Over Sixty Winter 2022 Digital

14 LIVEWELL WINTER 2022 | OVERSIXTY.COM.AU MARC FELGAR LIVE WELL DANCING Lace up your dancing shoes: dancing is one of the best workouts for your mind and body. One recent study compared the effects of dancing to walking, stretching and toning in adults aged 60 to 79. Over a six-month period, only dancing slowed the degeneration of cerebral white matter – a process associated with cognitive decline. The study suggested the physical, social and mental challenges of dancing (think memorising steps!) are behind these unique benefits. Further research has shown dancing can help curb anxiety and even boost happiness through social bonding. Dancingalsocounts towards thegoal of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, as recommended by Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for adults. STRENGTH TRAINING Strength training doesn’t have to involve pumping iron in a sweaty gym. In fact, you can easily tackle a bodyweight exercise routine from the comfort of your own home. Strength training has been shown to strengthen bones; improve brain function; improve balance; increase muscle mass; help manage chronic conditions including arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depressionanddiabetes;increasemetabolism and reduce body fat. The Australian physical activity guidelines recommend resistance exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. WALKING Although it’s often something we take for granted, walking can provide significant health benefits. Aside from being a means of getting from point A to point B, research has shown walking can: lower blood pressure; lower cholesterol; reduce your risk of diabetes; boost immune function; ease joint pain; curb your sweet tooth; and improve your mood. The best thing about walking is that it’s free (no gym membership required!), you don’t need any equipment, and you can do it just about anywhere. If you’re concerned about safety, or suffer from a medical condition that puts you at risk of a fall, make it a social activity. Walk in a public place, invite a walking partner, carry a phone or invest in a mobile alert button. SWIMMING As a physical activity, swimming gives you the best of both worlds. Although it’s low-impact exercise that’s easy on the joints, it does your body good in a number of ways, ticking both the aerobic and strength-training goals set by Australia’s physical activity guidelines. According to recent research, swimming regularly can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, reduce stress and improve mood. The perfect total body workout, swimming works all the major muscle groups (legs, back, shoulders, chest and abdominals), and can be done individually or socially. Set a challenge for yourself in the pool, either to beat your personal best or to compete against a fellow swimmer. TAI CHI Tai chi helps build strength, flexibility and balance with minimal impact on your joints. It can be done at any age and in any setting. Once you learn the moves and the routine, you can do it in a group or individually. In addition to improving balance – a key consideration as you age – tai chi is also great for the mind. Its slow and deliberate movements demand exacting concentration, putting you into a state of meditative flow. Tai chi is considered a strength training exercise as it works all of your major muscle groups, with particular emphasis on legs, shoulders and core. Include it as one of your strength training exercises each week. Best exercises for seniors Medical mystery files LIVE WELL Janice Brisco’s facial outbreaks began mildly, but soon became much more severe – finding the cause proved challenging Illustration: Victor Wong LIVE WELL You can easily tackle a bodyweight exercise routine from the comfort of your own home Photo: Getty Images LISA BENDALL LIVE WELL I n 2016, Janice Brisco, a funeral-home worker in her mid-60s, started finding the occasional bump on her face. They often appeared at night as a single rose-coloured welt about the size of an insect bite, or a small cluster. By morning, the bumps were usually swollen, red and itchy, and would take a few days to settle down. “I was wondering, do I have bedbugs?” she says. Although Janice laundered her bedding in hot water, the outbreaks continued. They weren’t frequent, about every other month, but they gradually intensified. Soon Janice was having episodes in which her entire face was red and swollen. At the end of 2017, the reaction was more severe than ever: her face turned deep purplish-red, her skin drew painfully tight, and her eyelids swelled so that her eyes almost closed. “My husband said I looked like Rocky after a big fight!” she says. “It hurt, and it was quite scary, because I could hardly see.” She booked an emergency appointment with her family doctor, who recommended an antihistamine for a suspected allergic reaction and referred her to an allergist. In January 2018, Janice saw the allergist, who conducted skin-prick testing, in which tiny amounts of allergens are scratched into the skin. She had some minor reactions to a few substances, but nothing that would account for her attacks. “I was back to square one,” she says. Shortly after, at a routine appointment with her dermatologist, Janice shared some photos of the outbreaks. The doctor suggested she see Dr Sandy Skotnicki, a dermatologist who specialises in contact dermatitis, a skin reaction from touching an allergen or irritant – as opposed to an allergy to something that is eaten or inhaled, which skin-prick testing looks for. When seeing Janice, Dr Skotnicki was immediately certain the causewas something coming into contact with her skin. “Janice had these dramatic, explosive photoswithincredibleswellingandweeping,” she recalls. Often, contact dermatitis occurs when something is applied to the skin, such as face cream, especially when people apply these products regularly. Janice’s reactions, being intermittent, didn’t fit. Janice couldn’t think of anything she used only sporadically. But without answers, she risked steadily worsening reactions, as her immune system learned to build an ever-stronger response. Dr Skotnicki decided to conduct patch testing: Flat square packets less than a centimetre in size, each holding a pad soaked with a tiny amount of a specific substance, are taped to a patient’s back for 48 hours and then removed. After another 48 hours, the patient is examined for reactions. Dozens of substances canbe tested at once, but since there are several thousand potential skin allergens, the dermatologist must decide which sets (called “trays”) to use. Dr Skotnicki has trays customised for hairdressers, mechanics and other occupations; she asks about hobbies like painting and stamp collecting. “With contact dermatitis, you’re kind of like a detective,” she says. She started Janice with the standard tray of 85 substances, including cosmetic ingredients and clothing dyes. “My whole back was covered with little white square patches,” says Janice. Dr Skotnicki noted where her skin had become an angry red and covered in a rash. Janice tested positive to lavender and lemongrass, and was most highly allergic to ylang-ylang, a tropical fragrant tree whose extract has gained popularity as a beauty- product ingredient. These substances are found in shampoos and perfumes, but they had something else in common: they’re also sold as essential oils. At a recent conference, Dr Skotnicki had learned about a rising incidence of allergic patients who used diffusers, which disperse essential- oil particles into the air to benefit mood or mental function. Now, she questioned Janice. “I was diffusing daily,” Janice says, who’d started using essential oils a couple of years before the bumps first appeared. The oils had been recommended by a neighbour, and Janice quickly became a fan, using different ones for different reasons. On occasion, she’d used the offending lavender to help with sleep, or blends that included ylang-ylang as a pick-me-up. Of course, when essential oils are launched into the air, they come into contact with skin. “The eyelids are so thin, they get allergic reactions first,” saysDr Skotnicki. If Janice had continued using the oils, the reactions would have become more extreme over time, and the rashes would have spread to other areas. Around two to four percent of the population is allergic to chemicals in their daily products, often without knowing it, says Dr Skotnicki. “They suffer for a long time.” Armed with her diagnosis, Janice can now safely avoid the essential oils she’s allergic to, and she’s careful not to get too close to her diffuser. She also now uses fragrance-free beauty and cleaning products. It’s been a lesson for Dr Skotnicki, too. “After Janice, I’ve asked every patient about essential-oil diffusers!” Enjoy these simple activities daily and reap the health benefits If it wasn’t bed bugs or allergies, why was she waking up with her eyes swollen shut? BONUS SECTION