Beware of secondary drowning when at play with children.
You know how right after you jog or do free weights, you feel fine, but the next day your muscles are tender and sore? This phenomenon was first described by Dr. Theodore Hough in 1902. He called it delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. But today, 115 years later, scientists are still debating why it happens.
Well, dangerous and severe discomfort can set in after swimming, too. The conditions are called atypical or dry drowning, and secondary drowning — but we know exactly what causes them.
Atypical drowning happens (mostly in kids) when you take in water while swimming. Such a near-drowning experience triggers laryngospasm — constriction of airway muscles — and that deprives the body of oxygen. Worse, when you try to breathe, that suction disrupts the junctions between cells in the lungs, triggering edema and making the lack of oxygen even harder to correct. “That’s why every child who’s fallen into the water or experienced a near-drowning should be taken to the emergency room immediately,” says Dr. Purva Grover, medical director of Cleveland Clinic’s Children’s Pediatric Emergency Departments.
Secondary drowning occurs when someone has gotten water into his or her lungs (again, usually a child) without being aware of it. If it causes pulmonary edema, within an hour there’s rapid or difficult breathing; however, sometimes symptoms don’t show up for 24 hours. Then they can include respiratory problems plus vomiting, lethargy and a lack of desire to eat or drink.
Seek medical attention immediately if your child experiences any of these symptoms after being in or around water.
Singing is good therapy
When Michael J. Fox rocked out on “Johnny B. Goode” with Coldplay during a concert at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in July 2016, it was wonderful to hear him make liquid magic with his guitar solo — just like he did in the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.”
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, and it appears that he may have tapped into a secret therapy for that neurological condition. It seems making music is a powerful tool for managing symptoms of the disease, which include stiffness and tremor, trouble standing or walking, poor balance and impaired voice, as well as cognitive problems and more.
Recently, Iowa State University researchers looked at how singing can strengthen muscles that control swallowing and breathing — two functions that are damaged by Parkinson’s. Their study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine confirmed that singing, even if off-key, improves those abilities. And researchers in Lancet Neurobiology showed that music-based interventions improve everything from Parkinson’s-related motor performance, speech and cognition to brain systems that stimulate feelings of reward and arousal, and affect regulation, learning and agile formation of new memories.
Music has been shown to have powerful health benefits in other situations as well. A steady rhythm helps regulate breathing and, if the tunes are relaxing, they lower levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol. It’s also been suggested that music is a great way to ease post-surgery stress and pain. In other words, when it comes to complementary medicine, Music B. Good.
Discover benefits of DHA
A lab study in Scientific Reports found that taking supplements of DHA — the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil (and algal oil; algae is where the fish get it from!) and synthesized from ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) found in foods such as walnuts and flaxseed — boosts production of estrogen in the brain. Yes, guys, it’s essential, and since you convert only 2 percent of ALA into DHA, getting plenty is vital.
Estrogen is important for brain health: It helps reduce nerve damage from stroke, and protects the brain from environmental toxins such as methyl mercury. And an estrogen imbalance in the brain is linked to changes that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, depression and some autoimmune disorders.
Benefits of DHA: Studies show (inconclusively, says the National Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine) that fish oil decreases tumor cell proliferation. We know that it reduces the effects of hypertension, arthritis, atherosclerosis, depression, diabetes, myocardial infarction and the risk of blood clots. Plus, in a randomized study, people who took 900 mg of DHA omega-3 daily for 28 weeks had improved learning and memory function. We say their brain age was six years younger! So take 900 mg DHA algal oil daily, unless you’re on a blood thinner; then check with your doctor.