Testing It Up

An analysis that was recently published in the journal Pediatrics revealed that the occurrence of food allergies in children has increased over the years – and the reasons as to why this is happening is yet to be discovered. The knowledge, however, may become a driving force towards the conduct of studies to find out why this is so.

An analysis of data was conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As far as self-reported allergies are concerned, the number reportedly increased by 18% over a ten year period, the period in question being 1997 to 2007. Health care visits due to food allergies reportedly increased threefold between two time periods — from 1992 to 1997 and from 2003 to 2006. In the 2003 to 2006 period, the average number of healthcare visits for allergies was more than 300,000.

The data that was analyzed came from surveys of children’s parents as well as from medical records. According to estimates taken from medical records between 2005 and 2006, 9% of children tested positive for immunoglobulin E antibodies to peanuts, 7% to eggs, 12% to milk, and 5% to shrimp. While tests for immunoglobulin E are not exactly considered as reliable indicators for the presence of allergies, they do indicate either an increased risk for allergies or a history of suffering from allergies in the past.

While allergies are usually considered as more of an annoyance, this seemingly benign condition can prove to be fatal in some cases, which is why a study regarding its occurrence is beneficial. It is also unclear, however, whether the increase in numbers is due to an increase in factors that lead to the development of allergies or simply because more people are starting to recognize allergy symptoms.

Therapists have been concerned about the addictive nature of computer video games like World of Warcraft in adults and children alike in recent years. The problem has brought about the opening of a treatment center in the US earlier this year and now a program exists in Britain as well.

How serious of a problem can games be? For some the answer us quite serious. Those who suffer from this form of addiction often spend days involved in the fantasy world of the game and often ignore needs like eating, sleeping or socializing with others in the real world. More involving games like MMO RPGS (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) require a larger investment of time to reach goals in the game than simpler games.

Broadway Lodge the new treatment center in Weston-super-Mare, currently treats about 400 addicts each year among them are drug users, alcoholics, gamblers and other addictions. It’s currently using a similar method to wean gamers from gameplay. Patients undergo group therapy, watch videos, listen to tapes, do therapeutic tasks like washing up and vacuuming, and doing recreational activities. These programs encourage interpersonal social dialogue and better understanding of self while sharing.

The main trouble facing those that suffer from this form of addiction is that the internet is such a pervasive and readily available source of input. Therapy means finding the triggers which signal addictive behavior as it’s happening and teaching the sufferer how to recognize them as they occur. Users most often experience very chaotic lifestyles that affect diet, sleeping patterns and often bring about social exclusion outside of other players in game.  They may also become more aggressive and deal with health problems like anorexia, malnourishment, embolism, muscle atrophy and other conditions linked to lack of physical activity and stress.

It’s important to keep in mind that this doesn’t happen to all or even many gamers but for those it does happen to the effects can be very damaging without treatment. Programs like this are just a start and will need time to truly become effective.

Voters have approved a referendum which makes Maine the 5^th state to allow retail marijuana dispensaries. While it shares the distinctive law with California advocates in the state make the point that it won’t have the same problems that the other state has (California has hundred of shops that dispense the drug, causing speculation that it’s become a retail industry rather than the help that laws laid it out to be).

Maine approved legal medical marijuana dispensaries 59% to 41% falling in the footsteps of states like California, Rhode Island, New Mexico. The referendum passed despite opposition In the state which doubted Maine would be any more successful than California in maintain their dispensaries. In Maine however there are stricter provisions that limit the sale of medical marijuana more than those in California. In Maine all dispensaries must be licensed by the state and medical conditions which qualify for marijuana are limited to specific conditions. California law allows doctors to determine what conditions warrant medical use and allows for “non-profit” dispensaries.

Fourteen states have laws that allow medical use of marijuana; Maine’s laws have allowed its use for conditions such as AIDS, cancer and MS since 1999. Originally the law allowed patients to have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or as many as 6 plants, but many of these patients had no legal way to get the drug before the referendum was passed.

With Obama’s decision to block legal action against federal action against those using the drug for medical purposes under state laws, the amount of these laws and referendums could go up. A change that many feel could lead to problems.

Doctors now say that the popular home version of the fetal monitoring device used by doctors may actually make it more likely a mother will wait to seek treatment than if she had gone without it. The false sense of security these monitors offer is to blame, causing mothers to wait unaware that the machine may not be catching their child’s heartbeat but their own among other dangers. This very thing happened to one mother who waited several days to seek medical help believing that she heard the steady heartbeat of her child, prompting the warning.

Fetal heart monitors are not always valid ultrasound machines and regardless of quality shouldn’t be treated as a valid way to monitor a baby’s safety and wellbeing. Some companies make the entertainment purposes of these machines clear while others don’t, the child’s safety is at risk if the parents don’t seek help when it is needed.

While the fetal heart rate is part of the overall safety and health status of an unborn baby it’s only a small part and without training can very easily be misheard or misconstrued as normal. If there are any major changes in the overall movement of the baby, the way you feel or there are any signs that make you concerned for the safety of your child it’s best to seek medical care right away to verify the health of the child and yourself. While home monitors can be a great way of listening to the child they should be regarded as the entertainment and interaction tools they are.

A 16 lb, 13 year old orange cat from Iowa is drawing headlines after contracting H1N1 from infected humans. The interesting incident draws further attention to the risk of transference between owners and pets where conditions are right. It’s the first such case of human to feline flu infection, but not the first time where diseases have passed between pet and owner. Called zoonotic diseases the list of these diseases seems to increase every year making researchers anxious about the possibility of diseases like AIDS and Ebola passing as a zoonotic.

The cat is an indoor animal that is never provided with time outdoors and who has no contact with humans other than its owners who came down with the virus in the final week of October. Their cat came down with the virus on October 27^th. The owners called in friends who are veterinary researchers who then brought in the cat for study. It was tested for the presence of H1N1 and tested positive. Now recovered the pet is back home with its owners. Now cats are listed among other animals found to be susceptible to the virus including ferrets, pigs and domestic turkeys.

Pet owners shouldn’t panic if their family pet starts to sneeze however, cats and dogs are both susceptible to respiratory illnesses unique to their own species that can bring about the sniffles just as easily. It’s best to cough and sneeze into the crook of the arm and wash your hands consistently just as you would to keep the virus from spreading to other humans.

Many schools have been forced to close due to rising numbers of students who’ve contracted H1N1 since the flu season began. The move comes in reaction to an overwhelming number of infected children not being able to attend to school and many others who fear becoming infected taking off. School officials feel that closing their schools for short periods is the best way to allow the  flu to pass before putting school back in session.

According to the U.S. Education Department there are at least 351 school that have made this move in the first weeks of October ( a number affecting at least 126,000 students across the country). This brings the number of schools that have taken this measure in the 2009-2010 school year to 600 across 19 states. Roughly 700 schools closed last spring in response to the first wave of the swine flu, this year the numbers are likely to be much higher. The flu season hasn’t reached its peak and the number of schools dealing with temporary closings is rising as time passes. With death rates that have already taken the lives of many children across the US the move is likely a sound one.

Canadian health officials are frustrated and angry over the reaction of many people to the H1N1 vaccine. Several myths have cropped up about risks and dangers associated with getting vaccinated that are common to people facing a pandemic. Among those myths is that the vaccine will give you the virus rather than protecting you from it. While in part there is some truth to this idea, there are always a small percentage of people that receive a vaccine who at least experience a mild version of the virus, it doesn’t mean that the virus in contracted in its strongest form as feared. Very few people that receive vaccine contract any part of the virus and those who do only experience mild symptoms that usually pass very quickly with little to no symptoms, hardly a reason to skip out on the vaccine versus facing the virus unprotected.

These sort of myths are typical of the seasonal flu vaccine and have long caused Canadians to have a much lower immunization rate as a country. Being well into the second round of the flu epidemic and having plenty of H1N1 vaccine available has done little to lead these people to get vaccinated. In a questionnaire 53% still say they’d rather not get the vaccine at all.

Do you remember how mothers got into the practice of exposing their children to other kids who had the chickenpox to evade the reported risk of adult chickenpox being potentially deadly?  Well now apparently mothers are repeating the practice, only this time it’s with the H1N1 flu virus. Believing that it’s best to expose and infect kids while the virus is milder and evade the myths about vaccination, these mothers could be putting their kids at risk.

These risks are particularly worrisome because H1N1 tends to targets teens and children and has already killed 1,000 adults and children in the U.S. alone. Flu is also highly unpredictable, what may appear mild at first could become more severe or what one child experiences as a mild flu may be a much worse one in another child. Each of us has differing reactions to flu as we all have our own immune systems with separate experiences of exposure to disease. Taking children to these swine flu parties isn’t that much different than playing Russian roulette with your kids’ life and health.

While there are many concerns about the vaccine against H1N1 and several myths as well it’s by far the better option for parents concerned about their child’s health. Not only are these parents risking their child’s heath but also the health of anyone, especially other children who come into contact with their child afterward. Why would you want to risk that?

Lead paint has been a source of concern since the EPA passed laws regulating its use and removal many years ago in 1978 and now it seems the EPA would like to broaden the area of regulation to further protect public health. In 2007 regulations were passed that asked contractors to wear and use special equipment in houses built before 1978 and keep pregnant women and small children from being exposed to the paint who lived in the home. The regulation demanded contractors to be trained and certified before they could remove paints that might be lead based.

Now the regulation is being expanded to include any home that was built before 1978 regardless of the age and condition of those who live in the home. The changes are likely to come through by April of next year. Lead exposure is a serious threat that can cause nervous system and brain disorders, hypertension and high blood pressure. Small children are at highest risk from exposure to the substance. The EPA hopes to further evaluate the risk of exposure from dust that contains the substance. They’ll also be talking with the Department of Housing and Urban Development about what defines lead based paint. Organizations like the National Center for Healthy Housing have petitioned the EPA to make such moves in the last few years citing the continued risk and health problems that continue to affect children despite the regulations.  While the older regulations have helped they still don’t do enough to protect children from this harmful substance. The coming changes are related to improving that.

The list of products targeted to an unsuspecting and panicked public is longer than you might think. Fake Tamiflu, air sterilizers, face masks, shampoos, immune system supplements and photon machines flood the net with promises to protect, and prevent infection all in the name of earning a fast buck. The wide spread scamming has prompted federal officials to send warning to more than 140 companies in the last weeks. And according to the FDA in light of the current issues with supply and demand there’s likely to be many victimized by these snake oil salesmen. The problem began just after it was announced that swine flu could become a potential epidemic rising at a rate of ten a day within a few days of the announcement and escalating to higher levels ever since.

Of these the most troublesome offenders are those marketing Tamiflu. When tested several varieties of this counterfeit drug were found to be Tylenol and talc and others contained small concentration of the real drug without drug sale approval for the U.S. Contamination, impurities, and potency are all major concerns as without regulation these drugs could make the user very ill or worse the same is true of so called miracle cures that contain silver and other ingredients that could be more damaging that the flu itself. While the FDA tries to remedy the problem its best to trust your doctor over drug and product adverts that make claims to market a product rather look out for your wellbeing and safety.