Garlic fights bacteria
Posted on 15. May, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, family, health & safety
You may not like the smell, but garlic, that bulbous culinary delight has another potentially potent gift in its arsenal – the ability to fight certain bacteria. With germs becoming increasingly resistant to the antibiotics we routinely use to fight them, scientists are searching widely for new tools to beat them with – and one of them may turn out to be the humble clove of garlic. Washington State University researchers say they’ve discovered that a compound in garlic, known as diallyl sulphide, is 100 times more effective than two popular antibiotics at fighting one of the most common causes of [...]
Fighting Germs on the Road
Posted on 08. May, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, health & safety, travel
FOR Dr. Philip M. Tierno, business travel means combat. The enemy is heartless and relentless, stealthy and ubiquitous. It is poised to attack every second of the day, even when he’s asleep. It exploits his rare moments of weakness and turns everyone and everything around him into agents who thoughtlessly do its bidding. Dr. Tierno is not a corporate security expert trying to outflank rogue competitors. His enemy is infectious disease. He’s a professor of microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine who sees the common places of travel — cabs, airports, airplanes, hotels, restaurants and business meetings [...]
Germs in your wallet can make you sick
Posted on 25. Mar, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, health & safety
Germ on money may be making unwary Aussies sick – some notes are more than six times filthier than a public lavatory. But don’t think swapping it for plastic will magically make the germs disappear. A Public Defender investigation of 10 Melbourne shoppers’ wallets found cash and credit cards could be potential hotbeds for bacteria. In the worst example, a $10 note recorded a contamination count of 63,556 – that’s 6.4 times higher than the average count from similar tests on public lavatory seats throughout the city. A reading below 500 is considered acceptable. Credit and debit cards were generally [...]
Australian study: Flu sickies still turn up to work
Posted on 16. Mar, 2012 by aqiumlogin in at work, cold and flu
It’s the bane of every workplace. The colleague who sniffles, sneezes and snorts through the work day, spreading insidious germs around the office. Sound repulsive? Well we’ve almost all done it. According to a survey released on Thursday to coincide with the beginning of the flu vaccination season, nine in 10 Australians admit to turning up to work sick. Most of the time they battle on in the office because they don’t want to let their colleagues down or miss deadlines, according to the survey by the Influenza Specialist Group (ISG). One in five sick workers also believes flu symptoms [...]
Brit Olympic Hopefuls Told Not To Shake Hands
Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, health & safety
Aussie athletes say they will continue to shake hands at the London Olympics despite British warnings it will spread disease. It would be considered bad sportsmanship to not shake hands but hopefully our athletes will practice good hand hygiene with regular hand washing/sanitising. British athletes are being advised not to shake hands in case they catch a bug, which wrecks their Olympic dreams. The warning has come from Dr Ian McCurdie, the British Olympic Association’s (BOA’s) chief medical officer. He says athletes could easily pick up a harmful virus in the “quite stressful environment” of the Games. Asked whether this [...]
Reusable Bags Can Be a Breeding Ground For Bacteria
Posted on 01. Mar, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, family, health & safety
We feel like we are doing the right thing when we use recyclable bags instead of plastic bags for our supermarket shopping. But we could actually be making ourselves ill if we don’t regularly wash them. Green shopping bags might be a great help for the environment but they’re not so kind on your body. Researchers at the University of Arizona in the US collected 87 reusable bags from randomly selected grocery shoppers and tested each for microorganisms. Nearly all of the bags contained some form of bacteria. Ew. Published in the latest issue of the International Association for Food Protection’s [...]
Harboring Hidden Germs? What to Keep, What to Toss
Posted on 16. Feb, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, family, health & safety
Just because it looks clean doesn’t mean it’s free of bacteria, allergens or worse. From sponges to pillows to toothbrushes, here’s what you should throw out and when. In the Bedroom: Pillow Stash it, but wash and cover it. Your head propper piles up gross sweat, drool, dander and dust mites. But instead of throwing it away, invest in a washable allergy case, which blocks mites and their leftovers, advises Amy Newburger, M.D., a dermatologist in Scarsdale, New York. Wash pillows every few months and change linens weekly, and you can rest easy. In the Bedroom: Mattress Trash it every [...]
STUDY: Uni students with good hand hygiene pull 43% less sickies
Posted on 31. Jan, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, health & safety, schools
This US Study shows that practicing good hand hygiene has a significant effect on the overall health of Uni students living in residence halls. BACKGROUND: Several studies have indicated a connection between hand sanitisation and infection control in numerous settings such as extended care facilities, schools, and hospitals. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of both a hand-hygiene message campaign and the use of an alcohol gel hand sanitiser in decreasing the incidence of upper-respiratory illness among students living in university residence halls. METHOD: This study involved a total of 430 students recruited from 4 residence [...]
Back To School Health Tips
Posted on 23. Jan, 2012 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, schools
Be warned – your child will bring home more than just new textbooks when they return to school this term. Germs, bullying and backaches are just some of the problems facing youngsters in the playground. Sick days can’t always be avoided but you can help protect your child’s health and wellbeing when school goes back. Colds Most young children catch between eight to 10 respiratory illnesses every year. It usually peaks within two years of starting childcare, kindergarten or school. Around 200 different viruses are responsible for the common cold. Symptoms include sneezing, sore throat and runny nose. You may [...]
New common cold virus may cause SARS
Posted on 09. Aug, 2011 by aqiumlogin in cold and flu, health & safety
A new and dangerous type of common cold virus has been named as the chief suspect behind the deadly SARS infection that has caused 100 deaths. Scientists in Hong Kong found strong evidence that a new kind of human coronavirus is the main cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Coronaviruses are thought to be the second most common cause of cold symptoms after rhinoviruses. They also infect a wide range of domestic animals, including dogs and cats. One theory is that the human virus spread from animals. Normally in humans coronaviruses produce mild symptoms such as sore throats, coughs, sneezing [...]
