In Health News today, another warning about delaying child bearing.  The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says waiting until over the age of 32 to have kids increases the risk of infertility, pregnancy complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Babies don’t learn how to talk just from listening to you. New research suggests they’re likely reading your lips! Scientists out of Florida Atlantic University say at around 6 months of age babies shift from that intense eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk.

And, are you having trouble losing weight? Try changing your dishes. Research published in the in the journal Appetite says people who ate off of red plates ate 40 percent less food.

Half of all women will have one at some point in their lives…. a urinary tract infection also known as a bladder infection.

These infections are very common … in fact, they’re the second most common infection in the body and one of the most common reasons women will go to their family doctor.

A UTI occurs when bacteria travel from the urethra, the short tube that takes urine from the bladder out, up to the bladder. This infection causes some nasty symptoms including a frequent need to pee as well as burning and pain when peeing. The urine may also be cloudy, have blood in it and smell foul.

The most common way a UTI is diagnosed is by going to a family doctor, peeing in a cup, where a urinalysis will determine if there are white blood cells present.  This can usually be done right in the doctor’s office. Antibiotics are most often prescribed and the infection will likely go away.

However, some women will experience recurrent infections…. up to 3 or 4 a year. I spoke with Urogynecologist Dr. Magali Robert about UTIs. She says these women need to have a family doctor so these infections can be tracked. It’s also important to make sure the symptoms aren’t some other kind of issue. Docs should also check for anatomical problems, or whether a woman is able to empty her bladder properly. Docs also need to determine if the patient is clearing the infection each time or whether they’re merely suppressing symptoms and it’s the same infection causing problems.

And for some women, it may not be a question of antibiotics. Dr. Robert says patients approaching menopause are predisposed to UTIs because their estrogen levels are dropping leaving the tissues of the urethra dry and more susceptible to infection. These women may benefit from estrogen therapy.

Young women may benefit from taking cranberries… either supplements or juice. If they find they’re getting UTIs directly related to sex, they may be prescribed antibiotics to take right around the time they’re having sex.

All women will benefit from staying well hydrated says Dr. Robert. She says water helps to flush out the urethra making it harder for bacteria to set up shop.

I do want to point out that men do get urinary tract infections as well… just not as often… only in about 10 percent of cases.

I could write so much more… but if you are getting UTIs make sure you talk openly to your doctor about what will work for you. It may also help to investigate some naturopathic options to help prevent getting another infection.

The countdown is on to Christmas and a lot of people are buying last minute presents, doing last minute party preparations and getting the house ready for guests.

It can be very stressful.

I spoke with Psychiatrist Dr. Scott Patten and he explains, “stress is an adaptation of the body and mind to change.” And he says change, even if it’s positive, can be stressful. And the holidays are filled with change… changes to life patterns, eating patterns, exercise patterns and sleep patterns.

Dr. Patten says the first thing you need to do to cope with all this change is admit and recognize that you’re stressed. Symptoms of stress include changes in mood, so you might be more irritable, changes in sleep, headaches, stomach upset and more.

Dr. Patten also suggests it’s helpful to manage your expectations for the season. Often with stress it’s not the situation itself but how we approach a situation. For example, if you’re stressed about family coming to visit, don’t expect that everything will go perfectly. It’s useful to expect there may some arguments or events that don’t go as planned. If you set your expectations too high, you’ll set yourself up for disappointment and more stress.

And remember that stress also has a physical component. When you’re stresssed your body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and it can also decrease the effectiveness of your immune and nervous systems. So, it’s important to build resiliency in your body. Dr. Patten says the best way to do this is to make sure you eat well, get enough sleep, and take some quiet time for yourself.

With some resiliency and balance, the holidays can be a fun and exciting time of year!

‘Tis the season for new parents to show off their newborns to visiting friends and relatives. But, we just want to make sure those aunties and uncles are feeling well. That’s because not only is it the holiday season, it’s RSV season.

RSV is a respiratory virus, one of the most common viruses in the world. It’s comes around every year in the winter and we have poor immunity against it so we continue to get it many times over the course of our lives. For most people, it’s a common cold. For babies and the elderly it can be a very serious illness. In fact, 200 to 300 children are hospitalized in the Alberta Children’s Hospital every season with RSV, and a substantial amount wind up in the Intensive Care Unit.

Babies get RSV from sick adults so it’s critical, says pediatric lung specialist Dr. Ian Mitchell, that no ill adults handle the newborn. Dr. Mitchell says even wearing a mask and washing your hands prior to holding the baby won’t help entirely. Therefore he says it’s up to parents to make sure any adult with the slightest illness avoid holding the infant.

RSV is a nasty virus because even when children recover from the initial illness, about half will have recurrent lung disease for the next several years every time they get sick.

So – what does RSV look like in babies?? It does not come on suddenly. The infant will first develop a runny nose, 3 days later they’ll develop a cough and then they’ll have trouble feeding. This is the big warning sign.  A child who had previously fed well and now has these cold symptoms and is unable to feed properly should be seen by a doctor.

The thing with infants, they’re unable to breathe through their mouths until they’re about 4 months old. So if their noses are blocked, feeding becomes a real challenge.

The best way to prevent the spread of RSV to your baby? Wash your hands! And avoid passing baby to those sick relatives!

Tis the season for the holiday party and often a few too many cocktails. So I thought I’d do some research into hangovers and what you can do to deal with some of those annoying symptoms.

First of all, a hangover is different for everyone because everyone metabolizes alcohol differently. Most people can get rid of it quite well, however there is a group of people that because of a difference in some genes, have more trouble dealing with alcohol. But the bottom-line is there is no simple cure for a hangover. This is due to the fact, that a hangover affects multiple systems in the body. I spoke to Registered Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, Shervin Vakili who specializes in addictions. He says hangover symptoms will start a few hours after you stop drinking as your blood alcohol content goes down. Your hangover symptoms will peak when your content hits zero. And the best part, you can expect that hangover to last anywhere from 8 to 24 hours.

So let’s be very clear, the easiest way to avoid a hangover, is to not drink too much!! But if you’re already there, there are a few things you can do to reduce some of the symptoms…. including choosing clear, distilled alcohols. Professor Vakili says alcohol like vodka and gin is easier for the body to process than darker alcohols like scotch or rum. They other thing to do is stay well hydrated. Let’s remember, alcohol is a diuretic so you will get dehydrated quickly. He suggests you might want to even try Gatorade to help with your electrolytes after consuming too much alcohol. For the tummy troubles you might get, use an antacid. Pain medication will help with your headache, but you want to use ibuprofen, so Advil or Motrin, NOT Tylenol. Acetaminophen is harder of your liver that’s already working hard to process that alcohol. Professor Vakili also says there is some evidence to suggest taking Vitamin B6 may help with hangover symptoms.

And don’t forget… sleep and just time. They work well.

There are also some myths out there that Professor Vakili addressed. He says don’t bother taking pain meds before bed, they are too short acting and won’t have any effect on you at all. He does say take that Advil when you wake up with a headache. What about eating a big greasy meal after you drink? Won’t do anything, because the alcohol is already in your system. What Professor Vakili does suggest is eating BEFORE you drink, specifically a higher fat meal, it will help slow down the effects of the alcohol.

So, the best thing to do to avoid a nasty hangover? Don’t drink too much, stay well hydrated and sleep.

The human being is not efficient when it comes to reproduction. Even young women only have a 10-15 percent chance of conceiving each month. So let’s be clear, 40 is not the new 30 when it comes to reproduction. By the time women hit 40, there’s only a 2-5 percent chance they’ll get pregnant each month.

This is why fertility treatments are very popular for those who can afford them. Fertility is an expensive game. I spoke with Dr. Calvin Greene, the Medical Director for the Regional Fertility Program. He says one cycle of In Vitro Fertilization can cost upwards of $12,000.

Dr. Greene also told me about a new trend he’s seeing. It has to do with using frozen eggs from the United States. So, we’ve had sperm banks for years, well now egg banks are popping up in the US. And in fact, the first case of them using frozen eggs from the States, thawing them and using them to make embryos happened in Calgary just last week. This week, the female recipient will be implanted.

This is thanks to a new technology in fertility called vitrification where eggs are rapidly frozen with little injury to the egg. It means those eggs can be shipped virtually anywhere. Now, this is not legal in Canada. You will not see egg banks here. Dr. Greene says by law, women cannot be paid to produce eggs for fertility interventions. However, an altruistic program has been around for years and is quite common. This is where a woman enlists a sister or friend to donate an egg.

The question of using these frozen eggs does raise some concerns. Dr. Greene says it’s not ideal because they can’t offer any counselling to the woman donating the eggs because she’s anonymous. At least with the altruistic program here, everyone can get some help with the emotional implications of the treatment.

Regardless, Dr. Greene says he expects more and more of these egg banks to pop up across the US.

The other big misconception that’s out there is that infertility is only a female problem. In fact, Dr. Greene says infertility is a male problem in about 35-40 percent of cases.

Dr. Greene also suggests couples think they’re having enough sex to get pregnant. He says they commonly see couples who are very busy and where one of the partners is travelling often. He recommends couples have sex at least 2 to 3 times per week. That way, they’ll likely hit the woman’s most fertile period without having to plan for it. It’s important to note, sperm will live in the female reproductive tract for up to 72 hours. But an egg can only be fertilized over a 12 hour period.

The other big push in this province is to get fertility treatments funded by the government. Dr. Greene has been pushing for this for a decade. In the past year, Quebec has just started funding treatments using many of the principles outlined in Alberta. Dr. Greene says the basic premise is this… if the government funds fertility treatments first off, it’s only fair, and secondly, it will reduce multiple pregnancies, which in turn will reduce costs to the medical system, and then you can use those monies to fund the fertility treatments. Multiple births are high risk pregnancies and often produce premature babies which are costly to look after. If couples are not feeling the financial pressure of succeeding with IVF, they would likely be persuaded to implant fewer embryos. So, the model makes sense.

But currently, there is no government funding for couples in Calgary.  However, there is the “Generations of Hope, Fertility Assistance Fund.” It’s a charitable organization set up by the Fertility Program where couples can apply for grants to help fund their fertility treatments.

For more information on Fertility Treatments visit the Regional Fertility Program’s website. It’s very thorough and very helpful.

www.regionalfertilityprogram.ca

I have interviewed Dr. David Hanley, a specialist in the area of osteoporosis many times over the years. And while we always think of osteoporosis as a disease for little old ladies… in fact, it is not.  One in three women will suffer a fracture in their lives from osteoporosis, one in five men.  And yes, osteoporosis is associated with the normal aging process of the bones. But, we build our bones and the strength of our bones before we’re teenagers!

Dr. Hanley says new research out of the University of Saskatchewan shows for children with normal growth and nutrition, exercise is the most important thing they can do to build bone. So a simple thing, but in a generation where kids are sitting longer in front of the computer and the TV it is critical we encourage them to get active, to prevent diseases like osteoporosis later in life. In fact, Dr. Hanley says, some of the “bone-heads” or osteoporosis doctors say osteoporosis is a pediatric disease that shows up later in life.  As young adults we’re at our peak bone mass, from then on, it’s all about maintenance. It’s only as children can we actually build bone.

So, how to maintain our healthy bones?

- a good diet that includes lots of calcium

- Vitamin D supplements – under age 50 – 400 to 1000 iu, over 50 –  800 iu

- and weight bearing exercise – if we keep our muscles strong, they support our bones

The other point Dr. Hanley wants to make is if you break a bone, or suffer a fracture, anytime after the age of 40, yes, 40, get tested for osteoporosis. Why? Like many diseases, the earlier the diagnosis, the sooner you can get treatment to prevent further bone loss and more fractures down the road.

There are numerous treatment options for osteoporosis. Dr. Hanley says the family of medications, the bisphosphonates, approved in the mid 90s work well with few side effects and reduce the risk of fracture by 40 to 60 percent.

There are also many new treatments on the horizon as researchers learn more about the biology of bones.

There is a free lecture Thursday night on Osteoporosis. Dr. Hanley will be speaking at it. 

It’s at the Central Library.

616 Macleod Trail SE

November 24th 7pm

There will be lots of good information on osteoporosis, how diet and exercise can help, the current treatments and the latest in research.

This is another story about the amazing medical research underway in our city. University of Calgary Professor Paul Kubes has just won Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the government’s funding arm for health research. This award is one of the most prestigious in the country, giving Kubes and his team half a million dollars!

The truly exciting part of all this is his research will be benefitting us, the future patients, in the very near future. Kubes is working on drug resistant bacteria and how our bodies fight them.  For those who get an infection of the blood or blood poisoning, also known as sepsis, 30 percent of cases are fatal. That is one of the highest rates of mortality of any disease. And the rates of the bad bugs causing these infections is on the rise, dramatically.

Take our health region for example…. Kubes explains:

- in 2000,  we had 50 cases of MRSA – one of these drug resistant bad bugs

- in 2006, we had 1500 cases

This is a 30 fold increase. Kubes says there is no other disease that is increasing that rapidly. So this is why a new way to treat these bad bugs is needed quickly and this is what Kubes is working on. He’s also looking into vaccines for these bad bugs. What’s very exciting about this award is it allows Kubes to take some risks, to really explore some new ideas and do some “big science” as Kubes calls it. And we all know, it’s the outside-of-the-box ideas that usually turn up something unprecedented.

The other benefit to Kubes research is the impact it will have on numerous other diseases. Kubes says if you look at arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart attacks and stroke…. all of these diseases have an inflammation component to them. And this is what Kubes is researching. He’s looking at the immune system’s response to these bad bugs. That response includes inflammation, and controlling or redirecting the inflammation so it does less damage to our bodies.

Kubes has 100 investigators across the province working on this science. Let’s hope they find some solutions soon.

For more information on this award and Kubes research, visit

http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/44513.html

http://medicine.ucalgary.ca/CIHR_Researcher/year

It’s the first ever World Prematurity Day. This is a push to help us understand how important it is to prevent pre-term births. Alberta in fact, has the highest rate of premature births in the country – about 9 in every 100 births.

A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks long, any baby born 37 weeks and on is considered full term. Premature babies are those born between 22 weeks and 37 weeks. Seventy percent of premature births happen between 34 and 37 weeks. The earlier a baby is born, of course, the more problems they’ll face. Even in the 34 to 37 week range babies will likely face respiratory problems, central nervous system problems and learning disabilities later in life. Those infants born even earlier are looking at damage to the brain, eyes, gut and lungs. It’s a multi-system impact.

I spoke to a woman, Magali Robert,  who had two babies that were born prematurely. She says she felt contractions start as early as 16 weeks, but it wasn’t until 27 weeks, she was put on full bed rest because she was already dilated and engaged and doctors thought she was going to deliver early. Thankfully she was able to keep both her babies in utero until about 35 weeks and both were born healthy.

Magali is one of those cases where the prematurity is unexplained. She was healthy, active, relatively young, she ate well and looked after herself. However, I spoke to the Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Calgary, Dr. Doug Wilson, and he says there are a few things that may indicate you’ll have a preterm birth.

 - if you’ve had a previous pre-term birth, you’re likely to have another

- if you have high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia

- if you are delivering multiples… twins or triplets, they’ll likely be born prematurely

Pregnant women should also make sure they eat well, exercise and take their multivitamin.

Prematurity is a multifactorial problem so there won’t likely be any quick fix. But research is underway to help. One interesting study is looking at folic acid to help reduce the risk of preterm labour. Folic acid we know about because it helps prevent birth defects, but now it could also help prevent prematurity.

Bottomline, the first 40 weeks of life are the most important and they need to be spent in a healthy uterus.

Tis the season for germs to be floating around that will make us sick. There are a few hot spots in the house that are notorious for bad bugs.

I spoke to Microbiologist, Professor Glen Armstrong from the University of Calgary, and he says yes, there are bad bugs out there but there are also good bugs. And, we need the good bugs to help us fight off the bad bugs. Professor Armstrong also says we have these good and bad bugs living in and on us all the time… on our skin, in our mouths in our intestines.

As for the hotspots in your home:

- living room – yes, this is bad because if someone is sick in your house, there are lots of things they’ll likely touch in  the living room – like the remote control – and some bad bugs can live on those hard surfaces for up to 2 days

- laundry room – this is all about moisture – bad bugs love moisture – it helps them to grow and populate – so those piles of laundry, especially if someone has been sick, are a breeding ground for bad bugs – also the wet laundry sitting in the washer – even if it’s clean, all that moisture… you can imagine….

- bathroom – this is an obvious one – specifically is someone has a stomach upset of some kind, Professor Armstrong explains the simple act of going to the toilet will spread a wide film of bad bugs everywhere  – Microbiologists call it a “fecal veneer”

- bedroom – if someone is ill, they’re spending a lot of time in bed, they likely have a fever, which can lead to some moisture in the bed – and again… you’ve got another breeding ground

- kitchen – this room is more about food borne illnesses, the salmonella and ecoli that can come into your house on contaminated food from the grocery store – that’s why it’s so important to wash everything thoroughly, including your hands – and do not cross contaminate by using the same utensils on raw meat for example and then vegetables

SOOOO – the question is how do we protect ourselves?

Professor Armstrong gave me a tip I”d never heard before, stay well hydrated. He explains that our bodies contain a mucus membrane that when it’s nice and full makes it difficult for bad bugs to enter our bodies. However, in Calgary, it’s so dry, that membrane can get dry and thin and not be as an effective barrier. So, if we drink lots of water we can keep that membrane nice and full and protect ourselves from the bad bugs.

And of course, wash your hands frequently and sneeze into your sleeve or tissue.

Good luck out there!!