By DR. MAZHAR JAKHRO May 24, 2012 12:00 AM

Alcoholism is physical addiction to alcohol, when an individual continues to drink despite having problems with physical health and/or mental health, as well as social, family, or job responsibilities. it is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and is frequently accompanied by other substance abuse disorders such as smoking, anxiety, mood disorders, and antisocial personality disorder. it can also be associated with considerable morbidity and mortality.

Alcoholism is hereditary, but environmental and interpersonal risk factors do play a role.

Facts about Alcohol Abuse:

• it affects about 10 percent of women and 20 percent of men in the United States.
• there are approximately 79,000 deaths due to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.
• Alcohol abuse is the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the nation.
• One-fifth to one-half of all car accident deaths are due to alcohol.

Individuals who should not drink any alcohol include:

• Pregnant women or anyone who is trying to become pregnant.
• Anyone taking a prescription or over-the-counter medication that may cause harmful reactions when mixed with alcohol.
• Any person under the age of 21.
• Anyone recovering from alcoholism or anyone who is unable to control the amount they drink.
• Any person suffering from a medical condition that may be worsened by alcohol, such as a seizure disorder.
• Anyone who is driving, planning to drive, or participating in other activities requiring skill, coordination and alertness.

Symptoms include recurrent intoxication, nausea, mood swings, depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, seizures, tremors, hematemesis, unsteady gait, paraesthesia, memory loss, and erectile dysfunction.

Signs include heavy regular alcohol consumption, heavy cigarette smoking, other substance abuse (e.g. marijuana, cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, sedatives, hypnotics and anxiolytics), accidents, burns, violence, suicide, and recurrent absenteeism from work.

The immediate effects of alcohol may include:

• Impaired judgment and inability to measure risks
• Lowered inhibitions
• Slower reaction time and reflexes
• Loss of coordination and balance
• Distorted vision
• Lapses in memory

Long-term effects of alcohol may include:

• Chronic liver disease
• Cancer
• Heart disease and stroke
• Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety
• Alcohol addiction leading to domestic, financial and relationship problems

A health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical and family history, and may perform a screening test such as a CAGE questionnaire or Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test during the office visit.

The severity of the alcohol problem, comorbid medical and psychosocial conditions, and the patient’s motivation to change are key elements that will influence the family physician’s choice of intervention. Treatment may include detoxification-treatment and/or behavioral-treatment approaches, which are usually conducted with help of Substance Abuse Specialist.

Keep it simple. Just saying “no thanks” might be enough. you could even say you stopped drinking at your doctor’s advice. Or you could choose an alternative to alcohol such as water, club soda, juice or a non-alcoholic beer.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, if you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Moderation is defined as no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men.

Dr. Mazhar Jakhro specializes in family medicine, providing high-quality health care for families and individuals of all ages. Board certified in family medicine, Dr. Jakhro is part of Southcoast Physicians Group, practicing at Southcoast Health System, a full-service medical practice in Wareham that brings together 18 primary care and specialty physicians, radiology and lab services. Dr. Jakhro is accepting new patients and can be reached at (508) 273-4950.

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HollywoodNews.com: Linkin Park are gearing up for the release of their new album “A Thousand Suns,” which hits stores on September 14. They just released the chaotic video for their first single “The Catalyst,” and now the hit rock band are going to be performing at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

They are the latest band to be added to the already impressive lineup that includes Eminem, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Paramore, Drake, B.o.B., and Usher among others. Singer Chester Bennington said, “After two years of working on our new album, we’re looking forward to sharing our first live performance of new music with our fans around the world on the MTV Awards,” reports MTV.

The band will be performing “The Catalyst” on the show, which will air live from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

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A 23-year-old pregnant woman hailing from Dhule, who had tested positive for H1N1 virus, died on Thursday at city?s JJ Hospital, a day after she delivered a baby there. following the death, the doctors have said that pregnant women should especially be cautious as they fall under the high-risk group.

?The immunity levels in such women are already compromised owing to their pregnancy. they should be careful and should stay away from anyone who shows flu-like symptoms such as cold or cough. in case, they start showing symptoms themselves, there should be no delay in starting a treatment before the situation gets aggravated,? said Dr Abhay Chaudhary, director of Haffkine?s Institute.

Chaudhary said that testing for the flu is not necessary and people can start taking Tamiflu as a preventive measure on showing flu symptoms. Mumbai has seen 14 positive cases of swine flu over the past one month.

Meanwhile, public health minister Suresh Shetty said there are no reports of mutation in the H1N1 virus but promised to launch an extensive awareness drive at railway and bus stations Speaking in the Legislative Council, Shetty said National Institute of Virology, Pune and CMC, Vellore have not reported any mutation in the strain of the virus. He said there was stock of 1.8 lakh Tamiflu tablets in Mumbai and 11.5 lakh tablets in rest of Maharashtra.

Asked about the availability of swine flu vaccines in the state, Shetty said the Centre had supplied vaccines to medical practitioners and the use of vaccine was not recommended for general public. ?The vaccine is effective for eight to ten months,? said Shetty.

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MAPLE GROVE, Minn., Feb. 29 (UPI) — an estimated 70 percent to 85 percent of all pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting, but nurse practitioners said only half report morning sickness.

A survey 350 nurse practitioners indicated only 40 percent of their patients reported experiencing nausea and vomiting in pregnancy in the last 12 months.

“Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is a condition that affects many pregnant women and, contrary to popular belief, many pregnant women experience symptoms sporadically throughout the day. Even a less severe case of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy can detract from the joy of pregnancy and may affect a woman’s general well being,” Elizabeth Kostas-Polston, board chairwoman of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, said in a statement.

“Women experiencing nausea and vomiting in pregnancy should discuss appropriate treatment strategies with their healthcare provider and not suffer in silence.”

Seventy-six percent of nurse practitioners said nausea and vomiting in pregnancy posed a moderate-to-severe problem for their patients.

Some women do not seek treatment for morning sickness because of concerns about drug therapy during pregnancy or because they don’t know treatments are available, the survey said.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends women experiencing nausea and vomiting in pregnancy get plenty of rest, avoid bothersome smells, eat five or six small meals a day instead of three large ones, avoid spicy and fatty foods, and eat crackers before getting out of bed. Ginger, acupuncture and acupressure, motion sickness bands or hypnosis might also help.

The online survey of member of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health was conducted from Nov. 8-15. no margin of error was provided.

Did you know that you were pregnant fairly early on after you conceived? You know — before the whole achy boobs, insane nausea, and extreme fatigue set in? I did.

About four or five days after I got pregnant with my son, I completely had a meltdown because my husband picked up barbecue take-out for dinner on his way home from work and forgot the potato salad.

Who freaks out over a picnic food? I knew that something just wasn’t quite right with me — and a positive pregnancy test confirmed my suspicions.

I’m definitely not the only woman who ever lashed out over something fairly stupid during pregnancy, and odd mood swings are a symptom that many women experience. however, there are a few things that can occur during pregnancy that are a bit more unexpected!

1. Making donkey noises. Can you even imagine waking up one day and getting out of bed only to realize that you suddenly sound like a farm animal? because it happened to an 18-year old pregnant girl in the UK named Cody Hagel, whostarted making donkey noises shortly after she conceived. Cody wasn’t quite as shocked as most people would be at the whole donkey thing because she’d already been suffering from Tourette’s syndrome since she was 14-years old. Apparently pregnancy can trigger new forms of “tics” in Tourette’s sufferers, and since she lives on a farm where there are donkeys, she thinks that is why she picked up the noises. She’s taking her new sounds with a grain of salt, and her light-hearted attitude on her condition is incredibly refreshing. She’s wise beyond her years, that’s for sure!

2. changes to your voice. it may not be quite as quirky as sounding like a donkey, but Julia Roberts had changes to her voice while pregnant. she wound up talking, and even laughing, at a lower tone than normal. how weird is it that this “Pretty Woman” wound up sounding more like a man? of course, a lot of men find the whole husky voice thing pretty sexy.

3. Bizarre pregnancy cravings. have you heard about those women who crave really strange foods while they are pregnant — like soil? Britney Spears supposedly had a hankering for dirt while she was expecting. but perhaps the oddest part of this pregnancy symptom is the fact that we aren’t really all that shocked by it. C’mon — would your jaw really drop to the floor if you saw Brit reach down and grab a handful of soil and stick it in her mouth? I didn’t think so.

4. Excessive farting. Another embarrassing symptom that some of us don’t want to admit having? Lots and lots of gas. sometimes it’s just impossible to suck ‘em in while you’re pregnant. but I guess it’s better to just laugh about gas the way Jessica Simpson did instead of getting all bent out of shape about it.

5. Increased foot size. Many women find themselves needing to go out and buy new shoes while they are pregnant. in fact, some women may even go up as much as a size-and-a-half! Sometimes foot size goes back to normal, and sometimes it doesn’t. but then again, do us gals ever really need a good excuse to go shoe shopping?

Are you experiencing anything unusual or that you did not expect while pregnant?

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Measles outbreak prompts warning across St Helens

5:09pm Thursday 16th February 2012 in News by St Helens Star newsdesk

Parents are being urged to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated.

a MEASLES outbreak has been declared after six people required hospital treatment on Merseyside.

the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said there were 13 confirmed and 16 suspected cases in the area. Patients range in age from nine months to adults in their 20s.

Of the six people who required hospital treatment, four are children and two are adults.

this compares to just one confirmed case on Merseyside in the first six weeks of last year and one in the corresponding period of 2010.

one small family cluster has been confirmed in St Helens and there are two suspected cases. the majority of the confirmed and suspected cases are in Liverpool, Parents are being urged to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated.

Dr Roberto Vivancos, a consultant with the HPA, said: “Measles is circulating in the community. We have alerted GPs and asked them to notify us of any cases they come across.

“We are also asking parents and GPs to do all they can to ensure that children are fully protected by MMR vaccine.”

the most common symptoms of measles are fever, cough, sore eyes and a rash that develops over three to four days, beginning with the face and head and spreading down the body.

People with symptoms are advised to stay away from school, nursery or work until four days have elapsed after the development of a rash.

They are also asked to avoid contact with pregnant women and to telephone their GP for advice before attending the surgery.

(Credit:istockphoto)

(CBS/AP) Michael Foods, a Minnesota-based food company, is recalling more than one million hard-cooked eggs from 34 states, after tests revealed some may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

PICTURES: Listeria: 7 key questions answered

Some 15,000 pails of eggs in brine, sold for institutional use, are being recalled, Michael Foods spokeswoman Diane Sparish said in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration written statement.

TheFDA said the eggs were produced at the company’s plant in Wakefield, Neb., and were bought by food distributors and manufacturers and not sold directly to retailers. There have been no reports of illness connected to the eggs, the agency said.

The states included in the recall are: Alabama; Arkansas; Arizona; California; Colorado; Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Jersey; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Washington; Wisconsin; and West Virginia.

Lab testing by a third party revealed that some eggs may have been contaminated and the company determined that a repair project in a packaging room was the likely source of contamination, Sparish said in an email to the Associated Press. She said more than a million eggs were being recalled.

Michael Foods has taken a number of corrective steps to address the issue and prevent recurrence, she said.

Listeria infection, also known as listeriosis, can cause symptoms including fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. the disease primarily strikes older adults, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms can take up to two months to appear.

Listeria from cantaloupes caused an outbreak last year that sickened 146 people across 28 states, HealthPop reported. the CDC declared that outbreak over in December.

The eggs are sold under six brand names: Columbia Valley Farms; GFS; Glenview Farms; Papetti’s; Silverbrook; and Wholesome Farms. here are pictures of these company’s egg labels.

Only lot codes immediately preceded by a “1″ AND ending in a “W” are affected.

Here is an example of the lot codes on the packaging: USE BY 11 FEB 12 1 LOT 1362 W

The FDA says a recall of three lot dates was announced on Thursday, January 26, but the recall was expanded today to include additional lot dates as a precautionary measure.

Got questions about the recall? Call Michael Foods at 877-367-3447, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET.

Do you have a cold that just won’t go away? the aisle at your local drugstore is overflowing with different cold medicines, and choosing the right one feels like a gamble with your wallet taking the hit at every purchase.

Without a cure, the common cold is a treat-the-symptoms illness and that’s where the picture gets even more complicated. according to the Mayo Clinic, the common cold is caused by more than 100 viruses, which means signs and symptoms vary greatly.

From coughing and sneezing to body aches and nausea, the common cold is different in the estimated 62 million cases occurring each year in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. and that adds up to a lot of symptoms and cold medicine.

When you take nonprescription medicine for four to seven days and your symptoms do not improve or the symptoms get worse, it is time to go to seek medical attention, according to Sarah Braga, who is a Registered Pharmacist who holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy and serves as director of drug information and associate professor at South University’s School of Pharmacy in Columbia, S.C.

“While antibiotics are not appropriate for treating a viral infection, complications from the common cold can include bacterial infections such as sinusitis, ear infections, and pneumonia. Remember that your pharmacist is there to help you long before you have a prescription in hand.”

Pharmacists are trained to conduct assessments and to make recommendations on a wide range of nonprescription medications, including herbal remedies, vitamins, and supplements. for the common cold, remedies come in three broad categories: pain relievers, decongestant nasal sprays and cough syrups. Reading the labels and understanding dosage, especially for young children, is critical.

“Nonprescription medicine should be taken with the same care as prescription medicine, especially for those with complicating factors such as pregnancy or chronic long-term medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma,” says Dr. Braga. “And your pharmacist is there to help you make good choices for treating your cold symptoms and can help you with dosage instructions.”

Consider these factors when evaluating whether or not it is time to see the doctor. 1. do you have a fever? 2. have you been treating your symptoms for a week with no improvement or have the symptoms gotten worse? 3. Are you experiencing unusual symptoms such as dizziness, new pain, coughing blood, etc.? 4. do you have complicating factors such as diabetes, or are you pregnant?

If you can answer “yes” to two or more of the above questions, it is probably time to seek medical attention.

For most people suffering with the common cold, standing in the drugstore aisle reading the labels on nonprescription cold medicine and trying to decide which one to use is a challenge. Remember, you are not alone, and your pharmacist is there to help.

By Rachel Emma SilvermanGetty Images

Should pregnancy be treated as a disability?

A recent study by a University of Dayton law professor, Jeannette Cox, asserts that pregnant women should be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, to protect them from being fired or forced to perform labor that could be harmful to mother or child. (The paper is forthcoming in March in ?the Boston College Law Review.)

The ADA doesn?t recognize pregnancy as a disability, leaving pregnant women physically and financially vulnerable on the job, concluded Cox, who studies employment discrimination. She found that pregnant women are at risk for losing their jobs when ?reasonable adjustments? aren?t made, such as retail workers fired for drinking water at work or pregnant police officers forced to perform rigorous assignments (while injured officers were given lighter duty).

Cox argues that the ADA currently covers people with ?minor temporary physical limitations comparable to pregnancy’s physical effects.” under current ADA protections, disabled workers may forgo tasks involving heavy lifting, repetitive bending, reaching, prolonged sitting or standing or working under high-temperature conditions. not so for pregnant women.

The women most affected are low-income workers who are more likely to work in physically demanding jobs than higher-paid desk jockeys, Cox found. Lower-income workers often face the dilemma of continuing to work in high-risk jobs or leaving work altogether, forgoing income.

At this point, Cox? argument is merely academic. Extending the ADA?s protections would involve significant legal and political hurdles, and business groups would probably oppose such measures as costly, burdensome and over-reaching. In addition, some women may object to pregnancy being classified as a disability because it may signal to employers that they are less fit to work. (There are some six million pregnancies a year in the U.S., according to the American Pregnancy Association.)

Courts, meanwhile, have reasoned that the ADA does not require employers to accommodate pregnant employees because judges have considered “all of these symptoms, at some degree of severity … part and parcel of a normal pregnancy,? Cox wrote.

Readers, what do you think? Should pregnancy be treated like a short-term disability, with employer accommodations? ?Did your workplace make any accommodations for you?

A recent research paper published in the British Medical Journal reported that taking serotonin reuptake antidepressants (SSRIs) like fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) during the second half of a woman’s pregnancy could more than double the risk that babies will develop persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).

This finding supports a warning issued by the FDA during 2006 that alerted women that those taking SSRIs were six times more likely to deliver babies with PPHN.

PPHN is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.  It causes the right ventricle of the heart—which must pump blood through the lungs to pick up oxygen—to work harder too hard.  This can ultimately cause weakening of the heart and heart failure.

Pulmonary hypertension affects about 1 in 1,000 newborns, but more than double that number of newborns of mothers taking antidepressants in the second half of their pregnancies seem to be affected.  and an increased risk—though lower—appears to be present in those babies born to mothers who take the antidepressants in the first half of their pregnancies, too.

Antidepressants of one kind or another have been implicated in—but not proven to be absolutely responsible for—increasing the risk of low birth weight, prematurity and low blood sugar.

So, women should stop antidepressants when they learn they are pregnant, right?  not exactly.  There are reasons to stop and there are reasons to continue.

First of all, the British Medical Journal data is unreliable.  The study did not exclude other causes of pulmonary hypertension that might, for some reason, be more common in depressed women taking antidepressants but not be due to the antidepressants themselves.  Mothers who are overweight, diabetic or asthmatic also deliver children at increased risk.  some studies suggest children of mothers who deliver by cesarean section are, too.  is it possible that these mothers are also more likely to use antidepressants and that their other characteristics are the concerning ones—not the medicine itself?

Secondly, the study also found that having been psychiatrically hospitalized prior to pregnancy increased the risk of pulmonary hypertension in newborns, whether or not a mother was no taking antidepressants before delivering.  could it be that depression in mothers causes pulmonary hypertension in newborns?

Third, it is not clear whether stopping antidepressants during pregnancy might lead to withdrawal affects in women and their fetuses, with unknown consequences.

And, fourth, it is not clear at all what the toll of untreated maternal depression might be on fetuses and newborns.

So, my advice is this:  1) If you are a woman considering pregnancy, try to stop or not to start antidepressants—as long as your symptoms are relatively mild.  If you require treatment for depression, try psychotherapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which treats depression with magnetic pulses delivered to the head and which has no known contraindications in pregnancy.  But if you have serious symptoms of depression, use SSRIs, with the advice and under the care of your physician.

2) If you find out you are pregnant while you are already taking antidepressants, talk to your doctor about very slowly stopping them, but only if you can do so safely, without severe symptoms of depression returning.

3) Never stop antidepressants all of a sudden.  This can cause serious symptoms that affect you and your unborn child.  and do not stop antidepressants if the consequences will be moderate to severe symptoms like low mood, tearfulness, sleeplessness or decreased or increased appetite.

4) do not stop antidepressants during pregnancy if you have become suicidal while depressed in the past and antidepressants have been necessary to ward off thoughts of harming yourself.

As a final note, while many obstetricians and many primary care doctors are comfortable treating depression, I believe it is best to be seen by a psychiatrist if you are taking antidepressants and want to have a baby.  

Dr. Ablow is the author of “Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony.” He is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. Dr. Ablow can be reached at . His team of Life Coaches can be reached at .