Health briefs

Dec 5, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Some cooking oils fit for skin care

Berlin (dpa) - Cold pressed and native cooking oils can also be used for skin care, according to the Berlin-based Consumer Initiative, a Germany-wide consumer protection organization. It notes that the skin, especially when slightly moist, quickly absorbs oils with a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as soybean oil, sunflower seed oil and wheat germ oil.

These oils therefore lend themselves to skin care after a shower or bath. A refreshing touch can be added by mixing them with several drops of sea buckthorn oil. Almond, sesame, olive and peanut oil are absorbed by the skin more slowly. The Consumer Initiative recommends them for the care of dry skin and as massage oils because they leave a protective film on the skin for a while.

'Smoker's cough' could be serious

Berlin (dpa) - Smokers often fail to take a chronic cough and shortness of breath seriously enough, noted Dieter Koehler, academic advisory council member of the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine. They dismiss the symptoms as a harmless smoker's cough or blame them on poor physical fitness or advancing age.

Koehler said that a chronic cough with or without sputum, and shortness of breath during mild physical exertion or when resting, were signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The disease often goes undiagnosed until lung function has fallen by half, he pointed out.