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Tuesday, April 13, 2021
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Health Officials Remind us of the Similarities Between Influenza and Ebola

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Roughly 45.000 people died from flu-related illnesses last year in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data only points to 4.800 people who died to Ebola this year. Statistically speaking, there are more chances for people to die of the flu than ebola. Dr. Gregory Smolin, owner of AllBetterCare Urgent Care considers that the numbers should be enough to convince people to get their flu shot.

“If you want to have something to be concerned about, influenza is a real concern. It’s virtually a guarantee that all of us will be exposed to influenza this winter. I have no idea how bad it will be or how prevalent it will be in central Pennsylvania yet, but you will be exposed to it. Get a flu shot, that’s the best thing you can do to protect your health from infectious disease this winter.” 

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Dr. Smolin wants to downplay the tragedies that are unfolding in West Africa. He is aware that Ebola is a very dangerous virus, that is hard to treat. However, he believes that steps have been taken by the CDC to contain the virus in the United States, and he encourages the population to remain grounded in their immediate problems.

“It’s a public health issue. Don’t listen to your congressman, don’t listen to the guy on cable TV. The CDC (doesn’t) get everything right every time, but it is the most sophisticated public health organization in the world in how they respond to things like this.”

He also advocates for calm. The world is becoming more and more concerned with the Ebola problem, but risk is still very low for the public. It is highly unlikely for American citizens to contract Ebola. Also, Ebola has similar symptoms to the flu. Ebola will show up two 21 days after exposure, and it is only contagious when it starts showing signs. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle pain, fever and headache.

“The thing that makes it deadly, is it causes bleeding. You start having uncontrolled internal bleeding, and via dehydration and myulti-organ failure (you die). It’s pretty horrible.” 

On the other hand, the flu is a respiratory illness so it only has the fever, body aches and headache symtomps of Ebola. The two viruses are also transmitted differently. Ebola can only be spread through direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes, while the flu only requires people to stand 6 feet away from each-other. This time of the year is marked by the presence of the flu and enterovirus, but people should not alarm themselves.

“If you are not feeling well right now, it’s likely that you have the flu or some type of virus. You likely do not have eEbola. Again, we recommend that one: you’ve got to get your flu shot, vaccination is the best form of prevention.” – Aimee Tysarczyk, press secretary and communication director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health

E-Cigarettes News: FDA Proposed New Regulations

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e-cigaretteThe Food and Drug Administration has proposed a new set of rules requiring e-cigarettes to be made illegal for minors. This could be the first real regulation proposed in the case of the $2 billion industry of electronic cigarettes.

The public is given 75 days to comment on these proposed rules that require the manufacturers to report the ingredients they use for the e-cigarettes to the FDA and also to put a label on them saying that they contain nicotine, which is an addictive substance. The FDA also prevents them from selling their product in vending machines in places where minors have access.

These regulations would be a much-needed change and FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said that “we will have the authority as a science-based regulatory agency to take critical actions to promote and protect the health of the public.”

Another FDA representative said that “We call the current marketplace for e-cigarettes the Wild Wild West… we will be in a position to ensure that the products are as safe as they could possibly be.”

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular over the years and some see it as a healthier alternative to smoking real cigarettes because they don’t produce any harmful tar. This means that e-cigarettes could lower the cases of lung cancer and other diseases associated with smoking. But there are many that say there aren’t many studies that show the long-term effects of smoking e-cigarettes and the reports of injuries caused by smoking vapor tobacco have increased recently. Because of these situations some say that there should be strict regulations when it comes to kids. The FDA latest proposed regulations involving e-cigarettes do not include any bans on advertising to children. Vince Willmore, a representative of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said that the proposal doesn’t do enough but it’s a good start: “What is critical now is that they finalize this rule and then move quickly to fill the gaps.”

FDA Proposed New Regulations – e-cigarettes should be illegal for minors

If the regulation is passed, e-cigarettes will be included with other tobacco related products like cigars, nicotine gels, pipes, water pipe tobacco and hookahs.

What do you think about the new proposed regulations by the FDA? Do you think it will be approved? What are your thoughts on e-cigarettes? Are they a healthy alternative to real cigarettes or just as bad? Please share your opinions in the comment section below.

Southeast Asia is Polio-Free: India Beats Polio

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India's last polio caseThis is probably some of the best health news in the last decade, the fact that India has managed to beat polio! There have been lots of great health news lately, such as the one about remote-controlled nanoparticles which destroy cancer cells and it seems the good news keeps on coming.

India Beats Polio – Rukhsar Khatoon

Young 4 year-old Rukhsar Khatoon is the last person in India, a country of 1.2 billion people, to have been sick with poliomyelitis. She is the last documented case of polio in a country that has made great efforts to rid itself of the crippling disease that has been made obsolete in the majority of countries.

On Thursday, the WHO (World Health Organization) has made the official announcement: India beats polio and is now polio-free.

The global effort to end the awful disease was launched in 1988, when over 200,000 cases of the disease happened in India. In 2009, half of the world cases were still found in India. That is why the fact that India beat polio is such fantastic news. Many health experts didn’t believe that this could happen in such a short period of time, but they were wrong; young Rukhsar Khatoon is the last person to have developed the disease, three years ago.

With this news, WHO proclaimed Southeast Asia free of polio. Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan are the only three countries that have not eradicated the disease. What is the key to the success? One word: immunization!

The young girl’s parents blame themselves for their daughter’s disease. They said she’s always been a sick child and they didn’t want to put her through more vaccinations and hospitals. Her father knows that his child will never walk again. But she will live a life in India, a country without polio.

The last great news about polio was shared with the world by WHO in 2002, when Europe was declared polio-free. What are your thoughts on the fact that India beats polio? Do you know anyone who’s battled the disease? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

Study Shows that Older Women are Twice As Likely To Develop Alzheimer’s Than Breast Cancer

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Before we delve in this startling news, you need to read about a new blood test that predicts Alzheimer and dementia. It’s amazing that so many medical breakthroughs are being made every day! It gives us hope that one day we would be able to eradicate disease. A new study that gives us an insight into old age and disease is one done by the Alzheimer’s Association that says that older women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than breast cancer. If you think this is a startling find, then we invite you to read on!

Older Women are Twice As Likely To Develop Alzheimer’s Than Breast Cancer

Twice As Likely To Develop Alzheimer's Than Breast CancerThis is the conclusion of a report that was performed by the Alzheimer’s Association. If you think that the results are quite shocking, then you’d be right. As it was known, as women grow old, the risk of getting breast cancer rises, but the study that was performed on a bit over 3,000 adults revealed that women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than breast cancer.

Out of 5 million people with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States of America, 3.2 million of them are women. The general consensus on why this happens is that women have a longer life span, which can only mean that they are more likely to reach the age when the disease appears.

But Angela Geiger, strategy officer of the Alzheimer’s Association believes that further studies are to be performed before a final conclusion is drawn. The biological differences between women and men need to be determined (if there are any) and only then can scientists come up with a definite answer is older women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s’ than breast cancer.

Did you know that every minute someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease? Do you know someone who’s battling the disease? What do you think about the study? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

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