CDC Recommends HIV Tests, Puts Less Stress on Condom Use

CDC Recommends HIV Tests, Puts Less Stress on Condom Use

In a significant shift in strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control recently recommended that tests for HIV be extended to all patients entering hospitals and clinics in the U.S. The CDC also recommended that doctors begin offering routine voluntary HIV tests to patients between 13 and 64.

It is estimated that of the more than 1 million people in the U.S. with HIV and AIDS, about 25% are unaware they have HIV. The new strategy is aimed at discovering these cases before HIV develops into AIDS. It is also hoped these measures will curb the spread of the disease since these 250,000 people are carriers who unknowingly infect others.

This marks a departure from the previously followed strategy of testing only people in high risk categories.

This policy change will also involve a shift away from the promotion of abstinence and condom use to prevent the spread of the disease, towards more emphasis being placed on testing for HIV status and early treatment.

According to a spokesperson for the CDC, what explains this change in policy is that drugs now exist that can prevent the development of AIDS from HIV. Early detection can therefore result in early treatment. In the past early detection did not necessarily mean much since there was very little that could be done for someone infected with HIV.

It is also hoped that early detection will result in less transmission of the disease. A recent CDC survey found that sexually-active adults altered their sexual behavior patterns after they were diagnosed with HIV. They were less likely to engage in unprotected sexual activity, in many cases opting for a condom or for not engaging in sex at all.

Drug companies and makers of oral tests stand to benefit significantly from this change of emphasis. It is expected that tests which are now administered at hospitals and clinics will soon be available over the counter. People interested in testing themselves will be able to do it at home. This should result in a significant increase in sales of HIV testing kits.

There should also be a rise in HIV treatment drugs as hundreds of thousands of people learn they have HIV and begin treatment with anti-HIV drugs. Currently anti-HIV drugs account for about $6-billion in sales in the U.S. That number should increase dramatically if the new testing procedures prove to be effective.

Some argue that as in so many areas within the health industry, efforts aimed at prevention will be replaced by promises of a quick cure brought to us compliments of the incredibly influential and increasingly invasive drug companies.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Rick Hendershot

What are AIDS and HIV?

What are AIDS and HIV?

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a condition first reported in the United States in 1981, that has since become a major worldwide epidemic.

AIDS is caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). By killing or damaging cells of the body's immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. The term AIDS applies to the most advanced stages of HIV infection.

How is HIV spread?

There are several common ways that HIV can be passed from person to person, including:

• Having unprotected sex with someone who is infected
• Using needles or syringes that have been used by people who are infected
• Receiving infected blood products or transplanted organs (Since 1985, the United States actively tests all donated blood for HIV; therefore, the risk of getting HIV in this way in the United States is now extremely low.)
• Transmission from mother to child – An infected mother may pass the virus to her developing fetus during pregnancy, during birth, or through breastfeeding.

If you have a sexually transmitted disease, you may be at higher risk for getting infected with HIV during sex with an HIV-infected partner.

There is no evidence that HIV is spread by contact with saliva or through casual contact, such as shaking hands or hugging, or the sharing of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats. HIV is not spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes or bedbugs.

What is the treatment for HIV/AIDS?

Although when AIDS first appeared there were few treatments, researchers have now developed drugs that can help fight both HIV and the related infections and cancers that come with it. Treatment advances have improved the survival rates and decreased progression of HIV disease in developed countries like the United States, where antiretroviral drugs are available.

Additional treatment information is available from the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases at NIH. The NIH is currently conducting many clinical trials related to HIV/AIDS to test treatments and therapies. These trials are sponsored and co-sponsored by various Institutes, including the NICHD.

The NICHD supports and conducts research related to HIV/AIDS in specific groups of people, including pregnant and non-pregnant women, infants and children, and adolescents and young adults. The information below applies to those groups.

How does HIV/AIDS affect women?

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 19.2 million women are living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world. In many countries, the rate of HIV infection in women is rising faster than in any other group.

Worldwide, more than 80 percent of HIV infections are spread by heterosexual sex (vaginal intercourse); women are particularly at risk of contracting HIV through this type of contact. HIV is increasing most dramatically among African American and Hispanic women.

Although most of the signs and symptoms of HIV infection are similar in men and women, some are more specific to females. For example:

• Vaginal yeast infections may be chronic, more severe, and difficult to treat in women with HIV infection than in women who are uninfected.
• Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the female reproductive organs, may also be more frequent and severe in women with HIV infection.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, which cause genital warts, may occur more frequently in HIV-infected women, and can lead to pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix or cancer of the cervix.

The NICHD, along with other Institutes, supports studies to determine what aspects of HIV are specific to women and the best treatments for these symptoms.

How does HIV affect pregnant women and infants?

Women can give HIV to their babies during pregnancy, while giving birth, or through breastfeeding.

But, there are effective ways to prevent the spread of mother-to-infant transmission of HIV:

• Taking anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy—either a drug called zidovudine or AZT alone or in combination with other drugs called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)—a mother can significantly reduce the chances that her baby will get infected with HIV.
• Delivering the baby by cesarean section, and doing so before the mother’s uterine membranes rupture naturally, reduces transmission that may occur during the birth process. Use of anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy and delivery, combined with a cesarean section in women with certain levels of HIV in their blood, can reduce the chance that the baby will be infected to less than 2 percent.
• Avoidance of breastfeeding by an HIV-infected mother. HIV can be spread to babies through the breast milk of mothers infected with the virus. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that, in countries such as the United States, where infant formula is safe and is often available and affordable, HIV-infected women feed their infants commercially available formula instead of breastfeeding.

Approximately one-fourth to one-half of all untreated pregnant women infected with HIV will pass the infection to their babies. HIV infection of newborns is very rare in the United States because women are tested for HIV during pregnancy, and women with HIV infection receive anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy, cesarean delivery if their HIV blood levels are high, and are advised not to breastfeed their infants.

How does HIV affect children and adolescents?

It is estimated that approximately 10,000 children are living with HIV infection in the United States. In the United States, the number of infants born with HIV infection has dramatically decreased from about 2,000 a year to fewer than 200 a year due to identification of HIV infection in pregnant women and use of anti-HIV drugs during pregnancy, cesarean delivery, and avoidance of breastfeeding.

In contrast to the United States, mother-to-child transmission in developing countries remains a major problem; about 700,000 infants are newly infected with HIV each year because most women are not screened for HIV during pregnancy, anti-HIV drugs are not available, and safe alternatives to breastfeeding are not available.

Prior to 1985, when screening of the nation's blood supply for HIV began, some children as well as adults were infected through transfusions with blood or blood products contaminated with HIV, but this is now rare in the United States.

In contrast to the dramatic decrease in mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection, the number of cases of HIV infection in adolescents and young adults continues to increase in the United States. About one-third to one-half of new HIV infections in the United States are among adolescents and young adults.

Most HIV-infected adolescents and young adults are exposed to the virus through unprotected sex; some teens and young adults are also infected through injection drug use. In addition, an increasing number of children who were infected as infants are now surviving to adolescence.

Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Drugs For Treating Aids May Prevent People From Catching Aids

Drugs For Treating Aids May Prevent People From Catching Aids

In one of the most promising developments in more than 20 years, scientists claim that drugs used to control HIV/AIDS in patients may also be effective in preventing the disease in the first place.

The drugs in question are tenofovir (Viread) and emtricitabine, or FTC (Emtriva), sold in combination as Truvada by Gilead Sciences Inc. Gilead is the California company best known for inventing Tamiflu.

Previous research has been aimed at finding a vaccine against HIV/AIDS, with the intention of conditioning the immune system against the disease. But these drugs work differently. They simply keep the virus from reproducing, and have already been used successfuly by health care workers to prevent them from being infected by the virus carried by patients.

This approach to fighting HIV/AIDS has been tempting researchers for many years, but has only recently become feasible as preventative drugs have been developed that are safe for non-infected persons to take. Previous drugs had unreasonable effects for uninfected persons.

That situation changed when Tenofovir came on the market in 2001. Tenofovir is powerful and safe, and it only has to be taken once a day. It also does not interact with other medicines or birth control pills, and manifests less drug resistance than other AIDS medications.

Monkey studies show exciting results

A major study by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta, Georgia involved six macaques. The monkeys were given a combination of Tenofovir and FTC and then administered a deadly combination of monkey and human AIDS viruses. They were given the viruses in rectal doses to simulate contact between gay men.

Each was given 14 weekly exposures of the virus, and none of the monkeys became infected. In a control group which did not receive the drugs, all but one got the disease, normally after just two exposures.

The scientists then stopped giving the drugs to the test group to see if the prevention was only temporary. The results were equally impressive. None of the monkeys contracted the disease. "We're now four months following the animals with no drug, no virus. They're uninfected and healthy," reported a CDC researcher.

Now other research teams are pushing to have this drug combination tested on humans. A $29 million CDC study of drug users in Botswana will now be switched to this new drug combination.

Another study of 400 heterosexual women in Ghana by the Family Health Initiative, and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is studying the effects of tenofovir alone.

But several other studies have failed to materialize because studies of this nature immediately raise suspicions that scientists are using local people as guinea pigs. The fear is that they will intentionally expose the test subjects to the virus.

The cost of tenofovir and Truvada also make testing difficult. In African countries condoms are now liberally donated by companies, aid groups, UN agencies, and western governments. While the drugs are relatively cheap, the cost remains an impediment.

Nevertheless researchers have been reinvigorated by the stunning results out of Atlanta, and new tests are going ahead in pockets of interest around the world.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Rick Hendershot

Tips for Dealing with Pet Allergies

Tips for Dealing with Pet Allergies

It will seem horribly unfair to any child who suffers with allergies that they cannot have a pet or must loose one whom they have grown attached to. Is there a way to deal with pet allergies which may lessen or even eliminate the suffering for adults and children with allergies?

WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?

By establishing whether the animal is actually the cause of an allergy is certainly the best starting point. However, that can be a difficult task if you already have an animal since the allergens are extremely difficult to remove entirely.

If an existing pet can be removed and the home thoroughly cleaned (carpets, walls, furniture etc.) you MAY be able to verify the allergy in several months. Obviously that is not the easiest solution.

Having the child stay with a friend or relative for a week (as long as there are no pets in the home) may show an improvement that might indicate an allergy to the family pet.

A visit to the doctor can confirm an allergy with a simple test. The tests vary, but some can be mildly uncomfortable and would probably not be considered if the allergy symptoms were mild.

Some allergy symptoms are compounded by exposure to several allergens. By identifying other sources and removing them you may find the reaction to pets is lessened and not a barrier to enjoying their presence.

CREATING AN ALLERGY FRIENDLY HOME

There are several steps you can take to reduce the build up of allergens and bring relief to allergy sufferers.

The first recommendation is to have hardwood or other smooth surface for your flooring. Carpets hold far more of the particles that cause allergies and hard flooring makes it easy to clean.

Leather furniture is also ideal for homes with pet allergies. For the same reason as hard flooring is more suitable than carpet, leather holds far less allergens than fabric.

Keep a seat for the allergy sufferer that pets are not allowed to sit on. Also be certain that animals do not sleep on the beds or enter the bedrooms of allergy sufferers. Consider keeping the sleeping area of the home as a pet-free zone.

MAKING YOUR PET AS HYPO-ALLERGENIC AS POSSIBLE

There are even things you can do with your pet to reduce the allergic effects of having them in your home.

Frequent grooming and bathing with a mild soap to prevent over drying will reduce the dander that is one of the main causes of pet allergies. It would be recommended that someone without allergies take on this task.

Washing hands after playing with a pet and avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands will also help. Since some individuals are also allergic to the saliva of pets it would be sensible to not allow your pet to lick you.

In the case of more serious allergies or asthma it may be best that no pet share the home. For older children or adults it may be possible to find a medication or treatment which makes the situation tolerable if they prefer to keep the pet despite the allergy.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Nicky Pilkington

How to Prevent or Alleviate Allergy

How to Prevent or Alleviate Allergy

To prevent allergy, you should ideally begin with the childhood.

By allergy the immune system react against a substance that it is not supposed to react against, and the reaction is often exaggerated. Objects containing substances that commonly cause allergy are domestic dust, animal hair, household chemicals, chlorine, microorganisms, pollen, nuts, citrus fruits and seafood. Also bacteria and parasites can cause inappropriately strong immune reactions.

THE MECHANISMS OF ALLERGY

The total set of reactions occurring by allergy is very complicated. Many of these are the same as by normal immune reaction, even though they occur when they should not take place, Here are listed some of these reactions:

By exposure to a new substance, cells in the immune system learn to recognize that substance (allergen), and it learns to produce anti-bodies towards the substance, and a certain amount of antibodies is produced. The type of anti-bodies called IgE is the most important by allergic reactions.

IgE will glue itself to some cells in the blood called mast-cells, and stick out from the surface of these cells. By following exposures to antigens, these will attach themselves to the IgE-ends sticking out from the mast-cells. This will trigger the mast-cells to produce histamine and other signal substances. These signal substances will then spread through the surrounding tissues.

The signal substances will then trigger the walls of small blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissues and accumulate in the tissues. This will cause tissue swelling. They also will cause blood vessels to widen and thus increase the blood stream in the tissues. The consequence of this will be swelling and redness in the affected body parts. The signal substances will also make glands in the tissue produce more mucus, making symptoms like running nose and tight throat.

The new exposures to the antigens will also provoke even more anti-body production. The antibodies will also glue allergens together to bigger complexes. These complexes can clog small blood vessels and in other ways disturb the function of the affected organ.

The allergen-antibody-complexes are then recognized by the cells and other mechanisms that the body uses to collect and eliminate garbage. Eater-cells gather and engulf the complexes.

The immune system also will make enzymes that attack the antigens to break them down. Also this production is stimulated when antigens attach themselves to anti-bodies at cell surfaces. But these enzymes are not entirely specific, and can also to some extend break down components of the body’s own tissue, causing harm and disease symptoms.

WHAT CAUSES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO REACT WITH ALLERGY TO A SUBSTANCE

In the beginning of the life of a person, the immune system has the potency to react against most substances in the body itself and the surroundings. However, there are mechanisms that learn the immune system to recognize normal substances found in the daily life in the early infanthood, and suppress the reactions against these. If this learning mechanism is disturbed, allergy can develop.

Allergy can also develop if a small child is never exposed to substances that later will be a normal ingredient of his daily life. In this case the immune system will not get the chance to suppress the reaction against this substance. Letting a small child grow up in an exaggerated clean and sterile environment can therefore cause allergies.

On the other hand, certain elements not being a port of a normal environment can cause allergies by repeated and massive exposure. Examples of such substances are chlorine.

TYPES OF ALLERGIES

Allergy varies according to the compound that causes the immunological reaction. An allergic condition also often implies reaction against a combination of several substances. Common substances causing allergy are: Pollen, domestic dust, mites in domestic dust, moulds and mould spores, chlorine, chemicals in soaps and cosmetics, animal hair, seafood, strawberry, fish, parasites, medicines like anaesthetics and antibiotics.

An allergic condition may periodically get better or worse according to the concentration of the allergen in the environment. A typical example is pollen allergy with peaks in the pollination season of grass or treas.

An allergic person will often get symptoms from several tissues in the body, but the symptoms are often most prominent at one body part and give very specific symptoms at that site. Examples of specific conditions often caused by allergy are eczema in the skin and asthma in the lungs and lower airpipe.

THE SYMPTOMS OF ALLERGY

Any organ can exhibit allergic reactions, but often the symptoms are confined mainly to one organ or organ system.

By allergic reactions in the respiratory system there will be symptoms like: Itching and soreness in the throat and nose cavities, swelling of the airway tissues, increased amount of secrets in the airway cavities and coughing. There may also be asthmatic symptoms or fully developed asthma. The main symptom of asthma is cramping that constricts the airways all the way down into the lungs (constriction of the trachea and tracholes).

By allergic reactions in the skin, there will be symptoms like: Redness, swelling, red spots, itching and soars.

HOW TO PREVENT ALLERGY

To prevent allergies in an individual the best way, one must begin in early childhood.

A child must be allowed to get in contact with natural elements like earth, dirt, animals, plants, physical contact with other humans, and the like. This exposure to natural elements must occur before an allergy has developed. In this way the immune system will learn to recognize common and harmless elements, and not overreact against this later in life.

Research projects have found out that children having much and early contact with pet animals like cats and dogs have a less chance of getting allergic problems later than children not having contact with pets. This is contrary to what many people believe.

On the other hands, every person should be protected from early childhood from certain elements normally not found in a natural environment, for example chlorine, soaps and cosmetics with artificial substances, and food containing unnatural additives.

METHODS TO TREAT ALLERGY

The first approach in the treatment of manifest allergy is avoiding exposure to substances causing the allergic reactions. Even though exposure to natural substances can prevent allergy, exposure to an allergen should be avoided when an allergy already has developed. Ways of doing this is:

• Avoiding food one reacts against.
• Avoiding contact with animals one have an allergic reaction towards.
• Keeping rooms, clothes beds and furniture well cleaned.
• Avoiding use of cleaners, soaps and cosmetics with unnatural additives.
• Avoiding foods, drinks and snacks with unnatural additives.
• Avoiding daily exposure to chlorine and other chemicals.
• In cooperation with your doctor change medicines you use that may cause allergy with others.
• Avoiding growth of moulds in the environment. This is done by well cleaning and keeping the environment dry.

Children are often exposed to allergens at school, and adults are often exposed at work. Parents with allergic children must inspect the school environment and require from the school administration and teachers that practically possible environmental measures are provided to keep the school free from allergens. An employee should require the same from his employer.

If you do not know exactly everything you react against, you can try to stop exposure to one factor after another, until you feel that the allergy alleviates, and then keep this factor out of your daily life for the future.

Sometimes avoiding allergens is difficult to accomplish, or make the lifestyle to restricted to be acceptable. Then one must apply medical treatment that alleviates the allergy.

A common way of treating allergy is applying medication that block the effect of the substance histamine, and thereby alleviate or prevent the symptoms occurring when the antigen get into the body.

Another way is desensitisation treatment. By this treatment one let the body get a controlled and gradually increasing exposure to the allergens over a time period, and when this period is over, one let the body get recurrent exposure to a controlled dose at regular time intervals. By this treatment the response from the immune system from the allergens gradually decrease, partly because the immune system thereby learns to recognize the allergens as harmless, and partly because the antibodies against the allergens are used up.

There are also natural products on the marked that contain ingredients that help the immune system to react more appropriately. Important effects of these products are reduced histamine secretion and increased histamine metabolism. Examples of ingredients in such medicines are: Methylsulfonyl methane, vitamin C, vitamin E, Echinacea purpurea, Quercetin, grape Seed, Stinging nettle, Coleus Forskolin.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Knut Holt

How To Fight Allergy Headache And Get Headache Relief?

How To Fight Allergy Headache And Get Headache Relief?

How To Fight Allergy Headache And Get Headache Relief? Headache itself is no ordinary suffering for you and to have an adjective before it, like allergy is a double tragedy! A long term plan and a strict disciplined life with reference to all your activities is needed to combat allergy headache. Slightest mistake on your part in breaking the discipline will give you lots of sufferings. It will take some time for you to decide what you are actually allergic to, and your body will not accept anything beyond, once you draw the dividing line!

Please remember, allergy shots will not give you permanent cure, and you very well know it. In a moment of desperation, just to get rid of the suffering any how, for the time being, such shots are the accepted mode. After all, what are these allergy shots? They do not contain any magic potion. They actually contain a very small amount of the stuff that you are allergic to.

The question again is- what you are allergic to? It may be dust, sawdust, smoke or any other fine particles! It may be any type of food. It is better you have a detailed discussion with your doctor and he will help you figure out what foods and climatic conditions are detrimental to your system.

These are hard times of pollution. Don't think that you are indoors and you are safe from allergy headache. There are many indoor pollutants that may be causing your headache, unknowingly! You may catch allergy just when you start the desert cooler--an invisible cloud of dust has entered your system through nostrils! There are many air-borne, invisible substances, through which you may suffer from allergy headache.

You go for a morning walk, with the hope of filling your lungs with fresh oxygen! A truck passes across you and the emission of carbon dioxide has irritated you. By the time you return home, you already have the headache. The stench from the passing garbage truck may cause you serious problems of allergy. Similarly if you pass across an industrial area, second hand smoke, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, the flying ash, chemical discharge from the factories, may all initiate allergy headache to you.

Developing enough resistance power in your inner system is only the permanent cure for your allergy headache! With proper disposition on all fronts, and with utmost care, allergy headache can definitely be beaten!

Article Source: Health Guidance

Javier Fuller

Maintaining An Allergy Free Environment Using Air Filters

Maintaining An Allergy Free Environment Using Air Filters

If you have allergies caused by substances and microorganisms in the air, air filters are the solution to your needs. Allergy sufferers will want to grab the product which will improve their suffering. If you are allergic to airborne substances and microorganisms like dust mites or pollen, using an air purifier or an air filter can help you.

But, the degree of relief depends upon many other factors that are under your control. One type of air filter is the ionic air purifier. There are other kinds of air purifiers that may better suit your needs. There are filters that use electric attraction, and carbon filters to further cleanse and remove the impurities in the air. There are also filters which are placed in your home's A/C unit. Through this, the filter cleans the air that is ventilated throughout your house. This would definitely increase the air quality in your house. If you are allergic to dust, then you should know the most effective ways to remove dust in your home. Using air purifiers is one solution. These aim to reduce the allergenic substances in your environment that is surrounding your home.

So what is an air purifier? An air purifier is equipment which is normally located in one room or area, and its primary job is to cleanse and filter the air. An air purifier may work differently depending upon its model and what it is made of. There are those units that you are obliged to clean and check on every once in a while and need replacement periodically. Some purifiers use a method of ionization to capture and remove allergen particles in the air and force airborne particulates to stick to exterior surfaces and the air cleaner sucks them up later on.

Using air purifiers is very beneficial to many families. Some families have air purifiers in each of their rooms and bedrooms. These filters, however, require regular cleaning. Some doctors recommend not using carpets and using vinyl flooring instead. Dust mite encasements are advised for use on all beddings in the house to prevent dust mites. Some families even have a portable air filter they take with them while they are on their vacation to ensure that they stay in a hotel room that is as safe as their house.

If you are using an air filter that needs some replacement or cleansing on a regular basis, you should examine it periodically to lengthen the life of your equipment. However, be careful in examining and checking the equipment. Follow the instructions or hire heating or cooling personnel to check it and replace parts. To ensure that you completely remove the dust, be sure to steam clean the carpets or remove carpeting altogether.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Kathryn Whittaker

Preventing the Common Cold and Practicing Good Health Habits

Preventing the Common Cold and Practicing Good Health Habits

Preventing the common cold is a matter of practicing good health habits and maintaining a healthy immune system. What is often referred to as the common cold virus is actually a number of different viruses that can cause symptoms when they infect the lining of the nose. So, habits that protect the body from all forms of viruses and bacterial infections can help protect you from a common cold virus.

In the United States the season in which the most cases of common cold are reported runs from early fall to late spring, but the viruses that can cause a cold are present throughout the year. They appear to be more active when humidity is lower, which may explain why there are more colds during "cold" weather. Another factor that may cause an increase in colds during the winter months is that many people are indoors, where the virus can be spread more easily. But, anyone can contract a common cold virus any time of the year.

Good health habits, which can be practiced year round for preventing the common cold and other communicable diseases, include washing the hands before touching the face. Rhino virus, the common cold virus that scientists know the most about, can live up to three hours on the skin and on surfaces, such as sinks, stair rails and telephones. Whenever you are in a public place, you run the risk of touching something that someone with a common cold virus has touched.

You may be able to reduce your risk of contracting a virus if you avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth when you are in a public place, and until you can wash your hands. Washing with soap and water kills the rhino virus. If soap and water is unavailable, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends an alcohol based hand washing product. Remember that anti-bacterial products may only kill bacteria and not viruses.

Some people are more likely to be exposed to a common cold virus, than others and these groups should be particularly concerned about preventing the common cold. While the common cold is not a serious medical condition, it can lead to bacterial infection of the ears, sinuses or throat. Children in daycare or school environments are exposed to more viruses and can have as many as 12 cold per year, according to information provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Women between the ages of 20 and 30 have more colds than men, presumably because of their close contact with children, but there is no indication that men have more resistance to a common cold virus than women. So, men who are in close contact with their school age children should be just as concerned about preventing the common cold as women. Not only to protect themselves, but to avoid spreading the infection to other family members and the general public. If you do have a cold, you should avoid direct contact with other people and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

Those who work in hospitals or doctor's offices are at higher risk for contracting a cold virus, for obvious reasons. Even though a doctor's visit is not necessary for treating a common cold, it is still one of the leading causes of doctor visits in the United States and results in 22 million lost school days per year, according to the CDC. Estimates concerning lost days of work vary.

The number of colds per year experienced by adults varies widely, possibly because of attention paid to good health habits and other efforts for preventing the common cold. Stress, inadequate sleep and proper nutrition are all factors that could account for the difference in the number of colds experienced by individuals. Additionally, medical conditions and medications that a person is taking can affect proper immune system function. For example, research indicates that asthmatics, one group which is particularly susceptible to a common cold virus, produce a lower than normal amount of anti-viral proteins. Anti-viral proteins are produced by cells of the immune system.

Research is still being conducted into the possibility of developing a vaccine for preventing the common cold, but it is doubtful that any vaccine could be effective against the over 200 viruses that can cause common cold symptoms. Thus, dietary supplements that support healthy immune system function may be your best insurance for preventing the common cold and complications that can arise from this viral infection.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Patsy Hamilton

Recurring Common Cold Symptoms Could Be Allergies

Recurring Common Cold Symptoms Could Be Allergies

Some people are troubled with recurring common cold symptoms or a large number of colds per year. During cold and flu season, typically from September to April, the grocery store aisles that contain the over the counter and some of the herbal remedies for common cold symptoms are crowded with people. You can become infected with a cold virus any time of the year, but it appears that most of the viruses that cause cold symptoms survive better when the humidity is lower. In most of the United States, those are the winter months.

According to information published by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), you can get relief from cold symptoms by resting in bed, drinking plenty of fluids, gargling with warm salt water, using throat sprays or lozenges for a scratchy or sore throat, using petroleum jelly for a raw nose and taking aspirin or acetaminophen for headache or fever. (Note: Aspirin and aspirin containing products should not be given to children, because of the link to Reye's syndrome, a rare illness that can be life threatening.) Additionally, the NIAID advises that frequently recurring common cold symptoms that last for much longer than two weeks may be an allergy, rather than an infection with a common cold virus.

Opinions vary on the effectiveness of over the counter and herbal remedies for common cold symptoms. Research often comes to contradictory conclusions. Antihistamines, cough suppressants and nasal decongestants are believed to be safe when used as directed, but can cause unwanted side effects, such as nervousness, dizziness, insomnia or drowsiness. Additionally, these products are not believed to shorten the duration of symptoms.

Some research has shown that zinc nasal gels or sprays can shorten the duration of common cold symptoms when taken during the early stages of a cold, but other research concluded that they were ineffective and may have caused the permanent loss of the sense of smell in some people. Zinc lozenges, tablets or dietary supplements are sometimes recommended to shorten the duration of symptoms and have no unwanted side effects when taken in appropriate dosages.

Vitamin C is not really one of the herbal remedies for common cold symptoms, but because it is a natural product, it is sometimes grouped with them. Many studies have been done concerning the effectiveness of vitamin C for recurring common cold symptoms, both as a preventative and a treatment. The conclusions of these studies have sometimes been contradictory, but it is known that available amounts of vitamin C circulating in the blood stream are quickly depleted during an infection. When taken in appropriate amounts, it can shorten the duration and severity of symptoms and has no unwanted side effects. Mega doses of vitamin C can cause diarrhea, so it is important to follow the supplement manufacturer's directions and reduce the dosage if diarrhea occurs.

Echinacea is one of the popular herbal remedies for common cold symptoms, but again research results do not always support its effectiveness or safety. Indian echinacea or andrographis paniculata is included in some herbal remedies for common cold prevention and has been shown to have very low toxicity in animals, even when used in large amounts. Curcumin or turmeric has been shown in studies to be a mild expectorant, while causing no unwanted side effects. Piperine, from black pepper, has been shown to enhance the beneficial effects of Curcumin.

Many vitamins, minerals, plant components and herbs work best when accompanied by others. This may be the reason that some research supports their use and others are inconclusive. Some of the best health supplement manufacturers take these facts into account when creating proprietary blends to be used for specific purposes, such as reducing recurring common cold infections.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Patsy Hamilton

Is the Common Cold Easy to Catch?

Is the Common Cold Easy to Catch?

Here we look at some frequently asked questions, such as "Is the common cold easy to catch?" and "What is the best common cold diet?" The news today said that the cold and flu season has arrived. Teachers are already beginning to see absences due to colds. It is estimated that 22 million school days are lost every year to the common cold.

Is the common cold easy to catch?

The short answer is "yes". Hundreds of different viruses can cause common cold symptoms. One of them, the rhinovirus, can remain active on skin and other surfaces for as long as three hours. The virus is present in the nasal secretions of infected people, so when that person sneezes, coughs or wipes their nose, the viruses enter the air, land on surfaces and get picked up by other people. Hand washing removes the viruses and if you wash your hands before you touch your face, mouth or eyes, then you are less likely to become infected with them. You can still inhale them, if you are around a sick person, who does not cover their mouth when sneezing or coughing, but in most cases, we probably get them on our hands and then transfer them to our noses.

What is the best common cold diet?

Foods that make you feel better, like warm soups and herbal teas. You should increase fluid intake during a cold. Fruit juices may be helpful, because levels of vitamin C in the bloodstream decrease significantly during an infection. The immune system needs adequate amounts of vitamin C to fight infection. Good nutrition is always important, but people who do not get there recommended daily allowance of vitamins, minerals and trace elements typically do not recover as quickly from minor infections like the common cold and may develop complications like sinus and ear infections. There is no medical evidence that the old saying that you should "feed a cold" is true, so it is not necessary to force the kids to eat, if they don't feel like it. Do encourage them to drink whatever fluids they can, tempt them with warm cocoa or chicken soup.

Is there a common cold diet for prevention?

Good nutrition obviously plays a role in overall good health. The best common cold diet is the same diet that you would follow year round. The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association recommends a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, low in fats, oils and sugars. Treat meat like a side dish and choose beans and other vegetables that are high in protein, low in fat. Eat oatmeal and other whole grains. Read the ingredients in processed foods to be sure what you are eating. Take a daily multi-vitamin as insurance, not instead of eating a healthy diet.

Is the common cold easy to catch because of the weather?

There is no evidence that cold weather causes more colds. People who live in cold climates do not have more colds than those who do not.

Is the common cold easy to catch if you have other medical conditions?

Asthmatics are particularly susceptible to colds and scientists are investigating the reason for this. Recently it was learned that those people who suffer from asthma produce less anti-viral proteins than normal. These anti-viral proteins are produced by the immune system, thus natural products that increase or improve immune system responses may help.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Patsy Hamilton