BREAKOUTS!!!

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Ever woke up with pimples on your face and started questioning how it got there? Well acne is the inflammation and or infection of the sebaceous glands in the dermis usually causing pimples on the skin. Pimples grow when the follicles where hair is suppose to grow gets blocked causing accumulation of oil under dermis. According to medical news today “pimple starts to develop when the plug begins to breakdown,” this breakdown results in swelling. Acne can be found on the face, back, chest, shoulders and neck. “According to Brown University, USA, approximately 17 million Americans are estimated to have acne at any one time.” Young men going through puberty suffer from acing the most because they have high levels of testosterone which makes acne worst.  

Credit: Mayo Foundation

The question on many people mind is what causes acne? There has been no determining answer for this question, yet experts believe is due to the increase of androgen levels. Androgen is a steroid hormone that usually is posse by males which is used to maintain masculine characteristic. Both males and females produce androgen just different amounts. With the rise of androgen levels glands under your skin grow accordingly. Bigger gland produces more oil, this excessive oil “break down cellular walls in your pores, causing bacteria to grow.”

Can acne be prevented? No acne cannot be prevented but can be treated and control. The best way to treat acne is washing your face twice a day. Also use treatments “such as benzyl peroxide or salicylic acid” to dry out the oils in your skin. READ MORE AT: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107146.php

Hookah; Is it just a good time or is it worth the HERPES!

Hookah a common practice spreading around the global may have horrible health consequence. Hookah is a water pipe that consists of a smoke chamber, a water-filled bowl and a hose. Specially-made flavored tobacco, called “shisha,” is heated with charcoal. The smoke passes through the water and is then inhaled using the hose. ( To read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/161880-health-risks-of-hookah-smoking/#ixzz2R8c7YsBU) This practice has become more common in colleges.According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist  Medical Center, 40.3 percent of students from eight North Carolina colleges and universities reported having smoked tobacco from a hookah, while only a slightly higher percentage (46.6) said they’d ever smoked a cigarette. A surprisingly high 17.4 percent of students surveyed said they regularly use hookah pipes. (read more at http://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2011/Hookah_Use_Widespread_Among_College_Students.htm )

When you share the hose with multiple mouths in hookah-smoking social group touch the mouth of the pipe and share the smoke, a person could quite literally catch herpes from the hookah itself. Even if you switch the mouth piece if the bars and cafes did not clean hookah pipes properly you can catch herpes. Herpes transmitted by direct contact with a lesion or the body fluid of an infected individual such as saliva which could easily be trapped in a hookah pipe.Which someone else puts their mouth on transmitting the herpes virus. 

Picture by Anonymous 

 Herpes simplex is a viral disease caused by both Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). Infection with the herpes virus is categorized based on the site of infection. “Oral herpes (HSV-1) – are colloquially called ‘cold sores’ or ‘fever blisters’ infect the face and mouth. Oral herpes is the most common form of infection. Genital herpes (HSV-2) – known simply as ‘herpes’, is the second most common form of herpes.” (Read more at http://www.quitshisha.com/effects-of-shisha/herpes-caused-by-shisha.html)  After initial infection, the viruses are transported to the sensory nerve cell, where they become latent and reside life-long. There is no cure for herpes yet medicine to suppress the recurrent infection from out breaking. Before partaking in this new common practice people please do your research hookah might be fun but can cause herpes and once you get herpes you cannot get rid up it! 

Its the Season of Sneezing!

It’s that time of year when sneezing, running nose itchy and running eyes are common. These bodies respond is due to allergies. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 54.3 percent of Americans have allergies. (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm) What are allergies? Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to things that are typically harmless to most people. When you're allergic to something, your immune system mistakenly believes that there’s a harmful substance in your body. To protect your body the immune system produce IgE antibodies to allergens. (Allergens are substances that cause allergic reaction; food, dust, pollen, medicines). Then the body starts to produce a specific antibody called IgE, known as immunoglobulin, to bind to the allergen. Those antibodies then cause certain cells in the body to release chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which is histamine.  Histamine causes most of the symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Credit:anonymous

There are no cures for allergies or prevention. Allergies are usually heritable. There are medications to subside the symptoms. The most common allergy control medications known as antihistamines. It blocks the histamine reducing agents in the allergic reaction and alleviates much of the sneezing and coughing. Many of these are sold over the counter, the best example being Benadryl. There’s something known as allergy shots also referred to as allergen immunotherapy. By receiving these injections of small amounts of an allergen, your body can gradually develop non-allergen antibodies and undergo other immune system changes that help reduce the reaction to that allergen.

 

Credit: anonymous

           

Recently  Europe has been using  "sublingual immunotherapy, the practice of gradually desensitizing the immune system to allergens by administering allergen extract droplets under the tongue." Treating allergies even though this practice has been proven to subsidize allergies the United States Food and Drug Administration has not approve this practice. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/27/under-the-tongue-droplets-could-cure-allergies/)

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SPLEEN!!! SPLEEN!!

            Many soldiers injured in combat die because of infection in bloodstream. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University developed a Spleen-on-a-chip. This machine rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, “the patient's blood is mixed with magnetic nano-beads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood 'opsonin' protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins.” (Artificial Spleen to Treat Bloodstream Infection) In the science daily news the article Artificial Spleen to Treat Bloodstream Infection, explain this machine would glow through micro-channels “where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes” just like a human spleen does. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient making the blood healthy. To read more visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130330130531.htm

          The spleen is an internal organ, found in the abdominal area. The spleen functions as a part of the immune system and storage of blood cells in the circulatory system. The spleen removes old red blood cells, called erythrocytes, from the blood supply and removes, stores and produces white blood cell lymphocytes. These stored lymphocytes produce antibodies and assist in removing microbes and other debris from the blood supply.  This invention can save many of our soldier’s life overseas without the right medical supplies. The project director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D explained. With the right funding this invetion can bring many of our soliders home. 

 

Credit: Wyss Institute

GTL; But the T can RUIN YOU!!

As the weather gets warmer many people are making their way back to the tanning salon but while visiting take this in consideration; tanning is bad. People use tanning to achieve a “healthy glow.” According to Palo Allto Medical Foundation a tan “really shows the skin trying to protect itself from sun damage.” This occurs when skin is exposed to radiation, and the skin responds by producing melanin. Melanin is described as a “dark substance that helps prevent the body from taking in too many harmful sunrays,” which causes damage to the skin in the long run. You can tan in many ways. Some people use the Sun to expose skin to harmful rays. Others use tanning bed or lamps which is safer because you can alter intensity and length of your tanning session. The best way to get a natural tan is using bronzing product. These products give an instant glow you can wash off with soap and water. To read more about what is tanning visit http://www.pamf.org/teen/health/skin/sun.html

 picture by anonymous

 Tanning has many effects on one’s body. When tanning you can face skin problems making your skin flakey and increase the risk of skin cancer. “The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that melanoma appears to be caused when ultraviolet (UV) rays found in tanning beds break down the genetic codes in the skin cells. "This leads to genetic mutations in the skin, and cancerous lesions such as melanomas can develop.” Tanning also causes premature aging. Premature aging can result in skin that wrinkles earlier than it should and may even appear leathery. Also tanning impacts the body’s immune system. According to KidsHealth.org, “UV light can penetrate through the skin and into the delicate blood vessels and nerves that are found underneath the skin. Because of the damage to these sensitive tissues, a person's immune system can be damaged, making it more difficult to fight off serious diseases such as cancer.”  In very few cases tanning leads to eye problems. Cataracts can be caused by being exposed to the UV rays without wearing appropriate goggles. Night blindness can also occur due to macular degeneration. In worst cases someone can go blind. Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/69765-effects-tanning-beds-body/

Tanning gone bad picture by anonymous 

Here’s a few tanning tips:

 Avoid sun between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when it's brightest.

Wear UV-protective lens, or don't wear sunglasses at all.

Use sunscreen every day if you are exposed to sun for more than 20 minutes.

A LITTLE MOSQUITO with such a Big BITE!

Picture by: Nauman Malik

            Ever had a mosquito? Imagine being bite by a mosquito and waking up with a rash, headache and a fever? Well a mosquito known as Aedes aegypti mosquito is biting many individuals leaving them with dengue fever. In  Southeast Asia was reported to have 200 people dead due to dengue fever. Dengue is a disease transmitted by mosquito and causes an infection with flu-like symptoms. The question on many researchers mind is what caused this widespread infection?

            According to "Defective" Virus Leads to Epidemic of Dengue Fever this infection may be “defective.” This article defines a defective virus as a “results from genetic mutations or deletions that eliminate essential function.” This virus has a huge mutation rate which played a key factor in spreading this disease. With a huge amount of researcher it was proven this virus was spreading quickly because it was fusing with a functional virus “tagging along” making it more transmissible. The functional and nonfunctional virus, travel as one trying to get into the same cell to share their genes.

            The article also states the defective virus interferes with “diseases-causing virus making the disease less intense.” Since people had less effect of the milder disease they are mostly likely responsible for spreading the disease by going outside. The scientist use gene sequencing to show the defective virus and display its unbroken chain. Lloyd-Smith and Ke (scientist conducting research) are looking for a cure using mathematical models and bioinformatics.To read more about this study click this link :http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127103&org=NSF. 

Picture by:  Mikael Häggström