The Gift of Life

Since April 19th marks the beginning of National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness week I thought I'd provide some interesting stats to motivate everyone to become registered organ donors.

The Need

• In 2008 over 4,300 Canadians were waiting for a transplant of some kind. Of those people, 215 died before donor organs could be procured.
• Organs are donated in just 1.5 % of approximately 30,000 deaths recorded in Ontario hospitals each year

The Impact You Have

• Donate kidneys to free two people from dialysis treatment needed to sustain life.
• Save the lives of patients awaiting heart, liver, lung or pancreas transplants.
• Give sight to two people trough the donation of corneas.
• Donate bone to help repair injured joints or to help save an arm or leg threatened by cancer.
• Help burn victims heal more quickly through the donation of skin.
• Provide healthy heart valves for someone whose life is threatened by malfunctioning or diseased heart valves

*Just one donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 others!

Tanorexic?

With everyone trying to either get a 'base' for the tan they hope to build upon when they get to their holiday destination or keeping it up after their return, tanning beds appear to be more popular than ever.

It seems like the public health effort to educate people about the dangers of tanning has fallen on deaf ears (likely sunburned ones at that.)

According to a literature review in the American Journal of Health Behaviour, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. accounting for half of all cancers, with over a million new cases diagnosed annually. Ninety percent of these cancers are attributed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR).

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in 2003 that states that "consequences of regular sunbed use could include pain and suffering, early death and disfigurement, as well as substantial costs to national health systems for screening, treating and monitoring skin cancer patients."

Something to ponder the next time you're tempted to climb into the cancer coffin....

Regular Checkups-Continued!

Another area to save $

Optometrist

Unless you wear glasses or contact lenses, have a family history of degenerative eye disease, high blood pressure or diabetes annual checkups are unnecessary. If you’re not part of the previously mentioned categories and are under the age of 65 the American Academy of Opthamology recommends an eye exam once in your 20s, twice in your 30s, at age 40 and thereafter as needed!

Regular Checkups

With the current state of the economy many people are looking to save their hard-earned dollars. Healthcare is important and expensive, yet there are areas where you can be thrifty without adversely affecting your health.

Dentist

If you don't have have any chronic dental conditions such as gum disease, you really can get by on only one cleaning/scaling a year, if not less. If you're doing your job at home, i.e. regular brushing and DAILY flossing (yes, daily!) there is no perceptible difference to the trained eye between patients who have a cleaning every six months and those who do so annually. Although the dental hygienist is basically taught to guilt-trip you into coming in every six month by telling patients they have all sorts of 'build-up', believe me if you're flossing and brushing properly the hygienist really is bluffing. A recent review of dental studies from researchers at the University of North Carolina and in the UK confirms this by failing to establish an advantage in more frequents visits. The review couldn't detect a difference between getting a cleaning once every six months and once every TWO years!

Safe Travels

Spring break is upon us and many are jetting off to sunnier climes. Depending on your destination, a pit-stop at the travel health clinic may be necessary before you get to hear that sweet sound that is the final boarding call.

In preparation for a trip to Mexico I visited the Halton Region Health Department's Travel Clinic today. The nurse was very informative and provided me a with folder of information about my destination, associated health advisories, and suggested immunizations based on the potential health risks of the area.

For a visit to Mexico, the Hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for all travellers, Typhoid for those visiting rural areas, Hepatitis B for prolonged stays (most Ontarians under the age of 30 have already received the Hep B series in elementary school), and Rabies vaccine for those travelling to parts of Mexico that border Guatemala.

Happily, I only needed the Hep A vaccine and the nurse was able to administer it during the visit. Ideally, you should get your Hep A vaccine 10 days prior to travel to get immediate protection and follow up in six months with a booster to get lifetime protection.

On an interesting sidenote relating to yesterday's post about the Mumps vaccine, the nurse asked me whether I had received any immunizations within the last three months. When I mentioned that I had just received my MMR shot a couple days ago at school she exclaimed "Oh, so you were one of the SIX people who got it"....unbelievable! Guess the communication plan for the MMR vaccine effort needs some re-tooling.

If you'd like more information about travel updates and health advisories you can check out these links:

Foreign Affairs Canada

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/ctry/new-en.asp

Centres for Disease Control

http://www.cdc.gov/travel

World Health Organization

http://www.who.int/en/

Bon voyage!

Mumps

Not to be confused with the humorous lyrics of the Black Eyed Peas' song 'My Humps', mumps is definitely not a laughing matter.

I received my MMR (Measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine yesterday morning on campus, and was surprised to see I was the only person doing so. I thought I'd be waiting in line for quite some time, but I filled out the required paperwork, got the shot, and was back in my group meeting within five minutes!

There seems to be very little awareness of the importance of this vaccine in adulthood. Most people assume the standard issue MMR vaccine administered as an infant suffices for adequate protection. Keep on reading to learn more about mumps and the importance of a second vaccine in adulthood.

Q. What is mumps?

A. Mumps is a contagious viral illness that can have serious complications in young adults.

Q. What are the symptoms?

A. Fever, headache, muscle aches and pains, tiredness, loss of appetite; followed by parotitis (a painful swelling of one or both salivary glands) Parotitis may appear on one or both sides of the jaw and is often misidentified as an earache.

Q. What are the complications?

A. Mumps can cause meningitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord), orchitis (swelling of the testicles), oophoritis (swelling of the ovaries), mastitis (swelling of the breasts), pancreatitis and deafness. Spontaneous abortion can occur if mumps is contracted in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Q. How is mumps spread?

A. Mumps is highly contagious and it is recommended that an infected individual remain in isolation for nine days. Mumps is spread through direct contact with saliva from an infected person. It is also spread through droplets from coughs and sneezes that enter the nose or mouth. The virus can also survive on surfaces. Touching a surface contaminated with mumps and then touching your nose or mouth can result in infection.

If this information has convinced you of the need for the MMR vaccine there's still time to get it here on Sheridan's campus. The vaccination clinic will be operating tomorrow, Feb. 19, 2009 between the hours of 9am and 3pm and is located in front of the Learning Commons (next to the Tim Hortons). The vaccination is covered by OHIP (translation, it's free!)

Coffee lovers rejoice!

A recent study completed by the University of Kuoipo in Finland and published in the Journal of Alzheimer's disease suggests that middle-aged adults who regularly consume coffee may have a lower risk or developing dementia later in life.

The study found that among 1,400 Finnish adults followed for 20 years, those who drank three to five cups of coffee per day in middle-age were two-thirds less likely than non-drinkers to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

These findings add to a string of studies finding that coffee drinkers have lower risks of several diseases, including Parkinson's disease, certain cancers and diabetes.

There are a few reasons that why coffee could help stave off dementia, the researchers pointed out. One reason is related to the fact that coffee drinkers may have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and diabetes, in turn is linked to a higher risk of dementia.

Coffee also contains plant chemicals, such as chlorogenic acid, that act as antioxidants and may help protect body cells from damage over time. For its part, caffeine may have a protective effect on brain cells because it blocks receptors for a chemical called adenosine, which has depressant effects on the central nervous system.

Bottom line? If you love coffee, keep enjoying it without worry!

Coffee break!

A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health revealed that drinking coffee does not increase your risk of death and may actually have a beneficial effect on your heart.

The study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, followed more than 86,000 women for 24 years and 41,000 men for 18 years and found that coffee does not increase mortality rate. In fact, coffee may protect against heart disease and type 2 diabetes and it didn't matter if the beverage was caffeinated or decaffeinated.

Women enjoyed the most protection. Those who drank 4 to 5 cups a day, had a 26% lower rate of mortality from all causes to compared to women who drank no coffee. Even when they drank 2 to 3 cups a day, women still had a 17% less risk.

February is Heart Month

As February is Health Month read below to learn some important facts courtesy of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.

First of all, what is heart disease?

Heart disease is actually an umbrella term for a host of conditions affecting the structure and functions of the heart and has a multitude of causes. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most commons of these conditions and occurs when the blood vessels in the heart become either clogged or narrowed, preventing oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart. It can cause the chest pain known as angina or even heart attack.

Below is comprehensive list of heart conditions:
-Angina
-Arrhythmia
-Artherosclerosis
-Cardiomyopathy
-Congenital heart disease
-Congestive heart failure
-Coronary artery disease
-Heart attack
-Heart block
-Infective (bacterial) endocarditis
-Kawasaki disease
-Long Q-T syndrome
-Marfan syndrome
-Pericarditis
-Rheumatic heart disease
-Valve disorders

Happily heart disease is typically preventable and manageable as it is strongly correlated to lifestyle factors. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, stress, excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and being overweight.

Finally!

After struggling for some time trying to determining the focus of this blog I think I've finally figured it out. A topic which affects everyone is health, -whether it's the latest medical research, nutrition or exercise findings. Stay connected for the latest health news!

uploading a pic

giving this a try

First Post

Hello, I've really not got much to say right now. Check back later.