Baby nutrition

Breast  feed  for  6 months  if  possible up to  12 months  if  possible Baby benefits  from nutrition and  antibodies. Commercial   infant  formula is an appropriate   alternative  if  breast feeding is not possible  or  supplementation  is  required .    Breast  feeding  is associated  with  reduced  risk  of  breast cancer  , ovarian cancer  and type 2 diabetes.

 Baby nutrition – introducing  solids

After   4 months and closer to  6 months start with iron rich foods   whilst  still breast feeding . All infants  should be  introduced to  potentially allergen – including  peanut  butter, fully cooked egg, dairy and  wheat products in their first  year. Regular  cow’s milk goats ‘s milk and soy milk , nut and cereal drinks are not  recommended before 1 year old.

Hearing Impairment  affects   40% of people  over  55  years of age.

All acute  hearing loss should  be  medically reviewed  especially if  associated  with  pain .

Insidious  progressive  hearing  loss  may be  related  to environment   noise  damage  ,  medication  side effects, chemical exposure -solvents , dyes or  poisons ; or  inherited characteristics.

Discussion with  your GP,  simple  clinical tests  and  subsequent pure tone  audiometry are the  initial steps  in evaluating    hearing loss and determining  treatment.

Hearing aids for sensorineuronal   presbycusis  (age  related hearing loss) and  occupational hearing loss are a common solution  and  for some consideration of  cochlear  implant .

Cumulative  hearing loss commonly occurs  after   prolonged  exposure to sound levels  greater than  85 decibels. The  acceptable  save exposure   time  decrease  by half  for  every 3  db  increase  in  sound intensity eg 88db + 4  hours  91 db = 2 hrs. Ear muffs  or plugs  reduce  sound  intensity by 15-25 db

A cord electric  drill is  about 91 db , a  cordless drill about  78 db and a petrol  chainsaw about 120 db. Noise is compounded by use of tools  indoors and reduced when  used outdoors . Rule of thumb  if  you have to raise  your voice above conversational to be  heard at  arms length away you probably need  hearing protection. Occupational hearing loss is cumulative.

The  USA NIH -AARP Diet & Health study of  100,000 women  aged 50-71 conducted over  15  years revealed   negligible  increase in cancer for  user  of the OC with  no differences  in the obese , smokers or  those  with both risk factors. This  study  supports the  same  finding in  other studies  conducted  over the past  30 years .

 Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

HCM is a relatively common inherited cardiac  disease with a prevalence of around 1 in 500 commonly presenting in adolescents. It is  generally  associated  with   restricted  out flow from the ventricles commonly the left. It  is often asymptomatic but  may present  as  severe breathlessness  at exercise or  unexplained fainting, a  heart  murmur or  ECG abnormality. Annual mortality is around 1%. Investigation includes ECG  , echocardiogram, cardiac  MRI. Treatment involves lifestyle change, avoiding  high intensity exercise and   using  medications like  verapamil  or  beta blockers  for  rate control.

 Endocrine disruptive chemicals include Bisphenols, phthalates, parabens, persistent organic pollutants, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and heavy metals

EDC chemicals abound in the environment. They are both naturally occurring and artificially occurring in everyday items.

They have been associated   with negative effects on male and female   reproduction. They include bisphenols found in tin can liners, phthalates used as softener plasticizers in clothing and personal care products, parabens used as a preservative in food and personal care products, persisting organic pollutants used as industrial lubricants in manufacturing and as flame retardants contaminating products.

Simple steps to reduce exposure wash fruit and vegetables before use.  Purchase known local produce. Minimize use of preprocessed or packaged foods Limit intake of fatty meats and oily fishes as the chemicals concentrate   in the fats. Minimize handling of receipts as the thermal coating contains   Bisphenols (BPA) as doe the lining of tin cans.

Drink water from hard plastic or glass bottles to reduce exposure to plasticizers. Do not heat food in soft plastic containers or with cling wrap – plastics may release dioxin.  Avoid perfumed air fresheners volatile glues and solvents cleaners Air your environment frequently to reduce the concentration of inhalable particles, Read the labels of foodstuffs and personal care items with direct skin contact and purchase those low in parabens and other EDC including their packaging