Page 20 - 7-31-15 Friday's Edition Updated

Health
Your Laptop On Your Lap: Not Good
Risk Of Douching
Although douching may seem like the clean thing to do, the reality is that douching can lead to serious health problems and most doctors don’t recom- mend it. Some of the risks as- sociated with douching include UTIs, yeast infections and cer- vical cancer, but a new study published in the journal Envi- ronmental Health suggests that women who douche could be exposing themselves to harmful chemicals known as phthalates.
A study examined that women who douched at least twice a month had higher traces of phthalates in their urine by a whopping 152%! It’s also important to point out that Black women had higher expo- sure levels (48.4%) compared to white women.
Because phthalates can be found in tampons and pads, there is a small risk associated with using them.
Here are a few tips on how women can limit’ “the risks of developing bacterial vaginosis or vaginal candidiasis when using tampons or pads’:
• Change tampons and pads regularly.
• Eat yogurt or use probi- otics to maintain the acidic bacteria levels.
• Limit waxing or us of scented female hygiene pro- ducts.
Things You Can Catch From A Pool
The prolonged place- ment of laptops on the thighs can be detrimen- tal to your skin causing discoloration. Direct contact of the laptop and the skin should be avoided by placing a bar- rier in between.
The skin change, if detected early and is mild in nature, can set- tle on its own without treatment. For persist- ent redness, anti-in- flammatory creams can be used, and reduced
usage, too.
There are dangers lurking in a shared pool, whether at a gym, a community center or even a fancy resort. In fact, out- breaks of illnesses from hot tubs and pools have been in- creasing in recent years, ac- cording to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn what icky things you can pick up, plus how to ward them off.
Diarrhea - One of the top causes of post- swim illness is a parasite called cryptosporid- ium (crypto for short), which leads to diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea. Symptoms can last for up to two weeks. The para- site ends up in the water if feces (even trace amounts from someone who didn’t shower first) of an infected person gets in the pool. The bug is resistant to chlorine and survives out- side the body for long periods.
Protect Yourself: Crypto spreads when you accidentally swallow contaminated pool water or you touch your mouth before washing your hands. Don’t touch your face until you’ve had your post-swim shower, with soap and hot water.
Pinkeye - Burning eyes, ex- cessive tearing and redness can
occur because of an allergic re- action to chlorine, or an infec- tion if the pool isn’t chlorinated enough. It can also happen if people aren’t showering before swimming or are (ugh!) peeing in the pool. Urine, as well as cosmetics and other chemicals that can wash off people’s skin, can irritate your eyes.
Protect Yourself: You can shield your eyes from all of this by wearing a pair of well-fitting goggles every time you go for a dip.
Hot Tub Rash - This is an itchy skin infection that can lead to a bumpy, red rash, often worse in the areas covered by your bathing suit. Chlorine can easily kill the germ that causes it, but the warm water in a hot tub makes chlorine break down faster, so it’s more likely you’d pick it up there.
Protect Yourself: The risk of hot tub rash goes up the longer the contaminated water touches your skin, which is why it seems to show up in areas your wet bathing suit clings to. Save your dip in the hot tub for the end of your pool day, shower and change shortly after your soak and wash your swimsuit before wearing it again.
PAGE 8-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015