The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2011 06:54 PM PST Infection from the influenza virus can cause serious consequences in both children and adults. Find out how to protect yourself and others from this potentially fatal disease. INFLUENZA, or "the flu", is a highly contagious viral respiratory illness that spreads through droplets when those who are infected cough, sneeze or talk. Symptoms of the flu are usually more severe than the common cold, with fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches, cough, sore throat, fatigue, nausea or vomiting. Toddlers and younger children are more vulnerable to the flu as their immune systems are less mature. This puts them at a much higher risk of contracting flu complications such as ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis or pneumonia. Other symptoms such as febrile seizures or convulsions, vomiting, diarrhoea, a high fever that cannot be explained and leg or back pains may also be present. The flu can also make chronic health problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have the flu, when there is secondary bacterial superinfection. If left untreated, influenza can cause serious illness and may even lead to death. Flu normally occurs during the colder months of the year, during the "flu season"; however one can contract the flu at any time of the year in this part of the world. The flu usually sweeps through large groups who spend time in close contact, such as in daycare centres, offices, school rooms, hospitals, and nursing homes. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a three-step recommendation programme to prevent influenza. The key steps toward flu prevention are to get you and your family members vaccinated against influenza, to take everyday preventive measures against the spread of germs, and to take antiviral drugs if necessary. Step 1: Get vaccinated The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against the flu. Flu vaccines are administered either in the arm or as a nasal spray. There are many different strains of the flu virus, with new strains constantly forming, hence the need to get a yearly vaccine. The vaccine for 2011-2012 will protect against influenza A H3N2 virus, influenza B virus and the H1N1 virus. The flu vaccine protects against three seasonal strains yearly. It is recommended that persons at high risk of contracting the virus, namely young children and old people (over age 65), get vaccinated. Other people at high risk of serious flu complications like pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease should also get vaccinated. Healthcare workers and others in close proximity with those who are at high risk of contracting the flu should also be vaccinated. Caretakers or guardians of infants, healthcare workers and others who are likely to be in contact with children younger than six months should be routinely vaccinated. Step 2: Prevent the spread If you have already contracted the flu, it's important to try not to pass it to others. Do cover your nose and mouth with a piece of tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often with soap and water or a hand sanitiser. Encourage your child to practise proper hand washing, not mouthing common toys shared with other children, and proper disposal of tissues after use. Avoid touching areas of your face that are exposed as germs are spread this way, e.g. eyes, nose and mouth. As the flu is contagious, chances are if you spend a lot of time with people who have the flu, you will also contract it. Conversely, if you are sick with a flu-like illness, it is advised that you stay home for at least 24 hours unless absolutely necessary to leave the house (e.g. to get groceries or to see a doctor). Step 3: Get an antiviral If you or your family has been infected with the flu, the doctor may prescribe you with antiviral drugs. Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics. These prescription medicines come in the form of liquid, pills or an inhaled powder and can make the illness milder while shortening the time that you are sick. In order to prevent serious flu complications, it is important that the antivirals be taken early on in the course of the illness (within the first two days of symptoms), especially if they are at risk of serious illness. If you purchase medicines like cough suppressants, decongestants or antihistamines from the pharmacy, remember to take note of the active ingredients and warnings on all product labels beforehand. Many cough and cold medicines contain the same ingredients, so you could accidentally overdose unless you're careful. When in doubt, consult a medical practitioner. Vaccination is the principal means of preventing infectious diseases, other illnesses and death. As parents, you may have concerns about vaccinations and their side effects, but it is safe and its benefits far outweigh its risks. As with any other vaccine, the usual side effects commonly associated with vaccination are pain and swelling where the shot was given, fever, dizziness, and nausea. The benefits of vaccination cannot be seen immediately but influenza vaccines can prevent 70% to 90% of influenza-specific illness. Among the elderly, the vaccine can reduce severe illnesses and complications by up to 60% and deaths by 80%. This vaccination is the best safeguard against the disease that has the potential to kill millions of children and adults worldwide. Recommendation: Children aged six months and older as well as adults should be vaccinated against influenza every year. Although children younger than six months are at high risk of serious complications from influenza infections, they are too young to receive the vaccination. Thus, the parents and people who care for them or live around them must be vaccinated to protect these babies. Do schedule a check-up with your doctor if you think that you or a member of your family may have the flu. Get vaccinated if you are at a high risk of getting the infection and practise good hygiene habits if you have already contracted the illness. For more information on the influenza virus, you may go to the Malaysian Health Ministry's website (www.moh.gov.my) or call the Ministry's hotline at (03) 8881 0200/300 or visit the CDC's website (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm) for the latest update. Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail is a consultant paediatrician & paediatric cardiologist. This article is courtesy of the Malaysian Paediatric Association's Positive Parenting programme that is supported by an educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur. The opinions expressed in the article are the view of the author. For further information, please visit www.mypositiveparenting.org Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2011 06:50 PM PST Be aware of the potential pitfalls that the elderly face so that we can address such problems before they worsen. ACCORDING to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world's elderly population (those 60 years and above) is 650 million. This is expected to increase to two billion by the year 2050. It's good news, really, as it's an indicator that global health is improving. However, an ageing population brings with it special health challenges, namely preparing society to meet the needs of an older population. This means training more doctors on care for the elderly, preventing and managing chronic diseases, and so on. On a more personal level, ageing does bring with it changes that require all manner of adjustments to daily living, depending on the health and mobility of the elderly person. Hence, consultant geriatrician Dr Rajban Singh's exhortation for a more distinct focus on issues of healthy ageing. "We must pay more attention to nutrition and exercise when we are young," he advises. "The basic foundation needs to be laid so that we can enjoy a healthy and productive life later." There are many issues we face as we grow older. One major problem is that of diabetes. "Currently, there are three to four million prediabetics in Malaysia, while diabetics number approximately one million," Dr Rajbans notes. Prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but it's not yet increased enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Steps can be taken at this stage to prevent full-blown diabetes from occuring, such as changes to diet and doing more exercise. According to Dr Rajbans, the biggest danger faced by the elderly who progress from prediabetes to diabetes is the lack of any symptoms. "The elderly undergo physiological changes as they grow older. This affects the body's homeostasis, and they react differently, or not as well, to assaults to the body. Hence, they may not show the classical symptoms of diabetes. All they might experience is a bit of tiredness, which they assume is part of the ageing process. "Another problem is that of high blood pressure, which can be assymptomatic even in the younger age group. We have to be aware of all these potential problems," he notes. Hence, it's important that the elderly have their annual check-ups to make sure that any problem can be nipped in the bud. Another issue Dr Rajbans says is prominent in the elderly is nutrition. "For many of us, eating involves taste, sight, aroma. The elderly lose that as they have duller senses, and along with lack of chewing power, this could affect nutrition. "In addition, a lack of appetite (which could be due to the medications they are taking), loneliness and social deprivation can affect their nutritional status. These all pile on and affects how an elderly copes," he observes. The sum of all these factors could lead to malnutrition in the elderly. Dr Rajbans recounts a patient he once saw. "There was this little old lady who came in because she was malnourished. We couldn't find out why. She said her appetite was good, and she was eating regularly. "Then the dietitian found out that her definition of 'eating well' was having three meals of instant noodles every day! No wonder she was malnourished." Dr Rajbans notes that malnutrition is a major issue in the elderly. "As we grow older, gastrointestinal absorption decreases, so malabsorption increases. In fact, studies have shown that about 30% to 40% of the elderly are malnourished," he shares. To compound all these problems, the elderly tend to have multiple problems such as osteoporosis, arthritis and so on. They tend to have multiple medications, and these can interact and cause loss of appetite. So maybe a trip to your local doctor is needed to sort out these medications so as to reduce to the minimum the amount of drugs an elderly person takes. Otherwise, taking all those medications might seem like a small meal in itself. For the old and malnourished, Dr Rajbans says that supplements have a role to play in nursing them back to health. These nutritional supplement powders can provide some of the calories and nutrients the elderly may lack. However, Dr Rajbans warns that these should be treated as supplements, not replacement meals. Dr Rajbans also advises about the power of motivation when one grows older. "We must have a purpose in life, an interest, the wish to learn more. It is easier to get up in the morning if life is interesting." Related Stories: |
| Posted: 31 Dec 2011 04:36 PM PST How safe are your supplements? MANY of you are taking at least one nutritional supplement daily, while there are quite a number who are dutifully gobbling dozens of supplement pills in the hope of staying young, healthy, beautiful and slim. Supplements are meant to replace nutrients that are deficient in your diet. If your diet is not perfect, which is usually the case, you should benefit from taking supplements. But you need to know which nutrients are lacking to benefit most from a supplement programme. Chronic deficiency of one or more essential nutrients can lead to deficiency diseases. Perhaps the best illustration of this was the discovery that sailors who suffered from scurvy were cured of the disease after eating oranges. We now know that oranges contain vitamin C, and scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency disease. Since then, we have understood a lot more about the importance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, and that deficiencies will cause recognisable symptoms or full blown diseases. Much of the knowledge refers to overt deficiency conditions. However, less is known on the effect of having normal but sub-optimal levels of these nutrients in the body. While we know how much is required to prevent deficiency disease, we are less certain about how much is required for optimum health, and also how much will cause harm instead of the desired benefits. How much vitamin C? Let us take vitamin C as an example. It is one of the most popular supplements, and even children are given the supplement by their parents. This is because vitamin C is believed to help overall health, prevent common colds and improve immunity. Its use was popularised by double Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, who advocated megadoses of vitamin C for everyone as the key to good health and disease prevention. Lately, women (and men too) began taking vitamin C supplements (some take injections) for its whitening effect. Vitamin C is also needed in the manufacture of collagen. Some doctors use megadoses of vitamin C to treat cancer. Pauling also proposed that vitamin C (in megadoses) can reverse heart disease. There are several reported cases of such reversals, but large scientific study is still too lacking for it to be widely accepted, compared to the thousands of studies done on drugs like the statins. The controversy continues till today, with the official US recommendation being 75mg per day for women, and 90mg per day for men. Since many fruits are rich in vitamin C, it is easy to achieve these targets from your diet. Yet, if you survey the pharmacies, you will find many brands of vitamin C supplements, with doses of 100mg to 1,000mg. In fact, most who do take vitamin C supplements take at least 1,000mg per day. This means that most people do not believe the official recommendation. If you consider that a dog manufactures 50mg/kg of vitamin C per day, then a 70kg man would need about 3,500mg of vitamin C daily. I believe Pauling was right when he said we need megadoses of vitamin C to be healthy. Since most people don't consume anywhere near that amount, it may help explain why we are still so vulnerable to many infections, diseases and cancer. I have written about vitamin C and its co-factors (especially bioflavonoids) previously. Suffice it for me to share here that I and many other anti-ageing doctors take much more than 1,000mg per day, and that it is best to get vitamin C from whole-food supplements, or at least from natural food-sourced extracts that are also enriched with the essential co-factors. Non-food sourced (synthetic) vitamin C may not be as effective. After attending many seminars on the use of vitamin C, none of the doctors who have used megadoses as therapy have encountered any problems with toxicity or kidney stones occurring in their patients. Therefore, in my opinion, it is good and safe to take megadoses of vitamin C supplements because we need much more than what is officially recommended. I am using vitamin C in this article to illustrate the wide range of issues you need to consider to benefit most from any supplement, and the differences in opinions between experts when it comes to nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, research on safe and promising nutritional therapies to help settle these controversies is neglected, compared to the billions spent on drug research. Below, I would like to highlight other common nutrients that are taken in supplement form that have also become controversial. Are iron supplements safe? For many years, we were all encouraged to take iron-rich diets (especially meats, veggies, some fruits, nuts and beans), and even iron supplements to prevent anaemia and enable the body to manufacture sufficient haemoglobin (the oxygen transporter in our red blood cells), enzymes and other body components. Then, about 20 years ago, we were told that high levels of iron stored in the body predispose to heart disease, and men (and post-menopausal women) were told to stop taking iron supplements, unless they are known to be anaemic. Menstruating women are known to have lower heart disease rates, and that was how the suspicion on iron causing heart disease first came about. Actually, these women also benefit from the protective effect of the oestrogen hormones. Since the first pronouncement on iron's potential danger, more studies have been done, but the results have not been conclusive. For now, most experts still advise that supplemental iron should be avoided (unless you are anaemic). We should get iron from our food only. Children and pregnant women should however, continue to benefit from iron supplementation. Interestingly, one study (done by Harvard University) showed that taking plant-sourced (non-haem) iron was safe while the animal-sourced (haem-iron) was not. The body stops absorbing the plant-sourced non-haem iron in food when iron stores become adequate, but the animal-sourced haem iron continues to be absorbed regardless. Thus it is safe to consume as much iron-rich plant foods without having to worry about the possible dangers to the heart. Are calcium supplements safe? A recent study reported in BMJ showed that women who took calcium supplements were more at risk of both heart attacks and stroke. Yet all men and women are being advised to take calcium supplements to maintain stronger bones and teeth. Post-menopausal women are especially advised to take calcium supplements because they are at risk of osteoporosis, yet they are also most at risk of heart attacks and stroke. Although this issue is still hotly debated, with conflicting conclusions from different experts, it goes to show that we need to know much more about nutritional supplements. This is another situation that confuses us, and an understanding of the bigger picture may help us solve the conundrum. We all know that calcium is needed for the bones and teeth. Calcium is also essential for the functioning of all cells, especially muscles and nerves. The heart is a muscular pump, and calcium plays a crucial role in its function. Blood pressure regulation is also mediated by calcium. We also know that the coronary, cerebral and other arteries can become blocked by calcified plaques. So how do we ensure that we have sufficient calcium, yet do not increase the risk of heart disease and stroke (and also gallbladder and urinary stones)? Many factors are involved in how the body judiciously manages and uses calcium (and other minerals), which are essential for life, but can also cause death. We need to understand that organic (food-sourced) calcium is not only easily absorbed, but is also easily assimilated into the cells because the molecules are smaller. In contrast, inorganic (eg calcium in mineral water dissolved from rocks; calcium carbonate from limestone) calcium is poorly assimilated by the cells, and tend to deposit elsewhere in the body. Thus, inorganic calcium supplements can be expected to contribute to the formation of stones (gallbladder, kidneys) and deposit in plaques more than dietary calcium. What happens to the calcium ingested depends on many factors. For example, for bone formation, we also need magnesium, zinc and several trace elements, collagen, active vitamin D, several hormones, and the carrier proteins. Growth hormone and sex hormones (androgens and oestrogens in men and women respectively) promote bone formation; parathyroid hormone and calcitonin regulate the free calcium levels in the blood; while the calcium transport/carrier proteins bind and transport the calcium to where it is needed. Calmodulin is the most important calcium transporter, and it is also involved in the modeling and remodeling of bones (functions attributed to the osteoblasts and osteoclasts only previously). Finally, weight-bearing exercises are required for the bones to have a reason to become stronger. Thus, so many factors are involved, and all have to be at the appropriate levels. Otherwise, the calcium consumed may not be utilised for bone formation since there is no need for the bone to be strong. And the "excess" calcium may be harmful. So don't just take calcium supplements blindly. This applies to your other supplements too. You need to know their usefulness, safety, absorbability, effectiveness and correct dosage. You should not spend money on supplements only to die faster. In a previous article, I already highlighted that a large review study showed that those who take the common vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplements die faster than those who don't. There may be more surprises coming! Dr Amir Farid Isahak is a medical specialist who practises holistic, aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine. He is a qigong master and founder of SuperQigong. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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