Headed to the Pool? Protect Yourself From the Poop

SATURDAY, July 9, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Swimming is a great way to cool off on a hot day, but beware of fecal contamination that can make you sick, an expert says.

“The most common problems people get while swimming are intestinal infections, either bacterial or viral,” said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville.

Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and sometimes fever. These symptoms occur several hours after infection, so people often don’t realize they were infected while swimming.

There are a number of ways to reduce the risk of such infections.

Check the pool before you or your children get in. “Does it have clear and clean water? If not, you should reconsider getting in,” Schaffner said in a medical center news release.

Before going into a pool, always take a shower. Anyone who has had stomach problems in the previous 24 hours should stay out of the pool.

Parents should check every 30 to 60 minutes that their toddlers haven’t soiled their diapers (even plastic swim diapers) or their swimsuits. Change diapers away from poolside and wash your hands afterward.

If a child has an accident in a public pool, alert staffers so they can take steps to clean the water and make it safe again, Schaffner said.

Urine in the pool is not a major concern, he said, because it is sterile, dilutes quickly and poses little health risk to other swimmers.

“None of this should dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the pool. With a few simple precautions, playing in the water can be safe and fun for everybody,” Schaffner concluded.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on swimming hygiene.

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Water Therapy May Ease Labs’ Lameness

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Labrador retrievers love swimming. And water therapy may be just what they need for a painful condition called elbow dysplasia.

This genetic disorder causes abnormal bone growth in the elbow, impeding movement. It’s a common cause of forelimb lameness in large breeds, veterinarians say.

For dogs with this condition, supervised water exercises can increase their range of motion and improve mobility, a small study from Britain found.

“Dogs with elbow dysplasia displayed an increased range of motion, stride frequency and stride length — measures of mobility in our study — after the hydrotherapy,” said study leader Alison Wills, of Hartpury University Center in England.

“In this study only Labradors were examined, but as other breeds are predisposed to developing elbow dysplasia, particularly German Shepherds, it would be interesting to investigate how hydrotherapy affects the movement of different types of dogs,” Wills added.

Researchers measured the strides of a small group of Labradors by adding reflective markers to the dogs’ limbs. Then, using a camera, they analyzed changes in the way these markers moved before and after the dogs swam.

Water therapy improved the stride of dogs with and without elbow dysplasia, suggesting that swimming may benefit many dogs. The researchers noted, however, their findings may not apply to dogs of different sizes and shapes.

“It is hard to generalize the findings to the entire canine population due to the small sample size,” Wills said in a news release from the Society for Experimental Biology.

She presented the findings Wednesday at the society’s annual meeting in Brighton, England. Until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, data and conclusions presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on water therapy.

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Water Therapy May Ease Labs’ Lameness

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Labrador retrievers love swimming. And water therapy may be just what they need for a painful condition called elbow dysplasia.

This genetic disorder causes abnormal bone growth in the elbow, impeding movement. It’s a common cause of forelimb lameness in large breeds, veterinarians say.

For dogs with this condition, supervised water exercises can increase their range of motion and improve mobility, a small study from Britain found.

“Dogs with elbow dysplasia displayed an increased range of motion, stride frequency and stride length — measures of mobility in our study — after the hydrotherapy,” said study leader Alison Wills, of Hartpury University Center in England.

“In this study only Labradors were examined, but as other breeds are predisposed to developing elbow dysplasia, particularly German Shepherds, it would be interesting to investigate how hydrotherapy affects the movement of different types of dogs,” Wills added.

Researchers measured the strides of a small group of Labradors by adding reflective markers to the dogs’ limbs. Then, using a camera, they analyzed changes in the way these markers moved before and after the dogs swam.

Water therapy improved the stride of dogs with and without elbow dysplasia, suggesting that swimming may benefit many dogs. The researchers noted, however, their findings may not apply to dogs of different sizes and shapes.

“It is hard to generalize the findings to the entire canine population due to the small sample size,” Wills said in a news release from the Society for Experimental Biology.

She presented the findings Wednesday at the society’s annual meeting in Brighton, England. Until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, data and conclusions presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on water therapy.

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3-D Printed Model Helps Delicate Kidney Surgery

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Cutting-edge 3-D technology is making more inroads in medicine, this time helping doctors save a patient’s kidney during difficult tumor-removal surgery.

Patient Linda Green’s tumor was located in a challenging location next to vital arteries and veins, explained doctors at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

To prepare for the surgery, CT scans were used to produce an exact 3D-printed model of the patient’s kidney. The model had two halves, which enabled the doctors to determine exactly how the tumor was attached to the patient’s kidney.

Based on this information, the patient’s surgical team was able to work around the sensitive areas, successfully remove the tumor, and save the kidney. The model helped them spot a small “nub” of the tumor that had grown up into a pocket of the kidney.

“Without the 3D model, the visual images of the CT scans would not have allowed us to identify this nub prior to the surgery,” Dr. Jay Bischoff, director of the medical center’s Urological Institute, said in a hospital news release.

“The 3D printing technology allowed us to prepare a more complete plan for the patient’s surgery, show the patient the complexities of the procedure and what would be done during surgery to remove the tumor and save the kidney,” he said.

“I’m just so thankful for everybody at the hospital who was involved,” Green said.

This isn’t the first time 3-D printing has been used to help surgeons plan and carry out delicate procedures. For example, prior reports at centers elsewhere have shown the technology may be useful in modeling children’s heart transplants, or correcting congenital heart defects. A prior surgery also used 3-D printers to recreate an airway structure that help the patient breathe.

“While this technology is in its infancy, it is a big step forward in using new technologies like 3D printing to improve patient care,” Bishoff said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on the kidneys.

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Daisy Ridley’s #FitnessFriday Videos Are All the Fitspo You Need for the Weekend

Photo: Getty Images

Daisy Ridley’s Instagram is a force to be reckoned with. She likes to keep it real—see her recent face mask mishap and rant about no-makeup selfies—and we always appreciate the star’s social media honesty. But we’re also big fans of her #FitnessFriday videos, which inspire us to get off our butts and break a sweat even at the end of a looong week.

Her first #FitnessFriday clip, posted last summer, shows Ridley deadlifting 176 pounds(!) and “feeling like an absolute boss.”

RELATED: 6 Things We Learned About Jennifer Aniston’s Fitness Routine in People’s ‘Most Beautiful’ Issue

Her routine since then has only become more intense. Ridley is currently filming Stars Wars: Episode VIII, and working out like a Jedi with trainer Jack Graves. Her dedication is extra impressive in this most recent video (posted early because she knew she wouldn’t have time on Friday). Ridley hit the gym between scenes, and had to wear a pillowcase on her head to “protect my REY HAIRSTYLE from Instagram’s gaze.” Yet she still crushes jump squats, an intense arm circuit, barbell squats, box jumps, and the list goes on. An apropos inspirational quote appears on a whiteboard midway through: “The game is won in your mind.”

RELATED: Here’s How Khloé Kardashian Works Out

In the caption of last Friday’s post, she wrote that her workout “doesn’t look that intense.” But after watching her bang out side lunges, kettle bell swings, weighted ab exercises, and more, we beg to differ.

Our favorite clip comes at the end: Collapsed on the floor at the end of her killer sweat sesh, Ridley is all of us.

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7 Adorable Pets You Need to Follow on Instagram

We’re not saying we’re addicted to pet Instagrams. But we just can’t help double-tapping all the dogs and cats (and pigs and hedgehogs and raccoons!) that are popping up on our feeds these days amid the sunsets, workout selfies, and avocado toasts.

And these adorable critters definitely warrant a follow: Looking at pictures of cute animals can actually boost your concentration, attention, and dexterity, according to researchers at Hiroshima University in Japan. The perfect reason to give yourself an Insta break from work!

RELATED: How to Decide If You Should Get Health Insurance for Your Pet

A few we love:

@ifitwags

 

@pumpkintheraccoon

 

@hi.felipe

 

@hedgehographer

 

@prissy_pig

 

@jackthecockatiel

 

@angoratheyoda

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London’s Great Smog of 1952 Linked to Asthma Surge

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — London’s Great Smog of 1952 might have affected the health of young children and unborn babies, resulting in thousands of additional cases of asthma, a new study contends.

“Our results suggest that the harm from this dreadful event over 60 years ago lives on today,” said the study’s leader, Matthew Neidell, in a Columbia University news release. He is an associate professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

The Great Smog of London lasted five days in December 1952. The smog developed when a weather phenomenon that pushes air downwards helped trap the pollution from residential coal fires (to heat homes) and industrial pollution low to the ground, according to the United Kingdom’s public weather service.

People described the smog as so thick you couldn’t see from one side of the street to the other, the weather agency reported.

The Great Smog far exceeded current air pollution standards. Thousands died prematurely because of the smog, the researchers said.

“Because the smog was unexpected, residents likely didn’t leave the city,” said study co-investigator Prashant Bharadwaj, an associate professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego.

The current study looked at survey responses from nearly 3,000 people who participated in the English Longitudinal Study on Aging. Participants were asked about their health. They were specifically asked if they had experienced asthma as a child or developed the condition as an adult.

The researchers reviewed the responses of people exposed to the smog while their mothers were pregnant or during their childhood. Then they compared those responses to those from people born between 1945 and 1955 who didn’t live in London during the Great Smog, or people who weren’t exposed to the smog during early childhood.

The study suggests that the health effects of the Great Smog likely still persist more than 60 years later.

The prevalence of childhood asthma was 20 percent higher among people exposed to the event during their first year of life. Adult asthma rates were 9.5 percent higher among this group, the study showed.

For those who might have been exposed while their mothers were pregnant, they had an 8 percent increased risk for childhood asthma, the study found.

While the current study found an association between early life exposure to the Great Smog and asthma, it didn’t prove a cause-and-effect link. But the researchers contend there was no other major event that might significantly affect asthma rates in the population. So, their study “suggests a strong possibility of a causal link between early childhood exposure to air pollution and the later development of asthma,” the researchers said

The researchers noted their findings have significant implications for cities that currently have high levels of air pollution.

“[Our findings] suggest that very young children living in heavily polluted environments, such as Beijing, are likely to experience significant changes in health over their life course,” Neidell said.

The study was published online July 8 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

More information

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology provides more information on childhood asthma.

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FDA OKs Non-Prescription Use of Acne Drug

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Good news for acne sufferers: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an over-the-counter retinoid drug for acne — the first new active ingredient available without a prescription since the 1980s.

The drug — Differin Gel 0.1% (adapalene) — has been in use in a stronger form as a prescription acne treatment since 1996, the FDA said Friday. It is applied to the skin once a day and approved for people 12 and older.

“Millions of consumers, from adolescents to adults, suffer from acne,” Dr. Lesley Furlong, of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. “Now, consumers have access to a new safe and effective over-the-counter option.”

As many as 50 million people in the United States have acne, the majority of them teenagers and young adults. The telltale pimples form when hair follicles of the skin clog up, marring the face, neck, back, chest and/or shoulders.

The common skin condition can cause scarring and lead to poor self-image, depression and anxiety, the FDA pointed out.

Retinoids, which contain vitamin A-like chemicals, are used to treat a variety of skin conditions.

The FDA cautioned that women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breast-feeding should ask a doctor before using Differin Gel 0.1%. No well-controlled studies of the drug have been conducted in pregnant women, and some other retinoid drugs have been shown to cause birth defects, the agency said.

The gel’s approval followed five clinical trials in people with mild to moderate acne. One study showed that absorption is limited, a finding that supports over-the-counter use, the FDA said.

Those using Differin Gel 0.1% should avoid sunburn. Also, skin may become irritated during the first few weeks of use, the agency said.

Dr. Doris Day is a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She said, “Differin Gel has had an excellent safety profile and will be a great addition to the over-the-counter options for those suffering with acne who are unable to get to a dermatologist.”

Day noted that the over-the-counter version is a lower concentration of the medication available by prescription at 0.3% strength.

“You still need to be aware to see your dermatologist if the acne does not clear or if the acne is scarring,” she added. “And, it is very important to use sunscreen on a daily basis when using this product.”

Differin Gel 0.1% is distributed by Galderma Laboratories L.P., in Fort Worth, Texas.

More information

The American Academy of Dermatology talks about remedying acne scars.

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Could Statins Help Fight Cancer?

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Some cancer patients who take cholesterol-lowering statins may live longer than those not on these heart medications, a study from Britain suggests.

While it did not prove a cause-and-effect connection, the study of nearly 1 million cancer patients found that those taking statin drugs such as Lipitor and Crestor appeared to have:

• a 22 percent lower risk of dying from lung cancer,
• a 43 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer,
• a 47 percent lower risk of dying from prostate cancer,
• and a 30 percent lower risk of dying from colon cancer.

“We need to further investigate the reasons for patients with high cholesterol having improved mortality in four of the most common cancers,” said senior researcher Dr. Rahul Potluri, a clinical lecturer at Aston University School of Medicine in Birmingham.

Potluri cautioned, however, that this study can’t prove that statins actually extended life in cancer patients.

At this time, people without high cholesterol should not be taking statins in the hope of warding off cancer or living longer with cancer, he said.

“People with high cholesterol should be taking statins to lower their cholesterol and reduce their cardiovascular risk,” he said. “We cannot, however, recommend statins for cancer prevention without a positive clinical trial.”

For the study, Potluri and colleagues collected data on nearly 1 million patients listed in a clinical database from January 2000 to March 2013. The database includes information on cancer and other medical conditions, including high cholesterol. Data on deaths was obtained from the U.K. Office for National Statistics.

Among the patients in the study, nearly 8,000 had lung cancer, 5,500 had breast cancer, 4,600 had prostate cancer and 4,500 had colon cancer, the researchers found.

After adjusting for factors that might play a role in dying, such as age, gender, ethnicity and common causes of death, the researchers found those taking statins lived longer than those who were not taking them.

The results were to be presented Friday at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Florence, Italy. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

One expert doesn’t think sufficient evidence exists yet to take statins to prevent or treat cancer.

“Regardless of whether or not a person has cancer, statin use should be discussed with a health care provider,” said Eric Jacobs, strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology at the American Cancer Society.

“There is little evidence that statins affect cancer risk or survival, but clear evidence that they can help some people lower risk of heart attacks and strokes,” he said.

More information

Visit the American Heart Association for more on statins.

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Why Breast Cancer Survivors Should Exercise

FRIDAY, July 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Excessive stress can lead to memory problems among breast cancer survivors, but exercise can help, according to new research.

“We found moderate to vigorous physical activity actually benefits women psychologically and that, in turn, helps their memory,” said the study’s lead author, Siobhan Phillips. She is assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Post-cancer memory issues are often attributed to chemotherapy or radiation treatments, known as “chemo brain.” However, the new study findings suggest “these self-reported memory problems may be in part emotionally related,” Phillips said in a university news release.

“These women are frightened, stressed, fatigued, tapped out emotionally and have low self-confidence, which can be very mentally taxing and can lead to perceived memory problems,” she explained.

For the study, the researchers examined self-reported memory and exercise data collected from more than 1,800 breast cancer survivors, 362 of whom wore devices called “accelerometers” to track their movement.

In both groups, moderate or vigorous physical activity — such as brisk walking, biking, jogging or engaging in exercise classes — was found to reduce stress and fatigue. This has psychological benefits and leads to better memory, the researchers said.

While the study didn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, greater levels of physical activity were also linked to higher levels of self-confidence and less distress. These improvements were also associated with fewer perceived memory problems, the study authors added.

The findings were published July 8 in Psycho-Oncology.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on physical activity and cancer.

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