Healthy Living and All About health

Mesothelioma Life Span The life span of those diagnosed with  mesothelioma  is typically poor due to the severe latency period associated with the disease. In most cases, patients do not experience  symptoms  until at least 20 years have passed since the initial exposure to asbestos occurred, resulting in a late diagnosis. Another reason for the poor life span is the fact that there is no definitive cure. However, many patients elect to undergo treatment to combat the cancer, improve their quality of life and relieve symptoms. Improving Life Span The average life span for a newly-diagnosed mesothelioma patient ranges from four to 18 months. While  treatments  are commonly used to help with symptoms and provide comfort, they can also be utilized to prolong the length of a patient’s life.  One such treatment is  radiation therapy , which is used to slow the spread of the cancerous tumor. This particular type of treatment can also be used during...

Surgeons creating new ears for girl from Trinidad A team of medics in Scotland is creating new ears for a 15-year-old girl from Trinidad. Kade Romain was born without ears and missing part of her ear canal, leaving her partially deaf and facing a future begging for a living. The medical team from the Spire Murrayfield hospital in Edinburgh has given its time for free to construct new ears so that she faces a brighter future. Kade came to Scotland after meeting Robina Addison, a Scottish dance teacher, who was visiting the orphanage Kade was living in. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her because she was such a character,” Ms Addison said. Because she was born without ears, Kade couldn’t go to mainstream school and was attending a day care unit for children who are mentally handicapped. “I would liken it to a sanatorium here 40 or 50 years ago,” Ms Addison added. Inspired to act, she organised a temporary visa for Kade to come to Scotland for a very unusual operation....

Unethical use of humans as research guinea pigs has long darkened medicine’s history. Most famous are the experiments carried out on large numbers of prisoners by the German Nazi regime in extermination camps during World War II. Sadly, a new example has recently come to light – the deliberate infection of hundreds of people in Guatemala with sexual diseases like gonorrhoea and syphilis in medical tests that started the year after the war ended. Evidence of the programme  was unearthed by Professor Susan Reverby at Wellesley College, reports the  Journal of the American Medical Association . Its aim was to find a better treatment for venereal diseases. With troops having returned from the war field incapacitated by venereal diseases rather than battle-wounds, the US government was acutely aware of the dangers of soldiers indulging in sex with prostitutes. Although they had the drug penicillin to fight syphilis – as well as the calomel-sulpha-thiazole ointment provided in...

When if comes to hydration there are many more facts to report than fiction. The most important thing to remember about proper hydration is that, not all hydration is created equal. For example; one cup of coffee is not equal to one cup of water. That’s because coffee is a diuretic – so are many other beverages, such as tea and soda. Proper hydration is essential to good health, and necessary for the prevention of dehydration… Signs and symptoms of dehydration include: Mild to excessive thirst Fatigue Headache Dry mouth Little or no urination Muscle weakness Dizziness Lightheadedness Mild dehydration rarely results in complications – as long as the fluid is replaced quickly – but more-severe cases can be life-threatening, especially in the very young and the elderly. In extreme situations, fluids or electrolytes may need to be delivered intravenously. Obviously, staying hydrated is essential to any good exercise program…I found an interesting recipe for making your own spo...

Mackenzy Blackwell woke up with a huge smile on Sept. 7. “First day today!” he reminded his mom — as if she could have forgotten. While her son had slept soundly, dreams of third grade dancing in his head, Jillian Blackwell had been up half the night worrying. The first day of school was a bigger deal for the Blackwells than it was for most families, because Mackenzy had been home-schooled since kindergarten. “I teared up afterward as I walked away from the class, and I was the last parent to leave,” said Blackwell, a marketer in Farmington Hills, Mich. “But I realize that for him, it was something I needed to do.” More than 1.5 million children, about 3 percent of the school-age population in the United States , are home-schooled, and every year a number of kids go from home-school to traditional school, and vice versa. Making the switch from home to a regular school can be challenging: a new social scene, different academic expectations, and a teacher who doesn’t answer to “M...

The Government warns that amalgam dental fillings color containing mercury may pose a safety concern for pregnant women and young children . The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this caution on its website earlier this month after settling a lawsuit. The warning is directed at two groups, which are already urged to limit mercury seafood over concerns that too much mercury can damage the developing brain. The FDA said that publish dental amalgam, "containing mercury, which can have neurotoxic effects on the developing nervous system of children and fetuses." The FDA is also determine whether the mercury vapor released when chewing and brushing can also cause neurological disorders or other problems in children. This spring, the FDA alerted dentists who is considering additional controls, which include requiring warnings to alert consumers of mercury in amalgam before having cavities or restriction filling containing mercury in amalgam fillings young children and ...