Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio analyzed federal data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. They looked for emergency room patients under age 17 who had been injured by falling furniture or televisions during the years 1990 to 2007. The researchers estimated 264,200 children were treated for that type of injury during the 18-year period. That's about 14,700 such injuries a year. Most of the children were under age 6, but 2-year-olds were injured most. The consumer group Safe Kids USA recommends heavy furniture - especially televisions - be anchored to walls. This requires a different kind of television watching.
"Benign paroxysmal positioned vertigo" is more common in older people. It's caused by head injury or virus. Doctors estimate 20% of all vertigo is caused by ear rocks - loose crystals in the inner ear. The treatment is a series of simple head movements to return the rocks to the utricle, a pouch in the inner ear containing about 1,000 rocks of calcium carbonate. They help send messages to the brain that guide the sense of up and down. When rocks fall into the ear canals, the brain gets confused, causing vertigo - a legitimate case of "rocks in the head".
Residents live unusually long on the tiny, Greek island Icaria. A team of demographers working with census data determined Icaria is a "blue zone" because it has the highest percentage of 90-year-olds anywhere. Nearly one-third of the residents make it to their 90's. They also have 20% less cancer, 50% less heart disease and practically no dementia. Genes determine about 20% of life spans - the rest is lifestyle. Icarians live in mountain villages, necessitating daily exercise; and their diet is high in fruits, vegetables, wild greens, olive oil and herbal teas - slow food instead of fast food.
According to a study done at the University of Michigan, being a caregiver is another way to live longer. In the study 1,688 couples at least 70 years old were tracked for 7 years. The researchers found that people who spent at least 14 hours a week caring for a sick spouse were almost 30% less likely to die during the study. This research is supported by studies showing that parenting animals release more oxytocin, a hormone that reduces stress-linked substances and also by studies showing that people who volunteer tend to live longer. Maybe the word careful should be changed to "carefull".
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