Expert Q&A: Pet Flea and Tick Control

By Betsy Riley
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Amy Flowers, DVM

With so many new flea and tick control products, it’s hard to know which one is right for your pet. Here’s some advice from Ira Roth, DVM, director of the Community Practice Clinic at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Are some flea and tick medicines better than others?

Every vet has favorites, and all the products work in different ways. Sometimes they kill just adult pests, and sometimes they kill eggs and larvae, too. Some work against fleas, ticks, and even heartworms. Others work against just one species. It’s really a matter of what type of protection each pet needs, the easiest way for the owner to apply it, and budget.

What's the right way to apply drops (aka "spot-on treatments")?

Generally, you apply the medicine between your pet’s shoulder blades, on the back of the neck. Make sure to part the hair so the liquid goes on the skin, and not just on top of the fur. Because the pesticide can be toxic, wait up to 24 hours while the liquid dries before touching the area or letting children play with the animal. Be sure to use the right dose for the age and size of your pet. Follow directions carefully, and never use dog products on cats. Some pesticides that are safe for dogs can even kill cats.

Are spot-on treatments dangerous?

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered manufacturers to put better instructions on packages when the number of bad reactions jumped dramatically -- often because pet owners used drops incorrectly. However, the EPA did not recall any products. Individual pets can have problems with any type of flea or tick medicine. The main thing is to ask your vet for an appropriate medicine and to follow the instructions.

Are pills a better idea?

It’s really a matter of preference. Pills may give a few pets an upset stomach or even cause vomiting or diarrhea, so it’s a good idea to give them with food. There are a number of really good products, some in combination with heartworm control. Before, we did not have an oral product that controlled ticks, and now they’ve introduced a chewable, beef-flavored tablet for dogs that helps with both flea and tick control.

How effective are flea and tick collars?

Collars may actually be the best way to control ticks. There a couple of new collars on the market that last 6 or 8 months. They don’t have the terrible odor and greasiness associated with the old-style models, and we’re getting really good feedback from clients. They control both ticks and fleas.

What about dips, powders, sprays, and shampoos?

Those products are not as effective as the longer-acting ones because you have to use them so often and it’s hard to keep up.

source : Expert Q&A: Pet Flea and Tick Control

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Better Body Image: Accepting Your Body at Any Size

No matter what your scale says, being comfortable in your own skin is up to you. It can be tough, in a society that prizes unrealistic images. But it's possible, and it starts with what you say when you look in the mirror. 

One of the first rules of achieving a healthy and happy body image is to stop allowing "put-downs" in front of the mirror, says Lori Osachy, body image expert and lead therapist at The Body Image Counseling Center in Jacksonville, Fla.

"Even if in the beginning that means you have to jump in front of the mirror and shout, ‘You're awesome,' and then immediately jump back out, that's OK," she says. "The goal is to retrain your brain how to think positively about your reflection and your body."      

Over time, telling yourself that you're beautiful, even if you don't believe it at first, will improve your confidence, she says. The psychology behind this technique is called "cognitive behavioral therapy," a method that psychologists and therapists use to stop negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones instead.

Robyn Silverman, PhD, body image expert and author, agrees that "faking" confidence will eventually turn bad body thoughts into good ones, though it takes time.

To speed up the process, Silverman suggests posting notes with positive messages on your mirror to remind yourself of your good qualities. Those notes don't always have to be about your looks. Jotting down things about your character will help you develop a more positive attitude toward your reflection.

Be Your Own Body Image Advocate

You would never tell your friend she looks fat in a bathing suit, or tell your coworker his arms are scrawny, so why would you tell yourself that?  

"Treat yourself as you would treat others, and you'll find negative thoughts will lessen over time," says Leslie Goldman, MPH, body image expert and author of Locker Room Diaries.

Ditch the things in your life that make you feel inferior, whether that is body-bashing friends, fashion magazines with supermodels, or TV shows that portray men and women in an unrealistic, sexist way, Silverman says. If a family member or roommate makes you feel bad about the way you look, talk to them directly and establish a "fat-talk-free policy," she says.

If an advertisement or TV commercial makes you feel bad about yourself, examine it closer and look for the ways it's trying to sell you something. "Remember, if we didn't feel inferior to the models in the ads, we wouldn't want to buy the product," Silverman says.

Look Beyond the Scale

All too often, people get hung up on the number on the scale, rather than paying attention to how they feel, Silverman says. People of all sizes do that, and it doesn't help.

source : Better Body Image: Accepting Your Body at Any Size

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5 or More Bad Sunburns While Young Tied to Higher Melanoma Risk

Odds for deadly skin cancer rise 80 percent, nurses' study finds

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- White women who get five or more blistering sunburns between the ages of 15 and 20 have an 80 percent increased risk for melanoma -- the most deadly form of skin cancer, new study findings indicate.

Researchers also found these women have a 68 percent greater risk for two other forms of skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

"Our results suggest that sun exposures in both early life and adulthood were predictive of non-melanoma skin cancers, whereas melanoma risk was predominantly associated with sun exposure in early life," according to Dr. Abrar Qureshi, professor and chair of the department of dermatology at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

"Parents may need to be advised to pay more attention to protection from early-life sun exposure for their kids in order to reduce the likelihood of developing melanoma as they grow up. Older individuals should also be cautious with their sun exposure, because cumulative sun exposure increases skin cancer risk as well," Qureshi said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research.

In conducting the study, published May 29 in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the researchers followed nearly 109,000 white female nurses for about 20 years. When the study began, the women were aged 25 to 42. They were asked about their medical history. The researchers also assessed their risk factors for skin cancer, such as the number of moles they had, if they had a family history of the disease and the number of blistering sunburns they had in their late teens.

Over the course of the study, the investigators collected more recent information from the women on their skin cancer risk. Specifically, they were asked for updates on their family history as well as their use of tanning beds, alcohol and cigarettes.

The study participants lived in 14 different states. The researchers took this into account and calculated each woman's total ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, depending on how long they lived in any given place. The women were placed into three categories based on this UV exposure: low, medium and high.

Roughly one-quarter of the women experienced painful blistering sunburns at a young age and one-quarter admitted to using tanning beds. The researchers also found that about 10 percent of the women had more than five blistering sunburns when they were between the ages of 15 and 20.

Nearly 7,000 were diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma affected 880 of the women and about 780 were diagnosed with melanoma. Of the women who developed melanoma, 445 had invasive cancer, the investigators found.

The study authors pointed out that the women who had the greatest exposure to the sun's harmful UV rays when they were adults did not have an increased risk for melanoma. These women, however, had a roughly 2.3-fold greater risk for basal cell carcinoma and a 2.5-fold increased risk for squamous cell carcinoma.

"Pattern of sun exposure was not uniformly associated with the risk for all the three main skin cancers we see in the United States, suggesting that there are some differences in the [development] of these skin cancers," noted Qureshi.

"An individual's risk of developing skin cancer depends on both host and environmental risk factors. Persons with high host-risk traits, such as red hair color, higher number of moles and high sunburn susceptibility, should pay more attention to avoid excessive sun exposure, especially early in life."

source : 5 or More Bad Sunburns While Young Tied to Higher Melanoma Risk

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