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What You Need to Know About the Superbug C. Diff
Hardly as well known as MRSA, the superbug C. diff (C. difficile or Clostridium difficile) is a species of bacteria that, in the wrong amounts, can bring on an infection that at best is very uncomfortable… and at worst a serious threat to your life. Once confined to patients in hospitals or the elderly living in long term care facilities, C. diff has now reached epidemic proportions in these settings. What’s more, virulent cases of C. diff have appeared in otherwise healthy adults, who hadn’t even been taking antibiotics, the usual culprit in these infections.
According to the CDC, the number of C difficile infections doubled between 1993 and 2003, with a sizeable increase coming after the year 2000. The more virulent strain was first identified at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2000, taking the lives of 18 patients. By 2004, the new aggressive C. diff strain had been seen both in the United States and other nations of the world. Studies showed it produces 20 times more toxin than the older strains.
You’ll come across the little troublemaker everywhere — in the air, water, dirt and both human and animal feces — which is where many people pick up the infection. Now you see why hand washing is so important! C. diff infection is also especially likely in hospitals or other health care settings where there are lots of people, heavy antibiotic use and patients with weakened immunity.
Once the balance of your intestinal microbes is thrown off (as often happens during treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics) the pathogen can take hold and start to produce dangerous toxins. These substances attack the intestinal lining, destroying cells and leaving pseudomembranes — telltale patches of inflammatory cells and decaying debris that can be seen on the interior of the colon.
Ironically, the treatment for a C. diff infection is — antibiotics, but different medicines than the ones that brought on the trouble in the first place. These drugs wipe out the abundance of C. diff and allow good bacteria to once more take hold in the digestive tract. Once the good bacteria are in control, damaging C. diff will be kept in check. Sounds sensible and it worked too… until the more virulent strain of C. diff come to take hold… able to thrive in spite of the drugs doctors use to beat it back.
The idea of bacteria becoming resistant to medications is not new – examples have been reported for the past 60 years. What certainly is a cause for concern is that the number of organisms, and the number of drugs that they’ve learned to “live” through, is growing all the time. Many experts believe that with our overzealous use of antibacterials and the like, we put these organisms under intense pressure to develop ways to resist our attempts to be rid of them.
What can you do to protect yourself and your family from a C. diff infection?
Here are some suggestions:
- Wash your hands — use water, antibacterial (regular soap works too) soap and scrub for a good 30 seconds, rinse and dry with a clean towel. Do this before every meal, as well as upon leaving any health care setting or caring for a sick relative at home.
- Eat yogurt with live cultures — especially if you’re being treated with antibiotics, though you should discuss your plans with your doctor first. Live cultures are a more natural way to try and maintain the balance of good bacteria in your digestive system.
- See your doctor — if you have symptoms such as watery diarrhea, fever, pain in the abdomen, nausea or loss of appetite so you can be diagnosed promptly and treated properly.
- Avoid broad-spectrum antibiotics if possible — discuss your treatment options with your doctor. Pharmacists are another source of good, accurate information on medicines and the organisms they are intended to treat.
- Consider probiotics — foods and supplements that are sources of “good” bacteria have shown promise in reducing the length of C. diff infections and are well known to help with diarrhea.
- Use bleach-based cleaners — to clean all surfaces in an area where someone with a C. diff infection has been.
- Hold off on prophylactic antibiotics — a common practice before surgery, this is now being reviewed and reconsidered by many physicians. Talk to your own doctor about the risks and benefits for you.
- Finish antibiotics — just because you feel better, doesn’t mean the bacteria causing the trouble are finished. When you stop a drug too soon, you encourage organisms to become resistant to that drug.
As the media becomes more aware of the dangers of the superbug C. diff and others, the alarming reports will start coming out of the woodwork. The good news is that hospitals and long term care facilities are aware and working on the problem. By following the suggestions you’ve found here, especially the one about practicing good hand washing, you can reduce your risk of this uncomfortable, potentially dangerous infection.
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More infomation at WikipediaWhat You Can Do to Cut Your Risk of Diabetes Type 2
Women at risk for developing diabetes type 2 can take a valuable tip from some recent news out of researchers at the University of Glasgow, UK. The British Heart Foundation study found that insulin resistance (a key biological risk factor for developing diabetes) in women identified as “high risk” dropped by 22% after just seven weeks on an exercise program.
Your risk for developing type 2 diabetes can be influenced by a variety of factors. Some you can control… others you can’t. Here’s what you need to watch out for:
- being overweight
- being inactive
- having a family history of diabetes, a parent or sibling with the disease
- getting older
- being a member of certain races, blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Asian Americans
- having prediabetes, gestational diabetes or babies over 9 pounds.
Currently the medical community is not sure why some people get diabetes and others don’t, but if you have one risk factor (or more) there’s plenty you can do to help reduce the risk.
The Glasgow researchers studied the effects of regular aerobic exercise in 34 females who had at least one type 2 diabetic parent, and 36 women who had no family history of the condition. At the beginning of the study, the group with the family history connection to diabetes had higher insulin resistance than the subjects who didn’t have a diabetic parent or sibling did.
Bu just what type of exercise did they do? The study involved a program of three 30 minute sessions the first week, working up to five 1 hour sessions by the end of the study. The exercises the women were given were cardiovascular in nature — running, aerobics, cycling or using a rowing machine. A good, solid workout. And while the family history group showed such a marked improvement in their insulin resistance, the control group showed no significant change by the end of the study.
Though more research is surely needed, this result is a good argument for getting up, and getting moving, especially if you carry a family risk of type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a nasty enough condition on it’s own, but it has been shown to also increase the risk of heart disease in patients, with a rather worryingly two thirds of diabetics actually dying from heart disease. The good news though according to Dr. Nick Barwell who participated in the study is that, “”People at high risk have it within their power to substantially reduce their risk by increasing their activity levels.”
So, if you have a parent, sibling or grandparent with diabetes type 2, it does not necessarily mean that the condition has to become a part of your life too. You can take steps today to do something about it. It may require a bit of effort… and a bit of change… but starting a regular exercise regime now, which involves aerobic exercise, can absolutely have a positive impact on your chances of avoiding this life altering disease.
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More infomation at WikipediaSpotting Colon Cancer Symptoms is Not Only Accurate But a Whole Lot Faster
Colorectal cancer will take nearly 50,000 lives the year, and is our country’s second largest killer. Screening is available, though there is a significant effort required in terms of preparation and the time needed to perform the test. For most people, the recommendation for your first colonoscopy is at age 50, though it may be sooner if you have risk factors for colon cancer or have noted any potential colon cancer symptoms.
If you’ve heard horror stories about colonoscopy, the test used today to screen for colon cancers, new technology may just save you from being someone who can tell them. There’s a new x-ray alternative that’s currently being studied by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) National CT Colonography Trial and is showing itself to be effective at spotting most cancers.
The long anticipated study involved 15 medical centers across the U.S. and compared the accuracy of CT colonography to colonoscopy, the current gold standard of colon cancer diagnosis. The results of this study were published in the Sept. 18, 2008, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
A “virtual colonoscopy” (known technically as CT colonography) is a cheaper, less intrusive ’super’ x-ray used for colon screening. The new test was able to pick up nine out of ten people who had large growths or cancers also detected by traditional colonoscopies. Of the false positives detected by the new type of scan, one in four turned out to be correct.
The new screening still involves some preparatory work i.e. cleaning the colon with laxatives or suppositories, just as you do today. You then go to a hospital radiology department to have the test, which takes about 10 minutes (compared to 30-60 minutes for colonoscopy). You lay first on your back and a thin tube is inserted into the rectum, air pumped in and then the table moved though the scanner, taking pictures all the time. You will then go through the scanner again, only this time lying on your stomach. After the two scans, a computer will process the images to create a picture of your lower digestive tract.
Unfortunately, radiologists can more easily misread the virtual colonoscopy. Polyps can be spotted that aren’t there, which may lead to unneeded follow up treatment and the terrible anguish of the threat of a serious health problem. However, sometimes the testing picks up other conditions, outside the colon, that wouldn’t have come to light that need to be addressed or investigated.
One other concern involves the amount of radiation you are exposed to during the test. The dose is half that of a standard CT scan, but experts worry about what this exposure means over time. Especially since this new test should be done every five years, as opposed to every ten years for traditional colon screening.
The new “virtual colonoscopy” seems to have the most value in getting people in for screening and identifying who may need further follow up. And early detection of colon cancer symptoms does save lives.
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More infomation at Wikipedia