Author Archives:
Pool Chlorine Hypothesis Remains Unproven
Swimming researcher Dr. Joel Stager says swimming is “the only activity we know of where you can say that if that’s all you do for exercise, you can be almost perfectly fit.”
Can pool swimming promote the development of asthma in children or help alleviate its symptoms? This question has been debated among researchers ever since Belgian Professor Alfred Bernard published a 2006 study supporting the “pool chlorine hypothesis”. That hypothesis suggests that the increasing exposure of children to pool chlorine could be contributing to the rise of childhood asthma in the developed world. Other studies have found swimming improves asthma symptoms; Welsh et al., for example, reviewed the relevant scientific literature and found “positive effects of swim training on fitness as measured by improved aerobic efficiency, physical working performance, and recovery heart rates.”
Since the… READ MORE >>
Hand-washing and the Role of Feedback in Hygiene Strategies
Can video cameras be used to encourage health care workers to wash their hands? Yes, according to one study, but only if video-monitoring is combined with continuous feedback to workers. Feedback, that is, as in progress displayed on electronic boards mounted in hospital hallways! Are there other uses for the monitor and feedback approach?
Hand-washing is one of the simplest and most important measures we can take to prevent infection, yet it is frequently omitted, even in the health care environment. A report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, however, found hand-washing rates in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) soared when workers were video-monitored and provided feedback.
ICU health care worker hand-washing habits were observed remotely for two years. In the first 16 weeks of the study, employees were video-monitored with their knowledge, but no feedback was offered. During that time hand-washing rates were less than 10… READ MORE >>
Super Bowl Commercial Highlights Pee in the Pool Taboo
Oh, the power of suggestion of running water…the overwhelming sense of urgency elicited. The little boy in this year’s TaxACT Super Bowl XLVI commercial is in the family swimming pool when he realizes he has to go! He tries to do the right thing: He leaves the pool and dashes through the house in search of an open bathroom. But luck is not on his side. Every bathroom is occupied and to make matters worse, as he races from room to room, the little guy is tormented by the sight of water streaming from the washing machine and steam shooting from the tea kettle. Desperate, he plunges back into the pool where relief floods his face. Yes, he pees in the pool. But he tried valiantly to avoid it.
In 2009 the Water Quality & Health Council conducted a public survey that found one in five… READ MORE >>
Drinking Water and Chlorine Odor
How would you describe your tap water? A rich bouquet of earthy flavors? Sulfurous with a hint of chlorine? Or simply divine? The aesthetic properties of your tap water depend upon your local natural water supply source, how your water is treated, and how it is delivered to you.
In the case of private well water that undergoes no treatment at all, taste and odor are simply a function of the presence of naturally occurring minerals and organic matter in the locally tapped groundwater. Municipal treatment, however, adds another level of “complexity” for the palate.
According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), “ultra-treated” water is disagreeable. Distilled water, for example, which is pure water with no dissolved components, tastes flat, bitter, and astringent. (You would know this if you have ever tasted distilled water sold for steam ironing.) That’s because our mouths are accustomed… READ MORE >>
Norovirus: The “Stomach Flu” That is Not a Flu
Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes flu-like symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
(Image from CDC website)
The dreaded “stomach flu” that hits particularly hard in winter is not a flu at all. It is norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramping. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the illness often begins suddenly and lasts for one to two days with no long-term adverse health effects. True “flu” is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza viruses; sometimes the “true flu” can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms similar to norovirus. Getting an annual flu vaccine can help prevent flu; unfortunately, there is no vaccine for the norovirus and antibiotics, useful only for bacterial infections, do not help.
Norovirus is extremely common and has gained… READ MORE >>
Water Wall in Hospital Dispenses Legionella
Question: When does a decorative water wall, installed in a hospital lobby to provide a calming ambience, become a health risk? Answer: When the water wall dispenses a bacteria-laden mist that results in an outbreak of Legionnaires disease.
Eight people who walked by just such a water wall in a Wisconsin hospital lobby in 2010 are believed to have contracted the disease by inhaling the mist from the streaming water. Legionella can affect people whose immunity may be depressed due to an underlying illness, or due to a medication regimen; smokers may also be vulnerable. One of the patients affected in Wisconsin was a delivery person who had been a smoker and had made two deliveries to the hospital. Others had visited the pharmacy adjacent to the water wall to obtain medications.
The outbreak is an unintended consequence of well-intentioned efforts to create a soothing and welcoming healthcare environment.… READ MORE >>
The Jensen Farms Cantaloupe Outbreak: How to Avoid Repeating a Tragedy
Chlorinated wash water used during cantaloupe processing can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness to consumers.
Last summer a family-owned farm in Colorado became the focal point of the largest foodborne illness outbreak in the US in 25 years. Tragically, cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria bacteria sickened 146 people in 28 states, killed 30 and caused one pregnant woman to miscarry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded the outbreak likely could have been prevented if Jensen Farms had maintained its facilities in accordance with existing voluntary FDA guidance. FDA has no enforceable regulations on cantaloupe processing, and farm facility auditors conducting inspections do not consider FDA voluntary guidance when scoring facilities. Scores can be lowered only if practices are inconsistent with FDA regulations. That could,… READ MORE >>
InFLUenza: Early 2012 Update and Tips for Staying Healthy
Flu News:
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2011-2012 Flu Season: So Far, So Good
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) flu prevalence maps indicate flu season is off to a slow start. But don’t be complacent: Flu activity most often peaks during the month of FEBRUARY. -
Flu Season is Unpredictable
In the U.S., on average, 5 -20% of the population gets the flu each year, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications. According to CDC, flu seasons are unpredictable and can be severe. Just because you have never had the flu doesn’t mean you won’t get it this year. -
Flu Risk by Zip Code?
One study correlated the percentage of children in a given zip code with the risk of ending up in the Emergency Room with the flu. Preventing the spread of flu in children may be an important factor
Tackling C. diff
Here’s a troubling statistic: Over 165,000 patients will acquire Clostridium difficile (“C. diff’) infections while in US hospitals this year. This organism has become a top hospital-acquired pathogen in the US.
“Clostridium difficile,” is a spore-forming bacterium that can live in the lower gastrointestinal tract of some humans and is shed in feces. Persons hosting C. diff may have no symptoms and be unaware that they are contagious. Other persons will become infected under specific circumstances. A C. diff infection may produce watery diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea or abdominal pain and tenderness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients who are at increased risk for infection include those who:
- are taking antibiotics
- have had gastrointestinal procedures
- have had a prolonged stay in a healthcare institution
- have a serious underlying illness
- are of an advanced age.
Any surface or medical… READ MORE >>
A Public Health Gift for the Children in Your Life
This holiday season the Water Quality & Health Council hopes you will enjoy the good cheer of family and friends. Seeing the little ones is one of the special joys of the season. Naturally, we want them to be healthy and avoid the colds and flu that seem to run rampant at this time of year.
One of the best lessons we can teach children about staying healthy is the importance of hand washing.
Here’s a fun coloring page from the American Cleaning Institute® that just may help turn the little folks in your life into budding public health experts:
Clean Your Paws for Santa Claus Coloring Page
Click on the link above to download the coloring page.
