Influenza News
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 14:37
Most electronic cigarettes today contain flavoring, nicotine, and propylene glycol. Numerous studies, dating back as far as 1942, have shown that propylene glycol was found to possibly prevent influenza and pneumonia when inhaled after vaporization. It was determined that a smoker who enjoys an electronic cigarette will suffer no ill effects. Smokers can now enjoy the numerous habits of smoking including nicotine delivery, hand and visual smoke gratification, with none of the dangerous side effects associated with inhaling the dangerous smoke.
The electronic cigarette may also may help to prevent some of the respiratory diseases caused by regular cigarettes. In addition, there is no better time for smokers to quit or cut back on smoking real tobacco products with the aid of the electronic cigarette since the the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus is expected to be the cause a record number of deaths this season. Electronic cigarettes are a relatively new tool in the battle against cigarette smoking.
Although using electronic cigarettes as a smoking cessation method/device has yet to be evaluated by the FDA, numerous quit smoking non profit organizations have endorsed electronic cigarettes as a viable and healthy alternative to smoking. If the electronic cigarette helps avoid influenza, which is what the studies indicate, so much the better.
Sat, 01/02/2010 - 15:56
How Ascorbic Acid Boosts Your Immune System
Numerous studies describe the antibacterial phenomena of ascorbic acid. This suggests a role for ascorbic acid in immunity. Other studies have demonstrated that the ascorbic acid content of leukocytes, which are responsible for host defense, was as much as 80 times greater than that in the plasma. Such a large difference between extra- and intracellular concentrations could only be effected by an active transport system. The fact that ascorbic acid is actively transported against the plasma concentration gradient is testimony to the important role ascorbic acid plays in the immune function.
Studies such as these eventually led to the conclusion that ascorbic acid plays an important role in the immune function. The common transport system describes the competition between ascorbic acid and glucose and explains why large doses of pure ascorbic acid are necessary to overcome glucose inhibition. Glucose not only inhibits stimulation of hexose mono phosphate (HMP) shunt by ascorbic acid but it also inhibits the transport of ascorbic acid to all cells of the body.
In light of the current obesity epidemic caused by dietary sugar excesses, clinicians should be reminded of the great importance of the under appreciated but long recognized inhibitory action of glucose against ascorbic acid. In summary, ascorbic acid is essential for effective immune system function and it can be a potent immune system stimulator when high glycemic dietary carbohydrates are restricted.
Fri, 12/11/2009 - 22:25
The workplace is by far the most common places to catch flu viruses. For most people it means being in close proximity to lots of others. Making matters even worse is the fact that less than 16% of employees wash their hands as often as they should. On top of that, 1 in 5 do not washing their hands at all. Although many are still not fully cooperating, workplaces are being encouraged to improve the hand hygiene of their employees in an effort to reduce the spread of swine flu. One way to improve this situation is to have employees keep a hand sanitizer on their desk at work. A hand sanitizer is ideal for quickly cleansing ones hands throughout the day, including between meetings, before lunch, and after the morning commute. Also, many people do not wash their hands properly when visiting the sink. It may seem silly but the problem does contribute to the spread of a lot of illness.
The workplace is also cesspool for the types of germs that cause stomach flu. Just touching a door handle and then bringing your hand to your eyes, mouth, or nose mouth is a recipe for trouble when it comes to the stomach flu. This places even more emphasis on hand washing numerous times throughout the day. The stomach flu can also be spread by food that has been handled improperly. It can also be spread via infected water and food. If, for example, someone has the stomach flu and you touch something that they have touched, then you are susceptible. Although it can pop up at any time of the year, people are more likely to get the stomach flu in the winter months. The best line of defense is to clean the contaminated area with pure bleach since household cleaners are generally not strong enough to kill the virus.
While vaccination is the best way to prevent the flu, other methods including cleaning and disinfecting all areas in the workplace. Proper hand washing techniques and hand hygiene can also go a long way in flu prevention. One way to prevent the spreading of germs by keeping things germ free is to have office cleaning services clean your workplace regularly. It may seem like an unnecessary expense but if you consider the amount of money you may have to pay out in sick leave, not to mention the amount of lost productivity you may endure in flu season, you will find it is money well spent.
Sun, 11/22/2009 - 06:04
Some who play Jolly Old Saint Nick think they should get vaccinations first.
(AP Photo/Jim Cole)David Oelerich stands by some of the Santa suits he rents to Santa's around New England and Canada at his "Costumes of Nashua" shop in Hudson, N.H., Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. Ernest Berger, president of the nation's largest volunteer Santa group, wants Congress to declare Santas a high-priority for the vaccine for two reasons: they're exposed to hordes of children, and many of them are overweight.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine flu vaccine.
Many of the nation’s Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine and not just because of those runny-nosed kids. There’s also the not-so-little matter of that round belly. Research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor.
Swine flu has become such a concern that the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas featured a seminar on the illness at a recent conference in Philadelphia. The group also urged its members to use hand sanitizer and take vitamins to boost their immune systems.
The president of the organization said he also hopes parents will keep sick kids away.
Tue, 11/17/2009 - 16:13
Susan E. Brown, the director of the Center for Better Bones in East Syracuse wants to explain how vitamin D can help us protect ourselves against the flu (seasonal or H1N1.) "There’s been so much information this fall about flu, particularly swine flu, that it’s hard to make sense of it all. But one piece of information that I...
Susan E. Brown, the director of the Center for Better Bones in East Syracuse wants to explain how vitamin D can help us protect ourselves against the flu (seasonal or H1N1.)
Jupiter Images UnlimitedResearch shows vitamin D can help protect us from flu infection.
"There’s been so much information this fall about flu, particularly swine flu, that it’s hard to make sense of it all. But one piece of information that I think gets missed in all the discussion is the importance of vitamin D in preventing influenza infections and boosting immunity. Research is accumulating about the relationship between flu susceptibility and vitamin D levels, and it’s showing just how important it is to keep vitamin D levels in the 50-80 ng/mL range," she says.
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:50
Congratulations to our winner, JOAN MAYWALT of Oswego! How prepared are you for a flu illness in your household? Is your medicine cabinet stocked? Do you have a working thermometer? Once you're under the weather, you're sure not going to feel like a shopping trip. The folks from CVS Pharmacy have provided us with a kit of cold and...
Jupiter Images UnlimitedYou may not have gotten your H1N1 flu shot yet, but you can prepare your medicine cabinet for the potential illness.
Congratulations to our winner, JOAN MAYWALT of Oswego!
How prepared are you for a flu illness in your household? Is your medicine cabinet stocked? Do you have a working thermometer? Once you're under the weather, you're sure not going to feel like a shopping trip.
The folks from CVS Pharmacy have provided us with a kit of cold and flu treatments that one lucky reader will receive (not that we're wishing illness on anyone; it's just good to be prepared!)
Sun, 11/08/2009 - 06:53
Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler said what, perhaps, many were thinking earlier in the week when news reports revealed that Wall Street bankers had access to the H1N1 flu vaccine before many hospitals. Meyers is the host of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," and his former co-host Amy Poehler joined him Saturday, Nov. 7, for their "Really!?!" segment. Lots...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 10:33
A report in US News & World Report says that flu deaths are higher among seniors with dementia. An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia,...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 10:33
A report in US News & World Report says that flu deaths are higher among seniors with dementia. An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia,...
 Jupiter Images UnlimitedStudy shows higher death rate from flu among seniors with dementia.
A report in US News & World Report says that flu deaths are higher among seniors with dementia.
An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia, says a news release about the study from Tufts University School of Medicine.
“The increased mortality of older patients with dementia hospitalized for flu may be indicative of inadequacies in health care quality and accessibility. It could be beneficial to refine guidelines for the immunization, testing, and treatment of flu in older patients with dementia when planning for the possibility of a flu pandemic,” said senior author Elena Naumova, PhD, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts.
She says in her abstract that rural and poor counties had the highest rate of pneumonia and influenza, and the highest percentage of influenza. Patients with dementia had a lower frequency of influenza diagnosis, a shorter length of hospital stay, and 1.5 times as high a rate of death as the national average.
The Alzheimer's Association sends news, such as this, in a free newsletter that you can sign up for here.
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 10:33
A report in US News & World Report says that flu deaths are higher among seniors with dementia. An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia,...
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Wednesday March 10, 2010 
10:24 pm
