It’s an unwelcome holiday for the schools goers! According to media reports, New York had closed down 30 schools including one private school on Thursday. Increasing reports of students with flu-like symptoms prompted the schools to take such step. Twenty-eight government schools were closed at the recommendation of the health department and two private schools closed down on their own. One private school in Manhattan — Horace Mann — has also decided to close down on its own after a number of students exhibited flu-like symptoms.

According to the news release, of the 30 schools closed by the Department of Health, five will re-open Friday.In the city’s news release, city Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden repeated what has become a familiar refrain: “We continue to see a rising tide of flu in many parts of New York City. As the virus spreads, we will look to slow transmission within individual school communities by closing individual schools.”

Last week in New York, 11 schools in Queens and one in Brooklyn were closed down after reports confirming cases of the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu, at Intermediate School 238 in Queens and unusually high levels of flu-like symptoms in the others. An assistant principal of Intermediate School 238 died Sunday after being hospitalized with H1N1. Frieden has said the administrator, Mitchell Wiener, had an underlying condition.

There I just knew it! Lapping up that jalapeno-laced salsa and the molten, golden cheese pasta was simply loved by your tongue. But the spices have lit a fire below your rib-cage. The stomach acid travels north through the lower esophageal sphincter to the esophagus causing the fire-in-the-furnace feeling. Heartburn is what it is called.

Don’t worry smoke wont come out of your ears. Listed below are a few tips that help to prevent heartburn.

* Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may cause acid reflux. Have antacids before the intake of such drugs the next time. For chronic conditions consult your doctor.
* Holding the head high can help prevent acid reflux. Sleeping with pillow below the head helps.
* Lying down in full stomach can cause the food to exert pressure against the lower esophageal sphincter causing the acid to spill in the esophagus. Don’t lie down for a snooze after dinner.
* Obesity increases the pressure exerted on the abdomen which pushes the food towards the esophagus. However by reducing the weight by ten percent fat people can help you to get rid of of heartburn.
* Tight outfits squeeze against the stomach thus pushing the food against the lower esophageal sphincter. This increases possibility of acid reflux.
* Eating the sinful chocolates, drinking tea-coffee,citrous juice etc increases acid reflux. Drinking and smoking, too enhances the acid reflux.
* Emotional disturbances can lead to heartburn. Remember this the next time you fight with your spouse!

Keeping a record of the heartburn and using it to modify your lifestyle helps to keep acid reflux at bay. Lastly, alleviation of stress helps, so beat stress!

Just a few months of peace and we are at war again. This time against Swine Flu or Mexican Flu or North American Influenza. Just when we thought that we had seen enough of the viruses with the SARS and Bird Flu, comes the recent threat – Swine influenza! World Health Organization has raised the alarm declaring it as Pandemic of Phase 5 status. Cases of this disease were reported from various states of Mexico including Mexico City.

People are tensed, scared and worried too. To go by the recent reports, Swine flu has spread to some of the states in USA. Isolated cases have been reported in the states of California, Texas and Kansas. It does not end here, there’s more to it. Cases of swine flu in King County and two cases of swine flu in Washington State are reported which is off course no good news. However there have been no reports of swine flu in Seattle .

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Despite the widespread fear of swine influenza, majority of the people infected with this virus have had full recovery without the need for medical attention or antiviral drugs. Since there are myths surrounding swine flu it’s time to burst the bubble and know the facts:
What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a type A influenza virus which is found in pigs. Human infection is uncommon except for people who work and live close to pigs.

What is unusual about the present strain?
The new strain is a hybrid of swine, human and avian flu viruses. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – “it can spread from human to human but the level of virulence is not yet clear”.

What are the symptoms of Swine flu?
Symptoms are very similar to regular human flu such as fever and chills, a cough, sore throat, headaches, aching limbs, and general malaise. However, there are reports of swine flu also causing vomiting and diarrhea. Respiratory failure and Pneumonia is also a symptom which can cause death.

Are there warning signs in children?
Children having averse to drinking, trouble in breathing, lethargy not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child does not want to be held, flu-like are prone to swine flu. These symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough or fever with a rash.

Are there any drugs to treat swine flu?
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are the possible pharmaceutical drugs for cure of the disease and are effective in treating patients at an early stage . There is no vaccine for this flu.

Has the disease spread to the USA?
There have been cases in California, Texas, and Kansas, reported and tests are being carried out on students at a school in New York.

Equipped with the power of knowledge now off course we are ready too fight against swine influenza . After all, it is always easier to fight with a known enemy!

“Smoking is injurious to health” – a statement of caution we often come across. But I wonder, how many of us really pay attention to this word of warning.

Problem Statement

Smoking has become quite a rage among the people across the globe. While the youth consider smoking to be in vogue, aged finds it hard to get out of the trap. Requests and pleadings of the Doctors and nature conservationists often fall on deaf ears. Besides, the poor non smokers have to bear the threat by indirect inhalation of the smoke and turns into a passive smoker.

A Small Suggestion

Break through addiction to realize the truth and the word of life. Check out the small but effective tricks. They can work wonders for you!

Switch on to other medium: Many people take the help of tobacco smelled chewing gums. Whenever you feel like smoking, you can chew one such gum.

Quit by steps: Another common practice is to quit by steps. Reduce your number of cigarettes gradually. If you used to smoke 8 cigarettes in a day, make it 7 for one week, then reduce it to 6 for the next week and so on. After quitting, for first few days, you will feel a strong urge to smoke at least a puff. This is where, it becomes very much challenging. Very few people can overcome this, thereby making themselves successful quitters. But for others, they again go back to the same cycle of taking cigarettes and plan to quit smoking in near future.

Mental strength: The best way out to score a victory over smoking is to have enough mental strength and will power to quit. You can stop smoking just in one day, if you possess mental power. Resort to Yoga and regular exercise and improve your mental stability. Deep breathing exercise can also help you to regain your mental strength after you quit smoking.

Gel with your family: You should always keep a picture of your loved ones or someone in your family all the time with you. Whenever you feel the urge of smoking, just see that picture and say that you won’t smoke for yourself and for them.

No one can turn the clock ten years back. We cannot rectify the damage that has already been made. But we can make an honest effort to quit smoking. Heal your self. Make the world a better place to live in!

Next time you hand over your slick Cell phone to your child, think twice. Today’s generation play games, surf the internet, do calculations, watch movies, and listen to music on the cell phones. It has almost become a lifeline of the Gen- Next. But did the question ever strike you: “Are we slowly poisoning our child?”

Surprised? Don’t be. The truth must come out. The recent research has brought alarming facts to the fore font due to the usage of cell phones:

* Brain cancer: Using cell phones for more than 10 years double the risk of brain cancer.
* Headaches, sleeplessness and fatigue: Using it for more than 15 minutes at a stretch could lead to headaches, sleeplessness and fatigue.
* Deafness :Long term use especially on one ear may damage tissues of the inner ear and may lead to deafnes.
* Radiations may break the protective blood brain barrier as seen in diseases like MS, Parkinson’s.
* Impotency: Cell Phone may affect male fertility. Long term users can face lower sperm count, quality and motility.
* Behavior disorders in children: Pregnant women who use mobiles regularly are likely to have children with behavior disorders.

Just remember these shocking facts before gifting a cell phone on your little one’s next birthday.Evey time you make a call on your cell phone you say hello to the dreaded diseases!