HEALTH : Small Solace Dept.: Well, It’s Not Flu
No, it’s not your imagination. Something’s definitely going around.
Call it “winter vomiting disease,” says epidemiologist Frank Sorvillo of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. An inflammation of the stomach and intestines, it is usually accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea that last no longer than 48 hours.
In contrast, influenza is an inflammation of the respiratory tract characterized by high fever and muscle aches that can last 7 to 10 days, Sorvillo explained. To date, no cases have been reported in Southern California, though flu season runs from November through March, usually peaking in December and January, he added.
Expected to circulate are three viruses: A/Sichuan, A/Taiwan and B/Victoria, said Dennis O’Mara, spokesman for the Division of Immunization at the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Now is the time to get flu shots, according to the CDC and county Health Department. “It takes two weeks for flu shots to generate sufficient immunity to be effective,” Sorvillo said.
Both agencies recommend flu shots for those with diseases of the heart and lung or chronic ailments (such as kidney problems, diabetes and AIDS), residents of nursing homes, health-care providers for elderly and chronically ill patients and family members of high-risk patients. Those with severe allergic reaction to eggs should not get a flu shot, a CDC spokesman noted.
For information on free flu shots, call the County Department of Health Services, (213) 974-7937.
Breathing in Smog City
On a smoggy day, ever wonder if breathing through your nose or your mouth is easier on the lungs? Well, it makes no difference, concluded a team of Toronto researchers.
“The irritant effect (to the lungs) seems to be the same whether you breathe through the nose or through the mouth,” said Dr. Philip Cole, professor of otolaryngology at the University of Toronto and one of the researchers.
In the study, 17 subjects pedaled an exercise bike while exposed to ozone, breathing through the mouth during one session and the nose during another. The lung function tests taken immediately after each session showed the exercise produced “measureable changes in lung function,” but that “the magnitude of the changes is unaffected by the mode of breathing.”
Carrying a Heavy Load
Backpacks are de rigueur for many students, essential for carrying schoolbooks and proving they’re hip.
But too many books and other paraphernalia can weigh a pack down, perhaps setting students up for orthopedic problems.
How much of a load is too much? “For kids age 8 to 10, probably 10 pounds should be the maximum,” said Dr. Todd Molnar, a Van Nuys sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist. “For older kids, I’d use 20 pounds as the maximum.”
Besides packing them too heavily, some students carry backpacks incorrectly, Molnar added. “Many grab the pack and throw it over one shoulder. That puts more stress on one side than another, and that’s not good. Students should put it on both shoulders and cinch it up tightly to be sure it’s close to the body. If it’s loose, it pulls you back and puts undue stress on the back.”
“Keep the weight high on the back,” agreed Dr. William Boeck, an orthopedic surgeon at St. John’s Hospital and Health Center, Santa Monica. “And be sure the straps are padded (at the shoulders).”
And watch for these symptoms, Molnar warned: neck and shoulder stiffness, headaches (especially if they occur in the back of the head), pain that radiates into the arm and numbness or tingling in the arms.
Trauma of Widowhood
Widows with social networks of at least 10 people are better equipped to face the trauma of bereavement and are less likely to need help with emotional problems, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.
“The number of friends appeared to be much more important than the size of the family,” said George Comstock, a professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health. “We really don’t know why.”
The researchers, whose study is reported in the current issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, interviewed 128 women while their husbands were alive and again six months after their husbands died.
Widows who felt psychologically close to their children were also less likely to need help for emotional problems than those without children or without close relationships with them, the researchers found.
The best advice for widows, said Hopkins researcher Sue Ann Sullivan: “Stay in your own home for at least one year (after the husband’s death) if possible. Keep up your contacts.”
