Another Blow to Tylenol? IBD Drugs May Increase Risk of Skin Cancer. Air Quality in Your Home

Will tracking of 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations and deaths after August 30 be the same as it was in the spring and summer?

No, tracking of 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations and deaths will not be the same after August 30, 2009. In an effort to add additional structure to the national 2009 H1N1 reporting, new case definitions for influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths were implemented on August 30, 2009. The new definitions allow states to report to CDC hospitalizations and deaths (either confirmed OR probable) resulting from all types of influenza, not just those from 2009 H1N1 flu. This is a broader set of data than states were previously reporting as it now includes 1) laboratory-confirmed influenza for all types of influenza, and 2) pneumonia and influenza cases identified from hospital records, most of which will not be laboratory confirmed.

IBD Patients Only

Long's team took a closer look at just the IBD patients in the study and the specific medicines they took. Several types of medications are used to treat IBD, with a goal of decreasing excess activity of the immune system. Long compared 742 IBD patients with skin cancer to 2,968 IBD patients without skin cancer.

Among the findings:

• Use of any immunosuppressant medicines in the past 90 days increased risk of skin cancer by 3.2, she found.
• Thiopurine medicine boosted the risk the most, followed by biologics.  Among thiopurines are mercaptopurine (Purinethol) and azathioprine (Imuran). Biologics include infliximab ( Remicade) and others.
• Long-term use, defined as a year or more, was more strongly associated with risk of skin cancer. Those who had taken the thiopurine medicines for more than a year, for instance, had a fourfold increased risk of skin cancer; Crohn's patients on long-term biologics had a twofold increased risk.

Exactly why the medications seem to boost the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancers, Long says, isn't certain.

Source:

Webmd. Some IBD Drugs May Raise Skin Cancer Risk. (online). October 27, 2009.

Air Quality In Your Home

A recent article in Integrative Practicioner by Jillian Capodice, LAc highlighted some basic techniques to evaluate air quality in the home. Poor air quality and environmental pollution has been linked to an increase in various chronic diseases, including asthma and neurological disorders. Therefore, simple steps to eliminate and evaluate of indoor air pollution can help improve your health!

Dr. Capodice suggested the following assessments to monitor if air quality in your home may be compromised:

1. An increased amount of time stale smells and cooking odor lingers

2. Mold growth in wet areas

3. Any signs and symptoms of family members that suggest poor air quality including: dizziness and headaches, shortness of breath, itchy eyes, sinus congestion

4. Outdoor construction is taking place outside your home.

The following are tips to Green Your Home:

1. Reduce toxic/chemical based cleaning and personal care products and replace them with natural cleansers. (Hint: look for caution or warning signs on the backs of bottles. If ER visits from swallowing the cleanser is recommended, it's probably not natural). 

2. Do not smoke inside

3. Exhaust and clean stoves

4. Use HEPA filters

5. Brighten your rooms with green plants to increase ozone and clean the air

Source: 

Copodice, Jillian, LAc. Air Quality and Traditional Oriental Medicine. Integrative Practitioner. (online). October 27, 2009.

Rosen, Lawrence. MD. Children's Health and the Environment: A Call to Action. Integrative Practitioner. (online). October 27, 2009.