Breast Self-Exam April 29, 2009

  We aired a special health alert this week, followed by a live call-in special to educate women on how to properly do a breast self-exam and then answer any questions they may have about the process.  The response was incredible and I thank everyone who wrote or called in with thoughts and opinions.  Breast self-exam is an important part of overall breast health. Most health care professionals say women should be doing them monthly in addition to a yearly clinical breast exam done by a doctor.  If you’re 40 or older, or have a high risk of breast cancer or a family history of the disease, you should also be getting a mammogram every year.

     The benefit of the breast self exam is that you get to know your breasts and your body. When you are familiar with what your breasts look and feel like every month, you’re more apt to notice any changes that could signal trouble.  Many of us don’t take time to do these simple exams, even though it takes only about five minutes. The key is to cover the entire breast, up and down, and side to side, using your first two or three fingers. Move in a circular motion and don’t forget the tissue around and on your nipples. You should be covering the area near your armpit and in the center of your breasts as well.

   If you notice changes in the appearance, size, or feel of your breasts, talk to your doctor. Now, there is some criticism that breast self exam leads to unnecessary and often painful tests because women find something that isn’t of concern and they want it checked out.  This is where consistency comes in. If you do the breast self exam monthly and at the same time of the month, you are less likely to be alarmed by normal changes to your breasts around the time of your period or from weight gain or loss.

    Breast cancer is the number two killer of women in this country. If taking five minutes a month to check your breasts can help change that, isn’t it worth it?

Sleep Study April 24, 2009

    This week’s health alert is a two parter focusing on sleep disorders and how to treat them.  Not getting enough sleep or not getting the right kind of sleep can lead to serious health problems.  I think one of the big concerns with sleeping issues is people will try to diagnose and medicate themselves without knowing exactly what the problem is.  The most common sleep disorder is called sleep apnea – a disruption in your breathing while you sleep. Every time you stop breathing - even if just for a second – you wake a bit, preventing you from getting the deep sleep you need.  Other things that can keep you from sleeping well; restless leg syndrome – where your legs jerk periodically throughout the night, a poor sleeping environment – such as too much light or noise, habits that keep your body from properly shutting down at night so you can rest – too much caffeine or exercise too close to bedtime, or snoring.

      The best way to diagnose these problems is to undergo a sleep study.  Although I’ve never had much problem sleeping I volunteered for the study at Northside Hospital’s sleep disorder center. It was an interesting night. I was checked into what was really like a nice hotel room, just with a few extra wires! A technician wired up my head, eyes, mouth, arms, legs, and chest so while I was sleeping, someone could monitor my every move. A night vision camera also caputured my moves on tape. It felt like it took forever to go to sleep but the next day I learned I was asleep in 8 minutes. I only slept about 4 and a half hours – which is not enough – and I didn’t get enough of the deep REM (rapid eye movement) sleep I need to feel rested. The good news is I didn’t have any breathing problems and my body remained fairly still all night.  I was told to get more sleep but otherwise there weren’t any problems.

      The average adult should get between 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. You should be getting enough of the deeper stages of sleep to help your body re-charge for the next day. Getting properly diagnosed can help you pinpoint the exact problem and work with a doctor on how to fix it.  Please feel free to contact Northside Hospital’s sleep disorder center for more information.

Recession Face! April 16, 2009

  Monday night we did a health alert about how this recession can actually take a toll on your face.  The stress from worrying about job security, money, etc. can start to physically show up as wrinkles, fine lines, even sagging skin.  Dermatologists we talked with have seen quite a few people who feel as if they’ve aged overnight due to all the stress.

   The way to keep this from happening sounds simple – eliminate the stress, right?  I know that isn’t as easy as it sounds. Doctors suggest meditation, finding tricks that ease your mind, focusing on helping others or on the positive things in your life rather than obsessing about the negative.  It’s also important to continue to take good care of your skin while under a lot of stress.  You need to wear sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher everyday, even if it doesn’t look sunny out.  Make sure to properly wash and moisturize your face every day, too. 

    We all have stress in our lives. The key when it reaches a fever pitch is to never let if show on your face!

Raw Milk April 8, 2009

  This week’s health alert is a two part look at the dangers and benefits of drinking raw milk.  Raw milk is unpastuerized, straight from the cow.  The pastuerization process is used currently to kill any bacteria before the milk is chilled and sent to stores.  Raw milk devotees say that process, which cooks the milk to a very high temperature, kills are the good stuff you drink milk for!  They claim the nutrients, vitamins, and yes, even bacteria in fresh, raw, milk help you stay healthy and ward of disease.  State health experts aren’t sold.  Many fear that without killing off bacteria, milk drinkers will get sick and if their health were already compromised in some way, they could die.  In fact, they feel so strongly about it, raw milk is illegal to sell in Georgia.  As you may have seen from our stories, that doesn’t stop people from getting it, it just makes it a little harder.  You can buy raw milk in some places here but it must be used for your pets.  And that’s the excuse some people use in order to have it for themselves! I tasted it and it tastes like well, milk.  Compared to skim, which is what I drink, it’s much heavier, like whole milk tastes but really you can’t tell a difference. It also looks and smells the same.  Yes, there are risks involved but given the health scares involving salmonella and peanuts and pistachios lately, we’ve learned there’s a risk with everything.  Those who love raw milk say it’s worth it.