Don't Get Bugged!
Thursday, May 24, 2012 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments
Too bad for her poor colleagues who have to combat with her viruses

On a typical Monday morning on the bus, people were packed like sardines, on their way to work.

The movements of an old man caught my eye.  He was sneezing and coughing so profusely that I could see his specks of spit flying from his mouth. The poor commuters next to him were covering their mouths and turning their heads away. 

Much as I sympathise with old guy, I could not help feeling indignant. Germs and viruses are spread through such inconsiderate behaviour. That's because droplets containing the germs from the infected person gets into the air and are inhaled by people nearby. Since this time of the year (May to July) is the flu season, it is all the more important for us to be considerate to those around us when we are sick. Just because a cold is non-life threatening does not mean one should be careless about it.

Furthermore, many people often confuse cold and influenza. The two bear similar symptoms and often strike together, but the main difference between these two is that the flu, or short for influenza, can be deadly as it infects the lungs, joints and can cause pneumonia and respiratory failure, while a common cold is characterised by runny nose, cough, fever and sore throat.

H1N1 (commonly known as the swine flu) is an example of influenza that flu patients in Singapore have been diagnosed with and even died from. The 2009-2010 'swine flu' pandemic had killed more than 14,000 people worldwide.

Singapore is densely populated and a popular tourist spot or stopover, making the transmission of viruses from one country to a piece of cake. The common cold is not so dangerous, but how can we be safe from contracting the comparatively more dangerous flu?

1. Get vaccinated.
A vaccine can boost one’s immune system by introducing a little bit of weak or dead germs that cause the flu so that your body can build its own antibodies without being sick from the germ, and eventually fight off this germ.

For those who fear needles, a new painless flu vaccination has just arrived at our shores. How is it painless, you may ask. “The intradermal microinjection system is administered only one to two millimetres into the skin,” according to a health article from medical website Yourhealth. This reduces the stress and fear of pain that steers us away from getting ourselves vaccinated.

2. Always sanitize your hands.

Washing your hands thoroughly with soap after handling something helps to get rid of the germs on your hands. Hastily running water and soap over your hands is not enough. You need to rinse every creak and corner of your hands thoroughly, using these eight steps shown on the Health Promotion Board website. If soap or the washroom is unavailable, use portable hand sanitizers, which you can carry around with you and use any time, any where. This is definitely something you want to carry use you take the train, what with so many people touching the railings and bars.

3. Seek treatment as soon as symptoms set in.

If find yourself developing symptoms of cold or flu, visit the doctor and get yourself treated to prevent your condition from worsening or spreading to your family and friends.

4. Be considerate.

If you are already sick, it is important to cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or mask to prevent your virus spreading through the tiny droplets of saliva that escape from your mouth with each sneeze and cough. Bring tissue paper with you so that you can wipe your mucus and spit your phlegm into it. More importantly, throw that tissue into the bin instead of putting it into your pocket.

Think about it this way. Singapore is so small, when more people get infected, the effects of the flu virus gets more extensive. Eventually, it could strike your loved one, or even come back to you when you’ve recovered.

Written by: Veronica Tay


Tuberculosis back to stay?
Friday, May 18, 2012 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, more commonly known as TB, used to be a disease of the past, commonly associated with the days of backward Singapore when quality of healthcare was poor and conditions unsanitary. Most of the current generation’s personal observation of this disease came from period dramas – a poor rickshaw driver coughs to death on the dirty streets, or a rich towkay’s son spits blood during a wedding ceremony and promptly faints, and then dies, leaving his poor wife widowed.

Nevertheless, it is still commonly found in some Asian countries, especially in places like India and Indonesia. With the increase of foreign workers and immigrants in recent years, TB has once again found its way onto our island. An article in the Straits Times stated that "The Ministry of Health (MOH) was alerted to 2,791 new cases last year, a figure 10.9 per cent higher than the 2,517 in 2009.

Singapore has seen a rise in the number of TB infected patients from both foreigners and Singaporeans. This year, non-government organisations (NGOs) are certainly headed for the right direction by asking the authorities to reconsider the rehabilitation policy for foreigners who are applying for work permit.

Although in today’s day and age, all Singaporean babies are given a compulsory Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) shot at birth as a vaccine against this deadly disease, older Singaporeans do not have the privilege of this vaccine, and these Singaporeans are going to be worst hit when they are in their old age and possess a weak immune system. In addition, many vaccinations are not permanent, and vaccination against TB is one of those.

I was a victim of TB 2 years ago. Back then, I worked in a company where my colleagues came from all over the world. We had fun learning about each other’s cultures and values, but little did we know that we were also exchanging each other’s viruses. Not long after starting out on my new job, the lymph nodes in my neck started to swell and I began developing a persistent flu with symptoms such as cough, runny nose and an on and off fever. I also lost a significant amount of weight and over time, I started seeing blood in my sputum and felt lethargic easily.

Worried for my health, but convinced that it was nothing more than a stubborn flu, I tried different forms of self-medication, such as Chinese medicine and common cold tablets. After six months, not only did I not recover, my cough got worse and my throat felt tight and extremely sore. The haze that blanketed Singapore at that time of the year made everything worse, and my mom eventually decided that I should see a specialist.

It took just ten minutes for the specialist to decide that I had to be warded into the Intensive Care Unit for three days. After that, I was transferred to the isolation ward where I continued my stay in the hospital for 18 days. According to the X-Ray results, the TB virus had moved from the tip of my lungs up to my windpipe, causing it to swell, bleed and block my breathing. My treatment included daily blood tests, medication pumped into me through a drip and medicinal tablets taken every few hours. After being discharged, I had to undergo monthly checks at the Tuberculosis Control Unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, followed by a daily dose of medication everyday for six months, which was administered daily at a local polyclinic.

The treatment process of TB was long and tiresome, but on the bright side, it goes to show that TB is curable these days. It is thankfully no longer the terminal illness that took away numerous lives as seen in period dramas.

Although there is no foolproof way to protect ourselves from TB, you should seek professional medical treatment if you develop symptoms as I’ve shared above. TB may share similar symptoms with the common flu, but in any case, you should not attempt to self-medicate when you have the flu virus, as the flu virus is highly contagious and difficult to go away without specific medication too. When you do contract TB, do practice self-quarantine and accept your medication and treatment as prescribed by your doctor.

Viruses are stubborn, and it will take some time before Singapore reverts to her almost TB-free state. It is important for us to pay more attention to the people around us, especially those that we interact often with, like our family, friends and colleagues, and advise them to get medical help if they clearly need it. Being concerned for others’ health shows that you care. You’d also feel healthier and more comfortable when everyone around you is happy and healthy.

Written by: Veronica Tay

Sources:

http://www.singhealth.com.sg/PatientCare/ConditionsAndTreatments/Pages/Tuberculosis.aspx

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120514-0000024/Health-Ministry-monitoring-TB-trends-among-foreign-workers


Can you eat too much fruits?
Thursday, May 10, 2012 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments
Marilyn Monroe might not have kept her svelte figure if she ate that much fruit on a regular basis!
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but do you know that too many apples a day may send you to the dentist?

Too much of a good thing can be bad, even for something as healthy as fruits. There is a reason why dieticians propose a recommended daily intake of fruits, rather than tell you that you can eat as much fruits as you like. Generally, it is agreed that the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables inclusive is five portions a day.

Certain types of fruits are high in natural sugars. You can easily tell which – the ones that taste sweet, like grapes, mandarin oranges, pears and bananas. While natural sugars are healthier than table sugar, and definitely make better snacks than chips, fruit sugars can contribute to tooth erosion and decay.

In addition, these sugars can contribute to your calorie count. Consuming many sweet fruits per day may eventually lead to health problems if you’re having existing health problems like obesity.

A health expert from Providence Health & Services explains clearly, the problem with eating more than the recommended intake of fruits.

“Let's say that you weigh 150 pounds, that you typically eat 2,000 calories per day, and that your goal is to get to that 500-calorie deficit by burning 200 calories through exercise and cutting 300 calories from your diet each day. That makes 1,700 calories your daily limit for what you can consume.

Fruit is about 80–100 calories per serving. A serving is one cup of fresh fruit or a half cup of canned fruit. (Yes, the exact calories vary, but these are a useful overall guideline.) You are eating about 7-1/2 servings of fruit per day. At an average of 90 calories per serving, that's 630 calories from fruit alone!”

This may sound unbelievable to health conscious people who consume fruits as a major part of their diet. Indeed, fruits are often regarded as the healthiest of the health pyramid along with vegetables, and they are always recommended as healthy alternatives over titbits like chips and chocolate. These facts still hold true, but one must bear in mind that following improvements in farming technologies, farmers have been using various methods such as hybridisation to make fruits larger and sweeter, and in turn more tasty, but less healthy.

Nevertheless, you should continue to eat fruits regularly, but consume it in moderation. Some people consume several servings of fruits in one meal and consider it their lunch, which is really an inadequate diet. Going overboard on one type of food causes you to miss out on the valuable properties of other foods.

Substitute more fruits for vegetables, as most vegetables are healthier in terms of calorie and sugar levels.

Choose more citrus fruits like oranges, which have less sugar content and lots of vitamins.

Explore a variety of fruits, instead of having say, 5 apples per day. There are so many different types of fruits sold in our local supermarkets and markets, such as watermelons, kiwi, strawberries, mango, avocado and cherries, just to name a few. Eating a greater variety of fruits makes your diet more enjoyable and interesting too.

Last but not least, remember to exercise and lead an active lifestyle. Eating fruits on a regular basis does not exempt you from frequent exercise. You would still need to maintain balance in other aspects of your life to enjoy a wholesome, healthy lifestyle.

Written by: Ng Mei Yi
Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-198990/Is-fruit-bad-you.html#ixzz1trZm8lAJ
http://drbenkim.com/articles-fruit.html