“Summer ailments are quite common during the hot summer months. From heat rashes and sunburns to jaundice and food poisoning summer causes a host of health problems.  In India, usually May and June are considered the hottest months of the year with temperatures rising above 40 degree Celsius. Keep yourself cool and hydrated this summer with these refreshing, healthy and hydrating fruits. ”

Boldsky and MAYO CLINIC

https://www.boldsky.com/health/wellness/common-summer-ailments-and-ways-to-prevent-them-133086.html

Launch Your Vacation With a #SummerHealth Twitter Chat – Mayo Clinic News Network

“Remove standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.   To do this the CDC states:

• Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover, or throw out any items that hold water like tires, buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths, flowerpot saucers, or trash containers. Mosquitoes lay eggs near water.
• Tightly cover water storage containers (buckets, cisterns, rain barrels) so mosquitoes cannot get inside to lay eggs.
• For containers without lids, use wire mesh with holes smaller than an adult mosquito.

Some mosquitoes are harmful and can spread viruses like West Nile, dengue, Zika, and parasites like malaria. Other mosquitoes bother people and are considered “nuisance” mosquitoes.   There is no current local transmission of Zika virus in the continental United States, including Florida and Texas, which reported local transmission of Zika virus by mosquitoes in 2016-17.”

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Most Recent Mosquito Virus: Zika Virus

Background in health crisis response and that we have known about this for sometime now. 

From January 2015 to October 2018, 5,442 travel-associated cases of Zika and 231 locally transmitted cases had been reported in the U.S., according to the CDC.

AmeriCares Zika response leverages the technical expertise of our health experts and our more than 30 years of experience with international health crises. AmeriCares has responded to mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in the past, from West Nile in the United States to chikungunya in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2014, during an outbreak of chikungunya, our response included support for a community health education campaign that reached more than 10,000 people in El Salvador through schools, sporting events and community centers.

The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency on February 1 2016 because of a suspected link between the virus and microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with unusually small heads and abnormal brain development. There is growing evidence of an association between the increase in babies born with microcephaly, other possible birth defects and the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome that coincided with Zika virus infections. Currently, 33 countries and territories in the Americas have reported Zika cases, with up to 1.5 million confirmed cases in Brazil alone. The WHO is anticipating 3 million to 4 million more Zika infections in the region in the next 12 months.

There is no cure for Zika, but clinicians can help patients manage symptoms, giving them medicine to reduce fever and pain. They can also provide education on how to protect their families from the mosquitos that carry the virus.

Where are we actually working:

In Haiti, AmeriCares is working with a partner organization on a prevention program for expectant mothers, with the goal of keeping the women Zika-free until they deliver. In El Salvador, AmeriCares is developing a Zika-prevention program at its clinic, which provides primary and specialty care services for more than 60,000 patients annually, including prenatal care.

AmeriCares, which donates medicine and supplies to U.S.-based medical teams volunteering overseas, is also providing education materials to medical professionals working in Zika-affected countries. AmeriCares is supporting more than 150 medical teams planning travel to Latin America and the Caribbean through June.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and what they say about this Zika Virus:

Zika virus disease (Zika) is a disease caused by Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.

For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections. Though being checked for it yearly might not hurt if your country is exposed to it and could easily spread; especially if you have family traveling in your country as well as those you travel to countries known to be at risk for this disease and should be check when returning to their country like the USA for example. It is called prevention and control by the government and health parties of that country; pretty common sense. Instead it appears till the USA and other countries just wait till damage occurs – an epidemic some areas reaching out for help if the country doesn’t have the funds for controlling the epidemic. Why not help out for education and research before the epidemic if the disease is already known.

Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika forest in Uganda. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected and since then, outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Zika outbreaks have probably occurred in many locations. Before 2007, at least 14 cases of Zika had been documented, although other cases were likely to have occurred and were not reported. Because the symptoms of Zika are similar to those of many other diseases, many cases may not have been recognized.

In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil and on Feb 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) but not home prevention in the USA, like travelers from countries exposed with this that can be spread through a bite by a flying bug or possibly via sex so have the travelers returning checked to protect all in their country. Local transmission also has been reported in many other countries and territories. Zika virus likely will continue to spread to new areas. Let’s wake up and take action to control this from spreading in the USA and if possible other countries; especially our allies who travel here who are high with this virus treatment one day for this mosquito/sexual transmitted disease.

 You’ve probably heard about Zika virus. But what is it exactly? Who is at risk? And what can you do to help?

Through PSIimpact.com has extensive experience helping families in the developing world overcome their most pressing health challenges. Here is what we know about Zika virus and how you can help.

1. The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes and people. Typically, mosquitoes spread the virus. But there is evidence the virus may be sexually transmitted from someone who has been infected to his sexual partner.
2. The mosquitoes that carry Zika are active during the daytime, so malaria-fighting bed nets are not effective in stopping infection. Reducing breeding sites and using insecticides are currently two of the most effective ways to prevent the disease.
3. Symptoms of Zika virus infection are usually mild, typically begin a few days after being bitten, and usually finish in 2 to 7 days. Eighty percent of people who become infected never have symptoms. In those who do, the most common are fever, rash and conjunctivitis.
4. S. travelers are bringing the virus back with them. These imported cases happen when a person is infected elsewhere and then visits or returns to the United States.
5. There’s no vaccine to protect against the Zika virus, but researchers are working on one. Once a person becomes infected with the virus they usually develop immunity to future infections.
6. Researchers are studying the potential link between the Zika virus in pregnant women and microcephaly in their babies. Microcephaly is a birth defect that impairs brain development and can cause mild to severe cognitive delays, learning disabilities and impaired motor functions. The condition is marked by an abnormally small head.
7. Until a link is confirmed, it is crucial that women who are pregnant strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
8. The CDC recommends that pregnant women in any trimester consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. The most recent travel advisories can be found on their website.
9. Several Latin American countries have urged women not to get pregnant for up to two years if visiting those areas with this disease or from those Latin American area moving to another country like America included, in an attempt to avoid birth defects believed to be caused by Zika. However, no government has announced plans to increase access or remove barriers to contraception.
10. PSI is already working in affected areas including El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are supporting national responses led by the Ministries of Health. And we will continue helping men and women access contraception so that they can make their own decision about when — and whether — to become pregnant. Thank you PSI for your knowledge and effort in researching

“A healthy heart is a muscular pump that squeezes and relaxes to deliver blood to the body. Heart failure doesn’t mean the heart has stopped. For people with HFrEF (a type of heart failure called “reduced ejection fraction=EF”), it means the heart muscle is weak, so it can’t pump enough blood to keep up with the body’s needs. About half of people with heart failure have HFrEF; meaning heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.  Ejection Fracton is what the heart pumps out each beat from the Left Lower Ventricle.  Unlike a heart attack, heart failure happens slowly. It’s a chronic condition that gets worse over time and can lead to hospitalization or death.”

farxiga dapaglifozin (www.farxiga.com)

“Many of the body’s nerves are like household wires. There is a central conducting core in the nerves called the axon that carries an electric signal. The axon (an extension of a nerve cell) is surrounded by a covering, like insulation, called myelin. The myelin sheath surrounding the axon speeds up the transmission of nerve signals and allows the transmission of signals over long distances.

Since nerves are damaged in GBS, the brain may receive abnormal sensory signals from the rest of the body.  This results in unexplained, spontaneous sensations, called paresthesias, that may be experienced as tingling, a sense of insects crawling under the skin (called formications), and pain. Deep muscular pain may be experienced in the back and/or legs.”.

(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at https://www.ninds.nih.gov/)

“The first symptoms of Guillain–Barré syndrome are numbness, tingling, and pain, alone or in combination. This is followed by weakness of the legs and arms that affects both sides equally and worsens over time. The weakness can take half a day to over two weeks to reach maximum severity, and then becomes steady. In one in five people, the weakness continues to progress for as long as four weeks. “

MAYO CLINIC

Guillain-Barre (gee-YAH-buh-RAY) syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms.

These sensations can quickly spread, eventually paralyzing your whole body. In its most severe form Guillain-Barre syndrome is a medical emergency. Most people with the condition must be hospitalized to receive treatment.

The exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome is unknown. But it is often preceded by an infectious illness such as a respiratory infection or the stomach flu.

There’s no known cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome, but several treatments can ease symptoms and reduce the duration of the illness. Most people recover from Guillain-Barre syndrome, though some may experience lingering effects from it, such as weakness, numbness or fatigue.

Causes:

The exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome isn’t known. The disorder usually appears days or weeks after a respiratory or digestive tract infection. Rarely, recent surgery or immunization can trigger Guillain-Barre syndrome. Recently, there have been a few cases reported following infection with the Zika virus.

In Guillain-Barre syndrome, your immune system — which usually attacks only invading organisms — begins attacking the nerves. In AIDP, the most common form of Guillain-Barre syndrome in the U.S., the nerves’ protective covering (myelin sheath) is damaged. The damage prevents nerves from transmitting signals to your brain, causing weakness, numbness or paralysis.

Sign and Symptoms of Guillain=Barre:

As Guillain-Barre syndrome progresses, muscle weakness can evolve into paralysis.

Signs and symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome may include:

• Prickling, pins and needles sensations in your fingers, toes, ankles or wrists
• Weakness in your legs that spreads to your upper body
• Unsteady walking or inability to walk or climb stairs
• Difficulty with eye or facial movements, including speaking, chewing or swallowing
• Severe pain that may feel achy or cramplike and may be worse at night
• Difficulty with bladder control or bowel function
• Rapid heart rate
• Low or high blood pressure
• Difficulty breathing

Risk factors

Guillain-Barre syndrome can affect all age groups. But you’re at slightly greater risk if:

• You’re a man
• You’re a young adult

Guillain-Barre syndrome may be triggered by:

• Most commonly, infection with campylobacter, a type of bacteria often found in undercooked poultry
• Influenza virus
• Cytomegalovirus
• Epstein-Barr virus
• Zika virus
• Hepatitis A, B, C and E
• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS
• Mycoplasma pneumonia
• Surgery
• Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Rarely, influenza vaccinations or childhood vaccinations

“The 19th June is World Sickle Cell Day – a day of raising awareness!

World Sickle Cell Day is a United Nation’s recognised day to raise awareness of sickle cell at a national and international level. On 22^nd December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognises sickle cell disease as a public health problem and “one of the world’s foremost genetic diseases.” The resolution calls for members to raise awareness of sickle cell on June 19th of each year at national and international level.

Sickle cell disorders are a group of illnesses which affect your red blood cells. Sickle cell is a genetic condition, which means it is passed on from your parents and you are born with it; you cannot catch it from other people.”.

sicklecellsociety.org

SCD is the most commonly inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 100,000 people, and millions more worldwide. The disease primarily affects people of African, Hispanic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and South Asian ancestry.

What is sickle cell disease actually?

The term sickle cell disease (SCD) describes a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. People with SCD have abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S or sickle hemoglobin, in their red blood cells.

Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body.

“Inherited” means that the disease is passed by genes from parents to their children. SCD is not contagious. A person cannot catch it, like a cold or infection, from someone else.

People who have SCD inherit two abnormal hemoglobin genes, one from each parent. In all forms of SCD, at least one of the two abnormal genes causes a person’s body to make hemoglobin S. When a person has two hemoglobin S genes, Hemoglobin SS, the disease is called sickle cell anemia. This is the most common and often most severe kind of SCD.

Hemoglobin SC disease and hemoglobin Sβ thalassemia (thal-uh-SEE-me-uh) are two other common forms of SCD.

Cells in tissues need a steady supply of oxygen to work well. Normally, hemoglobin in red blood cells takes up oxygen in the lungs and carries it to all the tissues of the body.

Red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin are disc shaped (like a doughnut without a hole). This shape allows the cells to be flexible so that they can move through large and small blood vessels to deliver oxygen.

Sickle hemoglobin is not like normal hemoglobin. It can form stiff rods within the red cell, changing it into a crescent, or sickle shape.

Sickle-shaped cells are not flexible and can stick to vessel walls, causing a blockage that slows or stops the flow of blood. When this happens, oxygen can’t reach nearby tissues.

The lack of tissue oxygen can cause attacks of sudden, severe pain, called pain crisis. These pain attacks can occur without warning, and a person often needs to go to the hospital for effective treatment.

Most children with SCD are pain free between painful crises, but adolescents and adults may also suffer with chronic ongoing pain.

The red cell sickling and poor oxygen delivery can also cause organ damage. Over a lifetime, SCD can harm a person’s spleen, brain, eyes, lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, penis, joints, bones, or skin.

Sickle cells can’t change shape easily, so they tend to burst apart or hemolyze. Normal red blood cells live about 90 to 120 days, but sickle cells last only 10 to 20 days.

The body is always making new red blood cells to replace the old cells; however, in SCD the body may have trouble keeping up with how fast the cells are being destroyed. Because of this, the number of red blood cells is usually lower than normal. This condition, called anemia, can make a person have less energy.  Anemia ending line is lack of oxygen to the tissue body parts all over.

“Sickle cell disease is devastating for patients and their families,” said Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “It’s a chronic disorder causing pain in the extremities and back, infections, organ failure and other tissue damage, skin infections, loss of eyesight, severe blood clots and strokes. Patients learn to function in a constant state of pain and when that pain becomes debilitating, they often end up in the emergency room,” said Dr. Glassberg, also Associate Director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

“Patients with SCD are more likely to live full lives if they undergo regular checkups, prevent infections and develop healthy habits,” said Jena Simon, MS, FNP-BC, RN, also of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program.

Tips to Staying Healthy

• Get regular checkups. Regular health checkups can help prevent some serious problems.
• Prevent infections. Common illnesses, like influenza quickly can become dangerous for both children and adults with SCD. The best defense is to get a flu shot every fall and to stay up-to-date on other immunizations.
• People with SCD should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day and eat healthy food. They also should try not to get too hot, too cold, or too tired.
• Look for clinical studies. New clinical research studies are beginning all the time at Mount Sinai and elsewhere, with the goal of finding better treatments for SCD. Study participants gain early access to experimental medicines and treatments.
• Get support. People with SCD should find a patient support group or other organization in the community that can provide information, assistance, and support.

Sickle Cell Disease Facts & Figures:

• SCD is an inherited blood disorder that can cause severe pain and permanent damage to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, bones and spleen.
• SCD is most common in Africans and African-Americans. It is also found in other ethnic and racial groups, including people from South and Central America, the Caribbean, Mediterranean countries, and India.
• More than 2 million people carry the sickle cell gene that allows them potentially to pass the disease on to their children. People of African, Hispanic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian descent may want to be tested for the gene before having children. You can carry the gene and not have any signs or symptoms of SCD. Both parents have to have the gene to have a child with SCD.

SCD Awareness Events, The Mount Sinai Hospital campus, 1468 Madison Avenue (at 100th St.):

• Lecture: Guided Imagery for Sickle Cell Pain Management – Friday, September 11, 11 am to Noon, Stern Auditorium.
• Sickle Cell Community Engagement Day – Saturday, September 12, Noon to 4 pm, Hatch Auditorium and Guggenheim Pavilion Lobby. Education, free Bone Marrow Drive, IMPACT Repertory Theatre performance.
• NYC Annual Sickle Cell A Walk in Central Park – Saturday, September 19, 11 am, Central Park (near Naumberg Bandshell)

About the Mount Sinai Health System?

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services–.from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

“Aphasia is a communication disorder affecting over 2 million Americans.   Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others.”.

National Aphasia Association