Health Roundup
This is the Health Roundup and it is a good one! So let’s jump right in.
Screening Test for Flu and Other Viruses
There is a new test that screens for flu and other viruses. Welcome to the era of molecular medicine folks!
The ProFlu+ test can analyze a single sample for influenza A virus, influenza B virus, and respiratory syncytial virus A and B (RSV). These viruses can cause influenza, pneumonia and an infection of the airways called bronchiolitis. All the viruses are leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections.
Now doctors can check if one of these four viruses is lerking about and initiate appropriate treatment.
Seawater Spray Cures Kids Colds
With so many drugs being found inappropriate for children 2-11 years old, on study took a look at the effectiveness of a salt-water wash in helping cure colds. The study by researchers in the Czech Republic for that 6-10 year olds in the test group had “noses that were less stuffy and runny the second time they were checked, the study said. And eight weeks after the study began, those in the saline group had significantly fewer severe sore throats, coughs, nasal obstructions and secretions than those given standard treatments.” Also in the kids in the saline group “had to use fever-reducing drugs, nasal decongestants and mucus-dissolving medications or antibiotics, the researchers said. In addition children who used the salt spray were sick less often and missed fewer school days.”
Chalk another one up to Mom and her home remedies!
Moderate Caffeine Intake First Trimester
A study on the relationship between caffeine and miscarriage suggests women who ingest 200 milligrams (about a 10 ounce cup of coffee or 25 ounces of tea) or more of caffeine a day may double there chances of miscarriage. The study appeared in Monday’s American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Pregnant women should try to give up caffeine for at least the first three or four months, said the lead author of the study, Dr. De-Kun Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
“If, for whatever reason, they really can’t do it, think of cutting to one cup or switching to decaf,” Dr. Li said. “Stopping caffeine really doesn’t have any downside.”
There is some disagreement about the study though. The March of Dimes Web site said most experts agreed that the amount of caffeine found in 8 to 16 ounces of coffee a day was safe. While both the Amercian College of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine have not announced any position on the argument.
Still one would think moderation in all things is best. Right again Mom.