“Nothing ruins summer fun like a summer injury! Before you pull on your board shorts and head out into the sun, make sure you know how to keep yourself safe, healthy and protected from some of nature’s less forgiving aspects (like the sun itself, not to mention mosquitoes, poison ivy and jellyfish — to name just a few).

One of the top ailments is dehydration. Up to 78% of your body is made of water, so when you don’t get enough of it, you simply can’t function right. In high heat, dehydration can become severe and even fatal.  A sunburn is a radiation burn caused by UV (ultraviolet) ray exposure from the sun. Ouch!  Another top ailment is Heat exhaustion happens when your body can’t cool itself through sweating. If it’s not treated, it can quickly turn into heatstroke.”

Cleveland Clinic (12 Summer Health Risks To Watch Out For)

We normally associate illness with winter, mainly because it’s the time of year we tend to get colds and flu.

However, there is no shortage of ailments and conditions that make life unpleasant and spoil our fun during the summer months.

The following are examples of health issues associated with summer:

1. Food poisoning

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Prevention and Control), every year around 3,000 Americans die from foodborne diseases.

Warm weather encourages bacteria to multiply, and who doesn’t enjoy barbeques and picnics during summer? Food that is prepared in advance and allowed to stand in the heat creates the perfect conditions for contamination and food poisoning.

Pre-prepared food should be handled hygienically, stored safely and kept cool if possible. It’s also better to choose foods that don’t spoil as easily or can be freshly prepared at your destination.

NHS Choices explains that most cases of food poisoning can be treated at home and do not require medical advice, and that most people will feel better in a matter of days. It is however important to replace fluids lost through vomiting and diarrhea.

If symptoms are severe, you may need to be admitted to hospital for a few days and given intravenous hydration.

2. Heat rash

Heat rash is a red or pink rash usually found on areas of the body that are covered with clothing. It happens during hot humid conditions and is most common in children. Heat rash develops when sweat ducts become blocked and swell up, looking like dots or tiny pimples on the skin. It often causes discomfort and itching.

Heat rash usually heals on its own in a matter of days and doesn’t require medical attention. In some cases the rash gets infected with symptoms like pain, swelling and pus. If this happens, be sure to see your doctor.

3. Water-borne conditions

We all like to spend time in the water during summer, and Dennis Maki, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, warns of the risk of bacterial infections and other water-borne illnesses as a result of taking part in recreational water activities.

Germs that turn up in swimming pool water include bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, Camplobacter, noroviruses, and parasites. While treatment with chlorine can kill germs in swimming pools, it takes time for the chlorine to do its job.

Crypto is the most common cause of diarrhea outbreaks linked with swimming pools or water parks because it can survive up to 10 days in chlorinated water. … Infections can cause watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting, and can lead to dehydration.  CDC states “Crypto is highly resistant to chlorine, which makes it hard to kill once it’s in the water.  Swallowing just a mouthful of water with crypto in it can make otherwise healthy kids and adults sick for weeks with watery diarrhea, stomach cramps , nausea, and vomiting,” says Michele Hlavsa, chief of the CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program.  Every year, at least 15 to 20 outbreaks of diseases, like stomach bugs and diarrhea, are linked to swimming in public pools, according to the CDC.”

“Here are some tips from CDC in helping to protect you and your kids when the temperatures rise and the public pool is the only thing that will cool the heatwave:

• Don’t swim or let your kids swim if sick with diarrhea.
• Check the pool, hot tub, and water playground inspection scores.
• Use test strips to check the water’s pH and chlorine levels. You can get free test kits from the website of the Water Quality & Health Council.
• Try not to swallow the water.
• Take small children on frequent bathroom breaks.
• Shower before getting into a pool.
• Listen for the sound of a working pool pump.
• Change diapers in a diaper-changing area and away from the water.”

Apart from natural bodies of water like rivers and lakes, pools and hot tubs can also be sources of gastrointestinal problems; skin, ear and eye infections; and respiratory, neurological and viral problems. The safest places to swim are pools that are regularly checked for their chlorine levels.

4. Summer colds (summer or winter cold the symptoms are the same).

There is a kind of virus that produces cold-like symptoms, which tends to rear its ugly head during the summer months. It is called enterovirus and can cause more complicated symptoms than the typical winter cold.

Something summery may be lingering even as the season fades—the summer cold.

Colds in summertime can last for weeks, at times seemingly going away and then suddenly storming back with a vengeance, infectious-disease experts say. A winter cold, by contrast, is typically gone in a few days.

The reason for the difference: Summer colds are caused by different viruses from the ones that bring on sniffling and sneezing in the colder months. And some of the things people commonly do in the summer can prolong the illness, like being physically active and going in and out of air-conditioned buildings.

“A winter cold is nasty, brutish and short,” says Bruce Hirsch, infectious-disease specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “But summer colds tend to linger. They can go on for weeks and reoccur.”

Summer colds, which can hit between June and October, occur only about 25% as often as the winter variety. But summer colds can have more severe, flu-like symptoms, in addition to sneezing and coughing. Many people also mistake a summer cold for allergies, because it just doesn’t seem to leave.

According to Merck Manual, symptoms of a summer cold caused by enterovirus include fever, headache, and sore throat, and sometimes mouth sores or a rash. Treatment is basically aimed at relieving symptoms.

5. Headache

An unfortunate result of summer activities that involve spending a lot of time in the hot sun can be a spitting headache. A survey by the National Headache Foundation indicates that headache sufferers consider summer to be the worst time of year for headaches.

As the temperature goes up, so does your risk for getting a headache. One theory is that the heat makes blood vessels in your head expand, causing them to press against nerve endings. Dehydration and strenuous exercise in hot weather can also lead to headaches.

An over-the-counter painkiller will usually alleviate headaches caused by heat exposure and exercise, and drinking enough water should take care of a dehydration headache.

6. Heat stroke

Heat stroke or hyperthermia results from prolonged exposure to high temperatures. It can happen for example when children are left in hot cars during summer.

Emedicinehealth defines heat stroke as a condition where the body’s cooling mechanisms are overcome by heat, resulting in a core heat of over 40°C. Heat stroke is preceded by signs of heat exhaustion like headaches, dizziness and weakness, and results in unconsciousness, organ failure and eventually death.

Hyperthermia is primarily treated by outside cooling of the body with the help of water, cold air or ice packs. Internal cooling by flushing the stomach or rectum with cold may also be used. Persons with hyperthermia need to be hospitalised in order to be tested for complications like muscle breakdown, which can damage the kidneys.

7. Sunburn

With summer comes the danger of sunburn, which can be extremely serious. Sunburn is caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun that damage your skin cells. The risk of damage depends on things like the time of day, the amount of time spent in the sun and if you use sun protection or not.

Sunburn can lead to long-term skin damage and even skin cancer. MedicineNet.com explains that there are three major kinds of skin cancer:

• Basal cell carcinoma (most common type)
• Squamous cell carcinoma (second most common)
• Melanoma (less common but considerably more dangerous)

The best and simplest way to avoid sunburn is to stay out of the sun.

Other ways to be sun-safe is to stay out of the midday sun, stay in the shade, use a good sunscreen and wear a hat and protective clothing.

“Auto-brewery syndrome causes symptoms of intoxication in people who haven’t consumed any alcohol. In this rare phenomenon, yeasts that normally live in your gut become overgrown. When they feed on the sugars you eat, they produce alcohol through fermentation.”

Cleveland Clinic (Auto-Brewery Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment)

Auto brewery syndrome is a rare condition in which your body turns sugary and starchy foods into alcohol. This can cause symptoms as if you were drunk, even if you haven’t had any alcohol.

Auto-brewery syndrome or gut fermentation syndrome is a condition in which ethanol is produced through endogenous fermentation by fungi or bacteria in the gastrointestinal system, oral cavity, or urinary system. Patients with auto-brewery syndrome present with many of the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication while denying an intake of alcohol and often report a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diet.

The production of endogenous ethanol occurs in minute quantities as part of normal digestion, but when fermenting yeast or bacteria become pathogenic, extreme blood alcohol levels may result. Auto-brewery syndrome is more prevalent in patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes, obesity, and Crohn disease but can occur in otherwise healthy individuals.  Several strains of fermenting yeasts and rare bacteria are identified as pathogens. While auto-brewery syndrome is rarely diagnosed, it is probably underdiagnosed. Even rarer are two cases of auto-brewery syndrome identified, one in the oral cavity and one in the urinary bladder.

ETIOLOGY:

Various yeasts from the Candida and Saccharomyces families are commensals turned pathogenic that cause auto-brewery syndrome. Several strains of bacteria are also known to ferment ethanol.

• Fermenting yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. boulardii, and various strains of Candida, including C. glabrata, C. albicans, C. kefyr, and C. parapsilosis are identified as causes of this condition.
• The bacteria Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterococcus faecium, E. faecalis, and Citrobacter freundii are implicated in at least one case each.
• Existing conditions, such as diabetes or liver problems, can impact the diagnosis of ABS. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) or liver cirrhosis (LC) tested higher for endogenous ethanol (EnEth) levels than a control group without the disease. But the EnEth levels peaked highest in a group of patients with both type 2 DM and LC, where the blood alcohol concentration reached 22.3 mg/dL.
• Four common yeasts (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Torulopsis glabrata) were combined with infant formulas. Ethanol production was measured after 24 and 48 hours. The quantities of ethanol produced suggest an explanation for patients exhibiting auto-brewery syndrome.
• Bacterial production of EnEth is involved in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Higher levels of EnEth are also detected in obese patients and those with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

SYMPTOMS:

Auto brewery syndrome can make you:

• drunk without drinking any alcohol
• very drunk after only drinking a small amount of alcohol (such as two beers)

Symptoms and side effects are similar to when you are slightly drunk or when you have a hangover from drinking too much:

• red or flushed skin
• dizziness
• disorientation
• headache pain
• nausea and vomiting
• dehydration
• dry mouth
• burping or belching
• fatigue
• memory and concentration problems
• mood changes

Auto brewery syndrome can also lead to or worsen other health conditions such as:

• chronic fatigue syndrome
• irritable bowel syndrome
• depression and anxiety

How does someone get this syndrome?

Adults and children can have auto brewery syndrome. Signs and symptoms are similar in both. Auto brewery syndrome is usually a complication of another disease, imbalance, or infection in the body.

You can’t be born with this rare syndrome. However, you may be born with or get another condition that triggers auto brewery syndrome. For example, in adults, too much yeast in the gut may be caused by Crohn’s disease. This can set off auto brewery syndrome.

In some people liver problems may cause auto brewery syndrome. In these cases, the liver isn’t able to clear out alcohol fast enough. Even a small amount of alcohol made by gut yeast leads to symptoms.

Toddlers and children with a condition called short bowel syndrome have a higher chance of getting auto brewery syndrome. A medical case reported that a 3-year-old girl Trusted Source with short bowel syndrome would get “drunk” after drinking fruit juice, which is naturally high in carbohydrates.

Other reasons you may have too much yeast in your body include:

• poor nutrition
• antibiotics
• inflammatory bowel disease
• diabetes
• low immune system

How its diagnosed:

There are no specific tests to diagnose auto brewery syndrome. This condition is still newly discovered and more research is needed. Symptoms alone are typically not enough for a diagnosis.

Your doctor will likely do a stool test to find out if you have too much yeast in your gut. This involves sending a tiny sample of a bowel movement to a lab to be tested. Another test that might be used by some doctors is the glucose challenge.

In the glucose challenge test, you’ll be given a glucose (sugar) capsule. You won’t be allowed to eat or drink anything else for a few hours before and after the test. After about an hour, your doctor will check your blood alcohol level. If you don’t have auto brewery syndrome your blood alcohol level will be zero. If you have auto brewery disease your blood alcohol level may range from 1.0 to 7.0 milligrams per deciliter.

If you suspect you have this auto brewery syndrome, you might try a similar test at home, though you shouldn’t use it to self-diagnose. Eat something sugary, like a cookie, on an empty stomach. After an hour use an at-home breathalyzer to see if your blood alcohol level has risen. Write down any symptoms.

This home test may not work because you may not have noticeable symptoms. At-home breathalyzers may also not be as accurate as the ones used by doctors and law enforcement. Regardless of what you observe, see a doctor for a diagnosis.

“Every year the lives of approximately 1.16 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability.

Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. These losses arise from the cost of treatment as well as lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who need to take time off work or school to care for the injured. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

Males are typically 3 times more likely to be killed in road crashes than females.”

World Health Organization (Road traffic injuries)

“Studies show that owning a dog can decrease anxiety and depression as well as improve cardiovascular health.”

Psychology Today (How a Dog’s Journey Is Helping Hundreds of People | Psychology Today)

 Dogsmakeussmile! 

Dogs are more than great pets, they aid in our health!

Goldsmiths College released a study that showed more dogs will approach someone who’s crying or in distress than someone who is not. This shows that dogs are empathetic and are eager to help comfort humans in pain.

Their sense of smell can do even more than we think; dogs can also detect low blood sugar in their master. They will either alert the person that the sugar has dropped or, if a diabetic attack has already occurred, will bark and bark and bark in an attempt to alert somebody to come help, thus working to save the diabetic’s life.

Some dogs are also able to detect seizures in humans. Recent research has shown certain dogs are able to warn seizure patients that they’re going to experience an attack, sometimes hours before it happens. Nobody yet knows how they do it, or why only certain dogs can do it. They also can’t be trained to do it, so if you feel you need a seizure-sniffing dog, you need to make sure you have yourself a natural.

Due to their incredible sense of smell, dogs have shown anywhere from 70 to 99% accuracy (depending on the study) when tasked with detecting lung cancer in a nearby patient.

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating disease that can leave its victim in constant pain. Studies have shown that the Xolo dog’s body temperature can be used as a kind of therapeutic heating pad, due to it being a hairless species. Of course, unlike heating pads, a Xolo will bond with you, snuggle with you and keep you warm as long as you need, leading to both external comfort and internal happiness.

In a surprising twist, it might actually be beneficial to get a dog for your baby, even if they’re allergic. Studies have shown that children under the age of one who live with a dog are much less likely to develop the chronic, and annoying, skin condition called eczema.

Dogs can highly make humans more social. The British Medical Journal has concluded that dogs act as “social catalysts,” who help people get out more, approach others more easily, and overall reduce isolation. This is actually just as important as the basic companionship that dogs provide, as human social support is beneficial to human health and the dog.

Simply by being themselves, dogs have been shown to help reduce PTSD among soldiers. In addition to providing the usual doggie companionship, they have been shown to help sufferers come out of their shells, be less numb and angry, and improve their social life as well.

A dog kissing you obviously feels wonderful, but it might actually have physical benefits too. Studies have shown that saliva, both the human and doggie variety, can help stimulate nerves and muscles, and get oxygen moving again, which is the secret ingredient in helping wounds to heal. In short, “licking your wounds” is not just a cliché after all.

Almost certainly due to the positive vibes and good feelings that dogs bring out of their masters, even in the worst of times, studies have found that older people who own dogs average at least one less doctor appointment per year than those who do not.

Not that they are the cure but preliminary studies by the American Heart Association are revealing that dog owners have less risk of heart disease than those without dogs. The reasons given are the exercise that owners get when walking their dogs, plus the presence of the dog helps the owner deal with stress better. The evidence is mostly anecdotal right now, but dog owners know that it’s all true.

Day-to-day depression, or even more serious chronic depression, is easier to handle with the love of a dog, studies show. Simply by having them around, and knowing that even at our worst, somebody loves us unconditionally and is eager to see us happy again, we’re given a reason to get up and keep going.

Autistic children often find the world very stressful, in ways that the non-autistic can’t understand. Luckily, a dog can. Studies are showing that bringing a therapy dog into an autistic household helps to reduce the amount of cortisol (a stress hormone) in the autistic child’s body. This both calms the child down and shows him that he has a friend.

Bullying has been a huge problem for a long time, and people are finally doing something about it. Dogs, too. Experimental programs have been launched that bring dogs into schools to promote empathy, with the lesson that you shouldn’t treat people badly, because you wouldn’t do it to a dog. Thus far, kids have been able to make the connection, which will hopefully continue to be the case.

Dogs have shown that they can help keep dementia sufferers on schedule, reminding them when its time for medicine and when to see the doctor. In addition, when the owner experiences frustration over the state of their mind, the “dementia dog” is right there to support them, comfort them, and remind them that someone’s always there for them.

AREN’T DOGS AMAZING!!

“ALS is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it. The exact cause is still not known in most people. In a small percentage of people, ALS is inherited from a parent.

Symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) vary from person to person and worsen over time. They depend on which nerve cells are affected. ALS generally begins with muscle weakness that spreads and gets worse over time.

There’s generally no pain in the early stages of ALS, and pain is not common in the later stages. ALS doesn’t usually affect bladder function or the senses, such as taste, smell, touch and hearing.”

MAYO CLINIC (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – Care at Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic)

Once ALS starts, it almost always progresses, eventually taking away the ability to walk, dress, write, speak, swallow, and breathe, and shortening the life span. The onset of ALS often involves muscle weakness or stiffness as early symptoms. Progression of weakness, wasting, and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk, as well as those that control vital functions such as speech, swallowing, and breathing, generally follows.

How fast and in what order this occurs is very different from person to person. While the average survival time is three years, about 20 percent of people with ALS live five years, 10 percent will survive 10 years and 5 percent will live 20 years or longer.

End stages of ALS often include trouble swallowing and speaking. Weak and paralyzed vocal cords make speaking difficult and eventually impossible. Trouble swallowing occurs gradually in some patients, but can occur suddenly in others.

Stages of ALS

ALS is a relentlessly progressive disorder. The rate of progression between individuals is variable and the history generally reflects gradual and progressive worsening over time until death occurs.

Early stages:

Muscles

• Muscles may be weak and soft, or they may be stiff, tight, and spastic. Muscle cramping and twitching (fasciculation) occurs, as does loss of muscle bulk (atrophy).
• Symptoms may be limited to a single body region or mild symptoms may affect more than one region.

Physical effects

• The person may experience fatigue, poor balance, slurred words, a weak grip, tripping when walking, or other minor symptoms.
• Sometimes this stage occurs before a diagnosis is made.

Middle stages:

Muscles

• Symptoms become more widespread.
• Some muscles are paralyzed, while others are weakened or unaffected. Fasciculations may continue.

Physical effects

• Unused muscles may cause contractures, in which the joints become rigid, painful, and sometimes deformed.
• If a fall occurs, the person may not be able to stand back up alone.
• Driving is relinquished.
• Weakness in swallowing muscles may cause choking and greater difficulty eating and managing saliva.
• Weakness in breathing muscles can cause respiratory insufficiency, especially when lying down.
• Some people experience bouts of uncontrolled and inappropriate laughing or crying (pseudobulbar affect). Despite how it seems, the person usually doesn’t feel particularly sad or happy.

Late stages:

Muscles

• Most voluntary muscles are paralyzed.
• The muscles that help move air in and out of the lungs are severely compromised.

Physical effects

• Mobility is extremely limited, and help is needed in caring for most personal needs.
• Poor respiration may cause fatigue, fuzzy thinking, headaches, and susceptibility to pneumonia. (Respiratory insufficiency is a leading cause of death in ALS.)
• Speech, or eating and drinking by mouth, may not be possible
• Assistance needed if not needed in the previous stage yet; in the home care you would need:
  
  • Power wheelchair, hospital bed, mechanical lift, and switches that enable any moving body part to operate computers, environmental control units, and communication devices.
  • Assisted ventilation, either noninvasive or invasive (tracheostomy).
  • Feeding tube.
  • Possibly urinary catheters aren’t required but can make toileting easier.
  • The type of home assistance you need:

  1.) Caregivers should:

  • Find and train caregiving help.
  • Oversee 24-hour care operations.
  • Find ways to help the person with ALS stay socially and mentally active.
  • Get into a routine that supports themselves as well as the person with ALS.
  • Know that although this stage is all-consuming, surprisingly many caregivers report great stability and satisfaction in their daily lives at this later stage of the disease.

       2.) Visiting RN (Nurse) who basically follows up on the care and decline or no change in pt    with letting the attending M.D. in charge be kept informed on pt’s status who makes any change with orders on the pt’s care.  It’s a whole team effect to make sure the pt gets the best care!

• Progression is not always a straight line in an individual, either. It is not uncommon to have periods lasting weeks to months where there is very little or no loss of function. There are even very rare examples in which there is significant improvement and recovery of lost function. These ALS “arrests” and “reversals” are, unfortunately, usually transient. Less than 1 percent of people with ALS will have significant improvement in function lasting 12 months or longer

End stage

• The vast majority of deaths in ALS are the result of respiratory failure, a process that progresses slowly over months. Medications can relieve discomfort, anxiety, and fear caused by respiratory insufficiency.
• Far less-common causes of death in ALS include malnutrition as a result of swallowing problems, pulmonary embolism (a blockage in one of the arteries of the lungs), abnormalities in the heart’s electrical pacing system called cardiac arrhythmias, and pneumonia as the result of aspiration (when food or fluid gets into the lungs).
• Hospice care (in a facility or in the home) focuses on providing comfort and maintaining quality of life by supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the individual with ALS and their family members. Families should contact hospice early on to see what in-home services are available even before the most advanced stage.
• At MDA clinics, physicians work closely with palliative care teams to coordinate treatment with in-home hospice care providers, assisted living facilities, or inpatient hospice settings. Such cooperation helps ensure the person with ALS has the most peaceful and painless experience possible.