Swine Flu’s Deadly Return is a Global Warning

Swine Flu’s Deadly Return is a Global Warning

The World Health Organization has now raised the swine flu epidemic warning level to Phase 6 – the highest level. Media attention to this serious worldwide pandemic faded after the immediate fears of widespread infection and deaths subsided – unfortunately the swine flu has not subsided at all and is more dangerous and spreading more quickly than earlier anticipated. Widespread human infection is underway.

The death toll is also increasing. Statistics as of July 2009 indicate, in the USA alone, there has been over 40,600 confirmed or probable cases of swine flu and at least 263 deaths. States leading the pack with infected populations are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Mass., New Jersey, New York, Penn., Texas and Wisconsin. Wisconsin and Texas lead with 6,031 and 4,975 cases respectively. The situation is becoming so serious and developing so rapidly that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has already deployed over 25% of its stockpile of supplies of antiviral drugs, personal protection equipment and respiratory protection devices and is trying to quickly train personnel at newly designated dispensaries (PODs) throughout the U.S.

The big question is will scientists be able to develop a vaccine that works and will it be available soon enough and in large enough supply to vaccinate everyone. Much of the World’s supply of flu vaccine is produced outside of the U.S. and the demand will be very high globally. No one is sure at this point when a vaccine will be available and how much will be available on such short notice. A monumental effort is underway Worldwide to develop an effective vaccine in large enough quantities to vaccinate the World population. Will this effort be successful?

Who is most at risk? Any person who is high risk for the …

Benefits of Flu Vaccines in the Workplace

Benefits of Flu Vaccines in the Workplace

Employers have a vested interest in employee health, but those employees obviously have a major interest in it as well. Nothing makes that more clear than the flu vaccination, which brings positive benefits for both parties.

Benefits For Employees –

In many ways, the benefits that the flu vaccine brings for everyday employees are quite similar to those enjoyed by just about anyone. However, there are plenty of advantages that are more workplace-specific that deserve a closer look. Consider these points:

Less Sick Leave – When an employee has to miss work due to an illness, their work not only suffers – so does the work of his or her coworkers. Avoiding the flu can reduce the amount of sick leave that

employees need to take.

Boost Morale – Generally employees who are given the option of receiving a workplace flu vaccination feel more in control of their personal health, which usually translates into a boost of team morale.

Keeping The Family Healthy – Knowing that fellow employees have received the flu shot – and that you have, too – increases your confidence that you are protecting your family from the flu as well. You’re less likely to bring the flu home when you work someplace that promotes the flu vaccine.

Benefits For Employers –

The benefits that the flu shot has for employers are just as compelling as those for employees, which makes it easy to see why so many workplaces have started offering them. For instance:

Fewer Absences – From a productivity standpoint, the flu vaccine reduces the chances that employees will contract the flu and be out for days at a time. In turn, productivity takes less of a hit, especially during flu season.

Shows That Employers Care – Employers …

What Does Good Health Actually Imply?

Good Health Natural Meals is a well-established natural and specialty food market, vitamin and sports nutrition store. Purchase It New, Buy It Used, Purchase It Now good health tpa,The Fat Burning Kitchen e-guide is a information that helps readers who wish to start eating healthy and inspiring their bodies to burn more fat. Psychological health is as essential as physical well being to a full, active life-style.

Find trusted recipes for maintaining a healthy diet: begin the day with a wholesome breakfast, cut the carbs or calories, discover the proper fundamental dish for your particular weight loss program. Go to for medical information and health news headlines posted throughout the day, day-after-day.

Fruits and berries are among the many world’s most popular health foods. Medical Information Today : Your source for well being news since 2003. In a 2010 study of girls ages 50 to seventy nine, extra deaths occurred in ladies who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per evening.

Being the healthiest you’ll be able to presumably be means consuming quite a lot of healthy meals, being bodily energetic and understanding the nutrients it is advisable shield your bones, immune system, physical and mental well being. Past that, give consideration to adding a complete meals” dietary supplement containing fruit and vegetable extracts or powders, in case your dietary habits haven’t reached the wholesome plateau yet.

Is a supplier of Medical Provides, Drugs and Healthcare Products in Woodhaven, New York. These foods are crunchy, fulfilling and loaded with essential vitamins that many individuals don’t get sufficient of, together with magnesium and vitamin E. Study researchers also noted that chocolate’s ability to stimulate the manufacturing of BDNF could also supply benefits equivalent to most cancers prevention, immune system boosting, pain reduction …

Can We Predict the Rates of Mutation of Influenza Virus Strains?

Can We Predict the Rates of Mutation of Influenza Virus Strains?

It seems as if our mathematical prediction software is getting rather good these days. Did you know that we have mathematical formulas, along with the computational predictions used to estimate “sand avalanches” based on the degree of slope, wind, weight of sand, and when one additional 100 lb. layer would trigger the event? It’s just amazing all that we can do to predict what we once considered random and unpredictable.

Not long ago, I read an interesting set of research papers by Guang Wu, a Chinese Researcher working on the influenza strains, and trying to prevent massive population deaths from a mutated deadly strain of Influenza, such as a bird flu or swine flu pandemic. It estimates the rates of mutation, disease spread rates, and challenges in the future, which can be calculated. He has considered many different mathematic scenarios for these things.

One paper he wrote on Monte Carlo mathematic formulas for prediction is interesting, and probably worthy of a read if you are fascinated by such things. These types of topics do challenge the mind, and there is also a very good TED Conference talk video that I’d also recommend on bacteria communication, during attrition phases, and as they grow in numbers and trigger their own dominance once they have the synergy of numbers to overpower the immune system. In a way it’s a lot like war strategy.

Guang’s work in the H1N1 and related flu strains takes this discussion to yet another level. Other books I recommend reading on are;

Virus Hunters of CDC,

Germs,

Hot Spot,

Cobra Event,

Gravity by Tess Garretsen,

Andromeda Strain

After you review all this, I’d like you to check out the National Science Foundation and study up on the CDC …

Flu Test Kit Spotlight – OSOM Influenza Testing

Flu Test Kit Spotlight – OSOM Influenza Testing

OSOM Influenza Testing gives quick and accurate results for influenza testing this 2010-2011 flu season.

As patients and medical professionals begin the long process of dealing with the 2010-2011 flu season, it’s important to have an accurate flu testing kit in order to quickly identify in patients whether or not they have the flu. This influenza season, get the best flu testing kit possible: OSOM Influenza A&B Test.

While there are many different influenza test kits to choose from, what makes OSOM arguably the best is the assurance that every result is not simply quick, but completely accurate.

While most flu testing kits come with a maximum of 25 test strips, OSOM comes with 27. Two extra test strips can be used for QC testing.

What is QC testing?

QC testing stands for “Quality Control,” and gives doctors and patients the complete satisfaction of knowing their OSOM flu testing kit is 100% accurate. Using two vials, one which contains an inactive substance and one which contains a partial rendering of the influenza virus, each can be used on the test strips to make sure that the results come out 100% accurate.

By using QC testing, every real test afterwards can be done with complete confidence that OSOM Influenza Testing is the best bet for determining whether or not you or a patient has the influenza virus.

With just a simple nasal swab and three distinct, easy to read lines, results of OSOM Influenza Test are available in only ten minutes or less. With only one minute of actual testing time and ten minutes or less to determine results of the test, OSOM ranks as one of the fastest, most reliable ways to check for the influenza virus.

OSOM Influenza Test detects both …

Cure For a Dry Cough

Cure For a Dry Cough

What’s the cure for a dry cough? First we should define a dry cough. A “dry cough” does not produce sputum, or phlegm coughed up from the chest. Beyond that, a dry cough may be caused by a number of conditions.

Probably the most common cause of a so-called dry cough is a tickle in the throat. Strangely enough, this is often due to drainage of mucus (or phlegm) down the back of the throat in association with a cold or sinus infection. Though there may not be enough drainage to cough it out, drying up the drainage with an antihistamine may be the answer. This is not actually a “cure” but rather a treatment. Over-the-counter antihistamines include loratadine, cetirizine, and diphenhydramine.

If you have had symptoms for over a week, or if you’re getting worse, or if you keep blowing out thick, yellow mucus (snot) from your nose, you may benefit from an antibiotic.

A dry cough can also be a symptom of influenza, other viruses, allergies, asthma, bronchitis, COPD, pleurisy, pneumonia, or acid reflux disease (GERD). If you seem to have a respiratory flu or other viral infection, a cough suppressant containing dextromethorphan may help. If your chest is tight or wheezy from asthma, bronchitis, or COPD a prescription inhaler may help. (You may also benefit from an antibiotic, cough suppressant, or antihistamine.) If you have pneumonia or pleurisy, you should be asking your doctor about your cough.

If you seem to be allergic to trees, grass, weeds, animals, mold, dust, etc., a dry cough may respond to an antihistamine, a nasal inhaler such as cromolyn sodium (OTC) or prescription steroid spray, or montelukast (prescription). If you have acid reflux, an OTC acid reducer such as famotidine, ranitidine, omeprazole, or lansoprazole may help. …

How Water Helps Fight Hypertension

How Water Helps Fight Hypertension

I have known for a long time that if I don’t drink enough water my body will be dehydrated which might result in elevated blood pressure. But I never took the time to find out what exactly was happening inside my body to cause that reaction!

Well, I became more interested in that process after my last checkup when my doctor indicated she was concerned about my blood pressure reading… it was not up just a few points like some other times when that result was ascribed to ‘white coat effect’ something that happens when a person is a little flustered by the whole doctor set-up… the systolic number was 178!

So I started doing some investigating into what possibly causes this kind of change in the human body and here are some facts you might be interested to know about if you need to drop your blood pressure! When we don’t drink enough water our body goes into a state of dehydration… it switches to emergency water-conservation mode. It attempts to reduce loss of water through the skin and lungs… it uses emergency procedures to make sure blood can still deliver oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues in our body.

To achieve those goals our whole vascular system contracts… veins and arteries narrow down and blood pressure goes up to make sure that fresh blood gets delivered everywhere… to tissues that are in constant need of new supplies and waste removal.

High pressure is needed to squirt water through cell walls to keep vital cells filled with the water they need.

During all this the heart is working extra hard to keep pushing blood through the whole system. With less water in the system the blood is thicker… more sluggish and of course …

What to Know About Pain Management Clinics

If you’re considering an inpatient pain management clinic, you might be wondering how to choose the right one. Here are some things you should know about pain management clinics. This information is relevant to anyone suffering from chronic pain. Several pain management options include in-home treatments and prescription and over-the-counter medications. In addition to the clinic’s services, you can also seek treatment online. To make the decision easier, you should look up each option in advance.

Inpatient pain management clinics

Inpatient pain management clinics are available to help patients suffering from chronic pain. Often, a person must attend a minimum of 3 weeks of inpatient care to change their pain behaviors and recover from underlying conditions fully. Several multidisciplinary pain management clinics offer both inpatient and outpatient treatment programs. Outpatient pain rehabilitation services often include group meetings and individual treatment plans. However, inpatient care is generally not necessary if the patient can manage their pain independently.

Inpatient pain management clinics typically provide a working diagnosis after an assessment, with a corresponding treatment plan. Then, the doctor will work with you to develop a plan to manage your pain and improve your daily activities. Patients will attend the clinic for an agreed-upon period and be guided through the program by a team of health care professionals like the pain clinic St. Augustine, FL. They will also be given exercises to practice at home and be monitored by the clinic staff throughout their stay.

Patients should be transitioned from intravenous opioid pain medications as soon as possible, and opioid pain medications must be titrated during the entire stay as patients’ pain tolerances change. Nurses should also maintain close communication with the patients’ primary care physicians. Once they have received the proper care, patients can return to their everyday lives. The pain …

Nasal Swabs to Diagnose Flu Are Unscientific and Meaningless

Nasal Swabs to Diagnose Flu Are Unscientific and Meaningless

During outbreaks of influenza, including the past H1N1 epidemic, it is the Standard of Care for doctors to perform a nasal swab to diagnose the flu. A swab, similar to an everyday cotton swab, is inserted into the nasal cavity for a sample and sent to a laboratory. If the swab comes back positive, then the illness is determined to be influenza and an antiviral medication is often prescribed. The problem with this procedure is that it is absolutely meaningless and has no scientific basis whatsoever in determining if the illness in question really is due to the flu. This is due to several different factors.

Questionable Accuracy

Nasal flu swabs require a degree of skill from the sample collector and quite a bit of cooperation from the ill person to allow a swab to be inserted high into the nasal cavity. This is an uncomfortable procedure at best and even those given thorough instructions will reflexively pull away and reduce the chance of obtaining a proper sample, making the accuracy of the test very suspect. Even the CDC admits that nasal swabs are not highly worthwhile for diagnosing H1N1 infections. Most doctors know this and will often prescribe antiviral medications even when the swab is negative because a patient’s symptoms match the flu to a degree that there is still a high level of suspicion. However, if a doctor is going to give a medication regardless of the outcome of the swab, there is just no justification for collecting and spending money on an uncomfortable test with poor accuracy.

Exposure vs Illness

Even if a swab is positive, it can only determine exposure to the flu; it can in no way determine if the current illness is caused by the …

Hypertension Check – Up is Very Crucial

Hypertension Check – Up is Very Crucial

Every time you pay a visit to your medical doctor, in spite of what the visit is for, ensure you have your blood pressure checked. The hazard with hypertension is that it is a sudden killer and those who always fall victim are not mindful that they are at high risk of stroke, heart disease or other related medical incidences.

If you are suspicious that your blood might be on high side, you are advise to visit your Doctor immediately. Your health really worth guarding jealously. It is currently recommended that checks up be carried out on all patients who are between the age of 30 to 80 regardless of the fact that they have no susceptible symptoms as early diagnosis can really save lives.

Asystolic and diastolic pressure of over 140mm and 90mm respectively will seriously increase the risk of organ damage, heart disease and stroke by four to five fold compared to an individual of the same age sex whose blood pressure fall within the normal limit. It is very crucial to check your blood pressure frequently to keep avoidable health problems at bay.

Immediately a person is declared to be susceptible to high blood pressure, there are many helpful piece of advise to guarantee they remain in the best health. Changing in lifestyle and eating habit can be beneficial to people who detect very early that they are positive for hypertension. People who tested positive are susceptible to obesity, lack of exercise, consumption of oily food, high cholesterol and intake of alcohol in their diet. Engaging in physical exercise and a control diet, reducing the intake of salt can really help in reduce the blood pressure level without adding medications.

In summary, high blood pressure is hazardous because it requires …