Archives 2016

Hiking and backpacking is growing in popularity across the country. In fact, back in 2008, the number of hiking enthusiasts amounted to 29.23 million; by 2014, that number had grown to 39.05 million. But for one woman, a recent hike wasn’t for purposes of fitness or leisure — it was a matter of life or death.

Last Thursday, Karen Klein, her husband, and their 10-year old son were on vacation in Arizona, en route to the Grand Canyon. Realizing that the main roads to their destination were closed due to snow, the family relied on their GPS to find an alternate route that looked relatively safe. But after traveling on dirt roads for a while, their car got stuck in the mud.

In the middle of nowhere, and stuck without food or a cell phone signal, Klein decided to go look for help. She decided that since she was an avid hiker, trained in survival skills, and a fitness enthusiast, she would find the way to the main road and flag down a passing car for help.

Little did they know that all the main roads were closed because of a snow storm and there wasn’t a car to be found.

A few hours later, Klein found herself alone in the dark and far away from any road. She hiked for 11 hours before she eventually took shelter underneath an evergreen tree, rocking herself back and forth for warmth. To survive she ate aspen and evergreen twigs, and melted snow for water.

However, walking in the heavy snow for hours took its toll. In addition to losing a shoe, Klein also pulled a muscle in her hip and developed frostbite. The only way she could walk was by physically lifting her leg and moving it forward. She could take only 10 or so steps at a time before needing to rest.

After almost 36 hours and 26 miles, Klein came across an uninhabited lodge for park rangers, broke a window with her elbow, and went inside for warmth.

When she didn’t return to the car after a day, her husband and son walked in the opposite direction that Klein had, searching for a cell phone signal. Once they called for help, the search and rescue team found Klein in relatively good spirits in the lodge.

On average, a hiker weighing 155 pounds and climbing hills carrying 10 to 20 pounds will burn 528 calories an hour, while a 208-lb hiker will burn almost 700 calories an hour. Consider these numbers, multiply them by 36, and add the fact that she barely ate anything, and it is simply a miracle Klein has survived.

As of the date of publication, Klein is doing remarkably well and is nursing a couple frostbitten toes back to health. While she does regret not planning her trip out a little more in detail, she thanks her “motherly instinct” for getting her through one of the most horrible ordeals of her life.

Klein tells NBC that the only thing keeping her going was her “solutions-oriented” nature, and she remembers thinking “”I can’t leave my son without a mom. I’m can’t leave my husband without a wife. I’m not letting my parents bury me.”

A true Christmas miracle.

(photo: Karen Klein and her husband, CBS News)

A man was arrested in Florida this week for practicing dentistry without a license. According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Rheinlander had been conducting examinations, making dentures, and even performing tooth extractions out of his own home.

Rheinlander, who claimed he had been a dentist in South Carolina, offered to do dental work for patients at a lower cost. However, investigators discovered that he had never been a dentist at all. Rather, Rheinlander had been licensed only as a dental technician between February 2004 and March 2006, at which time he was disciplined by the South Carolina Board of Dentistry for an undisclosed reason.

Police first learned of Rheinlander’s illegal practice on September 29 when a couple came forward with a disturbing story. They told the detective that they had been introduced to Rheinlander by a mutual friend and he had offered to do their dental work for a very low cost. However, when the unlicensed “dentist” extracted the woman’s tooth, he left behind a fragment that ended up causing serious medical complications.

After digging into Rheinlander’s background, the couple soon learned that he was not a dentist. They also told police about another patient they had referred to Rheinlander. The officers met with the patient and learned that the ersatz dentist had pulled out 10 of his teeth without anesthetic and made him a set of dentures.

About 74% of all adults have had at least one tooth extracted, and in fact, five million Americans undergo wisdom tooth extraction every year. The standard practice is to use a local anesthetic to numb the area around the extraction site; otherwise, the procedure would be extremely painful. Sedation dentistry is used for patients who are particularly nervous about the oral surgery or simply scared of the dentist (15% of all Americans).

Not only was Rheinlander not an experienced dentist, he was performing extractions without anesthetizing the patients, making these procedures both painful and extremely dangerous.

The fake dentist was finally caught by an undercover detective who set up an appointment with Rheinlander to catch him in the act.

Arrested on Wednesday, Rheinlander was charged with practicing dentistry without a license. He was released from jail the next day on a $1,500 bond.

As parents in Tennessee mourn the death of six children after a bus crashed into a tree, debates over bus safety across the country have ensued.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drivers aged 18 to 34 are less likely than drivers over 35 to wear their seat belts. In addition, men are 10% less likely than women to wear seat belts. In school buses, however, even fewer children are protected by seat belts.

News Channel 5 reports that the Metro Council’s Education Committee has delayed a vote in Tennessee that has requested the Metro School Board to install seat belts on all new school buses. The resolution, sponsored by Karen Y. Johnson, requested that the school board “require that all buses nearing mandatory replacement age, or otherwise requiring replacement, be replaced with buses equipped with seat belts.”

It’s estimated that installing seat belts would cost an extra $12,000 for each bus.

“I don’t think any price is too much for the safety of our children,” said Anna Shepherd, the Metro School Board Chair.

CNN reports that the National Safety Council and American Academy of Pediatrics have long recommended that seat belts be installed on new school buses. Only New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and California have laws requiring passenger seat belts on their buses.

“That’s the best protection that we can give our kids. It’s what they’re used to in cars,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “We know that there are very few fatalities involving children on school buses every year — they are a safe form of transportation — but anything that we can do to make them safer is really our responsibility.”

School officials stated that every school bus costs Metro between $40,000 and $50,000 a year to operate and members of the Education Committee would prefer the school board to come up with its own plan for safety.

For many parents, balancing work and home life is as tricky as threading a needle. It’s so difficult, in fact, that parents are spending less time with their kids and more time in their car.

According to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Nintendo, 48% of parents report spending more time commuting to work than playing with their kids. In addition, the average parent tells their child they are too busy to play a full eight times a week.

“Between busy school and work lives, quality family time is becoming more and more limited,” said Meredith Sinclair, a lifestyle expert in play and family time explains to Business Wire.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the average commute time in the U.S. to be 25.4 minutes. This number is dramatically higher in urban areas such as Denver, C.O., Washington, D.C., and Seattle, W.A. Comparatively, areas in Utah, Nevada, and western Texas have commute times of less than 10 minutes.

Tele-commuting could help this problem. As of right now, at least half of the American workforce holds a job that is compatible with partial tele-commuting. Many believe this work environment is the way of the future, and research shows it will only increase from here. In fact, within the past two decades, the amount of jobs allowing tele-commuting grew 25%.

Tele-commuting brings many benefits. A Forbes survey found that if a worker tele-commutes, they were 87% more likely to enjoy their job. This is because those with freedom in their schedule are more likely to have a better work and home balance, while boosting productivity.

Forbes details these three tips on how to convince a boss on allowing tele-commuting within the office.

1. Timing

Schedule a meeting instead of bombarding them with the question at any time.

2. Qualify your value

Put your value into numbers that your boss will understand. Include how much revenue you will be able to bring in once you are working from home with higher productivity and fewer distractions.

3. Anticipate red flags

It is always important to be mindful of the potential concerns your boss may have with tele-commuting, and be willing to work together to formulate a plan.

In a strong show of bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act with a 392 to 26 vote. The bill, aimed at integrating health information technology services and streamlining drug innovation, will now make its way to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass and eventually gain approval from President Obama.

As one of the last congressional votes for 2016 — and, for some representatives, the last votes of their Washington tenure — the Cures Act includes $6.3 billion in funding for various projects and initiatives over the coming years. Some $500 million will go toward an overhaul of the current drug approval process in the Food and Drug Administration, and another $4.8 million is allocated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative. There are also suggested funds for research on Alzheimer’s disease as well as Vice-President Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” task force.

In addition to research funds, the bill also paves a pathway for more integrated health information technology (HIT) and electronic health records (EHR) for use between healthcare providers and patients. Past studies suggest that hospitals across the country could collectively save over $30 billion a year by connecting smart technology medical devices such as vital sign monitors, pumps, and ventilators with patient EHRs. Electronic billing can also provide a more efficient way for patients to interact with billers.

Advocates of the bill say that the measures will help improve the “discovery, development, and delivery” of new drugs and treatments, especially those for rare and debilitating diseases.

“There’s so much to like within the bill,” said Paul Melmeyer‎, associate director of Public Policy at the National Organization for Rare Disorders. “It gives [the FDA and the NIH] more tools to determine and assess safety and effectiveness within therapies — tools they they may not have had otherwise statutorily, but now Congress is giving them the ability to use.”

Despite the overwhelmingly favorable vote, some representatives and senators remain largely critical of the 21st Century Cures Act for its perceived allowance of pharmaceutical companies to push new drugs through the approval process and onto the market without thorough clinical trials.

“It’s time for Congress to stand up to the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, not give them more handouts,” said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Of the 26.5 million businesses in the United States, big pharma companies such as Pfizer or Johnson and Johnson generate about $413 billion in global revenue every year.

A White House statement released after the Cure Act’s approval by the House acknowledged that “the bill is not perfect,” but the strengths of its ability to combat urgent issues such as the opioid epidemic and mental health outweighed its faults.

In an average year, termites cause between $1 and $2 billion in property damage across the United States.

In Georgia, the State Department of Agriculture’s Structural Pest Division, along with the Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black, issued a warning to area residents about the dangers of termites and other pests.

“I would like to encourage property owners affected by the recent storms to check for any potential property damage,” said Black’s statement, “especially subterranean termites.”

According to Insurance Business, many homes were affected by Hurricane Matthew. Even the case of homes that suffered minimal structural damage, just the smallest amount of flooding could result in a swarm of termites.

The Department of Agriculture recommends that residents review their termite control contract and make sure they’re getting the best possible service.

In Hawaii Magazine, researchers might have found a more practical home remedy to these unwanted pests.

Kama’aina Termite and Pest Control is using extracted Orange Oil to target termites and eradicate them from residents’ homes. The Orange Oil consists of D-limonene, which is its primary ingredient.

“Think of fumigation like an atom bomb. It’s non-specific,” said Mike Worden, Kama’aina Termite’s general manager. “Killing everything, and taking upwards of four to five weeks for completion. With Orange Oil, its targeted to where the infestation is occurring. With Orange Oil you don’t have to move out… it’s non-toxic so you can actually be in the home while using it. It’s eco-friendly and really the only thing left behind is a scent of oranges for a few days.”

The first step in ridding homes of termites with this citrusy remedy is to identify the infected area. After using a Termatrac device, which acts like a radar gun for termites, the oil is injected inside the wooden boards and the pest extermination begins.

“Orange Oil kills them quickly because the oil is highly acidic, eating through the outer layer of their skin,” Wood added.

Many people use yoga as a way to stay healthy and fit. But in addition to its physical benefits, yoga is often tied to spiritual practices that stem back to religious Hindu principles. Can Christians practice yoga without compromising their own faith? The answer may depend on how you approach the mat.

“We need to keep in mind that, in the traditional Hindu expression of yoga, the exercises are integral to the higher spiritual goal of attaining union with the god Shiva,” authors Ross Clifford and Philip Johnson of the new book Taboo or To Do?: Is Christianity Complementary with Yoga, Martial Arts, Hallowe’en, Mindfulness and Other Alternative Practices? told Christian Today.

“However,” Clifford and Johnson continued, “it is apparent in the West today that there are many teaching yoga where the physical and mental exercises are clearly divorced from Hindu faith. Many in the West insist that Hatha yoga, which is centered in the bodily postures and exercises, may be practised without all the trappings and teachings of traditional Hindu faith.”

A purely physical yoga practice can help fulfill the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended 2.5 hours of aerobic or muscle strengthening activity per week for health and body wellness. Yet some Christian yogis see the practice as an extension of their own faith and spiritual wellness, too.

Keleah Anderson, for example, opened her own studio, Beyond Yoga, in Franklin, TN, this year to incorporate more Christ-centered teachings into her classes.

“It occurred to me… [that] we can provide a place where people can come and worship God with their whole totality — their breath, their movement, their mind,” Anderson said. “We read the Bible and we pray and we use praise and worship music and we raise our hands and we fold them and we bow down. It’s difficult, active church.”

So what’s a Christian to do? The important part may be to simply maintain a self-awareness.

“What we are finding is that people want to have a conversation about these things,” Clifford and Johnson said. Talk with your church community leaders or yoga instructors to decide what’s best for you.

A new study suggests that frequent indoor tanners typically do not adequately protect themselves from the sun while outdoors.

Researchers looked at data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, which included 10,262 adults between the ages of 18 and 60. All were white and none had any history of skin cancer. Of the participants, 787 (seven percent) reported tanning indoors within the past year.

The results showed that frequent indoor tanners used less sunscreen, wore less protective clothing, and experienced more sunburns than those who did not frequently tan indoors.

Additionally, indoor tanners between the ages of 18 and 34 were more likely to never or rarely wear protective clothing or seek shady areas while outside in the sun.

Researchers alarmingly found these frequent indoor tanners were no more likely than their non-indoor tanning peers to be screened for skin cancer by a medical professional.

“These results demonstrate that many individuals who tan indoors may not acknowledge the long-term risks associated with increased UV exposure,” said study author Alexander Fischer of the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

The researchers wrote in the report:

“Individuals who frequently tan indoors already have a worrisome risk profile for skin cancer, yet they continue to practice poor photoprotection along with increase sun exposure, increasing their risk for skin cancer beyond that associated with the use of indoor tanning alone.”

Over the past 40 years, skin cancer rates have more than tripled. In fact, it is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Researchers estimate that more than 8,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with skin cancer each day and that one in five Americans will develop the disease in their lifetime. As many as 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma every year.

“Taking an active approach to sun protection and skin cancer screening in high-risk populations, such as indoor tanners, may reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with skin cancer,” said the researchers.

As Hurricane Matthew drenched the state of Florida with heavy rain and strong winds, many evacuees flocked north to the Tallahassee area to wait out the storm. Strange places became safe havens for many displaced Floridians, including a local Walmart Super Center parking lot.

One South Florida native, Dean Prisco, said, “Being full time in an RV, I just knew that the potential threat was too dangerous, I didn’t want to be a sitting duck on a peninsula.”

He also told reporters from Tallahassee news station WCTV that he has seen people sleeping in their cars and on the ground in the parking lot because there are no available rooms at the local hotels. However, Prisco was proud to say that people have come together and that the outpouring of support and camaraderie has lifted his spirits.

“Sometimes in these environments, is when the best comes out of people, unfortunately. Hopefully we can just do that all the time and maybe things could change,” he said.

Another Floridian who has taken shelter in the parking lot said that he and his wife are just thankful that Walmart has been so cooperative and supportive to all of the evacuees.

The entire backside of the Walmart parking lot was filled with RVs. The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) estimates that there are as many as 30 million RV enthusiasts nationwide. Most of these RV owners and renters, however, may not ever have imagined that they would be using their recreational vehicle as an emergency shelter.

As of Thursday, Hurricane Matthew has claimed at least 40 lives in the Southeast — 20 in North Carolina, 12 in Florida, three in South Carolina, three in Georgia, and two in Virginia.

Though the hurricane has passed, the crisis is far from over in some parts of the Gulf region. Severe flooding is still causing destruction and threatening lives in North Carolina.

Photo attribution: By Walmart Corporate from Bentonville, USA (Walmart store exterior) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Hurricane Mathew may be out of sight, but it sure isn’t out of mind.

This powerful hurricane killed 45 Americans all over the East Coast, with more than half of the victims being from North Carolina. Although the weather conditions have improved since the storm, state officials are warning of the dangers of flooding.

“Everyone assumes it’s safe. It’s not safe right now,” North Carolina Governor Pat McCroy explained to CNN. He cautions, “If you’re near water, water will kill you.”

McCroy’s warnings are viable, as some communities are yet to see the full impact of the floodwaters. There are rivers and lakes that are expected to reach their highest levels in history, which can cause exponential damage to many across the state.

The Better Business Bureau has even made an official public announcement warning those looking to purchase a new vehicle to be careful. They expect submariners — vehicles that have suffered from water damage — to hit the used car market soon, which when bought can be a complete waste of money.

This is because water damage in a car takes a couple of weeks to appear. By the time a new owner has had their car for a couple of weeks, rust will start to show in their tire wells, mold will start to pop up on the upholstery, and internal wiring may start to act up.

The BBB warns that these cars are most often sold online and at auctions under false pretenses. They recommend asking for a title and a Carfax History report before signing on the dotted line.

Have a flooded car? It is easy to replace the car carpets, as any vehicle owner is able to purchase a car carpet made specifically to fit your vehicle’s make, model and year. This includes vehicles that date back to the 1940s!