World of Health

It was a long held belief amongst doctors that those patients who remained in comas for weeks or more following a brain injury were never likely to regain consciousness. Recent research has shown, however, that consciousness isn’t actually a binary state of being awake or not, but is a spectrum.

While some patients who have suffered brain injuries are in their vegetative state, with no conscious awareness at all, others are classed as being in a minimally conscious state, still partially aware of their surroundings and able to respond to it at times.

For onlookers, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two, but thanks to new methods such as EEG machines, to pick up on subtle brain wave differences, clinicians are now better able to gauge the patients’ consciousness levels.

From the previously unknown hinterlands of consciousness has come another mysterious and astounding discovery; Ambien, a sleep prescription medication and Zolpdem, its generic form, can actually help those minimally conscious patients to wake up. Jeneen Interlandi, the renowned freelance science writer, delved deeper into this paradoxical treatment in the New York Times Magazine.

She wrote that the first report of an awakening brought about by Zolpidem was in 1999, in South Africa. This patient, Louis Viljoen, had been declared as being vegetative 3 years previously after being hit by a truck. It started with him clawing at his mattress through the night; the family doctor misdiagnosed insomnia and prescribed Zolpidem to keep him asleep through the night.

Only 20 minutes after the tablet had been ground up and fed to him through a straw by his mother, Viljoen started to stir. His eyes, which usually wandered the room vacant and unable to focus, flickered in the light of consciousness. He then spoke, uttering the words ‘Hello Mummy’ and moved, controlling his facial muscles and limbs.

After a few hours he again fell into the unresponsive state he has existed in for the previous 3 years, but the next day, and for many more days after that, Zolpidem continued to revive him for a few hours at a time.

Your baby’s mind is very precious and is constantly developing during the early stages of their life. This is especially the case during the first few months of their life and their brain is similar to that of a sponge in the sense that they are continuously absorbing everything around them. While their brain expands, they are taking in new tastes, textures and sounds and learning about their scary, exciting new world.

So, the next time you see your little one pulling those adorable faces or looking at an object with wide eyes, know that they are just learning more about their new surroundings while they grow in to a healthy adult. When your child arbitrarily giggles or smiles at many different times of the day, understand that your child is just responding to their new alien world. However, did you know that as a mother you could help advance their brains further by supplying them with mental stimulation?

You can do this by supplying your little child with a baby mat. Soft baby play mats are great implements to help grow their brain. Play mats come in a host of different designs and colours, and help strengthen memory. In my home, my baby mat has different textures and sounds that my little one can interact with and feel.  My baby’s mat has small, cosy foam cushions which she loves to snuggle and play with.

I often hear her giggle as she touches the funny textured shapes on her mat. Her mat also has whacky shapes that beep and buzz and are essential for brain development and memory training, as she will remember which shapes have certain textures or make certain sounds.

Baby mats also protect against germs

Any parent will tell you how careful they are with their little ones when it comes to bacteria or germs coming in to contact with them. Because they are young their immune system is very weak as it has not had much interaction with germs. Baby mats are great at providing a protective barrier against any unwanted germs and household bugs that can be found on the floor or surfaces. Rest assured that with a baby mat your little one can rest in total comfort and protection from hard, germ filled surfaces.

Overall, your baby’s mind is very precious and is constantly expanding and developing during the first year of their lives. You can help make sure they get to learn as much as possible by providing them with the mental stimulation they crave as they take their first steps towards learning more about their new environment around them.

Article by Hillary who works for CutFoam

Any workplace should have an office health and safety plan and a set of regulations that are supposed to be followed in order to keep working conditions safe for all employees.  However, sometimes even the most regulated office can be a work accident site if things are not taken care of correctly due to the fact that accidents are unpredictable.  After all, if you could predict when an accident was going to occur then you would know for a fact how to prevent it, but unfortunately this is not something that anyone has the power to control.

Therefore, the best way to promote office health and safety is simply to attempt to adhere to a set of guidelines that is devised with your specific office needs in mind.  In order to accomplish this the best thing to do is to sit back and take a look at your office layout, demands, and the employees that work there to judge what special situations may be a concern for your workers.  At the same time, you will also want to consider heading online to consult other office set guidelines to help stimulate your thought process and guide you through the brainstorming process.

Devising a guidebook is not the only thing that you need to do in order to promote office health and safety however; as you need to make sure that you put the regulations in place before they can actually be helpful.  In order to do this you need to make your employees aware of the regulations and laws to help make sure that the office maintains a safe environment for all workers.  The best way to do this is to make sure that they are well informed about your guidelines and have their own copies of the worker’s manual to consult.

The best way to handle this task is by calling your employees together for a training meeting in which you go over your new safety guidelines as well as the guidelines for how an accident should be treated should it occur noting the proper documentation for the event.  After your general workforce is aware of the new regulations and process in the future you can simply include time in each new employee’s orientation to give a brief overview of the safety regulations and then offer them a copy of the guidelines with their signatures at the bottom to prove they have understood the enforced code.

Article published for The Accidents at Work Site

The intensive care unit found in hospitals is one of the most costly areas of any facility, but it is also the one that is possibly the most needed. The critical nature of the intensive care unit means that hospital administrators are very unlikely to reduce the amount of funding that they are putting towards it.

There are however important ethical measures that can be adopted to ensure that the cost of running an intensive care unit is kept low. One of the most important measures that could be taken is assuring the people who leave the ICU do not come back to it because they have a relapse in their condition. Increasingly there are problems as insurance companies look to pay the smallest amount possible for their customer’s care they often look for an excuse to not have to pay the hospital.

Isansys Lifecare is a medical development company based in the United Kingdom and the Chief Executive is Keith Errey who has commented, “Around a third of patients who are discharged from ICU end up returning and this means that their care becomes very expensive again, it is easier to make sure that they are healthy enough to remain on a general ward before they are discharged.”

In an intensive care unit patient supervision is very rigorous and people are being constantly monitored by equipment as well as medical staff. Vital signs are being constantly measured and there are doctors on staff to deal with any situations where patient’s conditions take a turn for the worst.

Once a patient has been deemed fit enough to leave the ICU they are transferred to a general ward where there is less observation. If someone’s condition is improving this is the right place for them to be but all too often people are moved out who are about to suffer a relapse. Mr Errey continued, “The problem is on the general ward checks are only made every few hours and a lot can change in a patient’s condition between these checks. What is really needed is a way for patients to be monitored closely on the general ward without having the extreme cost associated with an ICU.

“Currently there is not a system that is capable of doing this but we think this is about to change as low-power wireless technology is going to make monitoring technology a lot easier.” His company developed a wireless cardiac monitor that comes at a very low cost. The device constantly measures ECG ratings and can alert medical staff to a change in the patient’s condition.

A medical professional can tell a great deal from an ECG reading and from it capable of determining the health of the patient. The device monitors the electrical activity of the heart and can inform a doctor about the condition of the heart as well as the rest of the body. There are also computer technologies that can predict when a person’s heart is about to cause them a medical problem.

The festive season is certainly the time to eat, drink and be merry, and it is easy to believe the fact that over two-thirds of us confess to over-indulgence at this time! It’s no surprise either that eating like this leads to stomach complaints. More often than not the results of overindulgence are indigestion, heartburn, bloating, diarrheoa and embarrassing trapped wind; not at all in the festive spirit! For others, ongoing conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are exacerbated at this time and many of us face something of a dilemma: how to enjoy the festivities of the Christmas period without symptoms having a negative impact and spoiling the fun. Here are a few tips that may be helpful for looking after your health, finding out why you’re feeling poorly over the Christmas period, and minimising the impact of that seasonal overindulgence.

Drink plenty of water. Be sure to drink at least 2 litres of water daily over the Christmas period. This will keep you well hydrated, encourage you to eat less and will flush out those indulgent toxins from your body!

Take time when you are eating. Be kind to your digestive system. One of the problems in our daily lives is that many of us rush through the day, with no time for anything, and when we do have time to get a bite to eat, we gobble it down. Take smaller bites, chew each bite slower and longer, and you’ll enjoy your Christmas treats longer!

Identify undetected food intolerances. For many, underlying and undetected food intolerances may be the cause of their digestive discomfort. According to the leading charity Allergy UK, 45% of the population suffers from symptoms of food intolerance and a recent survey[i] showed that 31% of sufferers had had to take between one day and one week off work due to their food intolerance symptoms in the last year.

Thankfully, help is at hand with a simple testing service that identifies the trigger foods responsible for food intolerances. This scientific approach, which can be used to identify the different food types involved for each individual, is a blood test that measures food-specific IgG antibodies. Your body is unique and doesn’t lie, either you have antibody reactions to certain food combinations or you don’t, and the best way to find out is by carrying out a test.  You then get an accurate reading of exactly what foods your body is reacting against so that you know what to avoid. According to new findings from York University and YorkTest, identifying and acting on underlying food intolerances has been found to significantly improve the symptoms of several common gastro-intestinal conditions. In a sample of 5,000 food intolerance sufferers the following results were reported after three months, once participants had eliminated the problem foods from their diet.  These foods were identified by the YorkTest FoodScan test commonly used by many health professionals to identify food intolerances.

• 84% showed moderate to high improvement in IBS symptoms
• 92% showed moderate to high improvement in bloating
• 90% showed moderate to high improvement in abdominal pains and cramps
• 90% showed moderate to high improvement in symptoms of constipation

These latest findings are further confirmation of the direct link between certain health complaints and diet. The test that was used for the survey is the only one of its kind endorsed by the charity Allergy UK and YorkTest has 30 years of experience in the food intolerance testing market.

Imagine waking up on January 1^st with a new-found resolve knowing what you can do to really make a positive difference to how you feel, all year round. Enjoy the festive season!

Obesity has been revealed as one of the biggest causers of cancer in new research produced by Cancer Research UK. Smoking is currently believed to be the largest single contributing factor in cases of cancer, amounting to around 23% of male sufferers and in 15.6% in females.

Being overweight has been found to be a significant risk factor, surprisingly, even for the researcher Professor Max Parkin. “We found that eating fruit and vegetables was extremely important in warding off cancer in men,” he said. “And in women it was discovered that being overweight is more of a risk than excessive consumption of alcohol,” he said.

The British Journal of Cancer published the research showing that we can now pinpoint nearly a half of all known cancers as being caused by poor lifestyle choices. The study results are likely to be a wake up call for many who consider that they smoke, drink or eat too much, as the type of patients who make up 40% of cancer cases.

The research reiterated the belief that many people and health practitioners already hold, that the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables is essential to a healthy diet and helps protect against cancer. It also indicated that a person’s occupation and their exposure levels to the sun and sunbeds was also a contributing factor.

“It’s the belief of many people that getting cancer is a random piece of bad luck, fate or even down to a person’s genes. But more and more the research is demonstrating that this is not the case and the presiding factor is lifestyle. This is really important to understand, because it shows that largely, people have a choice,” Prof Parkin said.

The study indicated that in women, 6.9% of cancer cases were linked to obesity while around 3.7% were linked to infections such as HPV (cervical cancer). Statistics showed that 3.6% of cases were linked to sun/sunbed exposure and 3.4% to diets lacking fresh fruit and veg. Around 3.3% was linked to alcohol abuse. Similar risks were identified for men, but the fruit and veg aspect was more important as was occupation.

Christmas is not the right time of year for people to be hearing that eating less will extend their lives but Italian researchers have recently discovered a molecule that people make when they are dieting that might be able to be turned into a useful drug. The molecule mimics restraint and by turning this into a drug it is possible it will influence people’s behaviour so they will be able to restrain themselves better when around lots of food.

When experiments were conducted on rats it was shown that eating less had a positive effect on how long the rats lived. This positive effect from eating less was removed when the rats returned to a normal diet however. One of the best examples of people living longer because they are not eating as much is on a Japanese island. Here, the population have a much higher average age than the rest of the world and the scientists expect this is because of philosophy the people practice which says you should stop eating when you 80% full.

Overeating is known to age the brain faster than normal and this can cause problems such as Alzheimer’s disease. When controlling diet carefully a molecule is produced that can regulate learning and memory and slow the brains ageing. The lead scientist on the study was Giovambattista Pani who commented, “It is our hope that we will be up to activate this molecule artificially through the use of new drugs and this will help to keep the brain young without people having to exercise a very strict diet. It is clear this molecule has a very important effect on our brains.”

Sustaining an injury, especially a head injury while playing sport is a regular hazard and scientists have long been concerned over people who are boxing, or playing cricket and hockey. However, researchers have recently raised concerns over another type of sport that can potentially be damaging to the brains of players. Scientists have recently been scanning the brains of football players who often use their head against the ball. Many of these players were shown to have subtle signs of damage to their brain.

Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of medicine which is located in New York studied around 40 football players who’ve been playing since they were children. The players were asked whether they regularly head the ball and it was found that those who did had brain injuries similar to those found in trauma patients.

The team of researchers was led by Dr Michael Lipton and he commented, “We were looking at the players for something called fractional anisotropy which measures how uniform water molecules are behaving in the brain. If they are behaving irregularly this suggests there is some form of brain damage.”

The study found that players who were regularly heading the ball had water molecules behaving in a more random fashion suggesting that their method of play was causing physical injury. The study found that the areas of the brain that were most affected included those responsible for executive functioning, memory and attention.

Dr Lipton continued, “These initial findings are quite worrying and this seems to be clear evidence showing that this type of play can cause the brain injury. From this we can make a clear recommendation to players that they should not be heading the ball. There does need to be further research conducted to see what the long-term effects of this type of brain injury might be. Hitting the ball with your head once off will not cause any serious damage but doing it repetitively might lead to the brain cells degenerating.”

ThinkFirst is a non-profit group that raised concerns that heading the ball might cause some form of brain injury. They’ve recently published guidelines on how to head the ball in a safe manner. Many people have become concerned that football is a sport that is particularly popular among children and the reports from ThinkFirst say that the technique should not be taught to children at a young age.”

The researchers behind the study are well aware that the technique is an important part of football and something they are unlikely to be able to ban. Therefore they have decided to try and find a safe limit for the number of times the head can hit a ball before damage becomes permanent. The study found that those who hit the ball with their head over 1000 times a year had the most significant brain injuries, this figure might seem very high but for someone who regularly plays football this means they will only be having to head the ball a few times a day.

A new advertising campaign aimed at cutting the number of unwanted pregnancies over the Christmas period was launched this week. The advert offers the morning after pill to women over the telephone and free of charge and it is hoped that women at risk of pregnancy will stock up for the festive period and use it in case of emergency.

The campaign has been developed by The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)

and features a poster with the word ‘sex’ spelled out in fairy lights. The tagline for the advertising campaign is “Getting ‘turned on’ this Christmas?”. The advertising campaign is not without irony and its website address is titled rather humorously, santacomes.org.

Some critics have accused the campaign of being over the top and said it may send out the wrong message. ProLife Alliance campaigner Josephine Quintavalle, called it “incredibly vulgar”. She said: “We believe that this campaign may trivialise the issues at stake here and lead to women being less responsible than they should be. It may also lead to them exposing themselves to risks they wouldn’t normally do.”

The product at the centre of the campaign is the contraceptive, Levonelle One Step, and users will be required to register personal details on the website to attain it. Following this they will be entitled to a fifteen-minute consultation from a trained nurse which is aimed at weeding out young teenagers and others who are not suitable for the pill.

The charity has commented that it does expect that young teenagers will attempt to get hold of the pill by lying about their age, despite the consultation process which is there to prevent them doing so and that some will inevitably slip through the net. Children under 16 would normally require a prescription to get hold of the pill.

Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, said that it would be preferable if the pills could be handed over following a face-to-face consultation, but said that there were no plans for the government to intervene.

BPAS described the service as essential considering that surgeries and pharmacies will be closed in most places over the festive period and with pharmacies charging for pills there were significant risks for young girls getting pregnant unintentionally. Chemists charge around £20 for emergency contraceptives and it’s believed the price puts many young girls in vulnerable positions off using them in an emergency.

Tracey Forsyth, BPAS nurse and spokesperson, said: “There is a time frame of 72 hours following unprotected sex in which the morning after pill can be taken to protect against pregnancy. But the sooner the female takes the pill, the greater the chance of its success. It is not foolproof however, and it can fail.”

“Some people who do not have all the facts believe that obtaining the pill in advance will encourage women to act irresponsibly. This is incorrect. The women choosing the pill are taking a responsible line and getting it ready just in case.”

Some critics have slated the scheme saying that it was like calling for a pizza and argued that teenagers would take advantage by ordering pills without their parents consent.

Some argued that it could promote promiscuity and unprotected sex and may even lead to an increase in sexually transmitted disease.

BPAS said its nurses would be trained to discuss contraception then send the pills in the post with condoms and advice leaflets to approved women only.

The release of a new app in the UK which is the world’s first app for brain health has been announced jointly by the Alzheimer’s Association and the BUPA Health Foundation. This tool is said to be the latest digital tool in the ongoing fight against dementia.

Based on the very latest research that has linked a healthy brain and a reduced risk of developing dementia with a healthy cardiovascular system and heart, the ‘BrainyApp’ is the first iPhone app designed to reduce the risk of dementia by helping people to monitor and thus improve the health of both their heart and their brain.

This new app was designed in by the BUPA Health Foundation is conjunction with Alzheimer’s Australia and has already claimed the number 1 spot in Australia and New  Zealand from Facebook in the list of top free apps. It has also clocked up over 130,000 downloads in these two countries alone.

Now available to people in the UK, ‘BrainyApp’ helps users monitor and improve the physical, mental, dietary and social aspects of their lifestyle.

There are currently 750,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this is predicted to rise to over a million by 2021. Delaying the onset of dementia by just five years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive, Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Most people know how to reduce their risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke but they don’t realise that the same healthy lifestyle choices may also lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia.  The idea is that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain.”

‘BrainyApp’ allows users to take a brain-heart health survey about their diet, exercise patterns and lifestyle. It then provides suggestions and ideas about how to make improvements to each. It also includes all-new brain games, and encourages users to build brain-heart points by staying physically and mentally active, socialising with friends and family, and sharing their progress on Facebook.

One of the brain games – ‘Word Tennis’ – requires players to unscramble anagrams in order to move a paddle and hit a ball back to their opponent.

Director of dementia care for Bupa Care Services, Dr Graham Stokes, said: “There is evidence to show that keeping the mind exercised can stave off the onset of dementia but ‘BrainyApp’ highlights that good physical health also has a part to play. Best of all it’s good fun.”

‘BrainyApp’ is available as a free download for users of iPhone, iPod and iPad devices from the App Store. There are plans to develop an Android version in early 2012.

More information about BrainyApp is available at www.bupa.co.uk/brainy-app.