Therapist Unlimited Blog

The number of college students killed due to drunk driving is rising in the United States of America.
Based on the data gathered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it was discovered that drinking-related, accidental deaths among 18- to 24-year-old students have been creeping upward from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005.
According to the data from NIAAA, the proportion of students who reported recent heavy episodic drinking (sometimes called "binge drinking") rose from roughly 42 percent to 45 percent and the proportion who admitted to drinking and driving in the past year increased from 26.5 percent to 29 percent.
The recent data already alarmed lead researcher Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., director of the NIAAA’s division of epidemiology and prevention research.

Proper measures should be done to stop the rising number drunk driving deaths among college students.

Hingson explained the data just showed that government and school officials need to work even harder to weed out drinking addiction among the college students to protect their health and well-being.
The lead researcher said government and school officials need to work together to create a comprehensive strategy to address the drinking addiction problem among college students.
The lead researcher added broader legislation should also be undertaken by both Congress and Senate to deter college students from engaging in drinking addiction.
Furthermore, Hingson said state laws that set the legal drinking age at 21 have been credited with reducing alcohol-related road deaths.
He noted, that the increases in heavy episodic drinking, drinking and driving, and alcohol-related deaths were seen among 21- to 24-year-olds, and not 18- to 20-year-olds.

Stroke patients who wish to do some fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan, for the Muslim faith can do it with ease.
This developed after the recent research made by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, has shown that those stroke patients who do some fasting during Ramadan cannot suffer from any form of physiological and biological changes from the activity.
The interesting data was taken by the researchers on more than 3,000 stroke patients between the years 2000 to 2006, who do some fasting during Ramadan.

Stroke patients who wish to fast during Ramadan can do without any health repercussions on their part.

They discovered that the case fatality rates before, during and after Ramadan were 25.3%, 24% and 26.1% respectively.
The researcher said the mean survival of stroke patients was not different statistically between Ramadan and the months before or after that.
Fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar is a religious duty for healthy Muslim adults.
During the fasting month, believers are required to refrain from taking any food, beverages or oral drugs between dawn and sunset. Other religions also have their specific fasting regulations.

According to a latest medical data one in every 25 persons who died around the world is due to alcohol addiction.
In the research conducted by Dr. Jürgen Rehm, of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, and the University of Toronto, and colleagues they found out that in 2004, the net effect of alcohol consumption on health is harmful, accounting for 3.8 per cent of deaths globally (6.3 per cent for men and 1.8 per cent for women), and 4.6 per cent of years lived with disability.
The team of experts revealed most of the alcohol-related deaths were due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disorders like cirrhosis, plus injuries and violence.
Based on the result of their research, the medical experts suggested that the level of alcohol-related disease is linked to the amount consumed, the effect being strongest on poor people and those marginalized from society, for every extra unit consumed.

People who are addicted to drinking better stop their habit now since latest data has shown that one in 25 deaths worldwide are caused by alcohol.

According to the researchers, the cost of this burden is equal to more than one per cent of gross national product in high income and middle-income countries and most of this is not the health care cost but the social harm caused.
The researchers said they looked at two different aspects of alcohol consumption: the total amount drunk and the pattern of drinking, such as binge drinking where a lot is consumed in a short time.
The researchers explained they calculated the average global alcohol consumption per person per year is about 6.2 liters of pure ethanol, which is a rate of a dozen or so units of 10 mls each per week. One unit is roughly the amount of alcohol in a shot of spirits, a medium strength bottle of beer or a medium glass of wine.

A recent medical study has shown that pregnant women who work on their first-trimester are putting the welfare of their baby at higher risk.
Based on the research conducted by medical experts pregnant women who work on the first three months of their pregnancy are associated with reduced birth weight and an increased risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
The significant pieces of information were taken from the study made on 8,266 pregnant women in Amsterdam, Netherlands who all work on the first-trimester of their pregnancy.

Pregnant women should stop working or reduce their workload for the sake of their incoming babies.

The medical experts found out that workweek of 32 hours or more and high job strain were significantly associated with low birth weight.
The team of experts also discovered that the combination of high job strain and a long workweek resulted in the largest birth weight reduction and the highest risk of delivering an SGA infant.
To avoid harm and complications to their incoming offspring, the experts recommended that women temporarily stop working while they are still pregnant.
The experts said if ever they could not really stop working it would be best that she reduce her workload and make it minimal to ensure the well-being of her baby will be sufficiently protected from harm.

Smokers who smoked five cigarettes a day are at high risk of suffering from migraines.
According to a recent research, smoking could improve migraines by reducing anxiety, one of the factors that trigger an attack.
The finding was taken from the study made on 361 medicine students from the University of Salamanca in Spain.
The researchers found out that 16% of students fulfilled migraine criteria, while 20% smoked.
The researchers also found out that the percentage of smokers was higher (29%) in those who were also migraine sufferers and migraine frequency in those
students who were migraine sufferers and smokers was clearly higher than in those who were non-smokers and migraine sufferers.

Smoking five cigarettes a day could lead to migraines.

Julio Pascual, one of the authors of this research and doctor at the Neurology Unit of Marqués de Valdecilla, University Hospital (Santander) said smoking is a precipitating factor of this type of headache, as the prevalence of active smokers is one third higher in migraine sufferers and there is a direct relationship between the number of cigarettes consumed and the frequency of migraine attacks.
Pascual and his team stressed the importance of the dosage. The results of the interviews reveal that the migraine sets in after five daily cigarettes.
He said although the percentage of those who smoked was higher in people with migraines, they smoked less than those who did not suffer migraines.

According to a latest medical research organic food are no better nutritionally than conventionally produced.
The finding was based on the 50-year study conducted by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
According to the data from 2007, the organic food industry is estimated to be worth 29 billion pounds (about 48 billion US dollars) worldwide and continues to grow while consumers appear willing to pay premium prices for food they believe to be superior in health and nutritional benefits.
Based on the study it was discovered that conventionally produced crops had a significantly higher content of nitrogen.
The researchers found out that organically produced crops had a significantly higher content of phosphorus and higher titratable acidity.
The research team also discovered that there was no evidence of a difference among the remaining eight crop nutrition categories.
The team said analysis of the few quality studies on livestock products showed no evidence of differences in nutrition content between those that were organically and those that were conventionally produced.
With the result of their study, the researchers concluded that on the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs.

A recent research has shown that organic food no better nutritionally than conventionally produced.

The researchers explained the small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.
The researchers added the differences detected were most likely due to differences in fertilizer use (nitrogen and phosphorous) and ripeness at harvest (acidity).
Gill Fine, director of consumer choice and dietary health at the FSA, the body that sponsored the research, said that the FSA was neither for nor against organic food, but ensuring people have.
Fine said accurate information is absolutely essential in allowing us all to make informed choices about the food we eat.
She said the study did not say people should not eat organic food, but it did show that there was no evidence of a nutritional difference between organic and conventionally produced food.
Moreover, Fine said that there were many reasons why people might choose to eat organic, such as being concerned about animal welfare and the environment.

A medical expert has warned that those people suffering from age-related macular degeneration should seek immediate treatment early since failure to do could lead to blindness.
age-related macular degeneration, a disease that progressively causes vision loss.
Eye specialist and QUT researcher Dr. Beatrix Feigl revealed macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and one in three Australians will be affected to some degree by it.
Feigl said there is no cure yet for the disorder, but if it is detected early enough, steps can be taken to prevent the condition from worsening.

Early detection and cure is the proper way to deal with age-related macular degeneration which can cause blindness if not handled well.

She said it is very important to detect the condition before there is damage because you can only preserve existing eyesight.
The eye expert said general health and genetics influenced a person’s chance of developing the eye disease.
She explained smoking and a poor diet low in vitamins and omega-3 can increase the risk.
Moreover, Feigl said if you know one of your parents had age-related macular degeneration, it is worth taking extra care of your eyes.
Feigl advices to always be sure to have your eyes tested while they are still healthy.

Persons infected with Human Immuno Virus (HIV) should avoid giving pre-chewed foods to their love ones especially their children since doing so could help transmit the deadly disease to them.
Medical researchers recently discovered that some HIV infected mothers transmitted HIV to their young children through pre-chewed foods.
The researchers revealed their findings suggest that HIV-infected mothers or other caregivers should be warned against giving infants pre-chewed food and directed toward
safer feeding options.
With the discovery, researchers hope physicians and clinics should routinely include questions about pre-chewing food in their health
screening of infant caregivers who have HIV or are suspected of the infection.
In addition, the researchers also suggested that possible cases of HIV transmission through pre-chewed food should be reported to public health agencies to help increase understanding of the prevalence of such transmission.
According to the data gathered by the researchers giving infants’ pre-chewed food has been reported to transmit infections such as streptococcus and the hepatitis B virus,
The researchers explained until these cases there was no evidence that the blood-borne HIV could be similarly transmitted.
The researchers said the source of blood in the saliva of the person pre-chewing the food for the child may likely have been visible or microscopic bleeding from the gums or some other part of the mouth, he added.
Furthermore, the researchers concluded that that the findings do not warrant a blanket recommendation against pre-chewed food for infants.

Giving of pre-chewed foods should be avoided by HIV infected patients since doing so could help transmit the deadly disease.

The researchers said the practice, which has been reported from many parts of the world including the United States may be integral to providing adequate infant nutrition and grounded in culture and tradition.
The team said on a global level, educating HIV-positive caregivers will require cognizance of culturally sensitive issues and potential nutritional consequences linked to pre-chewing.
The team also said that their findings also do not imply that HIV can be transmitted through saliva during oral contact such as kissing.
The researchers revealed HIV transmission was likely enabled by bleeding gums or open mouth sores.
They said their report does not challenge the accepted belief that saliva does not carry HIV and that transmission does not occur in kissing.
They said the exception is that transmission can occur when the people involved have damaged mucosa in their mouths, and blood is mixed with the saliva.

In the wake of the increasing temperature one common illness are heat related or those sickness caused by extreme heat.
It is said that heat-related illnesses, known collectively as hyperthermia, during the summer months.
Hyperthermia can include heat stroke, heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after exercising in the heat), heat cramps and heat exhaustion.
The risk for hyperthermia is a combination of the outside temperature along with the general health and lifestyle of the individual.
According to medical studies, heat stroke is an advanced form of hyperthermia that occurs when the body is overwhelmed by heat and unable to control its temperature. Someone with a body temperature above 104 degrees is likely suffering from heat stroke and may have symptoms of confusion, combativeness, strong rapid pulse, lack of sweating, dry flushed skin, faintness, staggering, possible delirium or coma. Seek immediate medical attention for a person with any of these symptoms, especially an older adult.
 

If not given proper concern heat related sickness can be fatal to someone.

To help you cope up with heat related sickness especially the elderly here are some tips you can do.
 

A. Get the person out of the sun and into an air-conditioned or other cool place.
B. Offer fluids such as water, fruit and vegetable juices, but avoid alcohol and caffeine.
C. Encourage the individual to shower, bath or sponge off with cool water.
D. Apply a cold, wet cloth to the wrists, neck, armpits, and/or groin, places where blood passes close to the surface and the cold cloths can help cool the blood.
E. Urge the person to lie down and rest, preferably in a cool place.

According to a latest medical study those who are poor with low intelligence quotient are at higher chances of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Dr. David Batty, a Welcome Trust Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, and colleagues discovered that people on low incomes, in jobs with low prestige and with limited education had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes than people of a higher
socioeconomic status.
Batty said based on their study they also found out that IQ accounted for 23 per cent of the difference between the death rates among people from poorer and more advantage socioeconomic backgrounds, once age and classic known risk factors for heart disease such as smoking and obesity were taken into account.
He said previous studies have shown that people from poor socioeconomic backgrounds have worse health and tend to die earlier from conditions such as heart disease, cancer and accidents.
He added environmental exposure and health-related behaviors, such as smoking, diet and physical activity, can explain some of this difference, but not all of it.

Those poor people who have low IQ have strong chances of suffering from a cardiovascular disease.

The medical expert revealed this raises the possibility that, as yet, unmeasured psychological factors need to be considered and one of these is intelligence or cognitive function: a person’s ability to reason and problem-solve.
The medical expert added IQ is strongly related to socioeconomic status.
Furthermore, Batty said IQ alone explained 23 per cent of the differences in mortality between the higher and lower ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, in addition to the other, known risk factors.
Batty and his team, speculate that this might be because intelligence leads to better knowledge about how to pursue healthy behaviors, or owing to the link between intelligence and socioeconomic position (more intelligence leads to more education, income, and more prestigious jobs).
He said it also provides further evidence that efforts to tackle socioeconomic inequalities could have far-reaching benefits on health.
Batty explained initiatives aimed at raising living standards and education of the most disadvantaged families with children could potentially make a difference to those children’s health and wellbeing in later life.