Podcast #16

Welcome to the 16th edition of Your Health. This is an audio program from Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin designed to help you and your loved ones stay healthy. As always, we look forward to hearing from you, and we answer one of your questions in this edition.  You can ask your question by emailing us at internet@aurora.org.

In this edition, we learn about the benefits of digital mammography, you'll find out whether hair dye can cause cancer, and you'll get the lowdown on what to do if you get an eye injury this summer.

If you use a digital camera, you know the benefits as compared with more traditional film cameras. It's not too different when it comes to radiology, and it's especially worthwhile when it comes to mammograms. Aurora Memorial Hospital of Burlington is just the latest facility in eastern Wisconsin to add the capability. We spoke with Sue Harris, Administrative Director of Support Services and Hospitality at the hospital, about the benefits for you and the doctor.

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No one knows yet what causes most cancers, although some risk factors have been identified. We were asked by one listener about a possible link between hair dye and certain kinds of cancer. Studies on the association between hair dyes and cancer have generated mixed results.

Some studies examining the claim that hair dyes increase the risk of certain types of cancer have found a link. In the 1970s, researchers at the National Cancer Institute discovered that rats fed large doses of hair dye ingredients (including substances found in coal tars, which are used for dark-colored dyes) were more likely to develop cancer than rats left unexposed to these substances. The FDA responded by requiring a warning label to be placed on dyes containing certain substances, and many manufacturers stopped using these ingredients. However, some scientists fear that replacement compounds may have similar chemical structures and cause comparable reactions in the body.

The American Journal of Epidemiology recently published a study suggesting that people who frequently used permanent, dark-colored hair dyes before 1980 (which is when the ingredients changed and coal tar was removed) were at a slightly elevated risk for developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma , a relatively common cancer of the lymph nodes. Although the removal of certain coal tar ingredients may have reduced the risk of cancer, it still may be too early to determine the long term health effects of this product change.

On the other hand, research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005 collected numerous studies that focused on a possible relationship between hair dye and cancer. Two types of studies were analyzed: Case control studies compared hair dye use among people diagnosed with a specific cancer to a comparable sample of hair dye users without cancer. And cohort studies focused on groups of people who did or did not use hair dye, and followed them over time to see who developed cancer.

The analysis found no link between hair dye and breast or bladder cancer . A weak relationship between hair dye and a few types of cancers that affect the blood cells was found, but further research showed that an increase in dye frequency and intensity, as well as using dark-colored dye as opposed to light colors, did not affect the risk of getting such cancers.

Close examination also found that rates for some of the cancers thought to be linked to hair dye, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, increased in men. This is another indication that hair dye exposure is probably not the underlying reason, because significantly more women use hair dye than men, and if hair dye was causing the cancers, an increase in incidence in women would be expected, not men.

The analysis also found that the majority of studies examined did not adjust for factors such as smoking, which is a major risk factor for cancer. If, for example, people who smoke are more likely to dye their hair (or vice versa), than the results would have to be interpreted differently.

The effect of this study, therefore, was to discredit the link between cancer risk and hair dye use.

So, an analysis of the many studies examining a possible link between hair dye use and cancer was unsupportive of a cause and effect relationship. Although it remains unlikely, there could still be a small risk associated with certain cancers. More studies focusing on hairdressers, who are routinely exposed to the chemicals in hair dyes, may shed more light on a possible connection with cancers.

Hair dye is unlikely to be a significant risk factor for cancer, if it is one at all. Family history, diet, smoking, and exercise have far more to do with cancer risk than whether or not you choose to be a brunette or a blonde.

Ask most ER nurses and they will tell you that eye injuries are more common in the summertime. We're all outside, throwing balls, Frisbees and the like, and as the bumper sticker says, stuff happens.

If you or somebody you know suffered an eye injury, you should call 911 immediately if they were knocked out in the process. Otherwise, call your doctor right away if:

• You think you have a serious injury
• Vision is blurred or lost in either eye
• Severe pain
• Constant tearing or blinking
• Double vision or unable to look upward
• Bloody or cloudy fluid behind the cornea (clear part)
• Object hit the eye at high speed (such as from a lawn mower)
• Sharp object hit the eye (e.g. a metallic chip or flying glass)
• Skin is split open or gaping and may need stitches Any cut on the eyelid or eyeball
• "Black eyes" bilaterally (on both sides)

Call your doctor within 24 hours during normal business hours if

• There's a large swelling or bruise (wider than 2 inches) at the site of the injury
• Eyelids swollen shut
• No tetanus booster in more than 10 years (5 years for dirty cuts and scrapes)

Call your doctor during weekday office hours if

• You have other questions or concerns
• Pain has not improved after 3 days

For treatment of superficial cuts and scrapes (abrasions) to eyelid or area around eye:

• Apply direct pressure with a sterile gauze or clean cloth for 10 minutes to stop any bleeding.
• Wash the wound with soap and water for 5 minutes. (Protect the eye with a clean cloth.)
• Apply an antibiotic ointment.  
• Cover large scrapes with a Band-Aid or dressing. Change that daily.

For treatment of swelling or a bruise with intact skin:

• Apply an ice pack to the area for 20 minutes each hour for 4 consecutive hours.
• 48 hours after the injury, use local heat for 10 minutes 3 times each day to help reabsorb the blood.

If you get a flame-shaped bruise of the white area of eyeball, no specific treatment is required. It usually goes away in 2-3 weeks.

For pain relief, take acetaminophen every 4-6 hours (e.g. Tylenol; adult dosage 650 mg) OR ibuprofen every 6-8 hours (e.g. Advil, Motrin; adult dosage 400 mg). Do not take ibuprofen if you have stomach problems, kidney disease, are pregnant, or have been told by your doctor to avoid this type of anti-inflammatory drug. Do not take ibuprofen for more than 7 days without consulting your doctor. Do not take acetaminophen if you have liver disease.

Be sure to call your doctor if the:

• Pain becomes severe
• Pain does not improve after 3 days
• You experience changes in your vision

I hope this edition of Your Health was helpful in some small way. If you have any other questions or need help in any other way, please drop us a line at internet@aurora.org.  Thanks for listening!

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Your Health, Edition 16 (10:07)

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