October 2009

Halloween CandyI believe that sugar is the equivalent of crack for kids. Last Thanksgiving, my extended family and I were about ready to eat our traditional pumpkin pie for dessert after the meal. Someone brought out a can of whipped cream and my cousin proceeded to give 4 or 5 whippits directly into the mouth of her 2-year-old son, then acted surprised when he went into a frenzy yelling screaming around the living room.

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The Evils of PMSPMS is quite possibly the  worst thing about being a woman on a month to month basis. My breasts swell, get sore and drop halfway to my belly, which also grows to ginormous proportions. Because I am tall, I typically gain no less than 5 fricking pounds of water bloat, feel like a blimp and as everyone who crosses my path during Aunt Flo’s little visit can attest to, I have a much tougher time with my moods.

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Illustration courtesy of Heikenwaelder HugoWe often hear about heart disease in its various forms and to help us in being heart healthy we have a lot of information on cholesterol and high blood pressure. However, tachycardia, or a rapid heart beat, is a condition that effects hundreds of people and can range from mild to severe and dangerous. Here is a brief overview of what you need to know about tachycardia and how to treat it.

What is Tachycardia?

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Most of us know that we should drink plenty of water—if not the 8 glasses assigned a day by many people, at least enough to keep us hydrated and healthy. Water is pretty much free; a good filtration system can eliminate the cost of bottled water. And yet we continue to spend billions of dollars on soda, bottled teas and energy drinks, and a variety of other thirst-quenchers that come in a can.

Why? My guess is for taste. Sure, I’ll imbibe on soda or an iced coffee just to help keep me awake—drinking Mountain Dew and sweet tea both by the case made me sick when I tried to stay up all of the time when I had my daughter, was working full time, and attending college. But I must admit that it got the job done. These days, when I limit myself to one or two sodas in times of “cram emergency,” I definitely don’t stay up as late. (Then again, I’ve gotten older, too…)

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October 16 is this Friday. Grab a red marker and circle it in your calendar. When you’re at friends’ houses, relatives’ houses, and especially your mother’s house, take it with you, and pen in a big, fat, red circle around the 16. You may even want to write in, “National Mammography Day.”

Like STDs, pregnancy, sexual assault, skin cancer, urinary tract infections and a host of other things that women have come to realize that we simply can’t ignore—or think they won’t affect us in some way or another—breast cancer is not something we can ignore. It’s the second most common cancer in women, and the number one killer of Hispanic women. Statistics show that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer—which mean that if it isn’t you, it’s likely going to be someone you care about.

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Lead poisoning is one of the most preventable diseases that kids can get. That said, 250,000 kids have high levels of lead in their blood annually. Every October, National Lead Poisoning Prevention week is held to help raise awareness about lead poisoning.

Lead is simply one of those things that you really wish wasn’t around. Sure, it’s got its uses, but giving your kids learning disabilities or seizures really aren’t things we’re interested, thanks. Though kiddos with lead poisoning often have no symptoms, they can also develop stomachaches, irritability, behavioral problems, fatigue, headaches, nausea and even die from lead exposure.

During this week, it’s stressed that all kids younger than six be tested for lead. Ages one and two are particularly at risk. Many health clinics offer free lead screening during this week, so there’s no excuse to not get it done.

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A lot of people wake up every day and go to a job at an office that, while it isn't very exciting, at least pays the bills. Of course, most of those people have interests that are a lot more intriguing than database management and how to properly program a copy machine. Beneath the thin veneer of every accountant, copywriter or sales rep could be someone who juggles torches, moonlights as a trapeze artist, or even somebody who strives to master the art of the great American pole dance. Such was the case with Seattleite Krisha CatZen, the founder of the Pole for the Soul pole dancing studio.

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Now We Need to VoteAre we still talking about the Healthcare bill? Yes, we emphatically are. And now we are talking cost, because that is where the decisions are made in the end, whether things go forward or die in committees before they can make it to the floor for votes.

What was just months ago blasted as certain to cost over $1 Trillion is now being billed at an estimated $829 Billion and would cut the federal deficit by $81 Billion over 10 years. Well, let’s do it then! That’s some pretty fantastic news on the cost front- an over 15% reduction? I’m starting to think that Obama played the politics out right on this one- let everybody complain and protest during the break and come back with rebuttals and a cheaper plan- nice.

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I recently ran across an article online that mentioned "mad cow disease" tangentially, and it got me wondering.  Weren't we in the United States supposed to have a massive outbreak of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) by now?

The prion disease which is called Bovine Spongiform Epilepsy (BSE) in cattle and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in people was a media darling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it has largely faded from view.  (Not least because a more lethal form of e. coli has developed in cattle, which presents a far more pressing medical issue. If you're a journalist looking to scare people, e. coli is where it's at these days.)


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