What You Need to Know Before You Buy Sunscreen

(NAPSI)—With news heating up as Hawaii’s governor signs a bill into law banning chemical sunscreens, consumers are starting to question how safe their sunscreen really is. Their concern is warranted as research has shown that the same chemical sunscreen—some of the most popular brands—that is killing our oceans’ reefs, has been found to harm the human body.

“If it’s killing our oceans’ reefs, imagine what it’s doing to you?” said Lisa Palmer, co-founder of TropicSport, a reef-friendly, mineral sunscreen and skin care line. “Now we know from a recent study that when chemical sunscreen is mixed with chlorine and exposed to ultraviolet light it can potentially result in kidney and liver dysfunction and nervous system disorders. It took us four years to develop our product, paying attention to the tiniest detail for maximum protection and safety, while using natural ingredients. We knew back then that the toxins were an issue. It’s now becoming clear that these chemicals are harmful to humans and raising questions from the FDA.”

According to a study by Dr. Craig Downs, executive director, Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, “Oxybenzone is an emerging contaminant of concern in marine environments—produced by swimmers and municipal, residential, and boat/ship wastewater discharges.”

Most popular chemical sunscreens contain oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone and octocrylene. These chemicals can cause coral bleaching and coral death, as well as reproductive diseases in fish. Their toxicity also prevents the natural restoration of a damaged reef, ultimately leaving the seascape barren and desolate.

Many mainstream sunscreen brands claiming to be a safe alternative have removed most of the chemicals but now use avobenzone, a derivative of oxybenzone, as a stabilizer, making the sunscreen just as harmful. Avobenzone degrades within 30 minutes when it’s exposed to the sun, which results in harmful free radicals being released into the system. These free radicals can actually accelerate the aging process and increase the risk of illness including cancer.

Palmer recommended checking sunscreen labels and using only pure mineral sunscreen like TropicSport with non-nano zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, ensuring that no particles are absorbed into the bloodstream. Instead, they sit on top of the skin acting as a physical blocker that deflects and scatters the UV rays away from the skin.

“It’s better for you, is kid friendly, and unlike other mineral sunscreens, is easier to apply, smells better, and is one of the few that have passed the U.S. FDA 80-minute and Australia 240-minute water resistant tests,” said Palmer.

TropicSport is available at TropicSport.com.

(NAPSI)—Organ transplants have been saving lives for many years. You may even know someone who has received a kidney or a heart transplant, and what a difference that gift of life has made.

Another type of transplant has been changing lives in incredible new ways—the transplantation of hands and faces. More than 100 people worldwide have received these types of transplants: a veteran who lost his limbs in war, a woman whose face was devastated in an attack, a child who lost his hands to severe infection. All have had their lives transformed.

These procedures are called “Vascularized Composite Allograft” organ transplants, or VCA transplants. They are composed of multiple types of tissue. With a hand transplant, for example, bones, blood vessels, nerves and skin must all be attached to the remaining arm.

So many tissues, however, make VCA transplants extremely complex. The surgery requires the involvement of dozens of surgeons and other medical professionals and can take 16 hours or more. Recovery is also demanding for patients; rehabilitation can be a full-time job for one to two years.

Yet, the results are life changing. VCA transplants can restore abilities and independence in ways that artificial limbs and reconstructive surgery cannot. Just consider the difference a working hand with moving fingers and a sense of touch could make. It can mean the ability to take care of oneself, work, drive and play. Face transplants enable recipients to rejoin society, often ending isolation and depression.

VCA and traditional organ transplants are the same in some respects. Criteria for matching donors and recipients include the need for compatible blood and tissue types. However, VCA requires matching for additional features such as skin tone, body size and hair color. Gender may also be taken into consideration.

A commonly asked question about face transplants is whether the recipient will look like the donor. The answer is yes and no. Yes, skin characteristics such as moles, freckles and scars will transfer to the recipient. However, because the recipient’s underlying bone structure is apt to be different from the donor’s, resemblance will likely be minimal.

Like with kidneys, livers and other organs, there is a national waiting list for VCA transplants that matches donors with potential recipients. However, enrolling as an organ donor on a state or national registry does not mean you’re authorizing VCA donation. Your family would make the decision about VCA donation after your death.

You can learn more at www.organdonor.gov, a website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

(NAPSI) — For people who are on one or more daily prescription medicines, forgetting to take a pill can happen from time to time. Planning ahead for such schedule-disrupting events as vacations and special events can help you stay on track and minimize any health risks that might result from not “taking as directed.”

Doctor’s Advice

“It’s really important to take your medication exactly as prescribed, even if you don’t feel different after missing a day or two,” explained Dr. Victoria Losinski, director of pharmacy services at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “This is especially true for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, because their risk of ending up in the hospital is 2.5 times greater when not following a doctor’s treatment plan.”

The mantra “you have to take the medicine for it to work” goes beyond diabetes control. People who don’t take their prescribed high blood pressure medication on a regular basis have a 42 percent higher chance of developing chronic heart failure. And people on high cholesterol medications are twice as likely to develop heart disease if their cholesterol is not under control.

What You Can Do

To help, here are five tried-and-true tips for strengthening your everyday prescription medication habits:

1. Talk to a pharmacist. Some drugs have very specific instructions on when to take them, whether to take them on an empty stomach, with certain foods or to avoid in conjunction with certain medications. Your pharmacist can help you understand your medications and map a plan to stay on track. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota members can also call the number on the back of their cards and speak with a nurse guide.

2. Write it down. If you’ve got several medications to manage, write down the details to keep them straight. Consider using a small one-page calendar, such as the kind found in a checkbook or available through a downloadable tracker, to mark off that you have taken your meds each day.

3. Get organized. Using a pillbox is a simple low-tech way to make sure you take exactly what you need when you need it. There are also pharmacies, including PillPack, that sort your prescriptions, vitamins and other over-the-counter medicines into dated packets to make taking your meds even easier. You can also ask your pharmacy if it offers a similar program.

4. Set an alarm. Use your smartphone to schedule reminders. If you’re looking for an app, try Rxremind, which can be downloaded for iPhone or for Android.

5. Refill on time. Accessing your pharmacy’s auto-refill program, requesting a 90-day supply and using a mail-order prescription service are all good ways to help make sure you don’t run out and miss your medication.

Learn More

For additional facts, tips and resources, visit Bluecrossmn.com/ManageMyMeds.

(NAPSI) — If you ever get sick to your stomach due to pregnancy, chemotherapy, surgery, riding in a car, a boat, a plane or an amusement park ride, or even virtual reality gaming, you may be relieved to learn two things:

First, you’re not alone. Nausea affects millions of people every day. Scientists are not sure why, but according to a study published in the journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, there is a significant genetic contribution that may be responsible for as much as 57 percent of the people who suffer from motion sickness.

What To Do

Next, whatever the cause, you can feel better with the help of these four anti-nausea tips:

• Eat light, plain food, such as dry bread and crackers.
• Avoid anything too sweet or greasy.
• Sip certain liquids if you can—ginger ale, ginger tea, mint tea and plain water may all help.
• Get a fast-acting, drug-free, nausea relief band that works without the side effects of medications such as drowsiness and constipation.

How It Works

Featuring a clinically-proven technology, it’s a specially designed wristband that uses patented scientific knowledge, endorsed by health care professionals, and that emits accurately programmed pulses with highly specific waveforms, frequency and intensity. These pulses signal the median nerve at the P6 location on the underside of the wrist. This stimulation of the nerves, known as “neuromodulation,” uses the body’s natural neural pathways to send messages to the part of the brain that controls nausea, retching and vomiting. The signals have a rebalancing effect, normalizing nerve messages from the brain to the stomach and quickly reducing symptoms of nausea, retching and vomiting.

The unique band is easy to use and comfortable to wear, even over time, and the attractive design rivals the most fashionable wearables. Called Reliefband 2.0, it features a latex-free band and hypoallergenic surgical steel contacts for efficient transmission of pulses. The intuitive display has 10 intensity settings that can be moved up and down at the touch of a button and a battery that lasts about 18 hours on a full charge and recharges quickly. This adjustable band, designed to control nausea, helps put you back in control so you can live your life in full motion.

Learn More

For more information, go to www.reliefband.com, and to find a community of fellow nausea sufferers and learn how they cope, visit www.nationalstopnauseaday.com.

(NAPSI)—Every heart has a built-in pacemaker that ensures it beats regularly. When that natural pacemaker doesn’t do its job, however, a person may experience an irregular heart rhythm, the most common and undertreated of which is atrial fibrillation (AF). This irregular heartbeat isn’t always noticeable at first but can cause chaos over time.

Understanding AF

AF, which affects more than 33.5 million people worldwide, occurs when the upper chambers of the heart beat significantly faster than a normal heartbeat or quiver irregularly. Some people with AF have no symptoms, while others have chest discomfort or pain and experience fainting or light-headedness, as well as fatigue, shortness of breath or weakness.

“When I was young, my heart did funny things. It fluttered, it skipped a beat, but mostly it resolved by itself,” said Sue Halpern, a lifelong AF patient. “When it didn’t resolve by itself, I somehow learned how to make it stop. I began to notice in my 20s and early 30s that it was getting harder to make it stop, but I still didn’t know anything was wrong with me.”

Because the heart isn’t pumping normally, blood can pool in the heart and clot; these clots can also make their way through the bloodstream. If left untreated, people with AF have a much higher risk of stroke and an increased risk of heart failure.

AF is typically caused by damage to the heart from disease, an abnormality from birth, surgery or a heart attack. However, adopting healthy behaviors such as monitoring cholesterol and blood pressure, avoiding smoking and excessive caffeine, and not abusing alcohol can help prevent disease.

How To Tell If You Have AF

As with so many diseases, early detection of AF is important. Physicians may obtain an electrocardiogram (ECG) or stress test, or recommend short-term monitoring with a cardiac event recorder or Holter monitor. Unlike these short-term methods, a small insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) automatically detects and records abnormal heart rhythms for up to three years, while remaining barely detectable under the patient’s skin. For example, the Medtronic Reveal LINQ ICM is approximately one-third the size of an AAA battery, yet it can accurately detect AF.

What To Do If You Have AF

Once diagnosed, living with AF doesn’t have to be a burden. While treatment options vary, many people respond well to medications. For those whose natural pacemaker needs an extra boost to keep the beat, treatment may include an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) or a pacemaker that can respond to and reduce the duration of AF episodes. An ICD can also detect a dangerous and potentially life-threatening heart rhythm and send a lifesaving therapy to correct it.

Another treatment for paroxysmal (fleeting) atrial fibrillation (PAF) is cryoablation, a minimally invasive procedure that isolates the pulmonary veins, which are a source of erratic electrical signals that cause PAF. The device used in the procedure uses cold energy to interrupt these irregular electrical pathways in the heart.

In Halpern’s case, cryoablation greatly reduced her PAF episodes and has given her a new outlook on life.

“For someone who was having episodes every seven to 10 days for eight to 12 hours at a time, I wouldn’t have dreamed of having a life free of AF,” Halpern said. “My advice is, if you feel something off with your heart, do something about it.”

Learn More

Those who are living with or who suspect they may have AF can get further facts about therapies that may help get their heart back in sync and find a physician by visiting www.medtronic.com/us-en/patients/conditions/atrial-fibrillation-afib.html.