swine virus

I wonder what's next after the pig flu? There is the SARS, avian bird flu and now the swine flu. At times I wonder if the pig flu would really turn out as serious as the media and press makes it out to be? After all, SARS claimed just well over 300 hundred life worldwide but this figure pales in comparison when compare with malaria and other water borne diseases such as typhoid which kills over hundreds daily worldwide. To date the pig flu virus claimed just well over a hundred, many of which are yet to be confirmed due to pig flu virus infection.

Temperature scanners has been placed in various airports around the world as first line of defense against possible human transmission via international travels. One of the major concern with pig flu is that the symptoms are similar to normal flu. Its practically almost impossible for a doctor to confirm if a person is infected with pig flu or not by symptoms such as cough, fever, nausea, omitting, headache, fatigue and dizziness.

So the big question is why the global major concern with pig flu? One interesting thing to note is that most of the death pertaining to the pig flu comes from Mexico. Medical experts aren't even absolutely sure if the pig flu is the direct contributor to the related deaths in Mexico. So in the meantime I suppose the big pharmacy companies will be aligning resources to develop and stock pile new vaccine against the pig flu and that means big business amidst the global economic crisis.

There are those who suggest that pandemic flu outbreak is much more serious compare to other diseases such as the mosquito borne malaria disease due to the fact that flu is air borne and highly contagious. This argument is far fetch due to the fact that Malaria is spread through the Aides Mosquito and you can easily contract malaria via mosquito bites.

We can enforce rules such as mandatory quarantine, health check and other regulations and means to reduce, isolate or avoid the spread of pandemic flu but we can't do that when the median of transmission is insect such as mosquitoes. The only way to halt or reduce the spread of malaria is by seeking out and destroying source of breeding places and even then, trying to execute such plan proves to be difficult in slump and squat areas of towns with large population.

The pig flu virus has been identified as far back as 1930s and it is caused by Type A influenza virus. It is not uncommon for virus such as the pig flu to mutate into a new viral strain that may cross the species barrier and result in human to human transmission.

On a footnote, it is interesting to note that a higher number of flu infection related deaths are not caused directly by the virus infection themselves, rather it is caused by other diseases due to the weakening of the body immune system against bacterias and viruses.


In summary, there is no need to be unduly worry about the swine virus. Yes, such flu infection is very contagious however there are other equally deadly diseases which are contagious and deserved equal global health corporations to tackle and address.

Can stress cause acne?

We live in a fast pace stressful world. Everything seems to move very quickly at times. We are almost reachable and contactable in every corner of the earth even while we are on the move. Just pick up the phone and dial a few numbers and communication is established between you and your intended recipient via the mobile phone. 24 hours a day seems too short for many.

With airlines around the world schedule to install wireless Internet access onboard planes worldwide, it means you are contactable even if you are in the midst of onboard a flight anywhere in the world. Is that a good or bad thing? Well it’s up to you to figure it out.

People expect things to get done as soon as possible. It’s a mad world out there. Big boss or even your customer expects immediate answer to their problems or requests. Somebody ask you a question today and expect answers or solutions from you since yesterday!

Your boss shouts and curse and swears at you. Your subordinates curse, taunts and swears at you. You got stuck in the middle between higher management and those under you. You sweat like hell and wonder how much stress you can take. Your personal life, and relationship with loved are on the rock due to stress. You feel hopeless and losing control of life momentum and direction.

Life has never been more stressful with economic and global financial meltdown and job cuttings on the rise. If you are the very few who has already achieve financial independence then I congratulate you. If you are among those who still got to work to live, then stress is part of your life. How you deal with stress may even perhaps determine and impact your health and life span!

One of the most common questions asks regarding skin care is whether stress can cause acne? Well the answer is a yes. Students under exam stress are known to have acne and pimple outbreak. So what is it about stress that contributes to acne? Is stress the major contributor to acne?

Stress stimulates the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones. Adrenal glands are located above the kidneys and it produces 'norepinephrine' and 'epinephrine' hormones when the body is subjected to mental and psychological stress. Stress hormones are important as it helps the body to deal with both perceived and real threats.

The adrenal cortex secretes male hormones and it is this intricate hormone balances that allows the human species to survive since the dawn of time. These hormones are secreted to enable the body to respond to danger and to deal with it in the most appropriate manner.

These stress hormones have the effect of stimulating sebaceous gland to secrete more sebum, which eventually cause the blockage of the skin pores and hair follicles. Normal skin bacteria get trapped in the clogged pores due to the excessive sebum and starts to multiply within the hair follicles. White blood cells are triggered to attack the bacteria and this further causes skin inflammation and eventually leads to acne and pimples.

Chronic stress also has the harmful effect of reducing the body healing process. Your sleep may be disrupted by stress and lack of sleep may impact your body immune system. As a result, acne and pimples takes longer time to heal.

Acne is triggered and caused by a variety of different factors. Both internal and external environmental factors contribute to acne. A holistic and integrated treatment approach is needed to deal with acne. Dealing with stress is certainly an important factor to bring you one step closer to keeping acne at bay.

Here are links to previous post pertaining to acne.

http://stargaterich.blogspot.com/2009/03/healing-acne.html
http://stargaterich.blogspot.com/2008/07/skin-with-acne.html
http://stargaterich.blogspot.com/2009/02/does-certain-food-contribute-to.html
http://stargaterich.blogspot.com/2009/02/acne-skin-care.html

Reduce Stress Via Time Management

Chronic stress is extremely detrimental to health. Time management skills can allow you more time with your loved ones and possibly increase your performance and productivity. Effective time management will allow you to cope and deal with daily life stress.

To improve your time management:

· Save time by focusing and concentrating, delegating, and scheduling time for yourself.
· Keep a record of how you spend your time, including work, family, and leisure time.
· Prioritize your time by rating tasks by importance and urgency. Redirect your time to those activities that are important and meaningful to you.
· Manage your commitments by not over- or undercommitting. Don't commit to what is not important to you.
· Deal with procrastination by using a day planner, breaking large projects into smaller ones, and setting short-term deadlines.
· Examine your beliefs to reduce conflict between what you believe and what your life is like.

Build healthy coping strategies
It is important that you identify your coping strategies. One way to do this is by recording the stressful event, your reaction, and how you cope in a stress journal. With this information, you can work to change unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones-those that help you focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life.

Check out the following on issues pertaining to stress
Stress & Psoriasis
Stress and debt
Stress & Weight Gain
Stress & Aging

Cancer robots

It was reported in the press that the former CEO of DBS Bank Mr Richard Stanley succumbed to infection after two rounds of chemotherapy and died. It seems that the chemotherapy does more than what it was intended for. The chemotherapy destroy both cancerous as well as normal healthy cells and as a result of this his body immune system was severely compromised.

At times I wonder if any cancer patient should be subjected to chemotherapy at all. Looking from statistic, things don't look that much promising with regards to the success recovery rate of patients subjected to chemotherapy. In fact I bet doctors themselves might not even want to consider chemotherapy either for themselves or their loved ones. Chemotherapy treatment is just like doing carpet bombing of an entire city just to get one or two bad guys from population of thousands. Really makes no sense at all isn't it?

At times I wonder which disease is more difficult to cure? AIDS or cancer? Would science be able to cure cancer just like the common cold in the near future? After all, scientist claimed they have successfully developed certain type of vaccine to help protect women against cervical cancer and such vaccine is already available in the market.

One of the more promising and interesting technological marvel pertaining to cancer treatment is the development of tiny robots that is programmed to track and destroy cancerous cell. Such tiny robots are injected into the blood stream and cancerous cells are selectively targeted and destroyed by the tiny robots. You can find out more about this Israel breakthrough biomedical technology by clicking on this link.

Such technology reminds me of the 1987 Hollywood block buster movie 'Inner Space' starring Dennis Quaid whereby human could be shrink to the size of a pin hole and travel within the human body via specialized miniature submarines or bots.

Psoriasis drug that causes brain damage

Heads up people! Beware of certain Psoriasis drugs that are detrimental to your health. Apparently there is ample proof to suggest that the new drug Raptiva may cause brain damage. The worrying thing about Raptiva is that it is an approved drug and the manufacturer Genentech is pulling the drug from the shelf voluntary.

Psoriasis is an immune disorder skin disease and most Psoriasis drugs works by lowering the body immune system. As a result of that, the body natural defense system is compromised and this may setup the body for other dangerous infections.

Your doctor may not be aware of this recent announcement so check out the Psoriasis drugs prescribed by your doctor if it applicable and stop taking those drugs if it is Raptiva or other known Psoriasis brand of drugs with dangerous side effects. Inform your doctor accordingly and request your doctor to prescribe other safer drugs instead.

It is always better to seek other forms of Psoriasis treatments with less critical side effects such as natural and alternative medicine treatments. Laboratory manufactured drugs dealing with lowering of immune system is very dangerous and should be the last option to consider.

Check this out on Psoriasis drug that causes brain damage!

Check out the rest of my posting on Psoriasis.

General overview of Psoriasis
Stress and Psoriasis

The Facts About Oily Skin Care

Oily skin makes a person looks less attractive, shiny and in some cases downright messy. A general understanding on what causes oily skin is important if you want to solve oily skin problem in the safest and fastest possible manner. Getting rid of oily skins literally means pinpointing and treating the root cause of oily skin problem.

Oily skin is a result of excessive production of sebum (a lipid-rich protective substance).
The sebum serves to help moisturize the skin. Excessive sebum is bad for the skin. It leads to clogging of skin pores, resulting in accumulation of dead cells and thus leads to the formation of pimples and acne.

Daily stress in life, poor blood circulation, toxic accumulation in the body, allergy and sensitivy to certain food such as gluten, wheat, in conjunction with lack of sleep and dehydration may excerbate oily skin condition.

The fundamental objective of ‘oily skin care’ is the removal of excessive oil from the skin in particular the face. Oily skin care procedures should not lead to the complete removal of oil. Always begin your treatment of oily skin with the use of a suitable cleanser. Not all cleansers are suitable for everyone. You should use a cleanser which contains salicylic acid i.e. a beta-hydroxy acid that decrease the rate of sebum production. Cleansing should be done at least twice a day (and even more in hot and humid conditions).

Most of the oily skin care products are oil-free; however, it is always advisable to confirm the ingredients of the product, before you actually buy it. Look at the fineprint and user instruction on the labels carefully. It is best to avoid buying skin care product that is marked as ‘suitable for all skin types’ if you have extremely oily skin condition, ‘Oily skin care’ is also dependent on the degree of oiliness, you may consider the ‘suitable for all’- type of products only provided you suffered from mild oily skin problem.

For extremely oily skin, it is recommended that you only use oily skin care products that are suitable for your skin type . Your oily skin care routine can include an alcohol based toner (for an extremely oily skin). This can be the second step in your oily skin care routine i.e. just after cleansing. However, excessive toning can harm your skin. Use oild absorbing sheets to get rid of excess oil.

Most skin care products for oily skin have a lot of alcohol in them, specifically SD40 alcohol, which strips the acid mantle from the skin and is very drying which often kicks the sebaceous glands into overdrive so they produce even more oil.

The next step in your oily skin care routine can be a mild moisturiser. Again, the degree of oiliness of your skin will determine on whether you need to include this in your oily skin care routine. If you do decide to include a moisturiser, be sure to use one that is oil-free, wax-free and lipid-free.
Generally, people with oily skin shouldn't moisturize their skin.You could also use a clay mask (say once a week) as an oily skin care measure.

As far as the oily skin care products go, you might need to try out a few before you arrive at the one that is really suitable for your skin. In case these measures don’t give you the desired result, consult a good dermatologist for advice. He could prescribe stronger oily skin care products like vitamin A creams, retinoids, sulphur creams etc , which can help counter the problems of oily skin.

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

How do you fit a miracle in a cup? I am a green tea lover and have been drinking it at least a cup a day for the past 10 years!.

For 4,000 years, the Chinese people have been using green tea as treatment for everything from headaches to depression.

Today, studies are conducted in Asia and the west in order to produce hard evidence of the health benefits of green tea. In the 1994 edition of the Journal of National Cancer Institute, the results of an epidemiological study stated that one of the health benefits of drinking green tea is that it can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by up to 60%.

The rich presence of catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the reason why green tea has so much health benefits. A powerful antioxidant, EGCG can not only inhibit the growth of cancer cells but can also destroy them without harming healthy cells.

The University of Purdue has also concluded a research on how a certain compound present in green tea can stop cancer cells from growing. Still another health benefit of green tea is its ability to lower down cholesterol levels and improve the ratio between good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol.

The EGCG in green tea is a health benefit substance that can lower down LDL cholesterol levels and stop blood from forming abnormal clots (thrombosis), a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Green tea has more health benefits compared to other Chinese teas like oolong and black tea, all of which come from the plant Camellia sinensis. What makes green tea different is the process by which it is made. Green tea owes much of its health benefits to how the Camellia sinensis leaves are steamed. The steam process keeps the EGCG health benefit of green tea from oxidizing. With oolong and black teas, however, the leaves are fermented instead of being steamed, thus causing the EGCG health benefit to transform into another less medicinally potent form.

Aside from medicinal value, green tea can also offer other health benefits, especially in the fitness field. Drinking green tea can cause a person to burn down more calories. A recent study on the health benefits of green tea shows that the drink can help dieters. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1999, men who take both caffeine and green tea burn down more calories than men who only take caffeine or a placebo.

Another health benefit of green tea is its bacteria-destroying properties. The health benefit of green tea in this area is that it can help prevent food poisoning and also prevent tooth decay. The substances found in green tea kill the bacteria causing food poisoning and those that cause dental plaque to form.

Last but not least, drinking tea is also known to help reduce Psoarisis condition.Green tea helps to reduce skin inflammation and slow down the growth of skin cells by regulating the cell's life cycle. People with skin conditions such as psoriasis, rosacea, and dandruff, which are caused by inflammation, may benefit the most from the anti-inflammatory action of the chemicals in green tea.
Well known for its countless medicinal and health benefits, green tea is nothing short of a miracle.

A general overview of Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a long-lasting skin disorder characterized by scaling and inflammation. Scaling occurs when cells in the outer layer of the skin reproduce faster than normal and pile up on the skin's surface. In normal circumstances, skin cells mature and shed every 28 days or so but in the case of Psoriasis, the skin mature in less than a week, sometimes within 2 to 3 days. Psoriasis is none contagious and cannot be spread through physical contacts.

Blood test is normally required to confirm Psoriasis since the external skin inflammation and rashes looks pretty much the same as other skin diseases such as eczema. In the olden days, Psoriasis is often mistaken for leprosy.

There are different types of psoriasis , at least 5 different types. Psoriasis is known to affect Caucasians more often than Asians or Africans. Some of the Psoriasis type can be life threatening. One to two percent of the population has what is known as "exfoliative psoriasis" , the form of skin disease which cause the skin to lose it protective functions and unable to prevent bacteria and other substances from entering the body.

The root cause of Psoriasis is not completely understood even though medical research indicates it has something to do with the body immunology. One hypothesis raised is that he T-cells, a group of blood cells becomes too active and causes skin inflammation and this in turn leads to the the skin to shed faster than it should. This skin disorder is also known to run in the family and pass on from generation to generation.

One of the explicable question regarding Psoriasis is as to what mechanism triggers the onset of the disease and as to why adult are more prone to contracting it. More even troubling is that this skin disease is also sometimes called the idiotic disease because of the nature of the skin inflammation that comes and goes without any apparent reason.

Psoriasis condition can be extremely difficult to cope with, both physically and emotionally. There is no known permanent cure for this skin disorder and those who has it can experience severe unbearable itch and pain that affect one's health. Furthermore, some people may feel socially alienated if their face or visible part of the body is affected. People may gossip or even avoid and stay clear away from you since they are afraid it might contagious.

Thanks to modern science and advancement in medical technology, there are now various treatments for Psoriasis. Even though there is no permanent cure, there are nevertheless various treatment methods to alleviate the pain and suffering associated with Psoriasis.

Psoriasis treatment include topical treatment in the form of external cream or gel applications on infected skin areas, ultraviolet broadband & narrow band light treatments and combination of oral, topical and light treatments, better known as systemic treatments. Medication treatments can only help to alleviate the symptoms at this point of time.

Dangerous diabetic drug

Hard to believe that a new diabetic drug by the name 'Victoza' could be even considered release to the market despite the terrible health risk associated with it. Seems that apart from concerns of side effect associated with heart risks, lab evidence suggest that this drug will cause cancerous thyroid tumors in mice and rat experiments.

It is appalling that the drug maker, 'Novo Nordisk' had the audacity to make the bold statement that even though the drug spurs tumor growth in laboratory animal testing involving two different species there is no clear data to to indicate nor demonstrate 'Victoza' will post the same side effects on humans!.

It would be interesting to see if the US FDA will ever approved such a drug to be release to the market. It won't be surprise that FDA will give the green light and approve the sale of this drug.
I suppose more people die of drug side effects rather then due to the disease which the drug is intended to cure.

So much so for modern medicine. Its time to explore alternative natural treatments instead for such common disease. Don't put your health at risk by becoming a guinea pig for big pharma to experiment with such dangerous drugs.

Check the following with regards to this dangerous diabetic drug.