New Figures Suggest Increase of Measles in L.A. County

Measles may be on the upswing again in Los Angeles County and be spreading to communities previously not affected, a county epidemiology analyst said Monday.

Twenty-three cases were reported for the week ending July 10. The figure dipped to five on July 24, but rose to 15 by Aug. 7, said Paul Frederick of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Immunization Program.

To prevent measles from spreading further, the county is recommending that children be immunized at 12 months of age rather than 15, said Frederick.

The outbreak had been centered in South Los Angeles, Bellflower and Cerritos, but one case has been reported in Panorama City, he said, indicating the disease may be spreading to communities north of the Santa Monica Mountains.

By California law, children must be immunized against measles to enter licensed day care centers or public or private schools, he explained. But the county’s most recent study, conducted in 1985, found that only 60% of children under age 2 had been immunized.

“Theoretically, you need 95% or more immunity coverage to prevent sustained transmission of measles,” Frederick said. Requests for immunizations, free at county health clinics, have not risen dramatically in recent weeks, he noted. Measles, or rubeola, is characterized by a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, a rash that lasts four days or longer, coughing, a runny nose, red or watery eyes and sensitivity to light, said Dr. Philip Brunell, director of pediatric infectious diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Unlike the German or three-day measles, symptoms of rubeola last for about a week and are more severe. Complications can include ear infection and pneumonia, said Brunell, and in rare instances encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and death.

For information about immunizations, call (213) 974-7937 or check the county governmental listing under Health Care Centers in the telephone directory.

Calcium Supplements

Calcium supplements can be a boon for adults who don’t obtain sufficient levels from their diets. But not all calcium tablets are created equal; some are absorbed better than others, say dietitians.

To determine if your calcium supplement will be easily assimilated, “Take a cup of vinegar and drop in the pill,” suggests Gretchen Newmark, a Santa Monica registered dietitian. “At the end of a half-hour, the pill should be about 75% dissolved because, to some degree, vinegar mimics the acidity of the stomach.”

The American Dietetic Assn., a Chicago-based organization of registered dietitians, recommends supplements that contain calcium carbonate. “They contain the highest amount of calcium available to your body,” said a spokeswoman, who advises those with a history of kidney stones to consult with a doctor before taking any calcium supplement.

Adults require 800 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day, according to the ADA; postmenopausal women should aim for 1,500 milligrams (the equivalent contained in about five cups of regular milk).

Shopping Addicts

To Janet Damon and other psychotherapists, the statistic is a sobering one: Americans spend an average of six hours a week in shopping-related activities, according to a study by the University of Maryland Survey Research Center.

The research confirmed what New York therapist Damon has suspected for several years. For millions in the U.S., shopping is an addictive behavior not unlike alcoholism or drug abuse.

In her book, “Shopaholics: Serious Help for Addicted Spenders” (Price Stern Sloan: $16.95), due in September, she suggests some key questions to determine if shopping has gotten out of control. Among the most important, she said in a telephone interview: Does shopping affect your self-esteem? Do you get a “rush” during spending and a “crash” after? Do you buy things you rarely use? Do you have to juggle money to make credit-card payments on time?

Certain parental influences (such as a “smothering” or “withholding” parent), Damon has found, tend to be associated with compulsive shopping problems later in life.

Once the addiction is identified, she suggests these steps toward overcoming it: Accept your problem and develop a willingness to change it. Learning relaxation techniques and creative visualization can help control compulsive spending, she added, as can affirmations (“I shop only when I am calm and in control of my emotions”) and positive thoughts to replace negative ones.

Coping With the Heat

The ability to cope with heat during exercise doesn’t decline with age--if you’re physically fit, says an Army researcher who published his findings recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

“Previously, scientists thought that people grew less tolerant to heat or less able to dissipate heat produced during exercise as they aged,” said Kent B. Pandolf, an exercise and environmental physiologist and director of military ergonomics division at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass.

But Pandolf found otherwise in his study which compared a group of nine healthy young men (average age 21) who ran an average of five miles a week with nine healthy, middle-aged men (average age 46) who ran an average of 25 miles a week. The older men had been physically active since their high school years, the researcher noted.

During the 10-day study, both groups walked briskly two hours a day in 120-degree dry heat. Initially, because they were more fit, the older exercisers tolerated the activity better, Pandolf said. At the end of 10 days, tolerance and performance of both groups were equal as the younger men acclimated to the heat.