This tool has a thin angled loop to roll out mature whiteheads and a flat side to press out blackheads. Solid Stainless Steel.

(more…)
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Scotland must invest "extraordinary resources" to clear hospitals of the deadly clostridium difficile (C.diff) infection, a leading expert has warned.

Canadian Dr Mark Miller will tell a conference in Edinburgh later that ongoing vigilance is required.

His warning comes a day after the first public session of the inquiry into the C.diff deaths at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Dunbartonshire.

Dr Miller will explain to delegates how C.diff has been tackled in Canada.

In Scotland C.diff has overtaken MRSA as the leading cause of deaths from hospital-acquired infections, and it is rapidly becoming resistant to antibiotic treatment.

C.diff rates and deaths are known to have risen, although it is hard to obtain an accurate picture of the trend.

In the period 2000-2008 the General Register Office for Scotland reported an increase in the number of C.diff deaths from 116 to 765.

On Tuesday Dr Mark Miller will tell Scottish doctors and microbiologists at the conference on Hospital Acquired Infection about the lessons learned from the Canadian experience.

When the infection took hold there it was contained following stringent infection control procedures.

Dr Miller, who is from the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University in Montreal, said: "Extraordinary resources were required in each instance to control the epidemics and it is likely that similar interventions will be required in Scotland.

He added that it was vital that healthcare teams did not view C.diff epidemics as requiring a one-off control strategy at the time of the outbreak.

"Any lapses in the increased level of infection control are usually followed by an increase in C.diff rates and related deaths."

Dr Ian Gould, form the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, said: "Whilst the development of powerful antibiotic treatments has resulted in huge strides in surgical and medical treatment, antibiotic resistance to these same drugs threatens these advances and might even undermine conventional infection control measures.

But he added: "Scotland now has surveillance systems in place which will allow us to monitor antibiotic resistance and infection rates and to control both more effectively in the future."

On Monday the first public session of an inquiry into the C.diff deaths at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Dunbartonshire was held.

The hearing will also look into the handling of an outbreak at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee last year, in which five people died.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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A new study has found that Vitamin D can counter the effects of Crohn’s disease.

Researchers found that Vitamin D acts directly on the beta defensin 2 gene, which encodes an antimicrobial peptide, and the NOD2 gene that alerts cells to the presence of invading microbes.

Both beta defensin and NOD2 have been linked to Crohn’s disease. If NOD2 is deficient or defective, it cannot combat invaders in the intestinal tract.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the connection between Winter and increased asthma. The onset of cold weather can increase asthma attacks and make people with asthma feel worse. Dr. Sanjay Gupta says “cold air can exacerbate the condition as can getting sick.” There are more colds and other viruses around. These illnesses can be problematic for people with asthma. Take a look:

Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds

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Most time management systems emphasize creating, categorizing, and prioritizing lists and getting them done. One of the disadvantages of these systems is that the time spent getting something done is spent as drudgery. The resulting high is fleeting, but you’ve spent minutes or hours. You are left with a sense of emptiness even though you’ve accomplished everything on your list.

Lists generate a lot of activity that is largely unfulfilling. Let go of busy-ness. Spend your time engaging in meaningful activities that nourish your life.

Completing your most fulfilling tasks first sends a message to your being that you are successful. It reinforces that you can accomplish what you set your mind too. It gives you the confidence needed to reach your goals.

Identify what is important to you and do the activities that support this idea first.

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Emma Wilkinson
Health reporter, BBC News

Prosthetic organisations and charities worldwide have warned of the huge task facing Haiti as it struggles to rehabilitate hundreds of thousands of amputees resulting from the island’s earthquake.

Doctors say they are already struggling to cope with the sheer numbers of people needing amputations after being trapped in rubble.

Some surgeons estimate that as many as 200,000 Haitians will end up losing one or more limbs – in a country where the few rehabilitation facilities that existed before the earthquake have largely been destroyed.

And in a country where an estimated 800,000 people were already living with disability before the disaster struck, meeting all the needs of the amputees may be impossible.

Dominic Hannett, director of clinical services at Opcare, a private company that provides prosthetic services to the NHS, says many more amputations will be carried out over the coming days and weeks because of potentially fatal infections in people, who had initially fairly minor wounds or fractures.

"They will need to re-equip the rehabilitation centre, find out who out of the staff is still alive and train more people and there are international guidelines on how to do that"

Sandra Sexton, University of Strathclyde

And he warned infection will remain a major risk in those who have had surgery to remove parts of or whole limbs.

He said: "It’s fairly common sense but the more someone loses of their limb, the more complex the amputation and prosthesis is going to be – if someone loses a leg at the hip, that’s a massive problem."

Prosthetic devices need to be fitted as soon as possible after healing to get people mobile and will need refitting in the first few weeks and after that at least once a year, he said.

"Amputation is a life-long rehabilitation – in the UK we still treat amputees from the Second World War because they need ongoing care."

But limbs are easy to make and the sheet of plastic needed to remould and fit a socket joint on a prosthetic costs as little as £15.

"The requirements for a prosthetics team to set up and fairly simple and local people can be trained to manufacture and provide prosthetics," he said.

Destroyed services

Sandra Sexton, director of the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Strathclyde, said there were some rehabilitation services in Haiti, but like everything else they have been destroyed by the quake which killed 200,000 people, according to some estimates.

Ms Sexton added survival was currently the top priority for medical teams, but once the focus shifted to reconstruction, a vital step will be getting the local rehabilitation services up and running once again.

"It is a gigantic and very serious problem and the post-amputation period will be critical in terms of post-operative support, physical therapy and the fitting of prostheses"

Eric Doubt, Healing Hands for Haiti

"What we saw after the Pakistan earthquake was the importance of having a co-ordinated approach – it’s about knowing who has had an amputation, and who is undergoing treatment."

"We know from places that have been in conflict, for example after the Ethiopian civil war, there was a very practical way forward.

"They (aid agencies) built rehab centres in five areas then they trained people up to do local provision but the local population there had not been as devastated as it has in Haiti and it’s going to be a lot more difficult.

"They will need to re-equip the rehabilitation centre, find out who out of the staff is still alive and train more people."

Ms Sexton stressed the disaster in Haiti was of an "unprecedented" scale.

"This is devastation in a very poor country," she said. "They had rehabilitation services before but they weren’t even touching the sides and it’s hard to comprehend how to help – they really will need sustained long-term support."

‘Gigantic problem’

Eric Doubt, executive director of Healing Hands for Haiti – a US-based charity set up 10 years ago to provide rehabilitation for people with disabilities – said three-quarters of their facilities in the country have been destroyed.

The charity is now accelerating plans to open Haiti’s first Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute later this year.

"We have 150 medical specialists, construction crew, translators and volunteers flying out next week," said Mr Doubt.

"Following that we will be joined by a team of 30 professionals from Handicap International.

"Whether that addresses all of the previous and new needs is highly unlikely, but we’ll be working in conjunction with all the other physical medicine and rehabilitation organisations who will also be setting up operations." </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Alcohol advertising is everywhere. It’s on the TV, on billboards, in magazines and all over the internet. Images of groups of women sipping on a cheap but incredibly strong white wine and having the time of their lives tries (not to subtly) that this drink is the way to have a good time.

What the ads tend not to show is the inside of alcohol detox clinics as patients struggle with withdrawal effects. They don’t show damaged livers and they certainly don’t talk about those who lose their lives at a young age as a result of alcohol abuse.

Of course, it’s entirely unreasonable to suggest that everyone who has a drink is going to go to extremes and there are plenty of people who simply have a social drink or two when they meet up with friends and stay well within sensible limits. But binge drinking is a growing problem and being drunk is no longer taboo or even unacceptable in many social circles.

So what if you want to go out and not drink alcohol. Is a sober night out just as much fun? I decided to find out.

Of seven of us, I would be the only one not having a drink and as we made our way into a busy bar at 8pm on a Saturday, the others made their way straight to the shots bar. I ordered an orange juice. In the corner, a man in his early twenties is slumped with vomit on his shirt – already. The music is too loud to talk and so we dance as my friends drink shots, after shots, after shots…

As the bar gets busier and more alcohol is consumed, I’m bumped into and pushed around accidentally by those stumbling towards the bar for more. And this only gets worse as the night progresses. I look around a room at people falling over drunk and wonder whether I look like that to other non-drinkers I am out and I am drinking alcohol that night? My friends are not that drunk really, yet I notice (in a way I never would if I had drank alcohol too) their raised voices, slurred words and repetitiveness.

The night gets progressively more difficult as my patience is tested by drinks being spilled, being pushed into even more and trying desperately to have a coherent conversation with anyone (and failing).

I pass on the club and head home early.

At 9:30 the next morning I wake up bright, early and not hungover. Maybe last night wasn’t great but I bet I’m faring better than the drinkers this morning!

The only opinion I can ascertain with this is that alcohol free nights out in big city centres, bustling bars and nightclubs etc just aren’t as enjoyable as perhaps an alcohol free night in a quieter bar or pub, where you would at least be able to hear a conversation.

It’s a shame really. With growing numbers of alcohol related illnesses, we should really be emphasising the importance of moderating our alcohol intake. While this needn’t necessarily mean going alcohol-free, it does mean knowing what you’re drinking and staying within health authority recommended limits. But we don’t. At least not effectively enough.

The ads continue to promote the fun you’ll have when drinking. The health authorities simply must up their campaign to give a truer reflection.

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Silver nanoparticles used as antimicrobials in fabric can leach out of clothes as they are being washed. One brand lost over half of its silver content from the fabric with just two washings.

A group of scientists tested how well silver nanoparticles stayed in treated fabrics under conditions similar to a washing machine. They considered mechanical stress and chemical factors such as bleaches, pH and surfactants. 

First, they measured the silver content of  several different brands and types of fabrics that used silver nanoparticles. They then washed the fabrics in detergent, later adding steel balls to simulate mechanical stress that would be similar to normal washing conditions. Some of the fabrics were also treated with bleaching agents during washing.

When the fabrics were washed in water with detergent only, the silver generally stayed in the fabrics. However, several fabrics released silver quite readily once the steel balls were added to mimic mechanical actions of the washing machine. Of the 7 nanoparticle fabrics subjected to mechanical stress, four lost roughly 20 percent to 35 percent of their silver with the first wash.

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Only 1% of primary schoolchildren’s packed lunches meet the nutritional standards set for school meals in England, a study has revealed.

Crisps, sweets, and sugary drinks still dominate over fruit and veg despite the government’s drive to make lunchboxes healthier, a BMJ publication reports.

The UK authors examined the contents of 1,300 schoolchildren’s lunchboxes.

Half of UK schoolchildren eat a packed lunch brought from home, equating to 5.5 billion packed lunches a year.

All of the children in the study, who were aged between eight and nine, took a packed lunch to school on at least one day of the week. Almost nine out of 10 ate a packed lunch every day.

"There are many initiatives going on to improve our diet and exercise, but change won’t happen overnight"

Lead researcher Charlotte Evans

Over a quarter of the children had a packed lunch containing sweets, savoury snacks, and sugary drinks – things banned under rules on healthy prepared meals for local authority schools in England, which came into force in 2006.

These standards say school lunches must contain protein-rich foods such as chicken and low fat starchy foods like pasta, as well as vegetables, fruit and dairy products.

Only one-in-five packed lunches contained any vegetables or salad, the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reported.

‘Not surprising’

Although half the children were provided with fruit, it was the least likely food in their boxes to be eaten, while confectionery was nearly always gobbled up.

Only 1.1% of the children’s packed lunches met all the required nutritional standards for school meals, which include keeping the contents low in fat and salt and high in essential vitamins and nutrients.

Lead researcher Charlotte Evans, of Leeds University, said, sadly, the findings were not surprising.

"It reflects the typical diet of the whole population. Most adults would also have crisps or a chocolate bar and not enough fruit or veg in their lunchbox.

"There are many initiatives going on to improve our diet and exercise, but change won’t happen overnight."

Sample menus

She said banning certain foods from lunchboxes could help, but said this policy could backfire.

"We’ve seen it with sweets, when schools have banned them. The children end up bringing more cakes and biscuits with them instead."

Judy Hargadon of The School Food Trust, an organisation set up to improve the nutrition of school food, said: "Now that nutrient-based standards are in place, parents can be sure that the average school lunch is offering the right mix of energy and 13 nutrients that children need – so we’re encouraging more families to give them a try."

She said the trust had sample menus to help parents. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Obesity now poses as great a threat to Americans’ quality of life as smoking, a new study shows.

Researchers analyzed 1993-2008 data that included interviews with more than 3.5 million adults. The results showed that the quality-adjusted life years lost to obesity are equal to, or greater than, those lost because of smoking.

From 1993 to 2008, the number of adult smokers decreased 18.5 percent and smoking-related quality-adjusted life years lost remained relatively stable. Over that same time, the proportion of obese Americans increased 85 percent. Obesity had a larger effect on disease, while smoking had a greater impact on deaths, the researchers found.

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