Key points from today’s guests:
Dr. Stephen Thornton, medical toxicologist; medical director, Kansas Poison Control Center, The University of Kansas Health System
- Caffeine is a stimulant that increases alertness and can raise your blood pressure.
- As a drug, you have to remember that the dose makes the poison. The FDA recommends no more than 400 milligrams per day, which can be about 4-5 cups of coffee.
- Not always knowing how much caffeine is in something can be a challenge. It’s very easy to overdose and it can be life threatening. We’ve seen individuals die from overdosing on caffeine. It can cause seizures and neurological problems.
- Bulk caffeine is more available now and is dangerous. It can be in pill form or in infused energy drinks.
- There are benefits to caffeine. It can sharpen the mind and it’s been shown to improve memory.
Dr. John Ashcraft, division chief, colon and rectal surgery, The University of Kansas Health System
- Everything in moderation. Caffeine in and of itself isn’t bad, but when you have too much in your system, you’ll see side effects – diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and GERD symptoms.
- We also see that rates of cirrhosis are lower with patients that drink more coffee than those who don't. And so there is a protective benefit in the GI system that we know of.
- There is data showing that it releases dopamine in the brain, which has an addictive property of most medicines that people are addicted to.
Dr. Travis Love, cardiologist, The University of Kansas Health System
- Coronary artery disease and heart attacks are the number one cause of death. It's just the most likely way to die in the United States or even in the in the world.
- So it's tough to pick apart causation and correlation and what happened, as far as having myocardial infarction or heart attack, from caffeine. I wouldn't say that there truly is evidence that it can cause a heart attack.
- If you feel like you are getting palpitations or your heart rate is going up, try to limit your caffeine intake.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System
- The hospital COVID count for this week is at 18 inpatients, which is in line with 15 inpatients last week.
- The CDC officially dropped its isolation guidelines for COVID prevention guidance is it's grouped together with other respiratory illnesses like flu and RSV.
- That guidance says that if you're sick, you stay isolated until your symptoms are improving or until after you've been fever free for 24 hours without using medicine like Tylenol or Advil.
- Good hand hygiene is always vitally important and try to avoid putting your hands in your eyes, your nose, or your mouth. Wearing a mask is always okay. We know that does help prevent you from getting infected by these respiratory viruses, even if those around you are not wearing masks.
Tuesday, Mar. 5 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. What are the warning signs of colorectal cancer and why are younger people being diagnosed more than before? We’ll explpore that as as part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
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