HIS TITLE at the Red Cross,
director of transformation opera­
tions, eems innocuous enough until
you read the job description. Polk is
overseeing the overhaul of the
organization's 50 blood centers
which supply more than half of the
blood in the Untied States.
HE AL WA YS wanted to be an
airborne ranger. In 1959 he applied
to West Point but was not selected,
the first of a string of disappoint-
HEALTH
BRIAN RUBERVY
ments that later' proved to be for­
tuitous. He stayed in Lake Charles
and was part of the first integrated
cia at McNeese State University.
His lifelong interest in medicine led
him to a pre-med major. He also
enrolled in ROTC.
WHILE HE FEELS blood
bankers have come a long way since
his boyhood day of eeing blood
labeled by race, he wants more
African-American to be blood
donors.
"The biggest problem is that the
American blood industry does not
know how to recruit Black and
other minorities. Our efforts are
geared toward middle-etas whites.
We don't have enough African
Americans a recruiters or in execu­
tive positions.
Maybe if people read thi article
and see that a Black is part of the
executive team, they will begin to
listen to what the Red Cros has to
ay when they ask for blood. Blacks,
like everyone else, need to feel a
connection. "
TODAY, POL is embarking
on a whirlwind tour of the Red Cro
blood regions. He is vi i'ting 12
centers in 14 days. He ays he
doesn't mind the breakneck
schedule. After 25 years, he says he
is used to the pace.
Headed out the door for the air­
port, he says, "I needed a new chal­
lenge. This was an opportunity I
. couldn't pa up."
S unds like omething a "can do"
kind of person might say.
Parents, watch for 'allergic salute'
Building new blood testing Getting married and having three
laboratories, retraining thousands of children while still in school left little
technicians and designing a national time for his rigorous pre-med
computer ystem are only a handful studies. He switched majors to
of his duties. medical technology and graduated in
Polk points out thatthe overriding 1966 as the first Black commis­
responsibilty of hi new po t i en-: , io� officer from the ROTC pro-
suring a safe blood supply. gram at McNeese.
Anthony Jo eph Polk w born in Polk says that while he has seen
New Orleans and rai ed in Lake his hare of raci m, eldom has he
Charles, La. Hi parents divorced experience overt prejudice.
early in his life. His mother washed "I've been fortunate, with one ex-
. clothes and worked other domestic ception. My physics professor at
jobs to keep him in private schools. McNeese State told me he didn't like
"We were very poor, but my mom my kin� and th�t I ,:;ould fail his
had a lot of pride. She pushed me to course. He was nght.
be somebody and instilled a sense of
pride in service to my country and
fellow man," he says ..
HOUSfON-Parents will want to
look for the "allergic salute" this
spring - a sure sign that their child
has allergic rhinitis or "hay fever," and
not just a' common cold, says a Baylor
College of Medicine allergy expert.
The "salute," a rapid rubbing of the
nose and eyes, is one sigh that parents
can watch for as trees begin to spread
their pollen this allergy season.
"While allergies usually run in
families, many parents may not recog­
nize the symptoms, n said Dr. Stuart
Abramson, an assistam profe or of
pediatrics at Baylor. "Early detection
can payoff, because untreated condi­
tions sometimes lead to severe ill­
ness."
Abramson says that allergic
rhinitis in children is often confused
with colds, since their symptoms are
similar.
"A RUNNY NOSE, red watery
eyes, sneezing, a sore throat - these
can result from a common cold, or
they can be warningslgns of allergic
reaction," he said. "The main dif­
ference is that children with sinus al­
lergies have an unusually high
amount of sneezing and itching in the
nose."
Wheezing, too, can be a sign of
allergic reaction to airborne pollen,
and should be taken seriously, he
added, since nearly 80 percent of all
childhood asthma sufferers have
seasonal or year-round allergies. This
. can cause an asthma attack, a poten­
tially fatal condition, if not treated
properly.
Allergic reactions are divided into
three categories. Those that occur in
the nose or sinus are called "sinus,"
"hay fever," or "allergic rhinitis." If in
the chest, it is called "asthma."
Allergic reactions of the skin are
called "hives.",
Allergic rhinitis occurs when the
child breathes in airborne allergens
such as tree pollen. In allergy-sen­
sitaive people, the body produces an
antibody to the pollen. This eventual­
ly leads to the release of histamine, a
substance that reacts to the "invasion"
of the pollen. which sets off a chain of
events such as sneezing, itching, and
red watery eyes.
CHILDREN 3 AND older can be
tested for sinus allergies if they dis­
play symptoms. Treatment can in­
cl ude decongestants and
antihistamines for mild cases and al­
lergy shots for more severely affected
patients.
"Tbe big advance today is inhaled
medications," Abramson said. "They
, �re very useful for controlling inflam­
mation of the sinus."
New treatments include teroids
such as topical nose prays, and non-
THE ITCH STOPS HE E!
Caladryl v relieves poison ivy, insect
bites and allergic rashes the way
pbn calamine can't. Just use CoIodryi
lotion, Cream or Sprar as directed
and feel the Caladry difference
. for yourself. .
.� 1991 Worrier lambert Co
sedative antihistamines, which are
given orally to children 12 and older.
Abramson says that it is not known
why people have allergies, although it
is hereditary.
"It does run in families, although
not every child who has allergies has
parents with allergies. That is why it
is important for parents to kn w the
signs," he aid.
Abramson recommends that
parents seek help from a pediatric al­
lergist/immunologist that parents
seek help form a pediatric aller­
gi t/immunologist if they suspect
their child has developed allergies.
. ADVERTISE
Sugges ion 0 reduce die ary �at:
If you drink whole milk, wean yourself gradually to two percent, to one
p rcent, to skim;
Use jam, jelly or marmalade on bread and toast instead of butter or
. margarine;
o Choose lean meat, fish and poultry and remove s in from chicken;
Choose a vegetarian en ree at least once a week, and
o Snack on fresh fruit and vegetables, plain popcorn, pretzels or rice cakes
instead of fried chips and cookies.
,.,
,.
I.
II
. ,
..
Hugging your children may en­
ure that they lead healthy adult
live , reports the January 1992' ue
of Reader's Digest. .
Experiments with baby rats, con­
ducted at the Dougl H pital Re­
search Center at McGill University
in Montreal, could have implicatio
for humans.
The research hows that when
denied touch the baby rats uffered
memory 10 and brain damage in old
age from expo ure to powerful tress
chemicals called glucocorticoids.
These chemicals can cause muscle
hrinkage, loss of insulin sensitivity,
high blood pre ure, elevated
cholesterol, impaired growth and
damage to brain cells.
In contrast, rats handled during
the first to third wet of Ufe ex­
perienced far le brain damage �m
t and had almost no memory
1 in.old age.
Dougla Ho pit I researcher
Michael Meaney ay that touching
the rats during infancy stimulates the
development of receptors that eon­
trol the production of the harmful
stre chemicals. The receptors
produced by tOUChing in infancy
remain throughout the rats' lives,
and help them recover from mo­
ments of tress.
t coids, so it seems pas ible that our
re pon e to being touched a
children is similar.
Here's what el e research reveal
about touch:
o At the University of Miami
Medical School' Touch Re earch
Institute, researchers gave premature
b bies 45 minutes of massage each
day. Conventional wisdom held that
premature babies bould be kept in
an isolated womblike environment
and that touch would stress them and
impair chances for urvival.
However, the massaged babies
howed 47 percent greater weight
gain than their wardmates, well as
improved leep, alertness and ac­
tivity. Mo� dramatically, the mas-
ged preemies were able to leave
the costly critical-care unit an
average of lx days earlier than the
preemies who were not massaged.
Q Baby rats separated from their
mothers for as little as 4S mlnu
uffer a harp drop in level of
growth hormone and a key enzyme.
Dr. Saul SchaD6erg, a � Univer·
sity professor of pharmacology and
biological psychiatry, says these in-
ternal changes return to normal soon
after the mother returns to the nest.
o In Kansas ety, Mo., hoppers
were more likely to tty a sample of
pizza when given a sUght touch last­
ing a fraction of a second, reports
psychology profes or Frank Willis,
Jr., of the University of Missouri.
His research also shows that:
a More touching may take place
Send all
news/information
to:
Michigan Citizen,
P.O. Box 03560,
Highland Park.
MI 48203
in pre chool or kindergarten than
during any other years
o Touching I low t in early to
mid teens
, I
o Late in high chool or early in ,
college most people begin touching
members of the opposite ex, a pat- "
tern that grows more intense until
marriage
o Before marriage, men initiate
touching with women. After mar- .:
riage, it's almost alway the woman I
who touches the man first.
During his research with baby .J
rats at Dougl Ho pital, Meaney'. �
first child was born. His research has I
influence him a parent, he ys.
"I hug (my daughter) even more
than 1 might have prior to these dfa· :
coveries," Meaney ay. "Our'
evidence ugges that the hugging I -
give to my daughter today will help
her to remember bat my face loob ,
like - and to lead a happier, bcal- :
tblerllfe.
My to\JCh may be abaplng her fu-
tw'c." : � -
HUMAN BRAINS have the
ame kind of chemistry and cell
receptors as rats regarding glucocor-
'Medical Arts
Pharmacy
13700 Woodward
869-1800
DAVID-N.
ZIMMERMAN
PO, FACA
President
ONE OUT OF EVERY NINE
WOMEN WILL DEVELOP
BREAST CANCER IN
HER LIFETIME.
IT COULD BE YOU OR
SOMEONE YOU LOVE.
. 12858 WOODWARD - Highland Park
865-5220
Learn the facts about a disease
. that touches all our lives.
Call
(800) 221-2141, weekdays,
9 a.m.-5 p.m., central time zone."
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