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If You've Got Asthma, Azma.com Hopes to Help
Tweet Share on Facebook July 14, 2008 CommentLast week was particularly bad for my asthma and allergies—itchy eyes, shortness of breath, an allergic rash on my arm, an extra hit or two from my emergency inhaler. So I was intrigued when I saw an E-mail announcing the launch of a new website, Azma.com, which claims to be able to provide a four-day air quality forecast of when spending too much time outside might be bothersome.
Surveillance Data Inc., a medical data company whose clients include pharmaceutical companies, operates the site and also runs Pollen.com, which provides four-day pollen predictions by ZIP code. "What we're trying to do is give people timely information to prepare themselves and take care of themselves," says Gerry Kress, senior adviser at Surveillance Data. The format of Azma.com, which launched June 30, is similar: Users enter their ZIP codes and get a four-day forecast of air quality levels in their areas, based on a proprietary formula that takes into account five major air pollutants, including ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For instance, upon entering the ZIP code for my employer in the Georgetown section of Washington, I learned that Thursday's air quality forecast was in the "moderate" range, but the outlook for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was "poor" for all three days. The logical takeaway: I needed to avoid any strenuous outdoor exercise over the weekend, keep my windows closed, and crank up the air conditioning.
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Alzheimer's and NSAIDs: Translating the News
Tweet Share on Facebook May 28, 2008 Comment (1)I remember visiting a sick uncle when I was younger. Gradually, he became more and more confused—less aware of who his visitors were. He had dementia, as did my great-grandmother, who my mom says would get so disoriented that she'd even try to jump out the window of the family home.
Knowing my family history, I've been interested in studies that have come out in recent weeks, suggesting that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, like naproxen, ibuprofen, and Celebrex, may reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life. But because the findings—including one just out today—conflict with those of other recent studies, I decided to sort out the details.
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Bedbug Infestations Continue
Tweet Share on Facebook May 8, 2008 Comment (1)The steady stream of bedbug news continues. Nocturnal, blood-sucking bedbugs have made their way into the New York City subways, the Daily News reports. They're lurking in store-bought mattresses, says MSNBC. And prominent hotels have started enlisting dogs in the battle against them, explains the Times Online.
Bedbug news, however, is old news. Though the country does seem to be in the midst of a sizable resurgence in bedbug populations, the critters have been making American beds their homes for decades, as we observed last summer after scouring the news archives for amusing reports on the critters.
What is a bedbug-ridden sleeper to do? We spoke with experts and devised some strategies to fight back. If you're looking for tips and advice for taking on bedbugs, the blog bedbugger.com is rich with them.
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Where to Find BPA-Free Products
Tweet Share on Facebook May 2, 2008 Comment (33)Last week, I blogged about my sister Courtney Peterson's dilemma over whether to buy BPA-free baby bottles and sippy cups for her 14-month-old daughter, Kendall. She faced this choice in light of recent news that bisphenol A, a chemical used in hard, clear polycarbonate plastics, may pose health risks. Canada has proposed a ban on BPA, and retailers Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart indicated that they plan to stop selling BPA-containing baby bottles.
A few days after that blog post appeared, my sister came across BPA-free Evenflo bottles while shopping, so she bought a pack. She also ordered a $14.99 BPA-free sippy cup online—which, she said, is admittedly more than she wanted to pay for a kid's cup.
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Teens Pose the Questions on Peer Pressure, Drugs
Tweet Share on Facebook April 25, 2008 Comment (6)Flying from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco recently, I chatted with two 8th grade girls returning home from a class trip. Amy, a likable jumble of precociousness and naiveté, asked me where I lived and what I did for a living, and we were soon discussing my latest interest: the Internet, adolescents, and how they get information about drugs. She promptly informed me that she isn't "a druggie" and had never searched online for information about drugs.
Though well-versed in the ways of the virtual world—Amy has multiple profiles on MySpace and was featured in a video on YouTube—the girls gave the impression that using it to learn about forbidden or dangerous topics like drugs hadn't crossed their minds. Such details are best gotten from peers and her older brother, Amy explained, adding that plenty of her classmates smoke marijuana. Amy also suggested I write a story about adolescents, drugs, and peer pressure—a common theme in their lives.
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As Retailers Drop BPA, Baby Bottles Get New Scrutiny
Tweet Share on Facebook April 22, 2008 Comment (9)Last week, we learned that a chemical called bisphenol A, which is in hard, clear polycarbonate plastics like those used to make many baby bottles, certain reusable water bottles, and even containers for canned foods, may pose health risks. Specifically, the federal government's National Toxicology Program expressed concern that BPA exposure could cause neural and behavioral abnormalities in fetuses, infants, and children.
Since that announcement, Canada has proposed a BPA ban, and retailers Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart both said they plan to stop selling BPA-containing baby bottles, according to USA Today. Playtex also said it would stop using BPA in its products, and Nalgene, a maker of durable plastic water bottles, said it intends to do the same.
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A Moving Documentary About Families and Cancer
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2008 Comment (8)Last night my fiancée and I talked about the eventual day should one of us become ill and the other morph from partner into caregiver. It's not often we let such thoughts pierce our time together—so full of excitement and possibility as we plan our wedding. At least last night's talk was had over red wine and sushi, a favorite ritual. Our odyssey began with admiring our just-arrived save-the-date cards, then moved on to another item on our to-do list: the vows. We've decided to write our own, which will entail actually contemplating the meaning of these lifelong promises. But do any of us ever really think about what these words mean before we're tested? In particular, the "in sickness and in health" part—do we even have the capacity to make that promise with open eyes?
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My Asthma Drug Break Was a Mistake
Tweet Share on Facebook April 9, 2008 Comment (3)Last June, I did a potentially dangerous thing: I stopped taking Advair, the asthma medication I'd been on for years. I hoped to find that I'd outgrown the need for a twice-daily inhaler. The only way to know for sure, I reasoned, was to try going without it. It's a mistake that many people make, it turns out—and for which they often pay in health problems later on.
Admittedly, quitting my medicine without talking to my doctor first wasn't a smart move. I did fine for a while. But by the fall, I'd developed a raging sinus infection that lasted for four months and chest pains and wheezing that the doctor blamed on my asthma. Back on Advair I went, after a scolding by my doctor not to stop again.
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I Was One of Those Gymnasts in the ER
Tweet Share on Facebook April 8, 2008 Comment (10)In my sport, gymnastics, injuries were always part of the game, and growing up I was no stranger to the ER. But it wasn't until I had a serious vaulting accident at age 14 that I realized just how dangerous the sport truly is. Running full speed, I hit the springboard. It catapulted me up in preparation to push off the horse and do a back flip. Somehow, my hands missed. My coach dived in to break my fall, but I still slammed onto the mat, banging my head. Blackout. Even in a concussed daze (with teeth through the lip) I remember feeling lucky. It could have been so much worse: I could easily have broken my neck. I'd practiced that vault a thousand times. I'd nailed it in competitions and won regional titles for it.
Needless to say, I wasn't exactly surprised by the latest findings on young gymnasts: Nearly 426,000 kids ages 6 to 17 were treated for gymnastics-related injuries in U.S. emergency rooms between 1990 and 2005, according to a study in April's Pediatrics, an average of almost 27,000 bang-ups a year. Upper-extremity fractures and dislocations were most common among the younger set, while the 12-to-17-year-olds typically strained or sprained their lower limbs. "Many people don't think of gymnastics as a dangerous sport," says study senior author Lara McKenzie, an assistant professor in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio. But in terms of catastrophic injuries like neck breaks, it ranks right up there with ice hockey, she says.
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5 Gymnasts' Catastrophic Crashes
Tweet Share on Facebook April 8, 2008 Comment (1)In terms of danger, the stakes are highest for elite gymnasts who perform the trickiest of skills. Even their mastery, with the watchful eye of a skilled coach, isn't enough to prevent catastrophic injuries:
1980. At age 20, former Soviet Union gymnastics champion Elena Mukhina crash-lands while practicing a signature tumbling pass and is paralyzed. She dies decades later at 45.
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