12 HEALTH AND SAFETY TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

12 Health and Safety Tips for the Holiday

 

Pay special attention to your health and be safe this holiday season. Give the gift of health and safety to yourself and others by following these holiday tips

1. Wash hands often to keep yourself from spreading germs and getting sick. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds.
2. If you happen to travel to a country experiencing winter, bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: layers of light, warm clothing; mittens; hats; scarves; and waterproof boots.
3. Manage stress. Don't overcommit yourself and prevent holiday anxiety and pressure. Get enough sleep.
4. Don't drink and drive or let others drink and drive. Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger.
5. Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your child in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to his/her height, weight, and age. Use a seat belt on every trip, no matter how short the trip.
6. Be smoke-free. Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke. There is NO safe amount of tobacco or secondhand smoke. Breathing even a little secondhand smoke can be dangerous.
7. Get exams and screenings. Ask what exams you need and when to get them. Update your personal and family history.
8. Get your vaccinations, which help prevent diseases and save lives.
9. Monitor the children. Keep potentially dangerous toys, food, drinks, household items, and other objects out of kids' reach. Develop and reinforce rules about acceptable and safe behaviors including electronic media.
10. Practice fire safety. Most residential fires occur during the harmattan months, so be careful to never leave open fires, stoves, or candles unattended. Have an emergency plan and practice it regularly.
11. Prepare food safely. Remember these simple steps: wash hands and surfaces often, avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures, and refrigerate promptly.
12. Eat healthy, and get moving. Eat fruits and vegetables. Limit your portion sizes and foods high in fat, salt and sugar. Be active for at least 2½ hours a week and help kids and teens be active for at least 1 hour a day. 

LOUD MUSIC ON HEAD PHONES CAUSES DEAFNESS DAMAGING NERVES LIKE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)

LOUD music played on earphones causes deafness by having a similar effect on nerves as multiple sclerosis (MS), scientists have learned.

New research shows that noise levels above 110 decibels strip insulation from nerve fibres carrying signals from the ear to the brain.

Loss of the protective coating, called myelin, disrupts electrical nerve signals.

The same process, this time due to an attack from the immune system, damages nerves in the brain and results in MS.

Loud noises are well known to lead to hearing problems such as temporary deafness or tinnitus (ringing in the ears). But this is the first time scientists have been able to identify the underlying damage to nerve cells.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Lead researcher Dr Martine Hamann, from the University of Leicester, said "The research allows us to understand the pathway from exposure to loud noises to hearing loss. Dissecting the cellular mechanisms underlying this condition is likely to bring a very significant healthcare benefit to a wide population. The work will help prevention as well as progression into finding appropriate cures for hearing loss."

The scientists found that myelin lost as a result of noise exposure regrows in time, meaning hearing can recover.

"We now understand why hearing loss can be reversible in certain cases," Dr Hamann added. "We showed that the sheath around the auditory nerve is lost in about half of the cells we looked at, a bit like stripping the electrical cable linking an amplifier to the loudspeaker. The effect is reversible and after three months, hearing has recovered and so has the sheath around the auditory nerve."

The work is part of ongoing research into the effects of loud noises on the cochlea nucleus, a brainstem region that receives sound signals from the inner ear.

The team has already shown that damage to cells in the cochlea nucleus can cause tinnitus

  SOURCE: Independent