Health & WellnessS


Toys

The Modern Parenting Techniques That Hinder Brain Development


PsyBlog
Thu, 06 Aug 2015 00:00 UTC
twins in opposite moods
© Shutterstock

Modern parenting practices and cultural beliefs are hurting children's development, a child psychology expert argues.

Professor Darcia Narvaez of the University of Notre Dame, who studies how early life experiences affect brain development, said:
"Life outcomes for American youth are worsening, especially in comparison to 50 years ago.

Ill-advised practices and beliefs have become commonplace in our culture, such as the use of infant formula, the isolation of infants in their own rooms or the belief that responding too quickly to a fussing baby will 'spoil' it."

Comment: See also:

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Ambulance

Deaths and hospitalizations rise as flu virus spreads to 46 US states

Kim Painter
USA Today
Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:59 UTC
influenza
With flu season now in full swing - causing widespread illness in 46 states - health officials across the country are reporting waves of misery, rising hospitalizations and some deaths.

It is still too soon to say just how bad this flu season will be, but there are troubling signs in some places.

Comment: See also:

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Life Preserver

Grieving mother warns people to learn the symptoms of sepsis after daughter's sudden death


The Telegraph
Mon, 08 Jan 2018 20:37 UTC
Chloe Christopher sepsis
Chloe Christopher, whose mother has described how she tried to save her daughter's life as she collapsed and died from sepsis.
A grieving mother has recalled the last words of her teenage daughter who she said was laughing and joking moments before she collapsed and died from sepsis.

Chloe Christopher, 17, died on New Year's Eve in 2014 after developing the illness.

The student, of Cwmaman, near Aberdare, Wales, was thought to have been suffering a chest infection at the time when she collapsed and told her mother Michelle: "Mam, I'm frightened, I don't feel very well."

Ms Christopher is now speaking about the tragedy to urge people to learn to recognise the signs of sepsis.

It was so sudden; one minute laughing and joking, the next she said she felt unwell and a bit scared," she said in a video by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Comment: The good news is that researchers have found an inexpensive yet highly effective treatment using Vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone. Other researchers are testing the effects of vagus nerve stimulation in blocking the inflammatory response that leads to sepsis.

Dr. Mercola recommends a few precautions to help lower your risk:
- Promptly treating urinary tract infections (UTIs). UTIs are the second most common type of infection in the body, sending more than 8 million people to their health care providers every year in the U.S. alone,35 and one-quarter of sepsis cases are related to urinary tract infections.

Conventional treatment typically involves antibiotics, but research shows 90 percent of UTIs can be successfully treated with D-Mannose, a naturally occurring sugar that's closely related to glucose. To learn more, see "D-Mannose for UTI Prevention Validated in a Clinical Trial."

- Properly clean skin wounds. About 1 in 10 sepsis cases are due to skin infections, so always take the time to properly clean and care for wounds and scrapes. Wash the wound with mild soap and water to clean out dirt and debris, then cover with a sterile bandage. Diabetics should follow good foot care to avoid dangerous foot infections.

- Avoid infections in hospitals. When visiting a health care facility, be sure to wash your own hands, and remind doctors and nurses to wash theirs (and/or change gloves) before touching you or any equipment being used on you.


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Sheeple

Sleep yourself slim: how an extra 90 mins in bed can help stop sugar cravings while shedding excess lbs

Sarah Knapton
The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 10 Jan 2018 12:01 UTC
Sleep
Spending an extra 90 minutes in bed may not seem like the obvious way to lose weight, but according to a new study, it could be the key to shedding excess pounds.

Scientists from King's College London have discovered that people who sleep for longer are less likely to pick sugary treats, or reach for comforting carbohydrates.

Lack of sleep was already known to be a risk factor for obesity because it alters levels of hormones which control appetite.

But a new study showed that by getting more sleep, people naturally choose healthier foods within a week, eating on average 10 grams less sugar each day.

Comment: See more on sleep and the body's circadian rhythms:

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Syringe

Russia wrapping up clinical trials on innovative new polio vaccine


TASS
Tue, 09 Jan 2018 11:40 UTC
doctor with syringe
© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS


Clinical research will be conducted in three stages and will involve more than 600 volunteers

Russian scientists plan to wrap up clinical trials of a domestic polio vaccine by mid-2018. Additionally, they are drawing up the necessary documents for its registration, Director of the Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune and Biological Products at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Aydar Ishmukhametov, told TASS.

"In accordance with the current legislation, we will submit a full package of documents to register the drug with the Ministry of Health after the end of the clinical trials. Clinical research will be conducted in three stages and will involve more than 600 volunteers. We plan to complete clinical trials and evaluate their results by mid-2018," he said.

Comment: Russia is moving to the top of the heap in many areas of research, including medicine. It will be interesting to see if their vaccines are safer and more effective than their Western World's counterparts. See also:

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Syringe

Flashback Worst flu season in history, NHS fears

Laura Donnelly
The Telegraph
Tue, 12 Sep 2017 12:51 UTC
flu virus
© Vladislav Kochelaevskiy / Alamy Stock PhotoThe last flu pandemic was in 2009
The NHS is braced for the worst flu season in its history, amid fears that overcrowded hospitals will be unable to cope. The head of the health service has warned that "pressures are going to be real" as he warned that influenza levels are expected to be high.

Simon Stevens said Australia and New Zealand - who are just coming out of their winter - have had a "heavy flu season" with many hospitals struggling to deal with demand.

And he said scientists would now re-examine the vaccines amid fears that the current jabs may not hold off the infections.

Comment: It seems that, despite their early preparations, this year's flu has still managed to cause a "system fail". Perhaps if they didn't try to rely on ineffective vaccines as the only strategy in combating the flu, they might not be so overwhelmed. But perhaps this crisis is simply a way to further push the bipartisan agenda to privatize the NHS.

See also:

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Heart - Black

Grandad's testicle 'explodes' after he contracts rare strain of Salmonella while on a Tunisian holiday


RT
Tue, 09 Jan 2018 18:38 UTC
Salmonella
A grandfather whose testicle "exploded" after he contracted a rare form of Salmonella says his life has completely changed. The 59-year-old caught the disease while on a Tunisian holiday.

David Worsley was on holiday with his wife Joanne in Tunisia when he contracted African Salmonella, a potentially deadly strain of the disease.

He spent several days in a local hospital, but upon returning to the UK he felt so ill that no food could settle in his stomach for weeks, causing him to lose three stone.

But the situation worsened when Worsley started feeling an "excruciating" pain in his genitals, and his testicle started swelling before "exploding like a volcano."
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Penis Pump

Male infertility among many side effects linked to painkiller ibuprofen - study


RT
Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:19 UTC
Pills
© Getty Images
Men who dream of starting a family may want to pass on the ibuprofen the next time they have a headache. A new study says the well-known painkiller could cause fertility issues in males.

The study, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), monitored 31 healthy white men aged 18 to 35. The volunteers were interviewed, completed a questionnaire assessing their physical activity, and gave a blood sample. The men were then divided into two groups, 14 in an ibuprofen group and 17 in a placebo group.

Those in the ibuprofen group were given two doses of ibuprofen a day. Each dose was 600mg, equivalent to three over-the-counter pills.

The researchers, from Denmark, France, and China, concluded that taking ibuprofen increases the risk of a condition known as compensated hypogonadism. The condition, generally associated with elderly men and linked to reproductive and physical disorders, including infertility, results in the body having higher levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) than testosterone.

Comment: See also: Pain management crisis: Can we treat it without drugs?

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Ambulance

'Aussie flu' outbreak worsens as French epidemic of 'exceptional magnitude' threatens UK

Lizzy Parry
The Sun
Mon, 08 Jan 2018 19:09 UTC
flu virus infects UK Jan 2018
The flu virus has continued to spread across the UK, including a rise in cases of the H3N2 'Aussie' strain
The deadly "Aussie flu" outbreak could get worse, as a French epidemic of "exceptional magnitude" threatens to infect the UK.

The deadly H3N2 strain is feared to have spread to almost all parts of the UK, following a surge in flu cases over the weekend.

Dorchester in Dorset and the City of London were last night the only places where no one has yet reported an "influenza-like illness" - with churches even banning handshakes in an attempt to curb the spread of infection.

Some 4.5million people are thought to have been struck down by flu over the past week, according to the online tool FluSurvey.

Comment: See also:

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Heart - Black

Heart attack is not just a male issue: Mortality rate 3 times higher for women, study finds


RT
Mon, 08 Jan 2018 16:52 UTC
Heart attack
© Jochen Tack / www.globallookpress.com
A new study has found that women are three times more likely to die after suffering a heart attack because doctors consider it a "male issue."

Research from the British Heart Foundation has found that three times the expected number of women died in the first year after a heart attack compared to men.

When investigating the cause of the anomaly the researchers found that women are far less likely to be given medication to prevent further attacks and also less likely to receive procedures to clear blocked arteries.

Comment: See also: Minimal carbs, lots of fat, incredible dieting results - but not enough science

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