July 23rd, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Attack, Avoidance, Bear, Bear Attack, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Camping, capsaicin, capsaicinoids, Fatal Attack, Fetal Position, Grizzly, Hazardous Animals, Medicine for the Outdoors, Noisy, Pepper Spray, Protection, Wild Animal, Yellowstone National Park
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By now, most everyone is familiar with the tragic circumstances in which a visitor on a trail in Yellowstone National Park on July 6, 2011 surprised a brown (grizzly) bear with cubs, provoking a fatal attack. Fortunately, events like this are rare. At the same time, they are also predictable by virtue of our understanding of bear behavior, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. It was not the victim’s fault, and our hearts go out to his family and friends. For the benefit of others who will backpack and explore in bear country here is an excerpt about avoidance of hazardous animals, in particular bears, adapted from the book Medicine for the Outdoors:
Avoidance of Hazardous Animals
Most wild animal encounters can be avoided with caution and a little common sense. Follow these rules: Read more »
This post, Avoiding Wild Animal Attacks, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
July 22nd, 2011 by Jeffrey Benabio, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Babies, Infants, melanoma, newborns, Pigment cells, SPF 30, Spray Sunscreen, Summer, Sun, Sun Exposure, Sun-sensitive, Sunlight, Sunscreen, Vitamin D
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Baby skin is sun-sensitive.
Everyone wishes they had baby skin. It feels so soft and smooth; it’s perfectly adapted to induce us adults to want to clean their diaper, no matter how many times they dirty them. Like their big eyes and cute noses, baby skin is part of the whole package of being adorable. But like their eyes, their skin, however beautiful, is immature. Baby skin is thinner, has less natural moisturizers and has fewer pigment cells, making it more vulnerable to the environment than adult skin.
This is important especially in summer. How often do you see babies running around on the beach with just a diaper on? Although they seem indestructable, they are more vulnerable than the adult holding the pail and shovel.
Studies have shown that up to 83% of babies get sunburned their first year of life. This is our fault, not theirs. Sunburns at an early age can increase the risk for melanoma skin cancer on the trunk later in life. Sun exposure is also a poor way to get vitamin D for infants because most will get far more damaging sun than they need to make vitamin D — we adults tend to over cook them.
Here are five tips to keep your baby safe this summer: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Dermatology Blog*
July 21st, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Babies, Birth, Cholestasis of Pregnancy, Lacerations, Palma Erythema, Pemphigoid Gestationis, Pregnancy, Pregnant Women, Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy, Pruritus gravidarum, PUPPP, Skin Changes, Skin Lesions, Stretch Marks, Striae Gravidarum, Tears
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When we think of skin changes in pregnancy, what immediately comes to mind are stretch marks or Striae Gravidarum . Stretch marks occur because of a breakdown of collagen, a substance that holds the skin together and is responsible for its stretching. Teen pregnant patients are more at risk for having stretch marks. Why is that important? Because, according to medical literature, stretch marks can increase the risk of having lacerations (or tears) during birth.
Another fairly common skin condition during pregnant is called Pruritus gravidarum or generalized itching during pregnancy without the presence of a rash. Approximately 14% of pregnant women are affected by this condition and it is associated with twin pregnancies, fertility treatments and diabetes. As stated in my previous blog, itching during pregnancy should not be ignored, especially in the third trimester because it could signify a condition called Cholestasis of Pregnancy that involves an increase in bile or liver enzymes. This condition is also associated with preterm labor.
Hormonal changes of pregnancy that involve estrogen or progesterone can produce Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
July 20th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips
Tags: Acute Otitis Media, Amoxicillin, Antibiotics, Azithromycin, Bacteria, Cefdinir, Cefibuten, Cefpodoxime, Cefprozil, Cefuroxime, Cephalexin, Childhood, Clarithromycin, Drainage, Ear Infection, Eardrum, erythromycin-sulfisoxazol, Eustachian Tube, External Ear Canal, Infection, Inflammation, Loracarbef, Meningitis, Otoscope, Placebo, Sinus Infection, virus, xylitol
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Ear infections are the bane of childhood and can spoil many outdoor adventures. One of the most common infections of childhood, they provoke long nights of miserable children, sleepless parents, and unhappiness all around. They may be recurrent, and can also progress (rarely) to more serious medical problems, such as meningitis.
What Are Ear Infections?
Acute otitis (inflammation of the ear) media (“middle”) infection is caused by bacteria or viruses. When it occurs, there is redness and inflammation of the eardrum, frequently with a collection of blood, serum, or pus behind the drum. To know whether or not this has occurred, and to precisely determine the anatomic diagnosis and severity, one needs to see the eardrum, which is what the healthcare provider does with an otoscope.
With otitis media (middle ear infection), there is no drainage from the external ear canal (unless the eardrum ruptures, which is unusual in an adult and more common in a child) and the victim has a fever, sometimes with an accompanying sore throat. In many cases, the victim has a history of prior similar ear infections. Most often, otitis media occurs in children; when it occurs in an adult, it may be associated with a sinus infection or functional obstruction of the eustachian tube (the pressure-release mechanism from the middle ear into the throat).
It is interesting to note that children who chew Read more »
This post, One Of The Most Common Infections Of Childhood: Otitis Media, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
July 20th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Health Tips
Tags: "Pleasure Center", addiction, Cancer, David Fisher, Deficiency, Dermatology, Endorphins, Health, Mass General, Skin Cancer, Skin Care, Sunburn, Sunlight, Sunscreen, Sunshine, Ultraviolet Rays, UVA Rays, UVB Rays, Vitamin D
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It doesn’t make sense: If sunlight causes cancer, why are human beings so drawn to it, flocking to sunny beaches for vacation time and hoping for sunshine after a rainy spell?
One answer, says David Fisher, chief of dermatology at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, may be that humans are literally addicted to sunshine so our skin can make vitamin D. New evidence suggests that we get the same kick out of being in the sun that we get from any addictive substance or behavior. It stimulates the so-called “pleasure center” in the brain and releases a rush of feel-good chemicals like endorphins.
So there may be more than a desire to look good in a tan behind the urge to soak up the sun’s rays. This craving may be a survival mechanism that evolved over thousands of years because humans need vitamin D to survive. Skin makes this crucial vitamin when it is exposed to sunlight. There isn’t much vitamin D in food (except in some of today’s fortified foods) so the human brain rewards us with a rush of pleasure when we seek out the sun and get vitamin D.
Seeking sunshine can be downright dangerous. As Fisher points out, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
