Month: September 2009

Categories
Pediatric

Feeders May Affect Your Baby’s Health

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Giving a bottle of milk to a baby in the cot is an easy way for working mothers to put their child to sleep and complete their official  and household chores.
However, the next time you plan to purchase a feeder for your baby, think twice as it may cause your child an infection.

Dr Daljeet Singh, principal and paediatrician at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), said, “There is no need to give feeders or sippers to infants as they are the main carriers of infections. Breast feeding is important for a child till six months. A child should be fed semi-solid foods after that.”

He advised the use of wider mediums like a saucer, glass and cup etc for feeding as there was less scope for infection to be transmitted.

“Feeders have narrow space and sometimes they are not sterilized properly. This may lead to infections. It is best to use a spoon and saucer to keep infections at bay,” he added.

Dr Ashwani Singal, consultant and neonatologist at Apollo Hospital said, “There is no need to use feeders and I tell my patients to avoid using it. A child must be breast-fed for at least six months.”
He said it had been observed that those children who used feeders had 20 times higher risk of getting diarrohea, pneumonia, ear infections and allergies.

He said, “Working mothers can store their breast milk for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. This can be given to the child with a spoon and saucer.”

Talking on similar lines, Dr Rajinder Gulati, president of the Indian Academy of Paediatricians, Punjab, said, “Infants must be breast-fed for up to 6 months or one year.”

Discussing the issue, Gauri Sharma, a mother said, “My son was prone to carry infections. He used to suffer from diarrhoea every three months. Things have become better after I stopped feeding him through bottles.”

Source:   The Times Of India

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Categories
Featured

Contraception Myths

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A UK survey has revealed that myths about contraception may be widespread.

One in five women said they had heard of kitchen items, including bread, cling film and even chicken skin, being used as alternative barrier methods.

Others had heard food items such as kebabs, Coca-cola or crisps could be used as oral contraceptives.

The survey questioned 1,000 women aged 18 to 50 and was carried out by market research company Opinion Health, sponsored by Bayer Schering Pharma.

Contraceptive myths have been around for thousands of years.

Ancient methods have varied from crocodile dung and honey before sex, to sea sponges and beeswax after.

Perhaps the most intoxicating was alcohol made from stewed beaver’s testicles.

However, it seems that a variety of unsafe and unproven methods might still exist in modern Britain.

Dr Annie Evans, Women’s Health Specialist at the Bristol Sexual Health Centre, said: “It is not surprising, given that Britain continues to have the highest unintended pregnancy rate in Europe.”

Alarming
Other myths surround the use of oral contraceptive pills. One in 10 of the women questioned believed that it always takes a number of years to regain fertility after discontinuation of the pill. Others believed that the pill could protect them against HIV.

Professor Steve Field, Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, commented: “This is alarming but not surprising.

“I’ve had complications with patients over the years that have concerned me.

“The more we can put appropriate information to the public about the availability of different methods of contraception, about their advantages and disadvantages, the better.

“It is important that access to advice is made as easily as possible for all ages.”

MYTHS THAT STILL EXIST
*Chicken skin and cling film as barrier methods

*Kebabs, crisps and chocolate as oral contraceptives
The pill as protection against HIV
Source: Bayer Schering Pharma

Yopu may also click to see:-
>’We want real contraceptive choices’
>Survey shows contraception myths
>NHS in contraception switch call
>BBC Health – Contraception

Source: BBC NEWS:5th. Sept.2009

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Featured

Large Thighs ‘May Protect Heart’

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Men and women with thighs over 60cm (23.6in) in circumference have a lower risk of heart disease and early death, a study of 3,000 people suggests.

…………Click to see tge picture.
The relationship remains even when body fat, smoking and blood cholesterol are taken into account, a Danish team says.

Those with narrow thighs may not have enough muscle mass to deal with insulin properly, raising the risk of diabetes and, in turn, heart disease, they say.

Experts cautioned that the research needed corroborating.

Some said it was too early to change current advice on eating and exercise for heart health, but the researchers said thigh size could be used as a marker for at-risk patients.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, followed men and women in Denmark for more than 10 years.

They were measured for height, weight and thigh, hip and waist circumference and their overall percentage of body fat was calculated.

The thigh measurement was taken just below the gluteal fold, which is the crease caused by your buttocks.

” It’s a very simple, very crude measure but it seems to have an individual effect. And it may be a way for doctors to assess risk ”  Says Professor Berit Heitmann  of  Copenhagen University Hospital
.
Researchers also looked at the activity levels of the participants, whether they smoked, their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

They then monitored incidence of heart disease over 10 years and death rates over 12-and-a-half years.

‘Crude measure’
During this time, 257 men and 155 women died, 263 men and 140 women developed cardiovascular disease and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease.

The team at the Copenhagen University Hospital found that those with the smallest thighs – below 55cm – had twice the risk of early death or serious health problems.

Professor Berit Heitmann, who led the research, said: “The increased risk was independent of abdominal and general obesity and lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure.

“Additionally we found that the risk was more highly related to thigh circumference than to waist circumference.

It’s a very simple, very crude measure but it seems to have an individual effect. And it may be a way for doctors to assess risk.

“The nice thing is that if you have a small thigh you can do something about it through exercise.”

Previous studies have suggested that a waist circumference of over 35in (88.9cm) for a woman and 40in (101.6cm) for a man indicated a high risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

Professor Heitmann’s team says the risk of narrow thighs could be associated with too little muscle mass.

They say this can lead to the body not responding to insulin properly, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and, in the long-run, heart disease.

Too little fat can also lead to adverse changes in the way the body breaks down food.

‘Great news’
British Heart Foundation senior cardiac nurse Judy O’Sullivan said: “There is insufficient evidence to confirm that a low thigh circumference affects a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

“However, low muscle mass is associated with low levels of physical activity which is an established risk factor for developing heart disease.”

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, agreed that the research needed further corroboration, saying: “This is a very interesting and slightly counter-intuitive piece of work but it has to be respected because of the numbers looked at and the duration of the research.

“This must be great news for people with larger thighs. What I find fascinating is that researchers are now going back to the drawing board and looking for every possible way of mitigating obesity.”

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR THIGHS
*Go to a gym and train three times a week
*Exercise all the muscles in your thighs
*Use a weight you can only just lift 10 times in a row
*Over 3 months you will increase thighs by 6% to 10%
Source: Loughborough University

Source: BBC NEWS:Sept.4.2009

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News on Health & Science

Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease

A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.
swine flu jab.swine flu jab.jpg-1
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

•More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
•The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
•The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
•The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected
Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.

Source: The Daily Mail August 15, 2009

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Healthy Tips

Places Where Germs Love to Lurk in Your Home

1. TV remote
TV REMOTE
Many people watch TV while they absent-mindedly chew their fingernails, snack on food and flip through channels, leaving all kinds of bacteria on the remote. Make sure to sanitize the remote control regularly to prevent sickness.

2. Tub and shower

Artweger-Twinline-Tube-Shower

Your bathtub may have 100 times more bacteria than the trash can, according to an in-home bacteria study conducted by the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community. The Hygiene Council recommends that showers and tubs be disinfected twice a week to get rid of dead skin cells left in the tub that can carry germs too.

3. Pet food dish
Pet food dish
Most pet food dishes stay on the floor and do not get washed regularly.

4. Kitchen cloths and sponges
Kitchen cloths and sponges
People frequently use sponges or cloths to wipe germs from surfaces in the kitchen. As a result, 70 percent of kitchen sponges in U.S. homes failed the hygiene test by having high levels of bacteria, according to the Hygiene Council. The council recommends running sponges through the dishwasher regularly and washing kitchen cloths on the hot cycle in the washing machine.

5. Microwave touch screen
Microwave touch screen
This spot is notorious for not getting cleaned. Even though the food comes out cooked, the germs that can make you sick are left on the outside of the microwave for the next person to touch. It is important to wipe down the touch screen regularly, especially after cooking raw meat.

6. Light switches
Light switches
Touching the light switch is practically unavoidable, but keeping it clean is not. The bathroom light switch can have as many germs as the trash bin. Disinfect light switches twice a week, or every day if a member of your household is sick.

7. Baby changing table
changing-table-baby
During diaper changes, the baby wipes container, the diaper packaging, the trash can and anything around the changing area get contaminated with bacteria through touching after handling a dirty diaper. The baby changing table area should be cleaned often.

8. Kitchen faucets

Kitchen faucets
Typically people wash their hands after handling raw meat in the kitchen, but they touch the faucet to turn on the water and do not think about the bacteria that they leave. The Hygiene Council found more than half of faucets in American homes are covered in bacteria.

Sources: Chicago Tribune August 16, 2009

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