Skin-deep cancer research

Up until very recently, the assumption of proper "authorities" on skin cancer had been that skin wrinkling is related to skin exposure to the sun. Of course, for 25 years I've been asking dermatologists, if skin wrinkling is caused by sun exposure, why, then, are old Eskimos so wrinkled when they have only six weeks of summer? Why are the Massai in Africa so unwrinkled when they have 12 months of summer--and on the equator where the sun is more intense?

But my questions never seemed to shake conventional "wisdom," which also said that skin cancer is caused by exposure to the sun. So if sun equals wrinkles, and sun also equals cancer, then wrinkles must equal cancer, right?

Not so fast.

The facts are so obvious that it is hard to believe physicians continue to deny them:

• Most melanoma appears in areas of the body that are not normally exposed to the sun, especially the torso.
• People in outdoor jobs have less risk of melanoma than office workers.
• People who live in areas with low sun exposure, such as Vermont and South Dakota, have a higher incidence of mortality from melanoma than people in Florida and Arizona.

Do you get the picture? Unfortunately, the dermatologists never seem to see the same picture.

Breathe easier knowing the facts about CPR

Mucous formation is an ever-present danger in acute asthma, made worse by the "clamping down" action of the muscles around the bronchial tubes. This is why so many asthmatics "mysteriously" and suddenly die, almost all of them unnecessarily. CPR is futile unless the blockage is removed before resuscitation is started. 

This treatment oversight is even more tragic than drowning deaths. More people die of asthma than from drowning every year - so the potential for saving lives is immense. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - a subdivision of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)- more than 15 million Americans suffer from asthma. Fourteen Americans die during asthma attacks every day, which adds up to more than 5,000 deaths each year.

If you are ever in the presence of someone who is having a severe asthma attack and appears to require CPR, be sure to administer the Heimlich maneuver first.

To perform the maneuver, stand behind the person and wrap your arms around his or her waist. Make a fist and place the thumb side of that fist against the victim's upper abdomen, below the rib cage and above the navel. Grasp your fist with your other hand and press into the victim's upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Do not squeeze the rib cage; confine the force of the thrust to your hands. Repeat if necessary.

If you are performing the maneuver on yourself, lean over a fixed horizontal object (table edge, chair, railing, etc.) and press your upper abdomen against the edge to produce a quick upward thrust. Repeat if necessary.