Trick to To Boost the Power of Pain Relief without Drugs and How sunshine preventing allergies

Sunshine May Help To Prevent Allergies and Eczema

 

An allergy is an exaggerated immune response or reaction to substances that are generally not harmful. Symptoms: Allergy symptoms may include: Breathing problems.

Increased exposure to sunlight may reduce the risk of both food allergies and eczema in children, according to a new scientific study.

Researchers from the European Centre for Environment & Human Health, along with several Australian institutions, have found that children living in areas with lower levels of sunlight are at greater risk of developing food allergies and the skin condition eczema, compared to those in areas with higher UV. The research team used data from a study of Australian children and analysed how rates of food allergy, eczema and asthma varied throughout the country. As well as finding a link between latitude and allergies to peanut and egg, the results showed that on average children in the south of the country are twice as likely to develop eczema as those in the north. The report builds upon existing evidence that suggests exposure to the sun may play a role in rising levels of food allergy and eczema. Sunlight is important because it provides our body with the fuel to create vitamin D in the skin, and locations closer to the equator typically receive higher levels of sunshine. Australia is a particularly good place for this type of study as it spans nearly 3000 miles from north to south, with a large variation in climate, day length and sun strength - from Queensland in the north to Tasmania in the south.

Dr Nick Osborne, who led the research, believes these findings provide us with an important insight into the prevalence of food allergies and eczema, which appear to be on the increase. Dr Osborne also cautioned that exposure to sunlight can vary for a host of reasons beyond latitude, such as local climate variations and behaviours, and these factors will also need to be considered.

He said "This investigation has further underlined the association between food allergies, eczema and where you live. We're now hoping to study these effects at a much finer scale and examine which factors such as temperature, infectious disease or vitamin D are the main drivers of this relationship. As always, care has to be taken we are not exposed to too much sunlight, increasing the risk of skin cancer."

(Source- European Centre for Environment & Human Health)

Trick to To Boost the Power of Pain Relief without Drugs

A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient.

Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction - say, doing a puzzle - relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That's the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention - which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle.

Now a new study challenges the theory that the placebo effect is a high-level cognitive function. The authors - Jason T. Buhle, Bradford L. Stevens, and Jonathan J. Friedman of Columbia University and Tor D. Wager of the University of Colorado Boulder - reduced pain in two ways - either by giving them a placebo, or a difficult memory task. But when they put the two together, "the level of pain reduction that people experienced added up. There was no interference between them," says Buhle. "That suggests they rely on separate mechanisms." The findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, could help clinicians maximize pain relief without drugs.

In the study, 33 participants came in for three separate sessions. In the first, experimenters applied heat to the skin with a little metal plate and calibrated each individual's pain perceptions. In the second session, some of the people applied an ordinary skin cream they were told was a powerful

but safe analgesic. The others put on what they were told was a regular hand cream. In the placebo-only trials, participants stared at a cross on the screen and rated the pain of numerous applications of heat - the same level; though they were told it varied. For other trials they performed a tough memory task - distraction and placebo simultaneously. For the third session, those who'd had the plain cream got the "analgesic" and vice versa. The procedure was the same. The results: With either the memory task or the placebo alone, participants felt less pain than during the trials when they just stared at the cross. Together, the two effects added up; they didn't interact or interfere with each other. The data suggest that the placebo effect does not require executive attention or working memory. So what about that neuroimaging? "Neuroimaging is great," says Buhle, "but because each brain region does many things, when you see activation in a particular area, you don't know what cognitive process is driving it." This study tested the theory about how placebos work with direct behavioral observation. The findings are promising for pain relief. Clinicians use both placebos and distraction - for instance, virtual reality in burn units. But they weren't sure if one might diminish the other's efficacy. "This study shows you can use them together," says Buhle, "and get the maximum bang for your buck without medications."

(Source- journal of the Association for Psychological Science)