Your Guide to a Safer Summer Weekend

By Allison Avery
From Health magazine

It’s here—the season of cookouts, road trips, and lazy poolside afternoons with family and friends. However you celebrate summer, our smart tips will keep the action safe and healthy.

Start by grilling smart. Grilling mistakes cause thousands of fires every year. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you position any grill at least three feet away from house siding or railings and never place it in an enclosed area or under eaves or tree branches. If you smell gas, turn the tank off quickly and call the fire department. When grilling with charcoal, never add lighter fluid after lighting coals—the flames can leap high.

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Dodge the burn and the bugs
Turned off by greasy sunscreen and smelly sprays? Cabana Life has a line of clothing with UPF 50+ (like SPF for fabrics), including the stylish Gingham Reversible Bucket Hat ($42; www.cabanalife.com). And the Patch Madras Shirt from Orvis ($59; www.orvis.com) is outfitted with Insect Shield, a repellent that wards off bugs for up to 70 washings. (P.S.: We still recommend sunscreen for your face).


Take CPR . . . to the pool
It’s scary to think about, but serious pool accidents happen all the time. You can save a life by immediately performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); that doubles a drowning person’s chances of survival, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). How do you learn? A 30-minute do-it-yourself course is all it takes. Try the AHA’s CPR Anytime ($29.95 for adult kit; www.americanheart.org), featuring a dummy and DVD.


Practice safe picnicking
No one wants to be stuck in the bathroom when everyone’s outdoors. Avoid food poisoning by putting meat, potato salad, beans, cut and cooked vegetables, and cheese in a cooler, which is 41°F or colder, after two hours on the table, experts say. Try the Big Dipper Collapsible Tub Cooler ($32; www.picnicfun.com), which folds flat for storage.


Get your game on
Why let a silly, preventable injury kick you out of that impromptu tennis tourney? “If you’re not accustomed to playing sports, muscle strains are common,” says Margot Putukian, MD, director of athletic medicine at Princeton University. Solution: Warm up with a few minutes of walking and stretching. Got a bum knee? Wrap it in a brace before you play.

Last Updated: February 18, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

Medical Tests You Must Have

Most women wouldn’t dream of skipping their annual pelvic, Pap, and breast exams. But when was the last time you had a head-to-toe checkup—or took stock of other tests you probably need but can’t find time for? “For most women, a checkup just isn’t on any to-do list,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, chief of women’s cardiac care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. “We have to take the kids to the pediatrician, our moms are sick, our husbands need to go to the cardiologist.” The irony, of course, is that you can’t do all that unless you’re taking care of yourself, too.

Here’s a quick rundown of 20-plus tests that experts recommend for women—don’t worry, you don’t need them all at once. But get to know them, and your body will thank you.

Eyes
Musts: Annual screenings, preferably by an ophthalmologist, although you should feel free to see an optometrist. Also, a glaucoma and cataract screening at age 50 and beyond, or earlier if you’re diabetic or if you’re experiencing double vision, blurriness, or headaches. (African-American women should begin glaucoma screening at age 40 because their risk is higher.)
Maybe: Glaucoma screening in your 30s if you have a family history of early glaucoma.

Ears
Musts: At age 40, a baseline audiogram (which measures your ability to hear sounds at different pitches) done by a licensed audiologist.
Maybe: An audiogram at any age if you’re experiencing hearing loss—if you ask people to repeat themselves, for instance, or if you feel as if your ears are always plugged.

Brain
Musts: Annual screening for depression by your primary care physician. It could be a simple two-question test: 1) In the past two weeks, have you been feeling down, depressed, or hopeless? 2) Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy? Answer yes to either or both, and depression is a possibility.

Neck
Musts: At age 50, a thyroid test every five years. The screening checks for an underactive or overactive thyroid.
Maybe: The same test when you’re younger if you have inconsistent periods, unexplained weight gain or loss, heart palpitations, difficulty getting pregnant, or a sluggish postpartum feeling.

Teeth
Musts: Twice-a-year checkups by a dentist to screen for cavities and gum disease, and a visual check for oral cancer. If you have red or white lesions that aren’t canker sores, then there’s a chance you’ll be referred to an oral surgeon for an inner-cheek-swab cancer test.

Skin
Musts: Annual full-body visual scan by your primary care physician to check for skin cancer—or by a dermatologist if you have fair skin or a family history of skin cancer.

Bones
Musts: Baseline bone density scan, or DEXA, at age 65 to see if you’re at risk for bone loss (it’s OK to be tested in your 40s or 50s if you or your doctor is concerned). Do it at age 35 if you weigh less than 127 pounds, have a family history of osteoporosis, take corticosteroids for a condition like asthma, or have a history of unexplained fractures.

Breasts
Musts: Annual breast exam by a doctor beginning at age 18 and annual mammograms beginning at age 40. Formal self-exams? Experts don’t agree about their value. Many recommend just touching your breasts regularly so you’re familiar with any changes.
Maybe: If you have first-degree relatives who had or have breast cancer, talk to your doctor about starting screening earlier than normal, and about MRI and gene tests, too.

Heart
Musts: Yearly blood pressure check and physical exam, including checks for murmurs (sounds that may indicate a narrow or leaky valve) or for an irregular heartbeat. Cholesterol tests (including HDL, LDL, total triglycerides, and total cholesterol) beginning at age 20 (if normal, repeat every five years). And a blood-glucose test to screen for diabetes at age 45, repeated every three years.

Abdomen
Musts: At age 50, a colonoscopy (a full examination of the colon) to screen for colorectal cancer; if normal, repeat exam in 10 years.
Maybe: An upper endoscopy (in which a video camera looks inside your esophagus) if you suffer from chronic heartburn (or if food routinely feels stuck after you’ve swallowed it) to screen for Barrett’s esophagus, a precursor to cancer.

Pelvis
Musts: An annual pelvic exam, including manual tests of the uterus and ovaries. If you’re 30 or older, a Pap smear with a human papillomavirus (HPV) test to screen for cervical cancer; if normal, repeat in three years if you don’t change sexual partners or haven’t had any abnormal Paps in previous years. Also, a digital rectal exam every five to 10 years beginning at age 50.

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3 Tests You Don’t Need
Biophysical 250
A blood test ($3,400; www.biophysical250.com) that scans for more than 200 potential signs of disease, including heart disease and cancer. “This test isn’t ready for prime time,” explains Nieca Goldberg, MD, a heart specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and author of The Women’s Healthy Heart Program.

OMX-3
A blood test ($159 to $200; www.omegametrix.com) that the manufacturer claims will measure heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in red blood cells. The results are touted as better predictors of risk for sudden cardiac death than LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. “In theory, an omega-3 index is useful, but there are no large-scale trials that have looked at this. So, in truth, no claims can be made. On the other hand, omega-3s are critically important to health, and supplementing with fish oils makes a lot of sense,” says internist Marie Savard, MD, author of The Body Shape Solution to Weight Loss and Wellness.

AntiOxidant Check
A urine test ($65.95; www.balanceyournutrition.com) promising to measure your levels of antioxidants—which protect cells from unstable, unhealthy molecules (a.k.a free radicals). Savard: “This test is completely unfounded. There’s just no data at all to support it.”

By Lambeth Hochwald

Last Updated: August 14, 2008
Filed Under: Mind and Body

A Cancer Survivor Raises Awareness With Laughs

By Nancy Larson
From Health magazine

How far can a good laugh take you? Colon-cancer survivor Tammy Figg of St. Louis leans on humor to raise money for cancer research through her Figg Tree Foundation. Its annual event is called the “What’s Up Your Butt Comedy Show,” and its slogan is “How to Keep Your Rear in the Clear.” So far the foundation has raised $88,000. Figg, 33 and in remission, wants people to open up about colon cancer. She talked with Health about facing the disease with candor and irreverence.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with humor?
A: What the Susan G. Komen Foundation has done with getting people to talk about breasts is what we want to do with colorectal cancer. When we’re successful, you won’t be afraid to tell your doctor if you’re bleeding just because it’s embarrassing to talk about what comes out of your rear.

Q: Did you have a lot of bleeding?
A: Yes. Then I went to the ER, where they did a colonoscopy and found the cancer.

Q: How difficult was the recovery?
A: I wasn’t prepared to have an ostomy bag. When I woke up from surgery, there was a little bit of, “Oh my gosh, what is that?” Next thought: “I’ve got to wear a wedding dress with that?” I was thankful to have the bag reversed after three months. My plumbing now is like it was before, just with a reconstructed rectum. What that means: When I have to go, I absolutely have to go. I started feeling better in a couple of weeks. Later, I had radiation five days a week and chemotherapy, 24 hours a day, on a drip. That was draining.

Q: Are you afraid that the cancer will come back?
A: Once you have had cancer, I don’t think you ever let it go. But I do things that are supposed to lower the risks. I still eat healthy like I did before—fruits and vegetables—and I don’t eat a lot of red meat. Plus, I do kickboxing, work out on an elliptical machine, and lift weights.

Q: You posed in a midriff-baring outfit in the national Colon Club’s “Colander.” What were you thinking?
A: I figured someone would see me and get screened for colon cancer
. I don’t look at my scars and cringe. It’s more like, “Look at this—I’m pretty proud of it.”

Q: How did this crisis affect your marriage?
A: I was diagnosed just six weeks before our wedding, so I was scared. I remember looking at Bryan when I was just out of surgery and saying, “If you want to pick somebody else because I’m kind of broken, I’m OK with that.” He said, “It doesn’t matter if I have you for one day or 100 years. I want to be with you.”

Q: You were able to have a child by doing in vitro. You want more kids?
A: We’d love to, but we also realize that we weren’t even supposed to have one. Each day I look at my son, Ayden, I’m reminded that he’s such a gift. It’s so hard to discipline him!

Q: About 26,000 women will get colon cancer this year. What do all women really need to know?
A: That you should stop worrying so much about the size of your butt and start talking about the health of it. Know your family history, talk about it with your doctor, and get screened when the time is right. And donate to the foundation (www.figgtree.com), too, so we can fund much-needed research.

Last Updated: February 18, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

How to Bounce Back at Work

From Health magazine

Made a big mistake on the job? Life coach M.J. Ryan reveals how you can make a full recovery.

Back when I was a magazine editor, I once made a production mistake so horrendous that the back cover fell off of all 300,000 copies on the newsstand. It’s the only time I’ve ever cried at work. I desperately wanted to slink away into a hole and hide for the next decade, at least.

How about you? Ever made a huge blunder at the office? Maybe you took a foolhardy risk with the company’s money, accidentally revealed a piece of confidential medical information about a colleague, or made a big faux pas with the boss. No one is perfect, as much as each of us might like to be, so it’s important to learn the best way to repair damage and move on in a positive way. Through hard-won experience, I’ve come to see that there are three key steps.

1. Apologize the right way
You may want to get the apologizing over with by saying a quick “I’m sorry.” But it sometimes can make matters worse because you may end up sounding insincere. In fact, there’s an art form to a good apology, one that will create closure for you and anyone affected by your actions. First, acknowledge your blunder: “Yes, I forgot to check the figures.” Next, inquire about the impact your mistake had: “What effect did that have on you?” Third, explain yourself—not in a defensive way but to offer context: “I see that I was rushing. Next time I’ll be sure to focus more.” Finally, inquire about how to make amends: “What can I do to fix this? Should I send a letter of apology to the client?” When you include each of these parts to your apology, you actually learn from the situation, and the other person understands that you take your mistakes seriously and handle them maturely.

2. Look to the future
If you’re stewing over a mistake, remind yourself of something I recently heard personal-finance expert Suze Orman say: “You can’t change what you’ve done, only what you’re going to do.” It’s a perfect message for giving up on the “if onlys” and “I should haves” that can drag you down. Instead of kicking yourself, figure out what you can do to avoid making the same mess-up again.

Live Your Ultimate Life: Give Yourself a Pep-Talk

By Brittani Renaud
From Health magazine

If you’re facing a new challenge…
Ease the dread by telling yourself what you’ll get out of it. Have to give a presentation at work? Think: Getting through this will give me more confidence the next time I need to speak in public. Trying a new gym class? Remind yourself that you’re braving it to get healthier. Go, you!

If you’re feeling down about yourself…
Think back to when you’ve bounced back from bigger setbacks, saying to yourself, “I can overcome this. I’ve done it before.” Whenever the going gets tough (whether you’ve lost your job, endured a bad breakup, or just need an ego boost), it truly helps to repeat a mantra like, “I kick butt!”

Last Updated: February 17, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

Do You Need a Breast Reduction?

From Health magazine

The number of women opting for breast reductions has jumped 25% in recent years—to 106,000 in the latest annual count by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Experts say women who could benefit from a reduction often complain of:

• Pain in the shoulders, back, and neck
  
• Rashes on the undersides of the breasts
  Difficulty running, jogging, or playing high-impact sports, or golfing because breasts get in the way
• Asymmetry, where one breast may be as much as two cup sizes larger than the other

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

Solutions for Painful Bunions, Frequent Bruises, and Colon Cancer Concerns

From Health magazine

Q: I’ve developed some ugly, painful bunions. Do I have to stop wearing my high heels?
A: Any shoe that pinches your feet could aggravate a bunion, so you need to be sure you’re giving your feet the room they need. Bunions form when bone grows abnormally at the base of the big toe in the joint between your toe and foot. As they develop, they turn the big toe inward toward the smaller toes, and the enlarged joint can become inflamed, red, and painful. Though most bunions are inherited, a narrow shoe with a small toe box can sometimes cause them.

Make sure any style that you wear provides at least a half-inch of space between the end of your longest toe and the shoe tip. The shoe should conform to the shape of your foot and be comfortable across the widest part. (A recent study said most of us wear shoes a size too small!)

How you walk also could be part of the problem. Placing too much stress on the big toe or inside of your foot can cause bunions and a host of other problems, including back pain.

If your bunions hurt, see a podiatrist. She may suggest special padding for your shoes or medication to reduce the swelling and pain. Also, orthotic shoes or inserts may help keep your feet in the right position as you walk.

Last Updated: February 17, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

Good Gyno Hygiene: Debunking Pelvic Myths

By Leslie Goldman
From Health magazine

Va-jay-jay, bajingo, cha-cha, down there. Given our reluctance to even say the word “vagina,” it’s no wonder that myths about this body part often go unchecked. You’ve heard that douching is bad and cotton panties are good—those are true.

But what about all those other health “factoids” concerning odor, medications, and peeing? Here, the real story.

Myth: Your vagina should smell like orchids

Debunked: It’s normal to smell a little sweaty or have a mild sour-milk scent from lactobacilli (a kind of healthy bacteria in the vagina that encourage a weakly acidic yet protective pH level).

“We’re taught that we’re supposed to be odorless or smell like flowers, but we don’t smell like
flowers—and we don’t smell bad,” says Elizabeth Stewart, MD, director of the Vulvovaginal Service at Harvard Vanguard Medical Association and author of The V Book. New odor-reducing, fresh-and-clean products hit the market every year, all with subtle sexual appeal. Don’t fall for it. You don’t even need soap to keep your vagina clean and happy. Warm water is totally adequate for good hygiene (although a gentle product could be used).

Myth: If a trimmed bikini line is good, totally bare is even better

Debunked: Pubic hair cushions and protects your vagina from friction and infection. Removing all your hair or leaving just a landing strip can lead to significant irritation—from the removal process itself and from rubbing against underwear or jeans. That friction can cause invisible microabrasions that give bacteria on the skin an opportunity to sneak into the bloodstream. “People think less hair is good,” says Melissa Goist, MD, an OB-GYN at The Ohio State University Medical Center, “but that’s only if you have lice or crabs.” Going bare might also increase transmission of skin-to-skin sexually transmitted infections like herpes or human papillomavirus (HPV). Still want to dare to be bare? Dr. Goist suggests shaving with a new razor every time and using warm water and shaving cream to limit the risk of infection.

Last Updated: March 5, 2009
Filed Under: Mind and Body

How to Stop Stinky Shoes

By Tracy Teare
From Health magazine

Your favorite yoga or running shoes may not be your favorite for long if exercise leaves them malodorous. Here are our tips on how to staunch the stench:

• Wear socks made primarily of thin wool (we like SmartWool, Tekosocks, and Darn Tough Vermont), which wick sweat but won’t smell like other synthetics.
  
• Add antimicrobial sock liners with carbon filters.
  Remove sock liners after each outing and sprinkle a small amount of baking soda inside each shoe.
• Wipe shoes clean with a damp cloth, and scrub with a toothbrush and gentle detergent. Never put them in the washer or dryer.
• To dry, stuff with newspapers to retain shape.

What Your Feet Are Trying to Tell You

By Tracy Teare
From Health magazine

OK, admit it: You’re more likely to be up on the hot new nail polish color (it’s gold) for fall than you are to know what kind of arch you have or the mechanics of how you walk. But how your feet are built has a lot to do with what kind of shoes you can comfortably wear. Here’s what you need to know.

The all-important arch
When you walk your dog or run for a cab, that curved area on the inside of each foot between the ball and heel is almost solely responsible for supporting your body weight—and then some. Arches range from pancake-flat to sky-high, and wearing the wrong shoes for yours can be a big reason why certain pairs feel like a dream and others, a nightmare.

“If you have high arches and wear shoes designed for low arches, you’re likely to strain the ligaments and tendons on the outsides of your feet and you may even develop back pain,” says Stephen Pribut, DPM, past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. “If you have low arches, you won’t get the support you need in shoes designed for high-arched feet, so you could wind up with problems like plantar fasciitis and tendinitis.” To find out what type of arch you have, take our quick test (below), then follow Pribut’s advice on what to look for on your next shoe shopping spree.

If your arch is high … you have very rigid and inflexible feet. And when you walk, you’re likely to land on the outsides of your feet without rolling inward (known to podiatrists as underpronation or supination), which can lead to plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, and knee problems, if you pick unsupportive or noncushioned shoes. You may also notice that the soles of your old shoes are worn down along the outsides.

Shoe rules: You need neutral-cushioned shoes. Look for curved, C-shaped soles and squeeze the heel areas—your ideal shoes should feel stiff, not mushy like the back of a ballet shoe. Also avoid very flat shoes, and look for cushioning under the balls of the feet and a small heel lift.

If your arch is normal … your feet will feel comfy with shoes that provide some arch support.

Shoe rules: Look for semicurved soles, and stick with the types of shoes that have been comfortable for you in the past. Avoid the extremes: Skip superhigh heels, ballet-style flats, and any shoes you can either roll up in a ball or not bend at all.