The actual Congestive Heart Disease need to be decided on it has the initial phase. The Congestive Heart Failure Indicators are different with regards to the harmed portion of the cardiovascular.
The particular differences regarding the left-sided and also the right-sided congestive heart failure are very important for the public to understand. The info on what the situation could affect some sort of person's our life is significant not just for anyone which have already got the disease but in addition the wholesome persons. This issue drastically requires the interruptions in the coronary heart and unique constructions. It is also known as cardiovascular system disappointment, an increasingly basic term with this situation.
The guts is the putting apparatus of your shape. It truly is sensible to give the body it's necessary supply of fresh air and also bloodstream. It is the key wood with the circulatory technique of which propels this bloodstream to several parts of the body. The particular bloodstream will be transporting fresh air inside of it has the haemoglobin. The actual blood isn't going to just supply oxygen but alternative nutrients towards the physique.
And also the is composed of four chambers. They are taken away from to the eventually left plus the right piece. The left and the perfect components are subdivided into the higher and the reduced chambers. The top chambers are classified as as the atria plus the cheaper chambers tend to be known as since the ventricles. Atria include the blood stream receiving chambers as well as the ventricles are classified as the blood giving chambers.
Almost any distractions around the heart's purpose will certainly reduce the oxygen supply for the body system. Within this ailment, this heart's operate will be disrupted by the incompetency of your cheaper chambers of your center. It might be the ideal or maybe the kept ventricle. The bad flow in the blood stream towards the body system causes other more severe health issues.
The left-sided cardiovascular inability is because the rear blood flow for the lung method on the eventually left part of the center. While there is again blood circulation, the amount of this forced body for the person is decreased and could trigger pooling of bloodstream while in the respiratory system. Your accumulation regarding blood inside the respiratory system will provide the client indicators related to lung health conditions like t . b as well as pneumonia. A very substantial sign for any patient with left-sided Valvular Heart Disease is the pink-tinged sputum. Affected individuals on this problem will also practical knowledge a good disability of your gasoline trade into the bronchi because of the substance accumulation from the bronchi.
The actual right-sided cardiovascular system malfunction is in fact just a sequela of the left-sided cardiovascular disaster. It will be the long-term side-effect of the second item one particular. As being the fluid or perhaps blood gathers up while in the lungs, the pressure around the lung artery might be greater. Consequently, the blood are not able to type in the pulmonary technique correctly that can cause the returning flow of blood to the right ventricle and in the end on the systemic method with the human body. The appearance of this disorder will raise the possibility of the actual complications regarding additional organs including hepatomegaly or development of the liver organ. The actual very remarkable signs of treatment plans are the many times edema in addition to JVD (jugular line of thinking distension).
Congestive Heart Disease might be deemed pertaining to the particular manifestations that this affected person shows. Warning signs together with the calculated ejection small fraction are able to in some measure what is presence of this disorder. The trouble is usually classified directly into three categories. You will find different cures as well as managements dependant on categories. The key goal for that management of this particular disorder is dependant on extending living on the client in addition to increasing his recent problem.
Friday 30 September 2011
What Is Ischemic Stroke?
The two main different types of cerebrovascular accident. Ischemic Stroke is one of them, which often can permanently damage serotonin levels of any human being.
Ischemic Stroke is a kind of brain stroke. That brain stroke is normally referred to as CVA as well as cerebrovascular strike. With the different regarding stroke, ischemic stroke can be deemed terminal. This simply indisputable fact that it calls for as their pharmicudical counterpart is the situation damaging without even doing the small print of your illness. Your brain is an important wood, which usually controls all the other parts of the body. Every disturbances about their operate will greatly impact the features of a person. Regardless if somebody is actually resting, as their pharmicudical counterpart is just about the few organs in your physique that is nevertheless performing.
Hemorrhagic Stroke is obviously preceded by way of TIA action and also temporary ischemic episode. It might be regarded as a stern reminder sign of stroke. This really is feasible if there is a shorter cessation of blood vessels in addition to air flow of as their pharmicudical counterpart. Once the hassle while in the system is not really recognized before and fast medication is definitely not carried out, it may cause ischemic stroke that occurs in that man or woman. In this particular ailment, the supply involving air by way of our blood can be occluded by the thrombus or even an embolus. Thrombus is definitely the configuration involving blood clots while in the circulation system which will sooner or later occlude this. So, when this kind of thrombus is actually separate looking at the first place, this goes in to the body. In this situation, this thrombus has become termed as a embolus.
It can be viewed as a crisis scenario to the health care team while there is the ischemia to the determined mind tissues or maybe a starvation connected with fresh air offer to your brain. Soon after 6 minutes of ischemia, the sufferer will often have permanent problems inside the neural. Following Ten minutes connected with breathable oxygen deprivation, the client may have useless mind areas. A passing from the affected person could be forthcoming because of this condition.
A signs and symptoms of stroke can vary greatly out of each other. That is a result of the damage the fact that ailment offers came. The harm for the mind of any affected individual is concurrent to your signs of which he/she will show. Sufferers using this condition might have electric motor cutbacks, graphic disturbances, sensory dysfunctions, cognitive deficiencies, mental cutbacks, plus mental problems. Because the patient features a large number involving symptoms, caring for this kind of individuals will entail your multi-faceted strategy to tackle every single impairment the sufferer may well have.
Diagnostic examinations are usually precondition inside provision regarding treatment options. To start with, it is vital to rule out other concerns. The particular diagnostic tests which can be associated with Ischemic Stroke are typically focused on acquiring illustrations or photos on the neural along with other buildings just like capillaries which could promote the occurrence of a heart stroke. Lifestyle changes could be essential especially for person's that have the higher risk of obtaining ailment. There are many numbers which may have a higher risk than these. They include things like heavy people, person's along with hypertension in addition to patients having hyperlipidemia.
The prevention of ischemic stroke is made up of pharmacologic interventions, changes in lifestyle and also surgery. These brought up procedures also apply inside remedy for treatment plans. Additionally, it includes therapies which can improve problem from the sufferer like rehab, language class, psychological help plus cognitive therapy. Treatments should be performed immediately to prevent greater problems on the affected individual.
Ischemic Stroke is a kind of brain stroke. That brain stroke is normally referred to as CVA as well as cerebrovascular strike. With the different regarding stroke, ischemic stroke can be deemed terminal. This simply indisputable fact that it calls for as their pharmicudical counterpart is the situation damaging without even doing the small print of your illness. Your brain is an important wood, which usually controls all the other parts of the body. Every disturbances about their operate will greatly impact the features of a person. Regardless if somebody is actually resting, as their pharmicudical counterpart is just about the few organs in your physique that is nevertheless performing.
Hemorrhagic Stroke is obviously preceded by way of TIA action and also temporary ischemic episode. It might be regarded as a stern reminder sign of stroke. This really is feasible if there is a shorter cessation of blood vessels in addition to air flow of as their pharmicudical counterpart. Once the hassle while in the system is not really recognized before and fast medication is definitely not carried out, it may cause ischemic stroke that occurs in that man or woman. In this particular ailment, the supply involving air by way of our blood can be occluded by the thrombus or even an embolus. Thrombus is definitely the configuration involving blood clots while in the circulation system which will sooner or later occlude this. So, when this kind of thrombus is actually separate looking at the first place, this goes in to the body. In this situation, this thrombus has become termed as a embolus.
It can be viewed as a crisis scenario to the health care team while there is the ischemia to the determined mind tissues or maybe a starvation connected with fresh air offer to your brain. Soon after 6 minutes of ischemia, the sufferer will often have permanent problems inside the neural. Following Ten minutes connected with breathable oxygen deprivation, the client may have useless mind areas. A passing from the affected person could be forthcoming because of this condition.
A signs and symptoms of stroke can vary greatly out of each other. That is a result of the damage the fact that ailment offers came. The harm for the mind of any affected individual is concurrent to your signs of which he/she will show. Sufferers using this condition might have electric motor cutbacks, graphic disturbances, sensory dysfunctions, cognitive deficiencies, mental cutbacks, plus mental problems. Because the patient features a large number involving symptoms, caring for this kind of individuals will entail your multi-faceted strategy to tackle every single impairment the sufferer may well have.
Diagnostic examinations are usually precondition inside provision regarding treatment options. To start with, it is vital to rule out other concerns. The particular diagnostic tests which can be associated with Ischemic Stroke are typically focused on acquiring illustrations or photos on the neural along with other buildings just like capillaries which could promote the occurrence of a heart stroke. Lifestyle changes could be essential especially for person's that have the higher risk of obtaining ailment. There are many numbers which may have a higher risk than these. They include things like heavy people, person's along with hypertension in addition to patients having hyperlipidemia.
The prevention of ischemic stroke is made up of pharmacologic interventions, changes in lifestyle and also surgery. These brought up procedures also apply inside remedy for treatment plans. Additionally, it includes therapies which can improve problem from the sufferer like rehab, language class, psychological help plus cognitive therapy. Treatments should be performed immediately to prevent greater problems on the affected individual.
Ways to Discover Asthma Symptoms
Allergies is actually a continual lung disease that inflames and becomes smaller the actual air tract. In most cases triggered by means of a great allergen that produces the muscle tissue of the airway in order to constrict. Allergies may perhaps be treatable simply by bronchodilators, which is best to treat signs or symptoms previous before this worsens.
In children it'll solely start suddenly to be a hmmm though with coughing, but it commonly will be made worse the next day or maybe in the evening hours. If perhaps all these prevalent indicators come in children, maybe we could take into account your little one may have all about asthma. In accordance with the Entire world Well being Company (That), between 250 and 150 zillion men and women are afflicted with asthma world-wide, along with the likelihood goes up everyday.
Asthma attack is often a long-term lung ailment that tapers and also inflames the particular airways; development of the child air route that bring air inside and outside this bronchi. Those who bronchial asthma are generally induced by means of contaminants in the air including dustmites, pollens, mildew, and many others. When these types of substances set off anyone with allergies, this example tends to make a airways sensitive as well as irritated. Also, it will eventually are likely to answer along with tense up the particular muscles with the air passage. Afterwards, it is going to filter the actual throat creating a lesser amount of circulation to the lungs. It is precisely why people who find themselves affected by all about asthma assaults knowledge difficulty breathing. It will always be a series reaction for people who have bronchial asthma. This may happen whenever it is actually triggered. Allergies may occur with all age groups, although is a lot more common in youngsters versus people. Commonly, the 1st regular cause of asthma attack will be family tendencies. This indicates if your family members features a history of asthma, it is most likely that you may get all about asthma as well.
People with all about asthma get each year better and also more serious time periods according to the seriousness of the assaults. Occasionally in which asthma symptoms will be gentle in addition to depart them selves or maybe right after nominal remedy having an asthma attack treatment. Having said that, occasionally warning signs carry on and worsen and may possibly be fatal. That's the reason it is important to treat your signs when you initially notice them to avoid these individuals from getting more intense.
There is certainly normally a set of indications that might look intended for folks that have all about Auto Immune Diseases. Individuals should take notice of the terminal indicators including significant or perhaps chronic coughing, night time coughs, coughs that continue greater than 10 days, and also chest muscles hardness in the course of installments of shhh. These kind of signs can be attributable to other conditions. For those who have these kinds of warning signs, no necessarily mean that you've bronchial asthma. I suggest you find medical advice first previous to moving with a conclusion.
Usually, while you visit your doctor for a check-up, a doctor will ask that you several questions about all your family background and present plus beyond wellness heritage. This is usually a normal course of action ahead of making sure that you've got symptoms of asthma. Your doctor will probably make use of a stethoscope for you to auscultate a person's bronchi for your reputation of wheezing. On the other hand, your seems coming from the bronchi may be usual among asthma problems. That is why the physician normally requests for several clinical checks such as upper body X-ray, body assessments, and also breathing lab tests.
Treatments with all about Asthma Signs and Symptoms is definitely targeted at preventing some allergens that may possibly set off an asthma attack in addition to governing the strike. There are two forms of remedy. The first is usually a long-term drugs which can be typically applied regularly to avoid strikes for instance inhaling anabolic steroids. The second sort of therapy for this is a short-term treatment method or simply a easy aid prescription medication utilized to ease signs throughout an strike. Such as short-acting bronchodilators for instance Proventil in addition to Ventolin.
Asthma attack will be not curable. It'll always have a very inactive step where you're feeling fine however may possibly surface at any time. Nonetheless, the situation can be managed while using innovative information along with imaginative treatments for asthma attack. Individuals that have asthma can certainly are living a normal living by being careful of the symptoms to get forthcoming problems in addition to promptly dealing with these people. These procedures are simply just the simplest way because of not making the situation more intense.
In children it'll solely start suddenly to be a hmmm though with coughing, but it commonly will be made worse the next day or maybe in the evening hours. If perhaps all these prevalent indicators come in children, maybe we could take into account your little one may have all about asthma. In accordance with the Entire world Well being Company (That), between 250 and 150 zillion men and women are afflicted with asthma world-wide, along with the likelihood goes up everyday.
Asthma attack is often a long-term lung ailment that tapers and also inflames the particular airways; development of the child air route that bring air inside and outside this bronchi. Those who bronchial asthma are generally induced by means of contaminants in the air including dustmites, pollens, mildew, and many others. When these types of substances set off anyone with allergies, this example tends to make a airways sensitive as well as irritated. Also, it will eventually are likely to answer along with tense up the particular muscles with the air passage. Afterwards, it is going to filter the actual throat creating a lesser amount of circulation to the lungs. It is precisely why people who find themselves affected by all about asthma assaults knowledge difficulty breathing. It will always be a series reaction for people who have bronchial asthma. This may happen whenever it is actually triggered. Allergies may occur with all age groups, although is a lot more common in youngsters versus people. Commonly, the 1st regular cause of asthma attack will be family tendencies. This indicates if your family members features a history of asthma, it is most likely that you may get all about asthma as well.
People with all about asthma get each year better and also more serious time periods according to the seriousness of the assaults. Occasionally in which asthma symptoms will be gentle in addition to depart them selves or maybe right after nominal remedy having an asthma attack treatment. Having said that, occasionally warning signs carry on and worsen and may possibly be fatal. That's the reason it is important to treat your signs when you initially notice them to avoid these individuals from getting more intense.
There is certainly normally a set of indications that might look intended for folks that have all about Auto Immune Diseases. Individuals should take notice of the terminal indicators including significant or perhaps chronic coughing, night time coughs, coughs that continue greater than 10 days, and also chest muscles hardness in the course of installments of shhh. These kind of signs can be attributable to other conditions. For those who have these kinds of warning signs, no necessarily mean that you've bronchial asthma. I suggest you find medical advice first previous to moving with a conclusion.
Usually, while you visit your doctor for a check-up, a doctor will ask that you several questions about all your family background and present plus beyond wellness heritage. This is usually a normal course of action ahead of making sure that you've got symptoms of asthma. Your doctor will probably make use of a stethoscope for you to auscultate a person's bronchi for your reputation of wheezing. On the other hand, your seems coming from the bronchi may be usual among asthma problems. That is why the physician normally requests for several clinical checks such as upper body X-ray, body assessments, and also breathing lab tests.
Treatments with all about Asthma Signs and Symptoms is definitely targeted at preventing some allergens that may possibly set off an asthma attack in addition to governing the strike. There are two forms of remedy. The first is usually a long-term drugs which can be typically applied regularly to avoid strikes for instance inhaling anabolic steroids. The second sort of therapy for this is a short-term treatment method or simply a easy aid prescription medication utilized to ease signs throughout an strike. Such as short-acting bronchodilators for instance Proventil in addition to Ventolin.
Asthma attack will be not curable. It'll always have a very inactive step where you're feeling fine however may possibly surface at any time. Nonetheless, the situation can be managed while using innovative information along with imaginative treatments for asthma attack. Individuals that have asthma can certainly are living a normal living by being careful of the symptoms to get forthcoming problems in addition to promptly dealing with these people. These procedures are simply just the simplest way because of not making the situation more intense.
The Best Way to Uncover Asthma Symptoms
Asthma attack can be a serious lung ailment that inflames along with narrows this air route. It's usually brought about by the allergen that produces the muscle groups in the throat for you to tighten. All about asthma may be treatable through bronchodilators, which is far better to cure indicators sooner prior to the idea gets worse.
In youngsters it will only begin easily as being a shhh though wheezing, but it normally is deteriorated the next day and also over the evening hours. In case most of these typical signs appear in your children, possibly we can take into consideration that a little one could possibly have symptoms of asthma. In accordance with the Planet Overall health Business (Whom), among A hundred and also One hundred fifty million people today are afflicted by allergies around the world, as well as the likelihood climbs up every day.
Bronchial asthma is usually a long-term Black Lung Disease that tapers and inflames the particular air route; these are the basic air passages that have o2 interior and exterior the particular lung area. Those who asthma attack are generally prompted by means of substances like dustmites, pollens, mildew, and so forth. While all these contaminants in the air lead to anyone with asthma attack, this example may make a air route hypersensitive along with inflammed. What's more, it will are inclined to respond and fasten the actual muscles in the air tract. Subsequently, it will filter your air passage causing fewer air circulation in the bronchi. This is why the key reason why those who find themselves experiencing asthma attack attacks expertise shortness of breath. It's usually a sequence impulse for people who have asthma. This will likely transpire when it really is activated. Allergies may happen in ages young and old, nonetheless might be more common in kids in comparison to adults. Commonly, the first standard reasons behind all about asthma usually are familial developments. This indicates as soon as your family contains a good reputation for asthma, its likely that you can receive bronchial asthma likewise.
People who have bronchial asthma will experience much better in addition to more intense durations according to the severity of the particular assaults. Occasionally in which asthma symptoms will be slight along with depart by themselves or maybe right after nominal treatment having an allergies medicine. Having said that, occasionally signs or symptoms keep degenerate and can become dangerous. That is why it is important to deal with the symptoms when you first notice them to stop these from turning into more serious.
There is normally a set of warning Asthma Diagnosis which could show up pertaining to folks who may have all about asthma. Folks should observe the lethal indicators for example intense as well as recurrent coughing, evening coughs, coughs this last in excess of ten days, and torso tightness through instances of hmmm. These kind of signs could be a result of other conditions. For those who have these types of signs and symptoms, this doesn't happen mean there is bronchial asthma. It's always best to seek out medical health advice 1st in advance of jumping into a realization.
Often, after you visit your medical professional for your appointment, the surgeon asks that you' couple questions about your loved ones background present plus earlier well being historical past. This is the standard process just before verifying which you have asthma. The physician will certainly work with a stethoscope to auscultate ones lungs to the presence involving coughing. Nevertheless, the appears from the respiratory system may be regular in the middle of symptoms of asthma assaults. For this reason the doctor typically requests for many laboratory work assessments like torso X-ray, our blood assessments, along with breathing assessments.
Treatments in asthma attack is aimed at preventing quite a few irritants that could induce an asthma attack along with money harm. There are two styles of treatment method. The first one is a long-term prescription medication which happens to be normally applied often to stop strikes including inhaling given. The next type of treatment is some sort of short-term therapy or maybe a fast reduction treatment currently in use to cure signs throughout an strike. Like for example , short-acting bronchodilators similar to Proventil and also Ventolin.
All about asthma is definitely terminal. It will always use a inactive step where you're feeling good however may well break out at any time. On the other hand, the circumstance is usually managed using the new know-how as well as progressive treatments for bronchial asthma. Person's that are fitted with bronchial asthma might reside a regular lifestyle since they can be watchful from the signs and symptoms intended for coming problems plus immediately dealing with all of them. These actions are merely an effective way because of not generating your situation a whole lot worse.
In youngsters it will only begin easily as being a shhh though wheezing, but it normally is deteriorated the next day and also over the evening hours. In case most of these typical signs appear in your children, possibly we can take into consideration that a little one could possibly have symptoms of asthma. In accordance with the Planet Overall health Business (Whom), among A hundred and also One hundred fifty million people today are afflicted by allergies around the world, as well as the likelihood climbs up every day.
Bronchial asthma is usually a long-term Black Lung Disease that tapers and inflames the particular air route; these are the basic air passages that have o2 interior and exterior the particular lung area. Those who asthma attack are generally prompted by means of substances like dustmites, pollens, mildew, and so forth. While all these contaminants in the air lead to anyone with asthma attack, this example may make a air route hypersensitive along with inflammed. What's more, it will are inclined to respond and fasten the actual muscles in the air tract. Subsequently, it will filter your air passage causing fewer air circulation in the bronchi. This is why the key reason why those who find themselves experiencing asthma attack attacks expertise shortness of breath. It's usually a sequence impulse for people who have asthma. This will likely transpire when it really is activated. Allergies may happen in ages young and old, nonetheless might be more common in kids in comparison to adults. Commonly, the first standard reasons behind all about asthma usually are familial developments. This indicates as soon as your family contains a good reputation for asthma, its likely that you can receive bronchial asthma likewise.
People who have bronchial asthma will experience much better in addition to more intense durations according to the severity of the particular assaults. Occasionally in which asthma symptoms will be slight along with depart by themselves or maybe right after nominal treatment having an allergies medicine. Having said that, occasionally signs or symptoms keep degenerate and can become dangerous. That is why it is important to deal with the symptoms when you first notice them to stop these from turning into more serious.
There is normally a set of warning Asthma Diagnosis which could show up pertaining to folks who may have all about asthma. Folks should observe the lethal indicators for example intense as well as recurrent coughing, evening coughs, coughs this last in excess of ten days, and torso tightness through instances of hmmm. These kind of signs could be a result of other conditions. For those who have these types of signs and symptoms, this doesn't happen mean there is bronchial asthma. It's always best to seek out medical health advice 1st in advance of jumping into a realization.
Often, after you visit your medical professional for your appointment, the surgeon asks that you' couple questions about your loved ones background present plus earlier well being historical past. This is the standard process just before verifying which you have asthma. The physician will certainly work with a stethoscope to auscultate ones lungs to the presence involving coughing. Nevertheless, the appears from the respiratory system may be regular in the middle of symptoms of asthma assaults. For this reason the doctor typically requests for many laboratory work assessments like torso X-ray, our blood assessments, along with breathing assessments.
Treatments in asthma attack is aimed at preventing quite a few irritants that could induce an asthma attack along with money harm. There are two styles of treatment method. The first one is a long-term prescription medication which happens to be normally applied often to stop strikes including inhaling given. The next type of treatment is some sort of short-term therapy or maybe a fast reduction treatment currently in use to cure signs throughout an strike. Like for example , short-acting bronchodilators similar to Proventil and also Ventolin.
All about asthma is definitely terminal. It will always use a inactive step where you're feeling good however may well break out at any time. On the other hand, the circumstance is usually managed using the new know-how as well as progressive treatments for bronchial asthma. Person's that are fitted with bronchial asthma might reside a regular lifestyle since they can be watchful from the signs and symptoms intended for coming problems plus immediately dealing with all of them. These actions are merely an effective way because of not generating your situation a whole lot worse.
Saturday 24 September 2011
Money talks: Financial incentives for health
In an ideal world, virtue would be its own reward. In our world, though, virtue often benefits from a little help. Many of us learned to make our beds for a small allowance. As teens, we picked up a few bucks mowing the lawn or shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor. And when we finally joined the work force, we hoped to earn a raise (if not a super-sized bonus) for a job well done.
In an ideal world, medical care would not depend on financial rewards. In our world, though, doctors work hard to earn more and, sad to say, there are cases in which avarice has trumped ethics. And now, third-party payers and government regulators are using monetary incentives to improve care. In so-called pay-for-performance systems, doctors and hospitals have to meet practice guidelines and standards to earn full compensation.
Planners hope that financial incentives (and disincentives) will help improve medical care and control costs. But health is too important to be left to doctors and hospitals. To be truly well, people need to make wise lifestyle choices — but these changes can be hard. In an ideal world, the reward of good health would be enough to motivate prudent behavior, but it often falls short.
Smoking and obesity are two of the most pressing and recalcitrant lifestyle problems in America. Smoking rates have come down, but progress is slowing. And despite lots of attention to the problem, obesity rates continue to grow. Can financial incentives help when common sense and medical advice have failed? Two studies suggest the answer is a qualified yes.
SmokingSmoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., taking about 438,000 lives annually. Even with the availability of counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and prescription drugs, quitting remains difficult.
To find out if financial incentives can boost quitting rates, researchers studied 878 employees of a large multinational corporation based in the United States. All were active cigarette smokers who had expressed the desire to quit. Half the volunteers were randomly assigned to receive information about smoking cessation programs. The others received the same information plus a series of financial incentives, which included $100 for completing a smoking cessation program, $250 for kicking the habit within six months, and another $400 for staying off cigarettes for an additional six months. The two groups were well matched for age, education, income, general health, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and number of previous attempts to quit. Two-thirds of participants in each group were male. To make sure money didn't induce fibbing, the scientists verified tobacco abstinence by using a urine test for cotinine, a chemical produced when the body metabolizes nicotine.
The results show that paying can pay off. Members of the incentive group were more likely to enroll in a smoking cessation program than members of the information-only group (15.4% versus 5.4%). They were also more likely to quit within six months (20.9% versus 11.8%) and to remain nonsmokers six months after quitting (14.7% versus 5.0%) and 15 to 18 months after quitting (9.4% versus 3.6%).
The financial incentive program cost the employer $750 for each successful participant. Since each employee who quits smoking saves the boss $3,400 a year as a result of increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and fewer illnesses, that's a bargain. But even though money talks, it does not talk loud enough to solve the smoking problem; for more than 90% of the volunteers, nicotine addiction was stronger than a $750 reward for quitting.
ObesityBetween 1960 and 2004, the rate of obesity in the U.S. skyrocketed from about 13% to 31%. In all, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The consequences include an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and premature death. If present trends continue, obesity and lack of exercise will overtake smoking as the number one preventable cause of death.
A popular TV show uses rewards to induce weight loss. It's called reality television, but will financial rewards motivate weight loss in the real world?
To gauge the impact of economic incentives on weight loss, researchers studied 57 volunteers between the ages of 30 and 70. All were obese, with a body mass index between 30 and 40, but all were otherwise healthy. Ninety-five percent were male. Each of the participants had a one-hour private consultation with a nutritionist at the start of the study, and each was given an accurate scale. The subjects were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: one did not get financial incentives, one participated in a contract program that could pay each person between $0 and $252 a month depending on how much weight they lost, and the third group participated in a lottery program that made each member who lost weight eligible to win up to $100 a day, though most prizes were lower.
By the end of the 16-week trial, the members of the contract and lottery groups had lost significantly more weight (14.0 and 13.1 pounds, respectively) than members of the comparison group (3.9 pounds). The volunteers were left to their own devices after the trial ended, but the scientists kept watch. Deprived of financial incentives, members of the lottery and contract groups gained weight, but at the end of seven months, they had still lost slightly more weight (9.2 and 6.2 pounds, respectively) than the members of the comparison group (4.0 pounds). These differences were not statistically significant, but after 7 months, the members of the two incentive groups weighed significantly less than at the start of the trial, while members of the comparison group did not. Money talks, but people listen only while they're being paid.
PerspectivesSmoking cessation and weight loss are two of the most important lifestyle changes. They are also among the most difficult. These two studies tell us that financial incentives can help some people reach their goals, but monetary rewards alone can't solve difficult health problems any more than money can solve the world's other woes.
The Roman orator Cicero said, "Nothing is so strongly fortified that it cannot be taken by money." Mark Twain wrote, "Virtue has never been as respectable as money." But monetary rewards can only go so far toward achieving good health habits. Perhaps, though, British writer James Allen got it right: "If your real desire is to do good, there is no reason to wait for the money; you can do it now, this very moment, just where you are."
For virtue, for money, or for health itself, lifestyle changes are worth the effort.
harvard.health.edu
In an ideal world, medical care would not depend on financial rewards. In our world, though, doctors work hard to earn more and, sad to say, there are cases in which avarice has trumped ethics. And now, third-party payers and government regulators are using monetary incentives to improve care. In so-called pay-for-performance systems, doctors and hospitals have to meet practice guidelines and standards to earn full compensation.
Planners hope that financial incentives (and disincentives) will help improve medical care and control costs. But health is too important to be left to doctors and hospitals. To be truly well, people need to make wise lifestyle choices — but these changes can be hard. In an ideal world, the reward of good health would be enough to motivate prudent behavior, but it often falls short.
Smoking and obesity are two of the most pressing and recalcitrant lifestyle problems in America. Smoking rates have come down, but progress is slowing. And despite lots of attention to the problem, obesity rates continue to grow. Can financial incentives help when common sense and medical advice have failed? Two studies suggest the answer is a qualified yes.
SmokingSmoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., taking about 438,000 lives annually. Even with the availability of counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and prescription drugs, quitting remains difficult.
To find out if financial incentives can boost quitting rates, researchers studied 878 employees of a large multinational corporation based in the United States. All were active cigarette smokers who had expressed the desire to quit. Half the volunteers were randomly assigned to receive information about smoking cessation programs. The others received the same information plus a series of financial incentives, which included $100 for completing a smoking cessation program, $250 for kicking the habit within six months, and another $400 for staying off cigarettes for an additional six months. The two groups were well matched for age, education, income, general health, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and number of previous attempts to quit. Two-thirds of participants in each group were male. To make sure money didn't induce fibbing, the scientists verified tobacco abstinence by using a urine test for cotinine, a chemical produced when the body metabolizes nicotine.
The results show that paying can pay off. Members of the incentive group were more likely to enroll in a smoking cessation program than members of the information-only group (15.4% versus 5.4%). They were also more likely to quit within six months (20.9% versus 11.8%) and to remain nonsmokers six months after quitting (14.7% versus 5.0%) and 15 to 18 months after quitting (9.4% versus 3.6%).
The financial incentive program cost the employer $750 for each successful participant. Since each employee who quits smoking saves the boss $3,400 a year as a result of increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and fewer illnesses, that's a bargain. But even though money talks, it does not talk loud enough to solve the smoking problem; for more than 90% of the volunteers, nicotine addiction was stronger than a $750 reward for quitting.
ObesityBetween 1960 and 2004, the rate of obesity in the U.S. skyrocketed from about 13% to 31%. In all, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The consequences include an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and premature death. If present trends continue, obesity and lack of exercise will overtake smoking as the number one preventable cause of death.
A popular TV show uses rewards to induce weight loss. It's called reality television, but will financial rewards motivate weight loss in the real world?
To gauge the impact of economic incentives on weight loss, researchers studied 57 volunteers between the ages of 30 and 70. All were obese, with a body mass index between 30 and 40, but all were otherwise healthy. Ninety-five percent were male. Each of the participants had a one-hour private consultation with a nutritionist at the start of the study, and each was given an accurate scale. The subjects were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: one did not get financial incentives, one participated in a contract program that could pay each person between $0 and $252 a month depending on how much weight they lost, and the third group participated in a lottery program that made each member who lost weight eligible to win up to $100 a day, though most prizes were lower.
By the end of the 16-week trial, the members of the contract and lottery groups had lost significantly more weight (14.0 and 13.1 pounds, respectively) than members of the comparison group (3.9 pounds). The volunteers were left to their own devices after the trial ended, but the scientists kept watch. Deprived of financial incentives, members of the lottery and contract groups gained weight, but at the end of seven months, they had still lost slightly more weight (9.2 and 6.2 pounds, respectively) than the members of the comparison group (4.0 pounds). These differences were not statistically significant, but after 7 months, the members of the two incentive groups weighed significantly less than at the start of the trial, while members of the comparison group did not. Money talks, but people listen only while they're being paid.
PerspectivesSmoking cessation and weight loss are two of the most important lifestyle changes. They are also among the most difficult. These two studies tell us that financial incentives can help some people reach their goals, but monetary rewards alone can't solve difficult health problems any more than money can solve the world's other woes.
The Roman orator Cicero said, "Nothing is so strongly fortified that it cannot be taken by money." Mark Twain wrote, "Virtue has never been as respectable as money." But monetary rewards can only go so far toward achieving good health habits. Perhaps, though, British writer James Allen got it right: "If your real desire is to do good, there is no reason to wait for the money; you can do it now, this very moment, just where you are."
For virtue, for money, or for health itself, lifestyle changes are worth the effort.
harvard.health.edu
Friday 23 September 2011
Ways to Nurture Folks Using Manic Depression
The disease problems tend to be issues that present an reverse inbuilt feeling compared to what many of them show themselves. And may prominent in using a new kind of reaction creation variety of safety device; it may help them face mask his or her accurate sensations.
Everyday in your own life you have things that either can provide you with a joyful or maybe a miserable feeling. Triggers are always within environmental surroundings along with in the human body. It will be the skill in the human body to cope with the idea which enables an individual alter to a norms. You will discover occasions the fact that a sense pleasure can be deformed with a rapid sensation. However, the experience with sadness may be improved to your depressive condition. These scenarios occur when you find yourself affected by a new bpd. This kind of ailment will not only show themselves manic attacks nonetheless depressive assaults too.
There's 2 installments of that condition as mentioned above. The particular manic tv show is definitely seen verbosity, ostentation, sleep problems, flight of suggestions (relocating from subject to a different), hypersexuality, distractibility, sociable intrusiveness, plus psychomotor frustration. While the depressive instance may be described by means of weariness, emotions of worthlessness, somatic complaints, reduced practices, wherewithal to help to make judgements, social withdrawal, and taking once life ideations. This episodes may last for a long time, a short time, many days, or maybe a few months. Each can certainly interchangeably appear, nevertheless the time period of its happening is dependent upon the species of bipolar disorder those features.
The 1st main concern because of this type of body's safety. That you can discover, safety factors are more often than not the actual main concern whenever you cope with individuals who have mental disorders. This is due to people don't have the capability to figure out items. If your individual carries a depressive disorder, this can be very crucial to evaluate to the occurrence from a taking once life ideation. Should the ideation is evident in the man or women, then you'll definitely must carry out sure that environmental surroundings remains safe and secure. Eliminate almost all pointed physical objects, baby bottles, ropes, or perhaps just about any resources that they is able to use so that you can harm him or her self. Employ a particular person watch over him every day and night to evaluate his / her behavior. It's also advisable to supply relaxation in this episode to make up for your weakness he could be having. In contrast, once the person possesses moved in a manic tv show, you need to be more watchful because has now more than enough vitality to execute his or her destruction plan. Those may be hyper so there's a and the higher to the man or woman so that you can damage themself. Supply him with having assorted things to do that may funnel his / her vigor, such as removing away from newspapers, and yourself really need to placed the particular confines on their behalf.
Your next main priority could well be eating routine. It is a necessary element of their health care mainly because each conditions call for active difficulties managing meals. Manic persons possess hyperactivity, and so they almost never focus on meal since their attention is focused on alternative inconsequential factors. Will certainly of the time they are in motion, you are able to hand them over high-calorie ring finger food such as Fried potatoes in addition to snacks. It'll re-supply the force they have been employing plus meet the requirements quickly. For someone that has Down Syndrome, you would like fortitude so that you can coerce him to consume. Provide him time and energy to conclude the mealtime since they sometimes deficiency energy to have.
An important and also gentle facets throughout looking after most of these consumers are consideration along with perseverance. To get manic men and women, you can depict this role of an father that shields as well as manages their particular unsuitable manners. Straightforward Neck Pain Relief, it is possible to express a mom shape which can be offered to focus on them. You have to continually be there for these people. Enable these to achieve their own optimum degree of well-being exactly where they usually are an operating part of contemporary society.
Everyday in your own life you have things that either can provide you with a joyful or maybe a miserable feeling. Triggers are always within environmental surroundings along with in the human body. It will be the skill in the human body to cope with the idea which enables an individual alter to a norms. You will discover occasions the fact that a sense pleasure can be deformed with a rapid sensation. However, the experience with sadness may be improved to your depressive condition. These scenarios occur when you find yourself affected by a new bpd. This kind of ailment will not only show themselves manic attacks nonetheless depressive assaults too.
There's 2 installments of that condition as mentioned above. The particular manic tv show is definitely seen verbosity, ostentation, sleep problems, flight of suggestions (relocating from subject to a different), hypersexuality, distractibility, sociable intrusiveness, plus psychomotor frustration. While the depressive instance may be described by means of weariness, emotions of worthlessness, somatic complaints, reduced practices, wherewithal to help to make judgements, social withdrawal, and taking once life ideations. This episodes may last for a long time, a short time, many days, or maybe a few months. Each can certainly interchangeably appear, nevertheless the time period of its happening is dependent upon the species of bipolar disorder those features.
The 1st main concern because of this type of body's safety. That you can discover, safety factors are more often than not the actual main concern whenever you cope with individuals who have mental disorders. This is due to people don't have the capability to figure out items. If your individual carries a depressive disorder, this can be very crucial to evaluate to the occurrence from a taking once life ideation. Should the ideation is evident in the man or women, then you'll definitely must carry out sure that environmental surroundings remains safe and secure. Eliminate almost all pointed physical objects, baby bottles, ropes, or perhaps just about any resources that they is able to use so that you can harm him or her self. Employ a particular person watch over him every day and night to evaluate his / her behavior. It's also advisable to supply relaxation in this episode to make up for your weakness he could be having. In contrast, once the person possesses moved in a manic tv show, you need to be more watchful because has now more than enough vitality to execute his or her destruction plan. Those may be hyper so there's a and the higher to the man or woman so that you can damage themself. Supply him with having assorted things to do that may funnel his / her vigor, such as removing away from newspapers, and yourself really need to placed the particular confines on their behalf.
Your next main priority could well be eating routine. It is a necessary element of their health care mainly because each conditions call for active difficulties managing meals. Manic persons possess hyperactivity, and so they almost never focus on meal since their attention is focused on alternative inconsequential factors. Will certainly of the time they are in motion, you are able to hand them over high-calorie ring finger food such as Fried potatoes in addition to snacks. It'll re-supply the force they have been employing plus meet the requirements quickly. For someone that has Down Syndrome, you would like fortitude so that you can coerce him to consume. Provide him time and energy to conclude the mealtime since they sometimes deficiency energy to have.
An important and also gentle facets throughout looking after most of these consumers are consideration along with perseverance. To get manic men and women, you can depict this role of an father that shields as well as manages their particular unsuitable manners. Straightforward Neck Pain Relief, it is possible to express a mom shape which can be offered to focus on them. You have to continually be there for these people. Enable these to achieve their own optimum degree of well-being exactly where they usually are an operating part of contemporary society.
Predicting Sex Life After Prostate Cancer
Treatments for prostate cancer take a significant toll on male potency, leaving a surprisingly high percentage of men unable to have a normal sex life, new research shows.
The findings, based on a study of more than 1,000 men treated for prostate cancer at multiple medical centers, show that whether a man is able to achieve adequate erections after treatment for prostate cancer varies greatly depending on a number of individual variables, including his age, the extent of his cancer and the quality of his sex life before treatment.
Over all, fewer than half of the men who reported good sexual function before cancer had managed to regain it two years after treatment. But the chances of sexual recovery varied widely. After two years, some men had less than a 10 percent chance of achieving adequate erections after treatment, whereas others had a 70 percent or greater chance of a relatively normal sex life.
The results were not encouraging, but for the first time offer men a more personalized model for predicting sexual recovery after cancer treatment.
Cancer experts say the data, published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, are sorely needed, in light of marketing efforts that are aimed at wooing men toward particular types of treatment but that often leave patients with unrealistic expectations. Many men report feeling shocked and depressed when their sex lives fail to return to normal after treatment.
“I think being transparent about what the pros and cons are, the reality — that’s important,’’ said Dr. Martin G. Sanda, senior author on the research and director of the prostate care center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “For any of the treatments for prostate cancer, it would be misleading to tell someone they have a 100 percent chance of sexual recovery, or even a 95 percent chance. It’s easier for a couple to face that and deal with that if they are expecting it than if they were oversold and told there weren’t going to be any issues.”
The study evaluated sexual function among men at nine academic medical centers who had undergone one of three treatments for prostate cancer: surgical removal of the prostate; radiation therapy; or brachytherapy, which uses radioactive seed implants.
Over all, just 35 percent of men in the surgery group, 37 percent of men in the radiation group and 43 percent of men in the brachytherapy group were able to have sexual intercourse two years after treatment.
Because the men weren’t randomly assigned to a treatment, the data don’t demonstrate whether one treatment is better than another. For instance, men who opt for brachytherapy are typically younger and healthier than men who undergo radiation treatment, so the results can’t be compared.
However, the researchers were able to determine which variables are most important for predicting a man’s erectile function after treatment. In all three treatment groups, the quality of a man’s erections before treatment — determined using a questionnaire about his sex life — helped predict his sexual recovery. Among surgical patients, a man’s age and his P.S.A. score, which measures prostate specific antigen, and whether he had nerve-sparing surgery also helped predict his chances of resuming a normal sex life. For men undergoing radiation treatment, those who had not also undergone hormone therapy were more likely to regain erectile function two years after treatment. Among men who had brachytherapy, a younger age and lower body weight helped predict a better recovery compared with men who were older or obese.
One limit of the study is that it followed the men for only two years. Men who undergo radiation and brachytherapy may experience a decline in erectile function two or more years after treatment, whereas men who undergo surgery may experience improvement.
Dr. Sanda said the data would allow doctors to take a more personalized approach as they talk to patients about the risks of a given treatment and counsel them about the benefits of drugs and other therapies that can improve erectile function.
“By and large, a lot of what we counsel men has been based on generalized average numbers,’’ said Dr. Sanda. “This really creates a more concrete metric as to what patients might expect.”
The findings, based on a study of more than 1,000 men treated for prostate cancer at multiple medical centers, show that whether a man is able to achieve adequate erections after treatment for prostate cancer varies greatly depending on a number of individual variables, including his age, the extent of his cancer and the quality of his sex life before treatment.
Over all, fewer than half of the men who reported good sexual function before cancer had managed to regain it two years after treatment. But the chances of sexual recovery varied widely. After two years, some men had less than a 10 percent chance of achieving adequate erections after treatment, whereas others had a 70 percent or greater chance of a relatively normal sex life.
The results were not encouraging, but for the first time offer men a more personalized model for predicting sexual recovery after cancer treatment.
Cancer experts say the data, published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, are sorely needed, in light of marketing efforts that are aimed at wooing men toward particular types of treatment but that often leave patients with unrealistic expectations. Many men report feeling shocked and depressed when their sex lives fail to return to normal after treatment.
“I think being transparent about what the pros and cons are, the reality — that’s important,’’ said Dr. Martin G. Sanda, senior author on the research and director of the prostate care center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “For any of the treatments for prostate cancer, it would be misleading to tell someone they have a 100 percent chance of sexual recovery, or even a 95 percent chance. It’s easier for a couple to face that and deal with that if they are expecting it than if they were oversold and told there weren’t going to be any issues.”
The study evaluated sexual function among men at nine academic medical centers who had undergone one of three treatments for prostate cancer: surgical removal of the prostate; radiation therapy; or brachytherapy, which uses radioactive seed implants.
Over all, just 35 percent of men in the surgery group, 37 percent of men in the radiation group and 43 percent of men in the brachytherapy group were able to have sexual intercourse two years after treatment.
Because the men weren’t randomly assigned to a treatment, the data don’t demonstrate whether one treatment is better than another. For instance, men who opt for brachytherapy are typically younger and healthier than men who undergo radiation treatment, so the results can’t be compared.
However, the researchers were able to determine which variables are most important for predicting a man’s erectile function after treatment. In all three treatment groups, the quality of a man’s erections before treatment — determined using a questionnaire about his sex life — helped predict his sexual recovery. Among surgical patients, a man’s age and his P.S.A. score, which measures prostate specific antigen, and whether he had nerve-sparing surgery also helped predict his chances of resuming a normal sex life. For men undergoing radiation treatment, those who had not also undergone hormone therapy were more likely to regain erectile function two years after treatment. Among men who had brachytherapy, a younger age and lower body weight helped predict a better recovery compared with men who were older or obese.
One limit of the study is that it followed the men for only two years. Men who undergo radiation and brachytherapy may experience a decline in erectile function two or more years after treatment, whereas men who undergo surgery may experience improvement.
Dr. Sanda said the data would allow doctors to take a more personalized approach as they talk to patients about the risks of a given treatment and counsel them about the benefits of drugs and other therapies that can improve erectile function.
“By and large, a lot of what we counsel men has been based on generalized average numbers,’’ said Dr. Sanda. “This really creates a more concrete metric as to what patients might expect.”
How You Can Maintain Persons Together with Manic Depression
The illness ailments usually are issues that produce an opposite intrinsic sensation than they usually show. They have been notable in using any reaction configuration style of immunity procedure; it can help all of them face mask their own genuine feelings.
Each day in your life you experience points that may either provide happy or maybe a unfortunate experiencing. Triggers are invariably seen in the community as well as within you. This is the skill of your shape to cope with this which enables you actually conform to the norms. There are actually instances which the sense of pleasure is altered to your frantic experience. On the other hand, the feeling associated with dismay is usually altered to some depressive talk about. These kinds of scenarios materialize if you find yourself affected by the bipolar disorder. This particular condition won't merely reveal manic shows although depressive attacks too.
There's two instances of that dysfunction is much more. The particular manic instance is definitely described as verbosity, ostentation, sleep loss, air travel associated with tips (relocating derived from one of subject matter to a different), hypersexuality, distractibility, interpersonal intrusiveness, in addition to psychomotor turmoil. While the depressive episode might be revealed by simply fatigue, feelings regarding worthlessness, somatic issues, decreased health, inability to make options, public flahbacks, plus taking once life ideations. The particular attacks will last for working hours, times, 2 or 3 weeks, or maybe weeks. Both the can easily interchangeably appear, nevertheless the duration of their own occurrence will depend on the sort of bipolar disorder the person offers.
The earliest goal just for this style of individual is security. As you possibly can watch, safety is more often than not the particular top priority when you deal with folks who suffer from intellectual ailments. Simply because these people lack the opportunity to interpret things. Once the man or woman includes a depressive disorder, this can be very imperative that you examine to the existence of your taking once life ideation. If your ideation is evident while in the man or women, you must have to make without doubt the surroundings is safe. Clear away many distinct materials, wines, basics, or perhaps almost any supplies that he can make use of in order to cause harm to herself. Have a very person watch over him all day and night to monitor their Toxic Shock Syndrome. You should also deliver relax during this tv show to make up for the tiredness he's enduring. Conversely, once the man or women provides shifted into a manic show, always be further watchful while he has sufficient vitality to execute their destruction approach. The individual is often hyperactive therefore there is a greater risk for that man or woman so that you can hurt himself. Provide him together with different activities that can sales channel his / her vigor, like stealing off classifieds, therefore you really need to arranged the restricts for the children.
Another main priority will be nutrition. This is usually a vital element of their own proper care simply because each ailments include current troubles managing food items. Manic folks include hyperactivity, plus they hardly look closely at meals as their focus is focused on various other irrelevant points. As most of times they may be moving, it is possible to give them high-calorie kids finger food like Fried potatoes and also sandwiches. It'll renew the action they have been working with and also fulfill their needs momentarily. For an individual who have depressive shows, you may want persistence so as to convince them to eat. Provide him with time for you to finish off her supper given that they perhaps lack vitality you can eat.
The most crucial and also humane features within caring for these kind of folks are concern and persistence. Regarding Wrist Pain, you'll be able to portray a position of your pops exactly who defends plus adjustments their own inappropriate behaviors. Straightforward depressive kinds, you may show a parent number which might be open to take note of these folks. You have to remain presently there for the children. Guide the crooks to accomplish their particular the best possible degree of wellbeing where by they might be an operating an affiliate community.
Each day in your life you experience points that may either provide happy or maybe a unfortunate experiencing. Triggers are invariably seen in the community as well as within you. This is the skill of your shape to cope with this which enables you actually conform to the norms. There are actually instances which the sense of pleasure is altered to your frantic experience. On the other hand, the feeling associated with dismay is usually altered to some depressive talk about. These kinds of scenarios materialize if you find yourself affected by the bipolar disorder. This particular condition won't merely reveal manic shows although depressive attacks too.
There's two instances of that dysfunction is much more. The particular manic instance is definitely described as verbosity, ostentation, sleep loss, air travel associated with tips (relocating derived from one of subject matter to a different), hypersexuality, distractibility, interpersonal intrusiveness, in addition to psychomotor turmoil. While the depressive episode might be revealed by simply fatigue, feelings regarding worthlessness, somatic issues, decreased health, inability to make options, public flahbacks, plus taking once life ideations. The particular attacks will last for working hours, times, 2 or 3 weeks, or maybe weeks. Both the can easily interchangeably appear, nevertheless the duration of their own occurrence will depend on the sort of bipolar disorder the person offers.
The earliest goal just for this style of individual is security. As you possibly can watch, safety is more often than not the particular top priority when you deal with folks who suffer from intellectual ailments. Simply because these people lack the opportunity to interpret things. Once the man or woman includes a depressive disorder, this can be very imperative that you examine to the existence of your taking once life ideation. If your ideation is evident while in the man or women, you must have to make without doubt the surroundings is safe. Clear away many distinct materials, wines, basics, or perhaps almost any supplies that he can make use of in order to cause harm to herself. Have a very person watch over him all day and night to monitor their Toxic Shock Syndrome. You should also deliver relax during this tv show to make up for the tiredness he's enduring. Conversely, once the man or women provides shifted into a manic show, always be further watchful while he has sufficient vitality to execute their destruction approach. The individual is often hyperactive therefore there is a greater risk for that man or woman so that you can hurt himself. Provide him together with different activities that can sales channel his / her vigor, like stealing off classifieds, therefore you really need to arranged the restricts for the children.
Another main priority will be nutrition. This is usually a vital element of their own proper care simply because each ailments include current troubles managing food items. Manic folks include hyperactivity, plus they hardly look closely at meals as their focus is focused on various other irrelevant points. As most of times they may be moving, it is possible to give them high-calorie kids finger food like Fried potatoes and also sandwiches. It'll renew the action they have been working with and also fulfill their needs momentarily. For an individual who have depressive shows, you may want persistence so as to convince them to eat. Provide him with time for you to finish off her supper given that they perhaps lack vitality you can eat.
The most crucial and also humane features within caring for these kind of folks are concern and persistence. Regarding Wrist Pain, you'll be able to portray a position of your pops exactly who defends plus adjustments their own inappropriate behaviors. Straightforward depressive kinds, you may show a parent number which might be open to take note of these folks. You have to remain presently there for the children. Guide the crooks to accomplish their particular the best possible degree of wellbeing where by they might be an operating an affiliate community.
Saturday 17 September 2011
Remedies for Cellphone-Cancer Concerns
Now that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared cellphones “possibly carcinogenic,” that is, apt to cause brain cancer, it’s worth reviewing ways to limit your exposure without resorting to a lead fedora.Let’s start with the easiest first. Your brain won’t be exposed to electromagnetic fields if you don’t hold the phone to your ear. Get a wired (not Bluetooth because of the radio waves) headset, and the problem is solved.
You can do more, though. You can monitor your exposure using an app called Tawkon, available for some Android and Blackberry phones in their respective app stores. You can get the app for the iPhone, but because the iTunes store doesn’t carry it, the app is only available by “jail breaking” your phone, which can void the warranty.
Tawkon tracks how much radiation your phone is is putting out, then charts your exposure for a single call or over a week, month or six-month period. You can set the app to give you an alert when radiation is at a high level.
You could also buy a lower-radiation phone. The F.C.C. tests phone radiation and lists results as “Specific Absorption Rate” (SAR) in a database that now links with the SAR Shield website.
The amount of radiation a phone puts out varies by model and by how hard the phone is working to hold a signal. The fewer bars, the harder it’s working, and the bigger the dose of radiation.
So if you are a worrier, avoid calls in basements, subways and the wilderness.
source: theNYtimes
Thursday 15 September 2011
Improving surgical results: Three low-tech approaches
Even in our competitive globalized economy, America has retained its leadership in biomedical research and medical innovation. Although it takes years for basic research to be translated into clinical advances, patients are already benefiting from many new diagnostic tests, genetically engineered drugs, and medical devices that would have been considered fantastic just a few years ago.
Like other areas of medicine, advances in surgery are often driven by technology; laparoscopic hernia repairs and robot-assisted radical prostatectomies are just two of many examples.
Despite these major gains, we need more progress. American medicine is the best in the world, but American health lags behind some less advanced countries in important areas ranging from infant mortality to life expectancy. Technology alone can't close the gap, and innovative technology is often extremely expensive. The public must do more to prevent disease through lifestyle changes, ranging from smoking cessation to diet and exercise. And it's refreshing to see that doctors are developing some low-tech, low-cost ways to improve care. Three of these developments promise to improve surgery by using simple interventions before, during, and after operations.
Warming up
Research may change that. Scientists in Arizona and Washington studied 46 surgeons with varying levels of experience. Some of the doctors were asked to perform warm-up exercises that mimicked the motions used in minimally invasive surgery before being tested on surgical simulators, while others were tested without warming up. The warm-up exercises appeared to improve both manual dexterity and mental focus. In addition to improving performance on tasks that were similar to the warm-ups themselves, the exercises improved performance on unrelated surgical tasks. Both surgical residents and more experienced staff surgeons benefited from warm-up exercises; doctors who were fatigued from a night on call and those who were starting fresh improved to a similar degree.
The researchers concluded that short-term preoperative warm-up exercises can improve both surgical proficiency and cognitive arousal (mental concentration). It's a logical interpretation of the results, but more research and experience will be needed to learn if warm-ups before real operations will improve surgical performance. Still, because surgery is so demanding and the stakes are so high, surgeons might be wise to develop warm-up routines even before new results are available.
Checking it off
In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Safe Surgery Saves Lives campaign. The program includes a checklist designed to ensure that all members of the surgical team share full understanding of the patient, the planned operation, and the steps that can reduce errors and complications.
The checklist contains 19 items divided into three stages. The sign-in phase occurs before anesthesia is administered; key elements include verifying the patient's name and drug allergies, the body part to be operated on, and the availability of properly functioning equipment and adequate supplies. The time-out phase occurs during a mandatory pause before the first incision is made. Each member of the surgical team confirms his or her name and role, and the lead doctors and nurses review essential elements of the procedure. Finally, during the sign-out phase before the patient leaves the operating room, the responsible surgeon, nurse, and anesthesiologist review essential details of the operation and key elements of the postoperative care. During each stage of the checklist, all items are verified aloud and confirmed by each member of the team.
It's a logical plan, but does it work? To find out, researchers compared the clinical outcomes of 3,955 adult patients whose operations used the checklist with 3,733 patients whose operations did not. The operations were performed in eight cities around the world in hospitals with a wide range of economic circumstances and technical sophistication. Despite this diversity, the checklist was highly effective, reducing deaths by 47% (from 1.5% to 0.8%) and in-hospital complications by 36% (from 11% to 7%). Similar results were obtained in a subsequent study of six hospitals in the Netherlands.
The WHO estimates that surgical complications result in about 500,000 preventable deaths worldwide each year. This simple surgical checklist is an important step in reducing that number.
Airing out
Postoperative infections of the surgical incision are common. About 5% of all operations are complicated by wound infections, but since the colon and rectum are teeming with bacteria, as many as 10% to 20% of colorectal operations result in infections. It's a serious problem because these complications double the length of hospitalizations and the risk of postoperative death. Surgical wound infections are also expensive, draining the U.S. economy of about $1.8 billion a year.
Although Nurse Nightingale didn't know a thing about how oxygen-free radicals kill bacteria or how oxygen helps the body's immune cells polish off germs, she seemed to understand that oxygen helps fight infection. And in 2000, doctors in Austria and Germany tested the theory that supplementary oxygen could help prevent wound infections following colorectal surgery. Five hundred patients volunteered for the study; all received the standard treatments that prevent infection. Half the patients breathed 30% oxygen during their operations and for two hours afterward, and the other half breathed 80% oxygen for the same period of time. The extra oxygen worked, cutting the postoperative infection rate from 11.2% to 5.2%.
A 2005 study of 300 Spanish colorectal surgery patients reported similar benefits for supplementary oxygen, and a 2009 meta-analysis of trials involving over 3,000 patients linked supplementary oxygen to a 25% reduction in infections. However, a 2009 Danish study of patients undergoing a variety of operations did not find any benefit from oxygen therapy. None of the trials reported any adverse effects of high-dose oxygen, and since the therapy was usually administered in the operating room or recovery suite, extra cost was low.
A brief course of high-dose oxygen therapy won't solve the problem of surgical wound infections, but it may help. And if it becomes part of standard care, it will take its place alongside other methods of proven benefit. These include bowel cleansing in preparation for colorectal surgery, clipping rather than shaving hair from the incision site, cleansing the skin with a chlorhexidine-alcohol antiseptic scrub rather than the standard povidone-iodine antiseptic before the incision, administering a preventive antibiotic at the time of surgery, and keeping the patient's body temperature up to normal during and after surgery.
Like supplementary high-dose oxygen, all of these steps are simple and inexpensive — and they work. Add surgical warm-up exercises and surgical checklists, and doctors will have a thoroughly modern, thoroughly low-tech way to improve surgical results.
source: health.harvard.edu
Are there limits to laser refractive surgery after midlife?
The same vision changes that make you eager to toss your glasses or contacts can complicate your decision about surgery.
Even if you've worn glasses or contacts for decades, you may be wondering about having your vision surgically corrected. Your contacts may feel less comfortable; perhaps you hate wearing reading glasses; or maybe you finally have the money to seek an instantly clear view of the world as you wake in the morning or pop your head out of the swimming pool. But how advisable is laser vision correction in your 50s, 60s, or beyond?
If your eyes are otherwise healthy, laser refractive surgery may provide the results you're looking for. But the risks and benefits do shift around midlife, so you need a thorough evaluation and a frank assessment of what you might gain — or lose.
Types of laser refractive surgery
Surgeons have several different ways of gaining access to the corneal layer being treated. The best-known is LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), in which a precision instrument — either an automated microkeratome or a newer, bladeless device called a femtosecond laser — cuts a thin flap from the outer cornea, leaving one side attached like a hinge. The flap is folded out of the way, a pre-programmed laser reshapes the inner cornea to correct your vision, and the flap is returned to its original position (see "What happens during LASIK surgery?"). No stitches are needed.
A number of LASIK alternatives, known as surface ablations, disturb only the surface of the cornea (the epithelium) before applying the laser. In photorefractive keratotomy (PRK), a section of epithelium is completely removed with a laser. In LASEK (laser epithelial keratomileusis), an alcohol solution is applied to weaken and loosen the epithelium so the surgeon can gently move it aside and reposition it after the vision correction. In epi-LASIK, a thin sheet of epithelium is removed with a special microkeratome and set aside (it may or may not be repositioned after surgery). After surface ablation procedures, a soft contact lens is applied to protect the cornea while it heals (usually in three to seven days).
The choice between LASIK and surface ablation procedures depends on your eyesight, the thickness of your cornea, and any medical conditions you may have.
"For the lowest correction, we often recommend surface ablation because a flap is potentially more prone to trauma, infection, and a need for retreatment. For high corrections, we usually recommend LASIK because the visual outcomes are better," says Dr. Roberto Pineda, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and director of refractive surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
What happens during LASIK surgery? |
Getting an evaluation
Before your evaluation, you'll need to go without contacts for a while (one to two weeks if you wear soft lenses; three to four weeks if you wear hard lenses) because they distort the shape of your corneas.
The surgeon will thoroughly evaluate your eyes, including the shape, thickness, and condition of the corneas; tear production; refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism); the size of your pupils (pupils that become very large in dim light are more prone to glare, halos, and double vision following refractive surgery); and the presence of other eye conditions that become more common with age. Because you have to focus on a light while the laser is applied, you must demonstrate that you can stare at a single point for at least 60 seconds.
Your surgeon also needs to know about your general health and any medications you are taking. Surgery may be inadvisable because of an autoimmune disease or another condition that makes you more prone to infection. You may have to stop taking certain drugs that impair wound healing (such as steroids), cause dry eye (such as certain antidepressants and blood pressure pills), or create vision difficulties (such as the heart medication amiodarone).
A frank discussion
After surgery, vision can take weeks to months to stabilize. These days, about 75% of patients achieve 20/20 or better distance vision (ability to read on the eye chart what a person with normal vision should see from 20 feet), and more than 95% achieve at least 20/40 vision (good enough to pass a driver's test, equivalent to being able to read from 20 feet what the person with normal vision could read from 40 feet). But even a 20/20 result on an eye test may not mean perfect vision in real life, because you may develop problems with night vision or difficulty distinguishing between shades of gray. Some people wear rigid gas-permeable contacts because their vision is clearer that way than with glasses or soft contacts. If you're one of those people, the ophthalmologist may raise a yellow flag, because laser refractive surgery often can't match that crisp, nondistorted view.
After surface ablation, you may feel discomfort, burning, and scratching as the epithelium heals. Dry eye is common after laser refractive surgery; it usually improves in a few months but becomes long-lasting in more than 20% of patients, with symptoms ranging from mild to extremely bothersome. Immediately after surgery, you may notice glare, halos, or double vision, especially at night. These symptoms persist for more than six months in up to 20% of patients, although studies indicate that only about 5% are actually bothered by them.
Other possible problems include the development of a new astigmatism, reduced ability to see contrasts, and under- or overcorrection requiring glasses or further surgery. The surgical site can become infected; the inner cornea can become inflamed, causing hazy vision (this is more common after surface ablations); and in LASIK or LASEK, the flap can dislodge or become wrinkled.
Inform yourself thoroughly about the risks (see "Selected resources"), and make sure all your questions are answered before you make a decision.
Refractive surgery meets the aging eye
Nevertheless, various age-related eye conditions can influence your decision on laser vision correction. These conditions, listed below, may need to be diagnosed and treated differently in someone who's had laser eye surgery:
Cataracts. With age, the lens of the eye can become clouded, a condition called cataract. Most people have some opaqueness in their lenses by age 60. Cataract occurs in about half of pePublish Postople ages 65 to 74 and in 70% of those ages 75 and over. When cataracts cause symptoms — blurriness, poor night vision, or distorted colors — the clouded lens can be removed and an artificial one implanted, often restoring normal sight to lifelong glasses-wearers.
Laser refractive surgery does not prevent or slow the development of cataract, so a later cataract will mean another surgery. For this reason, if there's any sign of clouding, your ophthalmologist may recommend waiting and having your vision corrected through cataract surgery.
But if you've already had refractive surgery, it's trickier to choose the correct lenses for cataract surgery, so if you undergo one of these laser vision procedures, ask your ophthalmologist to fill out an American Academy of Ophthalmology "K card" (available at www.health.harvard.edu/kcard) indicating your refraction before and after surgery. If you ever need cataract surgery, this information will assist in selecting a lens.
If you have residual nearsightedness after cataract surgery, laser surgery (usually PRK) can sometimes be performed to sharpen your distance vision.
Glaucoma. Glaucoma is caused by increased fluid pressure within the eye that impinges on the optic nerve. Untreated, it can result in blindness. In the early stages, glaucoma causes no symptoms, so ophthalmologists screen for it by checking intraocular pressure and looking for optic nerve damage. Laser refractive surgery thins the cornea, leaving it softer and more flexible, so subsequent glaucoma screenings will show lower intraocular pressure readings. That may result in failure to diagnose early glaucoma. Make sure your ophthalmologist knows if you've had laser vision correction so that when monitoring for glaucoma, she or he can use special conversion tables that take your corneal thickness into account. An FDA-approved device (TonoPach) is available that simultaneously measures intraocular pressure and corrects the results to adjust for the thickness of the cornea.
LASIK is inadvisable if you have moderate or severe glaucoma because your treatment will become more difficult to monitor. Also, intraocular pressure temporarily spikes during the procedure (suction is required to hold the cornea as the flap is cut). But if your glaucoma is mild and easily managed with a single medication, you may still be a candidate for laser vision correction.
Dry eye syndrome. With age, your eyes tear less, and you may notice an itching, burning, or scratching sensation that results from decreased lubrication. This problem is more common in women and often starts after menopause. Contact lenses may become less comfortable, which heightens the appeal of laser refractive surgery.
But if you have severe dry eye, you shouldn't undergo the procedure. Cutting the corneal flap in LASIK severs nerves involved in tear production, and dry eye is a common result (affecting about 50% of patients). Dry eye following laser refractive surgery techniques that don't involve a flap is less common, but if you already have dry eye, the corneal surface may heal more slowly. That means you should have your tear production measured before you decide whether to undergo laser refractive surgery. If it's below a certain level, you should probably avoid the procedure because you are more likely to develop chronic dry eye afterward.
Presbyopia. In your 40s and 50s, the lens of the eye naturally becomes more rigid and less able to focus clearly on near objects. The usual way to accommodate this change is to wear reading glasses — or bifocals, trifocals, or progressives. You can also wear contact lenses that correct one eye for distance and the other for near vision, an approach called mono vision.
Laser refractive surgery doesn't prevent presbyopia. If you have the procedure in your 40s, you'll still likely develop the need for reading glasses within the next 10 years or so. Maybe you're myopic and currently take off your glasses for close-up tasks, such as threading a needle, thus taking advantage of your natural nearsightedness. That strategy will no longer work after laser vision correction.
To address presbyopia, the surgeon can correct one eye for distance vision and the other for closer work, producing the same effect as contacts for monovision. But most people can't adjust to having one eye that's blurry all the time. To find out if you can tolerate it, your ophthalmologist may have you wear contacts that simulate the correction for a while (or simulate the correction in the office, though this won't give your brain a chance to adjust). The stronger your reading glasses — and therefore the greater the difference between the correction required for your right eye and your left eye — the more likely you are to experience diminished depth perception. To minimize the discrepancy, your ophthalmologist might suggest correcting one eye for distance and the other for intermediate vision, an approach called blended vision or mini-monovision. This should allow you to clearly see your computer screen, piano keys, or car dashboard, but you'll still need glasses for reading.
"Even if you have one eye corrected for near vision, you may still be more comfortable wearing glasses for prolonged reading," says Dr. Ula Jurkunas, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
A new presbyopia technique now offered in Europe is undergoing a three-year study in the United States. Instead of removing tissue from the mid-cornea, the surgeon cuts a flap in the cornea of one eye and inserts a removable inlay (brand name AcuFocus). It's a ring less than one-quarter the size of a soft contact, with a tiny hole in the middle that creates a pinhole effect (much like squinting or an early camera) to increase the depth of focus and sharpen near and intermediate vision.
Improvements in the lenses used for cataract surgery have provided another surgical option for people with presbyopia — albeit one that is controversial and not approved by the FDA. Variable-focus implantable lenses enable people who undergo cataract surgery to see objects at various distances. Some ophthalmologists are now using these lenses to replace the natural lenses in people who are middle-aged or older who have the beginnings of cataracts that aren't yet affecting their vision and who rely on glasses or contact lenses for presbyopia. But this surgery is not covered by insurance unless you have cataracts, and the cost can be as high as $5,000 for each eye. Also, many ophthalmologists are reluctant to perform the procedure in people without cataracts because of the risks and lack of information about long-term safety and effectiveness.
source: health.harvard.edu
The Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating
- The Healthy Eating Pyramid, from the Harvard School of Public Health
The experts at Harvard Medical School have just published a brand-new Special Health Report, The Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating. Week by week, step by step, this report will help you analyze your diet, establish goals for healthy meals and snacks, and incorporate practical changes to make your healthy diet a reality. By making just a few dietary changes each week, you can ease your way into a new pattern of healthy eating. Each week builds on the previous steps, and in just six short weeks, you’ll have made an important lifestyle change that can last a lifetime.
Here are just a few of the easy steps you’ll find in our 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating:
Week 1: Getting started
Week 2: Build a better breakfast
Week 3: Choose from 22 healthy lunchtime menus
Week 4: Ways to sneak in more fruits and vegetables
Week 5: Smart snacking
Week 6: Staying with the program
Special Bonus: 14 recipes for success — delicious and healthy appetizers, entrées, sides, salads, and desserts.
We’ll suggest a list of foods you should remove from your pantry or refrigerator, and provide healthy and delicious substitutes. We’ll tell you how to outwit your appetite. How to gauge portion sizes. Which foods to eat at parties, and which ones you should avoid. How to build a better sandwich. What to do if you slip and overindulge. How to strengthen your motivation by rewarding yourself.
In just six short weeks, you can revolutionize the way you eat, in small, easy practical steps. With The Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating, you can make healthy choices from a buffet of possibilities and create an eating plan for life.
This week-by-week plan will help you transform your eating habits into a program of nutritious and delicious food choices that can last a lifetime. Using the latest results of nutrition science, Harvard experts take you by the hand as you learn to eat for heart health, longevity, energy, and vitality. Includes recipes, shopping tips, and meal-planning strategies. This Special Health Report was prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Faculty Editor Teresa Fung, Sc.D., R.D., L.D.N., Adjunct Associate Professor, Harvard School of Public Health and Associate Professor of Nutrition, Simmons College with Nutrition Editor Kathy McManus, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., Director, Department of Nutrition, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 45 pages. (2011)
source: health.harvard.edu.
Wednesday 14 September 2011
New online nutrition initiative can help protect lives and health of millions of children
A web based tool to help combat malnutrition
10 AUGUST 2011 | COLOMBO/GENEVA - In a bid to stop millions of people dying and suffering every year from malnutrition, WHO today is launching a new web-powered initiative that clarifies guidance on life-saving nutrition interventions, and assists governments and healthcare providers to better scale up action against all forms of malnutrition.
An e-library for nutrition
The WHO e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA), launched during today’s opening of a three-day Asia regional nutrition meeting in Sri Lanka, helps governments overcome one of the major challenges in fighting malnutrition: the vast, and often conflicting, array of evidence and advice that exists on effective, preventive and therapeutic nutrition interventions.
The online eLENA project does this by prioritizing and presenting the latest advice on tackling the three main forms of malnutrition: undernutrition, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and overweight and obesity.
Billions are affected malnutrition
“Several billion people are affected by one or more types of malnutrition,” says Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Assistant Director-General of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health. “Countries need access to the science and evidence-informed guidance to reduce the needless death and suffering associated with malnutrition. eLENA can greatly improve how countries cope with the terrible health threats posed by malnutrition.”
Forms of malnutrition
Malnutrition can take several forms.
- Underweight is the leading risk factor for many diseases in low-income countries and represents about 6% of the global disease burden.
- Childhood underweight, micronutrient deficiencies (iron, vitamin A and zinc) and poor breastfeeding combined cause 7% of deaths (equivalent to 3.9 million lives lost) and 10% of the global disease burden.
- Micronutrient deficiencies include:
- iodine deficiency, which is the world’s most prevalent, yet easily preventable, cause of brain damage;
- anaemia, which affects 1.6 billion people, mostly due to iron deficiency, and increases the risk of low-birth-weight babies and of pregnancy anaemia, associated with 18% of maternal deaths;
- vitamin A deficiency, which is suffered by 190 million preschool children;
- zinc deficiency, which can affect the immune system and kills 430 000 children annually;
- Overweight and obesity: around 1.5 billion adults over age 20 are overweight or obese. Global estimates suggest more than 40 million children aged under 5 are already overweight or obese.
How to tackle malnutrition
eLENA describes the effective health interventions needed to tackle malnutrition. Such measures include the appropriate treatment of severe acute malnutrition; promoting breastfeeding; and fortifying staple foods with vitamins and minerals such as iron and folic acid for wheat and maize flours. It also recommends using multiple micronutrient powders to fortify foods for children aged between 6 and 23 months. To prevent anaemia, daily iron and folic supplements are advised for pregnant women, and intermittent iron and folic acid supplementation is recommended for menstruating women and preschool and school-age.
“To create eLENA, we have sifted through thousands of pages of scientific evidence and advice to prioritize, justify and better present the kinds of nutrition actions needed to prevent people succumbing to the many forms of malnutrition,” says Dr Francesco Branca, WHO Director of Nutrition for Health and Development.
The new eLENA tool is an important component of WHO’s global drive to help countries prevent and control malnutrition. WHO is a key driver of the “Scaling up Nutrition” movement, which involves multiple United Nations agencies and other key nutrition stakeholders. The movement’s target is to help countries improve how they tackle malnutrition and ensure the response includes the agriculture, health, social protection and ensuring food security sectors.
eLENA is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Canada-based Micronutrient Initiative and the Government of Luxembourg.
source: worldhealthorg.
WHO welcomes GlaxoSmithKline support to fight intestinal worms in children
Statement by WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan
9 September 2011
Today, WHO acknowledges the generous commitment by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to donate 400 million more deworming tablets - albendazole - a year over the next five years to help children in deprived communities. This donation comes on top of the 600 million tablets of albendazole already being used in the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis.WHO commends today's donation, which will help in providing wider coverage for the millions of children worldwide who silently suffer from the prolonged effects of intestinal worms.
Soil-transmitted helminthiases, commonly known as intestinal worms, affect more than 800 million children worldwide, most of whom live in impoverished settings.
These worms produce a wide range of symptoms, which include problems such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, general malaise and weakness, which may affect impair physical growth in children and reduce their learning abilities. Hookworms cause chronic intestinal blood loss and lead to anaemia.
Children infected with soil-transmitted helminths pass parasite eggs in their faeces. Especially in communities where there are no latrine systems, the soil and water become contaminated with faeces containing worm eggs.
WHO's control strategy involves regular annual deworming of preschool and school-age children. Periodic treatment reduces the intensity of infection and protects those already infected. The World Health Assembly Resolution 54.19 urged countries to provide essential drugs in all health services in endemic areas particularly to children and women. We aim to reach the minimum target of providing coverage to 75% of all school-age children at risk.
With today's donation, we can now look forward to achieving the ambitious goal of 75% global coverage for children. WHO is firmly committed to providing treatment to all children in all endemic countries.
source: worldhealthorg.
Tuesday 13 September 2011
In Study, Fatherhood Leads to Drop in Testosterone
This is probably not the news most fathers want to hear.
- Fathers who spent several hours a day caring for children had the lowest testosterone in a study of 600 men in the Philippines.
So says the first large study measuring testosterone in men when they were single and childless and several years after they had children. Experts say the research has implications for understanding the biology of fatherhood, hormone roles in men and even health issues like prostate cancer.
“The real take-home message,” said Peter Ellison, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard who was not involved in the study, is that “male parental care is important. It’s important enough that it’s actually shaped the physiology of men.”
“Unfortunately,” Dr. Ellison added, “I think American males have been brainwashed” to believe lower testosterone means that “maybe you’re a wimp, that it’s because you’re not really a man.
“My hope would be that this kind of research has an impact on the American male. It would make them realize that we’re meant to be active fathers and participate in the care of our offspring.”
The study, experts say, suggests that men’s bodies evolved hormonal systems that helped them commit to their families once children were born. It also suggests that men’s behavior can affect hormonal signals their bodies send, not just that hormones influence behavior. And, experts say, it underscores that mothers were meant to have child care help.
“This is part of the guy being invested in the marriage,” said Carol Worthman, an anthropologist at Emory University who also was not involved in the study. Lower testosterone, she said, is the father’s way of saying, “ ‘I’m here, I’m not looking around, I’m really toning things down so I can have good relationships.’ What’s great about this study is it lays it on the table that more is not always better. Faster, bigger, stronger — no, not always.”
Experts said the study was a significant contribution to hormone research because it tested men before and after becoming fathers and involved many participants: 600 men in the Cebu Province of the Philippines who are participating in a larger, well-respected health study following babies who were born in 1983 and 1984.
Testosterone was measured when the men were 21 and single, and again nearly five years later. Although testosterone naturally decreases with age, men who became fathers showed much greater declines, more than double that of the childless men.
And men who spent more than three hours a day caring for children — playing, feeding, bathing, toileting, reading or dressing them — had the lowest testosterone.
“It could almost be demonized, like, ‘Oh my God, fathers, don’t take care of your kids because your testosterone will drop way down,’ ” said Lee Gettler, an anthropologist at Northwestern University and co-author of the study, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But this should be viewed as, ‘Oh it’s great, women aren’t the only ones biologically adapted to be parents.’
“Humans give birth to incredibly dependent infants. Historically, the idea that men were out clubbing large animals and women were staying behind with babies has been largely discredited. The only way mothers could have highly needy offspring every couple of years is if they were getting help.”
Smaller studies, measuring just snapshots in time, found fathers have lower testosterone, but they could not establish whether fatherhood brought testosterone down or lower-testosterone men were just more likely to become fathers.
In the new study, said Christopher Kuzawa, a co-author and Northwestern anthropologist, having higher testosterone to start with “actually predicted that they’re more likely to become fathers,” possibly because men with higher testosterone were more assertive in competing for women or appeared healthier and more attractive. But regardless of initial testosterone level, after having children, the hormone plummeted.
Scientists say this suggests a biological trade-off, with high testosterone helping secure a mate, but reduced testosterone better for sustaining family life.
“A dad with lower testosterone is maybe a little more sensitive to cues from his child, and maybe he’s a little less sensitive to cues from a woman he meets at a restaurant,” said Peter Gray, an anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has conducted unrelated research on testosterone in fathers.
The study did not examine specific effects on men’s behavior, like whether those with smaller drops in testosterone were more likely to be neglectful or aggressive. It also did not examine the roles played by other hormones or whether factors like stress or sleeplessnesscontributed to a decline in testosterone.
Other studies have suggested, though not as definitively, that behavior and relationships affect testosterone levels. A study of Air Force veterans showed that testosterone climbed back up after men were divorced. A study of Harvard Business School students found that those in committed romantic relationships had lower testosterone than those who were not. Another study found that fathers in a Tanzanian group known for involved parenting had low testosterone, while those from a neighboring culture without active fathering did not.
Similar results have been found in birds and in mammals like marmosets, said Toni Ziegler, a senior scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
Experts say the new testosterone study could offer insight into men’s medical conditions, particularly prostate cancer. Higher lifetime testosterone levels increase the risk of prostate cancer, just as higher estrogen exposure increases breast cancer risk.
“Fathers who spend a lot of time in fathering roles might have lower long-term exposure to testosterone,” reducing their risk, Dr. Ellison said.
Many questions remain. Does testosterone, which appeared to decline most steeply in fathers during their child’s first month, rebound as children become older and less dependent? How often do levels fluctuate?
They did not change before and after a play session with children, researchers found. But do they rise when fathers are at work and decrease on weekends? And are only biological fathers affected, or would similar results occur “if you have an uncle or brother or stepfather living in the household and they care for the baby?” asked Sarah B. Hrdy, the primatologist and author of “Mothers and Others.”
The lowering of their testosterone did not prevent the men in the study from having more children. “You don’t need a lot of testosterone to have libido,” Dr. Kuzawa said.
“If guys are worried about basically, ‘Am I going to remain a guy?’ ” Dr. Worthman said, “we’re not talking about changes that are going to take testosterone outside the range of having hairy chests, deep voices and big muscles and sperm counts. These are more subtle effects.”
And, as Dr. Gray wrote in a commentary accompanying the study, “The descent of a man’s testosterone may even be welcomed by some, perhaps his progeny.”
source: thenewyorktimes
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