By Stacey Colino for Live Right Live Well

When it comes to summer bummers like splinters, scrapes and burns, the tricks your mother used may not be best. In some cases, old wives’ tales have been deemed ineffective; in others, doctors have simply found better, science-based ways to treat these injuries. Whatever the case, if your first-aid techniques aren’t on target, you could end up adding insult to your injury. Here’s the latest:

You’re walking barefoot and get a splinter in your foot
Old thinking: Leave it alone if it’s not bothering you.
New thinking: Pull the splinter out with tweezers, then wash your foot thoroughly.

Why the switch: “Wood is an organic substance, and your body’s attack on [the splinter] creates a lot of problems with inflammation,” explains Robert Shesser, M.D., chair of the department of emergency medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. This can set the stage for an infection. Your best bet is to use a sterilized needle to open a little tract around the splinter, then pull it out with tweezers, Dr. Shesser says. Once it’s out, clean the area with soap and water and watch for such signs of infection as redness, swelling, increased pain or pus. If any of these develop or if you can’t remove the splinter on your own, see a doctor.

You fall off your bike and scrape your knee
Old thinking: Clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or an iodine solution.
New thinking: Wash the cut with plain ol’ water and a mild soap.

Why the switch: While strong solutions such as hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or an iodine preparation can kill bacteria in the wound, they can also “hurt normal tissue in the body, which slows the healing process and makes the damaged skin more vulnerable to infection,” Dr. Shesser explains. Instead, thoroughly clean the abrasion with water and soap, making sure you get all the dirt out. Since this can hurt, you may want to take an over-the-counter pain reliever (such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen) first. Once the wound is clean, apply an antibiotic ointment (such as bacitracin) and a no-stick bandage to keep it clean and dry.

You’re grilling burgers and burn your finger
Old thinking: Put vitamin E on it.
New thinking: Run cold water over it.

Why the switch: “The first thing you need to do is cool it to stop the burning process and relieve the pain,” says Richard O’Brien, M.D., a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and an emergency physician at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton, Pa. To do this, put the area under cold, running water or apply cold compresses or a bag of frozen peas for five minutes at a time until the burn begins to feel better. Then clean the area with soap and water and apply an antibiotic ointment (vitamin E won’t kill bacteria). To help with the pain, you can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen. “If you haven’t had a tetanus shot in the last ten years, get one within a day or two,” adds Dr. Shesser. And if the burn blisters, wait for it to pop naturally, then continue to keep the area clean and reapply an antibiotic ointment until it has healed.

While tossing a flying disc, you twist your ankle
Old thinking: Walk it off.
New thinking: Follow the RICE advice.

Why the switch: Sure, it’s a good sign if you can walk, because if you can’t or if your ankle looks deformed, you should have it X-rayed to make sure it’s not broken. But to avoid aggravating the injury, it’s best to keep your weight off it. What else? “If it’s just pain and swelling, the RICE acronym [Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation] works beautifully,” says Michael Carius, M.D., chairman of the emergency department at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut and a past president of the ACEP. Rest your ankle (by staying off it), apply ice (for 20 minutes at a time for the next 24 hours), use a compression bandage (but not too tightly) and elevate the ankle (above your heart) to decrease swelling and pain. Ibuprofen can also help reduce pain and swelling, but if the pain gets worse or you have trouble moving your ankle after 24 hours, see a doctor.

You got whacked in the nose while playing soccer, and now your nose is bleeding
Old thinking: Tilt your head back and pinch your nostrils until the bleeding stops.
New thinking: Lean your head slightly forward and pinch the bridge of your nose.

Why the switch: If you hold your head back, the blood will go down your throat. This could cause you to gag, or it could irritate your stomach and make you vomit. Instead, lean forward and apply pressure to the bridge of your nose for 15 minutes without stopping, Dr. Carius advises. “You can also apply an ice pack, which will constrict the blood vessels and decrease blood flow around the nose.” Most nosebleeds can be stopped without medical attention, but if it’s still bleeding after 20 minutes, head to the ER.

So there you have it — the latest thinking in first-aid treatment. Now that you know how to keep summer bummers from turning into summer spoilers, go out and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!

Stacey Colino

Stacey Colino has written for The Washington Post health section and many national magazines, including Newsweek, Real Simple, Woman’s Day, Self, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Parenting, Sports Illustrated and Ladies’ Home Journal.

It’s hard to resist quick-and-dirty medical tests. After all, they’re fast, easy, cheap and noninvasive. The only problem is that their accuracy is limited. For the past several decades, the standard quick-and-dirty test for obesity has been the Body Mass Index (BMI): Multiply your weight in pounds by 703, and divide the result by the square of your height in inches. A normal BMI is 18.5 to 25; anything over that means you’re overweight. Sure it’s easy — all you need is a calculator — but is it accurate?

Flaws in the Formula
More and more, experts are acknowledging the limitations of the BMI formula. These include:

Athletic conditioning Since muscle weighs more than fat, ultra-fit athletes with lots of muscle and very little body fat can get BMI scores in the “overweight” category even though they’re fitter than the average person.

Age As you get older, muscle tends to get replaced by fat, which can cause BMI scores to skew low and understate your fat-related health risks.

Gender Women naturally carry more body fat than men, which can skew BMI scores low, understating a woman’s fat-related health risks.

Fat distribution Most important, BMI says nothing about where your fat is located. Research shows that people with a lot of abdominal fat (aka pot belly or apple shape) have a greater risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease than people who collect fat on their hips, thighs and buttocks (aka pear shape).

Two people with the same BMI, one shaped like an apple, the other shaped like a pear, the apple-shaped person will have a higher risk of heart attack, even though their BMIs are identical.

Better than BMI
Given the limitations of the BMI formula, what’s the best way to determine whether you’re fit or fat?

Hydrostatic weighing This is the gold standard. Using special equipment, you’re weighed while completely submerged under water. The drawback: Hydrostatic weighing is rarely available outside of research institutions.

DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) DEXA is the special X-ray used to determine bone density and osteoporosis. It can also be used to estimate body fat. But it requires very expensive equipment and trained technicians.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis This test passes a tiny, safe electrical current through the body. Until recently, this method required expensive equipment and a trained technician. Now, some health clubs offer it, and home test kits have become available, but their reliability is not entirely clear.

Skinfold measurement A tweezer-like caliper is used to measure folds of skin (and the underlying fat) at several places around the body. Like BMI, this test is quick — but somewhat dirty. For the most accurate results, have it done by a trained doctor, nurse or technician.

Waist circumference This test doesn’t measure body fat, but it does provide an indication of your risk of fat-related health conditions. Simply measure your waist at the navel.  “Risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease begins to rise with a waist measurement above 31 inches in women and 37 inches in men,” explains Harvey Simon, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Measurements above 35 inches in women and 40 inches in men are in the danger zone.”

Waist-to-hip ratio This test is almost as quick as waist circumference, but less dirty. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. In women, a waist measurement that’s more than 80 percent of your hips signals too much abdominal fat and an increased risk for health problems associated with obesity. In men, the figure is 95 percent (because men have narrower hips).

The Bottom Line
Today, BMI continues to play a key role in physicians’ diagnoses of obesity. However, more doctors are complementing it with other tests. “Personally, I now pay more attention to waist measurement than BMI,” says Dr. Simon. Adds Arya M. Sharma, M.D., a professor of medicine at McMaster University School of Medicine in Hamilton, Ontario: “Not long ago, doctors put people on scales and measured their heights to calculate BMI and their risk of cardiovascular disease. Now we know they should forget the scale and take out a tape measure.”

Michael Castleman

Michael Castleman has been called “one of the nation’s leading health writers” (Library Journal). He is the author of 11 consumer health books and more than 1,500 health articles for magazines and the Web.

Whether they’re crunching and crackling, or buckling when they should bend, knees seem to reach their expiration date faster than does skim milk. If your knees feel older than you are, the culprit may likely be found between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to Erik Moen, a physical therapist and founder of Corpore Sano Physical Therapy in Kenmore, Wash. “Many people are at a computer for work, and all that time sitting makes you lose strength in the hip gluteus medius,” says Moen. He explains that this crucial muscle stabilizes your leg from your hip to your knee, and if you don’t keep them strong, your knees will weaken over time.

Another major knee problem can actually come from being too active — if it’s the wrong activity. Your knees are coated with cartilage, which provides a cushion when you move. “But there’s only so much [cartilage] available for a lifetime,” says Moen. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Activities such as running for long distances every day or jumping too much can eventually wear it thin.”

While you can’t quit your job or restore the cartilage already lost, there are steps you can take to minimize further damage and maximize knee health as you grow older:

1. Get off Your Feet
Running is a knee killer, and even walking can do slight damage. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to retire your sneakers. Instead, diversify. “Biking or doing another exercise with less impact every other workout will allow your knees to repair the damage,” says Moen. Remember, you don’t want to stop doing cardio, because excess weight gain can put stress on the knees as well.

2. Positive Posture
When posture is out of alignment, it causes your body to shift weight to the knees at an unhealthy angle. You want your hips to sit over your knees, but that can only happen by training the rest of your body not to hunch. A top exercise to improve posture is the wall sit: Begin by putting yourself in a seated position against the wall; then flatten your lower back, then mid-back, then your head against the wall. Pull your arms back to complete the movement. Hold for as long as you can while maintaining good form.

3. Get a Lift
Sideline leg lifts will improve the aforementioned gluteus medius. Lie on your side with your knees slightly bent, then elevate your top leg 12 to 15 inches past horizontal. Three sets of 12 reps is optimal. Remember to work out both legs.

4. Don’t Ignore Pain
“Listen to your
knees,” says Moen. “Serious knee problems don’t usually start overnight — they
fester.” So if you’re experiencing knee pain, especially if it’s intolerable,
then you need to figure out why you’re having it. Better a doctor’s appointment
now than a knee replacement later!

Eric Butterman Eric Butterman has written health
articles for more than 20 publications, including Glamour, Men’s
Fitness and Shape.

What’s in that bottle of water you just bought? Ads suggest it’s pure H₂O, implying that it’s less contaminated by pollutants than what flows from the tap. But recent tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C., show that 10 bestselling brands of bottled water contained “a surprising array of chemical contaminants…at levels no different from those found in tap water.”

The International Bottled Water Association countered that the EWG’s report contained “false claims and exaggerations” and maintains that bottled water meets federal standards for drinking water quality.

So what’s a water drinker to do? Get the facts and then decide for yourself.

Fact No. 1: An estimated 45 percent of bottled water comes from ordinary municipal water supplies.
Many bottlers begin with municipal water, filter it and label their product as “purified” water. “Spring” water must come from an underground spring. “Mineral” water must come from an underground source and contain at least 250 parts per million of total dissolved minerals. “Artesian” water must come from a well that taps into an aquifer.

While all this may sound good, keep in mind that all municipal water supplies are filtered, and many come from springs or aquifers and contain enough minerals to be called mineral water. If you’re curious where your bottled water comes from, check the label, visit the company’s Web site or call their 800 number to ask.

Fact No. 2: Bottled water is less regulated than tap water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water and requires municipal water systems to test annually for contaminants and publish the results. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water but has no testing or publication requirement and rarely inspects bottled water plants. “In other words, consumers have to take bottlers’ word for the purity of their products,” says Nneka Leiba, co-author of the EWG report.

If you’d like to view the latest test results for the water that flows from your tap, contact your municipal water supplier to ask for a copy. You can also have your water tested — which may not be a bad idea if you live in an older home, since old pipes can sometimes add contaminants to your water. The EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) can provide the names of reputable laboratories.

Fact No. 3: Chemicals may leach from plastic bottles into bottled water.
This is controversial. Some experts say there is little, if anything, to worry about. But several studies, show that chemicals from plastic bottles leach into bottled water, notably formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone. The EWG recommends storing water in stainless steel bottles, not plastic.

Fact No. 4: Home water filters are cheaper than bottled water.
OK, so maybe you don’t like the taste of the tap water in your area, or the test results reported to the EPA were less than stellar. Water filters can help at a fraction of the cost of bottled water. Just keep in mind that home filters must be cleaned and serviced regularly, otherwise the contaminants they trap might be reintroduced into your water.

Fact No. 5: Plastic bottles are bad for the planet.
Americans drink nine billion gallons of bottled water a year, packaged in the equivalent of about 35 billion one-liter plastic bottles. It takes a great deal of energy to manufacture those bottles, says Allen Herskowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. It takes even more energy to fill those bottles and ship them, often thousands of miles, to market. In the end, the vast majority of empty water bottles end up in landfills.

So give some thought before you buy your next bottle of water. Some people like the convenience, especially when they’re out and about. Others prefer the taste. But if your primary concern is purity, you might do just as well turning on the tap.

Michael Castleman Michael Castleman has been called “one of the nation’s leading health writers” (Library Journal). He is the author of 11 consumer health books and more than 1,500 health articles for magazines and the Web.