Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Exercising in a pool provides an effective workout that is easy on the joints. Exercises can be made easier if they’re done in slightly deeper water, where there’s more buoyancy and support. They can be made harder by moving faster and holding fingers together like paddles. When starting a water workout, experts advise taking it easy at first. People should start with easier exercises and shorter durations, or do less than they feel up to. If they’re not sore the next day, they’ll know they did the right amount of exercise. From there, they can gradually increase the intensity.

There’s no time to lose when someone suffers a burn. For a minor burn on a small area of skin, run cool water over it for 20 minutes to help limit damage, and then apply petroleum jelly or antibiotic cream and cover the burn with a bandage. If a blister develops, dab antibacterial cream on it, cover it with a bandage, and get to a doctor as soon as possible. Second-degree burns that are large or involve the face, hands, feet, or genitals, and all third-degree burns, warrant a call to 911.

It’s important to ask many questions before getting a knee replacement. Suggestions include asking about a surgeon’s background, the type of prosthetic that will be used, the surgical approach the doctor will take, how to prepare physically before surgery, how to prepare one’s home for recovery, how long the hospital stay will last, how much pain the knee replacement will cause, what rehabilitation after surgery will entail, how long recovery will last, how long it will be until one can resume activity, and how long the new knee will last.

There are currently nine trials of vaccines for Alzheimer’s disease under way. All of them are in people with mild Alzheimer’s or with the pre-Alzheimer’s condition called mild cognitive impairment. All of the vaccines are designed to encourage the immune system to remove protein deposits from the brain. Most experimental vaccines are given by injection; one being tested at Harvard Medical School uses a nasal spray. It will be several years before we know if any of them will work.

For people who buy over-the-counter hearing aids, getting the devices is only a first step toward better hearing. It takes time to learn how to use, wear, and adjust the hearing aids, especially during the first two weeks. Tips to ease through this adjustment period include wearing devices at home for at least a few hours per day, and longer if possible; allowing soft sounds to be louder than normal at first; and learning to switch device settings for changes in environmental noise, such as going from a quiet street into a noisy restaurant.

Online tools enable consumers to vet dietary supplements before taking them. That’s important, since dietary supplements sometimes contain hidden prescription drugs, controlled substances, or untested and unstudied components. Some of the most reliable tools to vet supplements are provided on the websites of the FDA, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Defense. Consumers can look up basic information about dietary supplements, clinical evidence about their use and effectiveness, suspicious ingredients they may contain, and safety violations.

Statin dosages fall into three categories (low, moderate, or high) based on how much the medication can lower LDL. The choice of a statin depends on a person’s risk.

More than one in seven adults has chronic kidney disease, yet many of them aren’t aware of the problem. Early-stage kidney disease often has no symptoms, but the condition slowly and silently worsens over time. The two most common causes of chronic kidney disease—high blood pressure and diabetes—are also leading risk factors for heart disease, which means the two diseases often overlap. Most people know their blood pressure and cholesterol values, but few are familiar with the tests used to assess kidney health. They include serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and urine protein tests.

Marijuana use, which is rising among older adults, appears to heighten the risk of heart-related problems. Cannabis is known to increase heart rate and blood pressure, although high doses can have the opposite effect. Marijuana use has been implicated in causing heart attacks, atrial fibrillation, stress cardiomyopathy, and arteritis.

Many foods traditionally eaten in China, such as vegetables, tofu, and seafood, are all linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. So are the unsaturated oils (such as canola, soy, or peanut oil) frequently used to prepare Chinese dishes. But some Chinese cooking staples like soy sauce and other savory sauces (black bean, hoisin, and oyster) are quite high in sodium, which can raise blood pressure. At restaurants, people should request no monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that also contains sodium. For home cooking, people can buy soy sauce with 37% less sodium, which is marketed as “less sodium soy sauce.