What are the risks of Blood Donation?

Blood donation is a very safe, aseptic procedure, done in a well-controlled environment by professional medical and paramedical personnel. The procedure lasts about an hour. Most people between the age 18 and 65 years old and in good health condition are able to donate 350-450 ml of blood. Although considered to be a relatively safe procedure, it still carries with it a few risks.

The risks of blood donation:

• Hypotension - this may cause donors to feel faint, lightheaded or dizzy. To avoid such situation donors should be fresh after eight-hour sleep, eat a well-balanced meal and drink plenty of fluids before donating blood.
• Weakness – physical exertion after 24 hours of donation is contraindicated. Donors are also encouraged to avoid alcohol for a few days.
• Venipuncture site injury – pain and bruising of the venipuncture site may develop. Application of firm pressure for about five minutes after removal of the needle should prevent bruising.
• Hypocalcaemia – the symptoms of this deficit include tingling in the lips, spasms in hands and feet or generalized convulsions. This can be prevented by providing calcium supplements to the donor.
• Improper sterilization of equipment may increase risk of infection.
• Increase risk for iron deficiency anemia may develop. This side effect can be minimized by taking supplemental iron.

It is essential to have in mind that blood is an important resource though limited and can be used to save lives of people.

Dangers of Drug Abuse in Pregnant Women

There are a lot of physiologic changes in pregnancy that can significantly alter the bio-availability of drugs taken orally. A higher dose is generally needed for pregnant patients with a few exceptions. Monitoring of doses is very important to make sure that there is no adverse effect to the mother and the fetus. Birth defects are the most common adverse effect of irresponsible drug consumption.

Contraindicated drugs

Abuse of these drugs may have teratogenic effects.

1. Erythromycin can cause acute cholestatic hepatitis in pregnant mother.
2. Metronidazole can cause mutation in the fetus.
3. Aminoglycosides can cause ototoxicity and ear problems.
4. Warfarin can result in facial dimorphism, nasal hypoplasia and defective bone mineralization in the fetus.
5. ACE inhibitors can cause renal dysgenesis in the fetus.
6. Live vaccines such as chicken pox, MMR and polio can cause vertical transmission to the fetus.

FDA Classification

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classify drugs as A, B and X, based on the drug safety for use in pregnancy.

Category A- these drugs demonstrated no fetal risk during controlled trials.

Category B- these drugs show no evidence of risk although they should be consulted with a doctor before consumption as abuser may have severe adverse effects.

Category X drugs- these drugs are absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy due to proven fetal risk.

Assessment of risk versus benefit is the main rule in drug prescribing for pregnant patients. Drug therapy should only be given when necessary, with the lowest possible dose and shortest possible duration, without compromising its therapeutic effect and the final decision should be made by a physician.

How Do Painkillers Work?

Pain is an unpleasant sensation arising from a damaging stimulus. Its function is to provide the body with an early warning system so as to prevent injury and maintain optimum functioning. There are two major types of pain: fast pain and slow pain. Fast pain can be felt as fast as 0.1 seconds after the painful stimulus while slow pain begins after 1 second or longer and persists in intensity. Slow pain is usually associated with tissue destruction. Do you know how painkillers work?

Causes of pain

The pain receptors in the skin and other tissues are free nerve endings and can be stimulated by mechanical, thermal and chemical pain stimuli. In general, fast pain is elicited by the mechanical and thermal types of stimuli, whereas slow pain can be elicited by all three types. Examples of chemicals produced by the body that causes pain include bradykinin, serotonin, histamine, lactic acid, acetylcholine and prostaglandins.

Painkillers

Painkillers are drugs used for pain relief. In terms of their action, they can be broadly classified into 2 major groups – non-narcotic analgesics and narcotic analgesics.

Non-narcotic analgesics

These are analgesics that do not have CNS effects, like:

·         NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) - the principal action of these painkillers is the inhibition of prostaglandin production.

·         Paracetamol is a weak cyclooxygenase inhibitor in peripheral tissues.

Narcotic analgesics

Narcotic analgesics are more effective compared to non-narcotic analgesics but they also tend to have central nervous system effects. They are of two types, namely: Natural and Synthetic.

Ultimately, type of used painkiller should depend on the type of pain felt.  

How Reliable are Pregnancy Tests?

A pregnancy test is a common tool in detecting pregnancy. The demand for this product has increased in the present years, resulting in numerous brands cropping up in the markets. However the accuracy of these different kits may not always be reliable.

The pregnancy hormone is composed of α-subunits and β-subunit. The β-subunit is unique thus high specificity antibodies were developed for this subunit. This is the bases for the detection of HCG in the urine or blood. Numerous commercial test kits are available for measuring serum and urine levels of HCG, with each test using a different combination of antibodies resulting in different levels of sensitivity in detecting pregnancy. Normally, the hormone can be detected in maternal plasma or urine by 8 to 9 days after insemination.

Though most of the tests claim 99% accuracy of pregnancy detection, it may not be the case. Research in clinical trials revealed that a detection limit of 12.5 mIU/mL HCG is required to diagnose 95% of pregnancies at the time of a missed period. The accuracy and reliability of 18 different home pregnancy tests were assessed and it was found that only one brand had this degree of sensitivity. Commonly available pregnancy tests sensitivity varies from 20mIU/mL to 100mIU/mL HCG. By using tests with higher sensitivity (e.g. 20mIU/mL) pregnancy can be detected sooner.

Overexposure to Ultraviolet Rays

Remember the ROYGBIV colors of the rainbow, and notice that the last color visible to us is V which is violet. And Ultraviolet Rays or UV rays, are rays beyond violet that our naked eyes cannot see anymore. Some animals can see them but generally humans cannot see, and is commonly regarded as bad for one’s health when over exposed to these rays.

SUNBURN

Whenever you go to a beach and get exposed to sunlight during swimming or even just walking outside, you sometimes notice that patches of your skin that were exposed are peeled. This is because of the ultraviolet ray, specifically UV B rays. This UV ray penetrates your skin and kills the cells which are now the visible peeling you can see.

TANNING

Tanning is the darkening of the skin color due to exposure to sunlight. Most Caucasians go to the beach and get tanned to make them look darker but people from the tropics are already tanned so they avoid getting tanned. The pigment melanin responsible for the darkening of one’s skin; the more melanin you have, the darker your skin will be.

Getting exposed too much from the sun is bad for one’s health but keep in mind that Vitamin D is synthesized by the sunlight and is therefore important to have a little exposure to sunlight.  

Why do we get Acne?

Acne is a common disorder among teenagers because of they are in their “peak” of their development. These are the outgrowths found in the face and around the neck that has sebaceous glands. But acne is not always caused by the normal development of the body but also from other sources.

A high level of androgen will sometimes produce acne in your body since it is a hormone that increases the “sebum” or oil in your skin.

Hyperkeratinization or the accumulation of the protein keratin in the upper layer of the skin is another reason why we get acne. The keratin accumulates since it is does not easily wear off because of its low quality, which is what we see as acne.

But the most common reason why we get acne is the presence of the natural microflora in our body. These are bacteria that live in our skin and even inside the body. Acne is caused by the increased number of the Propionibacteria species that feeds on the excessive oil in the skin and will then excrete products that causes acne.

Acne does not only appear in teenagers but potentially to all of us since we produce oil in our body. The only thing we can do is to manage the production of oil and be hygienic every day.

Want to know more what causes acne? What is acne?

Complications of Obesity

Millions of people worldwide are suffering from obesity, mostly because of improper diet and lack of exercise. Some culture also regards fatness as strength and wealth, but medically speaking, being obese is very bad for one’s health due to its many complications that may present in the long run.

Diabetes

Obesity instantly means that you will have diabetes, since the amount of sugar in your blood will greatly increase every time you consume food, especially sweet and fatty ones. Your pancreas, that produces insulin to control the blood sugar level, will malfunction due to the abnormal increase of sugar intake. This will then lead to more complications.

Heart Disease

When you are obese, then you have a lot of sugar and high-level of bad cholesterol (Low density lipoprotein) in your blood, that will cause problems in the circulatory system. High cholesterol is associated with heart attack, and even stroke; while having high sugar level in your blood will make it denser and can make your heart pump stronger and faster. This will then cause stress to your heart and may weaken it to the extent of stopping.

These are only two of the most common complications when you are obese. But do not wait for all of them to manifest, take action and lose weight to be healthy and enjoy your life without problems.

Article based on: What are complications of obesity?

How Can You Determine Good and Bad Cholesterol?

I recently read an article about differences between good and bad cholesterol.
Having cholesterol in your body is not always bad for your body since they are also vital to the body’s normal function. It is a lipid or fat that is produced from the liver, and can even be taken from fatty products such as milk, eggs, and even fish meat. They become bad only when there are excessive amount of cholesterol in your body, since they travel in our blood.

There are two types of cholesterol that differs in its function. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is usually called as good cholesterol since it functions to remove the cholesterol away from the body. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is known as the bad cholesterol since it takes in cholesterol from the liver to the blood. When one takes in too much low-density lipoprotein, then more cholesterol will deposit in the blood and can cause narrowing of the blood vessels which can be fatal. This is usually the cause of a person suffering from shortness of breathing and can even cause stroke and heart attack when the blood vessel is blocked entirely.

Obesity, smoking and diet can greatly affect the amount of good and bad cholesterol in your body. You will have more of the good cholesterol if you exercise, and eat foods with high HDL level.

Is it Safe to Donate Blood?

Our blood is composed of different cells that has differs in function. Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and hemoglobin are some of these substances. Although we are all composed of the same cells in our blood, it is also classified into four types – blood type A, B, AB and O. You might have heard of this from your doctor or when you are filling up personal information sheets.

So is it safe to donate blood? Yes indeed, since the doctors and nurses are trained well to make an aseptic procedure when taking out someone’s blood. The only factor that may affect is your health when undergoing the blood donation. If you are overweight or underweight, or even stressed; then you are not advised to donate blood since it will have a negative effect in your body.

But be cautious of the syringes that the nurse or doctor use, because once a needle has been used to a person then it should be disposed and never be used again. There are grave cases that a person donating blood has suffered because another blood that is not compatible with his blood is mixed inside his body.

Other interesting readings are:

• Is blood donation safe?
• How often may I donate blood?
• Blood donation on wikipedia

Vitamins and Minerals - are they the same?

We hear these two names almost every time in our life, and most of us don’t know the difference between vitamins and minerals. We only know that they help in boosting our immunity and increasing our performance in our daily lives.

Vitamins

These are very complex organic compounds that are found in plants or animals. They are divided into two groups depending on the solubility or its ability to dissolve in a solvent, whether water-soluble or fat-soluble vitamins.

Vitamins B and C are water-soluble, and are usually allowed to be overdosed since the excess substances will only mix with water and can easily be excreted through urination. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins and are usually stored longer compared to water-soluble vitamins.

Minerals

Minerals, on the other hand, are simple structures or inorganic compounds that are mostly found in plants. They are grouped into two according to the amount of consumption a person has to take.

Macro minerals are minerals that are needed by our body in bulk amounts. The most common and important macro minerals are Calcium, Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium. Micro minerals are the ones that are needed by our body in a smaller amount. Iron, Copper, Zinc, and Iodine are some of these minerals.

The vitamins and minerals’ difference are varied but they all perform the same in our body – to optimize the function of our body and promote good health to a person.

If you are looking for more info, you might consider visiting: more information on vitamins and minerals differences. You can also read more about vitamins and minerals.

Diabetes and Driving – a Lethal Combination

Diabetes is a chronic disease that is caused by the improper intake of sugar that may result in the malfunction of the pancreas which is the producer of insulin – the hormone responsible for controlling the blood sugar level of one’s body.  Once your body won’t produce insulin anymore, then you have to manually control the intake of sugar, since having an increased or decreased level of insulin could be fatal to your body and can even lead to complications if not treated immediately.

Diabetes and driving is a lethal combination since most of the symptoms really could result in driving accidents – blurry vision, hunger, thirst, and dizziness. So if you have diabetes and would want to drive then make sure to make preparations, in order to avoid accidents along the way.

Driving Safely

Provided that you are already aware that you have diabetes, then you should be extra careful when driving particularly on long distance travels. Taking a break once in a while can be helpful especially if you have increased blood sugar. Bringing light snacks can also save your life when you are having low blood sugar level. Biscuits and candies can temporarily increase your blood sugar level and you will be able to continue driving safely, although you might want to consume them in moderation to avoid excessive blood sugar level.

Diabetes and driving is very dangerous but only when you are not prepared. Your health should be optimized when driving, just like how you tune-up your vehicle so that there won’t be any complications along the way. And if there are any problems, then you are already prepared for it.