Health & Wellness - July 2015 Archives

They're often no larger than a grain of sand ... but they can be extremely painful. Kidney stones are small, hard mineral deposits that ...

  A traumatic event often causes deep-rooted, profound feelings. Depending on the nature of the event, those feelings may be fear, confusion, grief or a combination of emotions. "Feelings of traumatic grief are complex and encompass many challenges and reactions — both emotional and physical. In order to effectively support someone who is grieving, you must first understand grief’s nuances," says Jessie Wolf, licensed independent clinical social worker at Mayo Clinic Health System. Wolf addresses a few common questions about traumatic grief and how to handle it. What is traumatic grief? Traumatic grief is a period of experiencing sorrow, numbness, guilt and anger and can be the result of a loved one’s death. This can be through illness, accident or violent act, such as domestic abuse or murder. Experiencing numerous deaths of close family or friends or the death of a child — no matter the age or cause — leads many people into a state of traumatic grief.

Done correctly, water workouts can give you gains similar to those on land, including aerobic fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and better balance. Darcy Reber, D.N.P., family medicine provider at Mayo Clinic Health System in Cannon Falls, recommends aquatic exercise because: Water’s buoyancy supports your weight. When you’re submersed up to your neck, the water cancels out about 90 percent of your body weight, significantly reducing stress on your weight-bearing joints, bones and muscles. Instead of landing on a hard surface with the impact of your full weight, you land with only 10 percent of your bodyweight. This reduces risk of injury. When you’re submerged in water, your circulation may increase, improving your cardiovascular health. The pressure of the water on your body can reduce swelling if you have painful injuries. Water offers resistance, which strengthens your muscles as you push against it. Since the effects of gravity diminish in water, you can do stretching exercises that you may not be able to do on land.

They're often no larger than a grain of sand ... but they can be extremely painful. Kidney stones are small, hard mineral deposits that form in ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have decided that I want to have bariatric surgery, but was told that I need to first go through counseling. What will those sessions involve, and does it really improve my chances of the surgery being successful? ANSWER: Before you have weight-loss surgery, it’s important to understand what to expect and to prepare yourself, physically and mentally, for what’s ahead. Working with a counselor for several months prior to the procedure can help set you up for long-term success following your surgery. “Bariatric surgery” is the broad term used to describe all types of weight-loss surgery, including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, placement of an adjustable gastric band and a procedure known as a duodenal switch, among others. Although the techniques used in each vary, all are considered major procedures that can pose serious risks and side effects. Going through counseling beforehand can help identify if having such a significant surgery is the best choice for you.

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES Water: How much should you drink every day? Does the advice about drinking 8 glasses of water a day still apply? See how exercise, illness and where you live all play a role. Food poisoning: Prevention You've got charcoal for the grill, but at what temperature should you cook meat? And how do you defrost foods safely? Here's how to make your cookout a healthy one. EXPERT ANSWERS Calcium supplements: A risk factor for heart attack? More studies are needed to see whether taking calcium supplements may put your heart at risk. Chronic fatigue: Can a natural remedy boost my energy? Researchers have studied natural ways to ease chronic fatigue, and there's little evidence that the treatments will help. Click here to get a free e-subscription to the Housecall newsletter.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two very different chronic digestive system conditions that are sometimes confused with one another. On this ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have read that the antioxidant vitamin E provides a lot of health benefits. Is taking a daily vitamin E supplement a good idea? Can it be harmful? ANSWER: The proposed benefits of vitamin E rest on its powerful antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances believed to protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, which are produced by your body. Exposure to certain environmental substances, such as sunlight, tobacco smoke or radiation, also can create free radicals. Normally, free radicals perform a number of useful tasks. But too many free radicals cause what’s known as oxidative stress. They overwhelm and damage cells, resulting in tissue breakdown and damage to DNA. Oxidative stress has been tied to a number of conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cataracts and macular degeneration.

Who not to believe? "I have learned that there are instances when the negative feedback comes from a place of ignorance. It isn’t ...

Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me Friday, July 3, at 9:00 pm ET on HLN The film will encore again on CNN Saturday, July 4 at ...

High-dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells? Some have touted high-dose vitamin C as an effective alternative cancer treatment. See what researchers found. ...

"Unfortunately, there's no fast-fix sunburn treatment. Once you have sunburn, the damage is done — although it may take 12 to 24 hours after sun exposure to know the full extent and severity of sunburn, and several days or more for your skin to begin to heal," says Trent Anderson, D.O., Mayo Clinic Health System family medicine physician. In the meantime, the most effective sunburn treatment simply helps ease your discomfort: Keep it cool. Apply cold compresses — such as a towel dampened with cool water — to the affected skin. Or, take a cool bath. Keep it moist. Apply aloe or moisturizing cream to the affected skin. Avoid products containing alcohol, which can further dry out skin. Beware of sunburn treatment products containing anesthetics, such as benzocaine. There's little evidence that these products are effective. In some cases, they may even irritate the skin. Benzocaine has been linked to a rare but serious, sometimes deadly, condition that decreases the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry. Don't use benzocaine in children younger than age 2 without supervision from a health care professional, as this age group has been most affected. If you're an adult, never use more than the recommended dose of benzocaine, and consider talking with your doctor. Leave blisters intact. If blisters form, don't break them. Doing so only slows the healing process and increase the risk of infection. If needed, lightly cover blisters with gauze. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. If needed, take anti-inflammatory medication — such as aspirin or ibuprofen — according to the label instructions until redness and soreness subside. Don't give children or teenagers aspirin. It may cause Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease. Treat peeling skin gently. Within a few days, the affected area may begin to peel. This is simply your body's way of getting rid of the top layer of damaged skin. While your skin is peeling, continue to use moisturizing cream.