Tests done on tiny hands can help spot defects
 |  | NewsTribune photo/Genna Ord
Angela O’Bryant, nurse manager of the obstetrics unit at Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru, favors legislation that would require all infants born in Illinois to undergo a non-invasive oximetry test for heart defects. About half the state’s hospitals use oximetry to gauge signs of congenital heart defects; the push is on to mandate the test for all hospitals. “Sometimes, unfortunately, legislation is the only way action happens,” O’Bryant said. |
When your newborn baby is 24 hours old, nurses will swing through the OB department with sensors clamped to the baby’s wrist and foot. It doesn’t hurt the baby and can take just a minute. What are the clamps for? Nurses are testing for congenital heart disease, among other things. It’s called an oximetry test and it’s used to gauge oxygen levels in the bloodstream.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
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June 12, 2013 15:01
| Health calendar | Programs for the current week.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
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June 11, 2013 11:51
| | Women have new options for breast cancer surgery |
Treating breast cancer almost always involves surgery, and for years the choice was just having the lump or the whole breast removed. Now, new approaches are dramatically changing the way these operations are done, giving women more options, faster treatment, smaller scars, fewer long-term side effects and better cosmetic results. It has led to a new specialty — “oncoplastic” surgery — combining oncology, which focuses on cancer treatment, and plastic surgery to restore appearance.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
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June 31, 2013 13:28
| | Ex-smokers share how they quit |
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Eight-week-old Felix doesn’t have to worry about whether he will have clean air to breathe — not at home anyway. His father had his last cigarette long before he was born. WAJK 99.3 radio personality Jon “Shap” Shapiro of Spring Valley has been smoke-free for 8 years. He didn’t quit on his first try, though. After an attempt to go cold-turkey and another assisted by medication, Shap said he decided to give it one more try. This time, he opted for a nicotine replacement system in the form of a patch, and put it on his Christmas list.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
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May 29, 2013 15:03
| | Vitamins show more benefits than negatives |
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About one-third of U.S. adults take multivitamins, perhaps because users believe they will compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle. A new study showed the vitamins might do more. Multivitamins cut the chance of developing cancer by 8 percent in healthy male doctors who took them for more than a decade, according to results of a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
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May 23, 2013 16:29
| | Flip flops: Foot friend or foe |
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Simple in design and inexpensive in price, flip-flops may seem like the perfect footwear as the temperature rises, but experts warn against them. The American Podiatric Medical Association warns that the lightweight sandals can increase the likelihood of experiencing tendinitis, stress fractures and other injuries. “The biggest thing is it doesn’t offer the foot a lot of support,” said Dr. Larry Ketner, a Peru podiatrist.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
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April 17, 2013 13:39
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