Monday 29 February 2016

Natural remedy for Burns>>>>

Image result for pics of a minor burn         Burns are damages to the layers of the skin caused by fire, radiation from sunlight. Burns fall into three categories which can be classified according the degree of the damage. They are known as first, second and third degree burn.
First degree burn>>>>They are minor burns that affect the outer layer of the skin, often marked by the reddening of the skin.
Second degree burn>>>>>These degree of burn causes blisters due to the damaged tissue and it goes beyond the epidermis.
Third degree burn>>>>All the layers of the skin are affected. The affected area in the skin is usually white due to the loss of pigment cells.

First and second degree burn can easily be treated with home remedy but the third degree burn is usually serious and may require the attention of the doctor.
        
 Remedy for Burns>>>>>>>Place the affected part under a running water or dipping it in cold water for about ten to fifteen minutes to prevent the heat from causing further damage. Depending on the site of the injury, remove the clothing and apply ointment on it. Many people prefer rubbing groundnut oil on the surface of the affected part.

Aloe Vera>>>>The gel with a soothing and cooling properties is used by many homes for treating minor burns (eg sun burn). After running the affected area under water, then apply the Aloe Vera gel on it

Honey>>>>>>It's  antibiotic properties can help prevent infection and it also has a cooling property that can sooth the affected area.

Egg Whites >>>>> Not a popular one but many have attested to  treatment of burn using egg white. Simply separate the yolk from a couple eggs, and soak the burn in the egg whites.

Olive Oil >>>>>This is also use by many to treat minor burn. Applying it on the surface of the affected area will help to dry it.

Zika disease can cause stillbirth>>>>>

Image result for pics of zika virus
Having established the relationship between Zika disease and birth defect, the recent case study described in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases adds to the level of concern.
According to researchers, a case of stillbirth that involve a Brazilian mother, infected with Zika diseas raises suspicions that the virus may be capable of doing more damage to fetal tissue than previously thought.
 The study reveals absence of the baby's brain, according to the research,The brain was covered with fluid instead of brain tissue. The baby also had abnormal pools of fluid in other parts of its body. 

The World Health Organization have declared Zika a global health emergency and estimated the disease could eventually affect as many as 4 million people in the Americas and may spread to parts of Africa and Asia, while stating that the only way of avoiding the disease is to avoid the vector. 

Stillbirth  is when a baby is born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy. 

The study was led by Yale University tropical disease expert Dr. Albert Ko along with Dr. Antonio Raimundo de Almeida of Roberto Santos General Hospital in Salvador, Brazil. 

According to KO, it is hard generalize since the case study was carried out using details of just one individual patient, however,
  they are unusual. In addition to microcephaly, he noted that the fetus had no brain tissue left. "It was just fluid."
Fluid also filled the lungs, abdomen and other tissues.

These resulted from a condition known as hydrops fetalis in which the fetus loses the ability to manage body fluids. 
The fetus also had arthrogryposis, a condition in which joints don't move normally and may be stuck in place. He calls for further research to verify the relationship between Zika and hydrop fetalis. 

The fact that around 73% of Zika infections do not produce symptoms compounds the problem. It is almost impossible to trace through a population; as the authors say, only future studies can confirm this new finding.

source: medical news today



A boy of ten attempts sucide>>>>>>


Attempt of suicide - stock photoExperts said they were shocked by the suicide attempt by a 10-year-old boy A Northern Cape community Experts say that children who attempt suicide may be battling with anxiety and an inability to cope with certain situations. According to the report, the youngster who was an orphan being cared for by a guardian, tried to kill himself a week after he returned to school this year. Ever since the parents died, the child has not coping well, according to the guardian.  

He often talks to the grandmother about suicide. Expert says that A child who is suicidal needs to be referred to a doctor or a health care professional for evaluation and needs to be engaged in therapy where they can taught coping mechanisms. 

A Northern Cape social worker Douglas Tafereyi said cases of childhood suicide are rarely reported, especially when the attempt is unsuccessful. 
Tafereyi suggested that most of the parents respond very negatively towards the attempt. They will beat the child and others will treat the matter as witchcraft and consult with traditional health practitioner.

Psychiatrist Dr Helen Clarke, head of the Children, Adolescent and Family Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital says South African children are living in chaos and are not coping. According to her, they are growing up in stressed out and distressed family units and in communities in conflict. she also pointed out the country’s high incidence of HIV-related deaths, road fatalities and murder, also means they are exposed to death from an early age.

For children under the age of 10, attempted suicide is not usually caused by depression but more likely to a situation they can’t cope with and is often coupled with high anxiety, says Clarke. Her youngest suicidal patient was aged 6.
Clarke says children who lose parents or grandparents who care for them often feel that if they die, they will join their loved ones and that a lot of the pain and suffering will end.
She stated that often an attempted suicide comes as a complete shock to parents and care givers: “Our children are living in absolute chaos and stress and  urges parents and caregivers to not react angrily to a suicide attempt. "Parents are unaware of their children’s emotional state so it’s usually a big shock.”
She said...


Source: http://www.health-e.org.za

Sunday 28 February 2016

Abuja: 13 people died of food poisioning>>>>>

Image result for pics of abuja hospitalAccording to the report in Abuja, Rilwanu Muhammad, the Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Health Care Development Board has stated that 13 people died while 10 others had survived the contamination by clostridium perfringes. He told the news men on Friday. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Muhammad said that the disease broke out on Feb. 18 in Saburi community, Gwagwa ward of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). 

The board had earlier suspected typhoid fever or shigella dysentery as the cause of the mysterious deaths in the community but has identified the real cause through a blood sampling test they carried out on the infected person by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
They also conducted a sampling test on the water from the well as wall as three boreholes, however, the result showed the presence of a bacterium known as  clostridium perfringes.

He said clostridium perfringes is a bacterium which occurs in the soil, contaminates food and the intestinal track of human beings.
 He pointed out that the bacterium causes food poisoning and the incubation period is between four and 24 hours.

"The bacteria tend to cause fever, abdominal pains and diarrhoea.
"Clostridium has a lot of toxin, that is why it easily causes a lot of death, especially to the malnourished people," he said. he has assured that the board in conjunction with the FCT Department of Public Health, had brought the outbreak under control. he also revealed that the  affected persons have being provided with drugs. 

Mr. Muhammad stated to the News men that  board had embarked on massive health education in the community to enlighten people on sanitation and the need for personal hygiene as a lasting solution to the problem while urging AMAC and FCT Administration to provide safe and clean water for the community.









Saturday 27 February 2016

DR. LABARAN: 20 CHILDREN DIED OF MEASLES IN SOKOTO>>>>>

>>>>>>>>Twenty children are said to have died from measles out of over 300 cases of the disease recorded in Sokoto, according to the Executive Secretary of the state's Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Sani Labaran.
Vaccination image 
 He noted that the death of the children occurred in the past three weeks and it affected 18 out of the 23 local government areas of the state were affected but has assured that the situation had been brought under control as adequate drugs had been distributed and patients were receiving treatment in various health facilities.

 Dr. Labaran, while stressing on the importance of immunization, proper nourishment of the children and good hygiene practices, noted that  most of the children afflicted with the disease were those whose parents rejected immunization against measles in the past three years. 

According to a report in Daily Trust, Dr. Labaran revealed plans to purchase solar-powered refrigerators for primary healthcare centers in the state to ensure maintenance of the vaccines' efficacy.

The Lagos State government also recently confirmed the death of over 17 children from measles.




Friday 26 February 2016

Liberia: Ebola survivors faced with complicated health issues>>>>>

A research carried out by Partnership for Research on Ebola in Liberia (PREVAIL) has revealed that Ebola survivors  faced with complicated health issues.  PREVAIL has embarked on a five - year study of Ebola survivors and close associates. 

According to the study which was presented at the major scientific conference in the United States, the team stated that in less than one year, much have been learned about the long term health problem that can affect more than 15,000 Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors in West Africa infected during the 2014-2015 outbreak. 
Top of the list of the complications diagnosed in the survivors in more than a year after the recovery of Ebola disease are eye complications, muscle and joint troubles, and neurological issues. 

The group also said,
Image result for pics of ebola survivor"Moreover, among more than 100 contacts who reported sexual activity with a survivor during convalescence, most did not use condoms regularly."
 These and other preliminary study findings were presented in Boston by the principal investigator of the study, Mosoka P. Fallah of the Liberian Ministry of Health.

 Dr. Fallah, comparing the findings from the study, pointed out that the medical problems are Ebola-specific and that the team is also carrying out blood samples test for anti-Ebola antibodies, a sign of past Ebola infection, also to see where and how long survivors can harbor remnants of the Ebola virus. 


Source: http://allafrica.com.

THE POWER OF WEALTH>>>>

Image result for pics of a pastor praying>>>>>One day, a rich man was very sick that he could not get up from the bed, so the wife decided to call a pastor to pray for him. The pastor before praying, asked him some questions. Among the questions the pastor asked him were: 

Pastor: Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savoir?
The rich: yes of course.

 The pastor then quote a Bible verse that says without him, everything we have labored for is vanity. The immediately jumped up and said 'who'.....pastor who do you mean? 
That i have acquired all my wealth in vain. He was very furious that told pastor to leave his house if it is like this. But pastor then said peace be unto them and left.

Thursday 25 February 2016

MERCURY IN FISH: A GROWING CONCERN FOR PREGNANT MOTHERS>>>>

Fishes contain a lot of nutrients that are good for the developing Image result for pics of processed fishesfetus which is the reason why pregnant women should consume more servings, however, according to researchers, pregnant mothers should be cautious as Mercury found in nearly all the fishes has a detrimental effect.

In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advised that  pregnant women should eat 8 to 12 ounces of a variety of fish each week from choices that are lower in mercury, while also recommending the fishes to avoid such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish due to high levels of mercury.

Image result for pics of fishes dish The nutritional value of fish is important during growth and development before birth, in early infancy for breastfed infants, and in childhood. Researchers also have it that eating fish during pregnancy can contribute to healthy brain development in the fetus by providing omega-3 oils.

 However, results from the latest study yielded little evidence of harm in newborns whose mothers consumed low amounts of fish and who had low exposure to mercury. This is contained in a study led by Kim Yolton, PhD, from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, published in the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology. 

The researchers measured gestational mercury exposure through maternal blood and infant umbilical cord blood. They also collected information on maternal fish intake and estimated consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acid based on type and amount of fish the pregnant women ate.
Although infants with higher prenatal mercury exposure showed asymmetric reflexes, after the researchers took fish consumption into account, they found that the infants whose mothers consumed more fish displayed better attention.
According to Yolton on their findings, the better neurobehavioral performance observed in infants with higher mercury biomarkers should not be interpreted as a beneficial effect of mercury exposure, which is clearly neurotoxic. Also according to a research  published online by JAMA Pediatrics, mothers  who eat a lot of fish during pregnancy may be putting their child at risk of rapid growth and obesity.
It has been reported that babies exposed to mercury in the womb can have brain damage and hearing and vision problems.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and also on the lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
According to the FDA, nearly all fish contain at least traces of mercury because as they feed, they absorb it. Mercury typically builds up more in certain types of fish, particularly in larger fish with longer life spans.


Sources: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
              http://www.fda.gov