Zika: Separating Facts & Fiction

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Zika. You can’t turn on the TV or radio or pick up a newspaper without hearing about it. And phrases such as “global pandemic,” “major health threat,” and “birth defects” can come across as extremely concerning.

So just how scared should you be? For most Canadians, the answer is: not very. Let us help you sort out the facts from the hype.

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Getting a head start on flu prevention

Our pharmacists provide advice on protecting yourself and your loved ones…

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Influenza (the flu) is a nasty winter illness that can make you very sick for a couple of weeks or more. While most people who have flu are often well enough to return to work in a week to 10 days, you may feel weak and fatigued for much longer.

The symptoms of influenza develop quickly and include fever, fatigue, body aches, shivering, and headache. Congestion and coughing are also common. Flu affects approximately one third of Canadians each year. Although flu viruses exist throughout the world year-round, in Canada the flu season usually runs from late November to April.

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Prostate cancer: key information you need to know

One in eight Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) and is currently the leading cause of death from cancer among Canadian men. It is estimated that approximately 27,900 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in Canada this year, about 22% of all cancer diagnoses for men.  If caught early, the prognosis can be very good. The 5-year net survival rate (2015-2017) was 91%.  Early detection is key.

The PSA test

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland as part of the male reproductive and urinary systems. It is found mostly in semen but can also be found in small amounts in the blood. An elevated PSA level may indicate that a man has prostate cancer, but it can also be a sign of prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) or enlargement of the prostate gland (BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia).

A PSA test may be ordered for several reasons. It can help detect early prostate cancer before signs or symptoms even occur, it can be used to help confirm a diagnosis of prostate cancer for people experiencing signs or symptoms, or it can be used by doctors to help monitor treatment for prostate cancer.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, most men should consider PSA testing from age 50. Men at higher risk of prostate cancer should consider testing from age 45. Intervals for retesting are individualized based on the previous PSA level.  Those with very low PSA levels might only be retested after 4 years, while those with higher levels might be retested every 2 years, or more frequently.

The PSA test is a blood test that can be done in a lab or at a hospital, with a lab requisition from a health professional. Often the PSA test is used together with a digital rectal exam (DRE) to increase the chance of detecting prostate cancer early.

Some medications can lower PSA levels and affect test results. Before testing, let your doctor know if you are taking medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, or non-cancerous enlarged prostate), prostatitis, urinary problems, baldness, or transgender hormone therapy.

High PSA levels are not always a sign of prostate cancer. High PSA can also be caused by an enlarged prostate due to BPH, prostatitis, urinary tract infection, recent prostate biopsy, urinary catheter, bladder exam, sexual activity including ejaculation, bike riding often or recent long bike ride, or warmer climates.  Your doctor will review your results with you and determine next steps.

Risk factors for prostate cancer

While the precise cause of prostate cancer is not well understood, certain factors increase a man’s risk of developing the condition.

  • Age: Men over age 50 are at higher risk of prostate cancer and most diagnoses are in men in their 60s.
  • Family history: Risk increases if a first-degree relative—father, brother, or son —has had prostate cancer. Risk increases further if more than one first-degree relative has been diagnosed.
  • Ethnicity: Prostate cancer is more common among Black men, including those with African or Caribbean ancestry.
  • Obesity or overweight: A high body mass index (BMI), a large waist measurement (larger than 94cm or 37 inches), or a high waist-to-hip ratio are risk factors for prostate cancer.
  • Tall adult height: Tall men have an increased risk of prostate cancer, related to genetics and rate of growth in childhood.
  • Inherited gene mutations: Researchers are studying the link between some inherited gene mutations and risk of developing prostate cancer. The most common gene mutations related to prostate cancer are HOXB13 and BRCA2.
  • Other factors that may be linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer:
    • Diets high in dairy products and calcium
    • Low blood levels of vitamin E or selenium
    • Working with certain chemicals like pesticides or cadmium
    • Long-term prostatitis, Inflammation of the prostate
    • Smoking tobacco
    • High levels of androgen hormones such as testosterone

Symptoms of prostate cancer

Like most cancers, prostate cancer does not produce symptoms in its early stages and is often detected only after it has spread (metastasized) outside of the gland itself. Prostate cancer commonly spreads to the bones first. Sometimes bone aches, pains or tingling sensations can be the first symptoms of this cancer.

Signs and symptoms that should be checked by a doctor:

  • Frequent urination, especially at night
  • Strong or urgent need to urinate
  • Inability to urinate or difficulty starting urine flow
  • Weak or slow urine stream
  • Interrupted urine stream that starts and stops
  • Burning or pain when urinating
  • Blood in the urine or semen
  • Painful ejaculation
  • Trouble getting an erection
  • Discomfort when sitting due to an enlarged prostate
  • Pain or stiffness in back, hips, or pelvis that doesn’t go away
  • Fatigue
  • Unexplained weight loss

If you have questions or concerns about your risk of prostate cancer, speak to your pharmacist or your primary care physician. Remember, early detection improves health outcomes.

 

The flu shot – what is true and what isn’t?

betterCareFluRight about now, all across Canada, many families are in a quandary. The concern for some people, particularly those with school-age children, is whether or not to have a flu shot. While health authorities advise that having the influenza vaccine is the best way to avoid a bout with the flu—and possibly passing it on to others—alternative health proponents and magazines suggest otherwise, often saying it is “safer” to rely on botanical preparations, homeopathic immunity shots and healthy eating.

While we agree that healthy living makes a positive contribution to an effective immune response, flu viruses are ubiquitous, opportunistic, and unpredictable. Often, despite taking all the health-enhancing steps to avoid catching the virus, we fall prey to it, simply by being close to someone who coughs or sneezes on us, or touching something like a door handle that is contaminated with it.

For some parents, the decision to give their child/ren a flu shot can be fraught with emotion and feelings of guilt brought on by the reactions of other parents who pursue a more “natural” lifestyle.

Ultimately, the decision to have an influenza vaccination rests with the individual, or parent of a minor, but we’d like to clarify a few misconceptions about the flu shot that often result in someone coming down with the virus because they were under the impression that the vaccine is unsafe.

Persistent myths

Let’s take a look at some of the more persistent beliefs about influenza vaccine and vaccinations.

Flu is not a serious disease. If I catch it, I will soon get over it.

To people who have not had flu, or who have experienced a milder strain of flu, this belief is a justifable reason not to have a flu shot. However, flu strains vary, as do individual immune responses, and some strains can have far worse effects than others. It’s important to recognize that flu is not simply a “bad cold.” Rather, it is a serious viral infection that can make you feel rotten for weeks, and keep you away from work and other activities. Furthermore, many people decide to travel in the winter months, and face greater risk of contracting viral infections in the recirculated air of airplane interiors.

During flu seasons where influenza strains are particularly severe, thousands of Canadians may die from flu or its complications—such as pneumonia. Among seniors and other high risk groups, even milder strains of flu can lead to serious illness. A flu shot, particularly if you associate with people who are at high risk, helps protect those people as well as yourself.

The flu shot gives you flu and should therefore be avoided.

While it is true that influenza vaccine contains flu viruses, these are deactivated (dead)* and are unable to give you flu. Experts believe that two factors are responsible for this persistent belief: First, some people have an achy feeling after receiving the vaccine. This side effect has nothing to do with flu and leaves within a day or so. Second, the start of flu season—and flu shots—coincides with the appearance of many bugs that cause winter ills. Catching one of these is relatively easy, yet people often prefer to blame their recent flu shot.

* The exception is live attenuated nasal influenza vaccine (FluMist ®), which contains live flu virus engineered to inactivate the components of the virus that make people sick. As a precaution, people with compromised immune systems are advised not to have this type of vaccine.

Having a flu shot can result in severe reactions or side effects.

Most people who get the flu shot only experience redness, soreness or minor swelling where the vaccination was given. Some people, particularly when having their frst flu shot, may develop a headache, muscle aches or tiredness.

Vaccines contain dangerous ingredients like thimerosal.

This belief surfaced following media reports linking the preservative thimerosal—which contains ethyl mercuryto autism. However, multiple studies have shown no evidence of a link. Health Canada advises that thimerosal, which is only present in influenza vaccine, contains ethyl mercury in an amount well below established limits of safety. Ethyl mercury is eliminated from the body rapidly and does not accumulate, even in premature infants. (This is in contrast to methyl mercury which is found in many foodstuffs, especially fsh. This form of mercury remains in the body longer and can accumulate.)

I am pregnant, so I shouldn’t get a flu shot.

Influenza vaccine is considered safe at any stage of pregnancy. Since pregnancy can put additional stress on the heart and lungs and can also affect the immune system, having a flu shot can help prevent flu-related complications.There is also some evidence to suggest that flu during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight.

A flu shot during pregnancy can also protect your baby following birth, since babies cannot have influenza vaccine until they are 6 months old. When you have a flu shot during pregnancy, the antibodies you develop will pass through the placenta to help protect your baby from the flu. A 2011 study showed that babies whose mothers had a flu shot during pregnancy were nearly 50 per cent less likely to be hospitalized with the flu during their first flu season than babies whose mothers remained unvaccinated.

I wrap up warm and hardly ever go out in the cold so I don’t need vaccine to protect me.

Although we may shiver and shake when it’s cold out, this is simply the body’s attempt to generate heat and stay warm. It has nothing to do with catching a cold or flu virus. It just happens that flu season in North America coincides with the colder weather. In other words, wearing that winter toque and snuggly jacket won’t protect you in the same way as the influenza vaccine will.

We hope these insights will help you reach a decision with respect to influenza vaccinations that will provide you and your loved ones with the best protection possible from the flu this coming season.

better care™ Healthy Lifestyles is published three times a year by London Drugs for people interested in health care information. Please address all correspondence to:

The Editor, bettercare™ Healthy Lifestyles, London Drugs, 12831 Horseshoe Place, Richmond, B.C. V7A 4X5.

Articles are reviewed for accuracy, however, the information and suggestions in this publication are for general information only and are not intended to replace medical advice provided by a certified medical professional. London Drugs and the publisher cannot accept liability for any action or decision taken in reliance of this publication. Please seek the advice of your physician or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns on medical or pharmaceutical matters.

Please note that the people shown throughout this publication are models. As such, their services are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not imply they suffer from the medical condition described in the associated article. Pharmacy shots portray our own pharmacists.

Benowitz I, Esposito DB, Gracey KD, Shapiro ED, Vázquez M, Influenza vaccine given to pregnant women reduces hospitalization due to influenza in their infants. Oxford Journals Medicine & Health Clinical Infectious Diseases Volume 51, Issue 12 Pp. 1355-1361.

Are you up to date with your vaccinations?

Adult Canadians may not have had all the vaccinations needed to provide maximum protection against infectious diseases. Are you one of them?

vaccination

The prevention of infection by immunization is both easily achieved and effective, but, while most of us recognize the importance of vaccinating children, we may not be so conscientious about ensuring our adulthood vaccinations are up-to-date.

Adult require immunizations to address weakened immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases, and to ensure that immunity against diseases more common in adults is acquired.

Up-to-date immunization of adults prevents the spread of infection and is important if the adult comes into contact with young children or babies and others at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Health Canada advises that some vaccines are needed by all adults and other vaccines may be necessary due to the specific risk/s resulting from occupation, travel, underlying illness, lifestyle or age.
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Supplements with Purpose

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For many people, purchasing a health supplement that is specifically formulated for a single purpose— and labelled accordingly—is a big step in the right direction. New Nordic health supplements, recently introduced to London Drugs, are an innovative range of formulas designed to help with specific health conditions.

Let’s take a closer look at these nature-inspired formulations from Sweden and how they may help you achieve better health.

Thicker, healthier hair

L8068918Thinning hair can affect both sexes and all ages. Usually the result of genetic influences or hormonal shifts, hair that is fine or sparse can profoundly affect one’s sense of well being.

New Nordic Hair Volume is formulated to nourish the scalp and hair follicles from the inside. It contains a number of helpful ingredients for building healthy hair. These include proanthocyanidin B2, which has been studied extensively and found to increase hair growth.1

Millet extract, organic silica and other B vitamins (biotin, and pantothenic acid) help boost hair growth and volume, while copper contributes to normal hair colour (helping to avoid greyness). The amino acid L-methionine helps protect the hair follicles from oxidative stress and zinc helps reduce hair loss.

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Sunless Tanning – The Safe and Not so Safe

tanning-bedThey’re tempting, tantalizing and, of course, tanning, but the siren song of indoor tanning beds covers up one important fact: they are also dangerous.

Proponents of tanning beds often advertise that their “sunshine” is safer than the real thing, as their beds primarily emit UVA light. This allows you to naturally build a tan, so that you are less likely to burn when you expose yourself to actual sunshine. Most salons also have UVB beds or pods which will further deepen your tan.

Many people frequent tanning salons just prior to a tropical or semi-tropical vacation, believing that the colour they develop will protect them from burns when they arrive at their destination. In fact, a salon tan is the equivalent to an SPF of 2 to 4 and should never replace the use of a sunscreen with appropriate SPF. (This is dependent on your natural skin and hair colour and how long you plan on staying in the sun, but an SPF of 30+ is generally recommended.)

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