Health

Public Health Department, Fresno County announced two people tested positive of West Nile Virus in Fresno County. Five other cases are showing symptoms but are waiting for test results. These incidences are a reminder that everyone should take precautions. Protection from mosquito bites is must to avoid the infection. The health department of Fresno County is working with the district of Consolidated Mosquito Abatement and Central California Blood Center. They are collaborating to create awareness about West Nile Virus.

The Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District collected samples in central Fresno. Around 120 samples resulted positive for West Nile Virus. Samples from Southwest Visalia also tested positive. The District of Delta Vector Control and Health and Human Service Agency, Tulare County reported the finding of sample testing. In 2018, around fourteen cases of people were reported. These people showed symptoms such as body aches, headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Vector Control District and Fresno Mosquito set around 119 mosquito traps in last year.

The Public Health Department of Fresno County is suggesting people take precautions. Standing water and dark clothing attract mosquitos. The Association American Mosquito Control suggests people. Follow the 3Ds of precautions. Drain, Dress, and Defend are the 3Ds of precaution. These precautions include emptying water of containers once a week, wearing long sleeves, light-colored, long pants, loose-fitted clothing. Applying DEET containing insect repellent, use of picaridin, IR 3535, use lemon eucalyptus oil, geranium oil, citronella oil, patchouli oil, thyme oil, clove oil and eliminating standing water sources also gives protection from mosquito bites. The Vector Control District suggests, cleaning water drains and swamp coolers, and changing the water in dispensers and pet bowl frequently. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, technical advisor encouraging neighbors to eliminate water sources on their property is essential for a community-wide control program. Mosquitoes need water to survive. Therefore, eliminating water sources can help to remove mosquito’s offspring.

University of California, San Francisco conducted research which revealed that there is a second gene as well which makes it possible for some people to sleep for lesser hours and still feel the same refreshment. In the year 2009, a study from researchers at UCSF identified a gene DEC2 which promotes natural short sleep. People with this gene feel rested with less than the average number of hours of sleep. According to discovery made in 2009, people with DEC2 feel rested after less than 6.5 hours of sleep. The research study continued and after ten years, revealed that there is another gene ADRB1 which is responsible for natural short sleep. Also, there could be few more genes which could allow individuals to sleep for a short duration.

Ying-Hui Fu, who is a researcher at UFSC, led this study stated that many other genes are being evaluated. Before the discovery of short sleep gene, almost nobody thought of sleep duration in terms of genes. The study conducted in 2009 uncovered that people with gene mutation slept for about 6.25 hours and participant without gene mutation slept for about 8 hours.

Also, people with gene mutation are not affected by sleep deprivation. Individuals with short sleep gene are even flexible with changes in sleep pattern and schedules. The occurrence of these genes is very rare. Presently, a significant chunk of population is sleep deprived due to several factors such as excess work pressure, use of social media, etc. not sleeping adequately has severe consequences on long term health. One is at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, etc. Several people sleep for short hours and claim they don’t require long sleeping hours, but mainly it is due to strong will power. The motive behind this research was not to determine rate of occurrence of gene mutation but find out how sleep is regulated and make it efficient. If researchers could help everyone to sleep better.

Soybean is consumed in many ways. It is used in the various dishes, mostly in Asian populations. The soybean has the only bean used in the Western diet. This is around from the 60 years. Now a day, most of the supermarkets are filled with soy products, soy-based meat replacements, and soy burgers. Soya has a quality with a lower risk of heart problems as compared to other diets. Soya used as the best source of unsaturated fatty acids, protein, B vitamins, iron, fiber, zinc, and calcium; it is progressively popular as a healthy replacement of meat. This is mainly in the West. But more peoples are connecting soya with health from the last ten years. But fear has come that soya can disturb our hormones.

The soy’s market is down to its high content of isoflavones. Isoflavones have more estrogenic properties. That means they act like estrogen. Oestrogen is known as the primary female sex organ, which is bound with the estrogen receptor in the women body. The main issue is the estrogen can lead to the growth of breast cancer. The scientists researched that and concluded the result. They said that soya effects in the body in the last few years. The answer about isoflavones that it is harmful or not is not cleared by the scientist. And frequently it seems that soya defends to cancer risk rather than making it problematic. Still why soya is good and doesn’t have any issue in that is not cleared.

Soya also has connected with falling breast cancer’s chances. The population research carried out among the 6,000 women having breast cancer found that almost 21% decrease death rate as compared to those women who consumed more soya. This research is carried out by an associate professor of Tufts University in Massachusetts; Fang Fang Zhang. Soya has more benefits for women with hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. It has benefits in the violent type of breast cancer where tumors lack progesterone and estrogen receptors. So that’s why they don’t reply well to hormone treatments.

According to a well-known nutritionist, a few fitness trainers and nutritionists suggested that one needs to alter their metabolism for losing fat. These people believed that one needs to consume food every 3 hours. These metabolism-boosting methods don’t actually help much, and people often find that fat content is not reduced substantially in the long term. It also hampers the body clock if such practices are adopted.

By definition, metabolism is a chemical process that takes place in living beings to maintain life. These fitness influencers believed that by consuming low-calorie food frequently throughout the day helps in burning fats, as the digestion process takes about 10% of calories consumed. But these methods are unproven and not scientific. These are based on thermos effect of food. Altering the body’s metabolic rate could damage any human beings in the long run. Also, it depends on one’s routine, as well. Some people prefer to consume only 2 or 3 heavy meals throughout the day. The calories one burns are almost the same either by consuming six-light snacks or just two heavy meals. Also, the trend of eating after every certain interval to control and reduce body fat without doing much of exercise was started around 2006.

People these days decide their meals and workout plans based on Instagram, Pinterest or facebook videos. Maintaining a calorie deficit diet is essential for reducing fats. As obesity is a critical problem these days due to many factors such as modern sedentary lifestyle, eating high-calorie junk food and beverages, etc. also, obesity amongst the young generation. More than one-third of the global population is overweight. Also, rather than implementing such unscientific techniques, sticking to a good diet plan for a prolonged period of time is beneficial. It helps immensely to fat loss as well as the overall health of individuals.

There are many ways through which people waste their time daily, and with the technology growing, most of us spend unproductive time on social media in a large amount. The usage of social media has increased tremendously from the last couple of years, and many people have said that it consumes lots of their time, yet they are addicted to it. Now a recent health study shows something positive about it because researchers think that social media can improve mental health of a person. A study done by researchers from Michigan State University said that daily usage of social media and the internet might be useful for mental health, and it can also reduce problems like depression or anxiety.

Researchers from Michigan State University think social media can help bring people together in many ways, and it’s good for health. People on social media are connected with their friends and family members. If they are living far away from their homes, then the usage of these things might be useful for them. Many people feel homesick or related things when they are missing their closed ones, but with social media, they can easily connect with their beloved ones. After examining many social media users, researchers found that more than 63% of total social media users have not experienced any severe psychological problems like depression or anxiety.

Those who are connected with their family members on social media have found to be in good mental health situation than any others. Even though experts agree that over usage of social media can cause problems, but if used wisely, then it can be an excellent tool to fight against severe psychological issues. Maintaining good mental health situation is becoming hard for people, but with this recent health study, we can firmly say that people might be correctly using social media.

Donald Trump has always been in media coverage because of his blunt decisions and controversial tweets. The way he is behaving from the last couple of days has worried not only ordinary people but also some Democrats also. Now because of that situation, some group of Democrats is trying to organize an event which will discuss the mental health of president Donald Trump. House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth along with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will host Dr. Bandy Lee, who is a famous psychiatrist and will discuss the problems relating to Trump’s mental health.

There have been many occasions where it’s been found that Trump is behaving weird, but since now Democrats also think that way which makes this issue more dangerous. Yarmuth said that it’s necessary to get experts to the opinion on Trump’s bad mental health because since he has become president of the USA, his condition has got worse. Experts think it’s necessary to check the health condition of the president because that could be a national threat from which no one would be able to get out quickly. Donald Trump has a reputation of not so excellent among Democrats because he has continuously criticized them.

However, now these same people think it’s better to study the mental health condition of Donald Trump since people’s lives could be in danger. However, this is not the first time when someone has called for checking up on President’s mental health because in 2016 election also this topic got viral. Trump had made lots if controversial statements and some decisions like a trade war. Now Democrats are questioning his ability on whether he can handle a presidential post or not. This event is going to happen in next month, and it will be interesting to see how Trump is going to react to this whole issue.

The knowledge you have about your sleeping habits may not be the fact. Wrong knowledge about it could be harmful to your mental and physical health. Researchers at NYU Langone Health’s School of Medicine recently conducted a study about sleeping myths and facts on Tuesday. The researchers first went through about 8,000websites and gathered information about sleeping habits. This data was presented to a team of experts in the sleep medicine industry. These experts determined the facts and myths, which are explained below.

There is a myth that says adults need five or lesser hours of sleep. For efficient working in the daytime, not falling sick and enjoy your life, sleep is an important factor. Whether adults or people of any age, everyone needs more than 7 hours of sleep daily. Lesser sleep can lead to cardiovascular diseases and early deaths. Other myth says that it is healthy to fall asleep instantly anywhere and at any time. But, it is a sign that you are not sleeping enough at once, so you complete the rest of your sleep anywhere, anytime. Another myth says that your body can adapt to less sleeping. There are four phases of sleep necessary to restore fully. So, less sleeping doesn’t complete those phases and are unhealthy.

Another myth is about snoring while sleeping. People believe that snoring is not harmful. However, loud snoring means there is an interruption in breathing. It could lead to sleep apnea in the long run. So, take efforts to stop snoring. Another myth says drinking alcohol before sleeping could help you fall asleep, but it is very unhealthy. People also believe that to fall asleep, one should stay in bed with closed eyes and wait until you sleep. But, a healthy sleeper requires a maximum of 15 minutes to sleep.

Other myth says that it is okay to sleep anytime in a day, but the night is the only right time. Some people believe watching television before sleeping can relax you, which is a myth again. Another myth- remembering your dreams is good. No, because the brain rests deeply when we are in dreams.

Disease-carrying mosquitoes need favorable atmospheric conditions like high temperatures. Due to global warming and rise in temperature, dangerous mosquitoes that transmit diseases like dengue fever and Zika virus are increasing in high numbers. As per a new study, greenhouse gases that are emitted continuously provide a conducive environment to disease-carrying mosquitoes. Over the next 60 years, about 1 billion people are expected to be exposed to two species these mosquitoes. Especially the US, Europe and Canada will face higher exposure.

A mosquito bite isn’t limited to effects like superficial skin irritation. They carry fatal diseases with them. Malaria, Zika virus, dengue, etc. are transmitted by mosquitoes. As per the World Health Organization, mosquitoes are one of the most deadly creatures on earth as they lead to millions of deaths in the world per year. There are two species of mosquitoes that affect human health by transmitting Zika virus and chikungunya virus. These bugs need temperatures between 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit to grow favorably.

In the tropics and subtropics, dengue fever is the single leading cause of deaths of people. Every year, almost 400 million people are infected with dengue fever as per the reports of CDC. Currently, these disease-carrying mosquitoes are only found in a few regions that have higher temperatures. However, as earth is getting warmer, these species are growing. Last 4-5 years have been the hottest till date as per the records. These bugs were found near the equatorial areas till now, but they are slowly expanding in the north and south as well.

In the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a new study was published which informs about how the climatic changes are affecting the growth of some virus-carrying mosquitoes. The study says that in the next 30 years, about 500 million people will be at risk of exposure to these bugs. By the year 2080, more than 1 billion new people will be at risk of getting affected by the mosquitoes if the greenhouse gases continue to be emitted.

Currently, flu-related illnesses are on the rise because the whole country is facing problems of cold and flu due to which many people are getting sick. According to recent reports, Jefferson Districts School has decided to shut down its classes because many students have not attended school from the last few days because of flu-related illnesses. School authority has taken this decision when they saw many students are not coming to schools to attend the classes and reason behind their absenteeism is influenza or cold-related issues. The flu season is on the rise, and CDC has already made its prediction that this year many people are going to get affected because of this season. However, this is not the first time district school canceling their classes because a few days ago Firth district School, Shelby District School also decided to close schools on Monday because many students were on sick leave.

A few days ago center for disease control and prevention revealed that more than one million people have so far got affected because of this flu season and more than a hundred thousand people have been hospitalized. The number of people dying because of flu or related problems is not that much in number, but if we look into CDC data, then one will find that such amount is increasing and especially small children are getting more hit because of this ongoing flu season. School districts administration is saying that not only student but they are observing that many staff members have also got flu or cold and hence faculty members are also not attending schools. Many schools in Bonneville, Madison, Fremont, and Teton counties have closed their schools too which shows how much hard the real situation is in schools and colleges.