Mental
Summer Health and Safety
TIPS DOCTORS WANT YOU TO KNOW
By d-mars.com
News Provider
chool is letting out, the days are long, and the temperature is rising. For a safer, healthier summer, follow these American Medical Association recommendations:
S• 1. Wear sunscreen. Look for a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30. Also, no sunscreen is waterproof. If you’re splashing in a pool or sweating in the summer sun, you’ll need to reapply every couple of hours or immediately after swimming.
• 2. Get up to date. With measles cases increasing, make sure your family members are up to date on their vaccines before travel and camp season.
• 3. Be water-safe. Make sure everyone in your family achieves water competency skills. Teach children to
ask permission before going near water, have inexperienced swimmers or boaters of all ages wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets, and always swim in lifeguarded areas.
• 4. Watch your diet. Reduce intake of processed foods, paying particular attention to added sodium and sugar. Add fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds to your diet. This doesn’t mean you have to give up summer barbecuing. Simply replace red meat and processed meats with lean meats, like poultry, and plant-based proteins.
• 5. Be physically active. Take advantage of warmer weather to get outdoors and get active. For optimal physical and mental health, adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week. While exercise is important, avoid working out outside in the early afternoon (noon to 3 p.m.) when it’s hottest. Drink water before, during and after physical activity, and wear light-colored, lightweight,
moisture-wicking clothing.
Watch for signs of heat exhaustion, including cool, moist, pale skin, heavy sweating, headache, nausea, and dizziness. Be advised that extreme heat can be especially dangerous for certain people, including those taking certain medications, those with chronic diseases, older adults, and children. CDC’s Heat Risk Dashboard informs on how best to protect yourself when temperatures can impact your health.
• 6. If you’ll be consuming alcohol, do so in moderation as defined by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans — up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men and only by adults of legal drinking age.
• 7. Know your blood pressure numbers. Extreme temperatures can impact blood pressure, so it’s especially important right now to visit ManageYourBP.org to better understand your numbers and take necessary steps to get high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, under control. Doing so will reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.
• 8. Check first. Before heading outdoors, check your community’s outdoor air quality using the Air Quality Index. Smoke from wildfires and degraded air quality that gets worse with warmer temperatures can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Children, pregnant people and those with certain chronic conditions must be especially careful.
“Behind every summertime joy—warmth, barbecues, watersports—is a not-so-secret health or safety hazard like sunburn, heat exhaustion, drowning, unhealthy foods and drinks” says Bruce A. Scott, M.D, president of the American Medical Association. “Simple steps can ensure your family safely enjoys the summer season.”
Source: StatePoint (edited by d-mars)
TIPS FOR SELF - EMPOWERMENT After a Bladder Cancer Diagnosis
By StatePoint News Provider
ladder cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, yet many patients face delays in diagnosis or struggle to find the right care.
Are you navigating a bladder cancer diagnosis or unsure of what your symptoms could indicate? Here are five tips for taking control of your care, including seeking out the advanced diagnostics procedure called blue light cystoscopy (BLC).
1. ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF
Early diagnosis saves lives, and routine check-ups and proactive testing can lead to earlier diagnoses and better outcomes. It’s important to stay organized by keeping track of medical records, test results and appointments. It’s also important to trust your gut. According to one patient, you may need to be persistent and proactive in order to get the right diagnosis.
While a white light cystoscopy remains a valuable tool, incorporating BLC enhances the process and, as a result, can lead to improved detection of cancerous lesions that can drive improved outcomes for bladder cancer patients.
2. EDUCATE YOURSELF AND OTHER
If you’re experiencing symptoms that could be bladder
cancer, learn more about bladder cancer, treatment and diagnostic tools such as BLC.
3. BUILD A SUPPORT SYSTEM
The cancer journey can be challenging and stressful. Surround yourself with family, friends and support groups who can help you advocate for the best care.
4. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE TEAM
When communicating with your healthcare team, patients say that being proactive is essential. “I learned to ask my doctors direct questions. It made all the difference,” says Mary Beth.
Some questions you can start with include:
• What technology do you use to diagnose and monitor bladder cancer?
• How often do you perform blue light cystoscopy?
• What are my options to ensure the most thorough diagnosis and treatment?
• Am I a candidate for BLC?
5. FIND A UROLOGIST WHO OFFERS BLC
Don’t be shy about seeking out the best care possible. If you are interested in exploring BLC, speak with your urologist. If your current provider doesn’t offer BLC, consider exploring other options.
When it comes to your health, be informed, be persistent, and never stop advocating for the care you deserve.
Source: StatePoint (Edited by d-mars.com)
Choosing Healthy Beverages for Kids and Teens
By d-mars.com
News Provider
hoosing healthy beverages for children and adolescents is just as important as choosing healthy foods, as it impacts everything from oral health to chronic disease risk. That’s why leading health and nutrition organizations developed new healthy beverage recommendations for families with children ages 5-18.
CThese evidence-based recommendations were created as part of a collaboration by experts at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association, who were brought together by Healthy Eating Research (HER) with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
To make choosing healthy beverages easier for families, the organizations created these three categories:
BEVERAGES TO DRINK
• Plain drinking water is still the best option to keep kids healthy and hydrated.
• Plain, pasteurized milk is another healthy option because it provides important nutrients that growing kids and teens need.
BEVERAGES TO LIMIT
• 100% fruit and vegetable juice can be part of a healthy diet, but daily consumption should be limited.
• Plant-based milk alternatives like oat milk and almond milk should be limited because they are not nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. Many also contain added sugars and non-sugar sweeteners. If your child is allergic to dairy milk or has a dietary restriction, talk to your doctor or registered dietitian.
• Flavored milks, like chocolate milk and strawberry milk, should be limited because they contain high amounts of added sugars and non-sugar sweeteners.
BEVERAGES TO AVOID
• Sugar-sweetened beverages, such as sports drinks, sodas, fruit drinks, fruitades, aguas frescas, and sweetened waters are high in added sugars.
• Drinks with non-sugar sweeteners, such as aspartame, stevia, and monk fruit, should also be avoided. Just because a drink is advertised as sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s healthier. In fact, new research shows non-sugar sweeteners may not help control body weight and may increase the risk of diet-related chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• Drinks with caffeine or other stimulants like taurine should be avoided. These include energy drinks, energy shots, coffee, and tea. Evidence suggests that there is no safe amount of caffeine consumption for children under 18 and that even small amounts can lead to poor sleep quality, increased blood pressure, depressive moods, and anxiety.
Source: StatePoint (Edited by d-mars.com)
Protecting the Health of Black Women During Pregnancy and Beyond
By StatePoint News Provider
egardless of socioeconomic status, Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from pregnancy than their white counterparts. Pregnant Black women are also 23% more likely to have a heart attack, 57% more likely to have a stroke, 42% more likely to develop a blood clot in the lungs, and 71% more likely to develop muscle weakness.
RWith increasing evidence suggesting that the prenatal period impacts the lifelong physical and mental health of children, these statistics show how important it is to eliminate these inequities for the well-being of not only moms, but the next generation as well.
“Black mothers deserve far more than the current maternity and health care systems that have failed us and our families for generations. But there are sustainable solutions and actionable steps we can take—centered on physicians, midwives, doulas, and other care providers working together as holistic, collaborative care teams—to ensure Black mamas receive comprehensive, culturally grounded care that honors our needs and supports thriving pregnancies and full, healthy lives,” says Angela D. Aina, executive director, BMMA, Inc.
According to advocates with the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers, the following policies could help protect Black women during pregnancy and beyond:
• Transforming the delivery of Black maternal care by making investments in social drivers of health that influence maternal health outcomes.
• Widening access to maternal healthcare services by extending Medicaid 12-month postpartum coverage nationwide and by growing and diversifying the doula workforce.
• Addressing structural barriers and systemic stigma that prevent Black mothers from receiving treatment and support services for prenatal and postpartum complications.
• Eliminating economic inequities by strengthening equal-pay legislation and raising the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour.
• Passing legislation that guarantees access to paid leave to meet the needs of pregnant people, caregivers, and families.
• Collecting and using intersectional data to better understand the causes of the maternal health crisis and inform solutions to address it.
• Growing and diversifying the perinatal workforce to ensure Black mothers’ care teams include providers who share their background, and to ensure their care teams include a range of clinical care providers, from obstetricians and midwives to nonclinical support personnel, such as care navigators and community health workers.
“A future where all individuals, families, and communities thrive is possible. Everyday Americans can chip in by contacting their elected officials and lawmakers and telling them to support policies that protect the health of Black mothers,” says Christy Ross, co-chair of the National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers.
Source: StatePoint (edited by d-mars)
By d-mars.com
There is an epidemic of loneliness affecting boys and young men in America. The fascination with recent shows like Netflix’s “Adolescence,” Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation,” and the return of the online “Ice Bucket Challenge” spotlight this youth mental health crisis in important ways that have reached millions. It is no secret how the mental health crisis has impacted boys and young men, and with May marking Mental Health Awareness Month, the conversation is more important than ever.
Meanwhile, statistics show that large numbers of boys and young men are feeling driftless and alienated; and so-called AI “aggro-rithms” are filling the void by increasingly driving them toward misogynistic content and misinformation online. There is still much research to be conducted about “aggro-rithms,” but the fact is that AI algorithms are serving up young men and boys content that is heavily centered around misogyny or violence, despite
their initial searches not pertaining to such. According to research done by mobile provider Vodafone, male teens in Britain are seeing such content on average of 30 minutes of being online. An astonishing 1-in-10 of those boys are seeing it with 60 seconds.
Traditional gender roles have resulted in boys and young men often being left out of the mental health conversation and care, despite being at particularly high risk for poor mental health outcomes. They are the least likely to seek mental health support and are four times more likely to die by suicide than women in the United States.
Supporting boys in addressing mental health challenges begins with ensuring that they have the role models to learn how to build healthy relationships, ultimately leading them to take healthier actions, and create safer communities for all.
For nearly 40 years, Futures Without Violence, a national non-profit, has pioneered programs and resources for advocates, policymakers and other professionals to foster safe, healthy communities. Through its Engaging Men programming, the organization is working to mitigate online dangers for boys and men, addressing the mental health crisis among them by connecting them with trusted mentors, and is supporting them to engage in healthier relationships.
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One of their efforts is a program called Team: Changing Minds (T:CM), which launched three years ago after a $5 million grant through Harry’s Open Mind Initiative. Training already-embedded adults in the lives of kids, like sports coaches, teachers, mentors and community leaders, to recognize early signs of mental health challenges, the program leverages existing relationships and trust to connect boys and young men to necessary support. With the support of founding investor Harry’s, and partners FUTURES, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, T:CM has trained over 80,000 adults to-date and is on track to reach over 1 million youth within the next year.
Anyone can be a mental health support for the boys and men in their life. Here are four simple, everyday actions family members, friends and coaches can take right away:
1. ASK QUESTIONS.
Don’t be afraid to ask simple questions that show concern. If there are specific changes you’ve noticed, mention them. This can be as simple as, “You’ve been less talkative lately, is there anything you’d like to talk about?” You also don’t have to wait to ask someone you care about how they’re doing. The more you speak about your feelings in a casual manner, and not just when things are difficult, the easier it is to talk about it when things are actually difficult.
2. LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND (NOT TO RESPOND) WITH EMPATHY. If you’ve shown the young people in your life that you’re someone who really hears them, they may be more likely to talk to you when they are having a rough time. Sometimes, you may not have the right thing to say, and that is OK. Rather than searching for those thoughts, it’s much more valuable to make it apparent that you heard everything they said. You might not know what it feels like to go through what they’re going through but knowing what they’re going through is just as important.
3. ASK FOR HELP.
You're not a therapist, and you aren’t expected to have all the answers. Lean on experts (such as school counselors or your child’s pediatrician) and brainstorm others you can call in to be part of the support team. Sometimes, you might have to be part of the support team while a professional handles the problem. Don’t feel guilty that you’re no longer the main point of contact; there are other ways you can support. You’re an important piece of this puzzle, but you never have to do this alone.
4. SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by just dialing 988. Remember that you should not be the one to resolve a crisis. Trained professionals are the only ones who can truly help if it ever gets to this point.
“Focusing on everyday actions to empower boys and young men to step into the simple things they can do as leaders, allies and change-makers is the goal,” says Brian O’Connor, vice president at Futures Without Violence.
Source: StatePoint Media (Edited by d-mars.com)
The SCIENCE of Scent Understanding Smell Disorders
By d-mars.com
our sense of smell is more important than you think. It does more than just let you enjoy the aromas of your favorite foods or flowers. It can also serve as a warning system-alerting you to dangers such as a gas leak, spoiled food, or a fire.
Many adults experience changes to their sense of smell. Twelve to 13% of Americans over age 40 have problems with their ability to smell. "Smell disorders" are more common in men than women. The risk of having a smell disorder also increases with age; nearly 25% of men ages 60 to 69 have a smell disorder.
People with a smell disorder either have trouble smelling odors, or they experience odors differently than most people do. There are four types of smell disorders:
• Hyposmia - you have trouble detecting odors
• Anosmia - you can't detect odors at all
• Parosmia - the way you perceive odors changes; for example, something that normally smells pleasant now smells foul
• Phantosmia - you perceive an odor that isn't there
Smell disorders have many causes besides aging. Other causes are:
• Viruses
• Sinus inflammation and other upper-respiratory infections
• Smoking
• Head injuries
• Hormonal disturbances
• Dental problems
• Some medications
• Conditions that affect the nervous system
Changes in a person's sense of smell can be short or long-lasting. Some people regain their ability to smell when they recover from the illness that caused the change. Others recover their sense of smell spontaneously, for no obvious reason.
If you experience changes in your sense of smell, talk to a doctor. Smell disorders can be a sign of a serious underlying health condition and can have a negative effect on your quality of life. An otolaryngologist-a specialist in diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck-can help identify the cause of a potential smell disorder and offer options for treatment.
If you're experiencing changes in your sense of smell, talk to a doctor.
For more information on your sense of smell and smell disorders, visit NIDCD at https://www.nidcd.nih.gov. Source: BrandPoint Content (Edited by d-mars.com)
Recognizing Stroke Signs and Symptoms Could SAVE A LIFE
troke continues to remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. With over 12.2 million new strokes occurring each year, experts at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke say fast treatment may lessen the brain damage that a stroke can cause.
Stroke can affect anyone at any age, at any time, making it critical that everyone, especially those with known risk factors, understand and recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke.
The signs of stroke can be subtle and hard to recognize. One easy way to remember the signs of stroke is with the acronym FAST from the American Stroke Association. This stands for:
F - Face Drooping
A - Arm Weakness
S - Speech Difficulty
T - Time to call 911
The sudden onset of any
headaches, and vision problems could mean that someone is having a stroke, which is why it’s important to call 911 immediately when a stroke is suspected.
Disability is common poststroke, and recovery periods can be lengthy. This highlights the importance of speedy emergency care, which can help prevent disability and death, and may lead to a better quality of life poststroke. It’s also
important to understand that 25% of stroke patients will experience a second stroke within the first five years. However, with lifestyle changes and proper care, patients can reduce their risk
Going to the emergency room at the onset of symptoms can impact the care a patient receives, including their eligibility to enroll in a clinical trial, so it’s vital to seek immediate medical attention at the first sign of stroke,” says Clay Johnston, PhD, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Harbor Health.
One particular clinical trial, Librexia STROKE, is currently recruiting patients to evaluate an investigational medication for recurrent stroke prevention, but eligibility is time-sensitive and participants must enroll within 48 hours after the onset of their stroke symptoms. Delays in seeking care following the initial symptoms of a stroke can limit access to these types of innovative treatment options.
Learn life-saving facts about stroke prevention and treatment by visiting https://www.stroke.org/en/ about-stroke/stroke-symptoms
Source: StatePoint (Edited by d-mars.com)
