(HealthDay News) — Color blindness is a vision deficiency that affects the perception of color, says the National Eye Institute. People with color blindness aren’t aware of differences among colors that may be obvious to those with normal vision. Sometimes, people who have color blindness aren’t aware of their condition unless they’re tested. Simple everyday tasks like selecting ripe fruit or deciphering traffic lights can pose challenges. Since color blindness can go undetected for some time, it’s important to have children, especially boys, tested if there is a family history of the condition. There is no cure for color blindness. However, there are lenses, aids and smartphone apps available to help those who are color blind.
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A Surprising New Source of Omega-3s
There’s no shortage of reasons to get your omega-3s, which are abundant in fish and their oils. But high consumption of fish and their oils has created a shortage around the world. In addition, fish can be costly, and there are also concerns about toxins, like mercury, which affect many fatty fish to some degree. Since omega-3 fatty acids play a role in vision, brain health, reproduction, and healthy skin and hair, the hunt is on for other sources. One source that’s also a boon for vegans are omega-3s made from marine algae, rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, carotenoids, vitamins and essential amino acids. In fact, eating this algae is how fish become so rich in omega-3s. Harvesting microalgae is not only a more sustainable alternative to fishing, but also algae don’t seem to carry the risk of contamination by pollutants. Scientists are just beginning to explore the health benefits of microalgae and how best to harvest it. But small studies have already found that algae oil capsules can be as effective as eating salmon or taking traditional fish oil supplements. While microalgae is already available in capsule and drop forms, it’s possible that we’ll see it in food and beverages in the not-too-distant future. Also, remember that some plant-based foods deliver omega-3 fatty acids — canola oil, walnuts, ground flaxseed and edamame, to… read on >
Are You Just a Worrywart or Is It Something More?
Everyone goes through moments of worry, but for some people, anxiety takes over their lives. How can you tell if you’re an average worrywart or if you might have an anxiety disorder? Your degree of distress is often a good indicator. Normal anxiety typically comes from a specific source of stress, like an upcoming job interview or a fight with your spouse. When the issue is resolved, the anxiety usually eases. With an anxiety disorder, you could be anxious all of the time and worry about everything from money to sexual performance to the well-being of loved ones, often for no good reason. Putting a Name to Your Feelings Excessive worrying is a sign of what’s called “generalized anxiety disorder.” Sudden episodes of anxiety, distress or discomfort that may be accompanied by troubling physical symptoms, like a rapid heart rate, can be signs of a “panic disorder.” Anxiety over something specific — like the fear of flying, heights, small spaces or spiders — are all very common “phobias.” One sign of a problem is the intensity of your distress — if your anxiety is out of proportion with the problem when a real problem exists. The amount of time you spend worrying is also a clue. A study of people’s worry diaries found that those with an anxiety disorder worried for more than five hours… read on >
Online Learning: What’s in It for You?
Taking courses online has made it easier for thousands of college students to meet their degree requirements, but this type of learning may hold the most benefit for people who are interested in continuing education throughout their lives. Courses that let you explore a topic of interest or gain a new skill for work keep your mind sharp and could even pay off with a promotion. Being able to do coursework online often means you can fit it into your schedule, no matter how hectic it is. This is especially true if you choose a class with pre-recorded sessions, though you might prefer one with a live experience and participant interaction. Online study also allows you to take classes from universities that could be thousands of miles from home. There’s no shortage of choices with varying fees. But there are also free courses from outstanding institutions. For instance, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has put material from 2,400 courses online through its MIT OpenCourseWare. The HarvardX program offers free courses from Harvard and its partners, including MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas System and Boston University. The idea is that the feedback from participants can improve their courses and help independent learners enrich their lives. The only thing you need besides an internet connection is self-discipline. It could take more… read on >
Get Up-to-the-Minute Safety Alerts Sent Straight to Your Inbox
From defective child car seats to deadly virus outbreaks at restaurant chains, you’re likely to learn of major product recalls and serious health warnings through various news outlets. But there’s such a large number of alerts, big and small, that you might not hear about all of them, or hear about them soon enough to take steps to protect yourself and your family. One way to stay current is to sign up with the various government agencies that deliver alerts directly to your inbox or smartphone. You can also follow those agencies on Twitter or Facebook. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration puts out alerts about drugs and supplements, medical devices, vaccines and cosmetics through its MedWatch program. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is your source for recalls as well as safety standards for household items, and the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service reports on problems from contamination to food mislabeling, such as not listing an allergen like nuts or eggs on a packaged item’s ingredients label. To make signing up easier, the government has created Recalls.gov, a one-stop-shop for six key agencies. On the site, you can request recall notifications and get a variety of safety tips, as well as conduct your own searches under seven categories: consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, food, medicine, cosmetics and environmental products. You also… read on >
Another Reason to Keep Daylight Saving Time: Fewer Deer-Car Collisions
Motorists are more likely to plow into a deer on U.S. highways after the annual “fall back” end of daylight saving time (DST), a new study shows. That’s because frisky deer in the middle of their mating season (also known as rut) are crossing roads that become shrouded in darkness earlier in the day with the time change, researchers explained. There’s a 16% increase in deer-vehicle collisions in the week following the shift from DST to standard time, according to a report published Nov. 2 in the journal Current Biology. What’s more, nearly 1 in 10 of all deer-vehicle wrecks occur during the two-week period around the switch from DST to standard time, researchers found. Adopting permanent daylight saving time could save dozens of deaths, thousands of injuries and more than $1.1 billion in damages every year, just by warding off deer-related car crashes, researchers say. “Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a huge and growing problem,” said co-lead author Calum Cunningham, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington. “There are social costs — people killed and injured — and it’s also a conservation problem as it’s one of the largest sources of human-caused mortality of wildlife,” he said in a university news release. An estimated 2.1 million deer-vehicle crashes occur in the United States each year, killing about 440 people, causing 59,000 injuries and racking up… read on > read on >
How the Pandemic Affected Americans’ Blood Pressure
Although blood pressure levels among Americans rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research suggests things could have been far worse. “We expected blood pressure control to be worse due to decreased physical activity, stress, poor sleep and other cardiovascular disease risk factors that worsened during the pandemic,” said study leader Dr. Hiroshi Gotanda, an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “But the results were better than we expected, probably because of the use of telemedicine and home monitoring of blood pressure,” he noted. For the study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, researchers looked at the electronic data records of more than 137,500 adults who had high blood pressure (hypertension) and were treated at Cedars-Sinai, Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and Ochsner Health in New Orleans. Patients were an average age of 66. About 57% were women, while 30% were Black. The researchers compared blood pressure outcomes before the pandemic, from August 2018 through January 2020, with those during the peak of the pandemic, from April 2020 through January 2021. The number of blood pressure readings declined by as much as 90% during the first three months of the pandemic. Measurements began to increase as the months passed, though they were still below pre-pandemic levels. This may… read on > read on >
Trial Shows Weight-Loss Drug Works in Teens
THURSDAY, Nov. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) – A weight-loss drug approved for adults may soon become an option for teens struggling with obesity. Young people who received the drug Wegovy (semaglutide) were able to lose an average of 14.7% of their starting body weight in a new clinical trial. More than 40% of the youths who received a weekly injection of the medication plus lifestyle counseling were able to reduce their BMI by 20% or more. The trial, published Nov. 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine, included 201 people ages 12 to 17 who were treated at medical centers in the U.S., Europe and Mexico. Some received a placebo and counseling on diet and exercise instead of Wegovy. Those youths actually gained 2.7% of their initial body weight. The study was funded by the drug’s maker, Novo Nordisk. “I’m absolutely excited,” study co-author Aaron Kelly, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, told NBC News. “We’ve entered the phase where we are seeing the kind of weight loss where teens come to us in tears. It’s the first time they’ve had control of their weight in their lifetimes.” Study participants were an average weight of 237 pounds. About 73% of those who received the medication lost 5% or more of their body weight, compared to 18% of… read on > read on >
Parent’s Mental Health Can Affect Kids’ Asthma Care
When a parent is depressed, their child’s asthma care may suffer. Now, research suggests that getting a child’s asthma under control may include assessing a parents’ mental health. Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern found that treating a parent’s depression could sometimes improve symptom control in asthmatic children. About 8% of American children have asthma. Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing due to inflammation of the lungs and airways. “Moreover, asthma is a medical illness that is sensitive to a patient’s mood as well as medication adherence,” said Dr. E. Sherwood Brown, a professor of psychiatry. Stress and depression in children who have asthma can cause airway constriction and worsen symptoms. Then, this poor asthma control can exacerbate a child’s depression. High rates of depression among caregivers may also put stress on kids, worsening their depressive symptoms and asthma control, the researchers noted. To study the issue, the investigators followed caregivers with major depressive disorder and their children with persistent asthma for one year. They found that improvement in caregiver depression was associated with fewer asthma attacks and better asthma control for children. This improvement in asthma control occurred, in part, through reduction in the children’s depressive symptom severity. Health care providers may need to think more broadly when treating patients, Brown said in a university news release. “It might be useful to… read on > read on >
Obesity Could Speed Disability When MS Strikes
Obesity is never healthy, and that may be especially true for people who also develop multiple sclerosis. Obese people with MS are likely to see the disability linked to the disease rapidly worsen, said German researchers who followed more than 1,000 patients in a new study. Weight loss, they suggested, might help slow the progression of the disease. “The findings from this study raise important questions about the role of elevated BMI (body mass index) on mechanisms that drive neurologic disability in MS,” said Dr. Fiona Costello, a professor of neurology at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada. Obesity correlates with a higher risk of developing MS, she said. “What has not been clear is how obesity is linked to disease severity and disability progression in individuals with MS. But a large body of published literature has shown that deleterious disease associations with obesity are not unique to MS.” Obesity already has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as cognitive impairment and dementia, said Costello, who had no part in the study. This study can’t prove that obesity speeds up greater disability in patients with MS, only that the two seem to be connected, the researchers noted. Still, “obtaining a normal weight is likely beneficial for people with MS,” said… read on > read on >