Treat Swine Flu – how to treat swine flu and health tips

By LAUREN COX
ABC News Medical Unit

Chances are someone you know has tried a weird weight loss product. From the 1990s’ ThighMaster to the 1950s’ vibrating belts, entrepreneurs have long known that the public is willing to look a bit silly in order to lose weight.

Now, with 21st-century technology, people have only found more mesmerizing exercises and unusual weight loss products.

The following is a list of the most unusual, but catching fitness trends, along with comments from physicians and personal trainers about the merits and the dangers of each product.

Weird Weight Loss Product 1: The Hula Chair

Dance-exercise classes, such as Kukuwa dance, or Zumba, have gained traction in recent years. But one company hopes people who don’t want to haul themselves down to the gym may want to sit in the Hawaii Chair for an exotic dance workout. Read more…

Emilio San Pedro
BBC News

In 1996, voters in California approved a referendum that made it legal for the first time in decades in the US for people to consume cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The Bulldog Cafe is allowed to sell marijuana for medicinal purposes

More than a dozen states have followed suit since and several others – the most recent of which is Massachusetts – have approved laws decriminalising the possession of small amounts of the drug.

Now, there are moves afoot in California to go further to fully legalise marijuana.

Evidence of the impact that the approval of medicinal marijuana has had on some areas of California is clear in Oakland.

Across the bay from San Francisco, it has come to be known as Oaksterdam, in a nod to the symbolic global capital of marijuana deregulation, Amsterdam.

The relaxed approach to marijuana use in this part of Oakland has led to the opening of several marijuana dispensaries.

They are establishments in this once deprived area of town which sell a broad array of cannabis related products, from food products such as brownies and cereal bars laced with cannabis to traditional marijuana for smoking. Read more…

What is Rotator Cuff Injury?

The rotator cuff is the name for a group of four muscles that hold the top of the arm in place in the shoulder joint. The rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles – supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis.These muscles keep the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) in place against the shoulder blade and stabilize the back of the shoulder joint. A rotator cuff injury is an injury that occurs to one or more of these four muscles.

Rotator Cuff Tendonitis Symptoms Signs:-

Pain in over head motions, pain more acute at night, and specifically on the side of the shoulder. Tendonitis can strike at people involved in repetitive movements like tennis players.

Rotator Cuff Injury Pain Relief Prevention:-

Do regular shoulder exercises.

Take frequent breaks at work if your job requires repetitive arm and shoulder motions.

Rest your shoulder regularly during sports that require repetitive arm use.

Apply cold packs and heat pads when you experience any shoulder pain or inflammation.

Rotator Cuff Injury Home Treatments Recovery:-

Rest the shoulder. Use the arm, but do so carefully. Don’t keep the shoulder still with a sling or brace. This can cause the joint to become stiff (frozen shoulder).

Use ice or heat on the shoulder, whichever feels better.

Take anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain and reduce swelling and inflammation. Examples include aspirin, ibuprofen (such as Advil), or naproxen (such as Aleve).

Avoid positions and activities that are uncomfortable, such as lifting or reaching overhead. Stop any activity that hurts the shoulder.

BBC News

The European drugs regulator has given the go-ahead for one of the UK’s swine flu vaccines.

Swine flu vaccines are being tested in thousands of volunteers

An expert committee agreed that Pandemrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, can be used in adults and children over six months old and pregnant women.

The decision removes one of the last obstacles to getting the immunisation programme under way although licensing still needs to be formalised.

The UK has bought 60 million doses of the vaccine.

In addition, there are contracts for an as yet unapproved vaccine, Celvapan, produced by Baxter.

It means the UK has provision for up to 132 million doses – enough for every person in the country.

A vaccine made by Novartis, Focetria, has also been recommended for licensing by the European Medicines Agency – but this is not planned to be used in the UK.

Final marketing authorisation for the vaccines still needs to be signed off by the European Commission and is expected “as soon as possible”.

The EMEA said they were working with Baxter on some ongoing issues about their vaccine but hoped to be able to resolve that next week. Read more…

BBC News

Scientists have discovered a protein that predicts survival from prostate cancer at diagnosis.

There are different forms of prostate cancer

A University of Liverpool team found the presence of heat shock protein-27 (Hsp-27) was a key marker of how prostate cancer would progress.

Men who tested positive for Hsp-27 at diagnosis were almost twice as likely to die from the disease in the next 15 years than those who did not.

The study features in the British Journal of Cancer.

Aggressive prostate cancer can kill rapidly, and requires immediate treatment.

However, prostate tumours can also be very slow-growing, and people who develop them often end up dying of unrelated conditions.

It can be difficult to distinguish between the two forms of the disease, and consequently many men end up unnecessarily undergoing intensive treatment which carries a risk of side effects.

The Liverpool team analysed tissue samples taken from 553 men at the time they were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Their findings suggest testing for Hsp-27 might be a more reliable way of determining whether a tumour is aggressive or not. Read more…