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Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite…

September 14th 2006 08:06
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite…

Ewww… insects! Even worse – bedbugs! These disgusting little creatures feed on animal blood, and they have a preference for human blood. Bedbugs just love the Carbon Dioxide we expire and the body heat we generate which leads them to their host. These bugs really favour the shoulders and arms. Their bite is painless but becomes itchy and swells into a reddened wheal (or welt). Unlike the random pattern of bites made by mosquitoes, bedbugs are a tidy bunch and tend to leave orderly rows.

When bedbugs feed they pierce the human’s skin with their proboscis (feeding organ) much like the mosquito. Then they inject their saliva which causes an allergic reaction in some people. What’s fascinating about the feeding process of the bedbug (which takes about 5-10 minutes) is that the blood it sucks changes its body colour from light brown to dark red!


Since bedbugs feed on blood not waste, and are attracted to Carbon Dioxide, not dirt, it is incorrect to assume that bedbugs come about in areas which are unhygienic. Hence, the cleanliness of the environment has no effect on the prevalence of bedbugs.

Where are bedbugs found?

The bedbug can be found in bedding and on mattresses where it has ready access to a feeding frenzy when its target human is fast asleep. Common hiding spots include mattresses (particularly along the seams), bedding (like sheets and blankets), loosened edges of wallpaper, between the cracks of wooden floors, in wall cracks, carpet and furniture.
Ugly little parasites... the Bedbug


Risk of Disease from Bedbug Bites?

You needn’t worry about the transmission of diseases through bedbug bites. Unless you are allergic to the bedbug, it is unlikely that it will cause you serious health issues. Although, bedbugs are a serious stressor and will create a lot of alarm and distress. With some individuals, it may precipitate mild to moderate cases of delusional parasitosis – where sufferers delusionally belive they are infected with parasites.

What to Do If You Get Bitten

If you are unfortunate enough to get bitten by a bedbug, here are a few pointers to treat the bitten area:

• Resist the urge to scratch.
• Use calamine lotion or anaesthetic creams to treat the itching.
• Wash the bites with antiseptic soap to reduce the risk of infection.
• Apply an icepack frequently to help relieve swelling.
• Take pain-killing medication if symptoms are severe


So the bottom line is; bedbugs aren’t fatally dangerous but can cause some pretty gross and distressing welts. If bitten, aim to keep the wound clean with antiseptic soap. The bedbug bite typically causes a large, reddened and itchy wheal that fades to a red spot. Also, you can recognise an infestation of bedbugs by:

• Small bloodstains from crushed bugs on sheets or mattresses.
• Rusty or dark spots of bug excrement on mattresses, bedding and walls.
• An offensive, sweet, musty odour from their scent glands which may be detected when infestations are severe.


Image in the Public Domain
Information from Better Health
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Anaemia - Not Just an Iron Deficiency

September 8th 2006 01:20
Anaemia - Not Just an Iron Deficiency

Unlike what is popularly known, iron-deficiency is only one form of anaemia. The definition of anaemia is actually “a deficiency of normal haemoglobin (the iron-containing, oxygen-transport component of red blood cells) in the blood”. This can come from just a decrease in the amount of red blood cells, a decreased amount of haemoglobin (Hb) in each cell, or both. Anaemia can also come from the production of abnormal haemoglobin.

Because one of the jobs of Hb is to carry oxygen, its decrease will thus give people a lack of oxygen, leaving them tired, and lacking energy. Anaemia sufferers can look pale and can be unable to sustain exercise.
Normal red blood cells

Because anaemia is simply a reduction in normal Hb concentrations, there are many types of anaemia. Here are some examples:

Iron-deficiency Anaemia

This can come from the sufferer not ingesting enough iron from the diet or the body not being able to absorb it properly. Since iron is a major component of Hb, low amounts of it lead to less Hb being produced, and hence less red blood cell production. The red blood cells that are produced are smaller than normal.

Folate-deficiency Anaemia

Not enough folic acid (or folate, Vitamin B9) can cause anaemia. Because folate helps create DNA (and is hence extremely important for pregnant women) a folate deficiency means that fewer cells divide and fewer red blood cells are produced. A deficiency in folate during pregnancy can lead to birth disorders of the child, such as spina bifida.

Aplastic Anaemia

Aplastic anaemia is simply the insufficient production of red blood cells. In this type of anaemia, the red bone marrow, whose job it is to produce red blood cells, is unable to do so. This problem usually comes from damage to the red marrow by chemicals such as benzene, drugs such as antibiotics and sedatives, or radiation.

Thalassemia

Thalassemia comes from decreased production of the globin chains of haemoglobin. It is a hereditary disease found in people of the Mediterranean, Asian and African areas. If the case is severe, and haemoglobin concentrations reach a critical level, then death can occur before 20 years of age.

Sickle-cell anaemia

This hereditary disease is found in people of African descent. A sickle-cell is one of an odd shape.
Sickle cells with normal red blood cells.
Instead of biconcave disks, sickle-cell red blood cells are shaped like a blade (like a ‘sickle’ tool for cutting grass). These cells can puncture holes in normal red blood cells, can plug up blood vessels and are more fragile than usual. In many cases the production of normal haemoglobin compensates for abnormal Hb, and the sufferer may not show any symptoms at all.

There are many other types of anaemia, such as pernicious anaemia, hemorrhagic anaemia, and sideroblastic anaemia. Signs of anaemia can be obvious or non-apparent, but are are all to do with a reduction of normal haemoglobin production, and only sometimes with iron-deficiency.


Image 1 & icklecells.jpg" target="_blank">2 part of the Public Domain
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Dementia Less Likely if You Exercise Your Mind

Alzheimer’s Disease is a degenerative disease of the brain meaning that brain cells progressively die off, gradually causing loss of intellectual abilities -- such as memory (amnesia) -- and extreme changes in personality and behaviour. These manifestations form what is known as Dementia.

This week, Michael Valenzuela won a Eureka Prize for his research into how keeping your mind active can discourage the onset of dementia, as reported in the SMH. He performed a study of almost 29,000 people and found that a life filled with complex mental activity almost halved the chance of developing dementia. The article quotes that another study found: “those who led mentally stimulating lives had ‘less shrinkage of the hippocampus’, the area of the brain associated with memory and the first area affected by Alzheimer's.”
Exercising your brain: Crosswords are a good source of mental stimulation.

Dr Valenzuela says that even if you are past retirement age you can still modify your risk of dementia by keeping your mind active. And it’s not just about getting into the crosswords and other solitary activites (although these are very good for the mind) – social interacion and physical activity are very important in maintaining a healthy brain too.


Image part of the Public Domain
Source - SMH full article
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The Inhalation of Nail Dust

July 26th 2006 06:01
The Inhalation of Nail Dust

Now for something completely random

[ Click here to read more ]
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Jamais Vu – the Opposite of Déjà Vu

Most of us know what Déjà vu (French, meaning ‘already seen’) is and at least 70% of us have encountered it at some point. The phenomenon is a feeling we get that we have experienced a new situation before, although it is usually attributed to a dream.

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What’s the Point of Morning Sickness?

I am currently reading Robert Winston’s Human Instinct, based on the BBC documentary of the same name, and have come across his reasoning behind why expectant mothers succumb to morning sickness.

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Hyperacusis

July 19th 2006 00:00
Hyperacusis

Hyperacusis (hyper = excessive, acusis = acoustics) is excessive sensitivity to normal sounds such as running water, footsteps or a ringing phone. Hyperacusis sufferers don’t have better hearing that anyone else but perceive sounds to be at a much greater volume. They can only tolerate sounds up to 60 decibels, the level of normal conversation (which will sounds like gunshots to them), whereas average listeners can tolerate up to 100 decibels – the equivalent of a car horn blasting in your ear.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Hay fever, or seasonal allergic rhinitis (‘rhinitis’, as in ‘rhino’ - nose) occurs after exposure to allergens such as airborne particles of dust, dander (excess animal hair such as cat hair – similar to ‘dandruff’ in humans which is excess skin cells), or the pollens of some seasonal plants in people who are allergic to these substances. These allergens are inhaled and absorbed through the resiprtory mucous membrane.
Pollen from a variety of common plants such as sunflower and lily.

In allergic reactions, the body is exposed to an allergen which it attempts to destroy so to protect the body using antibodies. Chemicals such as histamine are released. But these processes also produce undesirable side effects such as a strong inflammatory reaction which can be more harmful than beneficial. Hay fever is an immediate hypersensitivity that producs symptoms within a few minutes of exposure because antibodies are already present from prior exposure of the allergen.

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Alzheimer’s Disease

June 12th 2006 07:39
Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease is an illness that causes the brain to actually shrink and is the most common form of dementia. Dementia affects a person's memory, mood, and behavior.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Skin Grafting

June 9th 2006 00:08
Skin grafting is a surgical procedure by which skin or skin substitute is transplanted to a burn or non-healing wound to permanently replace damaged or missing skin or provide a temporary wound covering. A ‘graft’ is essentially the transplantation of tissue.

A first degree burn involves only the epidermis (the top layer of skin); second-degree burns damage the epidermis and dermis but usually heal without scarring. However, third-degree burns involve the complete destruction of dermis and epidermis and skin grafts are often required.

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

June 8th 2006 00:21
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating and complex disorder characterised by extreme fatigue that is unrelived by rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. People with this syndrome most most often function at a substantially lower level of activity than they were capable of before the onset of illness.

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Sleep Apnea Syndrome

May 15th 2006 03:42
Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a common sleep disorder characterised by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. When the body realises it has stopped breathing, the sufferer wakes up. These episodes, called apneas (meaning ‘not breathing’), can occur repeatedly throughout the night, without the sufferer’s knowledge, leading to an overall lack of sleep. Many sufferers are unaware of the apneas they have experienced when they wake but will report symptoms of fatigue. This fatigue is a telltale sign of sleep apnea, and usually leads to sufferers consulting a doctor, and then being diagnosed with the disorder.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Corpus Callosum

May 4th 2006 00:28
Body Part of the Day - The Corpus Callosum

The corpus callosum connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the brain. Most communication between regions in different halves of the brain are carried over the corpus callosum.

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