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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2000)
^ 65-70% of all breast can cers are found by women themselves. So be sure to do your monthly breast self exams, ladies! — American Institute for Cancer Research Including soy in your diet can help prevent heart disease, reduce your risk of developing some cancers, alleviate symp toms of menopause, and improve your bone health. — Veggie Life, May 1999 5$ There are about 2 trillion bacteria on your feet. — Health, April 1999 5* Only about half of the approximately 50 million chronic headache sufferers in America seek the help of a physician, even though about 90-95 % of them could be helped significantly by doing so. — Health, April 1999 3* A half of a grapefruit con tains 6 grams offiber IF you eat both the segments of the grapefruit and the walls that separate them. — Nutrition Action Healthletter, 1997 & Regular exercise may reduce the severity and fre quency of all types of headaches. — Runner’s World, 1999 * 2.7million people in the United States are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus. — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999) ifc 21,000,000,000 miles were driven drunk in 1990. Diabetes was 7th leading cause of death in 1996. — National center for health stats $ 5.9% of population (15.7 mil) have diabetes — National center for health stats & 11% of Americans eat an entire meal from a vending machine once per week!! — KPTV survey $ To decrease the odds of catching a bug, avoid party bowls of food during cold and flu season — Quest Clinical Research $ Eating Vitamin C rich foods, such as broccoli, toma toes and oranges, will help the absorption of iron! — Iron out mineral deficiency, Onhealth.com {ft A study of4,000 elderly women with hip fractures con cluded that one out of every eight fractures was due to smoking-related bone loss — 1997 Onhealth.co & The typical UO student is a “safe”* drinker according to the 1998 CORE survey: 85 % have never been injured or hurt as a result of drinking. 96 % of UO students have never damaged property while under the influence of acohol. 89 % did not drink and drive in the past month. * For some individuals any amount of alcohol or drinkiny may be danger ous. Is Your Keyboard Hurting You? By Annie Weinsoft Those twenty-page term papers can hurt more than just your GPA. Besides depriving you of sleep, the long hours at your keyboard can lead to a very painful, debilitating disor der known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), if proper precau tions are not taken. CTS is caused by long-term, repetitive, awkward motions of the wrist, such as those These motions cause the tendons in the carpal tunnel, the large passageway under the carpal bones in your wrists, to swell and put pressure on the median nerve, which is the main nerve controlling movement in your hands and most of your fingers. Pressure on this nerve can cause severe pain in the wrists, hands, and arms, and can eventually cause loss of function in these areas, if left untreat ed. Symptoms Signs of CTS include numbness, tingling, burning, or pain in your hands, arms or wrists. The symptoms often increase at night or when resting. Some sufferers also experience feelings of weakness in their fingers and/or a reduced ability to squeeze their hands, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Naturally, if you are experiencing any of these symp toms, you should check with your medical practitioner for diagnosis and treatment. ! Prevention To help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, be sure to keep your wrists in a neutral posi tion and maintain good sitting posture while you work. Try to type using a light touch, with your elbows bent at a ninety-degree angle. Many ergonomic products are available to aid in maintaining a more wrist-friendly position. It helps to take frequent breaks for at least five to ten minutes every hour. Try to alternate your tasks, so that you do not spend more than an hour or two at a time at your keyboard. Also, be sure to warm up your hands by stretching your fingers and wrists before you begin. Treatment CTS is commonly treated with wrist splints or braces, which keep your wrist in a position that puts the least pressure on your nerve. Anti-inflammatory medications, including aspirin and ibuprofen, are also fre quently used. As a last resort, surgury can be performed to alleviate the pain. But this, like all the other remedies, will only work if you do not return to your old, harmful behavior. Things you can do at home to alleviate CTS symptoms include using ice or heat packs, running cold water over your hands, massaging the painful areas, and reducing your salt and caffeine intake. Exercises to increase strength and dexterity in your hands, wrists, and arms may be beneficial, as well. In addition to typing, behaviors such as sleeping on your hands, playing an instru ment, repeatedly using power tools, and doing excessive amounts of writing or needlework may lead to CTS. Symptoms of CTS can also be caused by ailments such as obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes. For more information, stop by the Health Education Office at the University Health Center, contact the Health Center’s depart ment of Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine at (541)346-4401, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at (800)356-4674, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at (301)495-4484, or check out the National Library of Medicine’s web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/carpal tunnelsyndrome.html. Keep Your Pressure In Check by Elizabeth Clifton I’ve lost my number. Can I have yours? Knowing your blood pressure is important at any age. Most students lead a fast paced lifestyle of high stress, not enough time for proper sleep or exercise, often smoking, and eating dinners consisting of Top Ramen. What younger adults may not know is that these behaviors put them at risk for having high blood pressure. mT Getting your blood pressure checked is very simple. By sticking your arm in a grocery store’s blood pressure machine, you can find out within minutes if your blood pressure is near the healthy target of 120/80. The higher of the two numbers is the systolic and signi fies the peak pressure in your arteries when the heart contracts. The diastolic, the lower number, is the pressure when the heart is relaxed. If you find that your blood pressure is at or higher than 140/90, it is recommended that you consult a physician. Treatment does not always entail medication; usually it requires a change to a healthier lifestyle. The single most helpful change is to quit smoking. Other modifications that can be made are to lose weight if overweight, limit alcohol and caffeine intake, choose foods Ik lower in sodium, and to eat lowfat dairy foods and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Several clinical studies have found that eating 8-10 fruits/vegetables serving daily, when com bined with a low saturated fat diet, will reduce systolic blood pressure on average 11 mm Hg and diastolic about 6mm Hg after 2 weeks. This is very significant. Most Americans consume far more than the recommended daily allowance of less than 2400 mg. One example of this is that a single McDonald’s Big Mac can contain an entire day’s allowance for sodium. On top of eating a lower amount of high sodium foods, some medications such as many decon gestants, are also high in sodium. Sodium is found in many other ways than table salt. A registered dietitian, such as Kristen Olmos of the University Health Center, can further explain a blood pressure reducing diet. Another way to manage high blood pres sure is to exercise regularly and follow a stress reduction regimen. Cardiovascular exer cise (such as jogging, cycling or cross country skiing) for a sustained minimum of 20 min utes in duration will not only help you feel better, but is linked to lowering elevated blood pressure. There are also wonderful relaxation seminars hosted by the Health Education Program at the University Health Center and Physical Activity and Recreation Services classes that can aid in the management of stress, which is linked to hypertension. Simply, young adults do not recognize high blood pressure as a health risk and many stu dents with it do not know. Senior sociology major Melanie Jones said, “I usually think of older people” when it comes to the disease of high blood pressure. In actuality, quite a few students live with it and do not know. An active senior EMS major was very surprised to find she had hypertension. With high school track and field records that still stand, she exercised regularly, got adequate sleep and had a pretty low level of stress. That senior is me. This story may lead one to think back to their last physical and remember that the medical professional claimed that their blood pressure was fine. But was that examination during the school year or during the much less stressful summer months while at home? Blood pressure may not be as daunting as other health issues, but it mk can considerably affect longevity of life. W A simple check at the grocery store or i Health Center will show your heart how much you love it. In turn, it will love you back for the rest of your life.
