The Mmr Controversy: Do You Know The Facts?
Many parents are nervous about allowing their children to have the MMR vaccination due mainly, I believe, to its link with autism. Most people have quite a fixed opinion I have found, though are unsure what the actual evidence is that they are believing. There is no shortage of information about MMR and autism, and it is easily found on the internet. However there seems to be a lot of junk science available, and those scientifically untrained may be unable to separate the junk from the real thing. They therefore tend to believe that which affects them most. THE START The whole debate started in 1998 when gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, in association with others, claimed that MMR might trigger autism. Based on only 12 children, most of the others who authored the paper later retracted the findings. It was based on the possibility of the measles virus, given live as part of the vaccine, causing enterocolitis bowel inflammation and releasing toxins which attack the brain, causing autism. Parents panicked, vaccination rates dropped dramatically and Wakefield cited data from...
Photorefractive Keratectomy Laser Eye Surgery
Photorefractive keratectomy PRK is a laser eye surgery procedure that is carried out with the key intent to correct a patient s vision. PRK permanently changes the shape of the frontal corneal tissue using an excimer laser, which is a high-precision ultraviolet chemical laser. The outer layer of the cornea epithelium is removed, and then a small amount of the corneal tissue is burnt off using the laser. Such an ablation renders the desired shape to the cornea and allows for optimal refraction. PRK is a technologically advanced surgical procedure. For instance, a computer system tracks the eye position around 4,000 times per second, redirecting laser pulses for precise ablation. As mentioned above, the epithelium is removed prior to ablation. This does not hamper the patient s vision, since the epithelium is a soft and regenerating layer, which is capable of completely replacing itself within a matter of days. However, the deeper layers, once burnt off, will remain that way because they possess limited regenerative capability. This theory is the cornerstone of the Photorefractive...
Should I Buy Fairtrade, Organic Or Local Food?
Again, I find myself torn apart with choices when deciding which is the most ethical, eco friendly and or healthy option when it comes to shopping for food and non-food products. Should I buy food and products that support workers in Third World by buying Fairtrade labelled products even though these goods normally travel thousands of miles from Africa, South America or South East Asia. What if these foods were produced with the use of pesticides and additives. It makes sense then to look for and to buy Fairtrade, organic food to both help the producers in the Third World and fulfil my lifestyle choice to eat healthy and additive pesticide free food. Thankfully, many producers are now wising up to this dilemma by increasingly producing organic and Fairtrade labelled products. I am currently using Fairtrade, organic t-bags at home. Now comes another important question, should I buy Fairly Traded organic sugar from Kenya that has travelled thousands of miles, or should I buy apples grown in the UK ideally from a farmers market that have only travelled only a few hundred miles which means...
Stammering Speech Therapy
Are you somebody who has a stammer. My name is Stephen Hill and I had a stammer problem which started when I was aged four. After suffering with the speech impediment for eighteen years, I then, afer a lot of hard work, managed to achieve fluency. This article is about the types of speech therapy that are available for stammering. After my stammer developed, my parents decided that I needed to attend some sort of speech therapy. I attended various types of therapy, some in groups, some on a one to one basis. I was given lots of different advice about how to stop stammering. These are some of them: slowing down the speed of my speech costal breathing prolonging each word or sound taking a deep breath before I started speaking I had started in the class which is sometimes referred to as preschool stammering. I was very young to attend stammering speech therapy and my parents were reassured that most people who stammer in childhood soon grow out of it. Well for whatever reason, I was one of those who continued well into my adult life. I grew older and then joined the class known as...
Easily Prevent Pneumonia By Taking A Pneumonia Vaccine
Pneumonia is an illness that affects one or both lungs and that used to be one of the main causes of death 2 centuries ago. It is caused by microorganisms that attack the tissue from the lungs, causing it to inflammate and leading to a severe condition if the infection is not treated in time. Nowadays pneumonia can easily be cured with the help of antibiotics. But the medication must be taken as soon as possible, before any complications start to appear. Many people confuse pneumonia with a tough cold when its first signs start to appear, and they only realize that it s in fact pneumonia when their condition gets worse because the affection starts to spread. So, the best thing you can do in order to avoid this illness is to prevent it from appearing. How can you do that. The pneumonia vaccine can protect you from the microorganisms that cause pneumonia. These microorganisms can affect other parts of the body too, including the brain, so getting a pneumonia vaccine would be a very wise idea, especially if you know that you have a weak defense system, or if you are over 65 years old...