How do you know when swine flu has turned serious? Today, doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained what flu warning signs warrant urgent medical attention.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, the C.D.C.’s interim deputy director for science and public health, said that in the United States, 507 people have been hospitalized because of swine flu. She noted that people over 55 account for only 1 percent of cases, and 62 percent of the people getting sick are from 5 to 24 years old.

In adults, serious warning signs include:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen.
• Persistent vomiting.
• Sudden dizziness.
• Confusion.
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

Another serious worry in both adults and children is when a patient seems to improve but then takes a turn for the worse and develops a cough. read the full article

Click here for updates on H1N1 flu that pertain to Wesleyan

“Wash your hands when you shake hands; cover your mouth when you cough,” President Obama urged us at last Wednesday’s news conference when discussing the swine flu. “I know it sounds trivial, but it makes a huge difference. If you are sick, stay home. If your child is sick, keep them out of school. If you are feeling certain flu symptoms, don’t get on an airplane, don’t get on a — any system of public transportation where you’re confined and you could potentially spread the virus.” Is such modest, homespun advice merely good manners, or is it a moral injunction?

This guidance rises to the level of ethics because it concerns the effect of our actions on other people. Etiquette codifies behavior that is merely a matter of form and hence apt to have a trivial impact on others. Whether or not to rob a guy? Ethics. Whether or not to curtsey after robbing a guy? Etiquette. Similarly, the old-school demand that a man on a bus surrender his seat to a woman — any woman, no matter how robust — is etiquette, a social convention (and a sexist one at that). A better approach is for a seated passenger, man or woman, to offer a seat to anyone in need, regardless of gender — a frail older man, a very pregnant woman, a weary Joe Biden (should he muster his courage and return to public transportation). This is ethics (albeit small-scale ethics): an effort to assist those who need it.

And so is Obama’s hand-washing recommendation, echoing the wise counsel that our parents gave us when we were children and that Ignaz Semmelweis gave to medical students in the maternity clinic at the Vienna General Hospital in 1847. It is an ethical imperative, meant to mitigate the harm we might do to others. That hand-washing also diminishes your own chance of becoming ill makes it more desirable, though it does not further elevate the moral status of the act. In ethics, intent counts; the reason why you wash your hands matters. (That’s not to deny, of course, the virtue of sparing the community the costs of your infirmity — medical care, missed work — a rationale sometimes used to justify seatbelt or helmet laws.)

Those presidential dictates, while fundamentally ethical, are not universally applicable. Some employees, particularly low-wage workers, risk losing pay or even getting fired if they stay home from work to avoid infecting their coworkers. If we expect individuals to act ethically, we have a societal obligation to protect them when they do — for instance, by guaranteeing paid sick days to all.

Another argument for a community response, for the practice of civic virtue: even if someone displays impressive individual rectitude, he may still unknowingly infect other people with swine flu (or, if you prefer a more pork-chop-friendly designation, the H1N1 virus). Dr. Michele Barry, the dean of Global Health at Stanford University, says, “You may not be aware you are transmitting it early on.” People can be contagious for as long as six days before displaying any symptoms — and, she adds, “longer in kids and immuno-compromised folks.”

Some healthy people have taken aggressively individualistic action, asking a friend or relative who is a doctor for prescriptions for Tamiflu, an antiviral medication, to keep around the house just in case. To make such a request is unwise, to honor it unethical. In most cases, doctors “should certainly not be in the business of writing prescriptions for those they have neither examined nor taken a medical history” from, says Dr. Tia Powell, who is the director of the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics. And while it can be awkward for a doctor to turn down the aunt who will host the family’s next Thanksgiving dinner, that is what medical ethics requires (as I discussed in “The Ethicist” in 2005, responding to a query about avian flu).

A healthy person should not ask such a thing even of his or her own physician. To hoard antiviral medications can make them unavailable to those in immediate need. Temporary local shortages have been reported from New York to Honolulu. Even if there were unlimited supplies of antiviral agents, Barry would caution against their prophylactic use, except by people traveling to the center of the epidemic, because using such medications improperly can breed Tamiflu-resistant strains of the virus.

Thus some individual actions, like the presidentially endorsed washing of hands, are genuinely ethical, while others, like stocking up on antiviral medications, are not. Each must be judged on its merits. What’s more, universally esteemed acts do not obviate the need for community actions. And even those we deem outside the realm of ethics, that we consider to be matters of etiquette, can still be valuable social lubricants. Samuel Johnson was a great defender of politeness, calling it “fictitious benevolence” and asserting that “the want of it never fails to produce something disagreeable.”

Fall and winter in New England bring many pleasures; colds and flu are not one of them. Fortunately there are many ways to help prevent getting sick this season, as well as many ways to treat yourself naturally if you do become sick. 

During this talk we will focus on ways you can optimize your immune system and overall health so that you are less susceptible (and feeling more optimal health and energy!). Some of the ways we can accomplish this are:

• Healthy Nutrition
• Stress Reduction Techniques 
• Exercise
• Proper Amount of Sleep 
• Using Nutrients/Supplements when needed 
• Using Herbs when needed 
• Using Homeopathy when needed 

We will also have time for a Q & A session on any topic you are interested in Natural Health and Wellness. 

Date: Wednesday, November 19
Time: 4:30pm
Location: PAC 001 

Sponsored by WesWELL, the Office of Health Education

Wesleyan Students: Contact Health Services at 860.685.2470 to set up your appointment during the academic year to ensure you have the vaccines you need, especially if you plan to study abroad.

 People can be forgiven for wondering what difference it makes how we kill microorganisms. After all, soap or bleach kills bacteria, and so does penicillin. So why does it matter exactly how you kill them?

It does matter, and the reason for the consequences of killing bacteria with penicillin or killing them with Ivory has to do with evolution. Furthermore, I suspect that part of the confusion in the mind of the public lies in the use of euphemisms like “develop” and “change through time,” rather than what we really mean, which is evolve.

Bacteria don’t “develop” resistance, as if it were a muscle nurtured by going to a microbial gym. read full article…

Check out information about Infection Control at Wes.

Despite your best efforts to remain in good health, you are bound to get sick at some point. You are human, after all. When that dark day does come, some people stay in bed. Others, however, attempt to train anyway, which begs the question – is it okay to train while you are sick?

The first consideration should be courtesy and public safety. If you belong to a public gym, it would probably be a good idea not to work out, as you are putting your unknowing fellow patrons at risk of getting sick. Courtesy and safety aside, you must assess yourself – where are your symptoms located? If they are above the neck – runny nose, sinus problems, sore throat, etc. Then, exercising may prove beneficial, as it can clear the sinuses and increase blood circulation.

If your symptoms are below the neck – body aching, diarrhea or nausea for example, stay in bed. Symptoms below the neck can indicate a nastier virus – like the flu – which is hard on the immune system. You should never exercise if you have an infection. The addition of exercise makes it worse, as your body needs to use the energy to fight the infection.

Also be mindful of your temperature. If you have a fever, the above the neck rules are null and void – do not train. Your temperature is already elevated due to having the fever, and exercising will only raise it more. Not good.

Remember to exercise caution and courtesy when you are sick. You don’t want to make your situation worse, nor do you want to take anyone else of the action.

Q: Can I get a yeast infection from my girlfriend? I thought only women got yeast infections.

 A: It’s possible for a man to contract a genital yeast infection if he has unprotected sexual intercourse with a partner who has a genital yeast infection. However, just because your girlfriend has a yeast infection doesn’t mean you will get one too. Sexual transmission of yeast infections is uncommon.

Many people are under the impression that only women get genital yeast infections, but men get them too. Prolonged antibiotic use increases the risk of a yeast infection. Also, men with diabetes or impaired immune systems, such as those with HIV, are more susceptible to yeast infections.

Signs and symptoms of a male yeast infection include a reddish rash, itching or burning at the tip of the penis. Fortunately, most male yeast infections are easily treated with an over-the-counter antifungal treatment, such as Monistat (yes, men can use it too). Apply the medication directly to the affected skin twice daily for a week. If the rash doesn’t go away, or if it recurs frequently, consult your doctor.

If you and your partner have symptoms of genital yeast infection, it’s important that you both be treated. Otherwise, you may keep reinfecting each other. Also, it’s generally recommended that you refrain from sexual contact until all signs and symptoms of the infection are gone.

Perspective by Tadataka Yamada, M.D.

The recent failure of another potential vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) underscores the enormous challenges of tackling diseases whose heaviest burden falls on the developing world. A quarter of a century after the first report of AIDS, our knowledge about how an HIV vaccine might work is still distressingly limited. It seems clear that neither current dogma nor traditional thinking is likely to get us to the next step. Truly creative ideas will be required. I must confess to having learned the hard way that embracing new thinking, as difficult as it may be, is crucial for the advancement of science and medicine.

As a gastroenterologist, I was one of the many who believed as gospel truth that peptic ulcers were caused by gastric acid. When two scientists from Australia came along and argued that it was actually a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, that produced ulcers, those of us in the “Acid Mafia” rejected their claims out of hand. But Robin Warren and Barry Marshall persisted. Marshall even drank a solution of H. pylori, became ill, took antibiotics, recovered, and wrote a paper about it, just to get others in the field to pay attention. You know the ending to this story — these scientists were proved right and went on to win a Nobel Prize in 2005.

New ideas should not have to battle so hard for oxygen. Unfortunately, they must often do so. Even if we recognize the need to embrace new thinking — because one never knows when a totally radical idea can help us tackle a problem from a completely different angle — it takes humility to let go of old concepts and familiar methods. We have seemed to lack such humility in the field of global health, where the projects related to diseases, such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, that get the most funding tend to reflect consensus views, avoid controversy, and have a high probability of success, if “success” is defined as the production of a meaningful but limited increase in knowledge. As a result, we gamble that a relatively small number of ideas will solve the world’s greatest global health challenges. That’s not a bet we can afford to continue making for much longer.

^{read full article…}

Millions of Americans took the advice to get a flu shot this season, but many are still becoming infected with the flu. This flu season is lasting longer than initially expected and has introduced unforeseen new strains of the virus, making other flu prevention steps even more important. Today, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and The Clorox Company launched the inFLUenza Resource Center, an online resource with tips and tools needed to help protect families and help prevent the spread of the flu virus.

“While it is important to get vaccinated to protect yourself from contracting influenza, there are many common sense actions you can take to help protect your family and help prevent the spread of the flu virus,” stated Shelley Ludwick, Clinical Director of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America. “Our new inFLUenza Resource Center includes easy tips to help you protect your family.”

read full article…

Visit WesWELL’s Cold & Flu Prevention website.
Check out the online Self Care Guide for treatment suggestions.

A recent study from Pennsylvania State University of children (2 and older) with colds found that a teaspoon of honey at bedtime worked better than a cough suppressant (artificially honey-flavored) or no treatment. Never give honey to infants less than a year old, however, since it may contain botulism spores, which can be fatal to babies. Some researchers theorize that any sweet liquid preparation may help reduce coughing.

And if you drink tea, the Wellness Letter also reports that adding lemon helps preserve tea’s antioxidants, according to a study from Purdue University. Tea – particularly green tea – is rich in catechins, antioxidants linked to reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. When researchers looked at the effects of milk, citrus juices and other added ingredients on catechin levels in tea during simulated digestion, they found that lemon juice preserved nearly 80% of the catechins. Normally, these substances are fairly unstable and most break down before the body can absorb them.