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1 IN 5 AMERICANS LIVING WITH HIV DON’T KNOW THEY’RE INFECTED. THE ONLY WAY TO BE 100% SURE YOU’RE NOT ONE OF THEM IS TO TAKE THE TEST. Ask your clinician today. It’s fast, easy, and anonymous. www.pposbc.org

THE FIRST STEP STARTS HERE. FERTILITY FIRST STEPS

www.pposbc.org

If you’re having difficulty getting pregnant, Planned Parenthood can help. We provide programs and services to meet all your reproductive health needs … including fertility services. Fertility First Steps is a program for women and men who’ve been trying to conceive for at least 6 months. We evaluate possible reasons for infertility with initial diagnostic services, including: • Consultation with a trained fertility specialist • Testing, monitoring, and basic treatment for both women and men, including evaluation of fallopian tubes and semen analysis • Referrals to partnering physicians specializing in advanced fertility treatments All tests, labs, and office visits are offered at Planned Parenthood’s discounted rates. If you are uninsured, you may qualify for state funding to cover a portion of the testing.

To schedule an appointment, call: 877.807.8675 or visit: PlannedParenthoodFertility.org Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties provides essential reproductive health care, nutrition services, and education programs to more than 160,000 local women and men, regardless of their personal circumstances or ability to pay. We’ve been building healthy communities since 1965 with the most sophisticated instrument in medicine: accurate information that can help people make the best decisions about their health.

Health

Wellness

Cracking Nut Allergies PB&J sandwiches may make you long for the good old days, but for some, the childhood staple inspires fear of a potentially deadly reaction. Unlike other food allergies, which most children grow out of, reactions to the nut can be severe, affecting about 3 million Americans and causing about 150 deaths annually. However, peanut allergies may be eliminated in the next five years through immunotherapy and genetically altering plants, some experts say. Several studies point to a potential cure in the near future—a therapy could soon be available that would alter a person’s immune response, rendering the nuts nonallergic. Genetic engineering may also someday produce an allergen-free variety, according to comments recently in The Lancet from Wesley Burks, M.D., a food allergy expert at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Breast Practices

When it comes to bras, cups that runneth over are definitely a bad thing. Beyond tackiness, ill-fitting garments may actually be bad for a woman’s health. Wearing the wrong bra can irreparably damage the breasts, stretching fragile ligaments, sometimes causing pain and discomfort, according to recent research from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. During this pink-ribbon month, breast biomechanics researcher Wendy Hedger reminds women that breastfeeding, menopause, fluctuations in weight and other life events can lead to changes in cup size, and, therefore, the appropriate bra size.

Science

Coming Undone Celebrities are famous for doing, and undoing, nips and tucks. But they’re not the only ones. Recent reports claim there’s been a surge in demand for plastic surgery revisions and reversals. Dubbed “undo-plasties,” some doctors are promoting themselves as “revision plastic surgeons,” devoting up to 50% of their practices to fixing botched nose jobs, face lifts, breast augmentations and more. “Plastic surgery is one of the most important decisions a person can make,” says Gregory A. Wiener, M.D., a FACS boardcertified cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon in Chicago. “But in today’s instant gratification society, patients are making snap decisions on cosmetic surgery without thinking about how it will affect the rest of their lives.” The most common reversal procedures, he says, are the removal of breast implants, and injectable collagen in the lips and face.

Please submit items of interest for Healing News to Kimiko Martinez at kmartinez@creativeage.com. 128 DAYSPA

October 2008

HEALING NEWS

Debt May Lead to a Doctor’s Office Paying bills and dealing with creditors is a pain in the neck—literally. A recent Associated Press-AOL Health poll found that people in serious debt are more likely to report health problems, including ulcers, depression and heart attacks. Between 10 and 16 million Americans’ health may be negatively affected by economic-induced chronic stress, according to Paul J. Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the survey results. Poll findings showed significantly higher levels of reported physical ailments in those with high debt stress. These individuals were also much more likely to have problems with sleep and concentration, and get upset easily.

Ulcers or digestive tract problems

27%

Headaches or migraines

44%

15%

Severe anxiety

29%

Severe depression

23%

51%

31%

Heart attacks Muscle tension/back pain

Saving Face Just as lifting weights can tone muscles and reshape the body, facial yoga and other “facercises” can create dramatic, injection-free results. Annelise Hagen, author of The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift (Penguin Group, 2007), teaches weekly facial yoga classes. They incorporate poses such as the Smiling Fish (with pursed lips), the Marilyn (a blowing kisses movement) and more. Facercise and Facebuilder For Men creator Carole Maggio licenses her facial toning system to therapists and spa professionals nationwide. The movements aim to isolate and work the 57 muscles of the face and neck to smooth skin, open eyes, diminish under-eye puffiness, tone and define jaw line, and create fuller lips ... all without needles.

130 DAYSPA

October 2008

HIGH-DEBT STRESS LOW-DEBT STRESS 8%

Pelvic Fitness New York Kegel queens looking to flex a little muscle—pelvic muscles, that is—now have a new medical spa setting in which to do so. Phit (pelvic health integrated techniques) is a Manhattan-based medical spa dedicated to vaginal rejuvenation, pelvic fitness and noninvasive skin rejuvenation. Inspired while walking past a tooth-bleaching franchise, which caters to healthy patients looking for improvement, gynecologist Lauri Romanzi extended that idea to her own practice. The spa offers individually tailored regimens that help clients get in shape from the inside out. It also features cosmetic gynecologic procedures, such as labiaplasty, vaginal tightening, and laser and radio frequency-based vulvar recontouring. Nonsurgical, noninjectable body rejuvenation options are also offered.

AILMENT

December 9, 2004

Suction-cup therapy It might sound painful, but this old technique relieves pain for some. BY KIMIKO L. MARTINEZ THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR kimiko.martinez@intakeweekly.com

When Linda Jones first started working at Dr. Young Park's integrative medicine practice, she dubbed his methods "barbaric." "I told him, I have a new name for your practice: 'The Little Shop of Horrors,' " Jones said. "I don't think he liked that much." When Park offered to help Jones, who'd been enduring the excruciating, chronic pain of fibromyalgia for more than a year, the 40-year-old medical assistant politely declined. Despite trying several therapies and a host of different drugs, nothing seemed to help. She rarely slept through the night, as her muscles seemed to scream in agony, and she was constantly fatigued. After a year and a half of having X-rays, MRIs and paying $6,000 out-ofpocket for medical tests and expenses, Jones gave in. "I finally said, go ahead and do whatever.'" IN THE BLOOD In February, Dr. Park began giving Jones monthly wet and dry cupping treatments, a practice that basically draws nutrient-rich blood into the cups through a vacuum effect. The increased circulation then stimulates the body's natural healing systems. Dr. Park touts he is the only physician in the Midwest who performs wet cupping, where "stagnated" blood is drawn out of the skin, drawing more nutrients to the area.

A QUICK LESSON ON CUPPING In dry cupping, skin is suctioned into a cup or glass by igniting a small amount of alcohol to the cups and quickly applying them to the skin. Wet cupping involves puncturing the skin first and creating a suction through lighting a piece of paper before covering it with a glass. A Roman physician spoke of cupping in his first-century book of medicine, suggesting wet cupping for removing gases and wastes under the skin, and dry cupping for removing wastes from the internal organs, for general health maintenance and common ailments like a cold.

For wet cupping treatments, Park begins by pricking patients with a small needle, the kind used to check blood sugar in diabetics. He works quickly, crisscrossing the area to be treated before lighting an alcohol-dipped piece of paper, throwing it into the cup and pressing down to form a seal. Skin is sucked up into a clear, cylindrical glass cup that looks much like the beakers used in high school chemistry class. Blood begins to trickle out as Park sets to work on the next site. Sometimes Park applies several dry cups, smaller ceramic pots that suction skin but don't collect blood around the area as well. It looks like it might hurt, as bulbs of flesh are suctioned into the glasses, but Park is adamant that it doesn't. If you've ever played with a vacuum cleaner (and who hasn't?) you can get an idea of what it feels like. "It gets your attention at first," one patient said, "but after 15 to 20 seconds, it eases off." ANCIENT PRACTICE Cupping has been around for centuries and is a fairly common practice throughout Asia and Europe, but it hadn't garnered much attention in the United States until Gwyneth Paltrow mystified the media when she turned up for the "Anchorman" premiere with small, circular bruises across her back -- the results of cupping. British actress Kate Winslet took a cue from Paltrow and decided to try the treatment after straining her neck. "Koreans use it more often than any other country," said Park, who boasts his California-based father performs more wet cupping treatments than anyone in the country. According to Park, who's trained in both Eastern and Western medicine, both variations of cupping are effective at treating a variety of conditions, from diabetes and high blood pressure to carpal tunnel syndrome. Park has about a hundred different sized cups and glasses designed to fit any part of the body, including fingers, noses and elbows. Dry cupping pulls out toxins by expanding the pores and is better for

END YOUR MISERY Here are some of the conditions and disorders that Dr. Park says can be treated by cupping: • Abdominal pains • Allergies • Anemia • Animal bites • Arthritis • Asthma • Back pain, upper and lower • Bladder problems • Chronic headaches • Common cold • Constipation • Diabetes • Diarrhea • Fatigue and depression • Heart disease • Hemorrhoids • Hives • Hypertension • Joint pains • Kidney disease • Lung disease • Menstrual irregularity • Migraine headaches • Rashes • Shoulder pain • Skin difficulties, including skin cancer • Stomach disorders *Source: Dr. Young Park

treating whole-body conditions affected by a poor immunity and circulation, as well as chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, Park said. Wet cupping directly removes congested or stagnated blood and improves blood flow to the area, stimulating the body's own healing mechanisms, making it better, according to Park, for treating musculoskeletal conditions and neurological disorders. DOES IT WORK? There are few books on the technique, and those that are in print are written in Korean. But Park hopes to write a book to help teach Englishspeaking patients and doctors about the technique. Although he grew up with a father who'd been trained in acupuncture and traditional Eastern medicine, Park has come up with Western ways of explaining why cupping works. He explained the difference in rates of glucose converted to ATP in aerobic and anaerobic states, and the buildup of lactic acid (what causes pain) when there's not enough ATP. In the end, it boils down to removing wastes from the body and improving circulation. "Some patients experience an immediate relief of pain after the first treatment," Park said. "Sometimes it takes a couple of treatments." For Jones, cupping has been almost like a miracle cure. "It's incredible," Jones said. "After the fifth treatment, I began noticing significant relief. "Dr. Park says if I do this for a year, I will never have to utter the word fibromyalgia again."

WIC can help military families

Many military families qualify for WIC services and don’t know it. WIC provides education, resources, and support at no cost to you, including: • Checks to purchase healthy foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, and baby food • Nutrition education, including free cooking demos • One-on-one breastfeeding support, pumps, and a Help Line WIC Income Guidelines Income guidelines are subject to change. The USDA requires that WIC assess certain Pays and Allowances, in addition to Basic Pay. For example, WIC does not include BAH and FSH, but does include BAS and FSA. Please contact us for more information. Number of people in family

Gross monthly income

$2,333

$2,944

$3,554

$4,165

$4,775

WIC has ofﬁces located throughout Orange County to help eligible pregnant women, new parents, and children (up to age 5) eat well, stay healthy and be active!

Call 714.973.2411 or visit getWIC.org to ﬁnd out more.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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