NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MENINGITIS

Meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. This inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis is usually caused by bacteria or viruses, but can be a result of injury, cancer, or certain drugs.

It is important to know the specific cause of meningitis because the treatment differs depending on the cause.

WHAT CAUSES MENINGITIS?

Meningitis is generally caused by infection of viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and certain organisms. Anatomical defects or weak immune systems may be linked to recurrent bacterial meningitis. In the majority of cases the cause is a virus. However, some non-infectious causes of meningitis also exist.

BACTERIAL MENINGITIS: Bacteria that enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain and spinal cord cause acute bacterial meningitis. But it can also occur when bacteria directly invade the meninges. This may be caused by an ear or sinus infection, a skull fracture, or, rarely, after some surgeries.

Several strains of bacteria can cause acute bacterial meningitis, most commonly:

·         Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). This bacterium is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in infants, young children and adults in the United States. It more commonly causes pneumonia or ear or sinus infections. A vaccine can help prevent this infection.

·         Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). This bacterium is another leading cause of bacterial meningitis. These bacteria commonly cause an upper respiratory infection but can cause meningococcal meningitis when they enter the bloodstream. This is a highly contagious infection that affects mainly teenagers and young adults. It may cause local epidemics in college dormitories, boarding schools and military bases. A vaccine can help prevent infection.

·         Haemophilus influenzae (haemophilus). Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) bacterium was once the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children. But new Hib vaccines have greatly reduced the number of cases of this type of meningitis.

·         Listeria monocytogenes (listeria). These bacteria can be found in unpasteurized cheeses, hot dogs and luncheon meats. Pregnant women, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are most susceptible. Listeria can cross the placental barrier, and infections in late pregnancy may be fatal to the baby.

VIRAL MENINGITIS:

Viral meningitis is usually mild and often clears on its own. Most cases in the United States are caused by a group of viruses known as enteroviruses, which are most common in late summer and early fall. Viruses such as herpes simplex virus, HIV, mumps, West Nile virus and others also can cause viral meningitis.

CHRONIC MENINGITIS:

Slow-growing organisms (such as fungi and Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that invade the membranes and fluid surrounding your brain cause chronic meningitis. Chronic meningitis develops over two weeks or more. The symptoms of chronic meningitis — headaches, fever, vomiting and mental cloudiness — are similar to those of acute meningitis.

FUNGAL MENINGITIS:

Fungal meningitis is relatively uncommon and causes chronic meningitis. It may mimic acute bacterial meningitis. Fungal meningitis isn't contagious from person to person. Cryptococcal meningitis is a common fungal form of the disease that affects people with immune deficiencies, such as AIDS. It's life-threatening if not treated with an antifungal medication.

OTHER CAUSES:

Meningitis can also result from noninfectious causes, such as chemical reactions, drug allergies, some types of cancer and inflammatory diseases such as sarcoidosis.

SYMPTOMS:

Early meningitis symptoms may mimic the flu (influenza). Symptoms may develop over several hours or over a few days.

Possible signs and symptoms in anyone older than the age of  2 include:

·         Sudden high fever

·         Stiff neck

·         Severe headache that seems different than normal

·         Headache with nausea or vomiting

·         Confusion or difficulty concentrating

·         Seizures

·         Sleepiness or difficulty waking

·         Sensitivity to light

·         No appetite or thirst

·         Skin rash (sometimes, such as in meningococcal meningitis)

Signs in newborns

Newborns and infants may show these signs:

·         High fever

·         Constant crying

·         Excessive sleepiness or irritability

·         Inactivity or sluggishness

·         Poor feeding

·         A bulge in the soft spot on top of a baby's head (fontanel)

·         Stiffness in a baby's body and neck

Infants with meningitis may be difficult to comfort, and may even cry harder when held.

RISK FACTORS:

·         Skipping vaccinations: Risk rises for anyone who hasn't completed the recommended childhood or adult vaccination schedule.

·         Age: Most cases of viral meningitis occur in children younger than age 5. Bacterial meningitis is common in those under age 20.

·         Living in a community setting: College students living in dormitories, personnel on military bases, and children in boarding schools and child care facilities are at greater risk of meningococcal meningitis. This is probably because the bacterium is spread by the respiratory route, and spreads quickly through large groups.

·         Pregnancy: Pregnancy increases the risk of listeriosis — an infection caused by listeria bacteria, which also may cause meningitis. Listeriosis increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature delivery.

·         Compromised immune system: AIDS, alcoholism, diabetes, use of immunosuppressant drugs and other factors that affect your immune system also make you more susceptible to meningitis. Having your spleen removed also increases your risk, and patients without a spleen should get vaccinated to minimize that risk.

COMPLICATIONS:

Meningitis complications can be severe. The longer you or your child has the disease without treatment, the greater the risk of seizures and permanent neurological damage, including:

·         Hearing loss

·         Memory difficulty

·         Learning disabilities

·         Brain damage

·         Gait problems

·         Seizures

·         Kidney failure

·         Shock

·         Death

With prompt treatment, even patients with severe meningitis can have good recovery.

BENEFITS OF HONEY

Honey has been valued as a natural sweetener long before sugar became widely available in the 16th century. Honey production flourished in ancient Greece and Sicily.

Honey is truly a remarkable substance, made even more extraordinary by the process with which it is made. This blend of sugar, trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids is quite unlike any other sweetener on the planet.

HOW HONEY IS MADE

It takes about 60,000 bees, collectively traveling up to 55,000 miles and visiting more than 2 million flowers, to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey.

Once the nectar is gathered, the bee stores it in its extra stomach where it mixes with enzymes, and then passes it (via regurgitation) to another bee's mouth. This process is repeated until the nectar becomes partially digested and is then deposited into a honeycomb.

Once there, the honeybees fan the liquid nectar with their wings, helping the water to evaporate and create the thick substance you know as "honey." This honeycomb is then sealed with a liquid secretion from the bee's abdomen, which hardens into beeswax.

"Away from air and water, honey can be stored indefinitely, providing bees with the perfect food source for cold winter months."

There are more than 300 kinds of honey, each with a unique color and flavor that is dependent upon the nectar source. Lighter colored honeys, such as those made from orange blossoms, tend to be milder in flavor while darker-colored honeys, like those made from wildflowers, tend to have a more robust flavor.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF HONEY

Cough "Medicine":

The World Health Organization (WHO) lists honey as a demulcent, which is a substance that relieves irritation in your mouth or throat by forming a protective film.

Research shows honey works as well as dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in over the counter cough medications, to soothe cough and related sleeping difficulties due to upper respiratory tract infections in children.

Treat Wounds with Honey:

Honey was a conventional therapy in fighting infection up until the early 20th century, at which time its use slowly vanished with the advent of penicillin. Now the use of honey in wound care is regaining popularity, as researchers are determining exactly how honey can help fight serious skin infections.

Honey has antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidants activities that make it ideal for treating wounds.

Honey Improves Scalp:

Honey diluted with a bit of warm water was shown to significantly improve seborrheic dermatitis, which is a scalp condition that causes dandruff and itching.

Help Boost Your Energy:

A healthy, whole-food diet and proper sleep is the best recipe for boundless energy, but if you're looking for a quick energy boost, such as before or after a workout, honey can suffice. This is particularly true for athletes looking for a "time-released fuel" to provide energy over a longer duration. Furthermore, the carbohydrates in it can be easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs, since it is very easy for the body to digest this pure, natural substance.

Sweetener: It can be used as a substitute for sugar in many food and drinks. It contains about 69% glucose and fructose, enabling it to be used as a sweetener that is better for your overall health than normal white sugar.

Antioxidants: It contains nutraceuticals, which are very effective for the removal of free radicals from the body. As a result, our body immunity is improved against many conditions, even potentially fatal ones like cancer or heart disease.

Factors Governing The Benefits Of Honey:

The benefits of honey that we get greatly depend on its quality. Not all of it is created equally, so quality is different, and subsequently, the various types do necessarily provide the same benefits.

Both the price and the health benefits of honey are dependent on its quality, so it has become very important for both the manufacturers and consumers to understand the various factors that affect the quality of honey. Some of these factors include the type of flowers used in the formation of the honeycombs, the blending process, storage conditions, temperature of heating, and many more.

What Makes Honey Organic?

Honey is considered organic when it is locally grown and not processed. Organic honey is also known as “raw” honey, cannot contain any pesticides or environmental pollutants. Since it does not go through the traditional process for safety, these standards must be upheld for honey to be considered organic. Also, non-organic sugars, antibiotics or honey cannot be used at any point in “organic honey”.

Make Honey a part of your lifestyle.

ESSENCE OF CALCIUM

Calcium is a mineral found in many foods. The body needs calcium to maintain strong bones and to carry out many important functions. Almost all calcium is stored in bones and teeth, where it supports their structure and hardness.

Among all the health benefits of calcium, the most important ones are that it aids in maintaining bone h

ealth and dental health, as well as the prevention of colon cancer and the reduction of obesity. We need it from birth all the way until we reach old age. In our infant days, it is required for proper bone and tooth growth; during adolescence, as the bones develop, calcium is again essential to support the growth.

When we get older, our bones tend to get porous and weak, thereby requiring ample calcium intake. With so many fancy diets around us, we often tend to avoid calcium-rich foods like whole food groups, including dairy products. This avoidance often results in its deficiency.

Calcium deficiency conditions are continuously rising, particularly in women who are on low-calorie diets to get slim, and are therefore confronted with the threat or trouble of osteoporosis. Thus, it is extremely important to consume enough calcium, vitamin D, magnesium throughout your tender and adolescence years.

Calcium forms 2% of total body weight in a human adult. It is found in the human body as deposits in the bones and teeth in high volumes. Traces of the mineral are also present in the circulatory system, which prevent life threatening hemorrhages.

SYMPTOMS OF CALCIUM DEFICIENCY

Recognizing the deficiency in the body is quite easy. It occurs when your muscles ache and twitch, or if you get sudden cramps and spasms. Also, if you suffer from palpitations, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, loose teeth and gum diseases, insomnia, premenstrual cramps, tetany, hypertension and arthritis, that may also indicate calcium deficiency. Often, many children suffer from rickets, where the bones become weak and flexible, they have bowed legs, sunken chests and beaded ribs. These children have not been nourished with calcium since birth. Thus, a regular calcium supply is very important in growing children and teenagers as it can substantially reduce the risks of osteoporosis in old age. This bone ailment is common in one out of every three women and in one man in every 12, above 50 years of age.

DIETARY SOURCES:

It is easily available in milk and dairy products like cheese and yogurt. Furthermore, nuts, tinned salmon, seeds and pulses are good sources of calcium. It is a popular idea that milk is the greatest source of the mineral, but this is not so; broccoli can actually increase the calcium levels in your diet the quickest.

It is worth noting that semi-skimmed or whole milk have very similar calcium contents. Fish (salmon and sardines), leafy green vegetables including broccoli, spinach, orange juice, cereals, oysters, ricebeverages, soy, almonds, black-eyed peas,green peas, and Ricotta are also rich sources of calcium.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF CALCIUM:

It is an essential mineral for healthy bones, gums and teeth. Doctors often recommend that women take calcium supplements, particularly those who show early signs of bone problems, such as osteoporosis or osteopenia.

Strengthens Bones – Calcium strengthens the backbone and ensures the right shape to the body, as well as helping to alleviate the presence of back pain. It helps to keep the bones in their proper shape and prevents many skeletal complaints like arthritis and osteoporosis, which could hamper your freedom of movement, as well as being extremely painful

Prevents Obesity – Calcium efficiently helps in maintaining optimal body weight in both males and females. If there is any deficiency of the mineral in your diet, the body will tend to release parathyroid hormone, which in turn stimulates the bones to release it into your blood stream. This maintains the balance. On the other side, parathyroid hormone also stimulates the production of fat and prevents its break down, which can subsequently make you obese. Basically, make sure that you are taking the right amount of calcium, but not too much, so that obesity does not creep in, alone with other related health hazards.

Protects Cardiac Muscles – Calcium protects your heart muscles. Sufficient amounts of calcium can help cardiac muscles to contract and relaxat properly. It also helps the nervous system maintain the proper pressure in your arteries. If there is a calcium drop, a hormone called calcitrol is released, which contracts the smooth muscles of the arteries, thereby increasing the blood pressure. Cardiac muscles need extracellular calcium ions for contraction. When the intracellular concentration of calcium increases, the ions gather together on the protein troponin. This stimulates the secretion of extracellular fluid and the intracellular stores, including that of the skeletal muscle, which is only activated by calcium stored in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Prevents Colon Cancer – Adequate calcium prevents overall risk of colon cancer and suppresses the growth of polyps that can lead to cancer. Its supplementation reduces the risk of adenomas, as well as nonmalignant tumors in the colon. This is actually a precursor to colon cancer, but it’s still not known if calcium intake minimizes the cancer risk completely. The excess mineral is left in your intestines after your body absorbs what it needs. On its way through the colon, this unabsorbed calcium is believed to bind with cancer promoters so they’re excreted together from the body. Studies have shown that both food sources of calcium and its supplements provide this protective effect. The supplements should be taken in liquid form because liquid vitamins absorb 5 times better than the pills.

Maintains Healthy Teeth and Gums – Calcium protects your teeth by keeping the jaw bone strong and sturdy throughout your life, which in turn ensures tight fitting teeth where bacteria cannot thrive. Thus, before your teeth and gums start giving you any trouble, be sure to maintain a calcium rich diet. Its intake should be high, especially at young ages, so that your children naturally grows up with strong teeth.

HOW MUCH CALCIUM DO I NEED DAILY?

According to the Institute of Medicine (IoM), we should consume calcium daily at the following amounts:

• age 0 to 6 months: 200 mg per day
• age 7 to 12 months: 260 mg per day
• age 1 to 3 years: 700 mg per day
• age 4 to 8 years: 1000 mg per day
• age 9 to 18 years: 1300 mg per day
• age 19 to 50 years: 1000 mg per day
• breastfeeding or pregnant teenager: 1000 mg per day
• breastfeeding or pregnant adult: 1000 mg per day
• age 51 to 70 years (male): 1000 mg per day
• age 51 to 70 years (female): 1200 mg per day
• age 71+ years: 1200 mg per day

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEPATITIS

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The condition can be self-limiting or can progress to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause of hepatitis in the world but other infections, toxic substances (e.g. alcohol, certain drugs), and autoimmune diseases can also cause hepatitis.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. These 5 types are of greatest concern because of the burden of illness and death they cause and the potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread. In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and, together, are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer.

Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Hepatitis B, C and D usually occur as a result of parental contact with infected body fluids. Common modes of transmission for these viruses include receipt of contaminated blood or blood products, invasive medical procedures using contaminated equipment and for hepatitis B transmission from mother to baby at birth, from family member to child, and also by sexual contact.

Acute infection may occur with limited or no symptoms, or may include symptoms such as jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pai

TYPES OF HEPATITIS VIRUSES:

Hepatitis A virus (HAV): is present in the faeces of infected persons and is most often transmitted through consumption of contaminated water or food. Certain sex practices can also spread HAV. Infections are in many cases mild, with most people making a full recovery and remaining immune from further HAV infections. However, HAV infections can also be severe and life threatening. Most people in areas of the world with poor sanitation have been infected with this virus. Safe and effective vaccines are available to prevent HAV.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is transmitted through exposure to infected blood, semen, and other body fluids. HBV can be transmitted from infected mothers to infants at the time of birth or from family member to infant in early childhood. Transmission may also occur through transfusions of HBV-contaminated blood and blood products, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injection drug use. HBV also poses a risk to healthcare workers who sustain accidental needle stick injuries while caring for infected-HBV patients. Safe and effective vaccines are available to prevent HBV.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mostly transmitted through exposure to infected blood. This may happen through transfusions of HCV-contaminated blood and blood products, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injection drug use. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common. There is no vaccine for HCV.

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infections occur only in those who are infected with HBV. The dual infection of HDV and HBV can result in a more serious disease and worse outcome. Hepatitis B vaccines provide protection from HDV infection.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is mostly transmitted through consumption of contaminated water or food. HEV is a common cause of hepatitis outbreaks in developing parts of the world and is increasingly recognized as an important cause of disease in developed countries. Safe and effective vaccines to prevent HEV infection have been developed but are not widely available.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF HEPATITIS:

If you have forms of hepatitis that are usually chronic (hepatitis B and C), you may not have symptoms in the beginning. Symptoms may not occur until liver damage occurs.

Signs and symptoms of acute hepatitis appear quickly. They include:

·         fatigue

·         flu-like symptoms

·         dark urine

·         pale stool

·         abdominal pain

·         loss of appetite

·         unexplained weight loss

·         yellow skin and eyes, which may be signs of jaundice

Since chronic hepatitis develops slowly, these signs and symptoms may be too subtle to notice.

DIAGNOSIS:

Physical Exam: During a physical examination, your doctor may press down gently on your abdomen to see if there’s pain or tenderness. Your doctor may also feel to see if your liver is enlarged. If your skin or eyes are yellow, your doctor will note this during the exam.

Liver Biopsy: A liver biopsy is an invasive procedure that involves the doctor taking a sample of tissue from your liver. This is a closed procedure. In other words, it can be done through the skin with a needle and doesn’t require surgery. This test allows your doctor to determine if an infection or inflammation is present or if liver damage has occurred.

Liver Function Tests: Liver function tests use blood samples to determine how efficiently the liver works. These tests check how the liver clears blood waste, protein, and enzymes. High liver enzyme levels may indicate that the liver is stressed or damaged.

Ultrasound: An abdominal ultrasound uses ultrasound waves to create an image of the organs within the abdomen. This test will reveal fluid in the abdomen, an enlarged liver, or liver damage.

TIPS OF PREVENTION:

Hygiene: Practicing good hygiene is one key way to avoid contracting hepatitis. If you’re traveling to a developing country, you should avoid:

·         drinking local water

·         ice

·         seafood

·         raw fruit and vegetables

Hepatitis contracted through contaminated blood can be prevented by:

·         not sharing drug needles

·         not sharing razors

·         not using someone else’s toothbrush

·         not touching spilled blood

Vaccines: The utilization of vaccines is a second key to preventing hepatitis. Vaccinations are available to prevent the development of hepatitis A and B. Experts are currently developing vaccines against hepatitis C, D, and E.