Month: December 2010

The WHO Launches New Meningitis Vaccine Campaign

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its new project this week- one that will provide over 300 million Africans with a new meningitis vaccine.

Meningitis killed 4,000 of 78,000 diseased people in Africa last year. The new vaccine was produced in India, and ensures immunity against group A meningococcus, a bacteria responsible for up to 85% of meningitis cases in the region. This vaccine is also more affordable than the previous one.

The WHO’s campaign was initiated in Burkina Faso, where 12-16 million are to be vaccinated over the course of ten days. The movement will cover 25 sub-Saharan countries in total which are part of the “meningitis belt,” which stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia.

Lap-Band Might Not be for Everyone

The FDA is considering expanding the use of the surgically implanted Lap-Band device to people with BMI ratings as low as 30 if they also have a related health problem. Without a health problem the person’s BMI would have to be at least 35. At the moment a BMI rating of even 39.3 is not enough to allow implantation to take place.

Experts emphasize that the insertion of Lap-Band is not magic, and for the procedure to be useful it must be accompanied by changes in highly ingrained eating behaviors. The cost of the procedure might also prevent many potential recipients of the treatment from obtaining the implant.

Over 30% of all Americans are considered to be obese. Approximately 15 million of them are eligible for gastric banding surgery according to the present criteria. Today’s criteria are having a BMI of 40 or more, or a BMI of 35 with an accompanying related health condition.

If the standards were lowered to include patients with 35 BMI or 30 with a health condition, the number of eligible patients would rise to about 27 million Americans, according to health data supplied by the federal government.

Winter Health: The Common Cold

Winter evokes images of winter wonderland scenes of graceful ice skaters and sparkling snowflakes. But to prevent adding illness and injury to this idyllic scene, it is important to exercise health and safety precautions during the winter months.

One of the mainstays of winter is the common cold. More than 100 viruses can cause colds, the world’s most frequent illness, so most people average about three colds each year. To reduce your chances of catching a cold, keep up your natural resistance with good nutrition, adequate sleep, seasonally-appropriate exercise, and vitamins. Keep the humidity up and the thermostat down in your home, as dry air dries out and cracks the mucous membranes in your nose and throat, creating spaces for cold viruses to enter. And wash your hands frequently, especially after contact with someone who has a cold.

If you do catch a cold, you will probably experience a sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, aches and pains, low fever, nasal congestion, and/or fever, for about a week or two. Treat your cold with a mild pain/fever reducer, a lot of fluids, and a great deal of bed rest to ensure that you recover your strength as quickly as possible.

Lap-Band Device Can Help Obese People Lose Weight

Lap-bandLap-Band is a flexible, small apparatus which is designed to be inserted as a band around a person’s stomach to force him to eat less, and thus helping him to lose considerable weight. At the moment the device is approved only for morbidly obese patients, but the FDA is considering expanding its use to include less obese people, including people like Angela Denson who has been struggling with obesity for 20 years, since she first began having children.

Angela, 37 years old, would like to lose about 85 pounds. However, she is discouraged due to her failure to lose weight until now, despite having tried many strategies for losing weight.

“I’ve tried diet pills. I’ve tried Weight Watchers … all different types of diet plans,” she said.

Ms. Denson is not overweight enough for surgery to implant Lap-Band now, but if the FDA approves its use for less obese patients, and then she would indeed be eligible, along with about 12 million additional obese patients.

The Health Benefits of Horseback Riding Part II

horse-ridingHorseback riding can be therapeutic for people with mental disabilities, emotional disorders, and people who are handicapped. The motion and position of the rider while on a horse greatly improves the balance, spatial awareness, coordination and motor development, all of which are common problems in such people. The control of the mind and body which are required to ride can help the person become more sensitive to his or her surroundings, and also to consider other factors in his situation besides himself. This also helps improve the person’s reaction time.

Building a strong, consistent relationship between the horse and the rider through the riding as well as grooming teaches people about trust and loyalty, as well as responsibility.