Health Archives - Page 14 of 18

Dr Art Hister – No Such Thing as Minor Surgery

There is no such thing as ‘minor’ surgery.

For obvious reasons – we are nearly all always hopeful of the best happening to us – most of us don’t often hear the potential negative consequences of some choice we’re making: a big mortgage, a new stock purchase or surgery we are going to get.

Now when it comes to mortgages and stocks going bad, all we lose is money; when it comes to surgery not working out as well as we’d hoped, we can have problems for the rest of our lives.

A reminder of that comes from a study in the British Journal of Surgery in which researchers talked to over 400 people in the Netherlands who’d had various types of surgery (cosmetic procedures, neurological operations, etc) a year after the surgery had been completed.

And a surprisingly high number of people were not satisfied with the results:

17 % reported more pain that they had had before their operations
14 % said their functioning had deteriorated
16 % had “poorer mental health”
24 % complained of less vitality

What really caught my eye, though, is that 47% said they had ‘achieved near optimal recovery’, which I presume meant they were nearly completely better, but that means that 53% – over half – still had significant problems, and a large 15% claimed to have less than 50% recovery.

Surgery can be life-saving, it’s often the only option, and sometimes the best option, but it’s always good to remember that surgery also carries significant risks and doesn’t always lead to improvement, so if someone tells you that you are about to have only ‘minor’ surgery, especially if it’s an elective procedure, just remind yourself that the best definition of ‘minor’ surgery is surgery done on someone else.

Dr Art Hister – Marathon Runners

If you want to run a marathon, get tested first.

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, so many baby boomers have set themselves a goal of running a marathon (or several) before they pass into older age. Unfortunately, many have set out to do this without first determining if they are fit enough to undergo the load that marathon-running puts on their no-longer-that-young hearts.

So a recent study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010 should get at least a few marathon-hoping individuals to sit up and take note.

In this study that used MRIs and a sophisticated battery of tests on a group of amateur marathon runners both before and up to 8 weeks after the race, the researchers found that “abnormal heart segments (are) more widespread and significant” in non-fit runners (presumably, more widespread than most people or doctors think).
And the lead researcher concludes that “marathon runners can be a lot less fit than they think” (which if you’ve ever been to a marathon and watched the parade of runners that come by is absolutely no surprise). He goes on to advise that everyone who is thinking of running a marathon should seriously consider getting a test known as Vo2 max, which measures oxygen consumption by the heart while the person is working out.

London Drugs bettercare – First Aid & Medication Safety

Being in charge of your family’s health is a full-time job. There are always scrapes, stings, minor burns, and other emergencies that need to be addressed. The best way to tackle these problems is to prepare for them before they occur by investing the time to learn about first aid techniques and medication safety to make your home a safe haven.

Dangerous situations can happen anytime and virtually anywhere. In Canada, in most areas emergency assistance can by reached by dialling 911 on any telephone, including pay phones and cellular phones. Everyone in your household, even young children, should be instructed to call 911 in case of emergency. If 911 service is not available in your area, find out the number to call in emergencies and post it—along with other emergency information, such as doctor’s name and phone number—near your telephone for easy reference. Also keep your London Drugs pharmacy number by the phone. Our pharmacists are medication experts who can answer your questions whenever you have them—not just in emergencies.

Consider taking a first aid course from an organization such as St. John’s Ambulance or the Red Cross. This will give you the opportunity to practice your first aid skills in a calm environment so that you’ll be better prepared if an emergency does occur. You may also want to stop by your local bookstore and pick up a good first aid manual for your home and car.

Most first aid situations around the home aren’t emergencies and don’t require a 911 call. They are usually the minor cuts, bruises, and burns that are part of everyday life. Here are some tips for dealing with some of the more common situations.

Burns
Minor, or first-degree, burns usually turn the skin red and can sometimes cause swelling and pain. In the event of a minor burn, take the following steps:

Cool the burn. Hold the burned area under lukewarm running water for 15 to 30 minutes. Cooling the burn reduces swelling by taking the heat away from the skin. Don’t put ice on the burn, as this may cause frostbite, further damaging the skin.
Apply lotion. Once a burn is completely cooled, apply an aloe vera lotion, an antibiotic ointment, or a moisturizer to prevent dryness and make the injury feel more comfortable. However, do not coat the burn with butter or a thick ointment such as petroleum jelly, because this traps the heat in the skin.
Cover the burn. Wrap a sterile gauze bandage loosely around the burned area. Bandaging keeps air off the area, reduces pain, and protects blistered skin.

Minor burns usually heal in about one to two weeks. Watch for signs of infection such as increased pain, redness, fever, swelling, or oozing. If infection develops, seek medical help immediately.

Cuts and Scrapes
Most small cuts and scrapes don’t require a trip to the emergency room, but it is important to care for them properly to avoid infection and other complications. The following guidelines can help you treat simple wounds:

Stop the bleeding. Use gentle pressure applied over a clean cloth or bandage.
Clean the wound. Rinse the wound with clear water; soap may irritate the injury.
Apply an antibiotic. After you clean the wound, apply a thin layer of antibiotic
cream to help keep the surface moist and kill bacteria that could cause infection.
Cover the wound. Bandages help the wound stay clean, keeping harmful
bacteria out.
Change the dressing. Change the bandage at least once daily to keep it clean
and prevent infection.
Get medical treatment for deep wounds. A wound that cuts deeply through the skin may require stitches. If in doubt, see your doctor immediately.
Watch for signs of infection. Visit your doctor if the wound doesn’t heal properly or if you notice any redness, warmth, or swelling.
Get a tetanus shot. Doctors recommend getting one every ten years.

Poisoning
Keeping dangerous substances locked away is the best way to prevent poisoning. However, if you suspect someone has been poisoned, look for the following signs:

Burns or redness around the mouth and lips.
Breath that smells like chemicals such as gasoline or paint thinner.
Burns, stains, and odours on or around the person.
Vomiting, difficulty breathing, sleepiness, confusion, or other unexpected signs.

If you believe someone in your family has been poisoned, follow these steps:

Call your local poison control centre and follow their instructions. Directions on the product label telling you what to do may be inaccurate or out of date.
If the victim is unconscious or has swallowed a substance that is acidic, caustic, or has a petroleum base (such as gasoline or household cleaners), get the victim to the hospital immediately. Do not induce vomiting.
If the victim has not passed out and if the substance is something that is normally swallowed (such as medicine), the poison control centre may tell you to induce vomiting.
Get medical attention immediately. If you have identified the poison, bring the container with you. If you don’t know what the poison is but the person has vomited, bring a sample of the vomit with you for analysis.

Medication Safety

Chances are your family has a cabinet full of medications—from over-the-counter products to prescription drugs. Lurking in the back corner of your medicine cabinet may be some expired medications, and perhaps some prescription drugs you no longer use.

An important step in the proper use of medications is to educate yourself about the specific drugs you and your family are taking. All of your family’s medications need to be carefully organized to avoid dangerous mistakes. Here are a few tips to help keep you and your family safe:

Storage: Ask your doctor or pharmacist for directions on how to store your medications. Certain medications need to be refrigerated and others should be kept in a cool, dry place. Make sure that all medications are in child-proof containers and are stored well out of your children’s reach.
Drug interactions: If you’re taking more than one medication, ask your pharmacist to check for any possible drug interactions.
Side effects: If you develop what you think is a side effect, contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately. There may be another medication with fewer side effects that can be substituted.
Allergic reactions: Allergic reactions from medications may include difficulty breathing, skin rashes, itching, swelling, racing heartbeat, nausea, severe diarrhea, and feeling faint. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you experience any of these symptoms after taking a new medicine. If the reaction involves difficulty breathing, call for emergency assistance immediately.
Expiry dates: Unused and expired medications can be dangerous. Do a yearly inventory of your medicine cabinet and dispose of outdated or unused medications.
Never share: The medications prescribed by your doctor were meant to treat your particular medical problem. Never share your medication with anyone else.
Follow directions: Read the labels carefully and follow the directions to the letter. Be sure to finish the full course of your medication. Stopping a medication too early can cause the illness to return or make it more difficult to treat.

London Drugs bettercare – Back Care

If you suffer from back pain, you’re not alone. Over 80% of adults experience at least one bout of back pain at some time in their lives, and back pain is a leading cause of work-related disability. And the most common site of back pain is the lower back, because it bears most of the stress and weight.

Dr Art Hister – Weight and Genes

Bad news for those of you who swear you can’t lose weight because of your genes: you’re probably wrong.

Lots of people swear that no matter what they do, they can’t lose weight, even if they “don’t eat more than a mouse eats, honest”, even if they “exercise till I can’t stand it any longer”.

But the brutal truth is that even though there are a few people out there who indeed cannot lose weight easily, most of us can, and when we don’t lose weight on a diet or from exercise, it’s very likely because we are eating too much or not working out enough, or more often than not, both of those combined.

And if you believe the data from a study published in PLoS Medicine, even most obese people who are genetically prone to becoming massively overweight can nonetheless overcome their genetic predisposition and still lose a significant amount of weight.

In this study, even in obese people who had inherited “17 variants” of genes leading to obesity (in other words, the dice were really loaded against these folks staying slim), those who did the most exercise tended to weigh much less than those who were sedentary, and some were even able to maintain normal weights by doing enough exercise.

Bottom line: if you want your bottom not to grow too large, do more, eat less.

Sorry, but I just report em as I see em.

Dr Art Hister – Do You Even Know if You’re Overweight?

At least one of the reasons we are getting so much fatter on average is that we’re so surrounded by people who are overweight that we’ve lost the sense of what a normal weight should be.

At least that seems to be the case in the US, and I am sure it’s not much different up here.

A recent Harris Interactive/Health Day survey asked a representative group of American adults how much they weighed and how tall they were. The respondents were then asked whether they thought, by BMI status, if they were normal weight or overweight.

A substantial number of the survey takers – 30% – who were overweight by BMI criteria (a BMI over 25) replied that they felt they were normal weight, while 70% of those who were obese thought they were “merely overweight”.

BMI is not a perfect measure of weight. For example, since muscle weighs a lot, a very muscular person can have a high BMI but be normal weight.

That said, most of us are not too muscular (some of us – me, for example – aren’t even slightly muscular) and so for us, BMI is a pretty good measuring rod for what our weight should be.
Most experts say that you should be aiming for between 20 and 25, although I am a lot more liberal than that, so I figure that if you’re working out or just being quite active, you can allow yourself a few extra pounds without worrying about it (never mind “allowing” yourself; how about “accepting” instead because honestly, how do you keep those (few?) extra pounds off anyway as you get older, eh?)

Dr Art Hister – Cold and Your Heart

As the days get colder, a reminder for all of you who are at higher risk of heart disease (which is just about anyone over the age of 40, I think) that when the weather turns cold, the number of heart attacks goes up.

In fact, a few months ago, a study published in the British Medical Journal found that when the temperature in the UK drops by one degree Celcius, the number of heart attacks goes up by about 200.

There are a number of potential reasons starting of course with the fact that people become more sedentary when winter sets in, that people who should know better still go out and clean snow off their driveways after a snowfall (well, if you’re like me, you better clean your walkway if you want to keep peace at home), and probably because cold temperatures have a biological effect on the body, perhaps by making the blood more “Sticky” and hence leading to more clots, such as those that occur in some heart attacks and strokes.

So, when the temperature goes down, remember to try to keep warm, to avoid overdoing it when working outside, to keep working on reducing your other risk factors for a heart attack, and if you can afford it, of course, to spend as much time as you can in Hawaii.

Dr Art Hister – No Such Thing as Minor Surgery

Dr Art Hister – Marathon Runners

London Drugs bettercare – First Aid & Medication Safety

London Drugs bettercare – Back Care

Dr Art Hister – Weight and Genes

Dr Art Hister – Do You Even Know if You’re Overweight?

Dr Art Hister – Cold and Your Heart

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Dr Art Hister – No Such Thing as Minor Surgery

Dr Art Hister – Marathon Runners

London Drugs bettercare – First Aid & Medication Safety

London Drugs bettercare – Back Care

Dr Art Hister – Weight and Genes

Dr Art Hister – Do You Even Know if You’re Overweight?

Dr Art Hister – Cold and Your Heart

Archive

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