New MRSA threat from your pet

Not literally a bite I hope, but MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has rarely been out of the headlines, and as if we haven’t got enough to worry about with superbug infection it now seems our family pets could be carriers. And what’s worse, not only of MRSA but at least 30 other pathogens as well.

This study comes from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa and reported in The Lancet. It confirms that MRSA can cycle back and forth between cats and dogs and their owners. It’s probably you that starts the cycle by passing it on to your pet where it sets up home and is the gift that keeps on giving as they return it back to you.

This isn’t unknown, but it certainly isn’t widely publicised. As far back as 1988, researchers reported that a cat living in a UK geriatric unit had passed MRSA back to both patients and staff. Analysis showed that 38% of the nursing staff were affected by the repassing of the bug. In 2006, researchers isolated MRSA from the skin lesions of a three-year-old domestic shorthaired cat with flea allergy and — for the first time in a household pet — confirmed the pathogen as a USA300 clone. This is a major source of skin soft-tissue infection and the cat’s owner had suffered from repeated soft-tissue staphylococcal infections but without ever thinking it was passed on from the cat.

Treatment if your pet decides to share with you is the same as for any MRSA infection, but prevention is a better bet. So first of all pay attention to keeping your pet clean, and maintaining immunizations and dealing quickly with any parasites such as fleas. We all love stroking our pets, but just make sure that frequent hand washing with a good antibacterial soap or liquid follows and always before touching or preparing food.

Log on to treat depression

Those enterprising Aussies have potentially found a new treatment approach for depression. Researchers from the University of New South Wales have shown that Internet-based therapy programmes are as effective as face-to-face therapies.

Actually getting an appointment can be the first hurdle in treating depression so anything that offers instant access is worth investigating. They set up the Sadness programme which was based solely on email contact with a therapist. On average participants needed an average of only 111 minutes of contact with a therapist over an eight-week period, which is significantly less than other comparable treatment.

Social phobias and other anxiety disorders have been previously treated online, but this is a first. It has been assumed that depression would be more difficult because of the lack of motivation usually associated with the condition, but this is clearly not the case.

The programme consisted of six online lessons with weekly homework assignments and contact by email from a clinical psychologist. Evaluation of those who h ad completed the programme showed that more than a third (34 percent) no longer met the criteria to be diagnosed as depressed and that is a result similar to face-to-face therapy. A significant majority (82 percent) who completed a post-treatment questionnaire reported being either very satisfied or mostly satisfied with the overall program.

To me there are significant benefits to this idea. First, many people do not have easy access to qualified therapists either by means of lack of facilities in their area, lack of time to travel and see a therapist due to their work or lack of mobility. This, plus the fact it is still not easy for people to admit to wanting to see a mental health professional, make this a good step forward.

I know there is resistance to working online, but on a different tack I coach creative people by email and once they have experienced how easy and convenient it is they are usually converts. To be able to log on for a treatment programme in the privacy of your own home, and at a time that is convenient for you, is going to be attractive to many people.

More trials are to be set up, and I will keep you posted on whether this is an Aussie export that will successfully make it across the pond.

Rowing parents increase teenage risk factors

When a relationship breaks down there are many factors to consider, and if there are children involved then often there is conflict over whether it’s better to divorce or stay together for their sake. New research published as a report from the California Center for Population Research at the University of California-Los Angeles shows clearly that staying together is not always the answer. The research was carried out jointly by the universities at Cornell and Minnesota and reported that adolescents tend to get on better at school, and socially, when they live with both parents. But, and it’s a big but, if staying together means the parents argue a lot and there is a feeling of tension and conflict then the children are significantly more likely to binge drink, smoke and get poorer grades than other teenagers. In fact they are comparable results to those seen in single parent families, and are significantly more likely to binge drink.So staying together ‘for the kids’ only benefits them if you can do so by minimizing conflict and reducing arguments.

Natural formula for a good night’s sleep

I know many of my readers have trouble sleeping; instead of counting sheep they are reduced to watching share prices tumble and disgraced MP’s jumping through hoops. I just came across a natural solution to restless sleep that is based on organic oils with relaxing properties. Formulated by Muti Oils, it’s called Peaceful Night and is a mist that you can spray in the bedroom, or straight onto your pillow, or even on to a tissue to inhale it directly. It contains a blend of essential oils of Lavender, Mandarin, Geranium, and Petitgrain which work together to ease the mind and relax the body, inducing deep, restful sleep. It is effective and safe for both adults and children, particularly as it’s developer is Melina Macall, founder of Muti Oils, who uses it on her own four children. Available in the UK from www.mumstheword.com

Napping for health

The nap has often had a bad press; associated with the elderly dozing off or the siesta so beloved of hot countries that is seen as ‘lazy’ or pointless in the more achievement-obsessed countries of the west. Leaders of men, and industry, however have often valued the nap as productive part of their day and now there is evidence that they were right all along.  Winston Churchill certainly was a great believer and he would have applauded new sleep studies backed up by acknowledged sleep experts that a nap during the day means you stand a better chance of being more mentally alert and efficient, and more likely to be in better mental health than your non-napping neighbour.

Have you ever started to just nod off in the middle of the day and sternly pulled yourself together and focused on what you were doing? Well, don’t because your body is trying to tell you that you need a break. If you want to continue being productive, don’t fight it but allow yourself to take a short interval and close your eyes. Don’t beat yourself up about it, just drift off, because resisting sleep means your brain is still arguing with your body and that won’t refresh you at all! You don’t even have to go to sleep, just relaxing and letting your mind drift can be just as refreshing – it’s the complete break from your routine that your body is trying to tell you that it needs.

If you don’t live in a country where a siesta is normal, then build in your own version of it. Can’t nap in the office? Why not? Tell people you are working on an important project and can’t be disturbed – and lock the door. Your health is an important project, so you are not being untruthful. Ten to twenty minutes works for most people, and certainly not longer than an hour or your body will slip into a real sleep and you will wake up feeling worse, not better. After lunch is often the time the body naturally wants to slow down as it is using energy to digest your food, but you need to monitor your own rhythm and see what works best for you.

The ‘wrong’ kind of sunlight

Frankly after the wind and rain I was battered with at the weekend any kind of sunshine would be welcome, but just like there is the ‘wrong’ kind of snow, there can also apparently be the ‘wrong’ kind of sun.The problem is if you are getting your sun through a window, as this way your vitamin D levels can be reduced. Let the sun shine – but not through your window if you want to get the full benefit. There are two basic forms of ultraviolet radiation from the sun: UVA, and UVB and they work differently when your body is exposed to them.

UVB is the ‘good’ guy as it forms the precursor to vitamin D in the skin, but sadly it is also the ‘bad’ guy that when overexposed leads to sunburn and skin damage but we are generally exposed to it mostly in the summer time. UVA is not so much a ‘bad guy’ as an out and out villain, giving your skin the appearance of an alligator handbag and causing skin cancer and is present throughout the year.

This is the problem; even when the sky seems overcast, UVA rays are beaming down on you, and they can pass through glass. Although UVB radiation is filtered out as it passes through the window, UVB mostly goes right through it.

We know there are many health benefits associated with sensible exposure to sunlight, but it is the vitamin D we get from exposure to UVB that we need. If you are basking in the sun in your conservatory or even sitting by a window when the sky is cloudy you are in danger of destroying vitamin D as you are exposed to UVA radiation.

This is particularly important in the winter when we seek out light and sun to cheer us up, and we are getting very little vitamin D from UVB rays. Maximise your intake of vitamin D by avoiding sitting directly by a window in the winter and getting out at every opportunity for short, safe, exposure to the sun. Why should we care about this? Vitamin D is formed from exposure to UVB rays, whereas UVA radiation actually destroys vitamin D.

MSG by any other name?

If you love the flavour – but not the accompanying headaches – of MSG (mono sodium glutamate), then here is a natural recipe to duplicate the flavour enhancing effect. Just mix together equal parts of Celery salt, Dill, Turmeric, Cayenne pepper and Paprika and use it to coat meat before cooking.

How to have a holistic dog diet

Another winner at the Natural and Organic Shows was the ALLDOG Bakery and their holistic biscuits. These healthy dog biscuits are Certified Holistic by BAHNM (British Association Holistic Nutrition and Medicine) and they consult with leading veterinary surgeons for suggestions and guidance while developing their products. Naturally they contain no genetically modified elements, artificial flavours, salts, sugars or flavour enhancers. They only contain sodium and sweeteners that occur naturally in the ingredients.

You can give your dog a variety of treats from Salmon Snacks to Holistic Herbs for vegetarian dogs – if you know whether your dog’s preferences this could make you his best friend. As dogs can’t eat chocolate without danger to their health, they have also come up something called Carob Crunch which gives them all the taste, but none of the risk – and it is has 60% fewer calories than chocolate. More information on their whole range at www.alldog.co.uk

Health problems your dog can smell out

Dogs are wonderful friends, supports, playmates but they could also be an early diagnostic tool for your health as they can apparently smell cancer and low blood sugar. The Pine Street Foundation, a cancer-education and research centre in San Anselmo, California has just published a study showing it was possible to train dogs to identify, based on breath samples, which patients had lung and breast cancer. They are now recruiting for a second trial using dogs to diagnose ovarian cancer.

I have heard of dolphins diagnosing tumours and cancers through sonar, and certainly Chinese herbal practitioners often smell your skin to diagnose certain conditions but using dogs is a new one to me. In diabetics, the presence of ketones – substances made by the body during the metabolic process – can be smelled in urine and on the breath when blood sugars are high. Dogs can pick up on other smells that humans can’t when glucose levels drop.

Maybe you want to buy your dog a healthy treat and keep his nose in tip top shape as a form of health insurance?

p.s – If you are looking for a place to compare dog insurance visit a great little site we foun recently: www.whatdoginsurance.co.uk

Gardening by the moon

Not actually by moonlight, but using the phases of the moon. Something old and gnarled countrymen – actually my previous landlord in Burwash’s very old gardener – have been doing this for years, as have herbalists who gather plants at certain moon phases. However, it’s not something you would associate with a couple of our major food retailers – Tesco and M&S. It’s certainly something that you might want to investigate if you do any growing of your own vegetables, or fruit and flowers for that matter, and it uses something called the biodynamic calendar.

It divides days into roots, leaves, fruit and the senior product development manager at Tesco no less definitely gives it credence. For instance, if he is organizing a wine tasting he avoids root and leaf days and has it on a fruit day. Although risking sounding like an old hippie, he is very clear that if he that wine tasting on a root day then it alters the taste of the wine, making it worse, but if it is on a fruit day it tastes at its best. Nor is he alone as M&S wine buyer Jo Ahearne, said this week that “We swear by lunar cycles at M&S.”

As they are in business to make a profit, you have to give them credit for admitting to something which sounds odd – but that they definitely see a benefit to. To give you a heads up, this week Thursday and Friday are the days best for attending to fruit plants, (including tomatoes) and Saturday and Sunday are root days so good for root vegetables and apparently composting as well.

Where do the phases of the moon fit in? Well, the waning moon draws energy downwards and inwards, so a good time for planting whereas a waxing moon draws energy upwards and outwards, which is a better time for harvesting and picking. To save you gazing at the night sky and wondering, there is a very handy website which gives you each month the moon phases and biodynamic calendar. If it comes up in German – as it did when I went online – you just click English and then the white button next to it which resets it. The German word for reset isn’t in my vocabulary – but eventually I worked out that’s what it meant: www.astrologie-info.com/mocal.cgi

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