Do You Need A Walletectomy?

How right were mothers and teachers when they told us to sit up straight? What can we do to improve brain function? Is it necessary to take antibiotics before dental procedures when you have a faulty heart valve? And if you have back pain do you need a walletectomy?

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For years doctors have prescribed antibiotics to patients with heart problems who are scheduled for dental procedures. It was believed that cleaning the teeth, or other dental work, would create small cuts in the gum allowing bacteria to invade the blood stream and cause further injury to heart valves. This condition, infective endocarditis, is rare, but dangerous complications and can result in abnormal heart rhythm, heart failure, stroke and death. A recent study by the American Heart Association showed that this precaution is not needed except for high risk patients. Blood studies showed 23 percent of those who simply brushed their teeth caused bacteria to enter the blood stream without producing any harm. In fact, a French study showed that even patients with artificial heart valves, who did not take antibiotics before dental work, had only one chance in 54,000 0f developing infectious endocarditis. It appears we have been prescribing more antibiotics for dental work than are needed. “How many times do I have to tell you to sit up straight?” mothers and school teachers often ask children. But Dr. Waseem Bashir, a radiologist at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, and Dr. Francis Smith in Aberdeen, Scotland, questioned whether sitting up straight was good for the spine or diagnosing back pain. For instance, anyone who has had an MRI, knows you have to lie on a flat surface. But you may not have any pain when you’re lying flat. So Bashir and Smith reasoned that it would make sense to examine the back in a position that’s causes the most pain. But this wasn’t possible until Smith’s Institute purchased a 1.8 million dollar positional MRI machine. This allows patients to sit or stand, slouch forward, sit up straight or lean back. So what did they find? They found that mothers and teachers are sometimes wrong. Bashir and Smith discovered that sitting up straight and slouching forward caused more strain on spinal disks. To their surprise the best way to avoid back pain was to lean backwards at a 135 degree angle. Are you tired of sudoku and crossword puzzles and want to use other ways to maintain brain function? Dr. Gary Small of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at the University of California, advises patients to start surfing the web. Studies showed that web-savvy participants exhibited more brain activity in the frontal and temporal areas of the brain than those new to the web. So start clicking your way to better brain functioning and munch on an apple. It’s said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Researchers proved the maxim right. At the University of Massachusetts they reported that apple juice consumption increases the production of acetylcholine. This chemical allows nerve cells to communicate with one another and is essential for the health of the brain. Mice consumed two eight ounce glasses of apple juice, or two to three apples a day. This resulted in increased amounts of acetylcholine in their brains and they performed better on a maze than other mice. Dr Small suggested that eating apples or apple juice might reduce memory problems in humans who have either a dietary or genetic defect that could lead to Alzheimer’s Disease. Do you need a “walletectomy” to ease back pain? Today, the mother of all financial disasters has left many wallets empty. But a wallet packed with credit cards, cash and receipts can cause wallet sciatica, (also known as creditcarditis). Tailors have traditionally placed the back pocket of pants in a vulnerable area. They didn’t realize that sitting on an over-stuffed wallet can cause pressure on the sciatic nerve sending sharp pain down the leg. The cure is easy. Put your wallet in the front pocket where it’s safer, or unstuff your wallet of credit cards, a procedure known as a “walletectomy” .