How to beat New Year hangover/ Tantrums can be sign of sickness/Studylegs with livers

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Munch on a banana, lie on your right side - some surprise ways to beat that hangoverBy ANGELA EPSTEIN - More by this author » Last updated at 00:26am on 1st January 2008

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Applying a cold compress can ease hangover symptoms

Woken up to the New Year with a banging headache, dry mouth and a bad stomach? Sounds like you could be greeting 2008 with a thumping hangover. So how do you deal with the effects of the morning after when most chemists are closed? Angela Epstein rounds up some of the easiest self-help methods to cure your aching body. You don't have to try them all at once - just see what works best for you.

 

 

WHEN YOU GET HOME

 

DRINK A GLASS OF MILK

After a drinking session, have a glass of milk before going to bed, says Dr Andy Dowson, director of headache services at King's College London.

Milk is an anti- diuretic, which means it stops the kidneys producing urine. "So by drinking milk you can rehydrate the body but won't get woken up by constantly needing the loo. Interrupted sleep contributes to the headaches associated with hangovers."

 

 

ON WAKING UP

 

BICARBONATE OF SODA

Dissolve a teaspoon of it in a glass of water and drink on waking, says Dr Shamim Daya, of the Wholistic Medical Centre in London.

"When we drink too much, our whole system becomes acidic. This produces headaches, joint aches and dehydration. Bicarbonate of soda is an alkaline, which will neutralise the acidity and so fight the symptoms of hangover."

 

 

FOR BREAKFAST

 

COOKED BREAKFAST

Having a cooked breakfast may sound obvious, but why does it work? According to consultant physician Dr Sarah Burnett, of the Princess Grace Hospital in London, alcohol lowers the body's production of anti-inflammatory hormones.

This results in inflammation in the brain, as well as shutting down the production of protective mucous in the stomach lining. Fat reduces this by coating the stomach.

TOAST AND HONEY

If you can't stomach a cooked breakfast, toast with honey is the ideal New Year's Day hangover cure, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Experts there claim honey provides the body with sodium and potassium lost through dehydration.

 

PORRIDGE

Alternatively, have a bowl of porridge topped with brown sugar.

"Oats neutralise acidity levels in the body caused by excess alcohol and help absorb toxins, so you will soon start to feel better," says Dr Burnett.

Porridge also contains soluble fibre which helps prevent nausea and the sugar will give you an instant energy lift if your blood sugar levels are low.

 

ORANGE JUICE

Vitamin C speeds up the metabolism of alcohol by the liver, according to London-based GP Dr Rob Hicks. The quicker alcohol is flushed from the body, the faster your symptoms will disappear. Have one glass of orange juice on waking up.

 

COFFEE

The caffeine in coffee can help ease headaches, according to Dr Dowson. One possible reason is that caffeine has an effect on the neurotransmitters which relay signals in the brain and which are linked to headaches.

Caffeine also helps absorption of aspirin into the brain, so taking coffee with the headache tablets will make you feel better faster. However, don't drink any more than two cups, warns Dr Dowson, as too much caffeine can cause more severe headaches.

 

 

DURING THE DAY

 

ACUPRESSURE

Activating an acupressure point on your wrist associated with the stomach can momentarily control nausea, says Kim Mendez, a Chinese medical practitioner at Pineapple Studios in London.

"Place your index finger, middle finger and ring finger in a line so that the index rests on the crease in the middle of your wrist and the ring finger is at the base of your palm. Then press with the ring finger for 20 to 30 seconds."

 

RUB YOUR ARMPITS WITH LEMON

Puerto Ricans apparently swear by this holistic cure. The lemon juice supposedly stops you sweating and so helps you retain fluid and prevent the dehydration that contributes to hangover headaches.

 

MAKE A CINNAMON BREW

The spice contains chemicals called catechins which help combat flatulence and loss of appetite, and can stop nausea and vomiting, says Dr Lakshman Karalliedde, a lecturer at King's College London School of Medicine.

To make a brew, add two teaspoons of the powder to boiling water. Let it cool and sip slowly.

 

DRINK PEPPERMINT TEA

This is a traditional remedy used to combat nausea and vomiting, according to Vicky Pennington, a nutritionist for Boots. By stimulating bile production in the gall bladder, peppermint breaks down fat in the digestion system, and relieves sickness.

 

HAVE A SPORTS DRINK

Research has shown that isotonic sports drinks are among the best ways to speed up recovery from hangovers, says Martin Crisp, superintendent pharmacist for Superdrug. The small amounts of body salts they contain enhance fluid absorption in the gut faster than water and so help with dehydration.

 

COLD COMPRESS

Alcohol increases blood flow to the brain and causes the throbbing head associated with a hangover, says Sheffield-based GP and sports physician Dr Rav Naik.

"So applying a cold compress will reduce this flow and help ease the symptoms."

 

SNACK ON A BANANA

Bananas contain a lot of potassium, a mineral lost when we drink alcohol and a lack of which contributes to the dehydration symptoms of hangover, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Bart's and The London School of Medicine.

Bananas are also a source of carbohydrates and eating one will raise blood sugar levels and so stave off nausea.

 

TAKE A BRISK WALK

Exercise will help get rid of your hangover by increasing circulation, improving blood supply to organs such as the liver and kidneys, and so speed up the loss of toxins from the body, says Dr Naik.

 

LIE ON YOUR RIGHT SIDE

This will help flush the stomach of gastric acid linked to nausea in hangovers, says Dr Burnett.

"The stomach is a bag sitting diagonally in the body from left to right. By lying on the right-hand side you can help move things along and so relieve nausea."

 

 

TRIED AND TESTED

 

WATER

Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up, says Dr Mike Dixon, visiting professor of integrated health and care at the University of Westminster in London, and then have a glass at least every hour.

"As alcohol is a diuretic, it stimulates the kidneys to produce more urine. This makes you dehydrated, causing your brain to shrink and leading to throbbing temples."

 

HAIR OF THE DOG

Having a small shot of alcohol the morning after your big night will give temporary relief because it blocks the liver from breaking down methanol - the element in alcohol that causes hangovers.

However, GP Dr Dawn Harper, of Channel 4's Embarrassing Illnesses, warns against this.

"Not only will the relief be temporary but drinking more will make you vulnerable to health problems such as liver damage," she says.

 

GO BACK TO BED

This sounds obvious, but it really does help. Alcohol disrupts the different phases of sleep, which is why we feel so tired when we wake with a hangover, even if we feel we've slept heavily.

 

"You need to get up and deal with dehydration and low blood sugar by having something to eat and drink," says Dr Naik.

"Then take a walk. After this, go back to bed for a couple of hours. This will enable the body to rest properly, so you can regain your strength."

 

Tantrums can be sign of sickness

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=204 & objectid=10484217

5:00AM Wednesday December 26, 2007

 

Healthy children tend to have less aggressive and generally shorter tantrums, says Dr Andy Belden.

Children who have long, frequent or aggressive tantrums may be at risk of depression or disruptive disorders.

A United States researcher has discovered that tantrums are often the sign of a sick, hungry or overstimulated child.

For most parents, they are a normal part of development and should be viewed as a teaching opportunity.

But parents of children who hurt themselves or others and those who cannot calm themselves without help should seek medical help, the researcher says.

Healthy children tend to have less aggressive, and generally shorter tantrums.

Dr Andy Belden of Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, whose study appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics, said: "I think parents to some degree should expect their children to have tantrums. If they are having extreme tantrums consistently - if almost every time they are having a tantrum they are hurting themselves or other people - that is a valid reason to go and talk to your paediatrician."

 

Dr Belden and his team analysed parent reports of tantrum behaviour in 279 children aged 3 to 6. They compared tantrums in healthy children with those in children previously diagnosed with depression or some type of disruptive disorder, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The team devised five high-risk tantrum styles: tantrums marked by self-injury; tantrums marked by violence to others or objects; tantrums in which children cannot calm themselves without help; tantrums lasting more than 25 minutes; and tantrums occurring more than five times a day, or between 10 and 20 times a month.

Of those, Dr Belden said tantrums in which children harmed themselves were most often associated with depression and should be seen as very serious.

Any of those high-risk behaviours would warrant a call to the doctor.

"If it gets to the point where the parent is uncomfortable leaving the house because they are so fearful their child will have a tantrum, that should be a sign to the parent [to seek help]."

- REUTERS

 

Study links legs with livers

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=204 & objectid=10483106

(Another study links short men with pedophilia as well. N)

5:00AM Wednesday December 19, 2007

Women with short legs may have a higher risk of liver disease, with both probably caused by diet or other factors early in life, British researchers have reported.

Their study of 3600 women showed that the shorter a woman's legs were, the more likely she was to have signs of liver damage. The findings fitted in with other studies linking leg length with diabetes and heart disease, Abigail Fraser, of the University of Bristol, said.

The findings held even when Fraser's team took into account smoking, drinking and other behaviours that can damage a person's liver.

- REUTERS