyl alcohol — is used in 90 percent of these hand cleaners, the FDA said. Other ingredients under scrutiny are isopropyl alcohol and benzalkonium chloride, the agency said.

However, FDA officials stressed that the move doesn’t mean the agency believes these products are either ineffective or unsafe.

Officials said the request stems from new research and recommendations from an independent advisory committee of scientific and medical experts.

Recent research has found that levels of antiseptic ingredients in users’ urine and blood are higher than previously thought. This raises questions regarding absorption, since these antiseptics aren’t washed off, the agency explained.

In the meantime, washing your hands with soap and running water remains one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and to prevent spreading infections to others, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the absence of soap and water, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60 percent alcohol.

“Today, consumers are using antiseptic rubs more frequently at home, work, school and in other public settings where the risk of infection is relatively low,” the FDA’s Woodcock noted.

The proposed rule requesting additional scientific data on hand sanitizers will be available for public comment for 180 days. Meanwhile, manufacturers will have one year to submit new data and information if they want to continue marketing their products, the FDA said.

In recent years, the FDA has made similar requests regarding the safety and effectiveness of sanitizers used in hospitals and antibacterial soaps.

In response to the FDA’s request, the American Cleaning Institute, an industry group, issued this statement:

“We believe that the FDA has a wealth of data on hand sanitizers in their possession to judge them as generally recognized as safe and effective,” according to Richard Sedlak, executive vice president for technical and international affairs. “However, we will work to provide additional data as necessary to ensure the agency has the most complete, useful, and up-to-date information on these beneficial products.”

Dr. Robert Glatter is an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He said that “a careful review of the use of such antiseptics contained in hand sanitizers will be important to determine not only the safety, but how effective such compounds are in actually reducing bacterial and viral counts on our hands.”

Glatter added that the most important aspects of hand washing, “include the mechanical action associated with scrubbing as well as time spent to remove debris and bacteria. It’s very important to pay special attention to areas between fingers and especially under the nails since these are areas which often hide bacteria and debris.”

And whether people choose a hand sanitizer or plain soap and water, they should scrub their hands for at least 20 seconds, he said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains when and how to wash your hands.

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Concussions Strike 1 in 3 Water Polo Players

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Add water polo to the list of sports where concussions are common.

A recent survey of more than 1,500 USA Water Polo members found 36 percent had suffered at least one concussion during games or practices. The average was just over two concussions per person, and concussions were more common among females than males.

Goalies had the highest rate of concussion, with 47 percent saying they had suffered at least one concussion. The average rate was 2.5 concussions per goalie, the survey findings showed.

“These numbers suggest that playing water polo carries a significant risk of concussion,” said study co-author Dr. Steven Small, chair of neurology at University of California, Irvine.

“Our results speak to the need for systematic concussion reporting in water polo. Particularly important is reporting for individuals at the college level, who have the highest prevalence of concussion,” he added in a university news release.

Football is the most talked-about cause of sports-related concussions, but these head injuries are also of concern in ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse and, now, water polo.

The sport features aggressive play with head butts, elbow jabs and the ball flying at high speeds, Small’s team noted.

Among water polo players whose highest level of competition was high school, 31 percent reported at least one concussion. Among college competitors, 51 percent said they’d had one or more concussions, as did 43 percent of players at the masters club level. College and masters players averaged more than two concussions per player.

Since goalies are at greatest risk for concussion and their risk is highest during practices, wearing better head protection during practices might be a good idea, Small suggested.

The findings were published online June 27 in the journal Frontiers of Neurology.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on concussion.

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Dermatologists: Daily Bath OK for Kids With Eczema

WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Although some doctors advise against giving a daily bath to kids with the skin condition eczema, a new paper says a daily soak is fine as long as it’s followed by plenty of moisturizer.

Eczema occurs in adults and children, but is most common in babies. It results in extremely dry, itchy skin, and sometimes inflamed rashes. Some medical professionals believe infrequent bathing (less than once a day) helps prevent skin irritation.

However, others contend that bathing at least once a day helps keep skin hydrated, as long as baths are followed by immediate use of a moisturizer to seal in moisture. This process was dubbed “soak and smear” in the paper written by Dr. Ivan Cardona, an allergy and immunology specialist from Portland, Maine, and colleagues.

“A number of medical groups have commented on the general role of bathing in eczema. But they don’t all agree on the best bathing practices,” Cardona said in an American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) news release.

Parents may have received conflicting advice about bathing, and often bring their questions to the allergist, Cardona said. He and his colleagues reviewed past studies published on the topic to see if there was agreement on just how often children with eczema should be bathed.

The researchers concluded that daily baths are fine, followed by thorough moisturizing.

“The smear part is really the most important element, because unless moisturizer is applied immediately, then the skin is likely to dry out even more,” said paper co-author Dr. Neal Jain. He is an allergist-immunologist from Gilbert, Ariz.

“The weight of the evidence in the literature we reviewed and our experience in caring for these patients suggests daily bathing with ‘soak and smear’ is more effective for soothing dry skin from eczema,” Jain said.

The paper was published June 28 in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on eczema.

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