September 29th, 2009 7:03 am
I smiled when I saw the e-mail from a medical expert at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Kurt Rongstad says folks who wind up with a cast on their right foot should not drive.
What, I thought , if you had a torn Achilles tendon and your foot just hurt? What if you sprained your ankle?
No word on those conditions. But yes, I’m the one with the now pretty-much-healed Achilles tendon. That injury happened about four years ago and I haven’t done a great job of following expert advice to solve the injury. For example, I continued to drive, and just did it through the pain.
That is not recommended, of course. Casts, orthopedic boots or “cam walkers” slow braking time enough that driving with them is unsafe. The doctor said he knows this is an unpopular opinion. “It’s one of the biggest concerns people have,” he said. “They want to know how long they’ll need a chauffeur.”
The doctor couldn’t find published data to support his position, so he ran a field test. He timed 42 subjects on how quickly they could lift their right food off the gas pedal after a light flashed. It took about 25 percent longer for them while wearing a cast, compared to regular shoes. They did better if they wore a wedge-type orthopedic shoe, common for patients after bunion surgery.
They also did better when using their left foot on the brake, but Rongstad said that’s not safe, either, for most people. He wants to improve his driving/reaction time test, conduct a full analysis of results and publish them in a medical journal.
Posted in Uncategorized |
September 23rd, 2009 11:52 am
Dr. Damon Arnold, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, was almost humorous last week when he demonstrated the basic difference between colds and influenza.
Colds, he said, gesturing in wide circles to his head, are felt mostly up here. The flu, he added, grandly gesturing to below-the-neck part of the body, is more likely to painfully affect this area.
The Iowa Department of Public Health recently released a check list of the differences between the two types of virus. Here you go:
1. Influenza has an abrupt, significant onset.
A. Colds may come on slowly, with mild symptoms.
2. Influenza infections involve a fever of 100 F or greater and a cough and/or sore throat.
A. Colds may result in a low-grade fever.
3. In addition to respiratory symptoms, persons with influenza often have body aches, chills, and extreme malaise. Influenza duration in adults is a few days to two weeks.
A. Colds often linger longer than influenza, but symptoms overall are more mild
4. Influenza may result in serious complications like pneumonia, which lead to hospitalization.
A. Colds generally do not.
Posted in Uncategorized |
September 22nd, 2009 12:07 pm
A doctor with musical talent was the winner of a recent nation-wide contest announced to publicize the H1N1 flu, now a pandemic.
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, set up the contest on July 9. Americans were asked to create the video to promote good hygienic practices to prevent the spread of H1N1.
The winner was Dr. John Clarke of Baldwin, New York. He’s won $2,500 cash, the video is up on YouTube, will be broadcast on national television, and you can find it here. It’s got the title of “H1N1 Rap by Dr. Clarke.”
Runner-up videos are also on the site, and there were about 200 entries overall.
Note: My computer acted up, so when I first looked at this video, it paused 10 times in 17 seconds. The video ran smoothly the second time I tried it.
Posted in Uncategorized |
September 9th, 2009 8:45 am
The state of hygiene among Americans was the topic of a recent poll.
Poll findings indicate some of our fellow citizens did listen to their mother’s advice, and some did not. Here’s a sampling:
You wash and change your bed linen …
Once a week … 40%, 10,181 votes
Once every few weeks … 34%, 8,516
Once a month … 16%, 4,007
Less often … 10%, 2,545
You re-wear your underwear before washing …
Never … 78%, 18,302 votes
Once or twice … 17%, 3,929
3-5 times … 4%, 827
More than 5 times … 1%, 340
You brush your teeth …
More than twice a day … 12%, 2311 votes
Twice a day … 41%, 7,946
At least once a day … 42%, 8,239
Less often than that … 5%, 1,041
Click here for more survey info.
Posted in Uncategorized |
September 2nd, 2009 1:13 pm
The case of a kidnapped child returning to her family after 18 years has grabbed much of the nation’s attention. The news involves the story of Jaycee Dugard, now age 29, who was held in a strange backyard compound owned by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.
An 11-year-old in captivity may, to some, be quite able to figure out a way to run away at some point in the confinement, especially if it lasts for 18 more years.
But don’t judge too quickly, says Dr. Michelle Golland, a psychologist from Los Angeles.
Golland explains the psychology of captivity in an article for the Web site momlogic.com. Find it here
The Stockholm Syndrome, named for a Swedish bank robbery in 1973, is a well-know psychological response to trauma, known by doctors well before it was given a name. The syndrome explains the psychological bonding that can occur between captive and abuser, and also helps to explain why some people stay in captivity, even when it appears they could escape.
Here are four situations that help explain a victim’s bond with an abuser:
1. The presence of a perceived threat to a victim’s physical or psychological survival, and the belief that the abuser would carry out the threat.
2. The presence of a perceived small act of kindness from the abuser to the victim.
3. Isolation from perspectives other than those of the abuser.
4. The real or perceived inability to escape the situation.
Victims like Jaycee Dugard and her two daughters developed their attitudes as an attempt to exist, and survive, in a threatening and controlling environment and relationship, Golland contends.
“One thing we know for sure,” the doctor said, “Jaycee is amazingly resilient and adapted well enough to survive for 18 years, and to keep her daughters alive.”
Posted in Uncategorized |
August 28th, 2009 8:17 am
The New York Times today has a story on Iowa’s stoic response to re-building after the 2008 floods. Read it here.
In June of 2008, my daughter and I were part of a church mission trip to New Orleans to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina. We left for New Orleans on the day that the Cedar River closed Interstate 80, and Iowans got seriously worried about flooding here. We tried to keep an eye on the situation while we toiled in the south, and my daughter took part in relief efforts in Waterloo, after we had returned home.
That 2008 mission experience was one of the most memorable in my life. This summer, I am left with concern about my fellow Iowa residents as they struggle to rebuild homes and businesses destroyed a year ago. As the Times’ story shows, our can-do attitudes and neighborly approach to life may not catch the nation’s attention as in some other parts of America.
Here’s a telling quote from a Cedar Rapids man, in the New York Times story: “We really feel that we are the forgotten disaster,” said Greg Eyerly, the city’s flood recovery director. “We don’t make sexy products. We make starch that goes into paper, we make foodstuffs, ingredients in crackers and cereal. We make ethanol. The sexiest thing we make is Cap’n Crunch. We’re not a beachfront property. We make an anonymous contribution to our country, and people forget about us.”
Do our Iowa attitudes about self-sustenance, home and family work against us when it comes to getting help? What do you think?
Posted in Uncategorized |
August 26th, 2009 9:54 am
I arrived at work today saddened by the news of the passing of Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.
The Kennedy family was very important to my family in the early 1960s. My parents had helped in the campaign in Hennepin County, Minnesota, to get John Kennedy elected president, and I remember how both Mom and Dad admired Jackie Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy and others in the family.
Over the years we all learned about the senator’s personal life in great detail. That same time period spawned increasingly vicious attacks on his personal decisions and political ideas. I’m one of those who grew weary of such attacks.
Disagree with the senator, fine. Please find a way to disagree with a measure of dignity.
Professionally, I’ll remember how Ted Kennedy kept the subject of health care reform on the front burner for decades. I will watch with even more interest to see how reform fares after his death.
Ted Kennedy’s death, and the death of his sister Eunice Shriver a few weeks ago, reminds many of us how long ago we were young. Go in peace, senator.
Posted in Uncategorized |
August 24th, 2009 2:27 pm
Rabies was discussed in our family years ago when our beagle, Billy, got the fatal illness from a diseased skunk. I was just a baby, but I heard about it from older siblings. As a youngster I read “Old Yeller,” about the heroic dog who also got rabies.
Emotion-based reports are thus the base of my rabies knowledge. But the rabies problem crops up in black and white terms.
This year, the Scott County Health Department has investigated more than two dozen potential rabies cases. In June, there were 14 animal exposures with rabies risk … five dogs, three raccoons, five bats and a kitten all involved.
In July, the staff looked into 16 such incidents … four dog bites, seven cat bites or scratches, four bat exposures and one bat bite. Eleven victims had to get post-exposure prophylaxis (to prevent from developing rabies), mainly because the animals could not be located either for observation or further testing.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reports 24 instances in the state where wildlife, domestic animals and livestock tested positive for rabies this year.
This is a problem that hits home, folks.
Here are some recommendations from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on what to do when you encounter a representative of our animal population:
1. Do not feed or handle wild or stray animals. Avoid sick animals or those that act strangely.
2. Do not touch or handle dead animals.
3. Cover garbage cans and keep pet food indoors, so as not to attract wild animals.
4. Do not keep wild animals as pets. It’s illegal as well as dangerous.
5. Never handle bats. A bat bite or scratch may be small and go unnoticed. People who awaken to find a bat in the room, or children asleep with a bat in the room, should consult a health care provider as rabies treatment may be required.
Posted in Uncategorized |
August 18th, 2009 2:00 pm
Couples around the nation will experience some real time adjustments when the children head off to college.
There are folks who need help in the adjustment, and some of that comes from a therapist like John Scherpelz, with the University of Wisconsin Health Outpatient Psychiatry, Madison.
Mom and Dad may need to sharpen their original friendship skills. It’s been at least 18 years, after all, since they learned how to handle midnight feedings, diaper changing and car seat scuffles. Relationship abilities may atrophy when not used regularly.
“Parents may need to learn again to put thoughts and feelings into words for their partners, and to learn to listen as partners share their feelings,” Scherpelz said.
It can also be difficult to let go of micro-managing your child’s life, but the benefits are worth it, the therapist contends. It becomes possible to enjoy children more as peers, to relish the benefits of good choices made, and to try and help young adults learn from the inevitable mistakes.
“Now is a great time to enjoy your independence and your time to try new things,” Scherpelz said. “Buy some books, dump the minivan, down-size the house, keep different hours, try new activities, new foods and new travel destinations.”
What ideas do you have for re-starting your relationship?
Posted in Uncategorized |
August 13th, 2009 8:27 am
Rat waste. LSD. Just plain dirt.
Those are a few items I’ve seen or been told were found on top of a pop can.
We have well-used vending machines nearby in the newsroom, and I’m one of the many reporters who trots over every day to buy a can of pop. My choice is Diet Coke.
When I was at Iowa State University in the 1970s, I had a friend who insisted on washing his pop cans very thoroughly. I thought that was strange and questioned him about it.
He told me he accidentally went on an LSD-induced “acid trip” after ingesting some of the hallucinogenic drug from a beverage can. That incident was so traumatic, he became maniacal about cleaning the can every time he bought one.
A couple of years ago, a newsroom friend and I noticed some of the cans dispensed from our local machine seemed to have a little dirt or oil on them. That’s when I really got into the habit of washing off each can of Diet Coke that I buy.
Today, I learned about a woman in Texas who allegedly ingested rat urine off a pop can, got a disease called Leptospirosis, a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans, and died.
While the specifics of that exact incident haven’t been verified, it just makes sense to clean the can tops, especially from a vending machine. A little soap and water is like a nuclear bomb to many of the yucky germs that might be lurking, ready to hurt you.
Do any of you have a pop can story like I was able to offer?
Posted in Uncategorized |
Healthbeat by Deirdre Cox Baker