BBC Documentary about those little buggers that can kill us. Highly recommended!
BBC Documentary about those little buggers that can kill us. Highly recommended!
I get the flu almost each year and I get it badly. Usually when I get a flu shot I don’t get – or at least not as bad. When I forget the vaccination I am always close to getting hospitalized, because the flu really knocks me down.
Modern Medicine is not perfect, but preferable over NO medicine at all. Vaccinations do help – people should stop their often irrational resistance, because at the end of the day they will run to their doctors and get treatment when it’s already to late …
The flu is virus we will battle for a long time and vaccinations are helping you to fight it BETTER.
UPDATE (after I got some flak):
Let me rephrase my point. The flu – or any – vaccination is "risky" by it’s very definition – it’s an weakened or even live form of the bacteria or virus. This is meant as a training exercise for your bodies anti-immune system to build anti-bodies for that particular bug.
Basically the process is designed to make you "mini-sick", so you can form anti-bodies. (I know that vaccinations are bit more complex than that.)
This is of course "risky" – just as getting the flu is "risky" as well. but doing nothing is also "risky".
The question is: Is a calculated and controlled risk better than facing the chance of the full impact of the flu?
We all do not react the same to a "medicine" and our bodies often contain many chemical (either induced willingly like alcohol, drugs or certain) that can cause unexpected and bad reactions.
But I think that the small risk of a vaccination outweighs the negative risk of side effects or the full impact of the flu.
Click image for a larger view.
This is a great a advertising idea for tooth paste: tell the consumer to brush his teeth after consuming a sweetie.
More health tips should be advertised in this way.
Why do so many people have problems with sleep? Insomnia and other sleep problems seem on the rise. A whole industry is dedicated to delivering sleeping solutions ranging from specialized mattresses, medication, sleep laps and consultation.
Is it our modern lifestyle that drives us so mad that we can’t come down and have a proper sleep? Or do we simply lack the physical workout to make us really tired? Too much coffee? Too much sugar? Too much excitement, TV and computer games to the last second before we try to enter dreamland?
It is amazing that the US spends the most on – but ranks only 34th in international in health care.
Even more amazing is that so called pro-live and Jesus followers so vehemently fight against universal health care. Sure it’s only a small group – and it has been whipped into madness by corporate interest: first Fox News who needs that crowd and a few sleazy health care firms who see their HUGE profits slipping.
But most of all I am disappointed by so called blue collar Americans – they stay mostly silent. They should protest, roam the streets, disrupt Republican town hall meetings and call their Members of Congress. Instead they silently suffer and don’t fight for their health care. The huge numbers of uninsured people don’t stand up for their own interest. Sad.
But Obama and the Democrats also failed to deliver a smart campaign and show some balls pushing it all through. They haven’t learned anything from the Bush years.
So I am afraid that much potential for "change" will be squandered and thousands will suffer from lack of health care.
The western cult of Hygiene has made some strange twists and turns. The Romans had public baths and a highly developed culture around cleaning and grooming themselves.
In the Middle Ages Europe somehow lost it’s cleanliness, although bathing houses were still around.
With the industrial revolution and medical science cleanliness was back in town. Especially the discovery of germs and the resulting insights lead to a whole new industry producing detergents, soaps and cleanings products.
But cleanliness has become a hysteria for many modern housewives. But sterile environments are also bad for us: our immune systems need dirt to train and harden itself.
In a strange twist we get sick from being to feeble to battle of the very germs we try to clean away.
We humans are sometimes very stupid.
BBC News: Women ‘fight off disease better’
So we guys are indeed poor little bunnies, need a lot of care and medicine to get back to full macho power:
Men really do have an excuse for supposedly being wimpy about coughs and colds – their immune systems are not as strong as women’s, research suggests.
A Canadian study indicates that the female sex hormone oestrogen gives women’s immune systems added bite at fighting off infection.
Oestrogen seems to counter an enzyme which blocks the inflammatory process.
Doctors don’t know everything about health – and often lead very stressful and unhealthy lives. Hardly good role models to follow.
Plus it’s your body that heals itself – most medicine just supports your own health system. So be responsible and keep yourself in good shape, don’t expect someone else to offer a quick fix for years of abuse of your own "temple".
And you should never trust just one doctors opinion when it comes to important decisions like operations. Visit at least another expert – if you can afford it …
The health system is mostly about keeping the system happy and running – not making you healthy.
BBC News: India battles diabetes ‘epidemic’
It’s ironic: finally many nations can feed their masses and develop a "healthy" middle class segment in their societies.
But with more food also come more problems. Many developing suddenly face problems like obesity, heart attacks and diabetes.
Especially junk food proves to be as devastating in these developing nations as it is in rich ones.
Why doesn’t the US media keep repeating that McCain’s health record has not been completely disclosed to the public? If his cancer come back he will be so sick that Sarah Palin has to take over.
The Red Cross has become the modern symbol for help in times of need. Especially in wartime the Red Cross simply tries to help, no matter how is in need.
I am still fascinated that the Red Cross still is a voluntary and PRIVATE organization, who does not rely on governments or other big international institutions like the UN to do it’s job.
It’s the largest humanitarian movement and it has branches all over the world. And as caretaker of the famous Geneva Conventions (Hello Mr Bush?!) they have tried to civilize war and set some rules how to deal with the wounded, captured and dead while madness is rampaging.
I actually find the additional title "Red Crescent" a bit stupid – but I don’t really care about labels as long as it HELPS someone somewhere …
So if you usually don’t donate any money or time to any movement or organization – you should at least consider to support the Red Cross, because it’s still one of the best and certainly the biggest. Have a look where they are active!
More? Red Cross @ Wikipedia
Summer, sunshine, sunburns …
It’s amazing how much chemicals we spill each year to avoid the effects of soaring sunlight on our skins. And how much more we waste on treating sunburns.
Why not simply move OUT of the sunlight to avoid damage to your precious pale office complexion? Or pre-roast yourself before dragging your sorry ass into the sun? Going from pale cavemen to roasted super model in just 14 days is not recommended.
This is one fascinating story! It would be amazing if we would battle cancer with a killer radio beam – how very SciFi!
More? John Kanzius @ Wikipedia and the CBS article
*Thanks for Sharkat for sending me this one*
And another great USB gimmick. This one actually keep you fit – or at least helps you to walk a bit more …
The Pedometer tracks how many steps you have made. Via USB you connect the device with your computer and feed the data into a statistic and fitness website. Nice!
Motivation not included.
Have a quick peek before flushing – might save you a trip to the doctors later …
Your urine, stool and sweat are important indicators of your health. One would think that understanding your own bodily functions should be common knowledge and taught in school – like sex education.
The smell, consistency, amount, color and the shape (of stool) can tell you a lot about your health. Not to mention flatulence and constipation as other indicators of a sick digestive system.
And anyone how ever had a serious fever know that we literally ’sweat out’ the bad stuff. So how you smell is also a medical indicator.
But compared to the Middle Ages modern humans hardly care about their shit, sweat and piss anymore. One of the reasons is that feces and urine are no longer directly collected to reuse them for other purposes. Urine was once a well needed resource, before chemical factories arrived. Ammoniac was for example extracted from Urine – and used for example in the clothing industry.
Many Kings had doctors who had nothing else to do, but sniff out his majesties poop and check for illnesses. Drinking urine itself is considered a medical application itself.
You’ll never guess what I had for breakfast today …
So maybe next time you see your doctor – maybe ask him some questions about your excretions. And learn to watch your daily ‘exports’ for unusual indicators (most alarming is for example blood in your stool or urine).
Learn by constant observation how different diets change your excretions, your smell and most of all your moods and psyche. Your brain relies on certain chemicals and mood swings can be influence by a bad diet, bad digstion and lack of certain vitamins or other elements.
Hey, Hitler was constantly constipated – and you know what his bad mood lead to – right?
More? Some sweat info, more sweat, some about your urinary system, about Bowel movements, your digestive system, some stool advice from Oprah (of all people 
, some really good tips for stool reading and about urine.
Every few weeks you can read about some new form of bacteria or virus getting immune against medical defenses. Penicillin ain’t the big cure it used to be. More and more little buggers get resistant – and we actually help them. Hospitals turn out be excellent breeding and training grounds. All kind of diseases, people and dugs meet for a big get together and exchange of ‘code’. Since evolution does happen – sometimes at an alarming rate – these buggers already kills thousands of people every year.
The big fear and real possibility is that one of these days one of them leaves the ‘lab’ and visits us all. If it’s just an influenza virus that would be bad enough – but it could also be something more lethal.
Praying for patients undergoing heart operations does not improve their outcomes, a US study suggests.
A study found those who were prayed for were as likely to have a setback in hospital, be re-admitted, or die within six months as those not prayed for.
The Duke University Medical Center study of 700 patients, in the Lancet, said music, image and touch therapy did appear to reduce patients’ distress.
Heart experts said patients could benefit from feeling more optimistic.
Image: Sassoferrato – The Virgin in Prayer
Medicine has made huge advances in the last 100 years – compared to all centuries before today we can heal terrible diseases and injuries – and even replace parts of our bodies. Amazing!