Category: Health

Prevent Liver Failure

gary-reinbachLiver failure occurs when large parts of the liver become damaged beyond repair and the liver is no longer able to function.

Liver failure is a life-threatening condition that demands urgent medical care. Most often, liver failure occurs gradually and over many years. However, a more rare condition known as acute liver failure occurs rapidly (in as little as 48 hours) and can be difficult to detect initially.

What Causes Liver Failure?

The most common causes of chronic liver failure (where the liver fails over months to years) include:

  • Hepatitis B
  • Hepatitis C
  • Long term alcohol consumption
  • Cirrhosis
  • Hemochromatosis (an inherited disorder that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron)
  • Malnutrition

The causes of acute liver failure, when the liver fails rapidly, however, are often different. These include:

  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose.
  • Viruses including hepatitis A, B, and C (especially in children).
  • Reactions to certain prescription and herbal medications.
  • Ingestion of poisonous wild mushrooms.

via Liver Failure Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, Tests & More.

Safety and Health Add Value

Health & Safety_1Addressing safety and health issues in the workplace saves the employer money and adds value to the business. Recent estimates place the business costs associated with occupational injuries at close to $170 billion – expenditures that come straight out of company profits.

When workers stay whole and healthy, the direct cost-savings to businesses include:

  • lower workers’ compensation insurance costs;
  • reduced medical expenditures;
  • smaller expenditures for return-to-work programs;
  • fewer faulty products;
  • lower costs for job accommodations for injured workers;
  • less money spent for overtime benefits.

Safety and health also make big reductions in indirect costs, due to:

  • increased productivity;
  • higher quality products;
  • increased morale;
  • better labor/management relations;
  • reduced turnover;
  • better use of human resources.

Employees and their families benefit from safety and health because:

  • their incomes are protected;
  • their family lives are not hampered by injury;
  • they have less stress.

Simply put, protecting people on the job is in everyone’s best interest – our economy, our communities, our fellow workers and our families. Safety and health add value to businesses, workplaces and lives.

via Employee Health and Safety – SmallBusinessNotes.com.

Prevent Medication Poisoning in Children

babymedsafetypillsEach year more than 60,000 children are treated in emergency departments due to accidental medication poisoning. That’s about 165 kids – or roughly four school busloads of children – per day.

Parents, grandparents and caregivers can prevent unintentional medication poisoning in children by being vigilant about safe storage and safe dosing of medications.

via Medication Safety Guide.

Cancer Prevention

091216a-lung-cancer-cellsWhat Is Cancer?

Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Cancer is not just one disease, but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer.

How Can Cancer Be Prevented?

The number of new cancer cases can be reduced, and many cancer deaths can be prevented. Research shows that screening for cervical and colorectal cancers as recommended helps prevent these diseases by finding precancerous lesions so they can be treated before they become cancerous. Screening for cervical, colorectal, and breast cancers also helps find these diseases at an early, often highly treatable stage.

Vaccines also help reduce cancer risk. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps prevent most cervical cancers and some vaginal and vulvar cancers, and the hepatitis B vaccine can help reduce liver cancer risk. Making cancer screening, information, and referral services available and accessible to all Americans can reduce cancer incidence and deaths.

A person’s cancer risk can be reduced in other ways by receiving regular medical care, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol use, avoiding excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun and tanning beds, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and being physically active.

via CDC – Cancer – Prevention.

Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention

qabloodWhat are bloodborne pathogens?

Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms in human blood that can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Needlesticks and other sharps-related injuries may expose workers to bloodborne pathogens. Workers in many occupations, including first aid team members, housekeeping personnel in some industries, nurses and other healthcare personnel may be at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

via Safety and Health Topics | Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention.

Why Get an Annual Physical?

Dr. David RiceEven though you may be feeling healthy, it’s important to get regular physical exams to help ensure that you stay that way.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine says regular physicals will allow your doctor to:

  • Check regularly for signs of disease. Early detection often helps improve the chances of recovery.
  • Determine your risk of future health problems, and possibly, to prevent them.
  • Talk with you about your lifestyle, and to recommend changes.
  • Give you any needed vaccinations.
  • Get to know your history, in the event that you become seriously ill.

via Health Tip: Why Get an Annual Physical? – Drugs.com MedNews.

Leading Cause of Emphysema is Smoking

EmphysemaEmphysema occurs when the air sacs in your lungs are gradually destroyed, making you progressively more short of breath. Emphysema is one of several diseases known collectively as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema.

As it worsens, emphysema turns the spherical air sacs — clustered like bunches of grapes — into large, irregular pockets with gaping holes in their inner walls. This reduces the surface area of the lungs and, in turn, the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream.

Emphysema also slowly destroys the elastic fibers that hold open the small airways leading to the air sacs. This allows these airways to collapse when you breathe out, so the air in your lungs can’t escape. Treatment may slow the progression of emphysema, but it can’t reverse the damage.

via Emphysema – MayoClinic.com.

What are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?

????????????????????????????????????????There’s a common misconception that people with high blood pressure, also called hypertension, will experience symptoms such as nervousness, sweating, difficulty sleeping or facial flushing. The truth is that HBP is largely a symptomless condition. If you ignore your blood pressure because you think symptoms will alert you to the problem, you are taking a dangerous chance with your life. Everybody needs to know their blood pressure numbers, and everyone needs to prevent high blood pressure from developing.

via What are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure?.

What Is Heart Disease?

Bring up heart disease, and most people think of a heart attack. But there are many conditions that can undermine the heart’s ability to do its job. These include coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, and heart failure. Keep reading to find out what these disorders do to the body and how to recognize the warning signs.

via Heart Disease Pictures Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Heart Disease on MedicineNet.com.