Does This Surgery Make My Butt Look Big?

Plastic Surgeons Discuss What's Behind Uptick in Butt Enhancement Procedures

By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News

First there was J. Lo. Then Beyonce, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian started strutting their stuff on stage and on screen. As a result, plastic surgeons’ phones began to ring off the hook with women looking to put a little more junk in their trunks.

In a year where cosmetic surgery procedures decreased, buttock augmentation and butt lifts were on the rise, according to the latest statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). In fact, butt augmentation jumped by 37.3% from 2008 to 2009 and butt lifts increased by 24.6% that year.

The reasons for the uptick include more curvaceous role models as well as new options for buttock enhancements, say experts speaking at the ASAPS annual meeting. The new options include fat grafting, which involves taking fat from places where it is plentiful -- such as your thighs -- and injecting it into areas where it is not -- such as your buttocks.

“Part of the reason is that we are starting to get better at them,” says Felmont F. Eaves III, MD, ASAPS president and a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, N.C. “We now have several ways that we can enhance buttock shape and more tools to customize the procedure and get a good result.”

Buttock augmentation can be performed using fat injections, solid silicone implants, a lift, or some combination thereof. Another option involves creating a tissue flap from the buttock region to use as an implant. Basically, surgeons move tissue from a part of the buttocks where you don't need it, and secure it in an area where it will enhance your derriere.

“This field is advancing very rapidly and we are making a lot of progress figuring out which patients do best with what procedures,” Eaves tells WebMD.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/skin-beauty/news/20100428/does-this-plastic-surgery-make-my-butt-look-big

Coping With Bedwetting: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Bedwetting Causes Stress

Know that bedwetting is often a normal part of growing up. Most children don't stay dry at night until about the age of 3. And it's usually not a concern for parents until around age 6. While working towards dry nights there are ways to work through it as a family.

A Bed Wetter Needs Your Support

Reassure your child by being supportive. He isn't wetting the bed on purpose. And bedwetting isn't typically a sign of an emotional or physical problem. Explain that it is normal, very common, and that he won't always wet the bed.

Talk and Share Your Experience

Bedwetting often runs in families. If you or your partner wet the bed as a child, talk with your child about it. It'll help him see that people do outgrow it. And it may help him feel less alone and embarrassed.

What Causes Bedwetting?

Many things can cause bedwetting. It could be slower development of bladder control or heavy sleep. There may be hormonal factors. Stress and anxiety can be a cause. A child who's been dry and suddenly starts wetting the bed may have an infection, or something such as a move may be stressing or bothering her.

Let Your Child Help Find Solutions

If she's 4 or older, ask for her help. What might help her stop wetting the bed? Brainstorm together. Drinking less in the evening and cutting back on caffeinated soda may be worth trying. You can also offer options like disposable underwear or waterproof sheets. By keeping it positive and involving her you'll help build her confidence and encourage good bedtime habits.

Praise and Reward for Staying Dry

When your child has a dry night, praise her for it. Some families mark wet days and dry days on a calendar. Stickers or stars can make it fun. If your child stays dry a number of nights in a row, offer a small reward like a fun breakfast or small book. If she wets, be supportive and remind her that by keeping up her efforts results will come.

Provide Simple Reminders

Make using the bathroom just before he gets in bed part of his bedtime routine. Also remind him that it's OK to get up during the night to use the bathroom. Nightlights can help him find his own way back and forth from the bathroom.

Does Waking During the Night Help?

Resist the urge to wake your child repeatedly during the night. If you use this approach, waking once a night should be enough. Keep in mind that if you deprive your child of rest and sleep, you may increase his level of stress. Stress can be a bedwetting trigger.

Involve Your Child in Cleaning Up

When he wets the bed, he can put his PJs in the hamper or help you change the sheets. Make sure he understands it's not a punishment, just part of what has to be done. The idea is to make him more aware of his bedwetting without scolding him or making him feel ashamed.

Clean Up: Removing the Smell of Urine

Accidents happen. And when they do, urine can leave a stubborn odor in clothes and in bed linens. Try adding a half cup to a cup of white vinegar to your wash to remove the smell.

Cleaning a Mattress: Step 1

If you need to clean urine from a mattress, first use towels to blot up as much as you can. Keep blotting, but don't rub, until no more moisture comes to the surface.

Cleaning a Mattress: Step 2

Once you've blotted up as much of the urine as you can, saturate the entire area of urine stain with hydrogen peroxide. Let it stand for 5 minutes, and then use towels again to blot the area dry.

Cleaning a Mattress: Step 3

Once the mattress is dry, sprinkle baking soda over the entire area and let it stand for 24 hours. The next day, vacuum the baking soda away. It should be clean and odor free.

Easing Sleepover Stress

If your child is nervous about sleepovers, remind her of the steps she uses to stay dry at home. Providing her with disposable underwear and extra clothes in case of an accident may help relieve anxiety. A sleeping bag with waterproof lining may also help.

Beforehand, notify the adult host that your child may have some worries about bedwetting. Discuss your child's plans for coping so everyone feels prepared.

Be Patient About Bedwetting

Scolding or losing your temper won't make your child stop wetting the bed. Don't bring up bedwetting in front of others in an attempt to shame her. Embarrassing her in hopes it'll make her stop will increase her stress and anxiety. Meanwhile, remember that bedwetting eventually does stop. Try practicing patience and providing support while you wait.

Dealing With Teasing in the Home

Bedwetting can make your child an easy target for teasing. To help him cope, make your home safe for him. Don't allow anyone in your family to tease about it. Explain to siblings that bedwetting is something their brother doesn't have control over and that he needs everybody's love and support.

Bullying at School About Bedwetting

Avoiding other children or coming home with unexplained injuries are signs your child may be being bullied. Listen to what your child says. Talk with her and let her know that you know it's not her fault. Then talk with people at the school and ask what they've seen. Be proactive and work with the school to find ways to make the teasing stop.

When to Call the Doctor

If your child is still bedwetting at age 7, consider setting up a doctor's visit. While there may be a medical problem, most of the time there isn't. Also, see the doctor if your child suddenly starts wetting the bed after being dry for 6 months or more.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/slideshow-bedwetting

Airborne Fungus Expected to Spread in U.S.

About 10 People Have Reportedly Died in Northwestern U.S. After Infection With C. gatti

By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News

A potentially deadly airborne fungus, widely dubbed the killer fungus, has infected more than 50 people in the U.S., according to the CDC, and is expected to spread from the Pacific Northwest where it first surfaced. Even so, public health officials say, there is cause only for concern and awareness, but not for alarm.The killer fungus, which first surfaced in Canada in 1999, appeared in the U.S. in Washington in early 2006. Since then, reports of cases have occurred in Oregon and Northern California."We wouldn't recommend that people change their habits in any way," Julie Harris, PhD, MPH, a staff epidemiologist with the CDC, tells WebMD. "We wouldn't recommend people stay indoors or don't go hiking or don't go outdoors."

The fungus species triggering the infection is Cryptococcus gattii, which can cause pneumonia or meningitis. But the infection ''simply is not common enough for people to warrant changing behavior," Harris says. "It's still very rare. People should be concerned but not alarmed."

At a news briefing Friday, Katrina Hedberg, MD, MPH, interim state epidemiologist for the Oregon Department of Health Services Public Health Division, told reporters that it's also rare that people exposed to the fungus end up getting sick.

While the CDC wouldn't specify the number of deaths, citing incomplete data, Hedberg says that ''of the 50-plus cases, around 10 of them have died."

Twelve of those 50 cases, including three deaths, have been in the state of Washington, according to Nicola Marsden-Haug, MPH, an epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline.

Marcia Goldoft, MD, a medical epidemiologist with the department, urges people to keep the threat in perspective. "The benefits of outdoor activity and exercise far outweigh the risks of a rare disease such as C. gattii."

Tracking the Fungus

Researchers in the U.S. have been studying the fungus, traditionally located in tropical locations, for several years, says Joseph Heitman, MD, PhD, chair of the department of molecular genetics and microbiology at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

The fungus, he tells WebMD, ''originates in soil and is associated with certain tree species, and becomes airborne."

While the fungus was typically seen in tropical areas of South America and other tropical and subtropical regions, it surfaced in Vancouver Island, Canada, in 1999, says Heitman, the senior author on a report on the fungus published online this week in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

"It is a microbial pathogen that can cause significant illness and even death, but it is very uncommon," he says.

Infections can be treated with antifungal agents, but no vaccine is available for C. gattii, Heitman says.

The first recorded U.S. case was in Orcas Island, Wash., Heitman says. That was followed by cases in Washington and Oregon.

Hedberg says the 50 reported cases have occurred in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

Heitman's team has discovered a new pathogenic strain of the fungus in the Oregon cases.

Unlike another fungus type, Cryptococcus neoformans, which typically infects those who are HIV-positive or other immunocompromised people, the C. gattii fungus can infect apparently healthy people.

The 50 cases reported to the CDC, Harris says, include people from age 15 to 95.

How the Fungus Spreads

''The fungus is present in the environment," Hedberg says. "It's present in soil or in trees." As trucks transport lumber down the I-5 corridor in the Pacific Northwest, she says, the fungus has likely spread.

The airborne fungus is inhaled. "People have to inhale it to get sick," Hedberg says. "It's not spread from person to person at all."

And, she adds, many are exposed but few actually get sick.

The time from exposure to the fungus to onset of symptoms varies, Heitman says. It could be two to eight months.

Fungus Symptoms

Four symptoms are typical of infection with C. gattii, says Harris of the CDC. They include:

• Severe headache
• Fever
• Chills
• Shortness of breath

Some people infected with the fungus have just one of the symptoms, she tells WebMD, but often they have all four.

See your doctor if you experience the symptoms and think you may have been exposed, she advises.

She encourages doctors to be alert to the symptoms in patients, especially if they live in or have visited the Pacific Northwest.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20100423/airborne-fungus-expected-to-spread-in-u-s