I don’t think your friend have to go to an ER because of viral gastroenteritis. Unless she was suffering from dehydration, there’s no specific treatment for it. I would advise against drinks with a high sugar content, clear soups (like bouillon) that are salty and caffeinated drinks.

“but I spent the night at her house last night. Which now I think wasn’t the best idea.” — Uh…you think? Oh well, we all make mistakes.

“if you know what some stomach virus symptoms are please answer. I want to know if I have it” — the primary symptoms are vomiting and watery diarrhea. there are different viruses that cause gastroenteritis and these can produce some variation in symptoms. with Rotavirus — vomiting, watery diarrhea, fever & abdominal pain. Rotavirus infection are pretty common Nov. – Apr. with Adenovirus — Diarrhea & vomiting. with Caliciviruses like Norovirus — vomiting and diarrhea, fatigue, headache, and sometimes muscle aches and these are common Oct.- Apr. And with Astrovirus — there’s vomiting & diarrhea and it’s most active during winter.

I put my money on a Norovirus infection. I think this is the virus causing your friend’s gastroenteritis. It’s the leading cause in all ages, the most common cause, is responsible for most epidemics and occurs more frequently during the months from October to April. And the incubation period after exposure is from 1 to 3 days.

“I’m sorry I didn’t really give a lot of details…” — That’s okay, none needed.

Pregnant women who develop life threatening conditions are to receive more rapid assessment and treatment thanks to new measures being introduced in health boards across Wales.

Healthcare teams will be introducing more timely treatments including swift recognition of symptoms, daily assessment to ensure there is no deterioration in the woman’s condition and that there is quicker access to specialist care when needed.

There will also be a specific focus on preventing the development of potentially life threatening blood clots during and after pregnancy.

The work to improve maternity services was unveiled today (March 3, 2011) by 1000 Lives plus, the national programme which seeks to improve the quality of patient care by reducing avoidable harm, waste and variation across NHS Wales.

Dr Jean White, Chief Nursing Officer for Wales, said, “the new measures announced today as part of 1000 Lives plus are a key strand to overall Welsh Assembly Government plans to improve maternity services in Wales.

“the months before, and the time immediately after the birth, are crucial to the health of the mother and child so it’s vital that we provide the most effective and efficient care possible.

“the health and happiness of future generations can be enhanced by the provision of world class maternity services and we will be supporting 1000 Lives plus in this crucial area of work.

“NHS staff save lives every day and these new ways of working will help them save more.”

Recent research has shown that sepsis is the leading cause of maternal death in the UK. Sepsis is a severe infection which affects the bloodstream and other organs, which can be potentially fatal if not recognised and treated promptly.

Venous thromboembolism (a blood clot in a deep vein) is also a leading cause for maternal deaths with risks, both during pregnancy and post-natally. It is ten times more common in pregnant women than non-pregnant women.

Philip Banfield, Consultant Obstetrician at Glan Clwyd Hospital and clinical lead for the work said, “For every clinical practitioner involved in maternity care, the safety and wellbeing of women and babies is of paramount importance. the aim is to achieve the best outcomes and satisfaction with the service, with minimal intervention, in the most appropriate setting, and with ready access to support when things do not go according to plan.”

Healthcare teams will be introducing four new care bundles to reduce the risk of problems developing and increase the speed with which deteriorating patients are identified and treated.

The care bundles, which are a group of evidence-based interventions that result in better outcomes for patients when they are implemented together, will focus on ensuring assessments are carried out on admission to hospital and during the hospital stay to ensure any deterioration is immediately responded to.

The bundles will also look at clearer communication between staff and appropriate treatment for severe sepsis within one hour of diagnosis.

The work is supported by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Welsh Executive Committee and the Royal College of Midwives. Helen Rogers, the Royal College of Midwives Director for Wales, said, “a rapid response from midwives and the maternity team is vital when complications occur, and this initiative will enable women to get appropriate treatment more quickly.

"It will help to ensure that we have high quality and safe maternity services for all women in Wales.”

Many people are still very ignorant about this condition known as cancer of the prostate. they think they really know all there is to know about it but they are dead wrong. And in case you have never heard of this statement before, you should now – ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to your health. It’s important to know all there is to know about prostate-cancer, if you are worried about it. This article helps to provide you with some of the important statistics of this condition. Knowing them will give you a better understanding.

They say there is no cure for cancer, and perhaps they are right to some degree; with the level of variation that the disease presents, the number of casualties documented annually in the United States alone, with the different approaches to dealing with the condition, and considering the variety of the results that are often obtained, of course there is no cure for cancer; at least not a definitive one, and certainly not yet. But I suppose in some sense you could argue that prostate cancer is indeed curable. This might be startling to you if you were just privy to the unfriendly statistics of the malignancy of the prostate. Keep reading nonetheless. You will learn things you didn’t know before today.

•    It is the ninth most common cancer in the whole world, not just in the United States•    It is the second most common cancer among men in the United States, after skin cancer•    It is the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, after lung cancer•    Over 230,000 new cases of this condition are diagnosed annually•    Over 27,000 casualties from prostate type of cancer alone each year•    No early symptoms of the condition.

Facts like that would scare anybody, especially the symptoms part. I mean, how can you cure a disease that has no early symptoms; how on earth do you know that you have the man killer disease?

Simple and straightforward enough questions; the statement was not that there are no symptoms for prostate cancer, but that there are no early symptoms of the melanoma. that means that during the initial incidence and development of the disease, you won’t even feel a thing. And if you go on living your merry life from there, you would only be giving it a chance to fester, and grow, and metastasize… and kill you. Perish the thought!

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found evidence suggesting that a variation of a specific gene may play a role in late-onset Alzheimer’s, the disease which accounts for over 90% of Alzheimer’s cases. This innovative study has combined genetics and brain imaging to determine who may be at risk for developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear.

the gene, which is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), is crucial to maintaining healthy function of the brain, primarily the brain’s memory centre of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, and is responsible for learning and memory function.  past research has found that less BDNF is present in the memory centre of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. However genetic association studies alone have not produced definite findings regarding this gene. Instead, a combination of genetics and brain imaging were used to demonstrate clear effects of this gene in the brain.

In the study published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a variation of the BDNF gene called val66met, was tracked and examined in healthy individuals to see what effect it had on the brain. Genotyping was used to determine which study participants carried the gene variation. Then two types of brain imaging — high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cortical thickness mapping and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) (an MRI-based technique that measures key structural connections in the brain)– were applied to measure the physical structures of the brain in each individual. This combination of genetic screening and imaging found that BDNF val66met gene variation influenced exactly those brain structures and connections that deteriorate at the earliest phases of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our sample consisted of healthy adults who passed all cognitive testing and displayed no clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, yet the brains of those who carried the gene variation had differences in their brain structures consistent with changes we see in people at the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, physician and scientist at CAMH, and principal investigator of the study.

Participants who carried the variation were more likely to have thinner temporal lobe structures and disrupted white matter tract connections leading into the temporal lobe – the same structures and neural networks that have deteriorated in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients when their brains are examined post-mortem.

“In the past, Alzheimer’s disease could only be diagnosed and treated once outward symptoms became present,” added Dr. Voineskos. “Early identification is key because, in addition to seeking therapeutic treatments early to reduce suffering, delaying Alzheimer’s onset by only two years has the potential of saving the Canadian health care system nearly $15 billion over the next 10 years. the combination of brain imaging and genetics is a key approach that may help us to identify people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”

This breakthrough in image-genetics research can be valuable in the research of other brain diseases and will enable researchers to examine how a gene affects the brain and possibly intervene before a person develops an illness.

the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world’s leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.  CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.

SOURCE Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Q: is a urinary tract infection the same as cystitis?

A: They could be connected, but one is more specific than the other. Cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder, whereas a UTI is typically a bacterial infection that can include any part of the urinary tract, from the kidneys to the urethra. Cystitis is typically the result of a urinary tract infection, but can also be because of bladder stones or in rare situations, a tumor in the bladder. Cystitis can have serious consequences if left untreated, so if your cat is showing odd urination symptoms, you really should get him to the veterinarian to see what’s going on.

Q: My older female dog has started to lift her leg when she urinates. why would she do this after so many years?

A: As we age, our hormone levels fluctuate – that includes people and animals. It could be that it’s a simple variation in hormone levels that is making her want to lift her leg instead of squatting like she used to. Also, it tends to indicate very dominant behavior. I wonder, have there been changes in your house? if you’re concerned about the frequency or if she seems to be straining or having difficulty, I’d give your vet a call, otherwise, think about what may have changed in your house to make your girl need to feel a bit more masculine.

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Ask the Shelter is a weekly feature aimed at pet education. if you have a question, contact Jennifer Vanderau, director of communications for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, at or 263-5791.