Category: Health

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This Is Kind of Scary. Antibiotic Resistance in Germs Has Doubled in the past 20 Years.

There are a lot of things to worry about these days, but if you’re a germophobe (like my husband) or someone obsessed with the idea that we’re all going to die in a pandemic (like me), then you’ve probably spent at least some time wondering what’s going to happen when antibiotics stop being widely effective.

I mean…the world before antibiotics was a pretty harrowing place.

And now, research is finding that the number of cases in which people experience infections that are resistant to antibiotics is sharply on the rise.

Preliminary findings, which were presented at United European Gastroenterology Week Barcelona 2019, focused on conditions related to the Helicobacter pylori bacteria – gastric ulcer, lymphoma, and gastric cancer – and found that resistance to the typical antibiotic treatment has risen to nearly 21.6% (from 9.9% in 1998).

 

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Similar rises have been seen with other common antibiotic treatments.

Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria evolve a tolerance to the drugs we use to eliminate them from our bodies body. Recently, the issue has gotten attention from the WHO, as well as national and regional health organizations in the U.S. and the EU.

 

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Right now, around 56,000 people die worldwide every year when antibiotics fail to treat their infections. Of course, according to this research, we can expect that number to rise, says lead author Francis Megraud.

“With resistance rates to commonly used antibiotics such as clarithromycin increasing at an alarming rate of nearly 1% per year, treatment options for H. pylori will become progressively limited and ineffective if novel treatment strategies remain undeveloped. The reduced efficacy of current therapies could maintain the high incidence rates of gastric cancer and other conditions such as peptic ulcer disease if drug resistance continues to increase at this pace.”

 

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Not being able to counter the effects of H. pylori is especially telling – and bad, as children are often the ones infected.

“The findings of this study are certainly concerning, as H. pylori is the main cause of peptic disease and gastric cancer. The increasing risk of H. pylori to a number of commonly-used antibiotics may jeopardize prevention strategies.”

If you’re worried about yourself or your family, the best thing you can do is not take antibiotics for infections that are likely viral, not all that bothersome, or will run their course on their own without excessive discomfort.

Easier said than done, I know, but you’ll be toughing out a lot worse if these bacteria evolve faster than we do.

Real talk.

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10 Interesting Facts to Help You Get Through This Loooooong Week

Will this week ever end.

It feels like it’s taking FOREVER.

But, wait! I have a good idea about how to fix this.

Facts! Great facts that will challenge your brain and soothe your soul.

Let’s get started!

1. It’s mostly water weight.

Photo Credit: did you know?

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2. Rejection leads to later problems.

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3. That’s totally disgusting! Yay humans!

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4. Oh, it’s real…

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5. Typical male behavior.

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6. Are you good at this?

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7. This is amazing.

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8. Be on the lookout…

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9. A symbol of grace and poise.

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10. Wow…that’s really something…

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That’s a little better, right?

Now let’s power through the rest of this damn work week together!

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Here Are the 20 Companies That Produce over 1/3 of the World’s Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Many people and governments and companies around the world are doing their best to mitigate some of the effects their lives and business dealings have on the planet, so that hopefully we can have a future that doesn’t include a complete apocalypse and the extinction of human beings.

These 20 companies, though, appear to not give a rat’s a** how much they harm future generations, as long as they’re still making the big bucks.

 

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According to the Climate Accountability Institute, a handful of oil, gas, and coal companies are responsible for 480 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and energy-related methane pumped into Earth’s atmosphere since 1965 – that’s 35% of all greenhouse gas emissions since then.

The report also states that half of all greenhouse gas emissions in recorded history have been released into the atmosphere since 1990, with 1.35 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide (or equivalent GHGs) emitted since 1965.

 

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The CAI had this to say about their findings in a recent press release:

“Although global consumers from individuals to corporations are the ultimate emitters of carbon dioxide, we focus on the fossil fuel companies that, in our view, have produced and marketed the carbon fuels to billions of consumers with the knowledge that their use as intended will worsen the climate crisis.”

Here’s a list, from worst to…less worse.

20. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) — 4.38 percent
19. Chevron (USA) — 3.2 percent
18. Gazprom (Russia) — 3.19 percent
17. ExxonMobile (USA) — 3.09 percent
16. National Iranian Oil Co. (Iran) — 2.63 percent
15. BP (UK) — 2.51 percent
14. Royal Dutch Shell (The Netherlands) — 2.36 percent
13. Coal India (India) — 1.71 percent
12. Pemex (Mexico) — 1.67 percent
11. Petroleos de Venezuela (Venezuela) — 1.16 percent
10. PetroChina/China Natl Petroleum (China) — 1.15 percent
9. Peabody Energy (USA) — 1.14 percent
8. ConocoPhillips (USA) — 1.12 percent
7. Abu Dhabi (UAE) — 1.01 percent
6. Kuwait Petroleum Corp (Kuwait) — 1 percent
5. Iraq National Oil Co. (Iraq) — 0.93 percent
4. Total SA (France) — 0.91 percent
3. Sonatrach (Algeria) — 0.91 percent
2. BHP Billiton (Australia) — 0.72 percent
1. Petrobras (Brazil) — 0.64 percent

If we hope to achieve the goals set by the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2017, all of these companies would have to recognize their current levels as a “peak” and immediately begin to taper them. The report says that these fossil fuel giants, and others like them, have “a significant moral, financial, and legal responsibility to help curtail and compensate for the runaway effects of climate change.”

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Without action now, climate change will exacerbate the inequalities that children already face, and future generations will suffer. On our 5th anniversary Pressman's pledges to donate 50% of the total Dine-in Sales at all outlets to Emirates Nature WWF towards the cause of Climate Change. Join us on 3rd November. #pressmansforenvironment #pressmansanniversary #youthforclimate #climatejustice #climatechangeisreal #globalwarming #strikeforclimate #connect2earth #environment #voicefortheplanet #ourplanet #naturealert #makeahealthyplanet #savetheplanet #climatechange #climatecrisis #lowcarbonfuture #saynotofossilfuels #saveenergy #savetrees #savewildlife #supportemiratesnature #emiratesnature #saveourplanet #zomatouae #deliveroo_ae #talabatuae #ubereats_uae #dubai #uae

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It’s time for people to stop plowing ahead like horses plodding a field with blinders on, eyes on nothing but the row of money to be reaped ahead. If the world wants to survive long enough to leave something other than smoking ashes for our kids, the time is nigh to stop, look around, and start to take several million steps back.

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The Science Behind Your Morning Trip to the Bathroom

Whatever you want to call it, many of us head to the bathroom to take care of it first thing in the morning (or at least, after your morning coffee).

And it turns out there’s a reason that many of us get the urge at the start of the day – it’s science.

According to gastroenterologist Dr. Sarina Psricha, morning is the best time to have a bowel movement because it’s the time of day when your body is best equipped to evacuate.

 

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“In the morning, when we first wake up, an internal alarm clock goes off in our colon, and the colon starts contracting more vigorously. In fact, the colon contracts and squeezes three times as hard in the first hour we are awake compared to when we are sleeping.”

Your small intestine and colon work to process any food leftover from the day before as you sleep, and that’s why the urge sets in about 30 minutes after you wake up. Add in stretching, having a drink of water or coffee, and voila – bowel movement!

“Drinking early morning coffee works synergistically with gut motility to create healthy bowel movements.”

If you’re not a coffee person, try warm saltwater with lemon if you’re having trouble getting things moving.

 

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If you find yourself wondering if your bowel movements are normal, and the good news is that, even if you don’t head to the pot first thing in the morning, there’s probably nothing to worry about. There’s a large range of what is considered “normal”: anywhere from three times a week to three times a day. Plus, factors like diet, exercise, and travel can alter your regular schedule.

 

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“Typically, the best time of the day to have a bowel movement is in the morning. However, some people may not have morning bowel movements and this does not necessarily mean there are any issues. It is okay not to have morning bowel movements as long as people are having regular daily bowel movements.”

There it is – all you ever wanted to know about your morning dump (and probably a whole lot more).

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This Artist’s Illustrations Show How Easy It Is for Boys to Pick up Casual Sexism

Kids don’t know there are different expectations for genders when they’re born, or that people’s skin colors can mean they experience life in a different way, or that some people think certain kinds of romantic love are unacceptable. They learn these things from the adults in their lives, and many people try their hardest to make sure that they don’t hand down any prejudices to their kids.

Not every though.

too many adults seem unaware that they’re passing on sexism on a daily basis – a fact that artist Damian Alexander sought to illustrate with his comics.

As a child, he didn’t understand why people were always trying to redirect him from having female role models (other boys might find this in people trying to redirect them from liking certain colors, or television shows, toys, or hobbies), and he hopes that by pointing out how harmful and distressing it can be to kids, adults might cut it out.

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If you like these illustrations, make sure to follow Damian on his website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Here’s hoping we can raise generations of boys who can like what and who they like without anyone making them feel badly about it!

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Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) Is a Rare but Real Condition

The few people who have highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) can tell you exactly what happened on any given day, down to the way they felt and at what time. It’s both a superpower and a curse, depending on the circumstances. And to this day, scientists have no idea what contributors make a person have HSAM.

Though they do have some theories.

In 2006, a case study of  Jill Price, referred to by the pseudonym AJ in the study, was published in Neurocase. It described in detail her unusual memory. Price later outed herself as AJ publicly.

In an email, Price explained her ability:

I can take a date, between 1974 and today, and tell you what day it falls on, what I was doing that day and if anything of great importance (i.e.: The Challenger Explosion, Tuesday, January 28, 1986) occurred on that day I can describe that to you as well …Whenever I see a date flash on the television (or anywhere else for that matter) I automatically go back to that day and remember where I was, what I was doing, what day it fell on and on and on and on and on. It is non-stop, uncontrollable and totally exhausting.

And she wasn’t alone. A number of people came forward after the report, saying they had the same ability. Some were tested and found to have HSAM, same as Price.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Currently, only about 60 people worldwide are believed to have HSAM. Scientists are working with them to see if they can learn more about the average person’s memory, as well as how, and why, their super memories operate the way they do.

Something researchers have uncovered is that people with HSAM tend toward obsessiveness with cleaning, collecting and organizing, so there is thinking that perhaps collecting and organizing memories is part of HSAM.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Also, structural differences in the areas of the brain associated with autobiographical memory creation show up on scans. When asked about particular dates from the past, regular people lose their ability to recall them after about a week. People with HSAM recall details up to a decade and longer.

Something else researchers found was that people with HSAM can recall false memories just as often as regular people. So, their superhuman memories are far from perfect.

Photo Credit: Pexels

So, what does this all mean? Maybe the answer lies in the mysterious part of the brain where we turn short-term memories into long-term memory.

It would be interesting to figure out, although where this could have practical applications for those of us with normal to poor memories remains to be seen.

I kind of like living my life able to forget – at least I don’t remember all my regrets…

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A Study Shows That Tattoos Can Strengthen Our Immune Systems

Even though tattoos are pretty trendy at the moment, they’ve actually been around for over 6,000 years. They’re made to express a person’s thoughts, feelings, and or cultural beliefs. Some get them as a source of strength or healing, while others may get them just for fun.

Whatever your reason, have you ever thought about what tattoos do to your body? Like, for example, how might your immune system react to getting your skin dyed?

Funny you asked…

Christopher Lynn has been studying Samoan tattooing culture “and the impact of the big traditional pieces called pe’a and malu — tatau in general — on the immune system.”

The Samoa study is actually the fourth phase of his research about how tattoos interact with a person’s immune system. He first started with a group of mostly women in Alabama, and he found an interesting outcome.

“What I’d observed among that group suggested that tattooing could help beef up one’s immune response.”

But one study was not enough to gain a solid understanding of how or why. So he explored further, and that led him to Samoa:

“That’s why I traveled in 2018 with fellow anthropologist Michaela Howells to the Samoan Islands. Samoans have a long, continuous history of extensive tattooing. Working with contemporary machine and hand-tap tattooists in American Samoa, we wanted to see if we’d find the same link to enhanced immune response.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Allef Vinicius

What happens to your body when you get a tattoo?

Whenever you sit for a tattoo, you are allowing ink-coated needle pricks to penetrate your epidermis. This sends a warning to your immune system that these small “wounds” need healing. Your body responds in two ways. First:

“…getting a new tattoo triggers your immune system to send white blood cells called macrophages to eat invaders and sacrifice themselves to protect against infection.”

It will also send a level of adaptive responses to the area in the form of proteins. These proteins help the skin heal, but they also keep an eye out for this to happen again in the future.

“There are several classes of these proteins — called antibodies or immunoglobulins — and they continue to circulate in the bloodstream, on the lookout lest that same invader is encountered again. They’re at the ready to quickly launch an immune response the next time around.”

It’s like these little antibodies know how addictive tattooing is!

How is the level of antibodies and white blood cells measured to understand the immune systems reaction?

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Joel Muniz

“This adaptive capacity of the immune system means that we could measure immunoglobulins in saliva as approximations of previous stress caused by tattooing.”

During the study, Lynn and anthropologist Michaela Howells sampled 25 tattoo recipients, both Samoan and non-Samoan tourists to the island.

“We collected saliva at the start and end of each tattoo session, controlling for the tattoo duration. We also measured recipients’ weight, height and fat density to account for health. From the saliva samples, we extracted the antibody immunoglobulin A, as well as the stress hormone cortisol and inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. Immunoglobulin A is considered a frontline immune defense and provides important protections against frequent pathogens like those of the common cold.”

They determined that immunoglobulin A remained higher in the bloodstream even after a tattoo fully healed. Also, if one of the recipients received a larger tattoo, leaving them under the needle longer, the saliva produced more immunoglobulin A than those who experienced smaller tattoos

It seems that getting a tattoo for the first time primed the recipient’s bodies. Meaning, it ramped up their immune system to fight back in case there is a next time. Even if they chose not to get additional tattoos, their immune systems were still heightened in case they get sick. It’s the body’s way of preparing for future ailments due to body stress.

“Stress’s bad rap comes from chronic forms that really do undermine immune response and health. But a little bit is actually good for you and prepares your body to fight off germs. Regular exercise provides immune function benefits through repetition, not necessarily single visits to the gym. We think this is similar to how each tattoo seems to prepare the body for vigilance.”

Even though these findings sparked more interest on what tattoo can do to keep you “healthier,” you may want to wait before going out and covering your body in ink. Lynn is still exploring the ramifications.

“Our Samoan findings supported the results of my first study in Alabama. But of course correlation does not imply causation. Enhanced immune response is correlated with more tattoo experience, but maybe healthier people heal easily from tattooing and like to get them more. How could we find out if getting tattoos could actually make a person healthier?”

I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

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A Woman Woman Born with Two Vaginas and Two Wombs Becomes a Mother of Four

In all seriousness, I had never heard of such a thing. Two vaginas?

34-year-old Australian Lauren Cotter was born with uterus didelphys, meaning she had two cervices, two uteruses, and twi vaginas. It is a birth defect that affects 1 in 3,000 women, and it can cause excruciating periods and abnormal bleeding. It can also cause infertility and/or miscarriages.

Lauren was diagnosed at the age of 16 after she went to the doctor for her excruciating menstrual cycles. The doctor performed a pelvic exam and ultrasound to come to the diagnosis. He also told her that conceiving children would be difficult, if not impossible.

Posted by Lauren Cotter on Friday, January 18, 2019

She decided to have surgery to correct her double vagina, which would give her a more fulfilling sex life. When she was 17, she met her future husband and shared the news that pregnancy may not be an option.

“From quite early on, Ben and I discussed having children and it was clear that he really wanted to be a dad,” she told PA Real Life.

“I knew I had to be open and honest and tell him that might not be a possibility for me.”

So what happened? They married and tried anyway.

“We have found it easy to fall pregnant,” she said. “I am not sure why, or if it has anything to do with my two vaginas.”

With her diagnosis, Lauren understood there would be complications, but they stayed strong.

“We knew it might be a bumpy road and tried not to get our hopes up too much,” said Lauren.

In 2014, their first daughter, Amelie, was born via C-Section, completely healthy. Lauren and her husband decided to try again.  About a year and a half later they had no trouble. The crazy thing was that Harvey was born from her left womb when Amelia was born from the right!

“I carried Amelie in my right, and just assumed the left one was a dud,” said Lauren

Harvey was born prematurely at 4 pounds, 12 ounces and had difficulty swallowing. But after 3 weeks he was released in good health.

After that, the Cotters felt it best to go on birth control due to her medical history

“The [birth control] pill was giving me migraines and I couldn’t use [an IUD] coil, so in the end, the implant was the only option left,” she said.

Posted by Lauren Cotter on Sunday, May 12, 2019

But low and behold, she became pregnant with TWINS! Apparently, this family has no problems with infertility.

“‘Shocked’ doesn’t begin to cover it. During 17 years together, Ben and I had only ever got pregnant when we’d planned it. Now, here we were, having surprise twins. My doctor was very honest and said he couldn’t know how the pregnancy was going to play out.”

The doctors ordered her to bed rest for 19 weeks in order to help with any potential complications. But luckily, Lauren didn’t seem to suffer any. After 37 weeks, Maya and Evie were born each weighing about 5 pounds.

Ben and Lauren are through the moon with their family and decided to take measures to prevent future pregnancies; Lauren had her fallopian tubes tied. She said, “Ben and I are one super-fertile couple, and now we’re happy with things just as they are.”

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Some Hospitals Are Using Clear Drapes for C-Sections Instead of Opaque Ones

C-sections are grueling, and they can be really tough on new moms. One especially disappointing part is that, typically, moms are not able to see their new baby right away. Because there’s a drape obscuring their view of the surgery itself, they can only hear their babies, not see them.

That’s why some hospitals are beginning to use clear drapes.

It may sound scary to have a clear drape instead of an opaque one. Nobody wants to see themselves being operated upon!

But these drapes are actually only partially clear. The lowest part is still opaque, so it completely blocks the mom’s view of the operation. The upper part is clear, so she can see when doctors pull the baby out of her womb.

Clear drapes are amazing. <3 I love that they are more accepted for cesarean births now! Watching my client see her…

Posted by Tracy Abney, Birth Doula on Tuesday, April 3, 2018

 

Tracy Abney, a doula, mom and birth photographer, is a huge advocate of clear drapes. She had a typical C-section with a solid drape and told Parents that she felt “disconnected.”

“Everyone saw my daughter before I did. I could hear her, but not see her,” Tracy said. “I didn’t see her until she was cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket, then she was taken away and I didn’t see her for a long time.”

“Clear drapes help the mother feel like she is part of the birthing process,” she added. “She can see the baby when everyone else does, the moment the baby is born.”

That clear drape, though. <3

Posted by Tracy Abney, Birth Doula on Thursday, May 17, 2018

Clear drapes are one aspect of the new “gentle C-section” trend, which aims to make C-sections more like the traditional birthing experience. Doctors pull the baby out slowly and immediately bring the baby to the mom for skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding, if it is medically safe to do so.

Anything that helps is well worth the adjustment!

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