Avoiding unnecessary trips to the emergency room
In the 2000 movie “Pay It Forward,” the story line is all about doing good deeds for strangers who, in turn, pass on a good deed to someone they don’t know. One example: A stranger gives a journalist a jazzy new Jaguar S-Type when the writer’s car is damaged in an accident. When asked why he’s doing it, the stranger says that recently he took his daughter to the emergency department while she was having an asthma attack. She wasn’t getting the care she needed until a wounded thug in the ER went ballistic (literally) in order to help the girl — and probably saved her life. Now he wanted to do something that was unexpected and generous for someone else.
The frustrations of waiting for hours in a crowded ER, well, that’s something most folks have experienced at one time or another. Wouldn’t it be a lot nicer if you could avoid these visits all together?
Maybe you can! Researchers at the UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine looked at data on 424 million ER visits and identified the “avoidable” reasons people end up there (“avoidable” was defined as visits that did not require any diagnostic or screening services, procedures or medications and were discharged home).
The top three preventive solutions were:
■ Alcohol-related problems: Seek help for dependency or abuse problems.
■ Mood disorders: See a therapist with a medical degree who can offer talk or cognitive therapy and medication.
■ Dental-related disorders (mostly toothaches): Get a checkup one to two times annually, brush twice and floss daily.
Exploding head syndrome or the big bang theory
If you think “the big bang theory” is an explanation of how the universe came into being or a nine-time Emmy Award winning comedy starring Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, you’d be right. But there’s another big bang that’s neither theoretical nor amusing. It’s exploding head syndrome (EHS), also known as episodic cranial sensory shock, and it’s characterized by a loud bang or crash inside your head that jolts you just before or as you’re falling asleep.
If you’re one of the 10 to 15 percent of the population that’s experienced this eerie phenomena, don’t worry; you’re not losing your mind. Some researchers believe this thunderous noise no one else can hear results from a minor temporal lobe seizure, brain stem dysfunction, a shift in middle-ear components or impaired calcium signaling (a neurotransmitting problem). Others think it’s a malfunction of how the brain shuts down as you enter sleep mode. In other words, it’s a sleep disorder.
The remedy? Do your best to help your body make the transition from wake to sleep slowly, shutting down one system at a time, like your laptop does. Keep digital devices out of your bedroom, and control your heading-to-sleep environment: Avoid alcohol and caffeine before turning in; make sure the bedroom is cool and quiet. If you’re still bothered by EHS, you can consult a neurologist to see if there is any treatable disturbance causing the symptoms.
Question: Why is it so hard to get back in shape and stay in shape as I get older? I know the most obvious answer is: “Because you’re aging!” But I want to know why aging diminishes strength so I can stay strong. — Tom T., Annapolis, Maryland
Answer: We’ve researched how to keep your brain, muscles, heart and spirit in great shape as you age, and can offer you foolproof steps to achieve that. So let’s look at what goes on in your body that keeps you young, or speeds up aging.
Meet your mitochondria! They’re the energy centers in every cell that drive your metabolism by taking fat, sugar and protein from food to fuel your muscles and brain. They also help maintain your immune system.
When the energy needs of your cells go up (from good exercise), you generate multiple mitochondria in each cell. But if you’re not getting the nutrients your body needs or any aerobic and strengthbuilding physical activity most days, your mitochondria’s internal DNA (they have their own genome) degrades. That can cause loss of energy, muscle tone, quick thinking and resistance to infection. They age; you fade.
Partners with the Mighty Mites
Thyroid and estrogen hormones and glucocorticoids influence how mitochondria do their jobs. Declining hormone levels and insulin resistance (a hallmark of diabetes) make it harder for the Mighty Mites to provide you with the power you need.
The solution?
■ Walking 10,000 steps daily and getting in two or three 30-minute strengthbuilding sessions weekly.
■ Reducing caloric intake by 500 calories per day and saying “no” to red or processed meats, added sugars and processed grains.
■ Opting for nine servings daily of produce and eating lean protein in each meal.
■ Getting your hormone and glucose levels checked to see if you need intervention.
■ Taking Dr. Mike’s
Fab 9 Supplements (read about his recommendations in this week’s feature) for repair and protection of your cells’ inner engine, the mitochondria.
Q: I just met someone who claimed to be color blind to certain blues. I thought being color blind meant you couldn’t see any colors? Is he color blind or not? — Jamie Q., Austin, Texas
A: Your friend could have a type of color blindness called tritanopia, or tritanomaly — which means blues appear as green, and yellows appear as violet or light gray. There’s also red color blindness (protanopia, or protanomaly), in which reds appear as black and certain shades of orange, yellow and green appear as yellow. And green color blindness (deuteranopia, or deuteranomaly) makes greens appear as beige and reds appear brownishyellow. Total color blindness — a world that’s only black and white — is rare. Although color blindness usually is a genetic condition, it also can result from a brain or eye injury. Inherited color blindness in Northern Europeans, the group most affected, is present in 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women.
How the eye sees color
When light bounces off an object and enters your eye, the light stimulates your retina’s rod and cone cells, which contain red, green or blue photoreceptors. The photoreceptors work together, just like the red, green and blue ink cartridges in an inkjet printer, to produce a lush color image. That’s trichromatic vision. Color blindness is the result of a malfunction in one or more of those photoreceptors.
Managing color blindness
There’s no cure for color blindness, so early diagnosis is important. Kids have a tough time in school if they don’t understand why other kids are seeing things differently than they do. There are, however, some workarounds: Special lenses sometimes can improve red-green color blindness, but only in bright light, outdoors. And there are lots of apps for Android and iPhones to enhance colors or help with tasks like picking out clothes or ripe fruit.