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H1N1 and Public Health
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Public health officials have a tough dilemma in dealing with the H1N1 flu ; they want to make people aware of the problem and get people to do the common-sense precautions that will help slow the spread of not only H1N1 but a variety of garden-variety bugs without creating undue panic.
Schools will often close down if the flu hits ; even during a normal flu season, if a school hits a critical mass of absenteeism (10% is often enough), they will close the school for a week. That will be long enough to let everyone who has the flu get over it so it doesn’t spread any further.
For schools, sports can be an issue; sick players are going to be in close proximity to healthy teammates and foes alike. When the flu hit the University of Florida’s football team, ill players, including star quarterback Tim Tebow, flew to ...
Anxiety – Overview
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In todays economy, feeling anxiety is quite understandable. We see big companies fail, we don't know if the bank where we keep our money will be there tomorrow, we don't know how long will we be able to keep our job.... When does worry turn into anxiety?
Moderate anxiety helps you focus on the problems at hand, gather all your energy and motivation, but when the worry is so big that it is accompanied by feeling of helplessness, sleeplessness and confusion, that are not in proportion to the problems you deal with, then you are suffering from anxiety.
Anxiety can effect you physically as well as emotionally. The symptoms that usually accompany anxiety are divers. From trembling and shaking, through rapid heart rate and breathlessness. From feeling light headed and dizzy to cold sweat. The hands may be clammy, the muscles tense, ache or sore and a you have a ...
Allergy – Insect Bites and Stings
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No one likes to be bitten by an insect. Bees, yellow jackets, fire ants, spiders all cause a discomfort. But there are people among us that an insect bites might cause a life threatening situation.
A normal reaction to a bite will be redness in the bite area, some swelling of the affected area and pain.
The more sever reaction can be swelling that extends beyond the bite area. While it looks frightening it is usually not much worse than a normal reaction.
An allergy to sting and bites will manifest itself in a more serious way; difficulty in breathing, hives that appear on the skin, swelling of the throat and face, rapid pulse, dizziness and a sharp drop in blood pressure.
The bigger problem is that it can lead to a shock, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. All that in the span of no more than 10 minutes. And the next time ...
Allergy – Environmental Factors
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There are different elements in our daily environment that can cause an allergic reaction.
The most common of them all is allergy to pollen, or as it is called “Hay Fever”. It is a seasonal allergy most common in the spring and fall. Symptoms are watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion. There are many over the counter medication that address this problem by administering anti histamine that blocks the body's reaction to those normally not harmful substances.
To prevent the appearance of the allergy in the first place, one has to avoid certain plants that are known as allergens by removing them from the immediate surrounding and staying indoors when the wind is blowing especially during the blooming season.
Dust mite Allergy is caused by those microscopic organisms that thrive in house dust and in the mattress one sleeps on. The symptoms are like those of the ...
