China Ends Entry Ban for People with HIV and AIDS

Recently, China has revoked a ban on people who have HIV or AIDS entering their country. Until now, China had regulations that banned foreigners from entering the country if they had psychiatric illness, leprosy, AIDS, sexually-transmitted diseases, active pulmonary tuberculosis, or their infectious diseases. The State Council in China issued amended rules to remove the ban on people who have AIDS or HIV and people with leprosy. Foreigners with serious psychiatric illness, infectious pulmonary tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases are still banned from the country.

Cure Colds with Echinacea

Echinacea is a herb that can reduce cold and flu symptoms, such as coughs, fever, and sore throat. It is good at shortening the duration and severity of cold and flu symptoms. It was commonly used by the North American Plains Indians for its general medicinal properties and has been used thought history to treat infections, wounds, scarlet fever, syphilis, malaria, blood poisoning, and diphtheria. It works by stimulating the body's immune system to fight infections. A study done by the University of Connecticut has shown that it can cut the chances of catching a cold by more than half and cut the duration of a cold by 1.4 days. It is recommended to get 3 grams daily in tincture or capsule form starting at the first sign of symptoms.

The Facts of Swine Flu

Swine flu is an influenza virus that usually only affects pigs but the virus mixed genes with another influenza virus to create a new type of virus that is also able to infect humans. The current swine flu virus is so different from other viruses that humans have been exposed to in the past that there is very little to none natural immunity to it. The body would have a hard time defending itself against the virus and there are no vaccines for the virus yet. The antiviral medicines Tamiflu and Relenza could help if the medicine is given within two days after symptoms begin. Health authorities are recommending the medicines mainly for people that have more severe symptoms. Most people who have caught the virus have recovered from it.

Common symptoms of the disease include fever, muscle pains, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, chills, headaches, weakness, and diarrhea. If you are having symptoms it is recommended to isolate yourself from everyone else and stay home to prevent spreading the disease. Get medical help immediately if the symptoms become severe.

The virus can be transmitted form person to person by sneezing, coughing, and physical contact, such as shaking hands, kissing, or any kind of touching. You can try to prevent contracting the disease and spreading it by washing your hands or using alcohol based cleansers frequently throughout the day, not shaking hands or having any physical contact with someone, and avoiding contact with people who have symptoms of the flu. Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes as much as possible. You cannot get the disease by eating pork.

Negative Effects of Not Getting Enough Sleep

There are negative effects of not getting enough sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep each night can lead to obesity, heart disease, and illnesses.

Research has proven that people who get less than seven hours of sleep each night are 30 percent more likely to be obese. Not getting enough sleep affects the flow of hormones that regulate hunger and satiety, which can cause a person to eat more. Sleepy people are also more likely to eat high-fat and high-calorie foods to give them energy.

Women that get less than five hours of sleep each night are more likely to develop hypertension, which is a leading cause of heart disease. When a person doesn’t get enough sleep, their body produces more stress hormones and other substances that would increase inflammation, which increases the risks of heart disease and stroke.

People that get less than five hours of sleep each night also have two and a half times the risk of getting diabetes when compared to people that sleep for seven or eight hours each night. Not getting enough of deep sleep decreases the ability to regulate blood-sugar levels.

People that are sleep deprived often feel cranky because that would make the amygdala, the part of the brain that process emotional events, to go into overdrive and the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates reasoning, to become deactivated and this would make a person feel less stable than usual. Sleep deprivation makes the brain unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce rational responses.

Sleep deprivation affects how well the body fights infections and determines how well the body produces antibodies after a vaccination. While a person is sleeping, the body produces cytokines, chemicals that help the immune system fight off infection and disease.

Air Pollution Causing Premature Deaths

It is found that short-term exposure to smog and air pollution is linked to premature deaths. Premature death from air pollution is highest in people that have heart and lung disease but can affect anybody. The exposure can cause lung conditions, illness, hospitalization, and death. It can cause respiratory illnesses and effects elderly people with respiratory problems and children the worst.

Food Poisoning Causes Long-Term Health Problems

It is known that food poisoning, E. coli, and other food borne illnesses can cause serious health problems for months or years after the person survives through it. High blood pressure, kidney damage, and full kidney failure could happen even 10 or 20 years later in people who had a severe E. coli infection as a child. Arthritis could happen after suffer from Shigella. A mysterious paralysis could happen to people who had mild symptoms of campylobacter.

The late effects make up a small amount of the 76 million annual food poisonings in the U.S. Other illnesses could possibly be linked to food poisoning. Some people that had food poisoning earlier in their life have to get kidney transplants later in their life. Some people get scarred intestines that cause long term digestive problems. About 10 percent of people that have suffered E. coli develop a very severe problem called hemolytic uremic syndrome, where their kidneys and other organs would fail.

Some people who suffer from campylobacter, which is a diarrhea-causing infection that is spread by raw poultry, develop Guillain-Barre syndrome at least a month later. Their body would attack their nerves and cause paralysis that would require intensive care and a ventilator to breathe.

Some people develop reactive arthritis at least six months after they have salmonella. It would cause joint pain, eye inflammation, and possibly painful urination. It could also cause chronic arthritis.

Pollution Can Shut Down the Immune System

A study has show that air pollution can cause heart problems and shut down the immune system. This is caused due to pollutants in the ozone that can affect the lungs and the rest of the body and make it easier for the entry of bacteria and viruses. The pollution also causes the immune system to overreact and kill its own cells that it needs to fight bacteria and illnesses.

Pollution Can Shut Down the Immune System

A study has show that air pollution can cause heart problems and shut down the immune system. This is caused due to pollutants in the ozone that can affect the lungs and the rest of the body and make it easier for the entry of bacteria and viruses. The pollution also causes the immune system to overreact and kill its own cells that it needs to fight bacteria and illnesses.

Doctors Create Schizophrenic Mice

It is reported that scientists have created the world’s first schizophrenic mice so that they could have a better understanding of the illness and be able to develop treatments. The mice were created by modifying their DNA to mimic a mutant gene first found in a Scottish family with a high incidence of schizophrenia. The egg cells of mice were genetically changed by injecting a gene associated with schizophrenia into their DNA. The eggs were fertilized and grown into baby mice using surrogate mothers.

The mice’s brains were found to have features similar to humans with schizophrenia, such as depression and hyperactivity.