In This Issue...
With the occurrences of cancer, heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and so many other diseases on the rise, it’s become increasingly important to find safe and effective treatments that will finally put these "killers" to bed.
As the incidences of disease increases -- so do the amount of resources that bring new "miracle cures" to market... And although it may seem counter-intuitive, it’s here that we have to proceed with CAUTION.
That’s because resources offering "miracle cures" for practically every disease can actually be more dangerous than beneficial to your health. The scary truth is... some resources are riddled with content that is erroneous, inaccurate, poorly researched -- and unsubstantiated by science.
Go here to find out "How to Tell if a So-Called "Miracle Cure" is Scientifically Proven -- or Utter Falsehood."
Gardeners, hikers, campers and most especially children -- in fact, anyone who spends time outdoors -- should be on the alert for a dangerous weed that can be found in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest and increasingly in many other states. It’s a strikingly tall and attractive plant, with enormous leaves and a hoola-hoop-sized flower head with clusters of tiny white flowers. Strangely enough, it’s also a member of the carrot family.
Called giant hogweed, this particular plant has sap so poisonous that the US government officially decreed it a "noxious species" in 1983, preventing its sale and importation. Unfortunately, it’s already here -- and hard to get rid of.
If you come into contact with the sap of a giant hogweed plant and then expose yourself to sunlight, the sap will cause your skin to blister so badly that it’s potentially as dangerous as having third-degree burns.
Oh -- and one other thing -- if the sap gets in your eyes, it can cause blindness.
It’s Getting Worse
Initially the hogweed went through a "lag phase" (a botanist’s term referring to a period of slow spread). But that has ended. In New York State and other parts of the US, this "giant alien" is spreading and an increasing number of people are coming into contact with it. To learn more about the dangers of giant hogweed, I spoke with both Antonio DiTommaso, PhD, associate professor of weed ecology and management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Melissa A. Bravo, Pennsylvania Noxious Weed Program manager, a nationally recognized expert.
Ironically, giant hogweed was purposely brought to the US from Europe early in the 1900s because it was thought to be beautiful. The plant was valued by horticulturalists and was used in many ornamental gardens despite the fact that not only the stems but also the buds, seeds and roots have high concentrations of the toxic sap.
It Hurts!
According to Dr. DiTommaso, giant hogweed is dangerous to anyone and everyone -- "it’s not like poison ivy in that some people aren’t bothered by it." We discussed how the plant grows and spreads and what people need to know to stay safe...
When it appears: Small leaf clusters sprout in early spring. By late summer, the fruit and seeds form structures that resemble upside-down umbrellas ("umbels"). These release seeds that disperse long distances on the wind or in rain run-off. The seeds can stay dormant in soil for up to five years.
Where it appears: Giant hogweed thrives in cool, wet places and rich soil -- such as near garbage dumps, ravines, roadways, streams -- and, of course, around many homes and gardens.
What it looks like: Giant hogweed’s most notable physical characteristic is its towering height -- it typically is at least eight feet tall when in flower and has been known to grow as high as 15 feet. Also notable are the umbrella-shaped flower clusters. The leaves are extremely large and deeply incised ("fernlike," according to Dr. DiTommaso) -- they measure up to five feet across. The stems are distinctive, too -- hollow and ridged with large purple blotches and coarse white bristles that are especially dense where the leaves branch out from the stems. What’s really bad: The hollow stems are appealing to children, who use them as blowpipes, pretend telescopes or in "sword play," leading to burns and, as noted above, even causing blindness.
Why it’s dangerous: It’s the highly concentrated sap that makes giant hogweed so caustic even in young plants. The reaction -- blisters -- occurs when skin that has been touched by the sap is exposed to sunlight, typically within 30 minutes to two hours. You’ll be left with a problem called photodermatitis, meaning that the affected part of your body will develop a painful rash when exposed to sunlight -- sometimes for many years after your initial exposure.
If your clothing, but not your skin, touches it: Launder clothing that may have come into contact with hogweed sap with laundry detergent and water, being sure to use gloves to pick up the clothes. Do not mix the contaminated clothing with other clothing during washing.
If your skin touches it: Wash the affected area -- using cold water only, no soap, because soap can drive the toxin further into the skin. And remember to cover up if you are going to be exposed to sunlight. Bandages or long sleeves or even sunscreen will slow the reaction. Should the blistering and rash become intensely painful, consult your doctor and indicate that the reaction you have is a burn and should be treated as such.
If you get the sap in your eyes: Rinse your eyes immediately with cold water, put on a pair of sunglasses and have someone drive you to an emergency room or, at minimum, to a doctor to determine whether you need treatment.
If You See Something, Say Something
Should you happen to encounter a giant hogweed plant, don’t touch it. Take a photo of it and send it to your local authorities (in most states, this will be the environmental conservation office or cooperative extension office). It will likely take multiple applications of herbicide over a course of several years to make 100% sure the problem is solved.
If you find this plant on your own property, you may be tempted to deal with it yourself. Please don’t. Giant hogweed may have a silly-sounding name but what it does isn’t funny at all.
Source(s):
Antonio DiTommaso, PhD, associate professor of weed ecology and management, department of crop and soil sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Melissa A. Bravo, giant hogweed program manager, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Blast Away High Cholesterol.
Lose 67 Points in Just 28 Days
The big drug companies don't want you to know about the alternative cures that can make their drugs obsolete. The alternative medicine believers think drugs and surgery are bad ideas. Guess what? They're both dead wrong. Finally, a maverick M.D. has dared to identify the world's best cures from both sides of the medical aisle. These are the real forbidden cures you want...
Read on...
How Annoying!
I have teenage daughters, so my list of life’s greatest annoyances includes their habit of texting friends while I am talking to them... the piles of dirty laundry on their bedroom floors... and their music. You, however, may come up with an entirely different top-three list of annoying things -- perhaps the way your husband (or wife) chews food... the parking situation at your office... the neighbor who assumes everyone agrees with her political views, etc., etc.
Most of us spend more time talking about what annoys us than analyzing why... but a new book (appropriately titled
Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us) provides some surprising and useful insights into this sub-emotion that borders on anger but is far removed from its red-hot flame. It turns out that getting annoyed by certain things is useful to our health and well-being (sometimes) and that there are some easy ways to take control and make annoyance disappear on those many other occasions when this irritating emotion is not helpful at all.
Life’s Most Annoying Experiences
I talked with Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) who coauthored the book with Flora Lichtman, an NPR science editor. He told me that while our personal lists of annoyances vary with the circumstances of our lives, there are annoyance triggers that actually are quite predictable. For instance...
We get annoyed when something violates our sense of propriety. Whether it is a person who stands uncomfortably close, stops suddenly in the middle of a busy city sidewalk, clips his nails in public or eats odiferous food on a plane, bus or subway, the fact that these folks are breaking unspoken but widely accepted rules of culture is irritating.
Another surefire annoyance is repetition -- the sound of that drippy faucet... a streetlight that keeps blinking on and off... a person who tells you the same thing over and over. This is bothersome because of something psychologists refer to as sensitization -- repeated exposure to the same annoying thing can provoke a stronger and stronger response. It’s like the response to an allergen that gets worse with time.
Distractions that you can’t control, even if they are not repetitive, are annoying because, by definition, they take your attention to a place you don’t want it to be. A stranger’s cell-phone conversation intrudes on your thoughts... you can only hear one side of it... and you have no idea when it will end.
And finally, we get annoyed by obstacles that make it hard to achieve our goals (piles of dirty clothes get in the way of my desire to have a clean, serene home).
What Can You Do?
It’s unlikely you’ll ever welcome annoyance, but it may help to understand a few facts about its role in our lives. First of all, some annoyances may have evolved from primitive innate protection needs. "Annoyance can signal us that something is not right," says Palca -- and this something isn’t always trivial. For instance, being annoyed by certain smells could serve to alert us to danger in spoiled foods or in contaminated air. You may be surprised to learn that the reason we shudder at the sound of fingernails scraping a blackboard may be that it produces the same frequency as a human scream, a noise that distresses and is upsetting to all.
A Little Perspective Please
Annoyance isn’t going away, so it’s best to decide how we want to deal with its intrusion into our lives. Based on his research, Palca has the following suggestions to make annoyance more bearable, even instructive...
- Observe your annoyance pattern. Some people seem to be particularly prone to annoyance, and it’s possible that there is a hormonal basis for this. Ongoing stressors can throw off your hormonal balance, including the fight-or-flight hormone cortisol. Is your level of annoyance feeling a smidge out of control?
- Let what annoys you teach you something about yourself. Palca recalls how trapped he felt on an airplane when a cross-country flight was delayed for hours. "I like to go from point A to B quickly, and when I am thwarted I get tense, frustrated and very annoyed," he says. Recognizing that this is his personality pattern has helped him reduce its effect -- in such situations, he now reminds himself that an annoyance isn’t the end of the world, just a glitch in everyday life.
Understanding this helps you control your own behavior and, in turn, this type of self-awareness will make you far less annoying to others!
- Keep diversionary devices at the ready. Palca bought himself an iPad, which he told me he pulls out whenever a delay causes his annoyance to soar. He can read a novel, check out a new magazine, answer his e-mail or troll the Internet -- there are dozens of annoyance-soothing distractions these days. If you’re stuck in your car, maybe listening to all the interesting stories on NPR will help to distract you (in a good way!).
In truth, annoyances are not all bad. As Palca says, we love to share them in conversations that start with "Would you believe..." Annoyances can be a great social lubricant, and the stories that follow often make us laugh, helping to create perspective. Mostly, being annoyed is just part of the human experience, and we benefit from learning to accept it as such.
The 10 Biggest and Deadliest Heart Myths
The number of heart attacks has increased by 27 percent over the past 20 years, in spite of all the supposed advances of modern medicine. What's going on here?
Could we be mistaken about some things? Perhaps we're under some major misconceptions about heart disease. Like...
Myth #1 -- Heart disease and heart attacks are an inevitable part of aging.
Myth #2 -- Cholesterol is the main cause of heart disease and heart attacks.
Myth #3 -- Blood pressure drugs help you avoid heart problems and live longer.
Myth #4 -- Aggressive, "type A" behavior increases your risk of a heart attack.
Myth #5 -- Low-fat, low cholesterol diets are good for you and your heart.
Learn more...
Be well,
Carole Jackson
Bottom Line’s Daily Health News
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