It's hard to relax and be calm when we are bombarded with negative news from all sides, every single day. But try. Take a deep breath and try to relax.
A white-tailed deer just hanging out.
An American Dies of COVID-19 Every 107 Seconds
Holy mackerel! Currently COVID-19 kills someone in the United States every 107 seconds! And the U.S. is reporting more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases each day.
Wear a mask! Wearing a mask protects us from others exhaling the virus, protects us from inhaling the virus, and lowers how much virus we are exposed to (cloth and surgical masks protect us from most virus particles, but not all). There is evidence that wearing masks so lowers the amount of virus a person is exposed to (viral load), that if a person gets the infection, the body can deal with it much better and the infections may be asymptomatic or minor. This is huge - the possibility that up to 95% of infections could be asymptomatic!
Excerpts from Medscape: US Cases Spike as COVID Kills Every 107 Seconds
The U.S. is reporting more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases each day, and 41 states are reporting at least 10% more cases this week than the week before, according to CNN. ...continue reading "An American Dies of COVID-19 Every 107 Seconds"
Normal Body Temperature Is Lower Than We Thought
For many years we have viewed 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37.0°C) as the normal body temperature of a healthy adult. It turns out that is no longer true. The average body temperature has been falling for the last few decades. Studies find the temperature decrease in different parts of the world, in both rural and urban areas. Looks like it's somewhere between 97.5°F (California), 97.7°F (among the Tsimane in the Bolivian Amazon), and 97.9°F (United Kingdom).
An international team of researchers studied the body temperature of the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon using 16 years of data and compared the findings to the US and UK studies. The Tsimane live a subsistence lifestyle without access to running water or sanitation, have high exposure to diverse pathogens (e.g. parasites), and many infections. During the last 2 decades they have had increased access to health care (including vaccinations), and to markets, and there has been an improvement in health and lifestyle. So it was surprising that their average body temperature also declined in the last 2 decades.
The researchers think the temperature decline among the different populations is due to a combination of factors, which include improved lifestyle, better medical care and treatments, increased use of antibiotics which alter the gut microbial communities (microbiome), fewer parasitic infections, changes in physical activity, and increasing body weight.
From Science Daily: Average body temperature among healthy adults declined over the past two decades
In the nearly two centuries since German physician Carl Wunderlich established 98.6°F as the standard "normal" body temperature, it has been used by parents and doctors alike as the measure by which fevers -- and often the severity of illness -- have been assessed. ...continue reading "Normal Body Temperature Is Lower Than We Thought"
Plastic Baby Bottles Shed Tiny Plastic Particles
It turns out that plastic baby bottles shed millions of tiny plastic particles (microplastics) into the breast milk, formula, or water in them. At this point we don't really know what ingesting multitudes of microplastics every day does to a person, but assume that it is not beneficial and we should try to lower how much we ingest. (Microplastics are turning up in foods and water, especially bottled water - we are ingesting them, excreting them, and there is some concerning health research.)
Trinity College researchers found that the greatest number of microplastics are shed into the baby bottle contents when polypropylene bottles are heated, especially during bottle sterilization. The research team estimated that current guidelines for infant bottle sterilization and formula preparation result in an average daily ingestion by European and American babies of more than 2 million microplastics every day! Yikes!
What to do? Absolute best would be to use glass baby bottles - no plastic there. But if plastic baby bottles are used: 1) first sterilize the bottles. 2) Then rinse the sterilized bottles 3 times in water that has been sterilized (boiled and cooled) in a stainless steel or glass pot. 3) Same with the formula - heat in a non-plastic container (glass or stainless steel) and then pour it into the plastic baby bottle.
Also: do not heat formula in plastic containers or microwave ovens. Do not vigorously shake the formula in the bottle at any time. Do not use sonication to clean plastic baby bottles.
Shedding of microplastics is a property of plastic polypropylene bottles, and the hotter the bottle - the more is shed. Shaking also releases microplastics. The only way to avoid the problem of microplastics in the formula or other liquid is to use glass baby bottles.
From The Scientist: Baby Bottles Can Shed Millions of Microplastic Particles: Study
Plastic has long been a major source of pollution in landfills and in oceans, especially as it degrades into pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, termed “microplastics.” Experimental studies have shown that these particles and the cocktail of chemicals they carry can wreak havoc on physiology, reproduction, development, and behavior in a number of nonhuman species. ...continue reading "Plastic Baby Bottles Shed Tiny Plastic Particles"
Routine Dental Checkups Not Necessary Every Six Months
Many routine checkups have been postponed during this pandemic, including routine dental checkups every 6 months. But is it OK to put off such visits? A recent review of studies found evidence that traditional six-month visits are not necessary in healthy individuals without dental problems. The 6 month checkups don't improve oral health when compared to persons getting them every 24 months.
The researchers found that in adults there is no difference in the number of cavities (caries), gingival or gum bleeding (gum disease), and oral health whether one gets a six-month dental checkup versus a 24 month check-up. This review is published on the prestigious Cochrane reviews web-site.
In other words, it is OK to put off a routine dental visit in healthy adults. However, the researchers stress that this is in adults without any dental issues, and that if there are dental problems to go to the dentist.
From Medical Xpress: Study shows traditional six-month dental check-ups not necessary for healthy adults
A new review provides reassurance to patients who have missed routine dental check-ups due to COVID-19 restrictions by showing that six-monthly check-up appointments do not improve oral health. ...continue reading "Routine Dental Checkups Not Necessary Every Six Months"
Chronic Wasting Disease Is Spreading In the United States
If you're a hunter or eat wild-caught game (deer, elk, moose, reindeer), then you should be concerned with chronic wasting disease (CWD). Chronic wasting disease is an always-fatal prion disease similar to "mad-cow disease" (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in cattle.
In chronic wasting disease there is a long incubation period, followed by the brain become progressively like a sponge - riddled with holes, along with deterioration in brain function, behavioral changes, and eventually death. A horrible slow death. There are no treatments or vaccines.
It turns out that chronic wasting disease is slowly spreading and infecting wild game across the United States (26 states) and 3 Canadian provinces. [Also detected in Finland, Norway, South Korea, and Sweden.] The concern is that this disease will jump to humans, especially in people who eat contaminated meat.
A research center monitoring the situation and publishing information and research on its site is CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease and Policy). Make sure to look at the Tweets (Twitter).
One scary thing about CWD is that once it gets into the soil, it stays there for years, and high heat, disinfectants, and radiation don't kill it. Yikes! Dr.Zabel at the Colorado State Univ. Prion Research Center suggested a few years ago that controlled burns (fires) of infected fields or areas could eliminate the prions left behind by infected animals (from animal mucus/saliva, urine, and feces, and decaying carcasses) on plants and soil.
An article with advice for how hunters can protect themselves, and a map of where CWD is found in the US.: 5 Ways Hunters Can Prevent Spreading Chronic Wasting Disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has several chronic wasting disease pages, including prevention and transmission.
Here is some of what CIDRAP says on their site about CWD:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects several cervid species: deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose. CWD was first identified in 1967 in a captive mule deer living in a Colorado research facility. In 1981, CWD was detected for the first time in a wild cervid. Since these initial detections, CWD has been identified in 26 states and three Canadian provinces. It has also been detected in Finland, Norway, South Korea, and Sweden. ...continue reading "Chronic Wasting Disease Is Spreading In the United States"
Playing Outside In Nature Is Healthy For Young Children
To boost the immune system of young children, as well as improve their skin and gut microbiomes - send them out daily to play in a natural environment. That means outdoors in a natural park-like setting with grass, plants, soil, and trees. Yes, germs and dirt!
Finnish researchers found that replacing the gravel and pavement in urban daycare playground areas with natural forest-type vegetation (forest plants, shrubs, sod, mosses, and peat blocks for climbing) resulted in beneficial changes to young children's immune systems, and skin and gut microbiomes. This happened in just one month!
The researchers studied 75 children (3 to 5 years old) at 10 daycare centers in 2 Finnish cities (urban areas). Four of the daycare centers had their gravel/paved playgrounds turned into a forest-type natural area (where the children played), 3 daycare centers weren't changed (kept the gravel/pavement), and 3 daycare centers were already nature-oriented with children visiting forests daily. All children spent the same amount of time outside each day.
An important finding was that after 28 days the skin and gut microbiomes (microbial communities) of children playing in the transformed forest-type playgrounds had shifted to become more similar to children attending nature-oriented daycares. This change was also reflected in their immune systems: they developed a higher ratio of anti-inflammatory proteins to pro-inflammatory proteins in their blood (this is good).
The researchers point out that getting exposed to all the microbes in a natural forest-type setting (environmental microbial diversity) is beneficial. On the other hand, playing outside on man-made landscaping materials does not result in beneficial changes. Translation: playing outside in the dirt and plants is good for you.
From Medical Xpress: Replacing asphalt with forest-type plants at daycare centers found to strengthen immune defenses in children
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Finland and one in the Czech Republic found that replacing asphalt in play areas at daycare centers with natural vegetation can lead to stronger immune defenses in the children at the centers. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes removing asphalt from play areas at several daycare centers and replacing it with forest floor vegetation, and what they found when they tested the children who attended the centers. ...continue reading "Playing Outside In Nature Is Healthy For Young Children"
New FDA Warning About Using Common Pain Relievers During Pregnancy
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just issued a new warning about taking non-prescription and prescription pain relievers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS) during pregnancy. The FDA warned that using them from week 20 or later during pregnancy can cause rare, but serious, kidney complications in the unborn baby. This can lead to low levels of amniotic fluid (called oligohydramnios) surrounding the baby and possible complications.
The FDA advice is to avoid the following NSAIDs from week 20 and later of pregnancy: ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), diclofenac, and celecoxib (Celebrex). However, low dose (81 mg) aspirin is excluded from this warning. [See FDA warning for more information.]
The FDA had earlier warned about those same NSAIDs - cautioning to avoid taking them during pregnancy after week 30 because of heart-related risks.
The full warning and information from US FDA: FDA recommends avoiding use of NSAIDs in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid
Excerpts from Medscape: FDA Issues New NSAIDs Warning for Second Half of Pregnancy
The US Food and Drug Administration released new warnings today that most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) carry an elevated risk for kidney complications in an unborn children when taken around weeks 20 or later in pregnancy. ...continue reading "New FDA Warning About Using Common Pain Relievers During Pregnancy"
Wash Your Hands!
A study looked at how long the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19 lives on human skin. Researchers in Japan used human cadaver skin (because they didn't want to infect living humans) to compare influenza and the new coronavirus. They found that coronavirus lives up to 9 hours on undisturbed skin! And influenza A virus (a flu strain) less than 2 hours.
They also found that both viruses are easily washed away with soap and water or a hand sanitizer containing 80% alcohol.
Yes, it is thought that aerosol and droplets are the main ways to get the new coronavirus. But you do want to wash it off your hands after exposure. Proper hand hygiene!
From Medscape: New Coronavirus Survives Nine Hours on Human Skin
Left undisturbed, the new coronavirus can survive many hours on human skin, a new study has found. ...continue reading "Wash Your Hands!"
More Older Adults Are Using Cannabis Products For Medical Problems
What a change from a few decades ago when marijuana use was totally illegal, frowned upon, and viewed as a "gateway drug"! A recent study found that about 15% of older adults reported using cannabis in the past 3 years. Most adults (78%) reported they used it only it to treat medical problems such as pain or arthritis (73%), sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression.
University of California researchers conducted anonymous surveys of 568 older adults aged 65 years and older at a geriatrics clinic in California. They found that adults using cannabis for the first time after the age of 60 were more likely to apply it topically as a lotion, and not by smoking it or ingesting it as edibles. Three fourths said the products helped them.
A minority used it for recreational purposes by smoking or eating edibles. About half (53%) of cannabis users reported using cannabis regularly on a daily or weekly basis. The researchers pointed out that other surveys at geriatric clinics also showed increased cannabis use in recent years.
From Science Daily: Older adults using cannabis to treat common health conditions
With growing interest in its potential health benefits and new legislation favoring legalization in more states, cannabis use is becoming more common among older adults. ...continue reading "More Older Adults Are Using Cannabis Products For Medical Problems"