ER Doctors Cautious When Prescribing Narcotic Painkillers: Study

MONDAY, May 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — U.S. emergency room doctors are cautious when prescribing narcotic painkillers that carry a high risk of abuse, a new study shows.

Researchers analyzed data collected from more than 27,000 patients seen at 19 emergency departments (EDs) across the United States during a single week in October 2012.

Nearly 12 percent of the patients were prescribed narcotic painkillers. Narcotic painkillers include drugs such as Oxycontin (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone). The average age of the patients was 41 and slightly more than half were women, the investigators found.

Most of the prescriptions for the painkillers had a low number of pills and nearly all were immediate-release versions, not long-acting medications such as Oxycontin and MS-Contin, which carry a greater risk of overdose.

“Our data show that opioid [narcotic painkiller] prescribing in the ED is done with caution and aligned with short-term use goals,” corresponding study author Dr. Scott Weiner, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a hospital news release.

“The median number of pills per prescription was 15, and only 1.5 percent of prescriptions were for more than 30 pills, suggesting that emergency physicians generally follow guideline recommendations to limit opioid prescriptions to only 3 to 5 days, and avoid long-acting opioids,” Weiner added.

The most common reasons for prescribing the painkillers were back pain and abdominal pain (10 percent each), severe fracture (7 percent), sprain (6.5 percent) and dental/mouth pain (6.2 percent). Oxycodone and hydrocodone were the most commonly prescribed narcotic painkillers, the researchers found.

The study was published online May 4 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Painkiller abuse and addiction is a major problem in the United States, the study authors pointed out.

“We hope that this study will add to the literature and inform policymakers about the actual scope of ED opioid prescribing, so that efforts to address addiction and reduce inappropriate prescribing can be accurately focused,” Weiner said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about painkillers.

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Sleepwalking Parents Likely to Have Sleepwalking Kids

MONDAY, May 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — More than 60 percent of children with two sleepwalking parents go on to develop the condition themselves, new research shows.

“These findings point to a strong genetic influence on sleepwalking and, to a lesser degree, sleep terrors,” the Canadian study authors wrote. “Parents who have been sleepwalkers in the past, particularly in cases where both parents have been sleepwalkers, can expect their children to sleepwalk and thus should prepare adequately.”

Sleepwalking often begins in childhood and generally disappears by adolescence. But sleepwalking may continue into adulthood. It can also start later in life, according to the researchers. Sleep terrors, in which a person screams and is intensely fearful, also begin in childhood.

In the new study, Dr. Jacques Montplaisir, of Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal, and colleagues examined connections between these conditions in parents and adults. They looked at almost 2,000 kids born in Quebec from 1997 to 1998.

The researchers found that 56 percent of the children (aged 1.5 to 13 years) had sleep terrors. Younger children were more likely to have sleep terrors, the study noted. Sleepwalking, meanwhile, affected 29 percent of kids aged 2.5 to 13 years. Sleepwalking was less common in the younger kids, according to the study.

The odds of sleepwalking grew, depending on whether one or both parents were sleepwalkers.

Only 23 percent of kids whose parents didn’t sleepwalk developed the disorder. About 47 percent of those with one sleepwalking parent went on to be sleepwalkers. And if two parents wandered around at night while sleeping, the odds were about 62 percent that their child would also sleepwalk.

The study is published in the May 4 JAMA Pediatrics.

More information

For more about sleepwalking, try the National Sleep Foundation.

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Many Young Football Players Get Concussions at Practice, Study Says

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Most concussions among high school and college football players occur during practice, a new study finds.

Data on more than 20,000 young football players across the United States revealed that more than 57 percent of concussed high school and college players were injured at practice, not games.

Among youth football players, almost half of concussions were sustained during practice, according to the study published online May 4 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Evaluating and modifying techniques used during practice may offer opportunities for prevention, experts say.

“While it is harder to change concussion incidence during games without major rule changes, a substantial number of concussions occur during practice across all levels,” said lead researcher Thomas Dompier, president of Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention Inc., in Indianapolis.

Policy makers and coaches could reduce the odds of serious head injury by limiting player-to-player, or full body, contact during practices, Dompier said.

Dr. John Kuluz, concussion director at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, said he isn’t surprised so many concussions occur during football practice.

“There are a lot of concussions occurring in practices, but of course there are a lot more practices than games,” he said. Kuluz pointed out that, according to the study, younger players had about three practices for each game; high school players had about four practices for each game; and college players had nearly 10 practices for a game.

Despite the greater number of practices, games are still more dangerous in terms of head trauma, Kuluz said.

Kuluz agreed that modifying physical contact — the main cause of concussions — would help reduce the odds of injury.

“You can’t eliminate all player-to-player contact in practice,” he said. “But there are alternatives — like hitting dummies or using sleds — rather than hitting each other,” he said.

As awareness of long-term brain trauma increases, sports-related concussions are a growing public health concern, the researchers pointed out.

Schools are more aware than ever of the risk of concussions, Kuluz said. “All the schools I talk to are aware that there is a big risk of concussion when you play football,” he said.

The study results are based on an analysis of data from three sources: the Youth Football Surveillance System; the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network; and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program.

The researchers found that during the 2012 and 2013 seasons 1,198 concussions occurred — almost 12 percent of them among youth athletes, 66 percent among high school players, and 22 percent on the college field.

In all, concussions accounted for 9.6 percent of reported youth injuries, 4 percent of high school injuries and 8 percent of college injuries, the researchers found.

During practice, concussion rates were lower among college players than among high school players, the study found.

In 2012 and 2013, youth football players had the lowest concussion risk — less than 4 percent both seasons. The one-season concussion risk was highest in high school at nearly 10 percent, and college players at 5.5 percent, the researchers said.

Among kids ages 5 to 7 there were no football-related concussions during that study period, researchers say.

Each year, approximately 3 million youth athletes, 1.1 million high school athletes and 100,000 college athletes play football, the researchers noted.

“Across all levels of football, policy makers, coaches, researchers and sports medicine officials should continue to seek ways to reduce concussion incidence,” Dompier said.

More information

For more about concussions, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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This Is Chipotle’s Actual Guacamole Recipe. Enjoy!

Photo: Chipotle.com

Not near a Chipotle? No matter. The Mexican fast-food chain posted its guacamole recipe on the web on Sunday, so now you can get that guac fix anytime. But be warned: there are 230 calories in each 4 oz. serving.

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe Hass avocados
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped)
1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)
1/4 tsp kosher salt

HOW TO DO IT:

1. Choose the right avocado. It should feel squishy yet firm (like the palm of your hand), and be a nice dark green color on the inside.
2. Cut the avocado in half and the remove the pit (carefully!)
3. Scoop the avocados and place in a medium bowl.
4. Toss and coat with lime juice.
5. Add the salt and using a fork or potato masher, mash until a smooth consistency is achieved.
6. Fold in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
7. Taste the guacamole (over and over) and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Source: Chipotle

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Here’s the Deal on Women Eating Their Placenta After Having a Baby

Photo: Getty Images

I keep hearing about celebrities who ate their placenta after giving birth. Really?!

Fans of this trend say that consuming the placenta in encapsulated pills or blended into smoothies during the weeks after giving birth can help boost a new mom’s energy level, encourage breast milk production, decrease bleeding, and, most notably, alleviate the “baby blues.”

RELATED: 15 Factors That Affect a Woman’s Fertility

The idea is that this organ, which develops during pregnancy to provide nourishment to the fetus through the umbilical cord, is 
chock-full of helpful hormones and other nutrients that drop 
in the days and weeks after giving birth. Although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from women who have tried it (including famous moms like January Jones and Alicia Silverstone), there is very minimal scientific research to support any true health benefit.

RELATED: 10 Foods Pregnant Women Shouldn’t Eat

Furthermore, many “placenta service providers” (who will prepare your placenta shortly after you give birth) use some type of steaming and dehydrating process to turn it into pills or powder, and this most likely destroys any possibly beneficial hormones. Also, 
because the placenta acts as a filter during pregnancy, removing waste and keeping bacteria or chemicals out and away from the baby, eating it could theoretically lead to an infection, especially if the placenta is mishandled or isn’t frozen or refrigerated within an hour or two after birth.

That said, serious adverse effects from placenta eating are probably unlikely. So while there’s no proof that it’s beneficial, it probably won’t cause any harm. For new moms who believe in the process going in, there may be a powerful placebo effect, which could explain why some women report feeling better.

RELATED: 10 Ways to Boost Your Odds of Getting Pregnant

Health‘s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine and co-founder of Tula Skincare.

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Too Many Americans Neglect Backs in Skin Cancer Prevention

MONDAY, May 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new survey finds that many people in the United States are forgetting their backs when they try to be forward-thinking about skin cancer prevention.

Experts at the American Academy of Dermatology, which sponsored the survey, note that the back is a common site for melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer.

However, of the more than 1,000 Americans polled, over a third said they rarely or never apply sunscreen to their backs when they’re in the sun. Almost half (43 percent) also said that they never or rarely ask anyone to assist applying sunscreen to their backs.

Men weren’t as willing as women to apply sunscreen to their backs or ask someone else for help, and they were twice as likely to be uncomfortable about the whole idea. Overall, 40 percent of men and 33 percent of women surveyed said they rarely or never apply sunscreen to their backs.

One expert said he wasn’t surprised by the finding.

“It is important to apply sunscreen not only to our fronts, but also to our backs regularly,” said Dr. Joshua Zeichner, assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City.

“We also need to encourage our friends and family members to do the same,” he said.

The poll also found that too few Americans are checking their backs for signs of skin cancer. More than half (57 percent) said they know how to do a self-check (women were more likely than men to understand the procedure), but only half inspect themselves at least once a year.

Only 36 percent of those surveyed check their backs for skin cancer at least once a year, and only 35 percent ask someone else to help, the survey found.

“We need to take charge of our own health and monitor our skin for new or changing spots,” Zeichner said, because “the best way to cure skin cancer is early detection.”

Another expert agreed.

“It is incredibly important for patients to be educated on the simple ways to check one’s skin for signs of skin cancer, and to perform these self-examinations frequently, as well as to schedule regular visits with a dermatologist to check all those ‘hard-to-reach’ or ‘hard-to-see’ places,” said Dr. Katy Burris, a dermatologist with the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y.

And, “while many people may feel uncomfortable asking someone else to apply sunscreen to their back, hopefully as the public becomes more educated on the dangers of skin cancer and benefits of sunscreen, the importance of these actions will outweigh the potential barrier of simply asking for help,” she added.

According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is one of the most common malignancies, with more than 3.5 million cases of basal and squamous cell skin cancer diagnosed in the United States each year. Another 73,000 cases of the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, are diagnosed annually.

More information

Find out more about skin cancer at the American Cancer Society.

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Preteen Whooping Cough Vaccine Loses Strength Over Time, CDC Finds

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A booster shot of the whooping cough vaccine that is given to preteens loses a large measure of effectiveness within a few years, new research reveals.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation may help explain a recent surge in the number of Americans with whooping cough (pertussis).

“Among adolescents, within the first year following immunization the vaccine effectiveness was 73 percent,” said study author Dr. Anna Acosta, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s division of bacterial diseases. “But by two to four years out, it had fallen to about 34 percent effectiveness.”

Still, Acosta stressed, “we really need to keep in mind that while vaccines are not perfect, they are still the best way to provide protection among children and adolescents.”

In the United States, very young children get a five-dose series of the whooping cough vaccine. A sixth dose of the vaccine has been recommended for adolescents since 2005.

Characterized by severe coughing, whooping cough can impede breathing, cause vomiting and interfere with sleep, the CDC says. Infants face a notably high risk for severe disease and death from whooping cough, Acosta said. The risk of complications for teens and adults is lower but still significant.

Immunizations overall have reduced the rate of whooping cough cases by about 80 percent since the pre-vaccine era, Acosta said.

But vaccine modification may have also contributed to the recent uptick in cases, the researchers said. In 1997, the “accellular pertussis vaccine” for young children replaced the “whole-virus” DTaP vaccine used for the five-dose series.

In 2005, because of concerns about the vaccine’s duration, a sixth dose — called Tdap — was added to the vaccine protocol, specifically for kids aged 11 and 12 and adults who never got Tdap. (The combination vaccine also protects against tetanus and diphtheria).

Even with high childhood and preteen vaccine coverage, the United States experienced about 48,000 cases of whooping cough in 2012 — the most since 1955, according to the CDC.

Scientists began wondering if waning immunity — a known issue for the old vaccine — also plagues the new series.

To answer that concern, the study team zeroed in on a pertussis epidemic in Washington state in 2012. Five thousand people came down with whooping cough, many of them in their early teens, despite the state’s 86 percent Tdap coverage rate.

Focus was placed on about 1,700 teens born between 1993 and 2000 — kids who would have received the newer vaccine. This group experienced 450 cases of whooping cough.

Overall, Tdap effectiveness for this group was pegged at about 64 percent, but that plummeted to 34 percent two to four years post-inoculation, the investigators found.

Similar findings emerged from a Wisconsin study, leading the CDC to attribute the recent spike in whooping cough to a waning of Tdap effectiveness.

Going forward, CDC investigators said two things are needed: a better understanding of how exactly the pertussis bacteria works and an improved vaccine. But for the time being they don’t recommend any shift in vaccine protocols.

Acosta stressed that expectant mothers should continue to get inoculated against whooping cough during their third trimester. Maternal inoculation “will protect the infant until they are able to receive their own doses at 2, 4, and 6 months of age,” she said.

Another reason to get vaccinated, Acosta said, is that if an immunized person does become sick, the disease will be less severe.

Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, expressed little surprise at the notion that Tdap effectiveness wanes with time.

However, “you’re still better off getting the vaccine than not,” he said.

“I think the path forward is to get a better vaccine,” Offit added, “and people are working on that.”

The study findings are published online May 4 in the journal Pediatrics.

More information

There’s more on whooping cough at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Inherited Eye Disease

SUNDAY, May 3, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new study finds that gene therapy quickly improves eyesight for patients who’ve lost their vision from an inherited condition called Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA).

But the improvements aren’t permanent: Researchers said the gains began to diminish after one to three years.

“Gene therapy for LCA demonstrated we could improve vision in previously untreatable and incurable retinal conditions,” study leader Dr. Samuel Jacobson, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Scheie Eye Institute, said in a U.S. National Eye Institute release.

“Even though the current version of the therapy doesn’t appear to be the permanent treatment we were hoping for, the gain in knowledge … is an opportunity to improve the therapy so that the restored vision can be sustained for longer durations in patients,” Jacobson added.

Scientists started the research in 2007, looking at 15 people with the eye condition who received injections of a virus that carried certain genes.

“Within days of the injections, some patients reported increases in their ability to see dim lights they had never seen before,” Jacobson said. “It was remarkable for us to get this feedback that things were indeed changing positively.”

Dr. Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, said that six years of data shows that a gene-therapy approach is safe and successfully improves vision in people with LCA.

“As with any application of a novel therapy, it now needs to be fine-tuned. More research is needed to understand the underlying biology and how we can preserve or restore photoreceptors for a lifetime,” he said.

The study was published online May 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More information

For more about Leber congenital amaurosis, try the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Be a Responsible Camper

SUNDAY, May 3, 2015 (HealthDay News) — When you camp out, take steps to reduce your impact on the environment, experts advise.

The nonprofit group Tread Lightly recommends using existing campsites whenever possible and camping on durable surfaces.

Other ways to minimize your “footprint” include placing tents on non-vegetated areas, not digging trenches around tents, and camping at least 200 feet from water, trails and other campsites.

Pack out what you pack in, the organization advises in a news release. It’s also a good idea to carry a trash bag and pick up litter left by less considerate people.

Other tips from the organization:

• Before setting out, repackage your food and snacks in resealable food bags. This will reduce the weight and trash you have to carry out.
• For cooking, use a camp stove instead of a campfire to reduce your impact on the land. If you must build a fire, use existing fire rings, build a mount fire, or use a fire pan. Clear a 10-foot diameter area around the campfire site by removing all grass, leaves and extra firewood. Make sure there are no tree limbs or other flammable objects above the campfire. Use only fallen timber for campfires; do not cut live trees.
• If possible, let the wood in the campfire burn down to fine ash. Pour water on it and drown all embers until the hissing stops. Stir the ashes and embers until everything is wet and cold to the touch. If water is not available, use dirt.
• Wash and brush your teeth at least 200 feet away from lakes and streams. Detergents, toothpaste and soap are a threat to fish and other aquatic life. Scatter your gray water so it filters through the soil.
• If there are no toilets, use a portable latrine if possible and pack out your waste. If you don’t use a portable latrine, bury your waste in a hole 6 to 8 inches deep that is at least 200 feet from lakes and streams, campsites or trails. Cover and disguise the hole with natural materials. Pack out your toilet paper.

More information

The American Camp Association has more about minimum-impact camping.

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Mow With Safety in Mind

SATURDAY, May 2, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Before you get ready to cut your grass, remember lawn mowers can pose a significant injury risk, experts say.

In 2010, more than 250,000 people in the United States were treated for lawn mower-related injuries, a 3 percent increase from 2009, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. And children younger than 19 accounted for 17,000 of the lawn mower-related injuries in 2010.

There are a number of ways to reduce the risk of such injuries, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says.

Read the instruction manual, keep your lawn mower in good working order and have it serviced before you start using it this season. Be certain the motor is off before inspecting or repairing a lawn mower, and use a stick or broom handle — not your hands or feet — to remove debris from the machine.

Do not remove safety devices, shields, guards or switches from a lawn mower. Add fuel before starting the engine, not when it is running or hot. And never leave a lawn mower unattended when it is running.

When mowing, wear gloves, goggles, sturdy shoes and long pants. Don’t drink alcoholic beverages before mowing. Check for and remove stones, toys and other objects from the lawn before mowing. Mow across slopes when using a push mower and mow up and down slopes when using a riding mower. Do not cut wet grass.

Teach children to stay away from running lawn mowers, and never allow them to play or be in the area when a mower is in use. Do not let children ride as passengers on mowers. Children should be at least 12 years old before operating a push mower, and 16 years old before operating a riding mower.

More information

West Virginia University has more about lawn mower safety.

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The Sad Reason Why Raven-Symoné Started Wearing Spanx at Age 14

Photo: Getty Images

Raven-Symoné, best known for her role as the youngest daughter on The Cosby Show (and more recently as Olivia on Empire), has been making guest appearances on The View of late. On Wednesday, host Whoopi Goldberg launched a discussion on shapewear company Spanx’s new campaign slogan: “Don’t take yourself or the ‘rules’ too seriously.” The 29-year-old actress knows a thing or two about “the rules,” having grown up in Hollywood.

“I’ve been wearing Spanx since I was about 14 years old,” she revealed. “I was a lot heavier when I was younger and when you’re heavy in the industry, you have to look a certain way. I used to put on two or three Spanx at a time and then a minimizer.”

RELATED: The Best Shapewear for Every Body Type

The actress stopped when her mother told her she was “starting to look like a kielbasa.” “It just pushes stuff in different areas,” she said.

Raven-Symoné may joke about it now but the sad truth is that there’s no minimum age requirement to buy Spanx, so girls younger than 18 could purchase a product to change how their body looks. And the brand sells items including bras, bodysuits, and slips in sizes starting at extra-small (um, what?).

But Spanx is now navigating a climate in which women are embracing the vast range of real bodies. They’ve responded with more forgiving fits that smooth instead of shrink, according to the New York Times, as well as empowering-sounding message cards about “the rules” in their packaging.

For her part, it sounds like Raven-Symoné has ditched the shapewear in favor of self-acceptance. As she said in an interview with Oprah last year, “I love my thicky, thicky self.”

RELATED: 15 Red Carpet Beauty Tips for Real Life

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