Just one lunchtime drink could be dangerous for drivers because of its impact on the natural afternoon dip in mental alertness. The effect is even greater for drivers who have not slept well the night before.
Young men's driving skills were tested after drinking small amounts of alcohol or a non-alcoholic equivalent, as well as after a night of normal sleep and a night of disturbed sleep. Both the afternoon dip in alertness and the alcohol increased the amount of lane drift, which typifies road crashes caused by driver sleepiness. These effects also registered in the participants' brain waves. But a lack of sleep and alcohol combined significantly worsened the amount of lane drift.
Doctor danger
Junior hospital doctors could be spreading infection to their patients because the pressure of their jobs prevents them making sick leave. Hospital-acquired infections, brought on by treatment or contact with staff, are estimated to cost the NHS in Britain more than £985 million, or €1.4 billion, a year. More than two-thirds of the junior doctors surveyed at a large London teaching hospital had had at least one bout of infectious illness,
such as diarrhoea, vomiting or infections of the urinary tract or skin. One in five said they felt under pressure from senior doctors to carry on working; more than two-thirds said taking time off work would burden colleagues. Just under one in 15 claimed not to have been putting patients at risk of infection.
Pesticide danger
Men whose jobs routinely expose them to high levels of pesticides may be at increased risk of prostate cancer, according to an analysis of 22 studies published between 1995 and 2001. The overall risk is estimated at 13 per cent for those exposed. The risk seemed to be higher among pesticide sprayers rather than farmers and others routinely in contact with pesticides. The authors said that the findings stress the need to limit occupational exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.
Avoiding migraines
Glasses with tinted lenses can reduce the frequency of attacks in migraine sufferers whose headaches have visual triggers. A study carried out by the London Institute of Optometry found that migraine sufferers had significantly fewer migraines when they wore coloured tinted glasses. It is thought the tinted lenses may lead to a reduction in hyperexcitability in the visual-cortex area of the brain.
Getting through the menopause
Tofupill, a food supplement containing soya, has been found to reduce menopausal symptoms. Three out of four women taking the product in a study of 102 patients reported reductions in hot flushes and palpitations; 69 per cent noted fewer sleep disturbances. Previous research found that Asian women with a soya-rich diet have fewer menopausal symptoms.
Conference call
The Substance of Youth: Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Young People is a conference that will be held at Trinity College in Dublin on September 4th. Organised by Trinity's Addiction Research Centre, the event's speakers will include Dr Michael Clatts, director of the Institute for International Research on Youth at Risk, in New York, and Dr Eilish Gilvarry, clinical director of the Northern Regional Drug and Alcohol Service, in the English city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. You can get more details about the conference by calling 01-6083647 or e-mailing addiction. research@tcd.ie
Fancy a change?
Heading off for a one-day workshop or a weekend retreat is one thing, but would you consider a sabbatical placement in a holistic health centre?
If so, contact Chrysalis Holistic Centre in Donard, Co Wicklow. The institution, which is based in a former rectory, is offering full board, lodging and pay for a year's work, starting in October or November.
You can contact the centre on 045-404713.
Compiled by Dr Muiris Houston and Sylvia Thompson
lifelines@irish-times.ie