Posts Tagged ‘airway’

The morning after daylight savings time begins is usually more stressful due to the decreased amount of sleep we get. Which is why we will begin this week of doses with something less taxing…the anatomy of sword swallowing. First of all, did you know that sword swallowers really do swallow swords? There’s no trickery, illusion, or slight of hand here. All it takes is plenty of practice and getting your body to do what it reflexively doesn’t want to. Suppression of the gag reflex is the first thing, followed by learning to flick your epiglottis out of the way with the sword on the way down through your airway and into your esophagus, keeping in mind that your heart nestles right next to it and any wrong doing could potentially cause serious damage. The remainder of the feat requires you to navigate through the lower esophagus and finally into the stomach at which time you must suppress the stomach’s retch reflex. Sounds simple? Continue reading about removing the sword…

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Folic acid, or folate, is a vitamin that is currently recommended to pregnant women to reduce the risk of congenital abnormalities in newborns. However, according to an article in the latest Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers have concerns that folic acid may actually increase the risk of respiratory illness in children. After studying more than 32,000 infants, researchers found that those with mothers who had taken folic acid supplements during the first three months of pregnancy had higher risk of wheezing and other respiratory complaints in the first 18 months. Scientists speculate that folic acid may cause airways to become inflammed. Further studies will be required before any change in recommendations is made. Until then, folic acid remains a recommended supplement during pregnancy.

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