What is Asthma?

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs and the airways that deliver air to the lungs. Asthma causes periodic attacks of wheezing and difficult breathing. Periodic attacks are caused by an oversensitivity of the lungs and airways, which overreact to certain "triggers" and become inflamed and clogged.

Asthma is Greek for "panting". Asthmatics pant during an asthma attack because their air passages, which start in the throat and end in the lungs, become narrowed and sometimes almost completely obstructed.

Asthma is very common. Asthma is called a Reactive Airway Disease.

When does Asthma Develop?

Asthma can develop at any age. An asthma attack occurs when the airways become inflamed in response to a trigger, such as dust, mold, pets, exercise, or cold weather. However, some attacks start for no apparent reason. Triggers may inflame the airways to the lungs, allowing disease-fighting cells to accumulate and causing swelling in the lungs. In addition, the airways may become blocked or obstructed when the muscles surrounding the lungs tighten or go into spasm. Spasms keeps air from circulating freely in the lungs. Mucus may also cause an asthma attack. Mucus may clog and narrow the airways in the lungs, making breathing even more difficult.

Symptoms of Asthma?

The most obvious signs of an asthma attack are cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and tachypnea (fast breathing). During an asthma attack, the airways of the lung undergo a number of changes, including Inflammation, bronchospasm, and increased mucus production.

Triggers of Asthma?

Triggers irritate the airways and result in bronchoconstriction (constriction of the air passages in the lungs). Triggers do not cause inflammation and therefore do not cause asthma. Symptoms and constriction of vessels in the lungs caused by triggers tend to be immediate, short-lived, and rapidly reversible. Air passages will react more quickly to triggers if inflammation is already present in the airways. Common triggers of constriction of the air passages include everyday stimuli such as: Cold air, Dust, Strong fumes, Exercise, Inhaled irritants, Emotional upsets and Smoke.

Smoke acts as a very strong trigger. Second-hand smoke has been shown to aggravate asthma symptoms, especially in children. The effects of one cigarette lingers for 7 days. Asthma attacks can be mild, moderate, or severe, and can last for a few minutes, a few hours, or several days. Attacks can occur anywhere and at any time. Many attacks occur at night. Sometimes, there are warning signs that an attack is about to happen, but sometimes there aren't.

What causes Asthma?

Asthma has been identified as an atopic disease. This is the result of certain inherited genetic features that cause the immune system to respond to otherwise innocuous proteins as if they were dangerous invaders.

Jobs can cause asthma...Read a CNN article about jobs and asthma

Can Asthma be Cured?

Currently, asthma is not curable, but it can be well-managed.

What does an asthma attack feel like?

An asthma episode feels similar to taking deep breaths of very cold air on a winter day. Breathing becomes harder and may hurt, and there may be coughing. Breathing often makes a wheezing or whistling sound. These whistling and wheezing occurs because the airways of the lungs are getting narrower.

When smoke gets in your eyes

When smoke gets in your eyes !!!

An approximate amount of 4000 chemicals present in cigarette smoke gets into the bloodstream of smokers and may cause damage to the eyes     Cigarette smoke can even cause thinning of the membrane covering the eye (Conjunctiva) resulting in a bloodspot and irritation to the eyes.     Age related macular degeneration and other diseases have also been linked to smoking. The causes of macular degeneration are not completely understood but smoking is believed to be the main preventable risk factor. Smoking is directly linked to the rising of intracular pressure that can lead to Glaucoma and optic nerve damage. Although smoking is associated with several eye diseases, the most common cause of smoking-related blindness is age related macular degeneration which results in severe irreversible loss of central vision. How does smoking damage the eyes? Thousands of chemicals get into the bloodstream when you inhale cigarette smoke, which travels throughout the body. These chemicals cause damage to the Macula. Tiny blood vessels can burst throughout the macula leading to irreversible damage or alternatively the cells of the macula slowly die. Both ultimately lead to loss of vision. UV PROTECTION Exposure to UV radiation can harm your eyes and affect your vision as well.     There are three types of UV radiation. One type called UV-C is absorbed by the ozone layer and does not present any threat. More and more scientific evidence indicates that exposure to both UV-A and UV-B can have adverse effects on your eyes and vision.     If you are exposed and unprotected to excessive amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time, you are likely to experience an effect called Photokeratitis, like ‘sunburn of the eye’. Extreme sensitivity to light and excessive tearing may be noticed. Fortunately, this is usually temporary and rarely causes permanent damage to the eyes. Long term exposure to UV rays can definitely be hazardous.

How is diabetes diagnosed?

The fasting blood glucose (sugar) test is the preferred way to diagnose diabetes. It is easy to perform and convenient. After the person has fasted overnight (at least 8 hours), a single sample of blood is drawn and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

This can also be done accurately in a doctor's office using a glucose meter.

* Normal fasting plasma glucose levels are less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).
* Fasting plasma glucose levels of more than 126 mg/dl on two or more tests on different days indicate diabetes.
* A random blood glucose test can also be used to diagnose diabetes. A blood glucose level of 200 mg/dl or higher indicates diabetes.

When fasting blood glucose stays above 100mg/dl, but in the range of 100-126mg/dl, this is known as impaired fasting glucose (IFG). While patients with IFG do not have the diagnosis of diabetes, this condition carries with it its own risks and concerns, and is addressed elsewhere.

The oral glucose tolerance test

Though not routinely used anymore, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is a gold standard for making the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. It is still commonly used for diagnosing gestational diabetes and in conditions of pre-diabetes, such as polycystic ovary syndrome. With an oral glucose tolerance test, the person fasts overnight (at least eight but not more than 16 hours). Then first, the fasting plasma glucose is tested. After this test, the person receives 75 grams of glucose (100 grams for pregnant women). There are several methods employed by obstetricians to do this test, but the one described here is standard. Usually, the glucose is in a sweet-tasting liquid that the person drinks. Blood samples are taken at specific intervals to measure the blood glucose.

For the test to give reliable results:

# the person must be in good health (not have any other illnesses, not even a cold).
# the person should be normally active (not lying down, for example, as an inpatient in a hospital), and
# the person should not be taking medicines that could affect the blood glucose.
# For three days before the test, the person should have eaten a diet high in carbohydrates (200-300 grams per day).
# The morning of the test, the person should not smoke or drink coffee.

The classic oral glucose tolerance test measures blood glucose levels five times over a period of three hours. Some physicians simply get a baseline blood sample followed by a sample two hours after drinking the glucose solution. In a person without diabetes, the glucose levels rise and then fall quickly. In someone with diabetes, glucose levels rise higher than normal and fail to come back down as fast.

People with glucose levels between normal and diabetic have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). People with impaired glucose tolerance do not have diabetes, but are at high risk for progressing to diabetes. Each year, 1%-5% of people whose test results show impaired glucose tolerance actually eventually develop diabetes. Weight loss and exercise may help people with impaired glucose tolerance return their glucose levels to normal. In addition, some physicians advocate the use of medications, such as metformin (Glucophage), to help prevent/delay the onset of overt diabetes.

Recent studies have shown that impaired glucose tolerance itself may be a risk factor for the development of heart disease. In the medical community, most physicians are now understanding that impaired glucose tolerance is nor simply a precursor of diabetes, but is its own clinical disease entity that requires treatment and monitoring.

Evaluating the results of the oral glucose tolerance test

* Normal response: A person is said to have a normal response when the 2-hour glucose level is less than 140 mg/dl, and all values between 0 and 2 hours are less than 200 mg/dl.
* Impaired glucose tolerance: A person is said to have impaired glucose tolerance when the fasting plasma glucose is less than 126 mg/dl and the 2-hour glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl.
* Diabetes: A person has diabetes when two diagnostic tests done on different days show that the blood glucose level is high.
* Gestational diabetes: A woman has gestational diabetes when she has any two of the following: a 100g OGTT, a fasting plasma glucose of more than 95 mg/dl, a 1-hour glucose level of more than 180 mg/dl, a 2-hour glucose level of more than 155 mg/dl, or a 3-hour glucose level of more than 140 mg/dl.

Waka Waka (This time for Africa)

Waka Waka (This time for Africa)

Shakira

 

You're a good soldier

Choosing your battles

Pick yourself up

And dust yourself off

Get back in the saddle

You're on the front line

Everyone's watching

You know it's serious

We're getting closer

This isn't over

The pressure's on; you feel it

But you got it all; believe it

When you fall, get up, oh oh

And if you fall, get up, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh, eh

Waka waka eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Listen to your god

This is our motto

Your time to shine

Don't wait in line

Y vamos por todo

People are raising

Their expectations

Go on and feel it

This is your moment

No hesitation

Today's your day; I feel it

You paved the way, believe it

If you get down, get up oh, oh

When you get down, get up eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh, eh

Waka waka eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa ah, ah

Tsamina mina eh, eh

Waka waka eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh, eh

Waka waka eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa ah, ah

Tsamina mina eh, eh

Waka waka eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Yango eh, eh

Yango eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa ah, ah

Yango eh, eh

Yango eh, eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa ah, ah

This time for Africa

This time for Africa

We're all Africa

We're all Africa

Don't worry, be happy

Don’t worry, be happy!

Life has its share of ups and downs. Staying happy and positive is the key to good health.

    Your EMIs may be mounting and inflation making daily expenditures seem massive, a vacation may sound like a distant dream while your office work may be piling up at an alarming speed and your househelp may have taken off on an unscheduled holiday showing no signs of return. Yes, everyone has problems in life, some bigger and tougher, some smaller and manageable. But, remember, being happy is your birth right. Try these easy tips to stay happy...

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Everyone has a wish list. But what about the things you’ve already been blessed with like a happy family, a good job, a roof over your head, etc. Focus on what you’ve got. A study found that people who took the time to count their blessings once a week boosted their mood and improved their energy levels.

BOOST YOUR SELF-ESTEEM

There’s a karmic connection between a having a positive selfesteem and how happy you are with your life. One of the best ways to boost your self esteem is to identify something you’re good at and do it.

SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’

Not everyone is lucky to be loved, it’s a blessing which must be cherished at all costs. Telling the people you care about how special they are to you and acknowledging that they enrich your life is only going to strengthen relationships. So, no matter how many times you may have said it before, tell those close to you that you love them.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP 

A good nights sleep is very therapeutic, any expert will vouch for this. In fact, not getting enough sleep often leads to people being very grumpy the next morning. So no matter how busy you may be, make sure that all your tasks are complete in time for you to get that much needed deep and peaceful night rest. You will definitely wake up a much happier person and ready to tackle any challenging situation.

MAKE TIME FOR FRIENDS 

People with a circle of supportive friends are more likely to have healthier blood pressure, cholesterol levels and stress hormone levels than those with fewer or no close friends.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR AGE 

Remember, age is just a number. Hence, celebrate every birthday joyfully, remembering to thank God for giving you yet another year. Also, whatever age you may be, enjoy it as you will never get to be that age again.

GET RID OF THOSE NIGGLING TASKS 

If you have a to-do list — visiting the doctor, getting a medical test done, answering a difficult e-mail or buying some necessary household items, get them done. Seeing your to-do list reducing will give you a rush of energy.

PAMPER A PET

Pets can be very effective stress busters. In fact, it has also been medically proved that walking and stroking a pet can relieve stress, lower blood pressure and heart rates.

ENJOY YOUR JOB 

It’s your means to earning a livelihood and your office is where you spend anything between eight and twelve hours everyday. If you hate your job, it is bound to have a negative effect on your health — mental and physical. If you are not happy, do yourself a favour and find a job or an office that you like and enjoy going to and watch how over half your problems will just vanish into thin air.

SING IN THE SHOWER 

Who cares whether you can carry a tune or if the lyrics are right, music activates parts of the brain that produce happiness, the same parts activated by sex and food. So, sing away. No one’s judging you and it’s bound to increase your happiness quotient.

HAVE A GOOD CRY 

Bottling up emotions can lead to a build-up of suppressed anxiety and anger. Hence, when you’re upset, give into your emotions and have a good cry. You’re never too old to shed a few tears.

IGNORE THE STOCK MARKET 

Chinese researchers have found a direct link between the daily performance of the stock market and the mental health of those who follow it. If you don’t have money invested, ignore it. If you do, remember time heals all wounds, even the financial ones.

GIVE YOURSELF SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO 

Set your self some goals and develop a hobby. Don’t go for something that will end up stressing your out but a task that’s simply yet relaxing and at the same time, something that will keep you excited.

VOLUNTEER TO HELP OUT 

Helping those who are less fortunate that yourself will help you put your own problems into perspective.

PAMPER YOURSELF 

Yes, nothing works better to soothe those frenzied nerves than a nice, relaxing massage or an unending hot shower. A new hair style or indulging in some retail therapy is also bound kickstart those happy cells into action.

Caught in the web

Dependence on technology is affecting our offline behavior.

POPE EXCESSIVE USE OF THE INTERNET, CELLPHONES AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES CAN MAKE US IMPATIENT, IMPULSIVE, FORGETFUL AND NARCISSISTIC

Are your Facebook friends more interesting than those you have in real life? Has high speed internet made you im patient with slow-speed children? Do you sometimes think about reaching for the fast-forward button, only to realise that life does not come with a remote control?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, exposure to technology may be slowly reshaping your personality. Some experts believe excessive use of the internet, cellphones and other technologies can cause us to become more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic.

"More and more, life is resembling the chat room," says Dr Elias Aboujaoude, director of the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic at Stanford. "We're paying a price in terms of our cognitive life because of this virtual lifestyle."

We do spend a lot of time with our devices, and some studies have suggested that excessive dependence on cellphones and the internet is akin to an addiction. Websites likewww.netaddiction.com offer selfassessment tests to determine if technology has become a drug. Among the questions used to identify those at risk: Do you neglect housework to spend more time online?
Are you frequently checking your e-mail?
Do you often lose sleep because you log in late at night? If you answered "often" or "always," technology may be taking a toll on you.

In a study to be published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia subjected 173 college students to tests measuring risk for problematic internet and gambling behaviours. About five per cent of the students showed signs of gambling problems, but 10 per cent of the students posted scores high enough to put them in the at-risk category for internet “addiction.” Technology use was clearly interfering with the students’ daily lives, but it may be going too far to call it an addiction, says Nicki Dowling, a clinical psychologist who led the study. Dowling prefers to call it “internet dependence”.

Typically, the concern about our dependence on technology is that it detracts from our time with family and friends in the real world. But psychologists have become intrigued by a more subtle and insidious effect of our online interactions. It may be that the immediacy of the internet, the efficiency of the iPhone and the anonymity of the chat room change the core of who we are, issues that Dr Aboujaoude explores in a book, Virtually You: The Internet and the Fracturing of the Self, to be released next year.

Dr Aboujaoude also asks whether the vast storage available in e-mail and on the internet is preventing many of us from letting go, causing us to retain many old and unnecessary memories at the expense of making new ones. Everything is saved these days, he notes, from the meaningless email sent after a work lunch to the angry online exchange with a spouse.

“If you can’t forget because all this stuff is staring at you, what does that do to your ability to lay down new memories and remember things that you should be remembering?” Dr Aboujaoude says. “When you have 500 pictures from your vacation in your Flickr account, as opposed to five pic

tures that are really meaningful, does that change your ability to recall the moments that you really want to recall?" There is also no easy way to conquer a dependence on technology. Nicholas Carr, author of the new book The Shallows:What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, says that social and family responsibilities, work and other pressures influence our use of technology. "The deeper a technology is woven into the patterns of everyday life, the less choice we have about whether and how we use that technology," Carr wrote in a recent blog post on the topic.

Some experts suggest simply trying to curtail the amount of time you spend online. Set limits for how often you check email or force yourself to leave your cellphone at home occasionally.

The problem is similar to an eating disorder, says Dr Kimberly Young, a professor at St Bonaventure University in New York who has led research on the addictive nature of online technology. Technology, like food, is an essential part of daily life, and those suffering from disordered online behaviour cannot give it up entirely and instead have to learn moderation and controlled use. She suggests therapy to determine the underlying issues that set off a person's need to use the internet "as a way of escape."

The International Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland asked 200 students to refrain from using electronic media for a day. The reports from students after the study suggest that giving up technology cold turkey not only makes life logistically difficult, but also changes our ability to connect with others. "Texting and IMing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort," wrote one student. "When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable."

love you

What Is Chicken Pox?

What Is Chicken Pox?

Chickenpox is a rash illness caused by a virus. Once a person is exposed to the chickenpox virus, it takes between 2 and 3 weeks before the symptoms appear. Chickenpox usually occurs in childhood. Adults who contract chicken pox are usually more ill, especially with pneumonia. Chickenpox is very common and highly contagious. Approximately 3 million cases occur each year in the United States . More than 90% of Chickenpox cases occur in children less than 12 years of age.

Symptoms of Chickenpox?

The symptoms of chickenpox vary from individual to individual. Some people may experience all of these symptoms while others experience one or two.

The most common symptoms of chickenpox are:

Mild fever. The fever varies between 101º F to 105º F and returns to normal when the blisters have disappeared.

backache

headache

sore throat

a rash (red spots)

blisters filled with fluid

How is Chickenpox Transmitted?

Chickenpox is transmitted through the air. When a patient with chickenpox coughs or sneezes, they expel tiny droplets that carry the chicken pox virus (varicella-zoster virus, VZV). If a person who has never had chicken pox inhales these particles, the virus enters the lungs and is carried through the blood to the skin where it causes the typical rash of chicken pox. The infected droplets cause an initial infection in the respiratory epithelium.

The incubation period of chickenpox is between 10 and 20 days.

Before the typical rash appears, patients often develop a fever, headache, swollen glands and other flu like symptoms.

Skin vesicles contain the virus but are not the primary sources. Scabs are not infectious. Patients are contagious from 2 days before onset of the rash until all lesions have crusted.

Can Chickenpox be prevented?

Chickenpox can be prevented . The easiest way to prevent catching chicken pox is to get vaccinated. However, vaccination is only successful in 70% to 90% of all vaccinations. Individuals who have been vaccinated but still acquire chickenpox, usually have a milder disease that heals more quickly than non vaccinated individuals.

Chickenpox and Pregnancy

Chickenpox can cause serious problems during pregnancy, especially when infection occurs early in the pregnancy or at the time of delivery. If chickenpox occurs early in pregnancy, several types of fetal abnormalities, including limb abnormalities, scarring of internal organs and neurological damage can occur. Pregnant women who suspect exposure to chickenpox should immediately contact their healthcare provider.

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