infections
PositiveTip for
Immune System and Vaccine Failure in the Elderly
Posted by Galen Bosley on
Exercise improves vaccine effectiveness in the elderly.
Advancing age brings a decline in immune system function. Regular exercise helps improves immune function in seniors, leading to a reduced rate of infections and the deaths they cause, and increases vaccine effectiveness.
PositiveTip: Multiple short daily walks can improve immune response to annual flu shots.
Meat and Poultry Harbor Staph
Posted by Elvin Adams on
The staphylococcus aureus bacteria (also known as Staph) is a common cause of skin infections in the United States. This germ causes painful, red, swollen boils that drain thick pus. Under some circumstances, Staph can invade deeper into the body and cause infections of internal organs, heart valves, and even death. Staph is increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics and is difficult for doctors to treat.
Now beef, pork, chicken and turkey in grocery stores have been found to be contaminated with types of Staph which are highly resistant to antibiotics. The Translational Genomics Research Institute cultured 136 meats from 26 grocery stores across five states. A full 47 percent of these meats were contaminated with Staph aureas.
PositiveTip for
Breast-feeding Newborns Protected Against Infections
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Breast-feeding during the first six months of life reduces infections and hospital admissions.
Researchers in Crete interviewed 900 new mothers through-out the first year of their infants life to discover breast-feeding habits and the health of the newborns. When exclusively breast-fed infants experienced 30% fewer infections and 40% fewer admissions to the hospital.
PositiveTip: Exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life provides huge benefits to the newborn!
PositiveTip for
Reducing Childhood Infections the Simple Way
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Hand washing, mouth covering, flu shots, and staying at home dramatically reduce infection rates in school children!
Simple infection control practices to reduce the transmission of illness play an important part in community influenza prevention. A recent three-year study in a 240 student kindergarten in Thailand reported a three-fold (p=0.02) drop of influenza-like symptoms, and a twenty-fold (p=.007) drop in diarrhea following the introduction of four simple practices. Students, teachers and parents were educated on the importance of hand-hygiene; cough-etiquette; enforced absences for sick children; and an annual influenza vaccination were credited with the improvements.
PositiveTip: Wash your hands, cover you mouth when you cough, get a flu shot, and stay home when you are sick!
PositiveTip for
Swimming Related Illnesses
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Summer is here! Be aware of germs every time you go swimming!
There are several different illnesses you can get from swimming in contaminated water such as diarrhea eye, ear, skin, and respiratory infections. These are coming from germs in the water. To make sure that you are not spreading these germs: always shower before entering a pool; don’t go swimming when you have diarrhea; deposit your bodily wastes in the toilet instead of the pool; wash your hands after using the toilet; don’t swallow any water you swim in; and so on. The germs that are on you will get in the water, the same as everyone's around you! So to stay healthy, stay clean.
Positive Tip: Showering before and after swimming is to protect you and others from waterborne illness