An estimated two hundred thousand people a year are infected with yellow fever worldwide and from among these; as many as thirty thousand succumb to the illness and die.

Yellow fever is a tropical and subtropical infection that is found in Africa and Latin America. This is a disease transmitted to human beings by infected mosquitoes and is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever.

The reason that is known as ‘Yellow’ fever is because it can sometimes lead to jaundice in some cases. Yellow fever is an extremely dangerous infectious disease because 50% of those that are infected severely die from it.

Symptoms

Yellow fever can be difficult to diagnose and its symptoms can sometimes be confused with malaria, typhoid, hepatitis and dengue in the early stages. The chief symptoms of yellow fever are fever accompanied by shivering, muscle pain, head and back ache, nausea, and loss of appetite.

This is the acute phase which lasts for 3 to 4 days after the incubation period, which is 3 to 6 days after the actual infection. For the most part, symptoms disappear after the acute phase however about 15% of sufferers progress to what is known as a toxic phase which affects several parts of the body and the patient develops jaundice.

Yellow fever is hemorrhagic and in this second phase may cause bleeding from the nose, mouth, stomach and even eyes! A person may excrete or vomit blood. As many as half the people who enter this second, toxic phase die from yellow fever.

Treatment

There is no specific or particular treatment available for yellow fever, and it is a disease that, in many cases will cure itself in time so long as the symptoms and possible dehydration are kept within check. Sometimes there could be bacterial infections that could arise as a result of yellow fever in which case antibiotics are prescribed.

In the case of yellow fever it is very much a case of prevention being better than cure and vaccination is the most effective way to prevent this infection. It is the recommendation of the World Health Organization that 60% to 80% of a population ought to be vaccinated against a possible outbreak of the disease and vaccination provides immunity of up to thirty five years.

The WHO recommends that the following groups should not be vaccinated against yellow fever:

• A child below the age of 9 months should not be vaccinated
• Pregnant women should not be vaccinated except in the case of an outbreak
• Those that have a severe allergy to egg protein should not get the vaccine that may contain the egg protein
• People whose immunity is compromised or those that have HIV or AIDS.

There are biological differences among men and women, which could go some way to explain this difference. The average age of a woman who has a heart attack is considerably higher than that of a man; also women are likelier to have other health problems, which is responsible for this.

However, there are other reasons why this happens: the study suggested that it is the treatment regimens that were likely responsible for the fact that more women die after a heart attack.

It was found that women, when admitted to a hospital after a heart attack were less likely to get an angiography done to detect arterial blockages or then subsequently have an angioplasty performed to have those removed.

Another reason is that major heart studies seem always to be performed in the case of men rather than women; in this respect women are the understudied population.

Source: Reuters

This could be for a number of reasons; such as that you are planning to take a trip somewhere, there is an important occasion for which you want to be unencumbered by your period, or your wedding date was set months in advance but now it’s getting near it may clash with your period etc.

You may even have an important exam, athletic event or similar reason you may want some delay of your period.

In these or a number of other cases, you may be in a position of wanting to delay your period so it is important to understand how one can safely do so.

Firstly it is important to understand that delaying your period is not a recommended activity; this is not something you should do routinely or unless it is really important for you to do so. Also a regular and predictable cycle is something that has its own practical benefits, which one needs to remember.

There is one view that natural remedies will help you with delaying your period, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim that changes in diet can help with this. There is anecdotal evidence that parsley tea could help induce ones menstruation, or that eating certain spicy foods could do the same.

It is also suggested that one hold off eating these items to delay getting your period. Stress or starvation can also delay periods which are of course not at all recommended.

Also, these methods are highly unreliable; there is no way you can be certain that they will work, nor is it clear how effective they will be for how long.

The only really dependable way of delaying your period is through the use of birth control pills. This can be done by using the usual 28 day cycle birth control pills, by either starting them mid cycle or consuming the pills for longer than the 21 days. This however should always be done under medical supervision so if you are planning on delaying your period by this method, be sure to speak to a doctor about how to go about it.

There is also available a 91-day oral contraceptive regimen designed to give you only four periods a year wherein active pills are taken for 84 days followed by getting your period.

There is also available a low-dose extended-use combined oral contraceptive which will give you no period for a year. If you decide on any of these methods for delaying your period, be sure to speak to a medical practitioner for advice before starting.

Now, however a new study has suggested that the pill may actually have the opposite effect on women, and that it may actually be good for health.

Statistics from a study conducted over a period of 39 years on 46,000 women, the Royal College of GPs Oral Contraception Study now seems to suggest that taking the pill may actually be beneficial for female health.

This is said to be the largest study ever conducted with relation to the pill and it has shown that those women who take the pill have a 12% lower chances of developing heart disease, stroke and cancer than those who do not.

These benefits will accrue from the birth control pill to all those women who lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle that includes eating right, getting regular medical checkups, not smoking and doing regular exercise. So long as women implement these lifestyle rules, any negative effects of the pill will be minimized while the benefits will be maximized.

Source: The Examiner

Is menstrual sex safe? For the most part, sex during the menstrual period is quite safe and healthy; however the risk of certain infections increases during this time. Also, menstrual blood will carry the bacteria or virus that the woman hosts.

Many women experience Herpes outbreaks during their periods which make them more infective. Also, there is some research to demonstrate that chances of developing endometriosis increases due to having sex during menstruation.

Can one get pregnant by having menstrual sex? The answer to this is usually in the negative, because this is a highly unlikely scenario. But, one cannot rule out getting pregnant even with menstrual sex because the sperm stays alive for a few days and if the woman ovulates within a few days after or before her period, there are chances of her falling pregnant. Having sex even five to six days before ovulation can possibly lead to a pregnancy even if chances are not very high.

Could menstrual sex help in any way? There is a belief that having sex during the period can help lessen menstrual pain and there is something in that theory.

When a woman has an orgasm, her uterus contracts and this also helps in expelling the contents of the uterus faster so that a woman’s period ends sooner after having hand menstrual sex.

What can be used to avoid making a mess in menstrual sex? Many couples use a diaphragm of a cervical cap during intercourse to help keep safe from a possible pregnancy.

This will also do the job of containing the blood for a time. It is important, however not to use these devices as regular sanitary protection during menstruation since they are not the same as menstrual cups.

Since there is an increased risk of certain infections, menstrual sex is fine so long as one uses protection of a condom or similar during menstrual sex.

For the most part it may be issues such as ‘being grossed out’ or personal beliefs and perceptions that may trouble one or perhaps the thought of creating a mess, so if a couple is OK with it, there is no reason why menstrual sex should not be indulged in while using protection.

There are certain factors that increase a woman’s risk of having PMS and they are:

• Age is a prime factor for PMS, and it is generally found that the severity of the symptoms tends to rise with age. It is generally seen that it is women over the age of 30 who seek help for PMS and increasing age is commonly seen to make higher the chances of getting PMS
• Family history of PMS is usually a strong indicator for a woman having it
• Caffeine intake can increase risk of PMS
• Tobacco use is also shown to increase risk
• High stress levels are also seen to contribute to PMS and may exacerbate the symptoms such as depression, anger, tension, irritability etc
• Research has shown that identical twins have double the probability of developing PMS as against fraternal twins.
• Certain allergies such as those to nuts, trees, grass, and markers are seen to aggravate PMS
• Certain nutritional deficiencies such as low levels of certain essential vitamins and minerals can also be responsible

1. A gym is too expensive: So don’t go to one. There are number of shows on TV which will help you lose weight. Using a jump rope and doing squats and pushups at home is as effective as going to the gym. Besides many gyms cost $25 a month or less.
2. I will start tomorrow: That fast starting tomorrow won’t help; won’t undo a lifetime of bad habits. Only significant lifestyle changes will make a difference.
3. I am really healthy so why should I lose weight? You may be healthy now, but obesity increases your risk of developing a number of diseases now or later.
4. I don’t have the time and money to cook healthy: Your health is something that you need to make time and money for. For, if you don’t have time for your health what do you have time for!
5. It Hurts: Yes exercise will hurt to begin with if you’ve never done it. But the benefits so outweigh that temporary discomfort that this is really immaterial. Later you will thank yourself for making the effort.

It is important to understand the stages of breast cancer in order to understand chances of survival, kind of treatment to be obtained and understand the prognosis or the outcome of the cancer.

The stages of breast cancer are standardized so that healthcare providers the world over are able to understand the nature and extent of a given person’s disease; which are 0 through IV stages.

According to the National Breast Cancer website, those who are at the 0 stage have 100% chance of 5 year survival; at Stage I that rate is 98%, at Stage II the five year survival rate drops to 80%, at stage III it is between 56% and 49% and at stage IV the five year survival rate is only 16%. The different stages of cancer correspond to the following situations:

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ): This is breast cancer at the earliest stage, when the abnormal cells have not spread outside the lobules of the ducts which produce milk during lactation.

This stage could signify the woman’s risk of developing cancer or it signifies a very early stage wherein it is easy to treat the cancer before it starts to spread and go on to the next stage.

Stage I: At this stage the size of the tumor is two centimeters or less and has not yet spread to areas other than the breast or the surrounding lymph nodes.

Stage II (A & B): At the stage of breast cancer II A the cancer is about an inch in size and has spread to the lymph nodes situated in the underarm. If the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters but hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, it is still classified as being Stage II A.

At Stage II B the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size but has spread to three lymph nodes. If the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the lymph nodes, then this is still classified as Stage II B.

Stage III (A & B): At stage III A, the cancer is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size and has also spread to the nine auxiliary lymph nodes. If the cancer has spread to areas such as the ribs, chest wall, skin of the breast, or the lymph nodes of the chest wall or collar bone.

Stage IV: This is the last of the stages of breast cancer, when the cancer has spread to surrounding areas such as the lungs, the liver, the brain, the skeletal system or the collar bone lymph nodes.

It is important to understand the different stages of breast cancer so as to be able to make informed decisions about treatment, and form opinions and expectations about survival.

Hysterectomy

The way that any particular woman responds to a hysterectomy is of course vastly diverse and may differ immensely from woman to woman depending on factors such as the kind of hysterectomy performed, age of the woman, and whether the surgery was performed before or after natural menopause.

However, there are certain commonly noted side effects after a hysterectomy which follows here:

Physical side effects after a Hysterectomy: While many women experience these side effects, many may not and some may in fact the opposite experience:

• Hot flashes are a common side effect after a hysterectomy and so are correlated side effects such as night sweats etc
• Fatigue and listlessness may often occur
• Hair loss or a coarsening of body hair may also occur
• Headaches
• Weight gain
• Memory loss or forgetfulness
• Depression and feelings of anxiety
• Women also tend to become prone to heart disease and osteoporosis
• There may be a reduced interest in sexual intimacy
• Sex may be painful and the woman may experience vaginal dryness

As important, or in some cases more important than the physical aspects of a hysterectomy are the emotional side effects after a menopause that many women experience. Since there is a very sudden and drastic change in the levels of hormones in the body, there are obvious physical effects but these hormonal changes can bring about very dramatic changes emotionally as well.

Many women, after undergoing a hysterectomy find their self esteem affected and experience feelings of low self esteem. Menopause is in any case emotionally difficult to deal with for many women, and when it is surgically induced menopause, not only are the physical side effects stronger, so may be the emotional side effects.

So, at this stage, a woman who is facing the side effects after a hysterectomy may need a great deal of support, understanding and some extra TLC as well.

One needs a lot of sensitivity to put oneself in the shoes of a woman who has just lost an important body part, having undergone a hysterectomy and the consequent emotional trauma.

There are several things that we say to delude ourselves, which hurts our long term goals of fitness and good health:

1. I am thick, not fat: This one is a euphemism often used to cover being overweight. The key here is that the waist size should be under control. So long as the waist is less than 35 inches you are safe from health issues.
2. It’s not me it’s my genes: Fact is, very few of us actually have a predisposition to fatness. If we are overweight it is because of poor eating habits and inactive lifestyles. Telling yourself its genes is disempowering.
3. It will mess up my hair: This has to be the lamest one; that sweating is not good for the hairstyle. There are many hairdos that can work even if you decide to hit the gym each day.
4. Black women prefer curvy women: Sure they do; all men like women with curves. Here ‘curves’ is the operative word; women with a good hip waist ratio. You’re still talking small waist here because a thick waist means abdominal fat deposits, and danger for the pancreas.
5. I don’t want muscles: Gymming is not tantamount to bulking up. Besides there are plenty of ways to stay in shape that do not involve bulking up.

Source: clutchmagonline