Dr. Howard Smith Reports

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ldB3GMmDeP4   Children younger than 5 years with an active COVID infection have from 10 to 100 times more virus in their noses and throats compared with older children and adults.   This the conclusion of studies at Northwestern and Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital of 145 CoVid-infected individuals of various ages.   The investigators indicate that young children c...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/H2aYiqRdCC0   If you make a mask, put at least 2 layers and ideally 3 in that mask.   Australian researchers make that recommendation after high speed photographic studies of aerosols emanating from a subject through masks of various constructions.   The investigators used cotton fabric with a thread count of 170 to create one and two layered masks to compare with a 3...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/PzA8TI7x0xc   A new CoVid antibody test is better able to detect antibodies that actually can protect you from the virus.   University of North Carolina researchers now announce this test and its benefits in the journal Science Immunology .   Most commercially available CoVid antibody tests measure antibodies to the nucleocapsid or N antigens, while this test measures...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/rRP7CxfS7XM   Administration of common vaccines are associated with lower CoVid infection rates.   Researchers at the Mayo Clinic report this observation after their study of immunization records of some 137,000 individuals.   Their data show that immunizations with the commonly used vaccines including polio, HIB, pneumococcal, influenza, and hepatitis are associated...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/71h3KlD0Y0c   Wearing a face mask does not prompt people to omit physical distancing or hand washing.   This the conclusion of a British investigation that reviewed 22 studies.   Six studies of more than 2,000 households show in the aggregate that those wearing masks are not more likely to aggregate in large crowded groups or dispense with commonsense hand washing.   Th...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/zYzhxGwPRYU   The way to fight CoVid while ensuring your health and happiness and that of your loved ones is to VOTE and compel anyone you know to VOTE.   That vote must go to those who can responsibly manage us out of this pandemic both in terms of public health and economics.   Most advanced nations achieved these goals, but we Americans have failed miserably.   Mor...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/E81hPNLni9k   Wolfing down those beers and donuts under the age of 40 can increase your risk of mid-life cancer by as much as 70%.   That conclusion and others from a large European study was just published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.   Data from 220,000 subjects showed that overweight women had a 70% greater risk of uterine cancer and overweight men...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/41B3FV_b1V4   Competitive electronic gamers risk eye, neck and back, wrist, and hand overuse disorders.   E-Sports medicine investigators at the New York Institute of Technology review current knowledge about the risks.   Esport athletes practice upwards of 10 hours a day.   Their eyes and hands make more than 10 moves a second.     Some 56% of gamers develop blurry v...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/lBODKtNNKqM   A happy tune is THE secret to unmasking solutions to your dilemmas as you get some ZZZs.   This remarkable discovery comes to us from Northwestern University psychologists.   Investigators tested 57 subjects presenting them with tricky puzzles the evening before sleep. Each puzzle was accompanied by a unique sound.   Then, as they slept, they heard the u...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/m6M2lU9hcs8   A full 80% of child and family social workers would consider it parental neglect if a child under the age of 10 is left home alone.   Most considered it criminal neglect if a child under 12 left alone becomes injured.     University of Iowa researchers report this conclusion after polling 485 pediatric social workers.   They remind us that more than 40%...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/gFWiaBxLy2k   Adding just one hour of TV or cell use each day bumps teen sugar and caffeine intake beyond World Health Organization guidelines.   Pediatricians at Canada’s McMaster University studied more than 32,000 US students from 8th through 10th grade.   The additional hour of TV bumped the risk of exceeding WHO sugar guidelines by 32% and caffeine guidelines by...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/Xf9BlYSw2zM   Breast milk is the best milk for your baby.   If you supplement your own with some from a friend, neighbor, or a co-op, you could be dangerously exposing your child to viruses, disease, dangerous drugs, or inappropriate medications.   Researchers at New York’s Northwell Children’s Medical Center surveyed 650 mothers.   Half of them had no concerns about...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/fCEfcgUYoww   Nearly 4 extra years of education cuts a risk of alcohol dependence by 50%.   National Institutes of Health investigators draw this conclusion from their study of 780,000 participants.   The genetic markers linked to more education were not associated with less alcohol consumption but rather with less binge drinking, fewer memory gaps due to drinking, fe...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/jTLu0SqTsrw   If you’re pressured to answer a question, you will answer with a response designed to please the questioner even if its a lie.   UC-Santa Barbara psychologists draw this conclusion after testing a total of 3,000 participants.   Research shows that the human mind has two processing components: the higher functioning, rational section and the more instinct...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ozRY5Fj2CMw   Endurance running with a resistance band connecting your shoes can increase your running efficiency by over 9%.   Mechanical engineers at UC-Santa Barbara clocked runners with and without latex surgical tubing connecting their feet.   The tubing stores kinetic energy as the legs move past one another, and that energy helps power the next cycle.   The res...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/p5LbkvtUu74   The harder you think, the more sleep you require.   Neuroscientists at University College London report this finding after studying sleeping patterns in zebrafish.   These marine animals are a good model since, like humans, require a daily sleep session to rejuvenate their brains.   Experimental animals were driven to continuous brain activity by drugs s...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/80u3lfBHQRk   When you dine socially, you consume 48% more food than when you eat alone.   This conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of some 42 studies of group versus solo food consumption just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.   On the other hand, eating with a group of strangers did not increase food consumption. The investigators conjecture...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/YAsWf2Xaeh0   Only half of pregnant women receive the recommended flu and whooping cough vaccines say the latest CDC statistics.   The flu is a terrible risk for a pregnant woman, and pertussis is the same for her newborn.   Pregnancy makes the flu more severe, and increases the risk for hospitalization by 2.5 times.   Every year, pertussis lands up to 700 babies unde...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/JI5Z-3IfCwo   Regularly consuming green, oolong, or black tea at least 4 times weekly will improve your brain’s regional synchrony and your thinking skills.   A collaborative study recently published in the journal Aging looked at MRI brain imaging and neuropsychological test results as a function of tea drinking.   The imaging studies showed that regular tea drinkers...

  Vidcast: https://youtu.be/T4cdm4mMfgE   Deadly head and neck melanoma has increased by 51% for children and younger adults over the past 20 years.   St. Louis University oncologists raise this warning after reviewing nearly 12,500   confirmed melanoma cases documented in American and Canadian cancer registries.   Once predominately a cancer of older patients, it is now popping up increasingly of...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/EjFQsAfXW2k   After my years as a camp counselor, raising 4 kids, and caring for children and their parents as a pediatric otolaryngologist for 40 years, here are my go-to principles for effective parenting.   ONE. Consistency.   Establish reasonable boundaries that create security.   Offer praise and rewards for remaining within them.   Use a carrot versus a stick.  ...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/Cx1EWDS3Cok   Most women are counseled to try a vaginal delivery following a previous Caesarian section (VBAC).   The latest evidence from the University of Oxford questions the wisdom of that recommendation.   More than 74,000 Scottish births over a 13 year period show that a VBAC is associated with a 7 fold higher risk of a uterine rupture, a 3 fold   higher risk of...

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/ZYkfn_mauO8   The common child discipline, the good old time out, is safe and effective.   University of Michigan pediatric psychologists report this conclusion after studying a large group of children in Early Had State Research study at 3 points in their early development: around 3, 4 and 10 years of age.   Despite the statements found on 30% of parental advice websit...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/QetW5Xs_9Uk   Our cells and bodies work on internal biological clocks which are lubricated for better efficiency by good old fashioned stress.   University of Minnesota biologists now report   this phenomenon in the journal Neuron.   Using a mouse model and tissue cultures of cells, the scientists unraveled the complex blend of signaling proteins that control the cloc...

  Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/xidm260T2Qc   Overdoing your training for an endurance sport can leave you mentally fatigued.   A French investigation, just published in the journal Current Biology, studied 37 thirty something male athletes during a 9 week training program.   Over-training led to feelings of mental exhaustion but also increased impulsivity with a preference for immediate rather than...