HEALTH Tidbits

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Cleaning Chemicals Increase Asthma Risk

 

MADRID (UPI) -- Chemicals from cleaning solutions put people at a

higher risk of asthma, a Spanish study reported. Writing in the

journal Thorax, researchers said cleaners had twice the risk of women

in other jobs, although anyone doing household chores could come into

contact with irritants. Asthma is the most common lung disease

acquired in the workplace in industrialized countries, linked to

around 20 percent of cases in adults, the BBC said.

 

The researchers found one in eight women had asthma, and one in six

had bronchitis. They estimated 25 percent of the asthma cases in their

study could be linked to domestic cleaning work, which is more than

double the rate of other jobs -- 12 percent among current and former

cleaners and 5 percent among those who had never worked as cleaners.

They said further research was needed to identify what was

specifically responsible for the increased risk of asthma among

domestic cleaners.

 

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Red Wine Component May Ease Lung Disease

 

(UPI) -- A component of red wine, resveratrol, appears to curtail the

inflammation characteristic of a progressive lung disease, a small

study shows. The study authors say the compound was so effective in

laboratory tests, it could be developed to treat the disease, called

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The condition is irreversible

and progressive. The lungs deteriorate, making it difficult, and

eventually impossible, to breathe. The main cause is smoking. The

authors conclude that resveratrol or related compounds may be more

effective than corticosteroids for treating

 

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Hunters Should Beware of Chronic Wasting Disease

 

(UPI) -- Hunters should take precautions against chronic wasting

disease as they pursue big game this fall, doctors warn. The wild game

disease has been documented in Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New

Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the Canadian

province of Saskatchewan. Symptoms in animals include thinness,

abnormal behavior, repetitive movement, drooping head and ears, low

appetite, excessive drinking and urinating, drooling, tremors and an

abnormally wide stance.

 

The symptoms may not appear in infected animals for up to 14 months

after infection, experts say. They offer the following safety tips for

hunting and dressing game: Do not hunt, handle or consume an animal

that appears to be sick; avoid shooting big game in the head or the

backbone, which can contaminate the meat; clean hands and any

instruments after field dressing; field dress and bone out the carcass

to remove most of the potentially affected body parts, and remove

fatty tissue to eliminate the lymph nodes that also may carry the

disease; avoid sawing through bone; and, double-bag all remains and

dispose of them at a landfill.

 

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Tomorrow's Seniors To Be Hip and Fit

 

(UPI) -- A 15-year study shows tomorrow's seniors will be hip and fit.

Case Western Reserve University sociologist Eva Kahana received a

$1.68 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study 800

older Americans. She foresees a generation of computer-savvy senior

citizens who will rely on e-mail, digital cameras, computers and other

high-tech aids to help them cope with old age.

 

Kahana predicts in the journal Ageing International these " new

elderly " also will be more likely than previous generations to enhance

their appearances with cosmetic surgery and other methods, keep

physically fit and seek self-improvement through education and

spiritual growth. " They also are more likely to work past retirement

age because they are healthier and living longer, " she added.

 

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