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How to recognise the signs of heat illness

21/07/2022

As temperatures across Europe hit record-breaking highs, it is worth noting the potentially serious consequences of heat illness and some of the associated symptoms, so you can recognise the signs before it's too late. Heat stroke can be fatal and it is significantly more likely to occur during heatwaves. Heat stroke happens when the body can no longer sufficiently regulate its temperature to keep cool. As a result, within just 15 mins a person could find themselves in trouble. Without emergency treatment, heat stroke can lead to permanent disability or even death. Heat exhaustion symptoms include: Heavy sweating Faintness Weak, rapid pulse Muscle cramps Nausea Headaches Extreme thirst Heat stroke, which often develops after heat exhaustion, is a medical emergency and in addition to the symptoms outlined above someone may also experience seizures, shortness of breath and loss of consciousness. If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of heat stroke, you should seek emergency medical help. Drinking plenty of water, taking cool baths/showers and avoiding the sun between 11am and 3pm can help reduce your chances of developing heat illness. *Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

How to recognise the signs of heat illness

21/07/2022

As temperatures across Europe hit record-breaking highs, it is worth noting the potentially serious consequences of heat illness and some of the associated symptoms, so you can recognise the signs before it's too late. Heat stroke can be fatal and it is significantly more likely to occur during heatwaves.   Heat stroke happens when the body can no longer sufficiently regulate its temperature to keep cool. As a result, within just 15 mins a person could find themselves in trouble. Without emergency treatment, heat stroke can lead to permanent disability or even death.   Heat exhaustion symptoms include: Heavy sweating   Faintness   Weak, rapid pulse   Muscle cramps   Nausea   Headaches   Extreme thirst Heat stroke, which often develops after heat exhaustion, is a medical emergency and in addition to the symptoms outlined above someone may also experience seizures, shortness of breath and loss of consciousness. If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of heat stroke, you should seek emergency medical help.   Drinking plenty of water, taking cool baths/showers and avoiding the sun between 11am and 3pm can help reduce your chances of developing heat related illnesses.   *Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

How to recognise the signs of heat illness

21/07/2022

As temperatures across Europe hit record-breaking highs, it is worth noting the potentially serious consequences of heat illness and some of the associated symptoms, so you can recognise the signs before it's too late. Heat stroke can be fatal and it is significantly more likely to occur during heatwaves. Heat stroke happens when the body can no longer sufficiently regulate its temperature to keep cool. As a result, within just 15 mins a person could find themselves in trouble. Without emergency treatment, heat stroke can lead to permanent disability or even death. Heat exhaustion symptoms include: Heavy sweating Faintness Weak, rapid pulse Muscle cramps Nausea Headaches Extreme thirst Heat stroke, which often develops after heat exhaustion, is a medical emergency and in addition to the symptoms outlined above someone may also experience seizures, shortness of breath and loss of consciousness. If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of heat stroke, you should seek emergency medical help. Drinking plenty of water, taking cool baths/showers and avoiding the sun between 11am and 3pm can help reduce your chances of developing heat illness. *Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Largest migraine-genetics study to date could inspire new treatments

19/04/2022

Millions of people around the world suffer with migraines on a regular basis. These debilitating headaches can last for days at a time and, in severe cases, prevent people from going about their daily lives, including working and studying. While there are drugs to treat migraine headaches and others to prevent their onset, the cause of migraines remains unknown. The leading theory is that migraines are a neurovascular condition that involves an interaction between the blood vessels in the head and the brain itself. Now, the largest study of migraines to date has uncovered 123 genetic regions, or loci, that are associated with the condition — 86 of which were previously unknown. The research, which involved analyzing the genomes of 102,084 people with migraine and those of 771,257 controls who do not have the condition, has trebled the known genetic risk factors for the condition. “In addition to implicating tens of new regions of the genome for more targeted investigation, our study provides the first meaningful opportunity to evaluate shared and distinct genetic components in the two main migraine subtypes,” says first author Heidi Hautakangas, Ph.D., from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland at the University of Helsinki. The study is published in Nature Genetics. *Image by StockSnap from Pixabay    

Long Covid may hinder women's response, recovery from exercise

18/11/2021

While the majority of people who contract COVID-19 recover within 3-4 weeks following infection, there are some who experience lingering symptoms for months afterwards. These symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, brain fog, headaches and fatigue, are referred to collectively as 'long Covid'. Now, research has shown that this so-called long Covid seems to more severely impact women's cardiovascular and lung function than men. According to researchers at Indiana University, Bloomington, women with COVID-19 who had mild-to-moderate illness during the acute phase showed a slower decline in their heart rate after the 6-minute walk test than the participants in the control group. This difference was more pronounced in women actively experiencing long COVID symptoms. Study lead author, Dr. Stephen Carter, a professor at Indiana University, said: “A puzzling feature of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome is the variable presentation of symptoms that appear to be independent of initial illness severity. The present work shows even those with mild-to-moderate initial symptoms can be affected with underlying cardiac-related irregularities with the potential to affect exercise tolerance and/or activities of daily living.” “It’s also plausible that lingering symptoms, particularly muscle/joint pain and/or shortness of breath, may trigger a maladaptive pattern that accelerates systemic deconditioning. However, further research is needed.” The study appears in the journal Experimental Physiology. *Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

High blood pressure symptoms: What should you be looking out for?

18/12/2018

How’s your blood pressure? Do you even know? If you haven’t had it checked recently, your blood pressure could be creeping up (getting higher) and you might not have even realised. In fact, high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is often called a “silent killer” because it rarely causes symptoms until a person’s health is already severely damaged. That’s why keeping an eye on your blood pressure and looking out for any potential symptoms is so important. Failure to seek treatment when you have high blood pressure can lead to serious health complications such as stroke and heart disease. This is ironic when you consider that hypertension can usually be treated with lifestyle changes and/or medication. So what high blood pressure warning signs should you be looking out for? First and foremost, the only way to check whether you have high blood pressure or not is to have it checked by a health professional, or check it yourself providing you know how to and have the necessary equipment. Remember, just because you feel ‘fine’ does not mean you aren’t at risk of hypertension. If your blood pressure becomes extremely high (above 180/120 mmHg), something referred to as ‘hypertensive crisis’, you may experience any of the following symptoms: Severe headaches Nosebleeds Severe fatigue Chest pain Irregular heartbeat Vision problems Back pain Severe anxiety Blood in your urine Shortness of breath (difficulty breathing) Hypertensive crisis is a medical emergency and immediate intervention is required to prevent serious damage to blood vessels and major organs. So, in short, you are unlikely to know whether you have elevated blood pressure or not until serious damage has occurred. Get your blood pressure checked regularly and heed any advice from medical professionals on how to keep yours at a healthy level.

Children should not be given decongestants, says review

23/10/2018

Children are more prone to catching colds than adults. In fact, kids get around six to eight colds a year – that’s twice as many as adults. But what are the best remedies for youngsters with a common cold? Well, according to a review of over-the-counter treatments published in The BMJ, there’s little evidence that any of them work, and some, like decongestants, could actually do more harm than good. That’s because decongestants and combination drugs that contain decongestants can cause drowsiness, headaches, insomnia and upset stomach. Furthermore, if they are given to children under the age of 2, they can cause serious complications such as convulsions and rapid heart rate. In reality, there is no cure for the common cold. While it can cause irritating and uncomfortable symptoms, including a sore throat, cough, congestion, sneezing and a raised temperature, after a week or so, they usually go away on their own. So what’s the answer? Saline nasal washes, says Dr Rahul Chodhari, consultant paediatrician and spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. They can be applied several times a day, with zero side effects, and help to clear mucus from the nasal cavity, reducing congestion. Dr Chodhari advises that cough syrups are not recommended for children because they stop them coughing up mucus and getting rid of it. Also, because antibiotics only work to combat bacterial infections, they do nothing to relieve colds.

Ibuprofen could halt the onset of Alzheimer’s, say researchers

28/03/2018

Ibuprofen is a drug that’s commonly used to treat things like headaches and muscular pain, but new research shows that it could also be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Publishing their findings in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the research team, led by Dr. Patrick McGeer, CEO of Aurin Biotech in Canada, said ibuprofen could prevent the development of Alzheimer’s in individuals with high levels of Abeta 42. Abeta 42 is a peptide that’s present in saliva which people who are at risk of Alzheimer’s have higher levels of. Because Abeta 42 triggers an inflammatory response, the researchers say ibuprofen, a widely-used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), could be used to halt the process. Furthermore, a simple saliva test would be enough to identify people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s. "What we've learned through our research," reports Dr. McGeer, "is that people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer's exhibit the same elevated Abeta 42 levels as people who already have it; moreover, they exhibit those elevated levels throughout their lifetime so, theoretically, they could get tested anytime." Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting around 5.7 million adults in the United States alone. However, this figure is predicted to rise to almost 14 million by 2050.

French Health Watchdog Advises No 3D for Children under Six

28/11/2014

When it comes to your child’s health, you can never be too cautious and now a French health watchdog is warning parents not to expose children under six to 3D movies, computers or video games. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) says that “pioneering” scientific research now shows that 3D imaging can be detrimental to the health of younger children. It’s not recommending that children under six should never play 3D games or watch 3D movies. Furthermore, ANSES is also advising that children under 13 should only have moderate access to such content. An explosion of 3D technology has meant that children can interact with it on a regular basis but the nature of 3D presentations means that a child’s eyes are required to focus in two different places at the same time. It’s this “vergence-accommodation” while a child’s eyes are still developing that can lead to a range of symptoms developing. Double vision, dry eyes, dizziness, headaches and reduced visual acuity are just some of the issues that young children may experience as a result of viewing 3D technology, says ANSES. ANSES acknowledges that further research is required but its advice should definitely be food for thought for parents in the meantime. This new advice further emphasises how seriously healthcare in France is taken; especially when it comes to children.

Facts about Anaesthesia

23/01/2014

If you are contemplating surgery then you will most likely be having some form of anaesthesia and so knowing the facts will help you to make an informed choice and understand what will happen. Anaesthesia simply means ‘loss of sensation’, which is what anaesthetic medications are designed to achieve. A mixture of medications are combined to either put a patient to sleep or numb the pain in a specific area so that surgery can be carried out without the patient experiencing any pain. General anaesthetic This is the term used to refer to the type of anaesthetic that makes a patient completely unconscious so that they are not aware of the procedure and so will feel no pain. This type of anaesthetic is administered via injection or gas which puts the patient to sleep and is used for serious, complex or lengthy procedures. Regional/local anaesthetic This type of anaesthetic is used for minor surgery or procedures where the patient does not need to be unconscious but do need to feel no pain. This anaesthetic is given for a specific area of the body and is only intended to numb that area. There are different types of regional anaesthetic: epidural – type of regional anaesthetic that is used to numb the lower half of the body and is usually used during labour and childbirth spinal – regional anaesthetic that is used to give total numbness that lasts approximately three hours Possible side effects As with any medical procedure there are potential side effects that can affect people who have anaesthetic. Whilst these side effects are not usually serious they can make it uncomfortable to have anaesthetic. They do not often last for a long period of time. The side effects can include: feeling nauseous vomiting feeling faint or dizzy headache feeling cold and shivery aches and pains Photo credit: © dmitrimaruta - Fotolia.com

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