Cellphone Safety
Posted in Uncategorized on 11/16/2010 07:48 am by AMMABe careful, okay?
Should You Be Snuggling With Your Cellphone?
By RANDALL STROSS
Published: November 13, 2010
WARNING: Holding a cellphone against your ear may be hazardous to your health. So may stuffing it in a pocket against your body.
I’m paraphrasing here. But the legal departments of cellphone manufacturers slip a warning about holding the phone against your head or body into the fine print of the little slip that you toss aside when unpacking your phone. Apple, for example, doesn’t want iPhones to come closer than 5/8 of an inch; Research In Motion, BlackBerry’s manufacturer, is still more cautious: keep a distance of about an inch.The warnings may be missed by an awful lot of customers. The United States has 292 million wireless numbers in use, approaching one for every adult and child, according to C.T.I.A.-The Wireless Association, the cellphone industry’s primary trade group. It says that as of June, about a quarter of domestic households were wireless-only.
If health issues arise from ordinary use of this hardware, it would affect not just many customers but also a huge industry. Our voice calls — we chat on our cellphones 2.26 trillion minutes annually, according to the C.T.I.A. — generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers.
The cellphone instructions-cum-warnings were brought to my attention by Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh and has published a book about cellphone radiation, “Disconnect.” I had assumed that radiation specialists had long ago established that worries about low-energy radiation were unfounded. Her book, however, surveys the scientific investigations and concludes that the question is not yet settled. Read the rest of this entry »
Weight Lifting and Lymphedema
Posted in Lymph Drainage on 03/23/2010 06:15 am by AMMA
. . . . . . Kathryn H. Schmitz, Ph.D., MPH . . . . . . Photo credit: Candace di Carlo (Penn Current)
This is an extremely important topic, especially in light of some recent news coverage. I (Amber) was going to do a little write-up on the matter, but just can’t put it better than Joe Zuther. Here are his words as published in Lymphedema Today:
As some of you may know, an article published August 13, 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine addressed the topic of weight lifting in women with breast cancer-related lymphedema. The article summarized an 18-month study performed by Dr. Kathryn Schmitz and colleagues in a controlled trial of twice weekly progressive weight lifting involving 141 breast cancer survivors with stable upper extremity lymphedema.
Shortly after this article was published, we received a large number of phone calls and email messages from patients and graduates of our lymphedema management certification courses asking us for clarification on some misleading and inaccurate statements that were made on the results of this study.
One of the more prominent questions we received from patients was: “If it is okay and safe for me to lift weights as this study suggests, is it okay then to lift heavy items at home or at work as well?”
The obvious answer to this question is “NO!”
This is not what this study suggested either, it is clearly a misunderstanding. As a result of these misconceptions, the National Lymphedema Network’s Medical Advisory Board asked Dr. Schmitz to address the many misleading statements that were made in the media about the results of her study. I am very glad to report that Dr. Schmitz answered the NLN’s call and her response was published in the April/June 2010 issue of the LymphLink. This response was necessary to clarify the results of this important study, and what they mean to patients living with lymphedema, or those individuals at risk of developing this condition. Read the rest of this entry »
Bras May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer
Posted in Lymph Drainage on 02/03/2010 05:42 pm by AMMA
While it may seem a bit far-fetched to speak of ladies’ undergarments being out to kill us, it makes perfect sense that brassieres could at the very least increase our risk of breast cancer. A few days ago, I ran across an interesting article on this very subject whilst updating myself on world news.
Most of the women with whom I work wear bras that are WAY too tight. This constricts lymphatic flow, making it extremely difficult for the body to cleanse the area of toxins (including carcinogenic chemicals). These toxins build up and form lumps, cysts - even cancerous cells and tumors. From a lymphologist’s standpoint, anything that binds too tightly (especially in bands - like bra straps, bra bands, underwear elastics, tight belts, etc.) can be a serious obstruction to proper lymphatic flow.
The research cited goes on to say that locally increased temperature may alter hormone production, thereby increasing the risk of breast cancer. Melatonin production also seems to decrease the more a woman wears a bra. Melatonin has powerful antioxidant qualities and has been shown to decrease the rate of breast cancer growth.
Please take a few minutes to read the linked article. More research needs to be done, but the numbers are nothing short of shocking. Of the 4700+ women involved in the study:
- Women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.
- Women who wore bras more than 12 hour per day but not to bed had a 1 out of 7 risk.
- Women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 152 risk.
- Women who wore bras rarely or never had a 1 out of 168 chance of getting breast cancer - The same as men who don’t wear bras!
- The overall difference between 24 hour wearing and not at all was a 125-fold difference.
- 80% of bra-wearers who experienced lumps, cysts and tenderness saw the symptoms vanish within a month of going braless.
Please take this into consideration. If you are going to wear a bra (and most of us women will, nonetheless), it is important to take some precautions. A well-fitting healthy bra should be slightly loose. . . . You should easily be able to slip two fingers under the shoulder straps and under the band at the rib cage. Also, be sure to massage your breasts after removing your bra. This will help stimulate the lymphatics to do their job and take care of you!
Read the BiomedME’s article at http://biomedme.com/general/could-bras-be-the-missing-link-to-breast-cancer_5766.html.
Massage, compression, exercise to ease lymphedema symptoms
Posted in Lymph Drainage on 11/18/2009 05:11 am by AMMABy Linda S. Mah | Kalamazoo Gazette
November 12, 2009, 10:19AM
DELTON —
Fern Taylor, of Delton, wears a compression sleeve and glove on her right arm to help prevent buildup of lymph fluid after having lymph nodes removed from her breast.
Fern Taylor never knows when her lymphedema is going to flare up. She’ll notice a rash, then there’s a burning sensation and soon her arm swells up to three times its normal size.’
The first time it happened in 2003 “I had no idea what was going on,” said Taylor, who lives in Delton.
Since then, Taylor has learned that the swelling in her right arm is the result of a buildup of lymphatic fluid, which occurs because the lymph nodes in that arm were removed as part of her treatment for breast cancer.
“Basically, the fluids in my body went where they were supposed to go, but the lymph nodes were not there anymore to carry it through the body,” Taylor said. “So it got stuck.”
The lymphatic system drains fluid from bodily tissue and allows immune cells to travel throughout the body. Lymphedema occurs when the lymph nodes are unable to drain that fluid. The fluid pools in an area, causing the body part to swell and sometimes leading to discomfort from the pressure of the fluid buildup, a sense of heaviness, a decreased range of motion, chronic wounds and ulcers and skin breakdown.
Massage Contraindications - Why Some People Cannot Receive a Massage
Posted in Therapeutic Massage on 08/22/2008 10:18 pm by AMMAMassage therapy is a wonderful and beneficial form of holistic health care. Massage can provide stress relief, muscle tension relief, improve circulation, and the list goes on. But massage can be detrimental to your health if you have certain physical conditions, illnesses, or disease. You can also put your therapist at risk of contracting certain illness or disease if you are in a contagious state of health.
The term “massage contraindication” means you are not able to receive massage, or the massage may be limited to certain areas of your body. When you are contraindicated for a massage it is for your health and safety as well as the massage therapists. Not all contraindications mean that you will never be able to have a massage. Read the rest of this entry »
Dealing With Lymphedema
Posted in Uncategorized on 11/27/2007 07:59 pm by AMMAWhen Linda Parton defeated breast cancer - twice - she thought it was the end of her problems. In fact, it was just the beginning.
For, as a result of poor post-operative care, she developed lymphoedema, an incurable and hugely debilitating condition which causes painful swelling.
Still in Pain: Linda Parton
Lymphoedema is caused by an impaired lymphatic system and affects 100,000 people in the UK, 25,000 of them after breast cancer surgery. The others are largely due to injury to, or infection of, the lymph vessels.
The lymphatic system clears unwanted protein and water from the tissues via the lymph vessels throughout the body. Lymphoedema occurs when the system is faulty in some way: fluid doesn’t drain from the tissue, but builds up, causing swelling or oedema.
While not all breast cancer patients develop the condition, their chances of developing it are greater because the lymph nodes are often removed during treatment, potentially damaging the lymphatic system.
The problem can be triggered by something as simple as having your blood pressure taken, which is what happened in Linda’s case. Other traumas that can set off the condition include lifting something heavy, a skin infection, a cut or insect bite.
In the early stages, the swelling - which usually affects either the arms or legs (the areas next to the armpit and groin, where glands are found) - may be slight, but over time, and if left untreated, the area may harden.