Pain in the Neck

Cervical spondylitis occurs as a result of aging and changes in the joints of the vertebral column, mostly due to the wearing of discs in between the different vertebrae, which in turn impacts the bones and tissues of the vertebral column. Any activity that puts undue stress on the neck for prolonged periods can cause this condition.

The symptoms are :
1. Neck pain (may radiate to the arms or shoulders)
2. Loss of sensation or abnormal sensation of the shoulders, arms and (rarely) legs
3. Weakness of the arms and sometimes of the legs too
4. Neck stiffness that progressively worsens
5. Loss of balance
6. Headaches, particularly in the back of the head
7. Loss of control of the bladder or bowels (if spinal cord is compressed).

The prevention
It is difficult to prevent this condition, but you can reduce the risk of developing it.
Take a break when driving long distance, watching TV or working on a computer. Don't hold your head in the same position for very long period.
Protect your neck from injury by using a seatbelt when sitting in a car.
Those who smoke and consume tobacco in any form should stop it completely.
Practice a good posture

Courtesy : TOI

Your favourite hand gel is not enough to wash off germs

Doctors and nurses on the go often skip soap and water in favour of an alcohol-based hand gel, thinking the quick-acting goo will kill bacteria on their hands and curb the spread of infection. It turns out that’s not enough.
In a Nebraska hospital, medical workers nearly doubled their use of the alcoholbased gel, but their generally cleaner hands had no bearing on the rate of infections among patients.
The doctor who studied the problem pointed to many villains: Rings and fingernails that are too long and hard to clean, poor handling of catheters and treatment areas that aren’t sanitized.
“Hand hygiene is still important, but it’s not a panacea,” said Dr Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He led the study at the adjoining Nebraska Medical Center.
The results of his study appear to contradict hospital guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say better hand hygiene — through frequent washing or use of hand gels — has been shown to cut the spread of hospital infections.

Big-bréasted womens more prone to diabetes

Girls with big bréasts have a 68% higher chance of developing diabetes by middle age than their small-bréasted counterparts, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The decade-long study to find link between big bréasts and diabetes development among nurses in the US shows that those with bigger bréasts at 20 are at 68% higher risk of developing the disease in later years.
Joel Ray, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a clinician-scientist at the local St Michael’s Hospital, said this was “the broad conclusion” of his research team on the basis on the study that was published on Tuesday.
“Our findings are based on data from the Nurses Health Study II project in 14 American states. In a nutshell, 92,102 nurses were studied for link between their brēast size and their chances of developing diabetes by the age of 35. The bigger their bréasts are at the age of 20, the bigger their chances of developing diabetes,” Ray said.
However, Ray was quick to add that the brēast size could be one of the factors, apart from smoking, family history, diet and ethnicity that trigger diabetes in women.
“Obesity remains a big factor. Obese women tend to have larger bréasts, thereby becoming more prone to diabetes,” he said.