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THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1996
15A
Dealing
with
back
pain
By Dr. James L. Phillips,
National Newspaper Publishers
Assoc.
B ack pain is one of
the most common
complaints that
many doctors hear.
Years ago, a patient may have
heen told to “just learn to live
with it.” Today, many cases of
chronic hack pain can he pre
vented — if you understand
how your hack works.
Your spine extends from the
neck to the buttocks.
Individual bones, or vertebrae,
encircle and protect the spinal
column and nerves. Your back
muscles are attached to the
vertebrae, which are separat
ed by discs that cushion the
bones.
Common causes of back pain
are spasms, tension and mus
cle pulls or tears. These can
occur as a result of muscles
which are too weak to properly
support the back.
Constant muscle tension is
also believed to be a risk factor
for degenerative disc disease, a
more serious problem that
may require surgery to pre
vent pain and damage to
nerves.
Back pain is considered a
chronic medical problem when
it lasts more than six months
and interferes with normal,
daily activities. Many people
with chronic back problems
are not able to find out the
cause of the pain and must
rely on therapy, exercise and
medication to ease the discom
fort.
Eighty percent of back pain
is caused by muscle or liga
ment strain, frequently caused
by improper lifting or a sud
den, awkward movement.
Treatment can be as simple as
rest and ice for the first 24
hours, after which walking can
be resumed, while cold packs
are continued.
Strong muscles in the back,
legs and abdomen are impor
tant to supporting your spine.
A regular regimen of exercise
targeting those muscles is one
good way to prevent injury.
Most people recover from back
pain in a few weeks, but for
65,000 people annually, back
injuries are chronic and dis
abling. Any back pain lasting
more than a few days should
be checked by a physician.
Diflucan picks up in popularity
By Andrea R. Richards
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Yeast infections are the most
common type of all vaginal
infections, according to the
American Medical Women’s
Association Inc.
The infection occurs when
normal bacteria in the vagina
decreases. This allows vaginal
candidiasis, or yeast, to grow
quickly.
Most treatments take as long
as a week, but researchers
have developed a faster treat
ment that cures a yeast infec
tion within 24 hours. It’s called
Diflucan.
Being pregnant, wearing
tight pants or stockings,
douching too often or taking
antibiotics can cause the bac
terial imbalance. Multiple,
recurrent infections are often
associatied with being diabetic
or HIV positive.
for seven days,” he said. “The
advantage is you take it just
one time. We’re beginning to
dispense the tablet more
often.”
Symptoms include a thick
white or yellow discharge,
vaginal itch or burning, and
pain when urinating.
The infection is easily treat
ed with over-the-counter anti
fungal creams or supposito
ries, such as G3molotromin or
Monostat-7. These methods
can be messy and take about
seven days to properly restore
the dehcate balance.
Diflucan costs about $16 and
is available by prescription
only.
Shay Patel, a Revco pharma
cist, said the tablet came on
the market about a year ago.
But Mike Griffin, a pharmi-
cist at Eckerd Drugs, said he
has seen a increase in requests
for diflucan.
PHOTO/ANDREA RICHARDS
Revco pharmacist Shay Patel
“It’s slightly more expensive
than using the vaginal cream
Infections killing more Americans
By Lauran Neergaard
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Deaths
from infectious diseases rose
58 percent between 1980 and
1992, with the AIDS virus, res
piratory diseases and blood
infections the main culprits,
government scientists said
this week.
editorial accompanying the
report in a special edition of
the Chicago-based Journal of
the American Medical
Association.
headed the GDC study.
'The increase made infectious
diseases the third-leading
killer of Americans - either the
main cause of death or the
underlying cause - and proves
the bugs are a rising, if under-
appreciated, threat to health,
the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
The development of antibi
otics once had doctors predict
ing that infectious diseases
would be conquered by now.
Instead, in the last decade new
infections such as HIV sudden
ly began killing thousands and
such older diseases as tubercu
losis re-emerged, sometimes
strong enough to defy treat
ment.
The study examined every
death certificate filed between
1980 and 1992. Infectious dis
eases sometimes were the
obvious cause of death, such as
pneumonia, but Pinner delved
further to see if deaths attrib
uted to, for example, heart dis
ease really were endocarditis,
an infection of heart tissue.
“We have never been more
vulnerable,” Nobel laureate
Joshua Lederberg agreed in an
“Despite historical predic
tions that infectious diseases
would wane in the United
States, these data show that...
mortality has actually been
increasing in recent years,”
said Dr. Robert Pinner, who
Pinner found that 65 deaths
among every 100,000 people in
1992 were caused by infectious
diseases, up from 41 of every
100,000 in 1980.
The AIDS virus accounted for
the largest portion of the mor
tality increase. When Pinner
excluded HIV-related deaths,
the infectious disease mortali
ty rose just 22 percent between
1980 and 1992.
Even when he adjusted for
the aging of the population
during those 12 years -
because the elderly are most
vulnerable to infectious agents
- the rise in fatal infections
was 39 percent, the study
found.
Mortality from septicemia, a
rapid form of bacterial blood
poisoning, increased 83 per
cent, and deaths from respira
tory tract infections rose 20
percent.
Only heart disease and can
cer killed more people in 1992,
Pinner said. Infectious dis
eases were the No. 5 killer of
Americans in 1980.
The increase in respiratory
deaths stems mostly from an
aging population, but Pinner
said public health specialists
must discover how greatly
antibiotic resistance and other
factors may have affected the
numbers. He was at a loss to
explain the rise in septicemia.
Winter weather can bring on the blues
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAYTON, Ohio - While
frosty temperatures and snow-
blanketed landscapes give
some people a lift, they bring
on a kind of depression known
as the wintertime blues for
many.
indoors.
“I get down because of the
weather,” Jessie Walker, of
Dayton, said Monday. “I lose
energy. It’s like I want to stay
in bed.”
Kevin Huban, a clinical psy-
chologist at Miami Valley
Hospital, said the blues can hit
as people decrease their activi
ty and spend more time
January is usually the
busiest month for psychother
apists, said John Rudisill,
director of applied psychology
at Wright State University’s
school of medicine.
pers at the Dayton Mall,
where she works as an assis
tant manager of the Discovery
Zone, a children’s play store.
“When people are cooped up,
we also see an increase in
domestic violence and conflict
erupting because people don’t
have other outlets,” Rudisill
said.
“People are just edgier,”
Christian said. “When you
check them in, they want to be
in quicker. They’re just not as
happy. None of us are. We’re
all getting a bit tired of it.”
enough energy.’ But if you just
passively watch TV or some
thing, that has a tendency to
decrease energy rather than
increase it.”
Rueth said the blues is a nor
mal reaction to stress.
Add to that the trauma of
bad weather, which limits
activities and forces changes
in routine.
So, faced with months of win
ter yet to come, what’s the
cure?
“But there’s a tendency in a
lot of us to tough it out, to say,
T don’t need help just because
I feel depressed,’” he said. “If it
lasts a long time and begins to
impair your function, then you
ought to do something about
it.”
Keep active, psychologists
said.
“Initially, a change of routine
is great,” said Tom Rueth,
associate professor of coun
selor education at the
University of Dayton.
“That’s what a vacation is.
But after a while, that
becomes kind of a chore to deal
with because you want to get
back to the routine.”
Rudisill also said people
should lower their expecta
tions. Instead of seeing snow
drifts as obstacles, look at
them as an excuse to stay put
and read more, catch up on a
hobby or spend more time with
family.
And then there are people
like Barbara Bowman, who
loves the winter.
“It’s absolutely my favorite
time of year,” said Bowman,
42, of Dayton. “I don’t get the
winter blues, absolutely
never.”
Rose Christian has noticed a
change in mood among shop-
“'Try to put some structure
in your life,” Rueth said.
“When you’re down, it’s hard
to energize what to do next
because you say, T don’t have
Get out more, she advises.
People “really need to find
the positive things about the
winter. Go out and shop for
yourself.”
RED CROSS
PHOTO/CHARLES CLARKSON
The 26th annual WBTV-WBT Sunny FM Blood
Give-In was held Jan. 11. Actor Clarence Gilyard
(right) of Walker Texas Ranger made a guest
appearance. More than 980 people participated.
The American Red Cross Sickle Cell program was
a big part of this year’s event. Many children with
sickle cell require regular blood transfusions as
part of their treatment. The goal of the program
was to find six or more donors whose blood make
up matches that of the sickle cell patient. Because
children with sickle cell receive transfusions every
two to four weeks, six to 10 matching donors are
needed for each child. Donations can be made
every 56 days and takes about 10 minutes.
-Andrea Richards
“I’ve seen an increase in )
women using Diflucan within }
the last six months,” he said. I
months because women are j
taking more antibiotics to get '
rid of their coughs and colds.”
Possible side effects such as
diarrhea, headache, nausea,
stomach pain and vomiting
may occur.
It is not common for women
to have side effects from the
tablet, Patel said.