Other health blues during the holidays

As a segue to last week’s article on increased risk of heart attacks and strokes during the holiday season, we’d like to clarify that there are other health risks other than heart-attack or stroke-related. In fact, these other risks are responsible for the tripling of emergency room consultations this time of the year.

A patient commented to me in the clinic earlier this week that he has a healthy heart and brain, so he does not have to watch out for any “unpleasant trips to the hospital emergency room” this Christmas season. I immediately corrected him that it is not necessarily so.

Armand Mortejo, our Davao-based contributing writer for H&L (Health & Lifestyle) magazine, writes about these other risks in the December issue of the magazine. These other risks include the following:

Food poisoning

Eating contaminated food, especially those left exposed to the warm weather or room temperature, and not refrigerated right away after meals, is a common culprit. Common food contaminants are Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and salmonella.

The affected individual usually develops diarrhea with or without vomiting, accompanied by stomach cramps, headache and fever. Symptoms start about two to eight hours after eating contaminated food.

There can even be a potential outbreak involving dozens to hundreds attending a big banquet, say, a clan reunion, when a food handler with skin infection due to Staphylococcus aureus touch and contaminate the foods he’s preparing.

Chinese food syndrome

The so-called Chinese food syndrome (CFS) is a constellation of symptoms such as chest tightness, flushing, headache, facial numbness and increased sweating. Some may also have palpitations, irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath. “This condition could sometimes mimic a heart attack,” writes Mortejo.

CFS is actually a reaction of the body after eating food laden with monosodium glutamate (MSG), which Chinese foods are quite noted for.

This syndrome is generally not a serious reaction, but based on Mortejo’s interview with Dr. Philip Chua, a Cebu-based cardiovascular surgeon, a surgeon-classmate of Dr. Chua had a fatal reaction within one hour of eating a hearty Chinese meal. The tragedy happened while the surgeon was attending a meeting in France.

So, it could be a life-saving reminder that those who have histories of allergies and in fact, have experienced life-threatening reactions in the past, need to be extremely cautious about what they eat in all the parties they attend this Christmas time. It’s also best they always carry with them medications prescribed by their doctor just in case an emergency happens. The reaction can develop so fast and waiting till one gets to the emergency room might be too late already.

One important thing to remember—a feeling of swelling of the throat and difficulty to breathe in air can be a serious warning sign. Don’t tarry. Drop whatever you’re doing and rush to the nearest emergency room. It’s always better to err on the safe side. Better wrong than sorry.

Seasonal affective disorder

Although the majority feel joyful and hopeful as Christmas time comes, some may experience a feeling of sadness, termed by psychiatrists and psychologists as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of mild depression. “Symptoms include lethargy, decreased interest in and withdrawal from usual activities, oversleeping and overeating,” Mortejo quotes from the Merck Manual of Medicine.

So if you have friends or relatives who express feelings of pessimism and hopelessness, while everyone else is celebrating, those individuals may be suffering from SAD and they need a lot of emotional support from their family and friends. Although SAD comes and goes, it should not be taken lightly because some severely affected individuals, especially those who experience loneliness due to a recent separation or loss of a loved one, may actually have suicidal tendencies.

Although some serious cases may need potent antidepressants, many show remarkable improvement with simple natural therapies such as light therapy and intake of melatonin, a natural food supplement. It is available locally as Sleepwell and Trianon Melatonin-T. Natural sunlight is the best form of light therapy, and these patients should be encouraged to spend more time outdoors when it’s sunny. If the weather does not make this possible due to continuous rains and cloudy weather, artificial bright light therapy using “lightboxes” may be used.

Accidents and injuries

Statistically, there are more accidents and injuries occurring during the Christmas season.  “There are more activities going on everywhere, at home, on the streets, in stores, etc. so there are more people, more traffic, and this lends to a higher prevalence of accidents and injuries,” Dr. Chua explains.

In the United States, there is a 75-percent increase in emergency admissions due to accidents and injuries during the Christmas season and the New Year’s Eve celebration. New Year’s Day has the greatest increase in traffic fatalities (64 percent), and about 40 percent of these involve drunk drivers.

It’s quite clear that most of the health blues during the yuletide season is man-made. And the wiser man knows too well that no amount of gleeful celebration can ever justify a potentially serious medical emergency brought about by man’s folly.