Health

Shocking but true: your toothbrush is dirtier than your toilet seat. It is hard to predict exactly which germs are on your toothbrush right now, but staphylococci, coliforms, pseudomonads, streptococci, and at least one fungus, candida, have all been cultured from used toothbrushes. In one Australian study, staphylococci and streptococci were the most commonly found … Read more

A chemist at the University of California, Davis named Gang Sun apparently felt that the smelly sock was a neglected area of research, so he set about finding a solution to this problem. According to a press release dated October 3, 2000, textiles are a great place for bacteria to grow, and bacteria and yeasts … Read more

In 1999, the CDC tracked nine different food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria, and confirmed by laboratory analysis 10,697 cases. Salmonella infection accounted for 4,533 of these, a little more than 42 percent. Salmonellosis is actually caused by a group of bacteria. The most common serotypes in the United States are called Salmonella enteriditis and Salmonella … Read more

Dirty laundry, as you might have guessed, certainly contains plenty of germs, including many that are pathogenic. Any cloth that touches your body is likely to become contaminated with whatever organisms are on your skin, and we know what can happen in the special case of underwear. But the Centers for Disease Control agrees with … Read more

Many consumer products are advertised as having been treated with antimicrobial chemicals. These include not only clothing, but pens, cutting boards, toys, household cleaners, hand lotions, cat litter, soap, cotton swabs, toothbrushes, and various cosmetics. There are children’s pajamas, mattresses, and bed linens for sale that make such claims. The CDC is unequivocal about the … Read more

Bacteriologists are quite proud when their name becomes attached to a disease causing organism. This is not true of other people, American Legion members are not at all happy about having Legionnaire’s disease named after them, and homeowners and real estate agents in Lyme, Connecticut, could have done without having their city’s name permanently attached … Read more

Laundry rooms and wet clothes are famous locations for molds and mildew. What are these things? They’re fungi, plants without chlorophyll, microscopic members of the same family of plants as mushrooms. And there are lots of them: they make up about a quarter of the earth’s biomass. The fungi can be roughly divided by their … Read more

So your kitchen is full of germs. What are you supposed to do about it? Most people probably do little except keep the place clean, they wipe up surfaces so that things look neat, put leftovers in the refrigerator, and get the garbage out of the house so it doesn’t start to stink. In a … Read more

John Lynn, of Austin, Texas, thinks people don’t wash their hands often enough, and he thinks it’s about time someone did something about it. According to Patent Number 6,147,607, Mr. Lynn has designed a way of preventing people from slipping away from the bathroom without washing. He proposes a mechanism attached to a toilet handle … Read more

Rabies is a virus, and the usual route of transmission to humans is by the bite of an infected animal. Rabid dogs are the main transmitter of the illness in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In the United States, where vaccination of pets has controlled the disease, the infection is uncommon, and when it does … Read more

This is actually a more common OCD experience than people would think: You saw a story on the news about a hit-and-run accident in the town next to yours. You called the police to tell them you might have done it, and they came to your house and questioned you. When you told them you … Read more

Yes, this is an irrational thought, but there are things you can do to challenge it. First, look at this fear from a rational perspective: How many people do you know who have contracted hepatitis? Second, how many people have contracted any disease from a garbage can? Third, how many people have contracted hepatitis from … Read more

Yes, it is possible to be hospitalized for OCD. This can occur for several reasons. First, it may be a way to help stabilize someone whose rituals have become so problematic that all he or she does all day long is perform rituals. Often in these cases family members will bring someone in to a … Read more

Pyromania is, according to the DSM-IV-TR (2000), “deliberate and purposeful fire setting on more than one occasion.” Prior to the act of fire setting, there is an increase in tension, and there is a long-held fascination with fire. Once the fire is set, there is a sense of relief or joy. Fires set by people … Read more

Many people with OCD fear bodily fluids, it is a very prevalent obsession in OCD, and it can have a major effect on them and on their personal relationships. This fear can affect people with OCD in several ways. First, they may fear saliva because it can carry germs from the mouth, or they may … Read more

OCD is not a new disorder. In fact, OCD has been written about for centuries, as far back as the sixth century. According to Ian Osborn in his book Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals (1999), there are numerous references to what we now call OCD in early religious and Greek writings. Many of the early … Read more

Parents of a preschooler know that games are not always fun. A young child often insists on playing by her own rules and gets upset if she loses. This typical preschool behavior can make it difficult for you and your child to genuinely enjoy playing games. It takes time, often not until the kindergarten years, … Read more

“Look! I’m jumping off the diving board.” “Dad, watch me ride my bike.” “Watch me do a cartwheel.” Children constantly ask their parents to pay attention. Even in the car, a child will ask a parent who’s driving to look at a picture in his book or watch him make faces in the mirror. He … Read more

Young children generally follow their parents’ lead when it comes to believing in imaginary characters. If parents encourage their child to believe the tooth fairy is real, she’s likely to go along with them. And if parents tell their child there’s no such thing as the tooth fairy, she’ll probably accept that as fact. Of … Read more

Everyone likes to touch interesting and attractive objects. Adults in stores are drawn to gadgets they can manipulate and products they can pick up and feel. Children also want to handle what they see in stores, but many store owners and parents are too impatient or fearful to let children touch. Touching is one of … Read more

If you are worried about aluminum in your child’s vaccines, you can ask your doctor which brand of certain vaccines he or she carries. For example, the Infanrix brand of the DTaP vaccine contains 625 micrograms of aluminum, while the Daptacel brand only contains 330 and the Tripedia brand only contains 170. As for the … Read more

Unfortunately, some vaccines are not as effective in infants as they are in older children. For example, if the HiB vaccine is given to infants, you need a series of two or three doses to provide adequate protection. However, if the HiB vaccine was not given to an infant but is then given to a … Read more

Several vaccines were developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Waldemar Haffkine, a Russian microbiologist who spent much of his time in India, developed a vaccine for cholera in 1892 and a vaccine for bubonic plague in 1897. Given the millions of people who have died over the centuries from these diseases, these two … Read more

A microorganism is a living entity that is so small it can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. A pathogen is an organism that causes disease. Examples of pathogens include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Note that a pathogen does not have to be a microorganism; some parasitic worms cause disease and … Read more

Not widely recognized in the United States, sorghum is the world’s third largest grain crop. As a whole grain, sorghum is also known as milo or kafir and is a key ingredient in regions of India and Africa. Sorghum grains are small and bead-like with a beige color. Like millet, sorghum is bland and dry, … Read more

You’ll find that the rice flours are as common to gluten-free baking as wheat flour is to traditional baking. There are subtle differences between these three flours, primarily with respect to baking performance. From a dietary fiber and protein perspective they are similar to each other, except that brown rice flour has approximately forty fewer … Read more

Once again, a gluten-free diet has the power to bring international flavor, tradition, and culture into the North American gluten-free kitchen with ingredients that you may never have otherwise discovered. One of the lesser known gluten-free ingredients, ragi is a gluten-free cereal grass that is not regularly mentioned in the lineup of gluten-free grains that … Read more

Well loved for its nutrition, taste, texture, and culinary versatility, quinoa is a gem in the repertoire of gluten-free grains. A time-honored food staple of South America and an essential food of the ancient Incas, quinoa is packed with cultural significance and history. Scientifically speaking, quinoa is a seed, but it’s commonly referred to in … Read more

Gluten is a funny-sounding word, but it will become one of the most important words in your vocabulary. It sounds like glue, and it acts like glue. Most people, unless they are a chef or baker, don’t know what gluten is. So, if you have never heard of gluten before, you’re not alone. But this … Read more

Weddings are happy occasions, but the physical and emotional demands of a wedding can provoke your body’s stress reaction, releasing damaging stress hormones into your brain and triggering your depression. Some other pleasant occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and vacations can initiate the stress response as well. It really does not matter whether an event is … Read more

Prozac (generic name: fluoxetine) was one of the first new antidepressants classified as an SSRI, and it is still popular. Prozac helps the body increase serotonin at low doses and norepinephrine at higher doses. Research has also demonstrated that, like most antidepressants, Prozac helps the brain produce more of the natural neurochemicals that heal brain … Read more

Cultural beliefs about mental illness can significantly impact how an individual, and his family, views bipolar disorder. In some Asian cultures, the stigma of mental illness is quite severe, and having a mental illness can be viewed as shameful (loss of face). Certain religious groups will have strong beliefs against the taking of medications (Christian … Read more

Just as going away to college coincides with a high-risk, high-stress period for developing bipolar disorder, so too is enlisting in the military in the late teens and early twenties a recipe for a susceptible individual to have their first episode. The stresses of: boot camp, sleep deprivation, communal living, new surroundings, possibly leaving home … Read more

The recovery model, or philosophy, has much in common with the harm reduction approach. Fueled by dissatisfaction with the status quo and the paternalistic “trust me, I’m a doctor” medical model, the recovery model is about giving control back to the person with the psychiatric disability and/or coexisting substance disorder. In the recovery model, the … Read more

Every medication is unique in terms of how long it stays in the body. The term “half-life” is used describe the length of time it takes the body to clear/eliminate/metabolize 50 percent of a dose. This concept leads to the goal of a “steady state,” which is where the daily dose equals what the body … Read more

Periodic blood work is a fact of life with lithium, as with many other medications. Prior to starting lithium, it’s typical to check the following: Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate) Thyroid function tests Measures of renal function (blood urea nitrogen/creatinine, aka BUN/CR) A complete blood count Pregnancy test in women of child-bearing age (Lithium can … Read more

The answer to this question seems obvious: homework helps children learn. However, this simple answer is incomplete and not exactly accurate. Homework should serve different purposes, depending on your child’s grade level and individual abilities. For primary grades, homework is largely used to improve reading and to review skills taught in class. Intermediate grade students … Read more

Here are some facts you might want to consider before proceeding with piercing your belly button. There is always risk when you have any part of your body pierced. It is minor surgery and should be treated as such. With navel piercings, you are at a higher than average risk for infection for two reasons. … Read more