Summer means travel. And for many of you that can mean motion sickness - be it travel by plan, train or automobile. It can even happen to people at an IMAX theatre. You may feel nauseous, dizzy, sweaty and uncomfortable. For most people the symptoms vanish once the offending motion stops - in other words, once you get off the plane or out of the car. But for some people the symptoms can last for a few days. This condition is called “mal d’embarquement.”
Just why do people suffer from motion sickness? Well, your body is constantly balancing a variety of sensations - signals from your inner ear, your skin, your eyes and your central nervous system. When these systems receive different messages, you can start to feel sick. One of the best examples is reading a book in the car. Your eyes - focused on the page - tell your body that you are stationary. But the fluid in your ears is telling your body a different story - a story of motion.
What can you do to prevent motion sickness?
- Don’t pick a window seat in an airplane. If you are seated by the window, don’t look out.
- Don’t read a book while in a car. Opt to sit in the front seat or drive.
- Get on the deck of the boat and take a good look around you. Watching the horizon will help.
- Don’t pick a backward facing seat on the train. Forward is best.
Certain medications can also help prevent motion sickness. The key is taking them well in advance of the motion. Antihistamines (such as Dramamine or Meclizine) or a scopolamine skin patch can prevent motion sickness. The skin patch is placed behind the ear and should be applied about four hours in advance of getting in the car, boat or plane. Some people also find that ginger ale helps an upset stomach, or even rolling down the window in the car. Experiment and see what works for you.
Finally, some people can actually teach their bodies to tolerate the conflicting sensory signals that make them motion sick. So, if you like reading in the car but start to feel woozy, try to extend your reading time a little longer each time. Eventually, your body may tolerate reading in the car.
If you occasionally experience heartburn, you’re not alone. About 60 million people have heartburn at least once a month. So what do you think triggers heartburn? Stress? Spicy, greasy foods? They certainly can. But there are other culprits you may not be aware of.
Peppermint is usually thought to soothe an upset stomach. But if you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peppermint can cause heartburn. Those with GERD experience heartburn more often than others because their stomach contents leak into and irritate the esophagus. The menthol of peppermint, which is known to soothe, can actually do its job too well - relaxing the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach. When that valve relaxes, stomach acids can enter the esophagus and lead to heartburn.
Eat your veggies. Drink plenty of water. Exercise daily. Nothing new there - you’ve heard it over and over. But for those of you who have suffered through diverticulitis, this advice is key. It can also play a role in preventing diverticulitis - a painful infection that occurs in small pouches, called diverticula, which can form in your intestines.
For people over 40, diverticula can be common - and most people are unaware of them. As you age, the weak spots in your colon can develop little pouches. These pouches can become irritated when materials collect in them - the risk for this is exacerbated by a diet that is too low in fiber, a lack of exercise and obesity.
When the diverticula become inflamed or infected, the result can be more than a little uncomfortable. You may experience abdominal pain on the lower left side of the abdomen, nausea, bloating, fever, constipation or diarrhea.
If you experience these symptoms, your physician will examine your abdomen for tenderness, take a blood sample to test for infection and may have you undergo a CT scan to identify the infected and inflamed pouches.
In most cases, mild diverticulitis is treated with a round of antibiotics, rest, a low-fiber diet and plenty of liquids. As you recover, your physician will alter your diet accordingly, generally reintroducing high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. More serious cases of diverticulitis may require surgery. If you develop peritonitis - in which a pouch ruptures - you will require hospitalization and immediate medical care.
Physicians used to recommend that patients with diverticulitis avoid seeds, nuts and foods with small seeds because they believed those particles lodged in the pouches and caused inflammation. Recent research indicates that these foods are not associated with an increased risk of diverticulitis.
To keep your intestines in tip-top shape, eat 20 to 35 grams of fiber each day, drink plenty of water, use the bathroom when your body tells you to, and exercise.
During this Thanksgiving holiday, Former First Lady Barbara Bush underwent emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer. This condition can be life threatening, so let’s take a closer look.
What is a perforated ulcer? An ulcer located in the stomach or other parts of the digestive tract is a breakdown of the organ’s inner lining. As the tissue begins to break down, the digestive acids eat away at the walls of the digestive tract. Eventually, bleeding can occur. A perforated ulcer is a result of this worsening condition. The acids eventually create a hole in the organ resulting in the release of foods and digestive juices outside the stomach or intestine.
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In 2007, pet food manufactured in China was contaminated with melamine, a byproduct of plastics manufacturing. This chemical, which mimics protein, caused fatal kidney disease and kidney stones. Several pet illnesses and deaths were reported in the United States, which prompted an investigation into pet foods coming from China.
Now, another scandal has arisen in China with the findings of melamine in infant formulas. As of this past week, over 54,000 infants have become ill from ingesting melamine-contaminated formula, 12,900 are currently hospitalized, and four infants have died from kidney failure. It is estimated that 20 percent of all infant formulas in China contain melamine, which was used to raise protein-levels in milk to reach government standards. Contamination has also been found in liquid milk, frozen yogurt dessert and in coffee drinks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has issued a release stating that “countries should closely monitor their markets,” because melamine-contaminated products could reach other countries via “formal and informal trade.” This follows reports of finding imported melamine-contaminated products in several countries over the last two weeks.
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