Swine Flu and You

For the past week, the media has been overflowing with stories on the swine flu, now officially called H1N1 flu. Some are advising an abundance of caution, restricting unnecessary travel and staying away from large gatherings. Others stress the importance of maintaining a normal life, advising hand washing and sanitizing but encouraging life as usual.

The ever-shifting news and advice can make it tough for anyone to decide what to do. If you have phobias, however, it is easy to become overwhelmed and even paralyzed with fear and indecision.

Pain Relieving Self Help For Bladder Infections

If you've ever had a bladder infection, then you already know how painful they are. While antibiotics prescribed by your physician are they only way to cure a bladder infection, there are some things you can do to make yourself more comfortable while you wait to see your doctor. Find out what you can do before you see your doctor to relieve the pain associated with bladder infections.

How to Control Dandruff

If you suffer from dandruff flakes, you might wonder what causes the flaking.

According to the Mayo Clinic, dandruff likely isn't caused by a dry scalp, overuse of hair products or poor hygiene, dandruff's biggest culprit is likely a fungus called "malassezia." Most adults have this fungus on their scalps, but it can get out of control on those who suffer from dandruff. The fungus tends to feed on oil secretions and causes clumps of dead skin cells.

The best way to fight dandruff is with a two-punch shampoo system. A shampoo containing zinc pyrithione, such as Head & Shoulders, kills the fungus. Follow this shampoo with one that has salicylic acid, which "scrubs" off the flakes.

Influenza Vaccine Facts

The influenza shot is an inactivated or killed vaccine and is usually changed each year to keep up with the most common strains of the influenza virus that are circulating and most likely to cause infections.

The influenza vaccine is available for children over the age of six months. To produce a good response, the first year that they get it, children under nine years of age need two doses of the vaccine given at least one month apart. Children over nine years and younger children who have previously had a flu shot only need a single injection each year.

Flu shot reactions or side effects are usually mild, and may include soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given, fever, and/or aches, and usually only last for 1-2 days. Children under 3 years should receive a 0.25ml dose of inactivated flu vaccine. Children over 3 years and adults should receive a dose of 0.5ml.

More serious side effects can rarely include a life-threatening allergic reaction.

Should You Fear H1N1 Swine Flu?

With increasing numbers of deaths in Mexico, and more incidents of possible swine flu being identified across the world, we seem to have little control over this advancing disease, possibly pandemic, giving us reason to fear it. But should we really fear the swine flu?

No. Fear is unnecessary. But a healthy respect is definitely called for.

A "Public Health Emergency"

It does sound frightening -- those words -- "Public Health Emergency." And calling swine flu a public health emergency most definitely gets our attention.

Behind those words, though, is the fact that the actual declaration is really a vehicle for making money available and suggesting that local governments begin using their predetermined plans for managing public health problems. It doesn't mean there is a crisis.

Let those words remind you to take precautions yourself. But don't be afraid of them.


Flu is Flu

H1N1 swine flu is one more strain of flu. It sounds really scary because it originally came from pigs, and that creates some mystery around it. It also sounds scary because we don't have any vaccine to protect those who are most vulnerable.

But it behaves like other flus. We catch it the same way, and we can protect ourselves the same ways. We can make choices to protect ourselves and our families.

Do you fear the seasonal flu? Probably not. And this flu is really no more frightening than seasonal flu. Seasonal flu takes tens of thousands of lives each year. Deaths from H1N1 swine flu have not approached those of seasonal flu.


Pandemic Describes Geography Only

We hear the word "pandemic" used by the media and that reminds us of history class in high school. It sounds like it means millions of people might die. But that's not what it means at all!

Pandemic simply means it is found large groups of people in many countries around the world. Pan comes from Latin and Greek meaning across or around. Demos means populations or people. Pan-demic. Geography and demographics. Not deaths.

Learn more about the definition of pandemic and how it could affect you in the 21st Century.

What About Those Face Masks?

When I see those masks on the people on TV, it reminds me of SARS and bird flu in China a few years ago. Again, that was scary because so many of the people who contracted those diseases did die.

Masks just keep the wearers from inhaling the water droplets that might be breathed out by someone who has the flu bug. Or when worn by someone who has any upper respiratory disease, they may contain some of the spread of that illness. They aren't a bad idea, but they don't indicate that the flu is any more dangerous than any normal flu.

Thousands of people die of seasonal flu each year, but we don't all wear masks.

Why Does It Seem Like We are Unprepared?

Another reason some fear the swine flu is because, unlike seasonal flu, we don't have vaccines available, people are still traveling, and we seem unprepared to stop it.

Again, this fear is unwarranted. Thousands of strains of viruses could potentially cause flu. We have no way of creating vaccines for all of them, nor would anyone ever be willing to be vaccinated against them all.

We do have two drugs available to help with symptoms, which the CDC tells us is in plentiful supply. Relenza and Tamiflu, both of which are used during seasonal flu seasons each year, are also useful for helping swine flu patients, too.

H1N1 Update

In a new report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention share their findings on 30 people hospitalized with the H1N1 swine flu in California. The report shows that 64 percent of the patients had at least one underlying medical condition, thought to increase their risk for swine flu and its complications. Those underlying conditions included chronic lung disease (such as asthma), heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

As of May 19, the CDC reported 5,469 cases of swine flu in 48 states (including six deaths). That same day, the World Health Organization reported 9,830 diagnosed cases in 40 countries, including at least 79 deaths.

While simple actions such as washing your hands frequently and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth can guard against swine flu, taking steps to boost your immune system may also help keep you healthy.

Round Worms: PASTA inside u!

Ascariasis is a human disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. Perhaps as many as one quarter of the world's people are infected, and ascariasis is particularly prevalent in tropical regions and in areas of poor hygiene. Other species of the genus Ascaris are parasitic and can cause disease in domestic animals.

Infection occurs through ingestion of food contaminated with feces containing Ascaris eggs. The larvae hatch, burrow through the intestine, reach the lungs, and finally migrate up the respiratory tract. From there they are then reswallowed and mature in the intestine, growing up to 30 cm (12 in.) in length and anchoring themselves to the intestinal wall.

Infections are usually asymptomatic, especially if the number of worms is small. They may however be accompanied by inflammation, fever, and diarrhea, and serious problems may develop if the worms migrate to other parts of the body.

M-R-S-A

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that can cause skin infection. These infections are being seen with increasing frequency -- once limited to people with weak immune systems in hospitals and nursing homes, MRSA is now affecting even healthy adults and children.

MRSA, while it is a type of staph bacteria that many healthy people can normally have on their skin, can be difficult to treat when it causes an infection. And while MRSA infections are sometimes limited to simple pimple-like infections, they can often become a much larger abscess and boil that needs to be drained.

Unfortunately, MRSA infections can also lead to much more serious infections, including infections of the bloodstream (bacteremia and sepsis), bone infections, and pneumonia.

Since MRSA infections can be so serious and are sometimes deadly, it is important to learn to recognize the symptoms of an MRSA infection so that you can get your child early treatment.

MRSA Symptoms

Like many other skin infections, MRSA symptoms typically include an area on the skin that comes up quickly and is:

• red
• swollen
• painful
• draining or is full of pus
• not getting better with typical antibiotic treatments for routine skin infections

Another classic sign of an MRSA infection is that people will describe the area as looking like a spider bite. In fact, many people mistake MRSA infections for spider bites.

Other symptoms, such as fever, difficulty breathing, chills, or chest pain, would typically be signs of a more serious MRSA infection that has spread beyond your child's skin and to his blood, lungs, or other part of his body. This would usually require immediate medical attention.

MRSA vs. Routine Staph

Even with classic MRSA symptoms, it is important to keep in mind that your child's skin infection could still be caused by the regular Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The only way to tell is for your doctor to do a culture on the drainage from the site of the infection. This can be helpful in case your child's infection doesn't get better, he keeps getting skin infections over and over, or if other family members get a skin infection too.

Since it can take several days to get the results from an MRSA culture, your pediatrician will likely treat your child with an antibiotic that works against MRSA if he suspects these resistant bacteria. These antibiotics most commonly include Bactrim (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) and Cleocin (clindamycin) or Vancocin (vancomycin) if your child has a more serious infection and IV medication are required.

Beating Heart Surgery

Beating heart or "off pump" coronary artery surgery is the latest revolution in the management coronary disease. It is being embraced world-wide by increasing numbers of surgeons. Many of the advantages are subtle but reduced mortality, stroke, and bleeding as well as earlier discharge are well-established benefits. A cardiac stabiliser is mandatory for this surgery, most are single use only and very expensive, this one is multiple use and is saving many healthcare dollars.

Source:
www.beating-heart.com

Impetigo, Wonderful!

Impetigo is a superficial bacterial skin infection most frequent among children 2 to 6 years old.

Wonderful, isn't it?

Rock your Mind with Rabies

Rabies (Latin: rabies, "madness, rage, fury" also "hydrophobia") is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in mammals. In non-vaccinated humans, rabies is more or less invariably fatal after neurological symptoms have developed, but timely post-exposure vaccination may put off the virus from progressing. There are only six known cases of a person surviving symptomatic rabies, and only one known case of survival in which the patient received no rabies-specific treatment either before or after illness onset.

Measles: It's Like a Thousand Missile Attacks

Measles, also recognized as 'rougeole' in French, is an infection caused by a virus, particularly a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. 'German Measles' is rubella.

Measles is spread in the course of respiration (get in touch with with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is extremely contagious—90% of people with no immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. Airborne precautions should be taken for all suspected cases of measles.

The incubation period typically lasts for 4–12 days (throughout which there are no symptoms). Infected people stay behind contagious from the manifestation of the first symptoms until 3–5 days after the skin complaint appears.