fast track to losing weight?matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/1140/assets/cvoi... ·...

August 2012

Juice diet a growingfasting alternative

that promoteshealthier body function

Fast trackto losingweight?

Inside: Allergy testing first step toward finding relief.

House Call is dedicated to providing our readers with helpful health related information. We strive to help answer the questions of current and ongoing concerns. This publication is not intended to take the place of medical experts, but rather inspire our readers to take an active role in their physical and mental well being.

IN THIS EDITION

4 It’s Your Body: Stylish kicks or arch enemies: Getting to the foot of the problem.

5 Health Tech: New surgical robot aids local physicians.

5 MRI-safe pacemaker relieves Paducah woman of fainting spells.

6 On & Off the Vine: Fast track to losing weight?

10 Children’s Health: Having fun is a natural route to good health for children.

11 It’s Your Body: FDA approves drug to reduce HIV risk.

14 Living Well: New health issues tied to low-level lead exposure.

House Call is a specialty publication of The Paducah Sun

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please call 270-575-8676.

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at 270-575-8750.

IT’S YOUR BODY

Page 12Murray physician offers area-specifi c allergen tests.

2 | August 2012 House Call Monthly

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House Call Monthly August 2012 | 3

There’s no limit to the vary-ing styles of shoes on the market nowadays, but even with numerous options available, aching dogs can still sweep people off their feet. So when selecting that next pair of kicks, consider stepping off with healthy feet in mind.

From low-top sneaks to high-heel spikes, there’s that certain pair of shoes in almost everyone’s closet that sacrifi ces function for fashion, and local podiatrists say improperly matched footwear could lead people down a painful path.

While everyone’s different, simple considerations for choosing footwear could prevent further pain and po-tential complications from develop-ing in the future.

“Everyone’s foot is shaped differ-ently, so the main thing is fi nding a shoe that’s shaped in the same way as the foot,” said Dr. Stephen Stivers, a Paducah podiatrist.

When choosing a new pair of shoes, it’s important to measure fi t from the standing position as all body weight is dispersed in a natural way across the foot. Stivers recom-mended shoes to fi t with about a thumb width space between the toes and end of the shoe while standing and to avoid overly tight footwear.

People should also consider the fi rmness of their shoes in both the sole and heel of the footwear, said Dr. Harry Byrne, a podiatrist in Lone Oak.

The area between the heel and forefoot — also known as the shank — as well as the heel itself, shouldn’t be able to be twisted or folded, and should remain fi rm for extra stability.

“Really, a shoe should have some stiffness to it, and you shouldn’t be able to fold the shoe up and put it into your pocket,” Byrne said.

For all the pairs of shoes out there that help the feet, there’s equally as many that can have detrimental effects, and many await in the back

of people’s closets. Two of the most common culprits remain fl ip-fl ops and high heels, both with their own lengthy list of potential foot malfor-mation problems.

While summer favorite fl ip-fl ops help the feet to breathe and aren’t necessarily harmful if worn for short stints, over long periods of time the simple beach-goers footwear can lead to further complications. Aside from providing no protection for feet, fl ip-fl ops can also have inadvertent effects on toes.

“The fl oppier the shoe, the more the toes want to grip and over years of wearing shoes like that, that tight-ens the tendons on the toes and that causes hammer toes,” Stivers said. In addition, fl ip-fl ops can also lead to other chronic issues like tendonitis

or plantar fasciitis, where tendons in the feet are overly stretched causing infl ammation and pain.

Still high-ranking on the list of

painful culprits remains high-heel shoes. With several inches of hiked heel forcing the foot to bend down onto the ball of the foot, high-heels can cause some of the same problems as fl ip-fl ops with hammer toes and tendon issues.

“With heels up high all the time, the Achilles tendon at the back of the foot gets used to that and over time will shorten and tighten,” Stivers said. “Then it makes it harder to go barefoot or wear fl atter shoes be-cause of that tendon causing pain.”

As heels squeeze toes into a small area, that pressure can create painful bunion deformities — callused skin off the big toe that creates a bump on the outside of the foot as the joint turns in toward a person’s second toe — Byrne said.

If a woman is seeking a dressier type of shoe, Stivers recommended lower heels with straps, as they don’t put as much pressure on the front of the foot.

For additional comfort and proper foot alignment, people can purchase custom orthotics to place inside their shoes which pad problems like over-pronation.

“The thing about custom orthot-ics are they make any shoe a custom shoe,” Byrne said.

Call Will Pinkston, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8676.

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It’s Your Body


Associated Press

Podiatrists say wearing high heels for extended periods of time could cause foot problems years later in the form of deformities in foot structures and injured tendons, not least to speak of the immediate danger of sprained or twisted ankles. These participants of a high heels race in downtown Mos-cow prepare for that eventuality as they wrap their ankles.

Stylish kicks or arch enemies?Getting to the foot of the problem

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Health Tech

The next generation of sophisticated da Vinci robotic surgery is now available at Western Baptist Hospital, extending its minimally invasive options to heart and lung procedures.

More than 600 people have benefi ted from shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery close to home, since Western Baptist brought the fi rst da Vinci to western Kentucky in 2009. Procedures have included hysterectomy; treatment of throat cancer; removal of the prostate, and partial re-moval of the kidney.

A second robot has been added, and cardio-thoracic surgeon K. Ken Ung recently trained to perform lung and heart surgery with the robot. He will be assisted by cardiothoracic surgeon Carl Johnson.

He is beginning with lung surgery to remove early stage cancers.

Da Vinci lung surgery requires a signifi cantly smaller incision than other minimally invasive techniques and creates less discomfort and scar-

ring for the patient, Ung said.“The safety and effi cacy of robotics technology

has been well-documented,” Ung said. “Experts

in our fi eld say it is a day and night difference in terms of the surgeon being able to visualize during surgery; and it’s an exciting tool for my cardio-thoracic patients, especially when we transition to robotic heart surgery, doing robotic valves or robotic bypasses.”

The da Vinci seamlessly translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist and fi nger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient in an area smaller than would be required for the surgeon’s hands.

The new system features more sophisticated controls and a multi-functional touch screen to provide additional clinical benefi ts and operation effi ciencies.

Its fl uorescence imaging allows surgeons to cap-ture images of tissue and surrounding blood vessels by injecting a unique fl uorescence dye activated by near-infrared light, which marks the difference between normal tissue and cancerous tissue.

For additional information, see westernbaptist.com/davinci.

New surgical robot aids local physicians

Contributed photo

The da Vinci surgical robot translates the sur-geon’s hand, wrist and finger movements into precise movements during a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Western Baptist Hospital re-ceived its second robot earlier this year.

Contributed by Western Baptist Hospital

Emily Jaeger Williams’ husband, Jason, unknowingly diagnosed her slow heartbeat years ago.

“He would listen to my heart and say it was slow,” said Williams, 31, a customer service representative at Holland Medical.

Unfortunately, Williams didn’t know that diagnosis was medically accurate until she passed out at home in February.

“I’ve had a tendency to pass out ever since I was little,” she said. “At fi rst, we thought I was hypoglycemic, but I wasn’t. Then I was diagnosed with panic attacks.”

Williams now believes her anxiety over fainting caused the panic at-tacks.

On Valentine’s Day morning, Wil-liams was walking to her bedroom when she fainted and hit her head on the fl oor. Her husband, who was pre-paring to take their 6-year-old son, Nicholas, to school, called 911.

“I don’t remember collapsing,” she said. “My husband said I stopped breathing for 30 seconds. When I woke up, the paramedics were there.”

Williams was transported to the

Western Baptist Emergency depart-ment, where she was diagnosed with a slow heartbeat. The next day, car-diologist Stephen Young implanted a MRI-safe pacemaker.

Williams doesn’t know if family history contributed to her slow heart-beat, because she was adopted from South Korea when she was 2. “Con-genital problems with the electrical system of the body are sometimes he-reditary and sometimes not,” Young said. “It is rare to have a slow heart

rate at 31, but the condition that causes it is not rare.”

Williams has returned to work with a new peace of mind after the diagno-sis and treatment. “It was affecting my daily life,” she said. “Now I feel normal. I don’t live in fear of that feeling anymore.”

For more information on heart conditions and treatments, see westernbaptist.com/heart, where you can take a free 5-minute heart risk assessment.

Peace of mind: MRI-safe pacemaker relieves woman’s fainting spellsContributed by Western Baptist Hospital

Emily Williams, 31, was diagnosed with a slow heartbeat following a fainting spell at her home in Feb-ruary. After receiving an MRI-safe pacemaker at Western Baptist Hos-pital, Williams’ quality of life has improved.


Although the practice of fasting has been around for centuries as a means of meditation, religious connection or form of protest, the idea of fasting for dietary concerns is a relatively newer prospect that’s gaining momentum with today’s weight watchers.

While conventional wisdom dic-tates three square meals a day for

a healthy functioning lifestyle, the controversial idea of intermittent fasting or fasting diets has propo-nents rethinking what goes on their plates and how frequently.

Implemented as a check to bodily systems, fasting diets claim a period of 14 to 22 hours without substantial foods can increase the amount of nu-trients absorbed into the body at the next meal, at a more effi cient pace to

rebuild or recharge those systems.With two main camps of propo-

nents — those who fast daily or those who fast alternating days — both variations on fasting call for strict food group appropriation when a meal is eaten, copious amounts of water, and rigorous exercise.

Daily fasters tend to skip breakfast, eat a light vegetable or fruit snack at lunch, and eat one or more large

WILL PINKSTON | The Sun

Freshly picked from locally grown farms, these baskets of vegetables overflow at Heath Health Foods in June. Many of the health store’s customers in-quire about the juice fasting diet which involves consuming only freshly juiced vegetables for an extended period of time to cleanse bodily systems.

Fast track to losing weight?Juice diet a growing

fasting alternative that promotes healthier body

function

BY WILL [email protected]

On & Off the Vine


Looking to try some of the most popular freshly-squeezed juice recipes, but don’t know where to start?

The following is a list of several contributed recipes from readers and Heath Health Foods for help-ing to get an out of kilter diet back on track.

Carrot, Celery & Parsley Juice

Serving size: 8 oz.3⁄4 pounds carrots, washed and

prepared2 stalks of celery, cut into half

inch pieces1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup parsley

How it can help: Celery juice contains organic sodium and

alkaline min-erals, which tend to help the body’s nervous sys-

tem calm down from

a stress-ful day,

as well as helping to curb the desire for sweets.

Green Lemonade

Serving size: 8 oz.

1 green apple

3 handfuls of spinach

6 to 8 kale leaves

1⁄2 cucumber, cut into smaller pieces

4 celery stalks

1⁄2 lemon, peel rind

How it can help: Kale leaves are high sources of vitamins A,

C and K, while spinach leaves are high sources of vitamins A and K, folate and iron.

Carrot, Apple & Broccoli Juice


prepared1 apple3 to 4 broccoli florets

How it can help: Broccoli contains copious amounts of beta carotene, as well as many other nutrients associated with fi ghting various forms of cancer.

All Green

Serving size: 8 oz.Handful of romaine hearts6 to 8 kale leaves3 handfuls of spinach2 handfuls of parsley2 to 3 celery stalks1⁄2 lemon, peel rind1 piece of ginger, thumb-sizedHow it can help: Parsley con-

tains high levels of chlorophyll, which is thought to help oxidize the blood, and cleanse the kidneys and urinary tract.

Carrot & Beet Juice


prepared1⁄2 beet, cut into smaller pieces

How it can help: Beets and beet greens are very cleansing to the body and help build blood cells, as well as cleanse the kidneys.

Tomato, Cucumber & Celery Juice

Serving size: 8 oz.1 vine-ripened tomato, cut into

smaller pieces1 small cucumber, cut into

smaller pieces1 to 2 stalks of celery1⁄2 lime, peel rind

How it can help: Cucumber juice is thought to help cleanse kidneys, lower high blood pressure and help keep skin healthy.

Juice it up!Staff report

meals in the evening, while alter-nating day fasters tend to eat on a normal schedule one day and signifi -cantly reduce calories the next. But the science has trouble verifying such dietary claims, said Sandra Farthing, a registered dietitian at Lourdes hospital.

“Fasting in and of itself can be a healthy thing, but it’s not for weight loss,” she said. “Most people do it to clear their mind.

“But if you’re doing it for nutrition-al reasons, it’s not good at all. You’re just going to hurt yourself as your body loses vitamins and minerals.”

A growing group of people in the health food world propose a slightly different facet of fasting: the juice fast. A variation on vegetable juicing taken to the extreme, juice fasting calls for people consuming nothing but freshly juiced vegetables at every meal for an extended period of time.

Seen as an effective manner of overhauling the body’s digestive system by cutting drastically back on processed foods and super-charging the body on nutrient and vitamin-rich vegetables, the juice fast operates as a detox, said Dr. Jason Brame, of Lone Oak Chiropractic.

“It’s like hitting the reset button your computer, it picks everything back up to speed and really just re-boots you,” Brame said.

Yolanda Heath, owner of Heath Health Foods, recommends reducing processed meat consumption.

“As a society we eat too much processed meat and when we eat so much processed foods, we don’t get the essential enzymes that we need,” Heath said. “That being said, our body can’t break it down, and that’s why we have a society with tons of gastrointestinal and digestive issues.

“So the fresher, the rawer our foods, the more enzymes it has

and it’s easier for the body to break down.”

According to Brame, bodily sys-tems are designed to adapt to the wide range of foods eaten on a daily basis, but those systems can only go so far, making proper nutrition vital and precipitating the benefi ts of such recharging fasts.

While re-searchers are hesitant in mak-ing claims about the effectiveness of the diet, freshly extracted juice is believed to provide fresh nutrients to the body in a man-ner that doesn’t call for the digestive sys-tem to work as hard.

“We’ve always heard the fresher our food is, the more nutritious it is for us,” Heath said.

“If you have no other alternative — maybe you have no juicer — juices off the shelf are an option, but a lot of times the juices off the shelf are very high in sodium and they have preservatives added to keep them on the shelf.”

Call Will Pinkston, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8676.

“Fasting in and of itself can be a healthy thing, but it’s not for weight loss. Most people do it to clear their mind. But if

you’re doing it for nutritional reasons, it’s not good at all. You’re just going to hurt yourself as your body loses vitamins and

minerals.”

Sandra FarthingRegistered dietitian,

Lourdes hospital

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5 Misconceptions about Hearing LossFor years, stigma has been attached to hearing loss. While it would be impossible to rewrite our society’s view of this disability and its treatment options, it is my hope that this brief article may change your personal view on the subject by considering 5 common misconceptions about hearing loss.

1. Only the elderly suffer from hearing loss.

It is true that age induced hearing loss makes up a significant amount of the estimated 31.5 million hearing impaired in the United States, however; according to recent research by the Better Hearing Institute, as much as 65% of hearing impaired Americans are under age sixty-five. Hearing loss among the young has been rising over recent generations due to increased noise exposure. In fact, hearinag loss has increased so much among America‘s youth that the hearing aid industry has been striving diligently to accommodate their needs with solutions that are Bluetooth compatible, invisible, automatic, and low maintenance as this new generation of hearing impaired do not want to be bothered by their disability but want simple, highly functional solutions that enable them to easily communicate without embarrassment.

2. Hearing loss is not a disability.

This is an extremely prevalent misconception. Many people refuse to acknowledge their hearing loss, fearing it may cause them to be seen as weak or old. However, research shows that untreated hearing loss leads to negative social, psychological, cognitive, and health effects. In addition, research shows that untreated hearing loss lowers average household income, on-average, by up to $12,000 per year.

3. I should put off seeking treatment as long as possible.

Simply put this is one of the most backwards concepts among the hearing impaired. Many people feel they should put off treatment as long as possible. The fact is: the sooner someone has sounds restored to a volume they can hear, the more likely they are to do well with amplification and rehabilitation. However, the average hearing impaired person waits ten years before seeking treatment, and only one in five hearing impaired persons ultimately decides to treat their hearing loss. I urge anyone who thinks that treatment would be bothersome or obtrusive to seek treatment so that you can make an informed decision about your hearing loss, instead of simply putting it off.

4. My hearing loss can be treated with surgery.

While this perception is true for five to ten percent of the hearing impaired, it is an exception to the rule. A simple test can determine whether you may have a medically correctable type of hearing loss. Again, if you feel your hearing loss may be medically correctable, you can start by having your hearing evaluated at an ENT (Otolaryngologist) practice. Many people also feel that their family doctor would have told them if they had hearing loss, but only thirteen percent of family physicians routinely screen for hearing loss.

5. Buying hearing aids will restore my hearing to normal.

Unfortunately, after the brain lacks stimulation from the hearing nerves, those portions of the brain begin to atrophy. With consistent use of amplification, some understanding can be rehabilitated, however; no hearing instruments or rehab program can restore perfect hearing. Therefore, it is important to find a hearing care professional that will do more than just sell you a set of hearing aids. You need a professional who will thoroughly evaluate your hearing and medical history, refer you to an Otolaryngologist for possible medically treatable hearing loss, consider your lifestyle and hearing loss in order to determine the best treatment plan, guide you through the entire process, and ultimately allow you ample time to acclimate to amplification.

Statistics and research mentioned are taken from the Better Hearing Institute. BHI is a not-for-profit corporation that educates the public about the neglected problem of hearing loss and what can be done about it. Find them at www.betterhearing.org.

Article Written By

Caleb Rhodes, HIS

Caleb Rhodes studied with Western Kentucky Technical and Community College and Parkland College in Champaign

Illinois with a focus on hearing instrument sciences. He began assisting the hearing impaired in 2003 and is licensed as a hearing instrument specialist in Kentucky and Illinois.

D-6940



They are the kids who get picked last for the game, if they get chosen at all. They are the slow runners, the “easy outs,” the ones who eventually just don’t bother to show up any-more.

“It’s harsh, but these are the fat kids,” said Mary Williams. “They are overweight and then they start to feel so bad about it that they give up play-ing with friends and go inside, where they gain even more.

“They lose their childhoods this way,” she said.

Williams, an athletic trainer, is working to help children who are caught in the obesity epidemic in a state where one in every four chil-dren is overweight or obese. But her goal isn’t just to help them lose weight; it’s to use sports to teach them lifelong ways to stay fi t.

She has a group of 10 girls, ages 8 through 16, who come to her Wayne, N.J., gym twice a week to play sports away from the harsh reality of their local playgrounds.

They begin with the fundamental skills of soccer, basketball and soft-ball, then play each other in scrim-mages. They also play kickball and go biking and hiking. Last week, they tried indoor rock climbing. Over the winter, they went skiing.

“It’s amazing to see how these girls brighten up when they realize they can do something they see kids doing all the time in their neighborhoods,” Williams said. “You see them laugh-ing and having fun. Getting fi t.”

And losing weight.The girls usually have begun a

weight loss plan when they are re-ferred to Williams by their pediatri-cians or nutritionists. Williams loves watching their transformations. Most important, she loves giving them a reason to move.

“Kids are not going to stick with a regular gym atmosphere,” she said. “They aren’t going to stick with the things adults use to lose weight, like treadmills and ellipticals. They are kids and kids play.”

Williams’ sessions have turned 12-year-old Marisca into something of a soccer nut. Marisca, a Passaic,

N.J., resident, was 40 pounds over-weight when she attended her fi rst class two years ago.

“Back then I couldn’t run 10 steps without heaving,” she said.

Now that she’s slimmer and fi tter, she plans to try out for a soccer team. She practices every day in her back yard and has even started playing

with some other kids on her block. “I don’t like to sit around anymore,” she said.

The sessions have motivated Em-ily, a 14-year-old Englewood, N.J., resident, to set her sights on shot put when she starts high school. “I’m really strong,” she said. “They say it’s about the power in your legs and I have

power those skinny girls don’t have.”The thing Emily and Marisca said

they have most enjoyed about the sessions with Williams is that be-cause the group is fi lled with girls like them, they aren’t afraid to try a sport.

“Nobody is staring at you and thinking you are too fat to play,” Marsica said.

In fact, they cheer one another on. With their help Ellie, a 13-year-old Wayne resident, has discovered she is a powerful hitter. She hopes to play on a softball team next spring.

Not all the girls who work with Williams go on to join a team somewhere. But that isn’t the point, anyway, Williams said.

“The point is to fi nd a reason to move their bodies,” she said. “Some-thing that will help them get and stay healthy for the rest of their lives.”

Children’s Health Having fun is a natural route to good health

BY DEBRA LYNN VIALMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

“It’s amazing to see how these girls brighten up when they realize they can do something

they see kids doing all the time in their neighborhoods. You see them laughing and

having fun. Getting fit.”

Mary WilliamsAthletic trainer

Athleteic trainers say teaching chidren to have fun playing sports when they’re young can translate into a lifelong desire to stay fit.


Top of the Chart

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration approved a drug last week that could signifi -cantly reduce the risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among high-risk groups.

Truvada, a blue pill taken once a day, was shown in clinical studies to slash transmission of the virus by up to 75 percent.

“This is a big step,” said Marjorie Hill, chief executive of the AIDS group Gay Men’s Health Crisis. “If people are looking for the magic bul-let, the cure-all, we don’t have it yet. What we do have is an increasingly growing tool kit.”

Many HIV and AIDS researchers and activists say Truvada is a prom-ising way to reduce new infections, which have remained stubbornly high for years.

“It’s going to save lives,” Hill said.Some worry that the drug will

have the opposite effect by encour-aging unprotected sex.

“Today marks a catastrophe in the fi ght against HIV in America,” Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, said in a conference call. “If you look back fi ve years from today, you will see this decision by the FDA will cause there to be more infec-tions, not less.”

Truvada, made by the Foster City, Calif., pharmaceutical fi rm Gilead Sciences, was approved in 2004 to help treat people infected with the human immunodefi ciency virus. In those who are not infected, it can prevent the virus from getting a foothold in the body.

In a clinical study of heterosexual couples in Africa in which one part-ner was infected with HIV, taking the drug reduced transmission rates by 75 percent. In a separate study of

gay men, the drug reduced trans-mission by 42 percent.

Truvada is most effective when taken every day — something ven study participants struggled with — and when combined with condom use.

The FDA will require that pa-tients have HIV tests before getting a prescription to ensure they are not already infected. If they are, the virus could develop resistance to Truvada, which is combined with another drug to treat those already infected.

The annual rate of new HIV infections in the U.S. has remained around 50,000 since at least 2004, and rates have risen among young, gay black men. The Obama adminis-tration pledged to cut the number of new infections 25 percent by 2015, but existing methods of preven-tion — essentially condoms and abstinence — have not budged the number.

The FDA has been searching for alternatives. Debra Birnkrant, director of the agency’s Division of Antiviral Products, said Monday’s approval would spur progress to-ward the administration’s goal.

“The hope is over time it will reduce the rate of new infections or incidence in the United States,” she said.

Treating HIV has been shown to reduce a patient’s likelihood of transmitting the disease. But of-fering new ways for HIV-negative people to protect themselves is important because a disproportion-ate number of infections are caused by people who have not been tested and are unaware they are infected.

“If you’re an HIV-negative person, you sure can’t rely on the fact that your partner is being treated,” said Joel Gallant, vice chairman of the HIV Medicine Association. and an HIV/AIDS doctor in Baltimore.

The pill’s cost could be a prob-lem, however. A year’s supply costs $13,900, according to the manufac-turer. Financial aid is available for HIV-positive patients, but not for those testing negative.

“The problem is that people at the

greatest risk are not only uninsured but not connected with the health-care system,” Gallant said.

The FDA’s Birnkrant said the studies offered no evidence that people using Truvada stopped using condoms. But opponents worried that the drug’s approval will lead to riskier behavior outside the confi nes

of a clinical study.Gallant said the issue could be a

red herring, however, because many people at high risk have already stopped using condoms as the fear of AIDS has weakened.

“Condoms do detract somewhat from the pleasure of sex, and some people feel it’s not worth it,” he said.

FDA approves drug to reduce HIV risk

BY IAN DUNCANMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

“This is a big step. If people are looking for the magic bullet, the

cure-all, we don’t have it yet. What we do

have is an increasingly growing tool kit.”

Marjorie HillChief executive, Gay Men’s Health

Crisis

“If you look back five years from today, you will see this decision by the FDA will cause

there to be more infections, not less.”

Michael WeinsteinPresident, AIDS Healthcare

Foundation

Some worry drug may encourage unprotected sex

It’s Your Body

Dr. Arthur Allen of Murray ENT recently started offering a region-specifi c allergy test that covers 30 potential allergens.

The test reveals which common allergens affect the body, and to what extent. The allergens tested range from Western Kentucky trees and plants to standard triggers, like dogs and cats. After reading the test results, Allen can help the body build natural defenses against the allergens with a series of custom-made allergy shots.

“Most people take allergy relief medicine or are forced to avoid contact with certain things that cause reactions. The allergy shots, however, are a long-term solution that helps the body learn to adapt to the al-lergens and stops the reaction,” Allen

said.The allergy test is comprised of

small doses of allergens adminis-tered just under the skin of the arm. Within minutes of using the test, the staff can identify and measure how severely the body is reacting to each allergen. Once the data is recorded, the staff gives patients a custom treatment. The weekly doses can be given quickly, so patients don’t have to schedule an appointment.

“As the body continues to grow and develop, it can become allergic to things it was not previously allergic to,” Allen said. “This is especially true if you have been traveling a lot or have moved to a new area.”

For more information on allergy testing and allergy relief, contact Murray ENT at 762-1567.

Murray physician offersarea-specific allergen tests

Submitted photo

An allergy test reveals which allergens affect a person’s body and to what extent they do so.



BALTIMORE — Despite dramatic progress in reducing Americans’ ex-posure to lead over the past 25 years, a growing body of research fi nds that children and adults still face health risks from even very low levels of the toxic metal in their blood.

A recent government study, pre-pared with help of researchers from Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, tallies the wide-rang-ing damage low-level lead exposure can do, beyond the well-documented effects of reducing youngsters’ IQ and undermining their ability to learn and control their behavior. Hearing and even the onset of puber-ty may be affected in children, while in adults, kidneys and blood pressure may be harmed.

“There does not appear to be a re-ally safe level of lead exposure,” said Andrew A. Rooney, a senior health scientist with the National Toxicol-ogy Program who coordinated the review of existing research. “The best course of action,” he added, “is to eliminate all lead exposure from our environment.”

Mounting evidence that children can experience learning and behavior problems from low-level lead expo-sure prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month to cut in half the level of lead in young children’s blood at which health authorities are urged to in-tervene. For more than 20 years, the “level of concern” in young children had been 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. Declaring there is no safety threshold for the metal, the CDC set a new “reference level” of 5 micrograms per deciliter.

In Maryland, that change is expected to multiply the number of youngsters deemed in need of help, even after the state experienced a 98 percent reduction in childhood lead poisoning cases.

But the federal study found scien-tifi c evidence of other harmful health effects, besides those related to learn-ing and behavior, at those low levels.

Children were found to be at great-er risk of delayed puberty, reduced growth and hearing defi cit when the

lead levels in their bloodstream were at or below 10 micrograms per deci-liter. The study also found adults had increased blood pressure and greater risk of hypertension at similar lead levels.

But at even lower levels — 5 mi-crograms per deciliter or less — the study found evidence of reduced kidney function in adults, as well as reduced fetal growth and lower birth weights in pregnant women.

Rooney said the National Toxicol-ogy Program launched its review at the request of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which was concerned about lead’s re-productive effects on pregnant work-ers. The current workplace exposure limit for lead is 50 micrograms per cubic meter in the air.

But the federal research team and

a group of independent scientists serving as technical advisors chose to broaden the study to look at all documental health effects from low levels of lead.

In some areas, the report con-cluded that there was only limited research to date linking low-level lead exposure with cardiovascular disease. While researchers agreed increased blood pressure and hyper-tension may result, they were split on whether lead could be tied to increased heart attack deaths.

“The evidence, I would say, is grow-ing,” said Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, asso-ciate professor at Hopkins’ School of Public Health and one of the technical advisors for the federal study.

In addition to the risks of heart attack death, she said, there’s some research linking low-level lead expo-

sure to peripheral arterial disease, in which it becomes painful to walk or stand.

But Navas-Acien said she believes lead’s role in cardiovascular disease merits more study.

While low-level lead exposure may harm people at all ages, Rooney and Navas-Acien said that for the most part, there’s little to be done for adults. Chelation therapy, in which chemical compounds are injected to remove metals from the body, only work when lead is at much higher levels.

Rather, the fi nding of widespread health effects at low levels should provide further impetus for elimi-nating lead exposure, they said. The health effects on any individual from tiny doses of lead may seem minor compared with the risk of retardation and even death at very high levels, Navas-Acien said, but widespread low-level exposure could effectively lower the intelligence and hurt the health of a broad segment of the population.

While there are few clear remedies for low-level exposure, Navas-Acien said her research suggests there is one underappreciated source of lead that could be reduced — secondhand smoke.

In cases where children test positive for low levels of lead in their blood, she said, “it will be really im-portant to assess if there are smokers in the house of that child. … If they could quit, that would be ideal. But even if they can’t quit, don’t do it in the house or don’t smoke when the child is around.”

Living WellHealth issues tied to low-level lead exposure

BY TIMOTHY B. WHEELERMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

“There does not appear to be a really

safe level of lead exposure. The best course of action is to eliminate all lead exposure from our

environment.”

Andrew A. RooneySenior health scientist, National

Toxicology Program

Contaminants

Symptoms

© 2009 MCTSource: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.mayoclinic.com Graphic: Staff, Junie Bro-Jorgensen

What parents can do

screened if there is concern of lead exposure

dust in home if it was built before 1978

wash child’s hands, toys, pacifiers

tap water for drinking, cooking

behavioral problems, malformed bones, slow growth

seizures, coma, death

70% of lead, adults about 20%; removed from body extremely slowly; 95% deposited in bones

dust in homes built before 1978

decay)

Abdominal pain,vomiting,constipation

Loss of appetite,weight loss

In time it attacks central nervous system

Irritability,sluggishness,fatigue,unusual paleness,anemia,learning difficulties

Lead poisoning

Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MDMEDICAL DIRECTOR, THE PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER

For more information contact: The Pain Management Center, 2831 Lone Oak Road, Paducah, Kentucky 42003. Phone: 270-554-8373. Web: www.thepainmd.com

Pain-AcutevsChronicA D V E R TO R I A L PA I N M A N A G E M E N T C E N T E R S O F PA D U C A H A N D M A R I O N . 2 7 0 - 5 5 4 - 8 3 7 3

ain is an unavoidable fact of life; we all have pain at various times. Sometimes that pain is mild and an-noying. At other times it is crippling and debilitating. From stubbing a

toe or receiving a minor bruise, to catastrophic bodily harm and major surgery, pain can take many forms. Pain should not be ignored. As unpleasant as pain may be, it is a sign that something is wrong. In order to un-derstand your pain better, it is helpful to know whether your pain is acute or chronic. Pain is described in many ways. There is throbbing pain, sharp pain, burning pain and many other types of pain. Medical professionals often classify pain as either acute or chronic. The causes for both acute and chronic pain are endless. Sometimes what begins as acute pain becomes chronic pain. Knowing whether pain is acute or chronic will help your doctor determine the best course of treatment for you. Acute pain comes on unexpectedly. It is often caused by some sort of sudden injury. Examples of acute pain include a sprained ankle, a burn, a cut, or a broken bone. If the injury is minor, then readily available over-the-counter medications may be enough to alleviate the pain. Over-the-counter remedies for treating acute pain include ibuprofen, naproxen, acetaminophen, and aspirin. If the injury is on the skin, then topical pain-relieving ointments could be all that is needed. Any injury that is more serious should be looked at and evaluated by a medical professional. Acute pain will gradually subside and go away as the injury heals. On the other hand, chronic pain is complex and can be caused by multiple factors. Chronic pain is pain that persists six months after an injury has occurred, lasts beyond the course of an acute disease, or goes beyond the reasonable time for a comparable injury to heal. Chronic pain can be either continu-ous or intermittent. It can last for months or even years. Its cause may be obvious, but oftentimes the cause cannot be immedi-

ately determined. Also, it may not respond to routine pain treatments and in some cases, the injury that first caused the pain to be acute may never fully heal, thus causing what was once acute pain to be classified as chronic pain. The goal of pain management is to help you cope with your pain, perhaps even lessening its severity, and restoring function. Getting you back to the life you led, restoring the activities of daily living, and making life easier to live are all achievable with pain management. Interventional pain management involves pinpoint-ing the cause of your chronic pain and developing an individualized treatment plan for you. We are all familiar with what are called opioid pain-killers. Their abuse is documented in the news almost daily. Hydrocodone and oxycodone are the ones you have probably heard the most about, but there are many other opioid drugs. Opioids certainly have their place in helping patients achieve pain relief. But their

use over time can cause more harm than good. The simplest explanation of how pain is relieved is that the brain signal indicating pain is being experienced somewhere in the body is either blocked or interrupted in some way.

The biggest problem with opioid pain

relievers is that they block pain signals from all parts of the body. One way to think of this is how a shotgun differs from a rifle. A shotgun shoots pellets over a wide pattern. Even if a pellet hits the target, there are many others that hit the surrounding area. A rifle shot, on the other hand, zeroes in on the target, hitting only where it is aimed. Interventional pain management works like that rifle shot. Your interventional pain physician is trained to isolate the cause of chronic pain. Rather than flood the body with opioid drugs, an interventional pain physician uses a targeted approach, placing the painkill-ing medicine right where it is needed—at the site of the pain’s cause. The most common type of chronic pain treated by interventional pain physicians is back pain. But they also treat neck pain, leg pain, headaches, and other types of chronic pain. After a thorough examination and history, your interventional pain physician may order imaging or other tests. These tests will help de-termine what is causing your chronic pain. From there your individualized treatment plan will be created. Chronic pain cannot always be cured, but it can be managed. With the help of an interventional pain physician, you can have a life that is easier to live.

P


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