Dr. Joe Bresee - Swine flu

Hello. I'm Dr. Joe Bresee with the CDC Influenza Division (Chief of Epidemiology and Prevention Branch). I'm here to speak with you today about swine flu. {CDC is Center for Disease Control and Prevention: a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases)}

What is swine flu

First I'll begin by explaining what swine flu is. Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by Type A Influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do occur. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs, but it is possible for swine-flu viruses to spread from person to person also. The symptoms of swin flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomitting associated with swine flu as well. In the past, sever illnesses such as pneumonia and respiratory failure, as well as deaths have been reported with swine-influenza infection in people as well.

Swine flu in human

Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions. I will now discuss the severity of swine-flu illnesses in people. Similar to seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. Between 2005 until January 2009, 12 human cases of swine flu were detected in the United States with no deaths occurring. However, swine-flu infection can be serious. In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin was hospitalized for pneumonia after being infected with swine flu, and she died eight days later. A swine-flu outbreak in Fort Dix, New Jersey, occurred in 1976 that caused more than 200 cases with severe illness in several people and one death.

Propagation of swine flu

Spread of swine flu can occur in two ways. The first way is through contact with infected pigs or environments contaminated with swine-flu viruses. The second way is through contact with a person infected with the swine-flu virus. Human-to-human spread of swine flu has also been documented and is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu. Influenza is thought to be spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

Medication for swine flu

Next I would like to tell you about medicines that can be used to treat swine flu. CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and, alternatively, the prevention of infection with these swine-flu viruses. Anti-viral drugs are prescription medicines such as pills, liquids, or an inhaler that fights against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and can make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications.

Treatment for swine flu

For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick, specifically withing two days of symptoms. People with swine influenza should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possibly for up to seven days following the illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Vaccine for swine flu

There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu. However, there are everyday actions that people can take to help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash can after you use it. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. Try to avoid contact with sick people.

What you should do if you are sick

If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. Avoid touching your nose, eyes or mouth because germs can spread that way.

Now I will move on to discuss what you should do if you get sick. If you live in an area where swine flu have been reported and if you become ill with influenza-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomitting or diarrhea, you may want to contact your healthcare provider, particularly if you're worried about your symptoms. Your healthcare provider will determine whether influenza testing or treatment is needed. If you are sick, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness to others. If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

Emergency warning signs for children

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include fast breathing or troubled breathing, blueish skin color, not drinking enough fluids, not waking up or not interacting, being so ill that the child does not want to be held, fever with a rash, or flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with a fever and worse cough.

Emergency warning signs for adults

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include difficult breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, and severe or persistent vomitting.

Can you get swine flu by eating pork?

People don't need to worry about eating or preparing pork. Swine-influenza viruses are not spread by food. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.

Green tea gives protection from Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is a disease of the brain in which brain cells function failed and the sufferer become reduced to worst than infancy. It is most likely caused by plaque build-up in the delicate connections in the brain precipitated by overproduction of beta-amyloid. According to an article Green Tea May Protect From Alzheimer’s, anti-oxidants in green tea can stave off over-production of beta-amyloid and thus give protection against the terrible Alzheimer's. So green tea is a prophylactic against Alzheimer's

Weight control - drink water before meal

Are you struggling to reduce weight by eating less and having problems? Here is a tip. Drink water before eating. This will curb your appetite and you will eat less. According to study by Virginia Tech researchers published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (a US trade magazine), overweight and obese people who drank a half-litre water before breakfast ended up eating 75 calories less. This is equivalent to 27,375 calorie over a year which is equivalent to 3 kilogrammes of fat. If one is to drink water before every meal, the calories intake will be drastically reduced leading to weight loss over a long period.

Tools for caregivers of senior citizens

Aging is natural. We start aging from the time we are born and continue aging until the inevitable, the only 100% sure event that we must all face, death. When we were first born as babies, we are helpless and dependent greatly and for a significant portion of our lifetime on caregivers, our parents. As we grow into infancy, adolescence, adulthood, we become parents and caregivers ourself. Finally when we aged into senior citizenship, we become weak, clumsy because of slowed reflexes or poor eyesight, prone to disabilitating accidents and sickness, and if we become senile or suffer from Alzheimer's, we may wander off and end up lost and not able to find the way home. As elderlies, we become dependent ourself again, most probably dependent on our children whom we had provided much care when they were babies or infants. It is a cycle from dependents to caregivers back to becoming dependents again.

In the good old days, there is the extended families where there will always be someone who have the time to look after the elderlies. Now in modern time and the rat race, most potential caregivers are busy with their jobs and careers and thus unable to give the kind of care and attention needed. Senior citizens are often left alone in the home. What will happen if an elderly person should fall and become immobile with no one to help. Fortunately technologies in the form of the amazing electronics, GPS and wireless technologies, etc., have come to our aid. There is such a thing as a medical alarm which can serve as a round the clock watchman.

Modern technology has given us fall detector, motion detector, panic button and GPS (Global Positioning System) wander alert. The fall detector of course will detect fall which then send out an alert message to a monitoring system which can then send help. The motion detector will detect long period of inactivity which is a sign that something is wrong. The panic button when pressed will call for help. The GPS wonder alert will allow those manning the monitoring system to track a senior citizen who have wandered away from the home. Looks like this is even better than the "good old days" because this is a 24 hours a day 7 days a week 4 weeks a month and 12 months a year caregiver.

Exercise regime to control blood pressure and diabetes

I had a scare many months back. The doctor said my blood pressure was 150 over 90. The next day he said it was 150 over 100. He said I have high blood pressure. He wanted to put me on hypertension medication. I said if I start, I will have to take the hypertension medicine for life. I negotiated to try exercise and diet control.

I first tried cooking my food using no salt and only garlic, onions and spices like kunyit (Curcuma longa or tumeric), pepper and oregano. I cooked with oats instead of rice as it was easier to cook. I exercise only sparingly. It helped but my blood electrolyte (sodium) went down.

Next I tried exercise more regularly. It worked. My blood pressure is now under control. However, exercises are very dull. What I did was to put on the music and march up and down following the beat of the music. It is just like soldiers marching or dancing to the beat of the music. It becomes more enjoyable and not dull. When I saw that it had a good effect on the blood pressure and heart beat (pulse) rate, I had extra motivation to exercise plus I know exercise also helps to keep diabetes at bay and lowers the resting heart beat rate. Now, motivated by the positive results, I exercise for half and hour everyday and believe me, it is not dull. It has become enjoyable.

This is the exercise regime I followed: I had downloaded songs into appropriate folders in my computer arranged according the how fast are the beat, starting with the slow ones and increasing with tempo. When it is time to exercise, I opened the folder and played the songs with Windows Media Player. I then march or jog up and down the stairs according to the music. The music not only keeps me entertained, motivated and help regulate the rate I walked up and down the staircase, it also keeps the time. I now know how long I exercised depending on which song in the playlist I stopped exercising. At the moment I am able to exercise up to Maybellene by Chuck Berry which means I have exercised for slightly more than half and hour. I also check the blood pressure and heart beat rate with a blood pressure monitor immediately after the end of the exercis and it showed that when I exercise up to Maybellene by Chuck Berry, I have achieved 97% of my maximum heart beat rate.

This is the playlist I used:
Respect by Aretha Franklin
I wanna hold your hands by the Beetles
She loves you by the Beetles
Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones
Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys
Good Vibrations by Chuck Berry
What's I do by Ray Charles
Blowing in the wind by Bob Dylan
Maybellene by Chuck Berry
Hound Dog by Elvis Presley
Whole lotta shakin' going on by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunshine of your love by the Cream
Jail House Rock by Elvis Presley

So far I had been successful in exercising right up to Maybellene by Chuck Berry which has an extremely fast beat and I practically have to run up and down the stairs and it induced my heart beat rate up to 155 beats per minute which is a little bit below the maximum heart beat rate of 160 for a sixty year old (220 - age = 220 - 60 = 160).

Green tea miracle drink

Green tea leaves are the unfermented leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Green tea has a very high polyphenols content. The polyphenols in green tea is classified as catechins. There are six primary catechin compounds in green tea - catechin, gallaogatechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate and apigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Of the six, the most active is EGCG. Polyphenol is a powerful anti-oxidant (anti-oxidant scavenge free radicals which are damaging compounds which alter cells and damage DNA). It is believed that the anti-oxidant property of polyphenol is more potent than vitamin C.

Drinking green tea is a very healthy practice. Traditional Chinese medical practioners use green tea as a stimulant, diuretic (increase the flow of urine, which causes the body to get rid of excess water) and astringent (draw together or constrict tissues). It is also used to treat flatulence (excessive gas in the alimentary canal), regulate body temperature and blood sugar and promote digestion.

Studies showed that green tea lowers total cholesterol and raises LDP (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol which are the good cholesterol and reduces LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol which are the harmful cholesterol. Some clinical studies also showed that green tea may prevent cancer because it is believed that the polyphenols in green tea kill cancer cells and stop their growth.

Studies on animals showed that green tea prevents Type 1 diabetes. It can also slow the progression of Type 1 diabetes once it has developed.

Clinical studies also indicated that green tea increase metabolism and burn fat and thus help weight loss. It may also reduce inflammation and is thus helpful for athritis patients.