Julie Bowen and the Danger of Allergies
Label: HealthWhat are the odds a child will be exposed to two powerful allergens at the same time? It happened to ” Modern Family” actress Julie Bowen’s son. He was stung by a bee – at the same time he was eating a peanut butter sandwich.
The toddler immediately went into anaphylactic shock. His entire face swelled up, including his eyes and lips, and his breathing became labored.
“We took him to the ER, where he was treated with epinephrine, and ever since then we’ve been vigilant about keeping him safe,” the Emmy-winning Bowen told the Los Angeles Times.
Bowen told the paper she’s speaking about the experience publicly because one in 13 children have food allergies and she wants to educate parents about the dangers.
According to Dr. Brian Schroer, a pediatric allergist with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, childhood allergies can indeed be serious business. Parents need to know what to watch out for.
“When introducing a new food to a young child, especially a common allergen, watch closely for signs of distress,” he said.
The most common food allergy symptoms are itchiness in the mouth, a rash on the face, the body or both, coughing, wheezing and vomiting.
If a child’s allergy is severe, as in the case of Bowen’s son, there will also be facial swelling, difficulty breathing and low blood pressure. Schroer said the Bowens did the right thing by rushing their son to the emergency room.
“Parents can also give their kids some Benadryl to help symptoms but should still seek urgent care,” he said. “For a child really in distress, call 911.”
Children may not have a reaction the first time they’re exposed to an allergen. Initial reactions can range from mild to severe, with the most profound reactions generally triggered by peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. Insect strings also tend to produce strong reactions. However, even a mild symptom like itchiness or a light skin rash can portend more serious reactions in the future.
At the first sign of any allergy symptoms, Schroer recommended checking in with a pediatrician or allergist.
“They can take a complete medical history and conduct simple skin challenge tests to determine the cause,” he said.”If there is an allergy, parents should work with their doctor to create a food allergy action plan.”
Once a plan is in place, make sure everyone who cares for your child, including teachers, babysitters and after-school providers, are familiar with it. Schroer said sometimes that means giving a stern lecture to well-meaning grandparents who may not quite believe the child has an issue until they see it for themselves. And any child who is at risk for anaphylaxis should carry an epi-pen and other medications at all times, including school, play dates and vacation.
Bowen hopes there won’t be any more “P Bee and J” situations for her son. But if there are, she said she’s prepared. As she told the L.A. Times, “It’s pretty straightforward. I don’t need to know everything that happens during an anaphylactic reaction; it’s enough for me to know as a parent that it can kill you.”
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Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Conservatives make Boehner's life difficult
Label: BusinessWASHINGTON—Conservatives panned the House Republican proposal released Monday to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, yet again giving House Speaker and lead negotiator John Boehner little room to maneuver as he works toward a deal with the White House.
The proposal includes extending current tax rates for all income levels and raising revenue by closing loopholes in the tax code.
"Rarely in modern American politics have more counterproductive, more foolish words been set to paper," wrote researchers at the Heritage Foundation in response to part of the letter sent to the White House from seven House leaders that outlined the Republican plan. The Heritage analysis, co-written by Alison Acosta Fraser and J.D. Foster, went on to say: "[T]he Republican counteroffer, to the extent it can be interpreted from the hazy details now available, is a dud. It is utterly unacceptable. It is bad policy, bad economics, and, if we may say so, highly questionable as a negotiating tactic."
Heritage's response echoed the sentiment of many conservatives in Washington who are urging House Republicans to avoid cutting a deal with the president if it means raising taxes.
In an open letter signed by more than 100 prominent conservative activists and organized by the advocacy group Let Freedom Ring, House Republicans were warned that they would not receive support in the future if they "cave" during negotiations.
"In the House, the nation elected in 2012 one of the largest Republican majorities in the past 100 years. You have a mandate to fight for conservative principles that is arguably much broader than the one that narrowly reelected President Barack Obama claims to have for his leftist agenda," the letter read. It was signed by Republican activists like Richard Viguerie, Leadership Institute founder Morton Blackwell, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell and Republican donor Foster Friess.
"And if Republicans cave in now, when it really counts," the letter continued, "next time you will be weaker, because your conservative base will be outraged. Many who worked hard to elect you in the past will never lift a finger for you again."
In the Senate on Tuesday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, one of the tea party's staunchest allies in the upper chamber, accused House Republicans of promoting a plan that would "destroy American jobs."
DeMint's remarks this week, however, seemed to be somewhat of a departure from his characterization of a possible deal before the election, when he said Republicans who don't want to see the automatic defense spending reductions set to automatically trigger next year go into effect "might as well cut a deal" that includes tax increases.
"You can't get a deal with Obama without raising taxes on the producing class of folks," DeMint said in September, according to a report by Bloomberg News. "We might as well cut a deal. If Republicans want to maintain the defense, we're going to have to give tax increases to Obama."
In a statement to Yahoo News, DeMint's spokesman moved to clarify the remarks, saying that he had "simply stated the obvious" and would never support a plan with more taxes.
"Before the election, he simply stated the obvious, that Obama would try to use a lame-duck session to rush through tax hikes that will hurt the economy," DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton said. "His point then was that if Republican leadership wasn't going to stand strong against tax hikes in the lame-duck, they might as well be honest with voters before the election. Sadly, his predictions have proven correct and his long opposition to tax hikes that destroy jobs hasn't changed."
The conservative backlash, of course, could amount to mere noise as Boehner continues his negotiations with the president in search of a deal. The speaker and his allies in the House have spent two years navigating the thorn-riddled path between his party's conservative base and Obama's demands.
Officials: NATO to decide on missiles for Turkey
Label: WorldBRUSSELS (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are expected to approve Turkey‘s request for Patriot anti-missile systems to bolster its defense against possible strikes from neighboring Syria.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels. Parliaments in both nations must approve the deployment, which would also involve several hundred soldiers.
Ankara, which has been highly supportive of the Syrian opposition, wants the Patriots to defend against possible retaliatory attacks by Syrian missiles carrying chemical warheads. NATO leaders have repeatedly said they would provide any assistance Turkey needs.
Europe News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Fleetwood Mac readies tour and new music
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (AP) — Fleetwood Mac is heading back on the road, and that means the top-selling group will release new music — sort of.
On its 34-city North American tour, which kicks off April 4 in Columbus, Ohio, the band will perform two new songs, and it could mean a new album will follow. Or not.
Stevie Nicks recently sang on tracks that Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie worked on, calling the sessions “great.” But Nicks also says she’s not sure where the band fits in today’s music industry.
“Whether or not we’re gonna do any more (songs), we don’t know because we’re so completely bummed out with the state of the music industry and the fact that nobody even wants a full record,” she said. “Everybody wants two songs, so we’re going to give them two songs.”
Nicks said depending on the response to the new tracks — which Buckingham calls “the most Fleetwood Mac-y stuff … in a long time” — more material could come next.
“Maybe we’ll get an EP out of it or something,” Buckingham said.
Nicks will continue to record solo albums, though. The group is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the best-selling “Rumours” album, which has moved some 20 million units in the United States. She knows that’s not possible again, despite the success of Adele’s “21,” which has sold 10 million units in America in less than two years.
“This is Adele’s ‘Rumours,’” Nicks said. “She had a baby, she’s going to take a year off to take care of her baby — that’s why I never had any kids. She’s going to go back and start writing again, you never know what the next record’s going to be. Is it going to sell 10 million records? You don’t know,” she said.
Buckingham said he initially wanted to record a new album, but Nicks “wasn’t too into that.” But the guitarist and singer knows that new music isn’t a priority for the band’s fans.
“It wouldn’t matter if they didn’t hear anything new. In a way there’s a freedom to that — it becomes not what you got, but what you do with what you got. Part of the challenge of this tour is figuring out a presentation that has some twists and turns to it without having a full album,” he said.
Fleetwood Mac, which was formed in 1967, last released an album in 2003, though they hit the road in 2009. Nicks and Buckingham — who originally joined the band in 1974 as a couple — both released solo albums and toured last year. Buckingham had suggested that Fleetwood Mac tour last year, but says getting everyone to agree was tough.
“If you look at Fleetwood Mac as a group, you can make the case of saying we’re a bunch of individuals who don’t necessarily belong in the same group together, but it’s the synergy of that that makes us so good. But it also makes the politics a little more tenuous,” he said. “You can say that not only can it be a political minefield, someone’s always causing trouble, right? I caused trouble for years so I can’t point any fingers.”
The tour also includes cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and will end June 12 in Detroit.
_____
Online:
http://www.fleetwoodmac.com/
You can follow Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at twitter.com/MusicMesfin
Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Obama Is Taking Himself and #My2K to Twitter This Afternoon
Label: TechnologyWhat a day for Twitter! First the Pope, then the Royal Baby, and now President Obama will come online to answer questions about the fiscal cliff. A @WhiteHouse tweet with the distincitive “-bo” signature, announced not long ago that the big guy himself will be taking questions online, starting at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Good to see lots of folks on twitter speaking out on extending middle class tax cuts. I’ll answer some Qs on that at 2ET. Ask w/ #My2k –bo
— The White House (@whitehouse) December 3, 2012
Unfortunately, he’s sticking with the troublesome #My2K hashtag that conservatives have already seized upon in a back-and-forth battle for messaging. Trying to mobilize your supporters through social media is all well and good, but the problem with any genuinely open town hall, is that anyone can invite themselves—even those who disagree with you and might be louder than your friends. (Plus, any reasonably popular hashtag moves much to fast for anyone to follow it or have an actual conversation on Twitter anyway.)
RELATED: Don’t Expect Too Much From Social Media Town Halls
But ask away! Maybe you’ll get luck and get RT’d by the President himself. And then find yourself becoming the next conservative meme as soon as the hashtag-averse pundits start making fun of your question. Should be a fun afternoon.
Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Estudio asocia método de relajación con la disminución de los sofocos
Label: HealthNUEVA YORK (Reuters Health) – Aunque los estudios sobre los
efectos de las técnicas de relajación en los síntomas de la
menopausia dieron resultados contradictorios, un ensayo de
Suecia se define a favor del enfoque como una alternativa a la
terapia hormonal.
Un grupo de mujeres postmenopáusicas entrenadas para
relajarse antes y durante la aparición de los sofocos pudo
reducir a la mitad la frecuencia de esos síntomas durante los
tres meses que duró el ensayo, comparado con un grupo que no
recibió tratamiento alguno.
“Los resultados dicen que el enfoque daría resultado”, dijo
Kim Innes, de West Virginia University y que no participó del
estudio. “Fue un estudio sobre una muestra mediana que dio un
resultado promisorio, aunque no definitivo, sobre la efectividad
de la técnica utilizada”.
En una revisión de más de una docena de estudios previos
sobre la meditación, el yoga y el Tai Chi, Innes había observado
que esas técnicas podrían aliviar los síntomas de la menopausia,
pero que era muy pronto para confirmarlo.
Ahora, el equipo de Lotta Lindh-Åstrand, de la Universidad
de Linköping, analizó los efectos de un método de relajación
desarrollado en Suecia en los años 80 a partir de la terapia
cognitiva conductual.
Para eso, reunió a 60 mujeres suecas saludables: algo más de
la mitad realizó el método de relajación, mientras que el resto
no recibió tratamiento alguno (grupo control). La mayoría de las
participantes tenían más de 50, habían dejado de menstruar hacía
un año o más, pero todas sentían sofocos y sudoración nocturna.
Las 33 mujeres tratadas con relajación aprendieron a
concentrarse en la respiración y a liberar la tensión muscular
antes y durante los sofocos.
En la primera semana, las participantes registraron las
sensaciones antes y durante los sofocos u otros síntomas
menopáusicos. Luego, se las alentó a dedicar 15 minutos dos
veces por día a tensar y relajar los músculos de cabeza a pies.
De a poco, aprendieron a reducir el tiempo necesario para
relajarse con el control de la respiración y sin tensar los
músculos.
Al final del estudio, se les pidió que practicaran la
relajación 20 veces por día, durante 30 segundos cada vez. En el
ejercicio final, las mujeres debían poder aplicar esas
habilidades respiratorias y de relajación durante un sofoco.
Al inicio del estudio, todas las participantes tenían unos
10 sofocos por día. A los tres meses, según publica Menopause,
el grupo tratado con relajación padecía unos cuatro sofocos por
día, versus ocho sofoco el grupo control.
El equipo halló también una mejoría leve de la calidad de
vida, incluidos los trastornos del sueño y los dolores, en las
mujeres tratadas con relajación.
Para Innes y otros investigadores, el mecanismo detrás de
las terapias mente-cuerpo y sus efectos en los síntomas
menopáusicos podría estar asociado con el sistema nervioso
simpático, que controla la respuesta de “lucha y huída” y
funciones básicas como la frecuencia cardiaca, la presión y la
sudoración.
Por eso, el equipo señaló que los resultados no son finales
y que se necesitan más estudios.
“El próximo paso -dijo Innes- debería ser un estudio
aleatorizado” con un grupo control activo y entre, por ejemplo,
las técnicas de relajación y el ejercicio.
Lindh-Åstrand recordó que las técnicas de relajación no son
para todas las mujeres, en especial para aquellas con depresión
grave o ansiedad. Estas mujeres, paradójicamente, se sentirían
más tensas.
FUENTE: Menopause, 12 de noviembre del 2012.
Seniors/Aging News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Duchess of Cambridge expecting a baby
Label: BusinessABC News' Christina Ng and Carolyn Durand report:
Kate Middleton is pregnant.
The most eagerly awaited pregnancy was announced today by St. James Palace on behalf of Middleton and her husband Prince William.
The child, whether boy or girl, will eventually be heir to the British
throne according to new legislation awaiting final approval.
The duchess was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital today in central
London with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute morning sickness which
requires supplementary hydration and nutrients, the palace said.
Click here for photos of Kate through the years.
"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness isexpected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period
of rest thereafter," the statement said.
The royal family was clearly delighted with the news.
"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very
pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,"
the palace said in a statement today. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh,
The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and
members of both families are delighted with the news."
The baby will be the queen's third great-grandchild.
Robert Lacey, author of the definitive book "Majesty" said, "The British
public and indeed the whole world will be delighted for the same, it
keeps the monarchy going. The royal wedding brought a magic back to the
monarchy and people are fascinated by William and Catherine."
The announcement follows relentless public and media speculation about
when Prince William and his wife would have an heir. The guessing game
began almost immediately after the couple said, "I do."
VOTE: What Should They Name the Baby?
Tabloids began snapping close-ups of Middleton's stomach for any
indication of a baby bump. Baby rumors abounded when the duchess held a
baby at a press event and when she declined peanut butter at another
event. British physicians are known to warn women against eating peanuts
during pregnancy. When the couple got a dog, Lupo, headlines wondered
if they were practicing for another addition to the family.
The palace, which rarely comments on speculation, took the unusual step
of saying, "We would be the ones to make the announcement, not
Hollywood."
"It is quite strange reading about it, but I try not to let it bother
me," Prince William said in an interview with ABC News' Katie Couric in
May 2012. "I'm just very keen to have a family and both Catherine and I
are looking forward to having a family in the future."
Asked by Couric if there was anything else he wanted to share, he coyly
answered, "You won't get anything out of me. Tight lipped."
Due to a dramatic change in the rules of succession, the royal couple's
first-born will likely be the heir to the throne, regardless of the
baby's gender.
Last year, the heads of 16 Commonwealth countries agreed to a change in
the rules of succession so that first-born children of either gender can
take the throne. Queen Elizabeth II was only eligible to be monarch
because her father had no male children. The British Parliament must
still amend existing law to make the succession change official.
"Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little
girl, that girl would one day be our queen," British Prime Minister
David Cameron told reporters in 2011.
Royal babies have typically been born within one year of marriage.
Princess Diana gave birth to William just 11 months after her wedding
and the queen gave birth to Prince Charles six days before her first
wedding anniversary.
PHOTOS: Royal Heirs Around the World
Prince William and Kate were married on April 29, 2011.
Click here for an interactive look at William and Kate's love story.
William, who has long been known for making privacy a priority, will now
be faced with the inevitable fascination with his first child. And the
scrutiny will doubtless be familiar to him.
From his infant trip to Australia with his mother to his graduation from
St. Andrews University, William's life was filled with photo ops.
"We have a paradox here. William loathes the press and exposure to the
publicity. On the other hand, Diana exposed both sons at an early age.
They are immensely assured young men," Lacey said. "While he may want to
keep his children out the limelight, as a modern monarch he knows he
has to deal with the media."
PHOTOS: William and Kate: The College Years
Now, the name guessing game begins.
"They'll stick to traditional names," Lacey predicts. "William has a
great sense of history from working with his grandmother. The queen
would have him over for tea to teach him about history and the workings
of the monarchy."
It's typical for royals to have three or four names. Prince William's full name is William Arthur Philip Louis.
"If it's a girl it's not likely to be called Diana," Lacey said. "But
you're very likely to see Diana in one of the middle names. You might
very likely get Elizabeth Diana something. It shows the bravery with
which he's kept his mother's memory alive, right down to the ring on
Kate's finger."
Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay
Label: WorldASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo‘s presidency last June.
Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report prepared at the police headquarters in the provincial capital of Curuguaty.
A friend, Mario Espinola, told The Associated Press that Vega was shot down when he stepped outside to feed his farm animals.
Vega was among the public faces of a commission of landless peasants from the settlement of Yby Pyta, which means Red Dirt in their native Guarani language.
He had lobbied the government for many years to redistribute some of the ranchland that Colorado Party Sen. Blas Riquelme began occupying in the 1960s.
By last May, the peasants finally lost patience and moved onto the land. A firefight during their eviction on June 15 killed 11 peasants and six police officers, prompting the Colorado Party and other leading parties to vote Lugo out of office for allegedly mismanaging the dispute.
Twelve suspects, nearly all of them peasants from Yby Pyta, have been jailed without formal charges since then on suspicion of murdering the officers, seizing property and resisting authority. The prosecutor had six months to develop the case and will present his findings Dec. 16.
Vega was expected to be a witness at the criminal trial, since he was among the few leaders who weren’t killed in the clash or jailed afterward.
He wasn’t charged because he was away getting supplies when the violence erupted at the settlement erected by the peasants inside Riquelme’s ranch, the Naranjaty Commission’s secretary, Martina Paredes, told the AP.
“We think he was assassinated by hit men who were sent, we don’t know by whom, perhaps to frighten us and frustrate our fight to recover the state lands that were illegally taken by Riquelme,” she said.
Riquelme, who died of natural causes about a month after the battle in June, occupied the land during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, whose government gave away land for free to anyone willing to put it to productive use.
A local court in Curuguaty upheld Riquelme’s claim to the land years later. Lugo’s government later sought to overturn the decision, but the case remains tied up in court.
Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Palace says Duchess of Cambridge expecting a baby
Label: LifestyleLONDON (AP) — Get the nursery ready: Prince William and his wife Kate are expecting their first child.
St. James’s Palace announced the pregnancy Monday, saying that the Duchess of Cambridge — formerly known as Kate Middleton — has a severe form of morning sickness and is currently in a London hospital. William is at his wife’s side.
The palace said since the pregnancy is in its “very early stages,” the 30-year-old duchess is expected to stay in the hospital for several days and will require a period of rest afterward.
It would not say how far along she is, only that she has not yet reached the 12-week mark.
News of the pregnancy drew congratulations from across the world, with the hashtag “royalbaby” trending globally on Twitter.
Not only are the attractive young couple popular — with William’s easy common touch reminding many of his mother, the late Princess Diana — but their child is expected to play an important role in British national life for decades to come.
William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, so the couple’s first child would normally eventually become a monarch.
In recent days, Middleton has kept up her royal appearances — recently playing field hockey with schoolchildren at her former school.
The confirmation of her pregnancy caps a jam-packed year of highs and lows for the young royals, who were married in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey last year.
They have traveled the world extensively as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and weathered the embarrassment of a nude photos scandal, after a tabloid published topless images of the duchess.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said the news bookended a year that saw the royal family riding high in popular esteem after celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne.
“We’re riding on a royal high at the moment at the end of the Diamond Jubilee year,” he said. “People enjoyed the royal romance last year and now there’s this. It’s just a good news story amid all the doom and gloom.”
Speculation about when the couple would start a family has been rife since their wedding.
William’s mother — the late Princess Diana — got pregnant just four months after her wedding in 1981. Diana reportedly suffered from morning sickness for months and complained of constant media attention.
“The whole world is watching my stomach,” Diana once said.
American tabloid speculation of the pregnancy has been rampant for months. One newspaper even cited anonymous sources talking about Kate’s hormone levels. Others have focused on the first signs of the royal bump.
The palace said the royal family was “delighted” by the news, while British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter that the royals “will make wonderful parents.”
Whether boy or girl, the child will be next in line behind William in the line of succession to the throne, Cabinet Office officials have said.
Leaders of Britain and the 15 former colonies that have the monarch as their head of state agreed in 2011 to new rules which give females equal status with males in the order of succession.
Although none of the nations had legislated to make the change as of September 2012, the British Cabinet Office confirmed that this is now the de-facto rule.
On the couple’s recent tour of Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu in September, William reportedly said he hoped he and Kate would have two children.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Paisley Dodds contributed to this report.
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