Insufficient nocturnal sleep often triggers off various forms of psychosomatic diseases in the aged. The result is that we turn to medication. However, nurses and caregivers should try to seek other ways to cope with the situation without depending on drugs so that the old people could lead a safe and comfortable life. Not a few users of our facility suffer from circadian rhythm sleep disorders in addition to cerebrovascular disease, senile dementia and other impairments. They are asleep during the daytime and awake by night. Homa 1) says one of the principal causes of sleep-wake rhythm disorders is inadequate environmental light. We were also interested in the study by Mito et al. that sleep disorders were ameliorated by sunbathing because sunlight helps restore the damaged adjustment function of the biological clock. Hama et al. have observed that two-hour exposure to light stimulation (over 25,000 Lux) in the morning is effective in adjusting sleep-wake rhythm. Based on these observations, we tried experiments in our facility. This paper is a report of our findings thus far obtained about the benefit of the morning sunlight.
Sleep ; Rhythm ; Sleep brand of diphenhydramine hydrochloride ; Old episode ; Morning

PURPOSE: Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been widely used as an antiemetic agent. This systematic review was aimed at evaluation of the effect of dried ginger powder supplementation on improvement of nausea and vomiting associated with early pregnancy or motion sickness. METHODS: We searched Pubmed, Cochrane, Science Direct, and KISS (Korean studies Information Service System) using keywords such as ginger or Zingiber officinale in combination with nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, or pregnancy, published in March 2013. RESULTS: The strength of the evidence was evaluated on the selected 12 RCTs (randomized controlled trials). Eleven trials including 2,630 subjects showed that supplementation with dried ginger powder resulted in significant improvement of nausea or vomiting related to early pregnancy or motion sickness. Among the nine studies including 809 women in early pregnancy before 20 weeks of gestation, ginger supplementation was superior to placebo in five studies (n = 305), and as effective as positive control (vitamin B6 or dimenhydrinate) in four studies (n = 504). Ginger intake significantly reduced the episodes or severity of vomiting related to motion sickness compared to placebo or showed the same effect as several antiemetic drugs in two studies (n = 1,821). CONCLUSION: Our findings added evidence indicating that ginger powder supplements might improve the symptoms of nausea or vomiting related to early pregnancy or motion sickness without significant adverse events.
Antiemetics ; Female ; Ginger* ; Humans ; Information Services ; Morning Sickness ; Motion Sickness* ; Nausea* ; Pregnancy* ; Vomiting*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the compliance with the protocol, which was developed considering the emetogenic potential for prophylaxis of chemotherapy. METHODS: Data was collected from 144 patients who received chemotherapy from June 15 to August 31, 2010 in C University Hospital in Jeollanamdo, Korea. The level of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and the compliance with the protocol for prophylaxis of CINV were measured. RESULTS: There was statistically significant difference of CINV in morning sickness and anticipatory nausea of general and clinical characteristics. Also, the compliance with the protocol developed according to emetogenic potential of chemotherapy was statistically significant. There was no difference in CINV in regard to the compliance with the protocol. CONCLUSION: There was a good compliance with the protocol for prophylaxis according to emetogenic potential. But it should be recommended to use antiemetics for prophylaxis aggressively to relieve CINV for the patients who already experienced morning sickness and anticipatory nausea. In addition, the oncology nurses should respond sensitively to the complaints of nausea and vomiting no matter what the emetogenic potentials of chemotherapy regimen are.
Antiemetics ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Compliance ; Female ; Guideline Adherence ; Humans ; Korea ; Morning Sickness ; Nausea ; Pregnancy ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy are well-known phenomena. It has been suggested that the mechanism that triggers nausea and vomiting in pregnancy may be related to olfactory changes. We planned to investigate olfactory function changes and the relationship between olfaction changes and nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Two groups of participants with the total of 75 women (35 pregnant women; 40 non-pregnant women) were analyzed prospectively. Objective olfactory function was tested using Korean Version of Sniffin' Sticks-II test (KVSS-II test). In addition, pregnant subjects were investigated using the questionnaire to evaluate the severity of nausea and vomiting, and whether the changes were due to olfactory sensitivity. RESULTS: Subjective olfactory sensitivity was increased in pregnant subjects. However, there was no significant difference in the objective olfactory function between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, we concluded that pregnancy is accompanied by changes in subjective olfactory sensitivity and higher subjective olfactory discomfort. But these findings do not support the hypothesis that nausea and vomiting is dependent of the changes in the objective olfactory function during early pregnancy.
Female ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Morning Sickness ; Nausea ; Pregnancy ; Prospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smell ; Vomiting

Morning sickness is a common condition in early pregnancy, and it affects the health of both the pregnant woman and fetus. It can decrease the woman's quality of life and also contribute significantly to health care costs and time off work. In most women the condition is mild and self limiting, but a small percentage of women experience severe form being hyperemesis gravidarum. Once symptoms progress, treatment can become more difficult. So, the treatment in the early stages is important to prevent more serious complications, including hospitalization. Once pathologic causes have been ruled out, treatment is individualized. Initial treatment should be conservative and should involve dietary and lifestyle changes. But, severe or prolonged cases may need hospitalization and pharmacologic therapy.
Female ; Fetus ; Health Care Costs ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hyperemesis Gravidarum ; Life Style ; Morning Sickness ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Quality of Life

Nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy is a common phenomenon, but very little data is available about the mechanism of this condition, and the etiology of hypereme sis is still unknown. One of the most popular hypothesis is that abnormal hormone levels, especi-ally thyroid hormone, may be possible etiologic factor of nausea and vomiting. The object of this study is to investigate the relationship between the presence or ab- sence of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy and thyroid function. Twenty patients suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum of first trimester of pregnancy and twenty from morning sickness were selected. 20 non-pregnant and 20 pregnant women without nausea and vomiting were selected to age-matched control groups. Thyroid function was evaluated by using T3, T4, and TSH radioimmunoassay. Comparison between groups were analyzed with the paired t-test. In this study, we found that a significant increase in serum total T4(p<0.001) and T3 (p<0.05), and a significant decrease in serum TSH(p<0.001) were observed in pregnancy with hyperemesis gravidarum relative to the level in normal pregnancy. These results were correlated with the severity of nausea and vomiting. In conclusion, highly elevated T3 and T4 were closely linked to the cause of the vomi- ting in pregnancy with hyperemesis gravidarum. Further study is needed to evaluate more clearly the thyroid status of patients with hyperemesis gravidarum and to seek a therapy.
Female ; Humans ; Hyperemesis Gravidarum* ; Morning Sickness ; Nausea ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnant Women ; Radioimmunoassay ; Thyroid Gland* ; Tolnaftate ; Vomiting

The primary objective of this study was to develop an optimal composite recipe for ginger extract candy with Salicornia herbacea L., for consumption during the first trimester of pregnancy. The secondary objective was to examine quality characteristics of the candy. The physical and mechanical properties and sensory properties for pregnant women in were measured, and these values were applied to mathematical models. Time of stirring water solution, saltiness, pH, and redness of the candy increased as concentrations of ginger juice did, but variations in pH were not significant. The hardness values of the candy ranged from 3,063.90 to 5,681.65 dyne/cm³. The average values of sweetness and time stirring the water solution were 5.36% and 14.1 minutes, respectively. However, hardness and sweetness stirring water solution were not significant. The range of sensory values of color (P < 0.01), flavor (P < 0.05), sweetness, saltiness, spiciness, and overall quality (P < 0.05) ranged from were 3.73~5.32, 4.05~5.05, 3.67~5.14, 3.59~5.09, 3.55~5.15, and 3.32~5.45, respectively. Results suggest that ginger extract candy with Salicornia herbacea L. should be comprised of 7.37 g of ginger juice and 1.77 g of salt. Consequently, it could be a functional candy for pregnant women.
Candy ; Chenopodiaceae ; Female ; Ginger ; Hardness ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Models, Theoretical ; Morning Sickness ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnant Women ; Water

Morning sickness during pregnancy is a very common functional problem with different kinds of symptom, but little data are available concerning the nutrition intervention program for pregnant women in local area. A total of 152 pregnant women who had experienced morning sickness were surveyed to investigate the relationships between morning sickness, nutrient intakes and pregnancy outcome. The results showed that prevalent symptoms were nausea (68.4%), heartburn (59.2%), morning sickness (48.7%), vomiting (42.1%), and constipation (44.7%). The onset of the symptom occurred during the first 3 months (9.3 +/- 2.3 weeks); 21.1% of the subjects was experienced two symptom at the same time. This significantly correlated with vomiting (p < 0.01), nausea (p < 0.001), morning sickness (p < 0.001), and heartburn (p < 0.01) with pregnancy weight. There were also correlations between the four symptoms and nutrient intakes. Mean birth weight of 21 newborns was 3.06 +/- 0.42 kg, and the one and five minutes of Apgar scores were 7.74 +/- 0.99 and 8.84 +/- 0.69, respectively. There were negative correlations between vomiting and pregnancy outcomes (p < 0.05). Our data support that morning sickness, especially vomiting during pregnancy is associated with Apgar score and body weight of newborn.
Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Constipation ; Female ; Heartburn ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Morning Sickness ; Nausea ; Nutritional Status* ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Vomiting

Iron deficiency anemia is a worldwide public health problem relevant to unsound nutritional practice. While the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia is very common among pregnant women, appropriate nutritional service programs to improve the iron status are lacking in Korea. In an attempt to develop a nutritional screening tool to separate the high-risk subjects of iron deficiency, we carried out a nutritional survey for 115 Korean pregnant women whose gestational age ranged from 13 to 24 weeks. Each subject was interviewed with questionnaires for general characteristics and dietary habits. Food intake was measured by 24-hour recap method and 2 day record. Fasting blood was drawn for measuring hemoglobin and serum ferritin. It appeared that half of the pregnant women belonged to the anemia group and had insufficient dietary habits to provide adequate amounts of dietary iron. The first gravida and the working women had better hematological iron indicators than the second or more gravida and the housewives. It also appeared that women who had bigger family size and lower BMI in pre-pregnancy had poorer iron status. Among the food consumption habits, fruit dependent dietary habit was related to poor iron status. Sufficiently consumed green leafy vegetable and appropriate amount of food before morning sickness were positive factors of iron stares. Our results indicated that parity, BMI, current job, family size, food habits including consumption of fruits, green & yellow vegetables, and food habits before the onset of morning sickness are significant factors to contribute the Fe deficiency anemia during pregnancy.
Anemia* ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Eating ; Family Characteristics ; Fasting ; Female ; Ferritins ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Iron ; Iron, Dietary ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Morning Sickness ; Nutrition Surveys ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Vegetables ; Women, Working ; Surveys and Questionnaires