Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.     We are in the beginning of the first (and hopefully last) pandemic of our generation. The COVID-19 or "coronavirus" pandemic sees many of us having to undergo several behaviour changes that we never anticipated needing to make.  What is "coronavirus"? Check out this video for an explainer of the virus' action and COVID-19's infection outcomes. We are being asked to do things we never thought we'd need to do in 2020, like avoiding people around us by using  social distancing that includes 1.5m spacing . We have also seen a lot of the things we enjoy being taken away from us, like our  pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes ,  gardens  and  beaches  being closed. Image 1: Introverts might enjoy the isolation, but those extroverts out there might struggle without their clubs and pubs (credit: knowyourmeme.co...

What are my clients saying about telehealth (video/email/text/phone) physiotherapy delivered by me? Female, 31, metropolitan Melbourne. When I hurt my ankle playing netball, I was lucky enough to have Brea as my physiotherapist. Brea was so helpful with providing updated information and advice along with prescribed exercise all remotely.  I had a lot of discomfort with painful walking before treatment with Brea. Brea prescribed exercises that were catered to my specific needs and capabilities that I could do during the day whilst at work, helping me to improve my strength and reduce the pain. I am so grateful for Brea's frequent contact and updated advice. Based on how much pain I was in or how much improvement there was, she would alter the exercises and provide advice. I am doing well and have been able to incorporate these exercises into my routine easily and have been since able to play netball with no pain. I am now back to my usual activities! I would r...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.   COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") has officially been  declared a pandemic  by the  World Health Organisation (WHO) . Australia has recently taken the extreme and necessary step of asking people to self-isolate if they :  Are experiencing symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat [Image 1]); Have been in contact with someone with COVID-19; or Have travelled overseas and arrived back in Australia after March 15. Image 1: Symptoms of COVID-19 (credit: health.gov.au ) Self isolation can be just that: isolating . We often say that we wish we could just stop time for a couple of weeks and take time off from our responsibilities, like work and exercise, and put our feet up. Well, now that it's enforced for many, we start to realise that it's actually not much fun. In fact, breaks from usual activity can be  bad...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Research Fellow, BehaviourWorks Australia.  COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) . What is a pandemic? Our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison (ScoMo), has been very busy trying to manage public concern and panic around the pandemic, while advising us on what we should do to minimise the spread of the virus (Image 1).  Image 1: What you can do to control the spread of COVID-19 (credit: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention ) Mr Morrison is often seen flanked by the Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Brendan Murphy , in press conferences where they advise us on what the current situation is, what the government is doing to control the spread and protect the safety of the nation, and what Australians need to do to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy.  But is ScoMo following his own advice? I read an interesting paper ...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). As parents, when we think ‘solids’ we think 2 things: choking and allergy…oh and a third…copious amounts of mess. As a mum, I want to do all that I can to prevent my 5-month old daughter, Abby, from developing any allergy, including food allergies and related diseases like asthma, eczema etc. To do this, I have been eating peanuts, fish, shellfish, tree nuts (e.g. almonds), taking probiotics daily and working hard to continue exclusively breastfeeding all because I have heard somewhere or from someone that this can help to prevent Abby from developing allergies. I also jumped at the chance to feed Abby peanut butter, egg, fish and other foods because I also heard that she should eat these as soon as she starts solids to reduce her chance of developing allergies. Image 1: Abby loves eating solid foods, especially when she can make a mess. I made some love-heart shaped omelette with sesame oil. Allergens galore! S...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Introduce specific allergens early, often and orally Previously encouraged to avoid ingestion of food allergens, like egg/cow’s milk/peanut, has been rescinded because recent evidence does not support this method to avoid the development of food allergy. Instead, early exposure is encouraged. Review : avoidance diets during pregnancy and lactation are not recommended to prevent food allergy. Exclusive breastfeeding for 4-6 months is encouraged, with complementary foods added from 4 months, to prevent food allergy Review : tolerance to food allergens is promoted by oral exposure early in life. Conversely, exposure through the skin barrier can sensitise children to food allergies. Review : convincing evidence for the early introduction of peanut to prevent peanut allergy, but convincing data doesn’t exist for other foods. Review : egg exposure from 4 months associated with reduced egg allergy and sensitisation. Pean...