SATURDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) — It can be difficult during
the spring months for parents to determine whether their children have a
cold or seasonal allergies, but an expert outlines how to tell the
difference.

“Runny, stuffy or itchy noses; sneezing; coughing; fatigue; and
headaches can all be symptoms of both allergies and colds, but when
parents pay close attention to minor details they will be able to tell the
difference,” Dr. Michelle Lierl, a pediatric allergist at Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said in a hospital news release.

“Children who have spring or fall allergies have much more itching of
their noses; they often have fits of sneezing and usually rub their noses
in an upward motion,” she explained. “They also complain about an itchy,
scratchy throat or itchy eyes, whereas with a cold, they don’t.”

When people have allergies, their nasal discharge is usually clear and
has the consistency of watery mucus, while those with colds typically have
yellowish mucus discharge, Lierl said.

She recommended that children with seasonal allergy symptoms be tested
for environmental allergens — such as pollen — that are present during
seasons when they have symptoms, but not tested for food allergies or
allergens present during seasons when children don’t have symptoms.

If your child has seasonal allergies, Lierl suggested many things you
can do to control symptoms:

• Keep windows closed during periods of high pollen and fungal spore
  levels, and change air conditioner filters every month.
• Change children’s clothing when they come inside from outdoors. Wash
  clothing to rid them of all outdoor allergens.
• After being outside, children should wash their face, hands and hair,
  and parents should use a nonprescription saline solution to rinse
  children’s eyes and nose.
• Limit outdoor activity in the morning, when pollen counts are higher.
  When traveling, keep vehicle windows closed to keep pollen and other
  allergens out.
• Make sure children take their allergy medicine daily during pollen
  season.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about seasonal allergies in children.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he had successfully completed a series of cancer radiotherapy sessions in Cuba and was hopeful they would have a positive effect on his condition.

Chavez, who wants to run for re-election in October, addressed the nation after flying back from Havana. He walked with relative ease from the plane, and spoke in a firm voice, contradicting some rumors that he was too sick to be seen in public.

“I can tell you that in the last few days we successfully completed the radiation cycle, as planned by the medical team,” he said. “I am very hopeful this treatment will have the effects we hope for.”

(Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Deisy Buitrago; Editing by Eric Walsh)

SATURDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) — Being healthy and losing
weight are not only about crash diets, clothing sizes and numbers on the
scale, experts say.

Incorporating fitness into your life can boost your confidence and make
you feel better inside and out, said the experts, from the University of
Alabama at Birmingham.

“Start by throwing away all clothing catalogs with skinny models in
skimpy bikinis on the front,” Beth Kitchin, assistant professor of
nutrition sciences, said in a university news release. “Then buy a bathing
suit that flatters your shape. Going to extremes for weight loss leads to
yo-yo dieting and makes you feel bad about yourself.”

“The goal is to be a healthy size for you, so focus your attitude and
energy on becoming the best version of yourself and enjoy the journey to
health,” added Lauren Whitt, wellness coordinator at the university.

The UAB experts said it’s important to shape up for summer safely, and
offered the following tips on how to reach your weight-loss goals:

• Be realistic. Consult your doctor about how much weight you
  need to lose to be healthy, and then set up a timeline to meet that goal.
  You can safely lose up to 2 pounds per week, they said.
• Don’t overdo it. Make just one lifestyle change each day, such
  as cutting out a soda or eating breakfast. “Taking small steps toward your
  goal will make it more attainable,” Whitt said. “An early-morning meal
  with protein should keep you satisfied until lunchtime and help you resist
  high-fat, sugary mid-morning snacks.”
• Move more. It’s important to increase your activity level, the
  experts noted. Start slow and be consistent. List exercise as an event on
  your work calendar so you have a reminder.
• Personalize your workout. Although most people should aim for
  at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous
  exercise each week, the workout you choose should suit your personality,
  the experts advised. “If you are a social person, try going to a group
  class like Zumba or step aerobics,” Whitt said. “Conversely, if you are
  more into a solo workout, go with walking, running or even swimming. If
  you burn at least 250 calories through exercise and cut out at least 250
  calories from food — one 20-ounce bottle of soda — you easily can lose
  at least 1 pound a week.”
• Don’t skip meals. A better way to reduce calories is to keep a
  record of your food intake for a few days. “You’ll find out where extra
  calories are coming from,” Kitchin said.
• Make wise food choices. Half of your meals should be fruits and
  vegetables, a quarter should be grains and the last quarter should be lean
  proteins such as poultry and fish. It’s also important to choose low-fat
  and high-fiber recipes; limit your portions; skip sugary drinks; and opt
  for foods that are baked, braised, broiled, grilled, poached, roasted or
  steamed over those that are fried, buttered, creamed or breaded.

The experts said women should have no more than one alcoholic drink and
men should have no more than two drinks per day.

“Alcohol tends to increase your appetite and provides calories without
nutrients,” Whitt said. “If you skip it altogether, you can reach your
goals more easily.”

An occasional treat doesn’t mean you can’t meet your weight-loss goals,
the experts added. Getting in shape does not require perfection; just get
back on track the next morning.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more
information on how to become more physically active.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) — U.S. Food and Drug
Administration advisers on Thursday endorsed the use of the drug Truvada
as a means to help prevent HIV infection in healthy people at high risk of
contracting the AIDS-causing virus.

In a series of votes that could lead to a major new weapon in the fight
against AIDS, the FDA advisers recommended approval of the daily pill for
healthy, at-risk individuals, including gay and bisexual men and
heterosexual couples with one HIV-infected person, the Associated
Press reported.

The FDA is not bound to follow the recommendations of its advisory
panels, but it typically does so. A final decision is expected by
mid-June.

A report released earlier this week by the FDA suggested that
scientists believe the drug is safe and effective. It has been available
since 2004 to treat people already infected with HIV.

But there are potential drawbacks to using the medication as a way to
try to prevent HIV infection. Truvada — which combines two HIV-fighting
drugs, tenofovir (Viread) and emtricitabine (Emtriva) — is very expensive
and may cause side effects. And although doctors can already prescribe it
to people trying to avoid HIV infection, critics contend it’s too early to
officially allow it to be promoted for that use.

On the other hand, those who support marketing the drug as a preventive
agent say it can help high-risk people avoid the disease, especially if
they don’t use condoms or if they want an added layer of protection.

“I don’t see it as a panacea, but it’s an option, and that’s
important,” said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, an AIDS specialist and medical
research director of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health in Boston.
“Some people won’t use a condom, but will say, ‘if you give me another
option, I’ll use that.’”

Truvada works to combat HIV from replicating in the body’s cells. Mayer
explained that in someone who is not yet infected but is exposed to HIV,
the drug may prevent the virus from reproducing even if it has already
invaded cells. As a result, he said, “the virus cannot start turning the
newly exposed person’s body into a ‘factory’ to produce more HIV
particles.”

A study published in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine
found that Truvada cut the risk of HIV infection by almost 44 percent in
those at highest risk for contracting the virus, namely sexually active
gay and bisexual men. The risk reduction climbed to nearly 73 percent
among study participants who took the pill 90 percent of the time, the
researchers added.

Research suggests that people who use Truvada daily along with condoms
would gain an added layer of protection, because condoms aren’t 100
percent effective. But one organization, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation,
worries that wider use of the drug could lead to more infections by
discouraging people from bothering to use condoms.

“Why would you take this medication if you intended to use condoms?”
asked the group’s president, Michael Weinstein, in an interview with
Bloomberg News. He used a sartorial metaphor to elaborate how
unlikely that might be: “You’ve got to be really paranoid about your pants
falling down to wear a belt and suspenders.”

A. David Paltiel, a professor at Yale University School of Medicine,
said his research has shown that the use of preventive drug treatments
should reduce the risk of infection overall. Still, he said, it’s unknown
if “people (would) take more chances because they feel protected by a
‘chemical condom.’”

Potential markets for Truvada as a preventive drug, Mayer said, include
gay men who have sex with more than one man and any committed couple in
which one person is HIV-positive, including some heterosexual couples who
want to have children.

Mayer, who has conducted research into the drug, said that allowing the
marketing will probably lead to an increase in its usage for prevention.
But, “this is not a one-time, end-of-the-problem approach like a shot of
penicillin to treat an infection like syphilis,” he said. “Also, it
involves someone perceiving that he or she is at risk, or a provider being
comfortable enough to ask about a person’s risk. We know that a lot of
health providers don’t like to talk to their patients about sex.”

Truvada, which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences, can also cause a
long list of side effects, including gastrointestinal problems. And it’s
costly, with prices in the United States tagged at about $26 a day or
$10,000 a year. Still, a study released this year found the drug would be
cost-effective if used extensively by gay and bisexual men at high risk of
becoming infected.

For his part, Paltiel said his research came to the same conclusion:
That widespread use of the drug in high-risk people would be “as
cost-effective as other widely accepted public health and medical
interventions.”

More information

Find out more about HIV/AIDS at the U.S.
National Library of Medicine.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

(HealthDay News) — If you’re allergic to a medication, you can
take steps to reduce your risk of a reaction, which could be
life-threatening.

The University of Michigan Health System offers these suggestions:

• Make sure you write down the names of any medications to which you are
  allergic.
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any newly prescribed
  medication to be sure it is not similar to another drug to which you are
  allergic.
• Never share your medication with someone else or take someone else’s
  medication yourself.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.