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Poor Air Quality
Laugher – The Best Medicine Stressed to the max? 10 things you can do to relax! April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 
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As you all know fires burning throughout Northern and Central California continue to blow smoke into the Sacramento region. We all can experience some kind of symptoms such as watery eyes, coughing, or wheezing related to the poor air quality. Poor air quality can cause respiratory breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities. People most susceptible to severe health problems from air pollution due to smoke are: Children under age 10, pregnant women, elderly, and people with underlying heart or lung disease. Patients with allergies and asthma fall into the high risk category. Particulate Matter is the substance emitted from the fires currently burning. The size of the particle is directly linked to symptoms. The smaller the particle size the worse for the patient, and currently the particle size is small. Symptoms to watch are mentioned above and include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, sneezing, nasal congestion etc. It is important to know that short term exposure (days) can increase risk for asthma attacks and respiratory infections. Our recommendations are to decrease exposure as much as possible by staying indoors, run air conditioning, monitor symptoms in high risk patients, and check your local air quality index (AQI) to know when it is safer to resume regular activity.
By Mark Grijnsztein, M.D.; Sutter Medical Group Allergist
The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs.
Thomas Sydenham, 17th century physician
The idea of using laughter and humor for healing has been around since biblical times. Cultures from the ancient Greeks to Native Americans have recognized the power of humor to help us to heal. The healing power of laughter was reawakened during the 20th century, and research studies in mind-body medicine have confirmed that laughter produces positive physiologic changes in our bodies.
What happens when we laugh? A good belly laugh seems to benefit multiple body systems – our cardiovascular system, our musculoskeletal system, our immune system, and our hormones, not to mention our mood and outlook. Laughter can also be a great pain reliever and a great stress-reducer. Studies in the recent past looking at health outcomes with laughter therapy have shown the following:
What should you do if you want to become more mirthful? You certainly don’t have to become a stand-up comic. In fact, those people who learn to find and appreciate the humor all around them seem to benefit the most (that’s right – humor is a learned behavior – you too can do this!). You can also start by learning to laugh more at yourself and taking yourself less seriously – we guarantee benefit from this.
As physicians, we find that may of our patients come to our office with stress-related complaints. Do you think you might be “stressed-out”? See if you answer “yes” to any of the following questions:
If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, you may be experiencing some significant stressors in your life.
What is stress? Stress is a biochemical response in our bodies that occurs whenever we feel threatened by something; it may be something very immediate and real, such as a car accident. The stress response in a situation like this is a necessary part of life; it helps to warn us of impending danger and to deal with challenging situations. A little stress can also energize us (why do you think “Red Bull” is so popular?!), give us a competitive edge, and push us to fulfill on our dreams. On the other hand, chronic stress can lead to many health problems such as headaches, depression, insomnia, and irritable bowel syndrome to name a few. Stress in life can arise from job dissatisfaction or work overload, from unhappy relationships, or from financial strain.
Mind-Body research in the past 30 years has revealed a wealth of information about how our minds and bodies interact with one another. We used to think that the mind and brain were completely separate; however, we now know that they talk to one another constantly in the form of neuropeptides, or protein chemicals that act as messengers between cells in the body. Thus, it’s no wonder that chronic stress has a negative impact on our bodies; when our cells are continuously flooded with stress chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol, we tend to experience more physical symptoms, such as headaches and bowel symptoms, and we also get sick more easily. Since our hectic lives often lead to stewing-in-stress, anything we can do to blow off the steam will help to optimize our health.
So if you know that you are stressed, what can you do about it?
And, when you just can’t seem to shake your stress, it may be a sign that depression or an anxiety disorder has settled in, so be sure to talk things over with your doctor.
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