June 5, 1998
Suzanne Leaf-Brock
507-284-1114 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis Gives Summer Tips on Grilling, Camping and Wheezing
ROCHESTER, MINN. ó Mayo Clinic Health Oasis (http://www.mayohealth.org) provides important advice about keeping healthy this summer season.
"Our summer season articles cover topics from how to grill safely to preparing your child for summer camp to how to get the most from allergy shots," says medical editor Dr. Brooks Edwards. "Besides the how-to information, we also explain the "why" behind our advice in an easy-to-understand way."
Here are a few summertime tips from Mayo Clinic Health Oasis: Outdoor cooking (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9705/htm/grilling.htm)
Defrost meat before grilling. If frozen meat is grilled, the outside chars while the interior remains cold. After grilling, always remove blackened material from the foodÃs surface.
Clean the grilling surface thoroughly before cooking. Remove charred food debris to reduce exposure to possible cancer-causing substances. Always pre-heat the grill before placing food on it, to kill bacteria. Also, cook over low or medium heat on a gas grill or moderate coals on a charcoal grill to protect yourself from potential cancer-causing substances, created when meats are cooked at high temperatures. ChildrenÃs Summer Camp (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9805/htm/camp.htm)
"ThereÃs a right camp for every kid, but not every camp is right for every kid," says Jeff Solomon, executive director of the National Camp Association Inc., an independent organization that evaluates and recommends childrenÃs summer residential camps.
Choices include the traditional summer camps in rural or scenic settings, special interest camps such as sports or music, and special needs camps for children with physical and emotional conditions.
"Special needs camps can help educate children about a disability and teach them how to deal with it," explains Dr. Gregory Anderson, a Mayo Clinic family physician. "But itÃs important that a family decide if the child will do best at this type of a camp or a general camp."
He recommends that parents consider the following: o Balancing the childÃs interests with the familyÃs interests. (What does your child want to do compared to the parentÃs intentions and goals for the child). o Matching the childÃs condition to the campÃs ability to accommodate it. (General camps often can accommodate children with mild medical conditions, but children with serious physical or behavioral disabilities will probably do best at a specialized camp). Allergy Shots (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9805/htm/allergyshots.htm)
Allergy shots are not a quick fix. According to Mayo Clinic Health Oasis, it usually takes one to two years to determine whether a person benefits from the treatment.
Here are some tips to get the most from immunotherapy (a regimen of allergy shots): o Never go more than seven to eight days between shots. If you wait longer, you wonÃt get an effective maintenance level of medication. However, after the first 15-30 weeks, your healthcare provider may place you on a maintenance schedule of one shot every four weeks. o DonÃt exercise or do any vigorous activity two hours before or two hours after each injection. Exercise causes your system to produce adrenaline, which makes the shots enter your system faster and could prompt a reaction. o Always carry an antihistamine. If you take an antihistamine on the day of your shot, then you need to take the same medication each time you have an allergy shot. If you donÃt, you run the risk of having a bigger reaction because your system is used to having the antihistamine working when the shots are given.
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis is a free Internet site with nearly 5,000 articles covering health, fitness, wellness and nutrition. New material is posted on the site every weekday. The site is located at http://www.mayohealth.org. Mayo Health Information is produced by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
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Mayo is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. Mayo provides comprehensive hospital and outpatient services at each of its major locations ó Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale, Ariz. At each site, clinical practice is closely integrated with advanced education and research programs. Mayo also provides care through affiliated practices in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Mayo is an affirmative action and equal opportunity educator and employer.
For more information on the National Camp Association, Inc., you may call 800-966-CAMP or find them on the Internet at http://www.summercamp.org.
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