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TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010 URBAN JUNGLE
The changing natural world at our doorsteps
Toxic mnemonics
While most people who work and play outdoors recognize poison ivy, they oſten use a variety of quick, colorful rhymes to help others remember what the plant looks like.
“Leaves of three, let it be”
Waxy green compound leaves have three leaflets. Brushing up against them can cause the release of a lacquer-like substance called urushiol, which can create an allergic reaction on human skin: redness, itching, blisters.
Aug. Nov.
JAHI CHIKWENDIU/THE WASHINGTON POST Traditional treatment gains popularity despite warnings
Brenda Thompson gets a treatment called ear candling from Schyla Poyndexter-Moore at the Se- crets of Nature restaurant and health-food store in the District.
A hollow candle, or a piece of fabric soaked in beeswax or paraffin, is placed in the ear canal with a paper plate resting on the head to prevent burns from the wax. Then, the candle or fabric is lit. Ac- cording to its supporters, the practice is a remedy for removing earwax and cures ailments such as ear infections, sinusitis, migraines, postnasal drip and cancer, and improves general health.
The origin of this technique is unknown, but some say it can be traced to the era before Christ, to ancient Egypt and/or India. Within the past decade, its popularity has increased. Beauty salons and spas offer candling, also known as ear coning and ther- mal auricular therapy, and kits are available at health-food stores and flea markets. Medical research, however, holds that the prac- tice is both ineffective and dangerous. It showed up in February on the Food and Drug Administration’s equivalent of the FBI’s most-wanted list. The FDA has received reports of burns, perforat-
ed eardrums and ear-canal blockages that required outpatient surgery from the use of ear candles. Par- ticular concern has been voiced over the practice of coning on children. Because kids tend to move around more, the likelihood of their being burned is higher, and their smaller ear canals may make them more susceptible to injury. What’s more, earwax, which candling is sup- posed to remove, is a good thing, according to data. Wax traps dirt, debris and dust and contains anti- microbial agents to stave off infection.
— Charity Brown
“Berries of white, run in fright”
As summer unfolds, the round, green fruits of poison ivy slowly enlarge. By autumn, they will turn ripe and white — and be just as noxious to people as the rest of the plant.
“Hairy rope, don’t be a dope”
Drugs and pacing can block altitude sickness altitude continued from E1
group pressure to stick to an itinerary, he said. Like virtually all Kili climbs, my trip would be with an organized group, and we did indeed have a fixed desti- nation for each day, each one higher than the day before. But sorting out best practices
for stays at high altitude recent- ly got easier with the release of the first-ever consensus guide- lines for the prevention and treatment of altitude-related ill- ness. Published in June as part of
an article in the health journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, the guidelines are a great resource, according to pulmonologist Giora Netzer, an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Univer- sity of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. (He was not part of the panel that developed the guidance but has published his own research on the topic.) In perhaps the most impor- tant point, the new guidelines give the nod to acetazolamide, often sold under the brand name Diamox. After decades on the market, the prescription drug appears to be so safe there
is a minimal downside, accord- ing to Robert Schoene, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington and a pulmonary and critical-care physician in Bozeman, Mont., who helped develop the guid- ance. Acetazolamide causes effects similar to the body’s normal adaptive response to high alti- tude, including forcing the body to take in more oxygen, said Schoene. Available as a generic drug, it is relatively inexpensive and frequently covered by in- surance. It does, however, have one pe-
culiar side effect: Because of how it changes the way the body handles carbon dioxide, people who take it often complain that carbonated drinks, including beer and champagne, take on an unpleasant metallic taste, Schoene said. There is also reassuring infor-
mation in the guidelines for seniors. Research suggests the risk factors for AMS and alti- tude-related edema are mostly genetic. Such common risk fac- tors as age or even poor physical conditioning don’t seem linked to AMS unless there is a preex- isting problem, experts now say.
According to the guidelines, the most significant risk factors for altitude illness include: A history of symptoms when gaining more than 9,200 feet in altitude. Gaining more than 1,500 feet in altitude in a day, once above 9,000 feet. Gaining more than a quar- ter-mile in altitude in a day when sleeping at elevations above 11,500 feet. Very rapid ascents, includ- ing, the researchers note, the typical schedule for climbing Kilimanjaro. Recommendations for pre- venting AMS include: Controlling the rate of as- cent. Travelers who take two or more days to climb to 10,000 feet are at the lowest risk, as are those with no prior history of al- titude illness. Taking acetazolamide. The drug is considered safe for all ages, although researchers are still attempting to get a handle on the correct dosage for chil- dren. The best preventive for AMS, the researchers agree, is going more slowly to higher altitudes to allow the body to adapt, and descending to lower altitudes if
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Now ear this My wife read “The tenor with a
bad ear” [July 27] concerning ear- injection treatments for sudden- onset hearing loss, and fortunate- ly she did not share it with me. After all, like most people, I have an aversion to needles and pain. Iwoke on July 13 with what felt
like the start of a cold. An ear, nose and throat specialist discov- ered a virus and recommended aggressive treatment, including an injection in the inner ear.
I did not experience any pain from the injection. But even if it had been painful, for the possibil- ity of having full hearing re- stored, it would surely have been worth the pain.
JAYMYERSON Reston
Correction In a July 20 letter, Mariah Nae-
gele was identified as a “rising college sophomore.” She is actu- ally a rising high school sopho- more.
ALCOHOLISM RUINS LIVES...
...and not just the alcoholic’s. If you or someone you know needs help, here’s an option: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conducts research studies into alcohol and its effects. Qualifi ed subjects who participate in research will receive in-patient treatment at no charge. For information, please call
301-496-1993 Deaf or hard of hearing?
Use your state relay service to call.
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symptoms do not improve. However, nixing a long-desired trip if symptoms persist is not always necessary. Moderate symptoms are experienced by nearly all climbers but usually aren’t dangerous unless they worsen. Those with severe symptoms are discouraged from continuing to ascend until their symptoms abate. Tour and trekking guides,
particularly in the Andes, com- monly encourage travelers to chew coca leaves, drink coca tea or take other coca-derived prod- ucts to prevent altitude-related symptoms, but coca hasn’t been systematically studied, the Wil- derness & Environmental Medi- cine report said. Forced or ex- cessive hydration also has never been shown to prevent altitude sickness, although it’s necessary to stay hydrated, in part be- cause symptoms of dehydra- tion, including headache and nausea, can mimic those of AMS.
And despite evidence that
erectile-dysfunction drugs Cia- lis and Viagra could help treat pulmonary edema by increas- ing blood flow to small blood vessels, high-altitude travelers should not rely on these drugs
to prevent AMS symptoms, the experts concluded. Someone who takes Viagra “might be physically able to mess around at altitude,” Schoene said, “but he’ll probably still have AMS and won’t feel like it.”
Although the Wilderness &
Environmental Medicine article presents no new findings, the panel’s advice will be helpful to physicians fielding questions from patients traveling to exot- ic, high-up places to work or play, said Netzer. In the past year alone, he has received several inquiries from patients traveling to Kilimanja- ro and Machu Picchu, the Inca ruins in the Andes. Other travel destinations where the advice could come in handy include Breckenridge, Colo. (elevation 9,600 feet); Cuzco, Peru (11,000 feet); Lhasa, Tibet (11,400 feet); and La Paz, Bolivia (13,000 feet).
health-science@washpost.com
Zeidner is a freelance writer. She and her companion climbed Kilimanjaro in March. Zeidner took Diamox. Her companion, who had no history of symptoms, did not take the drug. Neither suffered from altitude illness.
Poison ivy exhibits several growing habits: It thrives as a ground cover from woodlands to
beach dunes; it can grow into a robust bush; when it climbs trees, the woody vine, covered with wiry reddish- brown hairs, swells in diameter and sprouts arching, tree-like branches. Burning a poison ivy vine is a bad idea: Urushiol is carried in the smoke. If inhaled, it can create a life- threatening reaction in the lungs.
Toxicodendron radicans
Global warming, poison ivy swarming
Poison ivy responds robustly
to increasing CO2 levels, stepping up leaf and stem production — even increasing its concentration of urushiol.
LETTERS WHERE TO WRITE:
health-science@washpost.com
The Washington Post, Health and Science 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071
Scientists grew identical sets of poison ivy plants in atmospheres with various concentrations of carbon dioxide, based on levels from the mid-20th century, the present day and a projected future. Two-inch rhizome segments were sprouted and cultivated for 250 days before leaves were harvested and measured.
Average total leaf area per plant 1,000 SQUARE INCHES
800
400
~1950 2007 2050* 2090* *Projected
CO2 levels (by year)
PATTERSON CLARK/THE WASHINGTON POST SOURCES: Steve Brill; Weed Science; Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences
clarkp@washpost.com
SUMMER SPECIAL
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