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The Cost of Car Accidents

Drivers around here really suck.  Maybe you don’t like my language, but you still probably agree with me.  And I’m going to give you my two cents worth as to why I think that is.  #1 – distractions; #2 – lack of personal responsibility; #3 – lack of capability. 

#1 Distractions:  Distractions are the obvious culprit for why there are so many bad drivers on the road today.  People are more focused on their phoone or text conversations or email communications on their cell phones/smart phones.  More and more business people have computers in their cars, which provide an oh-so-tempting distraction while driving.  And don’t forget the DVD players installed in cars, SUVs and minivans of all the moms and dads out there.  Sure, it keeps the kids from being a distraction, but can’t you see how the movie could be a distraction?

#2 Lack of Personal Responsibility:  Let’s face it – people don’t accept responsibility for their actions anymore.  It is always someone else’s fault.  Spill a cup of hot coffee in your lap?  Surely you didn’t fumble the cup and place it on precariously on your lap – so it must be McDonald’s fault.  Same thing on the road.  That is why you see drivers rolling through stop signs and running red lights, weaving in and out of traffic, speeding through town and school zones.  Because if something bad happens, of course it won’t be your fault.  Blame it on the person who was driving too slow in front of you.  Blame it on the person with the right-of-way who didn’t see you coming or didn’t get out of your way fast enough.  Blame it on the kid who was talking to friends while getting of the bus – he should have been paying attention! 

#3 – Lack of Capability: This really covers a lot of different situtations.  The drivers who are impared from alcholol, illegal drug use, or legal prescription use.  It also incorporates young drivers who haven’t developed the reflexes and skills that come with experience behind the wheel.  And finally, it includes our aging population who maybe shouldn’t be driving anymore, but are reluctant to give up the freedom that it represents.

So what are the costs associated with lousy drivers (regardless of the reason)?  In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion – with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the United States, said the study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. See the CDC press release.

The one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists, the study said.

So the message here is that getting in an accident ain’t cheap.  Slow down, take your time, put away the cell phone, turn off all electronic devices when you are driving and be present and aware.  If you are taking medications that can impair your ability to drive a car, stay home or get a ride.   Don’t even think about driving if you are drinking or doing drugs – you might get what you deserve, but the innocent victim of your irresponsibility doesn’t.  If you are young use common sense, practice in less trafficed areas when possible, and follow all of the advice above.  And if you are elderly, talk to your family about whether you should consider retiring your driver’s license.  These steps won’t just keep you safe, it will keep your passengers and the other travelers on the road safe as well.

And, if you do get in a car accident, be sure to seek quality, competent medical care from a reputable doctor.  Dr. Remmel has been treating patients who have been injuried in automobile accidents for over 30 years.  If you can’t see him, see someone that is recommended by someone you know and trust.  Don’t call a “doctor and attorney referral service.”  They aren’t about getting you better, they are about making money off of you.

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Danger Lurks: Promoting Bulimia Online

Bathroom: After
Image by srbyug via Flickr

As I mentioned countless times, obesity is an epidemic in America, and it is slowly but surely killing us while putting an enormous burden on our health care system.  But there are other eating issues besides gluttony that are dangerous, and yes, deadly.  Yesterday’s post discussed anorexia and how there are over 10,000,000 websites that encourage and promote anorexia.  Today we are talking about bulimia.

Remember the stats I mentioned yesterday?  Unbelievably, there are over 10,000,000 websites that are promoting anorexia; giving tips and online support to help people become thinner through anorexia.  There are more than 2,000,000 other pro bulimia websites offering encouragement, tips and advice on purging.  I’ll say it again … that these sites exist is to me, morally reprehensible.

What is Bulimia?

Bulimia, also called bulimia nervosa, is a psychological eating disorder. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge-eating followed by inappropriate methods of weight control (purging). Inappropriate methods of weight control include vomiting, fasting, enemas, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics, or compulsive exercising. Excessive shape and weight concerns are also characteristics of bulimia. A binge is an episode where an individual eats a much larger amount of food than most people would in a similar situation. Binge eating is not a response to intense hunger. It is usually a response to depression, stress, or self esteem issues. During the binge episode, the individual experiences a loss of control. However, the sense of a loss of control is also followed by a short-lived calmness. The calmness is often followed by self-loathing. The cycle of overeating and purging usually becomes an obsession and is repeated often.

Bulimia was only diagnosed as its own eating disorder in the 1980s.

People with bulimia can look perfectly normal.  Here is the tricky part in identifying someone who is bulimic:  Most of them are of normal weight, and some may be overweight. Women with bulimia tend to be high achievers.

What makes it even harder to determine whether a person is suffering from bulimia, is the fact that bingeing and purging is often done in secret. Also, individuals suffering from bulimia often deny their condition.

Sufferers consume huge quantities of food. Sometimes up to 20,000 calories at a time. The foods on which they binge tend to be foods labeled as “comfort foods” — sweet foods, high in calories, or smooth, soft foods like ice cream, cake, and pastry. An individual may binge anywhere from twice a day to several times daily.

What Causes Bulimia?

There is currently no definite known cause of bulimia. Researchers believe it begins with dissatisfaction of the person’s body and extreme concern with body size and shape. Usually individuals suffering from bulimia have low self-esteem, feelings of helplessness and a fear of becoming fat

Medical complications from bulimia

Some of the most common complications of bulimia are:

•Erosion of tooth enamel because of repeated exposure to acidic gastric contents.
•Dental cavities, sensitivity to hot or cold food.
•Swelling and soreness in the salivary glands (from repeated vomiting).
•Stomach Ulcers.
•Ruptures of the stomach and esophagus.
•Abnormal buildup of fluid in the intestines.
•Disruption in the normal bowel release function.
•Electrolyte imbalance.
•Dehydration
•Irregular heartbeat and in severe cases heart attack
•A greater risk for suicidal behavior
•Decrease in libido
Symptoms of Bulimia

Some of the most common symptoms of bulimia are:

•Eating uncontrollably
•Purging
•Strict dieting
•Fasting
•Vigorous exercise
•Vomiting or abusing laxatives or diuretics in an attempt to lose weight.
•Vomiting blood
•Using the bathroom frequently after meals.
•Preoccupation with body weight
•Depression or mood swings. Feeling out of control.
•Swollen glands in neck and face
•Heartburn,
•Bloating,
•Indigestion,
•Constipation
•Irregular periods
•Dental problems
•sore throat
•Weakness
•Exhaustion
•Bloodshot eyes

Risk Factors of Bulimia

There are certain professions and activities/hobbies where thinness is emphasized, making eating disorders more prevalent.  Not surprisingly, modeling, dancing, gymnastics, wrestling, and long-distance running all foster body image issues that can lead to bulima.

Bulimia Statistics

•Bulimia affects about 10% of college age women in the United States.
•About 10% of individuals diagnosed with bulimia are men.
•10% of individuals suffering from bulimia will die from either starvation, cardiac arrest, other medical complications, or suicide.

Bulimia is insidious in that it is really hard to identify an individual who suffers from the illness.  The health problems associated with bulimia are extensive, but the individual doesn’t look ill on the outside and often isn’t thin to the point of alarming friends and family.  Again, open communication between the individual and family/friends is the key to preventing eating disorders or getting help for the one suffering from the illness.

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Teens Find Eating Disorder Tips On Line – Anorexia

Anorexia Nervosa by Dr Mohamed Osman
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We have focused a lot on the ever expanding waistline of Americans, and yesterday’s blog was all about disgusting restaurant menu items that are almost a guaranteed heart attack on a plate.  The overweight and obese are definitely in the majority, and being overweight or obese leads to health problems that will kill you. 

But the flip side of the coin, are the too thin … people with eating disorders who are anorexic or bulimic.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was.  I was watching a story on the Today Show about how teenage girls are finding websites that support and encourage eating disorders.  Eating disorders are a mental illness that kills more people each year than any other form of mental illness, and yet it is consistently hushed up or joked about. 

Unbelievably, there are over 10,000,000 websites that are promoting anorexia; giving tips and online support to help people become thinner through anorexia.  There are more than 2,000,000 other pro bulimia websites offering encouragement, tips and advice on purging.  That these sites exist is to me, morally reprehensible.

So what is anorexia?  Anorexia is an eating disorder where people starve themselves.  Anorexia usually begins in young people around the onset of puberty. Individuals suffering from anorexia have extreme weight loss. An anorexic individual will usually be 15% below the person’s normal body weight. People suffering from anorexia are very skinny – too skinny, actually –  but are convinced that they are fat.  Weight loss is obtained in many ways. Some common techniques used are excessive exercise, intake of laxatives and not eating.

Anorexics have an intense fear of becoming fat. Their dieting habits develop from this fear. Anorexia mainly affects adolescent girls.  Current estimates are that 1% of teenage girls are anorexic – and 10% of them will die from the illness.  Another 10% of all anorexics are white males, and while anorexia is more common in the male homosexual community, heterosexual males are not immune to the illness.

People with anorexia continue to think they are overweight even after they become extremely thin, are very ill or near death. Often they will develop strange eating habits such as refusing to eat in front of other people.  Sometimes the individuals will prepare big meals for others while refusing to eat any of it.

The disorder is thought to be most common among people of higher socioeconomic classes and people involved in activities where thinness is especially looked upon, such as dancing, theater, and distance running.

Symptoms of Anorexia

There are many symptoms for anorexia, and some individuals may not experience all of them.  The primary identifying symptom of an individual with anorexia is body weight that is inconsistent with age, build and height (usually 15% below normal weight).

Some other symptoms of anorexia are:

•Loss of at least 3 consecutive menstrual periods (in women).
•Not wanting or refusing to eat in public
•Anxiety
•Weakness
•Brittle skin
•Shortness of breath
•Obsessiveness about calorie intake

Medical Consequences of anorexia

There are many medical risks associated with anorexia. They include: shrunken bones, mineral loss, low body temperature, irregular heartbeat, permanent failure of normal growth, development of osteoporosis and bulimia nervosa.

Continued use of laxatives is harmful to the body. It wears out the bowel muscle and causes it to decrease in function. Some laxatives contain harsh substances that may be reabsorbed into your system.

Back to the topic at hand … we all know how bad anorexia is for you and we all know that starving yourself is not a healthy way to deal with body image issues.  So why are there websites that promote anorexia as a positive, giving young people tips and advice and encouragement on their path to potential death and serious health consequences?

The internet is largely unregulated, so maybe the answer is here is parental filters at home and filters at school.  Since the majority of anorexics are young people, more parental involvement in the lives of there children should be the key.  Provide positive support at home; obtain counseling for the child when necessary.  Leave judgment behind and let them know they are loved.  This is a mental illness.  When an anorexic person looks in the mirror, they do not see themselves as we see them.  They see themselves as fat, and for this, they need professional help … not the help they get on these websites that encourage them to become thinner.

Tomorrow’s post will talk about bulimia in more detail.  It is also a deadly illness with its own set of identifying factors and affects a different group of people.  Be sure to check back tomorrow!

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic center located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.  The Remmel Wellness Center specializes in healthy weight loss with Ideal Protein products and incorporates coaching and mental health counseling to address the patient’s needs.

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1 Comment by Laurie Puckett on August 31, 2010
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Did They REALLY Serve That?

As if the food they serve up at the State Fair isn’t bad enough, at least it is only available for a very short period of time.  However, the restaurant industry has decided to enter into an unholy competition to see who can come up with the most disgusting, artery-clogging, calorie-busting fiasco ever to grace a plate. 

If you’ve never picked up a copy of “Eat This, Not That” you really should browse through the lastest edition.  Honestly, it will help you make better choices when dining out.  Some foods are actually totally unhealthy, but disguised as “good for you” and those you need to watch out for.  But here, for your reading enjoyment, are the top 5 scariest restaurant foods:

See, even the most well-established restaurant chains can’t rest on their laurels, serving the same old standbys that we’ve loved since we were kids. They have to keep us interested and attracted with shiny new bells and whistles. And since no one has invented, say, a new kind of vegetable, they’ve got to go with the next best thing: gimmicky entrees with terrifyingly obsene nutritional content and rapidly expanding serving sizes. It wasn’t enough that pizza makers started putting cheese inside the crust! Kentucky Fried Chicken saw that and ramped up its own destructive powers, by making a sandwich in which the bread is replaced by slabs of fried chicken.  Seriously … do people really that this is is a GOOD idea?  Then a few major league ballparks started serving their burgers on doughnuts instead of buns.  I’m afraid to find out what will come next.

Scary Meal #5
Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt with wavy fries and marinara
1,260 calories
63 g fat (21 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,010 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 18 T.G.I. Friday’s Frozen Cheddar & Bacon Potato Skins

Apparently, Denny’s deemed the classic grilled cheese too boring for our novelty seeking taste buds, so they fixed it by driving four deep-fried cheese sticks into the core of the sandwich. So what you end up with are cheese sticks with extra cheese between slabs of buttered bread and a pile of fried potatoes on the side. If Denny’s was serious about improving the grilled cheese, they would have skipped the novelty and brought in big-flavor ingredients like sautéedmushrooms or sliced figs. But, of course, if they did that, they might not be able to sell this entire meal for $4. Here’s to cheap food and expensive health care!

Eat This Instead!
Denny’s BLT with Hash Browns
730 calories
47 g fat (10.5 g saturated)
1,270 mg sodium

Scary Meal #4
IHOP New York Cheesecake Pancakes
1,270 calories

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 28 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets

Further blurring the line between dessert and breakfast, IHOP has infused their fluffy flapjacks with gooey hunks of cheesecake. Next thing you know they’ll be serving breakfast with big scoops of ice cream and chocolate syrup. The best breakfast is one with protein and fresh fruit, but if you’re going to go for the carb-heavy indulgence, there’s a better way to do it. Don’t make it a habit, but IHOP’s Chocolate Chip Pancakes will save you 660 calories.  And it sounds better to me, anyway.  But then, I think most of you already know how I feel about chocolate!!

Eat This Instead!
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
610 calories

Scary Meal #3
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt
1,500 calories
97 g fat (38 g saturated)
2,090 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 15 Snickers Kudos Granola Bars

Is this a joke? Because it should be. Where a normal hamburger has buns, this one has grilled cheese sandwiches. Yes, that’s two grilled-cheese sandwiches with one hunk of ground beef wedged between them. Other iterations of this sandwich have been dubbed “fatty melts”—for obvious reasons. They have twice as much cheese and bread as a regular cheeseburger.  This is just plain GROSS.

Eat This Instead!
Grilled Cheese
790 calories
37 g fat (12 g saturated
1,280 mg sodium

Scary Meal #2
Uno Chicago Grill Lobster BLT Thin Crust Pizza
1,530 calories
87 g fat (30 g saturated)
3,480 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 51 Nabisco Ginger Snap Cookies

On its own, lobster is sweet, healthy, and loaded with lean protein. Yet, for some reason, restaurants never seem to know what to do with it. Case in point: Lobster BLT Pizza, an amalgam of foods that don’t quite fit together: One is seafood, one is diner grub, and one is an Italian-American hybrid. We’re all for trying new things, but not when the toll is 75 percent of your day’s calories and 1½ day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat.

Eat This Instead!
Lobster Wrap with side of roasted vegetables  (YUMMY!!!!)
570 calories
30.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

DRUM ROLL PLEASE ………………………

Scary Meal #1
Applebee’s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine
1,550 calories
97 g fat (46 g saturated)
3,910 mg sodium

CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 148 Whoppers Malted Milk Balls

Yes, America has a cheese fetish, but this is just excessive. Cheese-filled meatballs? It’s like a beef-based Gusher, a sort of meaty water balloon of fat. Especially problematic is the fact that said meatballs are served on a bed of fettuccine Alfredo, which is basically flat noodles basting in oil, butter, and—yes—cheese. Cut more than a thousand calories by switching dishes. A smart swap like this one (and the hundreds of others in Eat This, Not That!)  a couple times a week and you can lose 2½ pounds a month without ever dieting! 

Eat This Instead!
Spicy Shrimp Diavolo
500 calories
10 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
1,910 mg sodium

Lucky for me, nothing in the top 5 even remotely sounded tasty to me … but several of the “Eat This Instead!” options did sound good and were reasonable in the total calories, fat and sodium.  This is just the tip of the dining out iceberg, and there are so many more items and options in the book.  From time to time I will share more in my blogs and on our website to help you become smarter, savvier and slimmer diners!  It will be an uphill battle, but if people don’t order this crap, restaurants won’t serve it!  It’s almost like eating your last meal, because any one of these could just place another nail in your coffin.  Sorry to be such a downer, but I’m not the one cooking this stuff, I’m not the selling it, and I’m not the one eating it … Just sayin’….

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic center located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Be sure to listen to my weekly radio show beginning Monday, September 10th at 2:00 pm Eastern Time at www.LifeImprovementRadio.com for more health and wellness information and to chat with me on the topics I cover.

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1 Comment by Laurie Puckett on August 30, 2010
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ADHD – Are you Sure??

We are wrapping up a week of blog posts focused on kids and school.  Today’s topic may be one of the more controversial ones of this week:  The diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, or more accurately, the over-diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. 

As many as one million students who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may simply be immature when compared to their older classmates.  Huh …. ya think???  From personal experience, I can guarantee that is can be the case.  My brother as a kid would definately carry the label today, but 35 years ago, he was just scatter-brained, goofy and immature.  He had a summer birthday, so he was younger than most of his classmates, and he was a little boy.  And as we all know, boys take longer to mature than girls – sometimes decades!!!

Todd Elder of Michigan State University was the lead author on a study that examined 12,000 school children at three different levels of schooling:  kindergarten, 5th grade and 8th grade.  According to Elder, younger kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than their older classmates.

By the same token, those fifth and eighth graders who were younger were more than twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall, as were their older counterparts.
Elder and his team concluded that these misdiagnoses may occur because of a teacher’s “perception” of what may simply be the result of a child lacking maturity.  He estimates that such misdiagnoses cost $320 million to $500 million per year, $80-$90 million of which is paid by Medicaid, the public health insurance program provided to the poor.

The National ADD Association cautions teachers and parents that in order to fit the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ definition of ADHD, there are several core features that must be present over a long period of time:

*distractibility (inability to stay on task
*impulsivity (impaired impulse control and inability to delay gratification
*hyperactivity (excessive activity and restlessness)

In order to meet the criteria, these features must last longer than six months and must have a negative impact on at least two areas of a child’s life, such as school, home, or in a social setting.   The Association emphasizes that ADHD is NOT characterized by normal childhood distractibility and impulsivity, nor is it the same as those distractions caused by hectic and chaotic home environments. 

ADDA estimates that 4%-6% of the population has ADHD, 8-9 million of whom are adults.  

May I suggest that we all take a step back and recall that a child is a child, not a shorter version of an adult.  There are differing maturity levels between kids, even in the same grade.  And rather than label and medicate a kids, let’s look at diet and sleep patterns.  I’m willing to bet that a child with a healthy, nutritious diet and a structured rest and bed time performs better and with less distractions than a kid that is jumping off the walls on sugar and is over-tired.

I will also point you back to a previous blog post I wrote about the link between ADHD and pesticide contamination of fruits and veggies.  In these cases, it makes more sense to remove the chemicals and toxins, rather than pump more chemicals into the kids with prescription drugs.  An oral chelation or body detoxifcation program can pull the bad stuff out and maybe even turn your little rascal into a little angle!

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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What is Your College Kid Doing to Stay Awake?

St Petersburg High School (Florida)
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It’s that time of year.  Kids go away to college and for the first time they are living without direct parental supervision.  There is no one to tell them to go to bed.  No one to tell them to get up and go to class.  No one to tell them to study.  And then a big exam rolls around or a paper that is 50% of the student’s grade.  So what is a college kid to do?  Cram and pull an all-nighter.  I’ve done it, and I bet you’ve done it too.  But kids these days aren’t using Mountain Dew and No-doze to stay awake.  They are turning to Adderall – a popular and powerful drug for ADHD, sometimes with dangerous consequences.

Even though the side effects of the popular Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drug, Adderall, are potentially deadly, many college students are now using the drug to increase energy levels and brain power in order to get good grades, according to new reports.

A potent cocktail of amphetamines, Adderall is basically a legalized form of methamphetamine. You know, the kind cooked up in “meth labs” that so often get raided by police. But because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given glowing approval for it, Adderall meth is legally and commonly administered to millions of adults and children.

But according to a recent 60 Minutes report, it is quite easy for students who do not necessarily have a disorder to obtain Adderall. In an interview with a group of college students, reporter Katie Couric extracted the following about how simply a person can obtain this powerful and dangerous drug:

“I’d say it’s not that hard [to get]. I mean the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder are you’re not able to focus, have trouble concentrating. You know, if you go in and tell a doctor that, I would say, you know, at least eight out of ten times he’s gonna say, ‘Oh well, you probably have Attention Deficit Disorder’,” remarked one of the students.

This is not hard to believe, considering that many doctors hand out prescriptions like candy. And many people are willing to say whatever they need to in order to get the prescription they are looking for, which leads to widespread abuse.

So what are some of the side effects of Adderall? According to the drug’s own label, it can cause high blood pressure, anxiety, cocaine cravings, severe infections, heart attack, stroke, and even sudden death. Psychologically, it can cause a person to hallucinate, see strange visions, hear voices, and even develop extreme psychosis.

All of these side effects can and do occur when people simply take normal dosages. In fact, Adderall was temporarily pulled from the Canadian market back in 2005 because 14 American children died from taking it as prescribed. Another 12 children had strokes.

But the FDA made sure to conduct its own “study” shortly after showing that the drug is somehow still safe. Not long after, the Canadian ban was lifted.

To this day, the FDA continues to repeat the mantra that Adderall is safe, despite its numerous extreme side effects and widespread abuse.

So to all you college kids out there … stick with the Red Bull (see how much better you have it today compared to when I was in college and the best we could do is Mountain Dew?) and Starbucks.  A good night’s sleep and some advance preparation can also go a long way in getting and keeping your grades up.  Good luck!!

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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What? Huh? Yep, Teens Are Suffering Hearing Loss

A picture showing out-ear earphones. This part...
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I’m really not surprised to hear that 1 out of 5 teens has experienced some degree of hearing loss; are you??  After all, they stick earbuds in their ears and crank up the volume on their MP3 players and iPods.  You can hear their car stereos with the windows up a block away.  And, when you talk to a teenager, they don’t respond.  OK, so maybe the last one isn’t imperical evidence to hearing loss … maybe they are just ignoring me! 

Perhaps you caught the story in your local paper off the AP wires:

CHICAGO – A stunning one in five teens has lost a little bit of hearing, and the problem has increased substantially in recent years, a new national study has found.

Some experts are urging teenagers to turn down the volume on their digital music players, suggesting loud music through earbuds may be to blame – although hard evidence is lacking. They warn that slight hearing loss can cause problems in school and set the stage for hearing aids in later life.

“Our hope is we can encourage people to be careful,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Gary Curhan of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The researchers analyzed data on 12- to 19-year-olds from a nationwide health survey. They compared hearing loss in nearly 3,000 kids tested from 1988-94 to nearly 1,800 kids tested over 2005-06.

The prevalence of hearing loss increased from about 15 percent to 19.5 percent.

Most of the hearing loss was “slight,” defined as inability to hear at 16 to 24 decibels – or sounds such as a whisper or rustling leaves. A teenager with slight hearing loss might not be able to hear water dripping or his mother whispering “good night.”

Extrapolating to the nation’s teens, that would mean about 6.5 million with at least slight hearing loss.

Those with slight hearing loss “will hear all of the vowel sounds clearly, but might miss some of the consonant sounds” such as t, k and s, Curhan said.

“Although speech will be detectable, it might not be fully intelligible,” he said.

While the researchers didn’t single out iPods or any other device for blame, they found a significant increase in high-frequency hearing loss, which they said may indicate that noise caused the problems. And they cited a 2010 Australian study that linked use of personal listening devices with a 70 percent increased risk of hearing loss in children.

“I think the evidence is out there that prolonged exposure to loud noise is likely to be harmful to hearing, but that doesn’t mean kids can’t listen to MP3 players,” Curhan said.

The study is based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings appear in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

Loud music isn’t new, of course. Each new generation of teenagers has found a new technology to blast music – from the bulky headphones of the 1960s to the handheld Sony Walkmans of the 1980s.

Today’s young people are listening longer, more than twice as long as previous generations, said Brian Fligor, an audiologist at Children’s Hospital Boston. The older technologies had limited battery life and limited music storage, he said.

Apple iPod users can set their own volume limits. Parents can use the feature to set a maximum volume on their child’s iPod and lock it with a code.

One of Fligor’s patients, 17-year-old Matthew Brady of Foxborough, Mass., recently was diagnosed with mild hearing loss. He has trouble hearing his friends in the school cafeteria. He ends up faking comprehension.

“I laugh when they laugh,” he said.

Fligor believes Brady’s muffled hearing was caused by listening to an iPod turned up too loud and for too long. After his mother had a heart attack, Brady’s pediatrician had advised him to exercise for his own health. So he cranked up the volume on his favorites – John Mellencamp, Daughtry, Bon Jovi and U2 – while walking on a treadmill at least four days a week for 30-minute stretches.

One day last summer, he got off the treadmill and found he couldn’t hear anything with his left ear. His hearing gradually returned, but was never the same.

Some young people turn their digital players up to levels that would exceed federal workplace exposure limits, said Fligor. In Fligor’s own study of about 200 New York college students, more than half listened to music at 85 decibels or louder. That’s about as loud as a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner.

Habitual listening at those levels can turn microscopic hair cells in the inner ear into scar tissue, Fligor said. Some people may be more predisposed to damage than others; Fligor believes Brady is one of them.

These days, Brady still listens to his digital player, but at lower volumes.

“Do not blare your iPod,” he said. “It’s only going to hurt your hearing. I learned this the hard way

*****

…….. huh?  Did you say something?  Kids need to be educated and parents need to be vigilant in order to prevent a permanent loss.   Yes, you heard me right!

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic center located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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No Comments by Laurie Puckett on August 25, 2010
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Student Athletes Beat the Heat

RALEIGH, NC - SEPTEMBER 27 Quarterback Matt G...
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Since it is back to school time, I am continuing with a series of topics relevant to kids/students and the parents of students.  Yesterday I talked about head injuries.  Today it is the danger of heat to student athletes.  Whether you are a high school athlete, a college athlete or play in city and rec leagues, you need to know that you are not immune to the effects of extreme heat and heat illnesses like heat stroke and heat exhaustion.  The USF Bulls football team is participating in a study that will hopefully help identify individuals more suseptible to heat related illnesses so that the player and coaches can take proper precautions.  Read the following from www.tbo.com: 

TAMPA – Beating the heat has become a science for the University of South Florida Bulls.

While the football team prepares for its Sept. 4 season opener, players also are participating in a study that someday could help identify which athletes – as well as armchair quarterbacks – could be most at risk for heat stroke and exhaustion.

“What we’re trying to do is to at least get a better idea how the body responds (to heat) and what are the predictors for people who are going to struggle more,” said Eric Coris, head medical physician for USF Athletics.

Researchers from USF and the universities of Ottawa and Connecticut are tracking the internal body temperature, sweat, metabolism, and heart and respiratory rates of about 50 players during traditional outdoor practices in Tampa and Vero Beach, where the team is training for 12 days. It’s not unrealistic for players to lose between five and 10 pounds a day during summer workouts.

Ten players also volunteered for more meticulous hour-long lab workouts the week before camp started. To simulate hot conditions, players spent an hour riding a stationary bike in a tiny, unairconditioned room that resembles a walk-in freezer. Senior linebacker Jacquian Williams, who weighed in at 217, was jovial during his session, despite being hooked up to monitors and sharing the confined space with three researchers.

“When it got to 40 minutes, it started getting tough,” he said after the session, during which he dropped nearly two pounds.

Florida summers put athletes and the public at risk for dehydration, heat cramps and exhaustion – conditions that can result in abdominal pain, flushed skin, heavy sweating, a throbbing headache or dizziness. Heat stroke, in which a person’s body fails to control its own temperature, can lead to permanent disability or death.

Overheating is of serious concern on the playing field. Since 1995, more than 40 football players nationwide have died from heat-related illness, including four in 2009, according to the annual Catastrophic Sports Injury Research report compiled at the University of North Carolina.

As a result, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has revised several policies. Teams are holding twice-a-day preseason conditioning workouts less often, and when they have them, there are frequent water breaks. Still, several USF players struggling in the heat were pulled from practices last week. High school and professional football leagues also encourage more water breaks and safer practice schedules.

“It’s a dangerous time of year for all levels of sport,” Coris said.

Athletes are far from the only people at risk. Between 1999 and 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed 3,442 deaths to extreme heat exposure. Those most at risk include the elderly, the very young and those who are overweight or obese.

Weight is one of the key factors being looked at in the USF study, which is paid for through a grant from the National Football League. Larger players, such as offensive linemen, often grow fatigued more quickly in the heat.

Twelve of the 107 men listed on the current Bulls roster weigh more than 300 pounds. Thirteen other players weigh between 250 to 299 pounds, including three who experienced heat illness symptoms last week and left practice.

In those cases, doctors and trainers were already keeping an eye on the players. Coris warns the public to be alert to the symptoms of friends and family during extreme heat. Hydration and common sense can go a long way toward preventing a tragedy in the summer sun.

“It doesn’t take a medical degree to tell when somebody is really struggling,” he said.  http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/16/usf-team-helps-predict-athletes-risk-heat-stress/life-health/ 

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And you don’t have to be an athlete to put yourself at risk.  Whether you are a weekend warrior or over doing it in the yard, stay hydrated, take breaks and do your work early in the day or in the evening to minimize your risk of over heating.

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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No Comments by Laurie Puckett on August 24, 2010
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Concussions and the Student Athlete

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At kids start heading back to school, student athletes are finding their way back to the playing field.   The CDC estimates 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI), including concussions, are treated in U.S. emergency departments each year.  That is a big number, and I would suspect that there are even more people with concussions who don’t go to an emergency room.

A bump, blow, or jolt to the head can cause a concussion, a type of TBI. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Even a “ding,” “getting your bell rung,” or what seems to be mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.

Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity. So, all coaches, parents, and athletes need to learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion occurs.

CDC’s “Heads Up: Concussion in High School” and “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” initiatives include materials and information to help coaches of all sports to help identify concussions and take immediate steps to respond when one is suspected.

Prevention and Preparation
Check with your league or school about concussion policies. Concussion policy statements can be developed to include the league or school’s commitment to safety, a brief description about concussion, and information on when athletes can safely return to play. Parents and athletes should sign the concussion policy statement before the first practice.

Insist that safety comes first. No one technique or safety equipment is 100 percent effective in preventing concussion, but there are things you can do to help minimize the risks for concussion and other injuries.

For example, to help prevent injuries:

•Enforce no hits to the head or other types of dangerous play.
•Practice safe playing techniques and encourage athletes to follow the rules of play.
•Make sure players wear approved and properly-fitted protective equipment. Protective equipment should be well-maintained and be worn consistently and correctly.
Learn about concussion. Before the first practice, talk your athlete(s) and others about the dangers of concussion and potential long-term consequences of concussion. Review the signs and symptoms of concussion and keep the four-step action plan with you at games and practices.

And to quickly identify and treat concussions, there is a new product being developed: 

Now a simple mouth guard could help doctors tell the difference between a concussion and a simple bump on the head. 

More than 100,000 youngsters suffer from a concussion on the playing field each ye ar.  It’s the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury.  When children get back in the game too soon afterwards, the results can be serious. 

Second base player Amanda Borlin was benched for several days after taking a softball to the nose.  “Mentally, I was a little off,” said Borlin. “I just felt really tired, really exhausted.”

A study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy said that between 2005 and 2008, four out of 10 high school athletes returned to the field prematurely after an injury.

Now, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic are developing an intelligent mouth guard that can detect when a hit is hard enough to cause brain injury.  “The mouth guard is designed to monitor the energy that’s imparted to the brain following by a head injury of any kind,” said Edward Benzel, MD.

It uses the same miniature sensors that are in your cell phones or video games.  Bluetooth technology wirelessly transmits information to a nearby computer.

The good news about the intelligent mouth guard – it costs less than $2.

It has other applications as well.  Military officials said it can be used on the battlefield to monitor soldiers on the war front.

As always, preventing the concussion should be the number one priority of all parents, coaches and players.  When when an athlete does take a hit, being able to a concussion from a more benign bump is incredibly important.

Sources:  BayNews9.com and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida. 

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What Does Your Waist Say About Your Health?

The Battle of the Bulge wasn’t just fought in Europe during WWII, is is being fought every day in America!  But this modern day battle isn’t being fought on the ground – this fight is taking place at our midsection … our bellies, and losing this battle can be deadly.  Read more in this story that came off the AP News Wire:

If your pants are feeling a bit tight around the waistline, take note: Belly bulge can be deadly for older adults, even those who aren’t overweight or obese by other measures.

One of the largest studies to examine the dangers of abdominal fat suggests men and women with the biggest waistlines have twice the risk of dying over a decade compared to those with the smallest tummies.

Surprisingly, bigger waists carry a greater risk of death even for people whose weight is “normal” by the body mass index, or BMI, a standard measure based on weight and height.

“Even if you haven’t had a noticeable weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing that’s an important sign,” said lead author Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society, which funded the study. “It’s time to eat better and start exercising more.”

Other research has linked waist size to dementia, heart disease, asthma and breast cancer.

Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. It’s estimated that more than half of older men and more than 70 percent of older women have bigger waistlines than recommended. And it’s a growing problem: Average waistlines have expanded by about an inch per decade since the 1960s.

To check your girth, wrap a tape measure around your waist at the navel. No fair sucking in your bulge. Men should have a waist circumference no larger than 40 inches. For women, the limit is 35 inches.

The new study, appearing in Monday’s Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to analyze waist size and deaths for people in three BMI categories: normal, overweight and obese. In all three groups, waist size was linked to higher risk.

About 2 percent of people in the study had normal BMI numbers but larger than recommended waists. Jacobs said the risk increased progressively with increasing waist size, even at waist sizes well below what might be considered too large.

The study used data from more than 100,000 people who were followed from 1997 to 2006. Nearly 15,000 people died during that time.

The researchers crunched numbers on waist circumference, height and weight to draw conclusions about who was more likely to die. Study participants measured their own waists, so some honest mistakes and wishful fudging could have been included, the authors acknowledged.

Four extra inches around the waist increased the risk of dying from between 15 percent to 25 percent. Oddly, the strongest link – 25 percent - was in women with normal BMI.

People with bigger waists had a higher risk of death from causes including respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer.

The study was observational, a less rigorous approach that means the deaths could have been caused by factors other than waist size. But the researchers did take into account other risk factors for poor health, such as smoking and alcohol use.

Some older adults gain belly fat while they lose muscle mass, Jacobs said, so while they may not be getting heavier, they’re changing shape - and that’s taking a toll.

A tape measure, or a belt that doesn’t buckle the way it used to, “may tell you things your scale doesn’t,” Jacobs said.

Fat stored behind the abdominal wall may be more harmful than fat stored on the hips and thighs. Some scientists believe belly fat secretes proteins and hormones that contribute to inflammation, interfere with how the body processes insulin and raise cholesterol levels.

But Dr. Samuel Klein, an obesity expert at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is skeptical about that theory. Removing belly fat surgically doesn’t lead to health improvements. That may mean it’s simply a stand-in for some other culprit that is causing both belly fat and poor health. Klein wasn’t involved in the new research.

Klein said the new study, while showing a link between waist size and mortality, doesn’t pinpoint exactly how much belly fat is dangerous for normal, overweight and obese people. The 40-inch for men and 35-inch for women cutoff points are irrelevant for many people, he said.

What can be done to fight belly fat? It’s the same advice as for losing weight. Eat fewer calories and burn more through walking, bicycling and other aerobic exercise. “Sit-ups are useless,” Klein said.

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Ok, I will have to take issue with what Dr. Klein says about sit-ups.  I agree that you have to eat fewer calories and burn more through aerobic exercise, but sit-ups build muscle tissue, and increased muscle increases your metabolism.  Doing both aerobic exercise and sit-ups (and other strength training) is a win-win combination.  If you are looking for help in reducing your caloric in-take, call 727-525-1141 to schedule a consultation with one of our weight loss coaches at Remmel Wellness Center to develop a program that will work for you.

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.

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No Comments by Laurie Puckett on August 21, 2010
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