Archive for January, 2009

A virus carried by hamsters and wild or lab mice that is not harmful to adults, but that can cause birth defects in unborn children whose mothers contract the virus. LCMV was first identified in 1933 in a woman who was thought to have a form of ENCEPHALITIS. In 1955 it was first recognized in the United Kingdom as a virus that could cause congenital disease. Since then, individual cases of congenital LCMV infection have been identified in Germany, France, Lithuania, and across the United States.

Mice and hamsters are the primary sources of LCMV infections. Humans acquire this virus by direct contact with infected rodents or by inhaling the virus. So far, more than 49 infants around the world have been diagnosed with congenital LCMV. However, experts really are not sure how many infants have been affected by LCMV before birth because doctors do not routinely look at LCMV as a possible cause of congenital blindness or retardation. In one instance, twin girls from Cochise County, Arizona, were born to a mother who had unknowingly contracted LCMV during pregnancy. One girl was born with vision problems and the other has seizures and severe developmental delays. More than 90 percent of the babies who have contracted the LCMV virus before birth have had adverse effects, the most common of which were vision problems. Other problems include neurological conditions such as CEREBRAL PALSY, MENTAL RETARDATION, SEIZURES, and decreased visual acuity.

A pregnant woman with a pet hamster should have someone else take care of it during the pregnancy. If cleaning up after wild mice, pregnant women should wear gloves and spray the area with water to avoid the possibility of wafting the virus into the air. Pregnant women who work with mice in a laboratory setting should have the mice tested for LCMV.

Inflammation of the lymph vessels seen most often as red streaks on the skin near a streptococcus-infected wound.

There are several problems with the liver that may affect children, including JAUNDICE, cholestasis, enlarged liver, portal hypertension, ascites or liver encephalopathy, and liver failure.

Diagnosis
When diagnosing liver disease, the pediatrician conducts a physical exam and checks the child’s symptoms. In addition, a doctor may order a liver biopsy, liver enzyme tests, an ultrasound, or a computerized tomography (CT) scan.

Problems

Jaundice This condition refers to a yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes due to an abnormally high level of bilirubin (bile pigment) in the blood. In newborns, jaundice is often caused by the breakdown of a large number of red blood cells, which can simply be treated by exposure to special lights and temporary bottle feeding. Otherwise, high levels of bilirubin may be caused by inflammation or other abnormalities of the liver cells, or blockage of the bile ducts. Jaundice is usually the first—and sometimes the only—sign of liver disease.

Cholestasis This condition refers to reduced or blocked bile flow that may occur inside or outside the liver (or in both places). Symptoms of problems with bile flow may include jaundice, dark urine, pale stool, bone loss, easy bleeding, itching, spidery blood vessels in the skin, enlarged spleen, fluid in the abdominal cavity, chills, pain, or enlarged gallbladder. Cholestasis can be caused by HEPATITIS, metabolic liver diseases, drug effects, a stone in the bile duct, narrowed bile duct, biliary atresia, or inflamed pancreas.

Liver enlargement An enlarged liver usually heralds some type of liver disease. While a slightly enlarged liver may cause no symptoms, a significant problem may trigger feelings of abdominal discomfort.

Portal hypertension Abnormally high blood pressure in the portal vein linking the intestine to the liver that may be due to higher blood pressure in the portal blood vessels or resistance to blood flow through the liver. Portal hypertension can trigger the growth of new blood vessels bypassing the liver, bringing blood from the intestine directly to the general circulation. When this occurs, substances that the liver normally would filter out instead pass into general circulation. Symptoms of portal hypertension may include a distended abdominal cavity, spider veins, and bleeding of the veins at the lower end of the esophagus and in the stomach lining.

Ascites This condition refers to fluid buildup in the abdominal cavity caused by fluid leaks from the vessels on the surface of the liver and intestine. Ascites due to liver disease usually accompanies other liver disease characteristics such as portal hypertension. Symptoms may include a distended abdomen, discomfort, and shortness of breath.

Liver encephalopathy This condition is caused by the deterioration of brain function due to toxic substances building up in the blood that are normally removed by the liver. Liver encephalopathy is also called portal-systemic encephalopathy, hepatic encephalopathy, or hepatic coma. Symptoms may include changes in mood, logical thinking, personality, and behavior; impaired judgment; drowsiness and confusion; sluggish speech and movement; disorientation; loss of consciousness and coma.

Liver failure This severe deterioration of liver function occurs when a large portion of the liver is damaged. Symptoms may include jaundice, bruising or bleeding, abdomen distention, impaired brain function, poor weight gain and growth, fatigue, weakness, nausea, and appetite loss.

I’m getting guilty these days for delighting myself with lots of foods without considering the right amount of food to take. I just devour whatever I see on the tables during parties, now I feel depressed at its effects. Big belly is becoming too obvious and it is starting to bulge uncontrollably, worst thing is my body statistics is not proportion anymore.

Our hectic schedule during work and family activities may affect our aim to slimming down and maintain that figure. But I know some simple ways to get back to that old slim figure after gaining so much weight during parties and holidays. Do you want to know them? Here are the things you can follow:

1. Eat Light at Night – Don’t store so much food in your stomach during supper. Switch to a small amount of fruits and vegetables, aside from being nutritious they are recommended for a balanced diet. If possible eat your supper before 6:00 o’clock in the evening. Eating light will also energize the body upon waking up at the morning.
2. Cut out the Wheat Stuff – Don’t crave yourself with bread and rice. They give off so much carbohydrates to the body and when not burned became fats. Though it’s not easy to eat with small amount of rice, it is helpful to practice this thing to achieve a flat belly.
3. Replace Cook Food with Raw Food – It is a healthy idea to eat raw foods than cook them to prevent the essential nutrients to be separated from the food you eat.
4. Think Before You Drink – Choosing the liquid you take into your body is also an important factor to consider. Don’t just take whatever tasty drinks you have in mind whenever you are thirsty. People tend to look for a cola or ready to drink juices. Check into its labels and ingredients, they are not contributing any good to your body. It is only flavored and contains much coloring additives. Also, drinking beer too can add to the belly size. Drink plenty of water or green tea to replenish your body.
5. Lower your Fat Intake – We know that excess meat is sinful to our balance diet. When we eat too much of it, we are also adding fats to our body. A small box of it is just enough.
6. Get Moving – Oh, don’t just sit there and wait when your weight will decrease. Exercise and get moving. At the office, you can still do some little exercise like stretching and taking a brisk walk while preparing papers. Get up and do household chores to burn unnecessary fats.
7. Choose Herbalife – When you want to take a medicine to slim down, choose Herbal Nutrition products, it is well known for its effectiveness and guaranteed satisfaction to its customers. Aside from that, it is a safe option to slimming down for it is made of natural herb. It carries a good reputation in the market and widely distributed across the countries by a Herbalife Distributor. Ordering it is so hassle-free.
8. Discipline yourself and be Goal Oriented – Self discipline is a key factor to achieving these things. Don’t just read these steps and forget them in time. Put them on your mind and apply them in your life and achieve them over a period of time. Also, know how to control yourself.

Article written by Yani Lea Briones.

A food-borne illness that may cause no symptoms in healthy children but is especially dangerous to newborns and very young children. Listeriosis occurs in about 7.5 cases for every one million people. Once thought to be exclusively a veterinary problem, it was identified as a human disease in 1981 when a Canadian outbreak was linked to tainted coleslaw made from cabbage grown in soil fertilized with Listeria-infected sheep manure. Four years later another outbreak was traced to Mexican-style soft cheese in California, which sickened 150 people, including many pregnant women, resulting in stillbirths.

From 1987 to 1992 the government recalled cooked products from 27 firms, including hot dogs, bologna, and other luncheon meat, chicken salad, ham salad, sausages, chicken, sliced turkey breast, and sliced roast beef. Cheese, dairy, sandwich, prepared salad, and smoked fish recalls from 1987 to 1992 included 516 different products from 105 firms.

Cause
Listeriosis is caused by one species in a group of bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes found in cow’s milk, animal and human feces, soil, and leafy vegetables. In the past 10 years there have been several outbreaks that seem to have been linked to eating deli meats and soft cheeses such as feta, blue-veined cheeses, and some types of Mexican cheese. One recent study found that 2 percent of hot dogs tested contained the bacterium L. monocytogenes. Children with impaired immune systems also can catch the disease from undercooked chicken.

The bacteria is remarkably tough, resisting heat, salt, nitrite, and acidity much better than many other organisms. It can survive on cold surfaces and can multiply slowly at temperatures as low as 34°F. Freezing the food will stop the bacteria from multiplying, and commercial pasteurization will eliminate the organism in dairy products. Listeria does not change the taste or smell of food.

When Listeria is found in processed products, the contamination probably occurred after processing, rather than due to poor heating or pasteurizing.

Babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers ate contaminated food during pregnancy. Pregnant women are 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get the disease; about a third of all cases occur during pregnancy. However, it is newborns rather than their mothers who suffer the most serious effects of infection during the pregnancy.

Symptoms
If the fetus is affected early in the pregnancy, the baby will probably be born prematurely. Infants in this situation are usually quite ill, with low birth weight, breathing problems, blue skin, and low body temperature. If the baby survives, there may be a bloodstream infection or MENINGITIS. Half of these babies infected with Listeria die, even if treated.

Fetuses affected later in the pregnancy may be carried to term and be born at normal weight. If infected during delivery, the infants may develop meningitis; if so, 40 percent die. Some surviving babies who contract meningitis may have permanent brain damage or mental retardation.

Most normal, healthy children who become infected with the bacteria suffer few symptoms, or may experience a flu-like illness with fever, muscle aches, and nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, however, it can cause a type of meningitis.

Diagnosis
There is no routine screening test for susceptibility during pregnancy as there is for rubella and other infections. A blood or spinal fluid culture will reveal the infection.

Treatment
Antibiotics given to the pregnant mother can prevent disease in the fetus. Babies with listeriosis receive the same antibiotics as adults, although a combination of antibiotics may be used until diagnosis is certain. However, even with prompt treatment, some infections result in fetal death.

Prevention
In order to protect unborn children, pregnant women are advised to avoid deli counter foods and soft cheeses. There is no risk in hard cheese, processed slices, cottage cheese, or yogurt.

Those at risk should cook hot dogs to 160°F for several minutes to avoid contamination. Hot dogs at restaurants, ball parks, and so on, should be avoided, since cooking temperatures cannot be verified.

Crawling insects that feed on human blood that are a common annoyance in elementary schools and day-care centers. Head lice live on and suck blood from the scalp, leaving red spots that itch intensely and can lead to skin inflammation and infection. The females lay a daily batch of pale eggs, called “nits,” that attach to hairs close to the scalp. The nits hatch in about a week, and the adults can live for several weeks.

Head lice are found among people of all walks of life. About six million cases occur each year among U.S. schoolchildren between ages three and 12, even among those who shampoo daily. Children are most often infected via direct contact at school by sharing hats, brushes, combs, or headrests. Pets cannot get head lice.

Neighborhood parents and the child’s school, camp, or child-care provider should be notified of the infestation. Children should be checked once a week for head lice.

Head lice lay eggs at the base of hairs growing on the head. While nits can be found anywhere on the hair, they are especially common behind the ears and at the back of the neck. Because lice move so quickly, it is usually the oval-shaped nits that are seen on the hair shaft. Nits are yellow when newly laid, turning to white once they hatch. They appear to be “glued” at an angle to the side of the hair shaft and hatch within eight days. The empty eggshells are carried outward as the hair grows.

Nits should not be confused with hair debris such as fat plugs or hair casts. Fat plugs are bright white irregularly shaped clumps of fat cells stuck to the hair shaft. Hair casts are long, thin cylindershaped segments of dandruff encircling the hair shaft; they are easily dislodged.

Head lice and nits also can be found on eyebrows and eyelashes. If one person in a family has head lice, all family members should be checked. However, only those who are infested should be treated with lice pesticide.

Diagnosis
Lice infestations are diagnosed by the presence of nits. By calculating the distance from the base of the hair to the farthest nits, it is possible to estimate how long the infestation has been.

Treatment
In order to get rid of head lice, all nits must be removed. Since no lice pesticide kills all nits, remaining nits left on the hair must be removed to eliminate the need for more treatments. Nits can be removed with a special nit removal comb, with baby safety scissors, or with the fingernails.

Drug treatment Lotions containing malathion or carbaryl kill lice quickly; the lotion should be washed off 12 hours after application, followed by combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove dead lice and nits. Shampoos containing malathion or carbaryl are also effective if used repeatedly over several days. Combs and brushes should be plunged into very hot water to kill any attached eggs.

The National Pediculosis Association discouraged the use of lindane products (such as Kwell) because they appear to be potentially more toxic and no more effective than other treatments. Still, no product kills 100 percent of nits. Lice medications are not intended to be used on a routine or preventive basis.

All lice-killing medications are really pesticides and therefore should be used with caution. A health-care expert should be consulted before using or applying pesticides when the child has lice or nits in the eyebrows or eyelashes or has other health problems (such as allergies). Because head lice pesticides can be absorbed into the blood, they should not be used on open wounds on the scalp. These medications should not be used at all on infants and should be used with caution on children under age two. Instead, lice and nits can be removed by hand on very young children while wearing gloves.

The product should be used over a sink (not applied in a tub or shower) to minimize pesticide exposure to the rest of the body. The child’s eyes should be kept covered while administering the pesticide.

Environmental treatments Bedding and recently worn clothing also should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot drier. Combs and brushes should be cleaned and then soaked in hot water for 10 minutes. Vacuuming is the best way to remove lice and attached nits from furniture, mattresses, rugs, stuffed toys, and car seats. According to the National Pediculosis Association, lice sprays should not be used.

Body Lice
Body lice live and lay eggs on clothing next to the skin, visiting the body only to feed. Body lice affect those who rarely change their clothes and are not a serious problem for American children. Body lice can be killed by placing infested clothing in a hot drier for five minutes, by washing clothes in very hot water, or by burning.

The common term for amblyopia, in which a child’s reduced vision is not caused by any eye disease and is not correctable by glasses or contact lenses. Instead, the problem is caused by the brain’s refusal to acknowledge the images seen by the lazy eye, causing reduced vision. This almost always affects only one eye, although vision may be reduced in both. It is estimated that three percent of children under six have some form of amblyopia. If not detected and treated early in life, amblyopia can cause a permanent loss of vision. Detection and correction before the age of two is the best way to restore normal vision. Between 2 and 3 percent of all children have lazy eye.

Cause
All babies are born with poor eyesight, but as they grow, their eyesight improves. Good eyesight needs a clear, focused image that is the same in both eyes. If the image is not clear in one eye, or if it is not the same in both eyes, the vision pathways will not develop correctly, or may get worse.

Amblyopia usually is caused by either a misalignment of a child’s eyes (such as crossed eyes) or a difference in image quality between the two eyes (one eye focusing better than the other). In both cases, one eye becomes stronger, suppressing the image of the other eye. If this condition persists, the weaker eye may become useless. Anything that interferes with clear vision in either eye during the critical period from birth to six years of age will cause amblyopia.

Amblyopia vs. Strabismus
Although many people call strabismus (crossed eyes) “lazy eye,” in fact they are two different conditions; strabismus is one cause of amblyopia. Amblyopia can result from a constant strabismus in which the right or left eye turns all of the time, but alternating strabismus in which an eye only sometimes turns rarely causes amblyopia.

Diagnosis
Since amblyopia usually occurs in only one eye, children may not notice the condition, and because many parents do not have their infants or toddlers take a comprehensive vision exam, many children go undiagnosed until they have their eyes examined later. The most important diagnostic tools are special visual acuity tests.

Treatment
The earlier the treatment, the better the opportunity to reverse the vision loss. Amblyopia can be treated between the ages of two and six, but the success rate decreases with age. The best results from treatment occur between six months and two years.

Glasses are commonly prescribed to improve focusing or misalignment of the eyes. Surgery may be performed on the eye muscles to straighten the eyes if other means have not been successful.

Eye exercises may be recommended either before or after surgery to correct faulty visual habits associated with strabismus and to teach comfortable use of the eyes. The correction may be followed by patching or covering one eye for a few weeks to as long as a year. The better-seeing eye is patched, forcing the “lazy” one to work, thereby strengthening its vision.

Eye drops or ointment may be used to blur the vision of the good eye in order to force the weaker one to work, although this is generally a less successful approach than eye patching.

Although true amblyopia cannot be cured after the age of six, treatment for older children still can usually improve vision. Treatment of amblyopia after the age of six requires more effort and includes vision therapy. If not treated early enough, an amblyopic eye may never develop good vision and may even become functionally blind.