Health News

Signs that say you are labour ready

Everyone worries about whether they will know they are in labour. If this is your first baby, it’s easy to think ‘this is it,’ only to find you are just getting ready for the birth. Here’s some tips to help you recognise early labour signs.

Early Signs of Labour

In the week or so before labour you may notice:
An increase in vaginal discharge.
The appearance of the ‘show’, the jelly like plug of mucus that seals the cervix during pregnancy.
A need to get things finished and ready – the so-called ‘nesting instinct’.
Feeling quite emotional; crying for no real reason as your hormones get to you.
A sense that you don’t want to be far from home.
A mild dose of diarrhoea. This is Nature’s way of clearing out your lower bowel before labour begins.
Braxton Hicks contractions that feel like tightening or period pains. Find out more about Braxton Hicks.

Signs of Labour

The ‘show’ (if it has not come away earlier).
The waters breaking, either in a gush or a gradual trickle.
Low back pain as the baby settles well down, which may turn into…
Regular contractions that could feel like period pains or tightening pains across your bump. Find out more about contractions.

Labour Signs: Have my waters broken?

Your unborn baby floats in amniotic fluid, a straw-coloured liquid, mainly consisting of water. Labour begins, for some women, with the waters breaking.

If the waters go with a gush, contact your midwife or hospital. You may be asked to go into hospital so that they can check that the baby is well. It will help your midwife if you can remember when the waters broke, roughly how much fluid there was (an egg cup full, a coffee cup full?) and what colour it was. Amniotic fluid is usually pale. If it is green or has black bits in it, this may show that the baby is, or has been, in distress.

If the waters trickle out, it can be hard to decide if they have gone. Put a sanitary pad on and, if it is wet after an hour, it’s probably the waters leaking. Smell the pad; urine smells, amniotic fluid doesn’t. If you are still not sure, contact your midwife or the hospital. Your midwife can do a vaginal examination and test the fluid.

Source: bounty

 

How sleep duration can up depression risk

A genetic study of adult twins and a community-based study of adolescents have linked sleep duration with depression.

“Healthy sleep is a necessity for physical, mental and emotional well-being,” American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. M. Safwan Badr, said.

“This new research emphasizes that we can make an investment in our health by prioritizing sleep,” Badr said.

A study of 1,788 adult twins is the first to demonstrate a gene by environment interaction between self-reported habitual sleep duration and depressive symptoms.

Results suggest that sleep durations outside the normal range increase the genetic risk for depressive symptoms.

Among twins with a normal sleep duration of seven to 8.9 hours per night, the total heritability of depressive symptoms was 27 percent.

However, the genetic influence on depressive symptoms increased to 53 percent among twins with a short sleep duration of five hours per night and 49 percent among those who reported sleeping 10 hours per night.

“We were surprised that the heritability of depressive symptoms in twins with very short sleep was nearly twice the heritability in twins sleeping normal amounts of time,” principal investigator Dr. Nathaniel Watson, associate professor of neurology and co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center in Seattle, said.

“Both short and excessively long sleep durations appear to activate genes related to depressive symptoms ,” Watson, who also serves on the board of directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said.

According to Watson, the study suggests that optimizing sleep may be one way to maximize the effectiveness of treatments for depression such as psychotherapy.

Another study of 4,175 individuals between 11 and 17 years of age is the first to document reciprocal effects for major depression and short sleep duration among adolescents using prospective data.

Results suggest sleeping six hours or less per night increases the risk for major depression, which in turn increases the risk for decreased sleep among adolescents.

The studies are published in the journal Sleep.

Source: The siasat Daily

Are you tea or coffee addict? Check for caffeine use disorder

If you can’t live without your cup of coffee early morning or that tea to prevent the after-lunch slump, you may be suffering from caffeine use disorder.

Researchers at American University in Washington, DC, indicate that more people are dependent on caffeine to the point that they suffer withdrawal symptoms.

“They are unable to reduce caffeine consumption even if they have another condition that may be impacted by caffeine – such as a pregnancy, a heart condition or a bleeding disorder,” said psychology professor Laura Juliano at American University.

The negative effects of caffeine are often not recognised as such because its consumption is socially acceptable and is well integrated into our customs and routines.

“While many people can consume caffeine without harm, for some it produces negative effects, physical dependence, interferes with daily functioning, and can be difficult to give up, which are signs of problematic use,” Juliano added.

The study, published in the Journal of Caffeine Research, shows how widespread the caffeine dependence is and the significant physical and psychological symptoms experienced by habitual caffeine users.

Caffeine is found in everything from coffee, tea and soda to OTC pain relievers, chocolate, and now a whole host of food and beverage products branded with some form of the word ‘energy’.

“Genetics research may help us to better understand the effects of caffeine on health and pregnancy as well as individual differences in caffeine consumption and sensitivity,” Juliano contended.

Based on current research, Juliano advises that healthy adults should limit caffeine consumption to no more than two to three cups.

Pregnant women and people who regularly experience anxiety or insomnia – as well as those with high blood pressure, heart problems, or urinary incontinence – should also limit caffeine.

Source: khaleej times

Neurons in spinal cord send Cc of commands back to brain

Research group led by Professor Silvia Arber at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research has now discovered, that many neurons in the spinal cord send their instructions not only towards the musculature, but at the same time also back to the brain via an exquisitely organized network.
This dual information stream provides the neural basis for accurate control of arm and hand movements.

Movements of our arms and hands, in particular, call for extremely precise coordination.
The brain sends a constant stream of commands via the spinal cord to our muscles to execute a wide variety of movements.

This stream of information from the brain reaches interneurons in the spinal cord, which then transmit the commands via further circuits to motor neurons innervating muscles.

The research group led by Silvia Arber at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research has now elucidated the organization of a second information pathway taken by these commands.
The scientists showed that many interneurons in the mouse spinal cord not only transmit their signals via motor neurons to the target muscle, but also simultaneously send a copy of this information back to the brain.

“The motor command to the muscle is sent in two different directions – in one direction, to trigger the desired muscular contraction and in the other, to inform the brain that the command has actually been passed on to the musculature,” Chiara Pivetta, first author of the publication, said.

In analogy to e mail transmission, the information is thus not only sent to the recipient but also to the original requester.
What happens to the information sent by spinal interneurons to the brain? As Arber’s group discovered, this input is segregated by function and spatially organized within a brainstem nucleus.

Information from different types of interneurons thus flows to different areas of the nucleus. For example, spinal information that will influence left-right coordination of a movement is collected at a different site than information affecting the speed of a movement.

The findings are published in the journal Cell.

Source: Yahoo news

5 reasons why strawberries are good for you

If you’re not already a fan of strawberries, you should be because they have immense health benefits. The red, juicy, delicious strawberries are one of the healthiest fruits to be included in your diet. The fruit originated in France.

Here are a few health benefits of strawberries:

Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and hence boost immunity.

The phenols in strawberries fight against many inflammatory disorders.

Strawberries act as an anti-cancer agent as they are a combination of antioxidants and anti-infammatory agents that gut against the onset of many different forms of cancer.

It is a superfood for healthy eyes as studies suggest that it can decrease the possibility of contracting age-related macular degeneration.

Being a rich and natural source of Vitamin C, which is vital to the production of collagen, strawberries help improve skin’s elasticity and resilience, and keep wrinkles at bay.

Source: Zee news

The village where half the people are at risk of blindness

blind

In the village school of Kuyu, in the heartland of Ethiopia’s Oromia region, more than 20 children put up their hands when asked if anyone in their family has eye problems.

“My mother has lost vision in one eye and the other is causing her big problems,” says one boy. “She can’t see where she’s going.”

Another child says her grandmother is blind in both eyes and is forever pulling out her eyelashes. “She rubs and rubs them,” explains the nine-year-old girl. “They give her terrible pain.”

No hands are raised when the children are asked if they themselves have vision problems.

Yet, when an ophthalmologist examines the children’s eyes, more than half of them are discovered to have infectious trachoma, a bacterial infection which is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness.

The disease starts in childhood. If untreated, the bacteria causes inflammation that leads to scar tissue building up under the eyelid.

The scarring eventually makes the eyelid turn inwards, causing the eyelashes to scratch against the cornea.

It is excruciatingly painful and if left untreated leads to irreversible blindness.

“The dangerous thing about trachoma is that there are very few symptoms for children,” says Dr Wondu Alemayehu, one of the leading eye specialists in Ethiopia, and technical adviser for the Fred Hollows Foundation, which is leading a campaign in Ethiopia to tackle the scourge of trachoma.

“A child with trachoma would have a little bit of discomfort but not that much.

“It’s what they pass on to their mothers that can become dangerous.”

The World Health Organization estimates that 21 million people are affected by trachoma, of whom about 2.2 million are visually impaired and 1.2 million blind.

The Oromia region in southern Ethiopia is home to more than 30 million people and has the highest prevalence of trachoma in the country at around 42%. The disease prevails in hot dusty areas where people often lack access to sanitation.

Some three miles (5km) from the school, at a clinic set up to screen for trachoma, 60-year-old Sharage Feyine waits patiently to be examined.

She rubs her eyes incessantly and says her vision problems – pain in both eyes and terrible itching – began a year ago.

“I used to be able to cook for my family. Now I have become dependent,” she says.

Relief to thousands
“The pain and the devastation of trachoma can be stopped by 10 minutes of surgery,” says Dr Alemayehu.

Dr Alemayehu has trained a team of local health workers to perform trichiasis surgery in their community.

The surgery is designed to rotate the eyelid outwards, directing the eyelashes away from the eyeball.

Without the correction, the pain and scarring continues, eventually causing blindness.

Going from village to village, the team is taking treatment directly to those suffering from the disease.

Within Oromia alone, 200,000 people are at risk of going blind unless they have surgery.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop the disease as a result of caring for children who have active trachoma.

Mapping the problem
“Trachoma is a disease of poverty,” says Simon Bush, director of the Neglected Tropical Disease programme at Sightsavers.

“It is endemic in areas which have poor access to water and sanitation.”

The British charity is leading a coalition of NGOs with the ambitious aim of ridding the world of trachoma by 2020.

The first step is to map the prevalence of the disease – a global survey to examine four million people in more than 30 countries by March 2015.

The Global Trachoma Mapping Project, funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development, will identify where people are living at risk of the disease and where treatment programmes are needed.

Key to the mapping process are specially trained ophthalmic nurses who visit each household in the survey area.

Using an app installed on a mobile device, results are instantly uploaded to a site which charts the mapping process.

Monitors also provide antibiotics to anyone showing signs of the infection, and refer those who cannot be treated in this way for surgery.

Two days after surgery, Misiak , a woman in her 40s, returns to the clinic with some trepidation to have her bandages removed.

She admits to having had a sleepless night, worrying about the outcome.

Dr Wondu Alemayehu watches proudly as two members of his surgical team remove Misiak’s bandages before applying ointment to both eyes.

Sitting up, Misiak is initially dazed, but as she begins to realise she can see again, a huge smile lights up her face.

“You are all beautiful!” she exclaims, reaching out to touch Dr Alemayehu’s hand.

Source: BBC news

Vodka to blame for early deaths of Russian men: study

Russians may toast with the words “Na zdorovie” — “to your health” — but a new study finds that many Russian men are often literally drinking themselves to death.

Russian men who drink three bottles of vodka a week double their risk of dying over the next 20 years, the study shows. It helps explain why Russian men have one of the lowest life expectancies in the world — 64 compared to 76 for U.S. men.

“Vodka (or other strong alcoholic drink) is a major cause of death in Russia,” the team of Russian and British researchers report in the Lancet medical journal.

But controls meant to limit drinking seem to be helping, they added. “Russian death rates have fluctuated wildly over the past 30 years as alcohol restrictions and social stability varied under Presidents Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin, and the main thing driving these wild fluctuations in death was vodka,” British cancer expert Richard Peto of the University of Oxford, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

David Zaridze of the Russian Cancer Research Center in Moscow and colleagues interviewed 200,000 people in three Siberian cities, Barnaul, Byisk, and Tomsk, over 10 years from 1999 to 2008. These cities reflect the average Russian population, they said. They asked them about drinking habits and health, and then looked to see who died and when.

The clearest pattern was among male smokers, who also happened to be the heaviest drinkers. They cleared out anyone who already had some disease when interviewed, and came up with 57,000 men. Men aged 35 to 54 who drank less than a bottle of vodka a week had a 16 percent percent chance of dying of anything over the next 20 years. But this rose to 20 percent for men who drank one to three bottles a week and to 35 percent for those who admitted drinking three or more bottles a week.

Most men did drink a bottle or less a week, but 2,842 said they drank three or more bottles every week. “Since 2005, Russian consumption of spirits and male mortality before age 55 years both decreased by about a third but are still substantial,” the researchers noted.

Heavy drinking can cause cancer, heart disease, stroke, liver failure and other diseases, and drinkers are more likely to die in acccidents or to be murdered. And people who drink and smoke together raise their disease risk even more.

The researchers checked to see if maybe drinking just a little was good for health — other studies in other countries show a few drinks a week can be good for you — but there wasn’t enough data to say if this was true in Russia.

Binge-drinking is a problem in the United States, also, although not as bad.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 38 million Americans binge drink, defined as quaffing four or more alcoholic beverages in a single bout.

Source: NBC news

Drivers With ADHD: Higher Risk for Crashes?

Drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly 50 percent more likely to be in a serious car crash, a new study suggests.

Further, men with ADHD can dramatically decrease their risk of traffic accidents if they take medication for their condition, the Swedish researchers said.

“This study confirms the importance of treatment and medication for adults with ADHD as well as teens,” said Ruth Hughes, CEO of Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, a patient advocacy group.

“The core symptoms of ADHD include problems with sustained attention and impulsivity, which can have an adverse effect on driving safely,” said Hughes, who was not involved in the new study. “All drivers with ADHD need to responsibly manage their treatment to reduce driving risks.”

The new findings come from a review of more than 17,000 people in Sweden with ADHD, aged 18 to 46. Researcher Henrik Larsson and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute used databases to track whether the patients had been in a car accident between 2006 and 2009, and if they had a prescription for ADHD medication at the time.

Overall, having ADHD increased a man’s risk of a traffic crash by 47 percent and a woman’s risk by 45 percent, the researchers found.

They then investigated the role of medication in preventing crashes by determining whether people involved in a wreck had filled a prescription for ADHD medicine within the previous six months.

Dr. Lenard Adler, a professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said despite a broad definition of taking medication, “men [who were] treated substantially lowered their risk for accidents.”

Access to ADHD medication reduced men’s risk of a car wreck by 58 percent compared to men who did not take medication, according to the study. Women with ADHD, however, did not receive any significant benefit from medication in terms of car crashes.

The study, published online Jan. 29 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, did not receive any funding from drug companies.

Breaking down the numbers further, the researchers estimated that between 41 percent and 49 percent of the car accidents involving men with ADHD could have been avoided if they had been taking their medication as prescribed.

About three out of five children with ADHD carry the disorder with them into adulthood, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. That amounts to about 8 million adults living with ADHD.

Previous research with ADHD patients in virtual-reality driving simulators found that they are more likely to speed, drive erratically, tap the breaks and accelerate into potential accidents, said Adler, who did not take part in the Swedish research.

Source: Web md

Why city life may be bad for you

When it comes to getting people to be more active, much of the attention is focused on the improving sports facilities, encouraging people to join the gym or lambasting schools for not doing enough PE.

But could another crucial factor be the way neighbourhoods are designed?

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) thinks so.

The organisation has carried out an analysis of the nine major cities in England – Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – to explore this.

Its researchers looked at housing density and the availability of green spaces.

The least active areas – deprived parts of Birmingham, Newcastle and London – had twice the housing density and 20% less green space than the most active places.

This is important.

Nearly 60% of people living in these cities do not do the recommended levels of activity.

But, crucially, three quarters said they would be happy to walk more and get outside in the fresh air if their local environment was more suitable, according to a poll cited by RIBA.

People cited safer streets and more attractive green spaces as two key factors.

RIBA has published the findings as it wants councils to take note.

Under the shake-up of the NHS last year, local government was given responsibility for public health.

So RIBA president Stephen Hodder said he wanted councils to ensure public health becomes an important part of the planning process.

“It’s vital that planners and developers take the lead and ensure healthier cities,” he added.

To be fair, this is already happening in many places.

Health impact assessments have become a crucial part of the process.

But as always – for councils which have seen their funding cut dramatically in recent years – it comes down to money.

One of the examples of good practice cited by RIBA in its report was the re-development of the Brownfield Estate, an inner-London housing estate.

It under-went a major £7m building programme with money invested from a variety of public and private sources.

The project saw the walk-ways between flats become “green grids” lined with grass and trees, while play areas were created across the site.

Another scheme highlighted was the creation of a natural play area with climbing frames, a water foundation and wetland on a disused field in the former mining town of Huthwaite in north Nottinghamshire.

Once empty, the area is now packed with children (when the weather permits).

But this project was only possible because the area was given over £200,000 of lottery money.

Source: BBC News

8 Tips for Hydrating in Cold Weather

Although we tend to think of it as a summertime concern, dehydration doesn’t disfavor the cooler months.

In fact, the likelihood of dehydration is accelerated when you train in cold weather—and at higher altitudes. In these conditions, the air you breathe is drier, and your lungs have to work harder to humidify that air and warm it up. The harder your body works, the more you need to drink.

Use these tips to stay hydrated this winter.

Wear Layers
Sweat can reduce your body temperature and force your heart to work harder to maintain blood flow and body temperature. Wear layers of clothing that will absorb perspiration.

Replace What You Lose
Water exits the body through exhalation, perspiration, and urination. If your urine is pale and plentiful, you’re well-hydrated. If it’s dark and scant in volume, you need to drink more fluids.

Match Your Drink to the Duration of Your Activity
If you’re exercising for up to 1 hour, you can rehydrate with water alone. However, after an hour, add electrolytes and carbohydrates. If you’re doing a sport at higher altitudes, increase your fluid requirements.

Hydrate With Room-Temperature Beverages
Cold liquids are absorbed quicker. Warmer or room temperature drinks, on the other hand, are better at keeping your internal temperature optimal. Choose the latter when you’re exercising in cold temperatures.

Eat Fruit
Winter fruits are excellent sources of water. To name a few: apples are 84% water; pears are 84% water; and clementines are 87% water. Plus, these fruits contain vitamin C, which helps fight off the flu.

Eat Salty Foods and Soup
Foods that contain salt will help you retain water. And soup, with all its broth and vegetables, is hydrating. Some great winter options: tomato soup, butternut-squash bisque, or minestrone.

Drink Hot Chocolate
You’ve likely heard that chocolate milk is the ideal post-workout recovery drink because of its 4:1 carbohydrates-to-protein ratio. Hot chocolate provides the same benefits—with added warmth.

Limit Alcohol and Caffeine
Caffeine and alcohol have diuretic effects. Save them for after your cold-weather workout.

Source: health