BODY WATCH : No Need to Stay Sore at Your Throat

“A salt water gargle can help soothe a sore throat.”

Yes. “It probably helps a little by cleaning off the tonsils and removing excess pus and debris,” says Dr. Gina Howey, a family physician at Kaiser Permanente, Thousand Oaks. Theoretically, the warm salt water will also draw water out of the tissues, thus reducing swelling.

She recommends placing about a half teaspoon of table salt in a cup of warm water, gargling and then spitting it out. Lemon juice with honey or lemon tea with honey can soothe a sore throat, too.

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“Morning sickness means the pregnancy is healthy.”

Probably so, says Dr. Paul Weber, chief of staff at Women’s Hospital at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. In the past, morning sickness was thought to be associated with a higher risk of birth defects and with longer labors. Debates over the meaning of morning sickness continue in medical literature. One study, published in the European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, found that women with vomiting early in pregnancy had a higher incidence of hemorrhage.

But morning sickness is usually considered “a reassuring sign,” says Weber. He cites a study, published in 1989 in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in which researchers found a decreased risk of miscarriage among women who had nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy stages. The authors followed 903 pregnant Los Angeles women and found that those who had vomited in early pregnancy had a decreased risk of miscarriage, while those with nausea but no vomiting had a miscarriage risk equal to the overall sample. No association was found between morning sickness and either birth defects or newborn death, but the authors stop short of saying no such link exists.

“Morning sickness is a very common symptom,” Weber says. “It occurs in about 70% of pregnancies.” It’s believed to be associated with the rapidly increasing estrogen levels during early pregnancy. Morning sickness often begins at six or eight weeks, peaks at eight to 12 weeks and subsides or disappears after that.

* Doheny cannot answer mail personally but will attempt to respond in this column to questions of general interest. Please do not telephone. Write to Mythbusters, Life & Style Section, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053.