Health A-Z

UN chief calls for more support to fight Ebola

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has called leaders of some countries and organisations to urge more support in the fight against the deadly Ebola, a spokesman said here Monday.

UN chief calls for more support to fight Ebola

“He spoke to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Cuban President Raul Castro and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy,” Xinhua quoted UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as saying at a daily news briefing.

Ban also spoke to the International President of Medecins sans Frontieres, Joanne Liu, thanking the independent medical organisation for its hard work and discussing how the international community can further support its efforts in West Africa, Dujarric said.

“The secretary-general, in his calls to the world leaders, welcomed their support and underscored the urgent need to increase the support, including the need for more medical teams, transportation and funding to help communities affected by the epidemic,” he added.

According to the latest report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the total number of Ebola cases now stood at 3,944 and deaths at 2,079 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, countries identified as ‘those with widespread and intense transmission’.

Source: business standard

Good sleep means less sick leave at work

If you sleep for seven to eight hours, you are less likely to apply for sick leave at work, finds a fascinating study.

The risk of extended absence from work due to sickness rose sharply among those who reported sleeping less than six hours or more than nine hours per night.

Good sleep means less sick leave at work

“Insufficient sleep — due to inadequate or mistimed sleep — contributes to the risk for several of today’s public health epidemics. Getting at least seven hours of night sleep is a key to overall health, which translates to less sick time away from work,” said Timothy Morgenthaler, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The optimal sleeping time per night is 7 hours, 38 minutes for women and 7 hours, 46 minutes for men.

The study was based on a survey of 3,760 men and women in the age group of 30-64 in Finland.

According to Tea Lallukka from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, insomnia symptoms should be detected early to help prevent absence due to sickness and deterioration of health, well being and functioning.

Successful prevention of insomnia not only promotes health and work ability among employees, but it can also lead to notable savings in reduced sickness absence costs, Lallallukka concluded.

The study appeared in the journal Sleep.

Source: Economic Times

Ebola crisis: Liberia ‘faces huge surge’ says WHO

Ebola is spreading exponentially in Liberia, with thousands of new cases expected in the next three weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Ebola crisi Liberia 'faces huge surge' says WHO

Conventional methods to control the outbreak were “not having an adequate impact”, the UN’s health agency added. At least 2,100 people infected with Ebola have died so far in the West African states of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year.

The WHO says 79 health workers have been killed by the virus. Organisations combating the outbreak needed to scale-up efforts “three-to-four fold”, the WHO said.  Ebola crisis: Liberia ‘faces huge surge’ says WHO

It highlighted Liberia’s Montserrado county, where 1,000 beds were needed for infected Ebola patients but only 240 were available, leading to people being turned away from treatment centres. Transmission of the virus in Liberia was “already intense”, and taxis being used to transport infected patients appeared to be “a hot source of potential virus transmission”, the WHO said.

Source: bbc news

Animal fur bed helps reduce asthma risk in infants

A new study has observed that infants who sleep on animal fur in the first three months of life are less likely to suffer from asthma in later childhood.

Animal fur bed helps reducing asthma risk in infants

The study at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich suggested that microbial environment in animal skin and fur could have a protective effect against asthma and allergies.

The researchers collected information on exposure to animal skin during the first three months of life, along with information on the health of children until the age of 10 years and information on 2,441 children was used in the study, with 55percent of those included sleeping on animal skin in the first three months of life. The results showed that sleeping on animal skin was associated with a reduced risk of a number of factors connected to asthma. Dr Christina Tischer, from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen Research Centre, said that previous studies suggested that microbes found in rural settings could protect from asthma. Tischer added that an animal skin might also be a reservoir for various kinds of microbes, following similar mechanisms as has been observed in rural environments.

Source: Times of India

5 reasons why eating olives are a must

Almost everyone loves olives be it on your favourite pizza, sandwich or salad. Not only do they taste good but are loaded with a number of health benefits.

5 reasons why eating olives are a must

Here are a few reasons as to why olives are a must in your diet regularly:

  • -Olives are a rich source of vitamin E and monounsaturated fatty acids, which help reduce risk of heart disease by lowering blood press and LDL cholesterol.
  • -It has anti-inflammatory properties and hence helps in easing pain.
  • -Loaded with fatty acids and antioxidants, olives are an excellent food for your hair and skin.
  • -Eating olives help boost haemoglobin level in the body as it is a rich source of iron.
  • -Eating a cup of olives can help regulate blood pressure.

Source: zee news

Here are 10 amazing home remedies with garlic:

Here are 10 amazing home remedies with garlic

  • 1. For ear pain: use two crushed garlic, boil, strain and apply a few drops warm.
  • 2. To sleep: to sleep; eat salad with garlic at night.
  • 3. Against warts and spots on the skin: Apply the garlic directly onto the skin to clear spots, especially those caused by acne. Its topical use also removes warts.
  • 4. For rheumatism: Rub the peeled garlic over the sore and swollen joints. This choice leads to a rather anti-inflammatory action and reduces pain.
  • 5. To lower blood pressure: People with high blood pressure can take a garlic clove fasting party. To avoid irritating the stomach lining, it is recommended chopping the garlic clove and swallows every bit as if they were pills. You can also prepare a syrup with two heads of peeled garlic. Must be mixed with sugar, and a glass of water. To lower the pressure should take 2 tablespoons a day.
  • 6. To restore virility: Combine the garlic with wheat germ oil and cayenne. You can also rub garlic in the area of the lumbar spine.
  • 7. Against pertussis: Spread garlic in the chest and back to soften the cough and relieve airway. To prevent flu and allergies, garlic mixed with honey and lemon.
  • 8. For muscle aches: Eating garlic tones the muscles. Prepare a paste of a head of garlic and crushed rub it on the affected area. You can also compress and prepare a place for the entire night on the sore area.
  • 9. Smoking cessation: Take a couple of raw garlic on an empty stomach, two with lemon juice before lunch and before dinner the other two.
  • 10. Hair loss: You can prevent it by rubbing the scalp with a mix of 1 teaspoon of garlic juice, 8 oz. of rosemary tea, 1 tablespoon of honey and lemon juice.
  • Nursing women should avoid using garlic as it alters the taste of milk and produces pain in the stomach and intestines infant child. People who suffer from headaches should also avoid using garlic

Ginger – The Amazing Healing Herb

Ginger is a very good antioxidant and has anti-bacterial, antiseptic, sedative and antipyretic effect. Fresh ginger submerged in warm water, deeply penetrates the tissue, brakes down and melts accumulated mucus, initiate circulation, relieves pain, inflammation and swellings, accelerates detoxification it is very useful in the case of muscle inflammation and chronic back pain.

Ginger – The Amazing Healing Herb

Melts fatty deposits

This healing root speeds up the muscle metabolism, lowers cholesterol, helps in secretion of saliva and ingested food starch, reduces bloating and constipation, all of which contributes to weight loss.
If you want to loose weight fast, add to yo meals fresh or dried ginger or drink tea made from this beneficial root.

Improves mental capacities

Ginger relieves headaches and contribute to a better brain function. If it in any way we use it during the day, we will be fresher and will have more strength and energy, and if in the evening we eat hot vegetable soup with an addition of ginger, we will provide our self a good rest and sleep.

Lowers Stress

Ginger is rich in antioxidant, which helps in harmful chemicals removal, that our body produces when we are under worries, and thus affects the reduction of psychological stress. During this depression treatment it also impairs and the digestion process followed by occurrence of nausea, for which ginger is the ideal cure for these problems too.

Fights against colds and flu

If you regularly use ginger, you can easily prevent and fight the flu or colds, as well as the potential complications from these diseases. Ginger will strengthen our immune system, facilitate breathing and relieve headaches. It encourages sweating, so that`s why it`s excellent for lowering high body temperatures.

Cures Arthritis

Since ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, it is highly effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthiritis, osteoarthritis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal and connective tissue. Some studies show that in the case of arthritis, ginger is even more effective than other conventional drugs and medications.

Cure for cold hands and feet

Herb ginger is a powerful tool for engaging of the circulatory system.
If you suffer from cold hands and feet you should drink tea from this medicinal herb.

Source: only pure nature

Obesity Rates Reach Historic Highs in More States

Adult obesity rates increased in six U.S. states and fell in none last year, and in more states than ever — 20 — at least 30 percent of adults are obese, according to an analysis released on Thursday.

Obesity Rates Reach Historic Highs in More States

The conclusions were reported by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and were based on federal government data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that obesity rates ranged from 21.3 percent in Colorado to a high of 35.1 percent in Mississippi and West Virginia.

The highest prevalence of obesity was in the South (30.2 percent) and the Midwest (30.1 percent) followed by the Northeast (26.5 percent) and the West (24.9 percent), the CDC said.

The new numbers suggest the problem may be worsening despite widespread publicity about the nation’s obesity epidemic. From 2011 to 2012, by comparison, the rate of obesity increased in only one state.

The 2013 adult obesity rate exceeds 20 percent in every state, while 42 have rates above 25 percent. For the first time two states, Mississippi and West Virginia, rose above 35 percent. Adult obesity rates increased last year in Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Source: nbc news

US to provide USD 75 mn to expand Ebola care centers

The American aid agency has announced it would donate USD 75 million to fund 1,000 more beds in Ebola treatment centers in Liberia and buy 130,000 more protective suits for health care workers.

US to provide USD 75 mn to expand Ebola care centers

West Africa’s struggling health systems have buckled under the pressure of an Ebola outbreak that has already killed about 1,900 people. Nurses in Liberia are wearing rags over their heads to protect themselves from the dreaded disease, amid concerns that shortages of protective gear throughout the region are responsible for the high Ebola death toll among health workers.

The US Agency for International Development also urged American health care workers to respond to the outbreak. Rajiv Shah, the agency’s administrator, told The Associated Press that several hundred more international experts are needed and the agency will help send Americans health care workers there.

“This will get worse before it gets better,” he said. “We have a coherent and clear strategy … But it will take weeks to months to get operational at that scale.”

The USD 75 million comes in addition to about USD 20 million the agency has already donated to fight the outbreak that was first identified in March in Guinea, and has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The killer virus is spread through bodily fluids such as blood, sweat, urine or diarrhea.

Health workers account for about 10 per cent of the deaths so far. Much of the protective gear they use must be destroyed after use, so Ebola wards need a constant flow of clean equipment.

One nurse at a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, said she and her colleagues have resorted to cutting up their old uniforms and trying them over their faces to protect themselves, looking out through holes in the fabric. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to talk to the media.

“It is really pathetic,” she said. “We are not equipped to face the situation.”

With no goggles to protect them, their eyes burn from the fumes of chlorine used to disinfect the ward, the nurse said.

David and Nancy Writebol, American missionaries who worked at another hospital in Liberia, echoed those concerns, speaking to the AP in North Carolina. They said doctors and nurses are overwhelmed by a surge of patients and there aren’t enough hazard suits to keep them safe.

Source: business standard

Wine good for your heart only if you exercise

If you think moderate wine drinking can protect against cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs), you are probably right: Just mix daily exercise to it. Earlier studies have found that red and white wine increases levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol.

Wine good for your heart only if you exercise

“We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results,” professor Milos Taborsky from the Czech Republic told the gathering at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.

The study included 146 people with mild to moderate risk of cardio-vascular disease. Participants were randomised to one year of moderate consumption of red wine (Pinot Noir) or white wine (Chardonnay-Pinot). The researchers found that there was no difference between HDL cholesterol levels at the beginning of the study.

After one year, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- “bad cholesterol” – cholesterol was lower in both groups while total cholesterol was lower only in the red wine group. “A rise in HDL cholesterol is the main indication of a protective effect against CVD. Therefore, we can conclude that neither red or white wine had any impact on the participants as a whole,” professor Taborsky noted.

The only positive and continuous result was in the sub-group of patients who performed regular exercise at least twice a week plus the wine consumption, he stressed. In this group, HDL cholesterol increased and LDL and total cholesterol decreased both in the red and white wine groups.

“Combination of moderate wine drinking plus regular exercise improves markers of atherosclerosis, suggesting that this combination is protective against cardio-vascular disease,” professor Taborsky concluded.

Source: business standard