Official: Haiti cholera deaths rise above 330 as hurricane approaches

Doctors receive hundreds of Cholera patients per day at the hospital in L'Estere on October 26, 2010

The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Haiti has risen to more than 330, and officials believe Hurricane Tomas may worsen the situation as it approaches, a U.N. spokeswoman said Saturday.
The number of confirmed cholera cases has climbed to 4,764, with 337 deaths, said Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti, citing information provided by the Haitian government. Those numbers represent the people that were able to make it to the hospital, she said.
Another 200 cases are suspected in the nation's West Department, or province, she said.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/30/haiti.cholera/index.html?hpt=T2 Read more...

Dads hooked on junk food risk giving diabetes to their children

Healthy diet: Men may need to watch what they eat as much as women when it comes to having healthy children

A further seven million are on the borderline of the condition, which usually comes on in middle age and greatly raises the odds of heart disease, stroke and conditions which lead to limb amputation. It can also shorten lifespan by ten years.
Much of the increase in incidence has been blamed on expanding waistlines. But the study suggests that at least some of the seeds of destruction could be sown in previous generations.
The Australian and American researchers fed young male rats a diet high in fat, mated them with healthy females and tracked the health of their female pups.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1322327/Dads-hooked-junk-food-risk-giving-diabetes-children.html

Read more...

Beware! Laptops may cause low sperm count

Beware! Laptops may cause low sperm count
t is called laptop but men who do not want to jeopardise their ability to have children should avoid balancing it on their laps when working.

In fact, scientists said that man should use laptops as desktops to avoid causing “irreversible or partially reversible changes in their reproductive function.”

According to the study titled, Increase in scrotal temperature in laptop computer users, a combination of the heat generated by a laptop and the position of the thighs on which it is placed lead to higher temperatures around a man‘s genitals and over time can result in low sperm count.

Read more: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010146103046 Read more...

Don't let the bed bugs bite (even if they're back with a vengeance!)

Nightmare: Bed bugs can lurk in furniture and the seams of mattresses and come out at night to feed on blood

Amelia Harrison had checked in late to the swanky hotel near London. A business manager, she'd spent the day at a work conference and was exhausted.
But despite this, she had a restless night - 'at one point I remember feeling something on my face but brushed it away sleepily,' she says. 'Thank goodness I didn't turn the light on.'
For when she woke in the morning and pulled back the covers, she found a little brown cockroach-like bug about the size of a ladybird on the sheets.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317695/Dont-let-bed-bugs-bite.html

Read more...

How the heat from a laptop can 'toast' the skin on your thighs

Warning: A 12-year-old boy shows off the 'toasted skin' on his leg after using a laptop for several hours a day

'Toasted' boy used laptop for a few hours a day

Damage can lead to skin cancers in some cases

Temperature underneath computer can hit 52C 

 In one recent case, a 12-year-old boy developed a sponge-patterned skin discolouration on his left thigh after playing computer games for a few hours every day for several months.

'He recognised that the laptop got hot on the left side, however, regardless of that, he did not change its position,' Swiss researchers wrote in the medical-journal Pediatrics.

Another case involved an American law student with a mottled discolouration on her leg.
Her doctors were stumped until they learned she spent about six hours a day working with her computer propped on her lap.
The temperature underneath the device reached 52c and, placed under the microscope, the affected skin resembled skin damaged by long-term sun exposure.

The case, from 2007, is one of ten laptop-related incidents reported in medical journals in the past six years, but many more are likely to have gone unrecorded.

Danger: Balancing a laptop on bare legs can can cause permanent skin darkening

Although the condition is usually harmless, it can cause permanent skin darkening.
In very rare cases, it can cause damage leading to skin cancers, said the Swiss researchers, Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin, of the University Hospital Basel.
'Toasted skin syndrome' can also affect bakers, silversmiths and others whose jobs involve being exposed to heat.
Major computer manufacturers including Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell warn in user manuals against placing laptops on laps or exposed skin for extended periods because of the risk of burns.
The researchers warned that children's skin is particularly susceptible to heat.
But Dr Bav Shergill, a consultant dermatologist and spokesman for the British Association of Dermatologists, urged people not to worry.
He said: 'It usually resolves itself without any permanent skin discolouration.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317532/Laptop-heat-toast-skin-thighs.html

Read more...

Genes discovered that decide whether we will be tall or short

Lofty ambitions: Scientists hope to track down all the genetic mutations that determine if we will be tall like John Cleese or short like Ronnie Corbett

Scientists have pinpointed why some people shoot up to become superstar basketball players while others struggle to reach 5ft.
The genetic finding is a giant stride towards explaining why comedian John Cleese towers over his friend Ronnie Corbett.
While obesity is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, about 80 per cent of variation in human height is determined by our genes.

Now researchers have identified hundreds of mutations that account for about 10 per cent of the inherited difference in height among people.
Study leader Professor Joel Hirschhorn of Harvard Medical School, said: 'Height clearly has a lot to do with genetics - shorter parents tend to have shorter children, and taller parents tend to have taller children.
'This paper is the biggest step forward to date in understanding which of the genetic variants that differ between people account for our differences in height.'
The GIANT (Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits) Consortium pooled millions of pieces of genetic data from more than 180,000 individuals in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1316471/Genes-decide-tall-short.html

Read more...

Teenage girl is star musician who plays five instruments... despite being completely DEAF

Doctors are mystified as to why Aimee-Louise Paddock went deaf this May. Despite her condition she continues to excel playing five different musical instruments

A talented teenage girl who plays five instruments has won top marks in her latest music exam - despite being unable to hear a single note.
Aimee-Louise Paddock, who is totally deaf, was inspired to take up the saxophone after watching the cartoon character Lisa Simpson play it on TV's 'The Simpsons.'
The 18-year-old from King's Lynn in Norfolk also plays the flute, keyboard, piano and the guitar to a high standard. She has applied to study a four-year music degree course at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff.

Aimee-Louise lost her hearing in the left ear aged just 16 and became fully deaf in May. Doctors are mystified as to what has caused the sudden hearing loss after an MRI scan showed no sign of tumours or blockages.
The A-level student can only understand speech by lip reading but despite this she is a member of several orchestras including the West Norfolk Junior Youth Orchestra.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1316807/Teenage-girl-star-musician-plays-instruments--despite-completely-DEAF.html

Read more...

School for stammers: How specialist lessons helped this young boy beat his stutter - and the classroom bullies

Confident: Ann Basic and her son Steven after the therapy. The 12-year-old youngster suffers from a severe stammer

Autumn term is always a mix of trepidation and excitement as children head back to school after the long summer holidays, but Steven Babic used to dread that first day more than most.
The 12-year-old youngster suffers from a severe stammer that became worse as each new academic year approached - and Steven knew he would be the butt of endless jokes in the playground and the classroom.
'They'd treat me as if I was contagious or as if I was thick, and it used to make me so angry and upset,' he admits.

His parents, Ann and Milan, felt useless, having no idea how to help their son other than offer soothing words of comfort as he broke down in tears.

But this month, Steven, who lives in Wapping, East London, walked through the gates of the London Nautical School, Waterloo, with his head held high.
For the first time since he was ten, he sounded confident and fluent with no hint of the speech problem that has dogged his life.
'I've wanted to be a pilot for Virgin for as long as I can remember but thought I'd have no chance  -  who wants a stammering pilot? But now I actually believe I can achieve my dream,' he says.
Steven and his parents are among 200 people referred annually to the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in Finsbury, North London, which provides specialist therapy to deal with both the speech difficulties and the confidence issues facing youngsters who stammer.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317172/School-stammers-How-specialist-lessons-helped-young-boy-beat-stutter--classroom-bullies.html

Read more...

DR ELLIE CANNON: Viagra fails to work for half of all men...here's why

Viagra will work only if testosterone levels have been normalised

Doctors say Viagra helps only half of the men who are prescribed it. DR ELLIE CANNON explains why.

Q. Why does Viagra sometimes not work?
A. Low testosterone levels are a common cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). Testosterone is the male sex hormone and levels decline with age. Viagra will work only if testosterone levels have been normalised first. Low testosterone levels can be improved with pills, patches and gels.
Q. If I tell my doctor I have ED, what tests should they do?
A. Blood tests need to be done to rule out a testosterone problem, as well as diabetes and thyroid disease. Other blood tests for hormone, liver and kidney problems should be carried out and your BMI will be measured, as obesity is a cause of ED. Your relationship can also be a factor, as well as your mood. Depression is a significant cause of erectile problems.
Q. The problem began when I started my blood-pressure medication. Is that possible?
A. Yes  -  ED can be a side effect of many drugs including anti-depressants, diuretics and beta-blockers as well as those prescribed for high blood pressure.
Q. What are the alternatives?
A. Drugs called Levitra and Cialis act in a similar way. Injections and urethral creams can also be effective.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317121/DR-ELLIE-CANNON-Viagra-fails-work-half-men--heres-why.html

Read more...

Extraordinary moment a mother hears her dead 13-year-old daughter's heart beat again... inside chest of transplant patient

'A huge kick': Mother Tara Storch breaks down as she listens with a stethoscope to her daughter's heart beating in the chest of 39-year-old donee Patricia Winters

This is the emotional moment a mother hears her late daughter's heart beat again inside the chest of a transplant patient.
Taylor Storch, 13, died in a skiing accident on the last day of a family holiday in Colorado in March this year.
Her organs were donated - and through an extraordinary series of events - six months her parents Todd and Tara Storch found themselves face to face with the woman who was alive only because she had received their daughter's heart.

Emotional: Mrs Storch listens to Taylor's heart with the stethoscope. The first time she met Patricia Winters she laid her head on her chest to hear the heart without any aid - and it gave a 'huge kick', a sign they now believe was from Taylor

Gift of life: Taylor Storch, 13, in an image taken from a Facebook page dedicated to her memory, died in a skiing accident in Colorado in March

Patricia Winters, 39, first met with the Storches in September. The trio hugged silently for a minute - then Mrs Storch made an emotional request.
'I asked her, "Can I just lay my head on your chest and listen?"' she told NBC's Today show host Meredith Viera.
'Taylor and I were very, very close and I would lie in bed with her and just snuggle with her,' she explained.
'So I got to lay my head on her chest. What was magical was while I was doing that, her heart just had this huge kick. Then Patricia said, "Did you hear that?" And I said, “Yes, I did."
'Then it did it again - this huge kick.
'I looked at Patricia and she said, "I was praying while you were lying on my chest that Taylor would give you a sign that she was here."
'And she did. I will never forget that. It was truly the gift of Taylor letting me know she was here.'
Taylor had fallen backwards, her body slamming into a tree on the last day of a family skiing holiday in Beave Creek Colorado in March.
A day later, doctors told her devastated family that she was brain dead.
The Storchs, who live in Texas, told the Today show that they had not hesitated to donate their daughter's organs after her tragic death.
Mr Storch said Taylor had been a 'giving, wonderful person', adding that the choice had been 'very, very easy'.
Taylor's organs went on to save the lives of four people - including Arizona native Patricia Winters.
She had been suffering with cardiomyopathy for nearly five years. Her condition had degenerated so far that she was sleeping 18 hours a day. She said she was virtually unable to care for her two young sons.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316917/Taylor-Storch-Mother-hears-daughters-heart-beat-inside-chest-grateful-donee.html

Read more...

Real lives: Three best friends, one shared battle

                                           Sarah, Kate and Linda today

When Kate Jones learned she had breast cancer at 37, she turned to long-time pals Linda and Sarah for support during her often radical treatment. Then they, too, were diagnosed before they reached 40… To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they explain how their friendship and understanding helped each to take her own approach to tackling the disease

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1316485/Real-Lives-Three-best-friends-shared-battle.html

Read more...

Some OCD sufferers keep washing their hands...I feared I’d murder my daughters

Diana Wilson was convinced her thoughts would see her locked up in a mental institution should she ever reveal them to anyone

In this shocking account, one mother describes how she overcame an obsessive fear of harming those she loved most

She bears all the hallmarks of a yummy mummy – a slight frame, carefree blonde hair, a country manor home, a wealthy lawyer husband and four gorgeous daughters.
Yet Diana Wilson has a very dark secret. Her story is so disturbing that many will find it hard to comprehend.

She suffered for nearly 30 years from violent, murderous fears of harming others – some so graphic that they cannot be printed.She was convinced that these thoughts would see her locked up in a mental institution should she ever reveal them to anyone. What Diana did not realise was she was suffering from a rarely discussed form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) where symptoms include an obsessive fear of harming others.
Thanks to insightful doctors, Diana was to discover that OCD can be cured with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and she has now tackled her inner demons to the extent that she lectures on mental-health issues.
Diana is holding a silver-framed photo of her four beautiful daughters today aged ten to 16. ‘Ten years ago I was preparing to hand over these little girls I loved to strangers for their own safety, then be driven off to Broadmoor in a Black Maria,’ she says.
She reveals how she simultaneously imagined strangling, drowning, slashing with a razor blade or pushing off an escalator her own family.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317151/Some-OCD-sufferers-washing-hands--I-feared-I-d-murder-daughters.html

Read more...

How a walnut 'could stop you cracking under the strain'

Cracking: Walnuts may help alleviate stressful situations

 They have already been credited with helping reduce cholesterol.
But it appears walnuts may help the body deal with stress and reduce blood pressure too.
According to research, those with high levels of bad cholesterol had lower blood pressure in stressful situations when they had been on a diet rich in walnuts for three weeks.
For the study, participants were asked to give a three-minute speech or immerse one foot in cold water – both of which are triggers for stress.
Those with walnut in their diets had lower blood pressure, said Professor Sheila West, from Penn State university.
‘This is the first study to show that walnuts reduce blood pressure during stress.
People who show an exaggerated biological response to stress are at higher risk of heart disease.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317467/How-walnut-stop-cracking-strain.html

Read more...

Gym-goers 'are wasting money on sports drinks'

Fitness enthusiasts who buy energy sports drinks are probably wasting their money, according to an expert.
While the drinks may be suitable for people training for events such as marathons, many exercisers just end up consuming lots of extra calories.
Nick Hudson, national fitness manager for Virgin Active, said those doing workouts of less than two hours do not really benefit from the drinks.

Thousands of gym-goers who buy energy sports drinks are wasting their money an expert has said

‘Many people drink energy drinks in the belief they will give them more energy to exercise harder,’ he said.
‘But many are simply “calorie drinks” and drinking them means you’ll have to train longer or harder to shift the calories that you take in from the drink itself.
‘They’re useful for people who compete in events where they’ll be exercising in excess of two hours. But those doing shorter, more intense workouts don’t really benefit physiologically.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317450/Gym-goers-wasting-money-sports-drinks.html

Read more...

Light drinkers denied IVF to save NHS cash... and even the alcohol intake of HUSBANDS can count against couples

Women who drink more than DoH guidelines face being denied IVF treatment

Women who drink fewer than two glasses of wine a day are being denied free IVF as NHS trusts impose strict rules on who gets fertility treatment.
Even those who barely drink at all could be turned down if their partners are deemed to be exceeding recommended alcohol limits.
Health trusts insist they are simply following Department of Health guidelines which warn against excessive drinking, particularly in pregnancy, but experts have accused them of discriminating solely to save money.
Critics say there is no evidence that those who drink slightly more than the recommended limit will be any less successful with IVF.
Up to one in five of the 66 Primary Care Trusts in England say they would refuse treatment to couples if either of them drink more than the Department of Health’s recommended weekly limit of 14 units for women and 21 for men.
And in response to a Daily Mail Freedom of Information request, many more said that although there was no specific alcohol policy, doctors could refuse IVF if they believed patients were drinking too much.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1317463/Light-drinkers-denied-IVF-save-NHS-cash-Even-husbands-alcohol-intake-count-couples.html

Read more...