From Washington, DC

• Congress remains on its State/district work break, with one hearing scheduled to be held in Guam.

• The Centers for Disease Control reminds us that August is National Immunization Awareness Month by pointing out its immunization guidance website.

From the public health front,

• Fortune Well discusses skin cancer prevention and identifies “five nutrients that ‘help keep brains in top condition at all ages,’ researchers say.
  •  Lycopene: An antioxidant that could help protect cells from damage, lycopene gives some fruits and vegetables—like tomatoes, watermelon, red oranges, pink grapefruits, apricots, and guavas—their red hue.
  • Retinol: A form of Vitamin A that helps the immune system work properly, retinol helps you see in dim lighting and keeps skin healthy. It’s found in foods like cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk, yogurt, and liver. The body can convert beta-carotene into retinol, so indirect sources include yellow, red, and green leafy vegetables like spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and red peppers, as well as yellow fruits like mangos, papaya, and apricots.
  • Lutein: Often referred to as the “eye vitamin,” lutein is thought to protect eye tissue from sun damage. You can find it in foods like egg yolks, spinach, kale, corn, orange peppers, kiwis, grapes, zucchini, and squash.
  • Zeaxanthin: An antioxidant, zeaxanthin is known to protect eye tissues from the sun. It’s found in eggs, oranges, grapes, corn, goji berries, mango, and orange peppers.
  • Vitamin E: Also an antioxidant, Vitamin E keeps free radicals in check, improves immune function, and can prevent clots from forming in the arteries of the heart. It can be found in plant-based oils, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables like sunflower oil, soybean oil, almonds, peanuts, spinach, pumpkin, red bell peppers, asparagus, mangoes, and avocados.

• CNN reports
  • “As rates of sexually transmitted infections continue to skyrocket across the United States, a growing number of physicians are prescribing a commonly used antibiotic as a way to prevent chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections in gay and bisexual men and transgender women.
  • “Doxycycline is a class of medications traditionally used to treat bacterial STIs after someone has been infected. Yet recent research suggests that one 200mg dose of the drug can be effective in preventing such infections among men who have sex with men if taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex.
  • “This approach, called doxyPEP, has garnered so much attention that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to post draft guidance for public comment in the next several weeks on how healthcare workers may deploy the preventative treatment, such as how many pills should go into a prescription or which people could benefit most from the drug.”

• NPR Shots explains how to keep your home’s air clean.
  • Maximize fresh air.
  • Control the source of pollutants.
  • Purify the air.

• The Wall Street Journal points out seven exercises to improve your hands’ grip.
  • As we age, a firm handshake implies far more than confidence.
  • A strong grip is a great proxy for longevity. Feeble handgrip strength has been shown to be a better predictor of adverse health events like cardiovascular disease and stroke than systolic blood pressure.
  • Your grip involves everything from your forearm muscles to the muscles in your hands, all of which allow us to move our finger joints. A strong grip allows us to hold securely on to things, such as the railing of a staircase, and open stubborn jars of peanut butter or pickles. 

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Fierce Healthcare reports
  • Cigna has launched a new tool that will allow its members to use their smartphones to check for dental health issues, including gum disease and cavities.
  • The insurer announced Thursday morning that the online service, which is backed by Dental.com, will be available for free. It offers guided steps for members to take five photos of their teeth and mouth, which will be analyzed by the SmartScan technology. A Cigna network dentist will then review the scans.
  • The tool will provide members with an oral health score as well as personalized dental care tips. It will also identify any concerns and connect the user with either virtual or in-person follow-ups for treatment.
  • The program is available starting [August 17] to more than 16.5 million Cigna members in employer-sponsored or Affordable Care Act exchange plans, the insurer said.