Researchers turn to sea weed to develop new antibiotics

News from: ngguardiannews.com

A research team from the University of Exeter, Exeter, South West England, are trying to use the antimicrobial properties of seaweeds from the country’s coastline to develop a new generation of antibiotics in a bid to fight the growing threat of resistant super-bugs.

A report released on Monday in London by the researchers noted that as the number of multidrug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbug, rises, there is an urgent need for new drugs that can be used to treat infections when others fail.

Michiel Vos, who led the study, said antibiotic resistance is a serious and growing global problem.

He said a previous World Health Organisation (WHO) report stated that it is “now a major threat to public health”.

Vos said findings have revealed that natural environments can be a rich source of antibiotics.

He said as a result of this scientists are trying to uncover properties that could form the basis for a new generation of antibiotics that can curb infections caused by superbugs, such as MRSA.

“Our early experiments have confirmed that seaweeds hold a diverse array of antimicrobial properties.

“Excitingly, some of these extracts are most effective against some of the more resistant and problematic bacteria and we are hoping our work will help to make the discovery of new drugs quicker and cheaper,” he said.

Vos noted that with its rich abundance of coastline and seaweed species, Cornwall, a coastal area in southwest Britain, is the perfect place for such research.

He said taking the ideas further the team would create a dedicated research project that can really shed light on the potential they were seeing.

Drug Mis-use:Chlorhexidine digluconate and corneal ulceration in chuldren in Yobe, Nigeria

NOTES TO PHARMACISTS- THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT COUNSELLING

When events like these take place, the following questions come to mind.

1. Was there a pharmacist involved in this transaction?

or

2. Or did the  medicine  just move from the Nurse, Doctor, Shelf, Healthcare assistant to a patient without counselling.

For the benefit of those who may not know what I'm referring to, there was a story out a few days ago regarding an unfortunate incident in Yobe State where three mothers received health kits with tubes resembling eye drops.

Naturally the mothers instilled drops of the product, chlorhexidine digluconate 7.1% which is actually intended for use as an umbilical cord antiseptic and this led to corneal ulceration( injury to the cornea)-- permanent blindness.

Every tried googling Yobe? If you do, all you'll find in the image section are photos of death and war. So don't be so quick to judge the mothers. There's a high level of illiteracy in Yobe and that one more reason why Pharmacists and Healthcare professionals must adopt creative techniques of communicating with our patients and ensuring that they are well counseled before handing over medicines. 

I once practiced in Ghana as part of my and has to learn a little "Twi" in order to properly counsel patients on medication use. It is our duty as healthcare professionals to protect the public ensuring that they are adequately educated.

Truvada: HIV prevention pill records 100% success rate

Dear Readers,

Information from The Guardian Nigeria's online page suggest that there has been some success with blue HIV prevention pill. A new study found that 100 per cent of the participants taking HIV/AIDS prevention pill remained infection free.

According to the Guardian, the study was conducted at Kaiser Permananete in San Fransisco, United States(U.S). involved more than 600 high-risk individuals , most of who were men who have sex with men.  These individuals were healthy at the time of enrollment and were put on a daily regimen pill.

The study spanned two years and a half years of observation and in this time, there wasn't a single infection among these subjects.

According to the Guardian

"Nigeria to begin study on pre-exposure prophylaxis( Prevention before you're even at risk). In Nnewi, Calabar , Jos .NACA roundtable calls for Nationwide introduction of novel drug."

Not long after the USFDA first approved this drug for HIV preventive use in 2012, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation derided it as a "party drug" and warned that high risk individuals would use it instead of condoms-- raising the risk of transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. #Tuvadawhore went viral.



In my opinion, I'd have to say that a lot drugs are abused and therefore the fact that some people might abuse it our overexpose themselves to infection is not enough reason to keep away from working on it and getting out.


What I wonder is, what proportion of the exposed population is actually willing to take a medication on a daily basis for the purpose of HIV prevention?

So what do you think?

Snoring?

Dear Readers,

I have started my series on sleep and sleep disorders with the topic, Snoring?

Snoring is  not a sleep disorder but many times it has kept so many people from sleeping and even apart in some cases as bed/roommates seem to have a huge challenge coping with it. This article breaks it down for you and you might just find a solution here. Enjoy!  

Source:www nbclatino.com

Have you been told you snore when you sleep? Or have you been awakened by your own snoring?  What is snoring? Why do you snore? How can you make stop?

What is a snore?

Dictionary.com defines the word snore as follows;

1.      (v) to breathe during sleep with hoarse or harsh sounds caused by the vibrating of the soft palate

2.      (n) The act, instance, or sound of snoring.

Why do you snore?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the following conditions can affect the airway and cause snoring:

·         Your mouth anatomy. Having a low, thick soft palate can narrow your airway. People who are overweight may have extra tissues in the back of their throat that may narrow their airways. Likewise, if the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate (uvula) is elongated, airflow can be obstructed and vibration increased.

·         Alcohol consumption. Snoring also can be brought on by consuming too much alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol relaxes throat muscles and decreases your natural defenses against airway obstruction.

·         Nasal problems. Chronic nasal congestion or a crooked partition between your nostrils (deviated nasal septum) may contribute to your snoring.

·         Sleep apnea. Snoring also may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea. In this serious condition, your throat tissues partially or completely block your airway, preventing you from breathing.

 Certain individuals snore so loud that it is almost impossible to sleep in the same room with them and depending on the cause of your snoring there might actually be solutions.  Here are a few tips from Web MD that might just work for you.

1. Change Your Sleep Position.

Lying on your back makes the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of your throat, causing a vibrating sound during sleep. Sleeping on your side may help prevent this.

"A body pillow (a full-length pillow that supports your entire body) provides an easy fix," Slaughter says. "It enables you to maintain sleeping on your side and can make a dramatic difference."

Taping tennis balls to the back of your pajamas can also stop you from sleeping on your back, Chokroverty says. "Or you can recline the bed with the head up and extended, which opens up nasal airway passages and may help prevent snoring. This may cause neck pain, however." If snoring continues regardless of the sleep position, obstructive sleep apnea may be a cause. "See a doctor in this case," Chokroverty says.

2. Lose Weight.

Weight loss helps some people but not everyone. "Thin people snore, too," Slaughter says.

If you've gained weight and started snoring and did not snore before you gained weight, weight loss may help. "If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, triggering snoring," Slaughter says.

3. Avoid Alcohol.

Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you'll snore. "Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping makes snoring worse," Chokroverty says. "People who don't normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol."

4. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene.

Poor sleep habits (also known as poor sleep "hygiene") can have an effect similar to that of drinking alcohol, Slaughter says. Working long hours without enough sleep, for example, means when you finally hit the sack you're overtired. "You sleep hard and deep, and the muscles become floppier, which creates snoring," Slaughter says.

5. Use an acupressure ring

   Acupressure rings work by putting pressure on your points associated with your palate and breathing. Ask about the rings next time you’re at a pharmacy store near you.

Here’s to quieter nights than usual. Have a great weekend.

WHO- World Hepatitis Day 2015 Prevent hepatitis – know the risks

  Hello People,

Today is WHO-World Hepatitis day

Things you should know:

"Viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic liver disease and killing close to 1.5 million people every year, mostly from hepatitis B and C. These infections can be prevented, but most people don't know how." - WHO Campaign page on World Hepatitis day

Source: Risers

Unsafe blood, unsafe injections, and sharing drug-injection equipment can all result in hepatitis infection.

Prevent hepatitis – demand safe injections

2 million people a year contract hepatitis from unsafe injections. Using sterile, single-use syringes can prevent these infections

Prevent hepatitis – vaccinate children

Approximately 780 000 persons die each year from hepatitis B infection. A safe and effective vaccine can protect from hepatitis B infection for life.

Prevent hepatitis – get tested, seek treatment

Effective medicines exist to treat hepatitis B and cure hepatitis C.

Culled from the WHO website

BE SAFE

Aunty Nurse Cares

A Pharmacist-Approved Hangover Cure (*Bookmark This!)

Too many toasts and cheers may have you cursing 12/31 come 1/1. Make a grocery run before you start celebrating so you can blend this hangover remedy tomorrow—then add it to your arsenal for kicking alcohol-induced headaches all year.

Source: www.personalisedphysiques.com.au

Seventeen-year veteran pharmacist and owner of Stanley’s Pharmacy in NYC, Stanley George, is used to tending to the bleary-eyed crowd on Saturday mornings at his Lower East Side pharmacy where he serves up his signature "Drinks + Drugs." Stanley relies on herbal tonics alongside traditional Western medicine to give clients the best of both worlds. His hangover remedy tea is popularly consumed with a dose of Advil on the side.

Blend the ingredients below and slurp away to detoxify, rebuild electrolytes, and restore your body’s normal pH levels. This delish hangover cure was prescribed by Stanley exclusively for SELF!

Hangover Cure Smoothie

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, to help brain function and balance glucose levels
• 1 cup Greek yogurt, probiotics help to bring back digestive balance
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, also excellent for digestive balance
• 1 small banana, for potassium and to help soothe your stomach
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach or kale, to aid in detox and alkalinity
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, powerful antioxidants to help the system reverse yesterday’s damage
• 1 cup coconut water, super hydrating and restores electrolytes
• honey and cinnamon to taste, excellent mood elevators
• 2-3 ice cubes

This article first appeared on www.self.com and was written by Sara Angle

Local gin (Ogogoro) kills 70 in Nigeria

Dear ANB Readers,

It was all over the news recently that about 70 people died in Port-harcourt after having some Ogogoro(local gin) and dog meat. It was later reported by The Guardian that the deaths occurred as a result of a fatal substitution of one of the key ingredients.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

I'll try to break it down as simply as I can. The major ingredient is the Alcohol (ethanol). However in the unfortunate incident, the gin manufacturers decided to use Methanol either because it was cheaper or because they manufacturers are not usually learned so they probably assumed that its just the same thing.

 Methanol is non-drinking  type of alcohol used for industrial and automotive purposes. When consumed it gives rises to a series of symptoms and eventually leads to death. Its so dangerous and the average person cannot tell them apart.

WHAT TO DO

Sad but true, there really isn't so much you can do in Nigeria as we do not have accessible poison control centers and in most cases people don't know they have consumed methanol until they become symptomatic and start to experience blurred vision and  weakening legs.(1) If by any change you figure out that that you may have consumed methanol, gastric lavage(a tube inserted into your mouth to make you vomit) but its pretty hopeless cos its not like you have the lavage device just sitting around.

So the real good advice if you live in Nigeria is to stay away. Don't buy unregistered and tested drinks. Drink some home made Zobo instead.

ANTIDOTES
Therapeutic literature state that Ethanol(drinking alcohol) and a drug fomepizole can be used to treat ethanol poisoning but that depends on a lot of factors and the drug fomepizole is expensive and not readily available. Ethanol with is present in dilute forms as shown in the table above. However, the effectiveness of ethanol in such a case totally depends on the time between consumption of Methanol and Ethanol for instance, if you accidentally drink Methanol and within 15-20 mins you get some ethanol (Alcohol), you might be fine. However, it its been more than 30 mins, there's no guarantee that it'll make any difference.

Please stay safe and be careful what you drink.

Stay Safe,
Aunty Nurse


Reference:
Goldfrank LR, ed.Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies

WHO-World Blood Donor Day- "Thank you for saving my life"

Dear ANB Readers,

Today is  WHO-World Blood Donor day!!!! The theme is, "Thank you for saving my life". According to the WHO, there are 108 million donations every year.

Voluntarily donated blood helps save a lot of lives all over the world. You can play a part too. If you live in Lagos, Nigeria you can be a part of the process.
To be eligible to donate blood, you must be between the ages 18-65 years and be physically fit.

The then Chairman of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Committee Dr.Adetoun Agbe-Davies said, "government is putting it as a policy to exempt voluntary blood donors who themselves require blood from paying screening fees. Before now they are only exempted from replacement of blood and not screening fees”

Source: www.mambaonline.com

At a blood donation exercise at LASUTH in December last year,Dr Jimi Shodipo, said that blood donation was a way of giving back to the society and saving lives. He said there was shortage of blood in the country, adding that blood donation was a way of bridging the gap.
“When you give blood, it also serves as a way of doing check up, because blood donation requires tests including blood pressure, hepatitis, HIV and other ailments.
“Also, people who donate blood reduce excess iron in the body which predisposes one to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). “Donation itself acts as a form of exercise, because if one pint is collected, one will be losing about 650 calories,“ he said.


You can donate blood at LUTH and LASUTH. Send in photos of you donating blood when you do.

Thank you for saving a life!!

Aunty Nurse

Hypertension again!

Hello Readers,

I'm revisiting the subject of hypertension(HTN)  again for the simple reason that a friends Mum suddenly passed away and the post-mortem report says she died of Hypertension. Also, my husbands colleague collapsed at the office and it was determined that he has a hemorrhagic stroke (when your blood pressure so high that is causes you to rupture/burst a blood vessel in your head). He didn't make it either. These two events happened in the space of one week.

 The WHO has stated that the life expectancy of Nigerians is from 45-50 yrs. You may want to dispute it but it is actually a fact. Hypertension is considered one of the major culprits

If you have a family history of HTN, i.e, if your parents and or grandparents have hypertension, then you are at risk of developing it.





So, here's my little of advice for you;

1. Get a health check at a Hospital/Pharmacy once every quarter at least
2. Reduce your salt intake
3. Drink water
4. Get involved in at least 20mins of high-enery of 30 mins of low-enery exercise daily
5. Eat less junk food like (meatpies, everything at kfc, coldstone etc)
6. Eat fruits
7. Dinner after 7 should exclude complex carbs like Yam, Rice,Gari, Potatoes
8.Go to bed early

May the souls of the departed Rest In Peace.

Diabetes mellitus Type 2: What you should know

Dear ANB Readers,

Today’s topic is about a very common health condition. I am discussing this topic because it has become obvious that too many people have too little information about it.

About one week ago, I was at the movies with my husband and his cousin we were at the counter to pick up popcorn and drinks when my husband’s cousin asked to have water instead of a regular soft drink. My husband and I had cups of freshly squeezed juice. We asked him why he chose to have water and he disclosed that he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes mellitus about a year ago and was on medication for it. As a result of his health condition, he has been a very restricted diet as recommended by his dietician.

Image:http://www.diabetes-article.com/images/logo.gif

Naturally, I was curious to find out what really happened. He explained that he had been a major sweet tooth all his life and immediately I remember my husband telling me stories about a cousin of his who would have ten cubes of sugar in a single cup of tea and probably have 2 cups a day.  He loved and would never say no to unhealthy desserts and sugar. He would drink several bottles of coke daily without a bother in the world. He said he had no idea, education or information on diabetes and didn't know what he was doing to himself.  The summary of our discussion bordered on the subject of public information and how much the Ministry of Health and healthcare practitioners need to work harder at educating the public on habits that could help reduce the risk of developing such preventable health conditions.

I decided right after that conversation that I’d do my best to bring this information to you.

Now let’s start from trying to define Type II Diabetes in the simplest way possible. You can be said to have diabetes mellitus Type II, if the glucose (sugar) produced from the food you eat just stays in your blood but doesn’t get to enter your body cells and give you the energy you need. This can be tested using a machine called a glucometer. The commonest glucometer on the Nigerian Market is one called Accuchek. In order to determine if a person has diabetes, there are a couple of tests that can be carried out. I will discuss just one of them which is the Fast Blood Glucose level. Prior to taking this test, you would be required have had your dinner at least 8hrs before the morning the test is to be carried out and have nothing for breakfast right before the test.

The Chart below is from the American Diabetes Association and essentially summarizes what your blood glucose levels should be after the 8hr fast or after a meal Dear ANB Readers,

  So if you use the Accuchek machine and you after a 8hr overnight fast, you should have a reading below 99mg/dl otherwise you are most likely diabetic.

There are three major signs that you might be diabetic aside from the test.

1.      Polyuria – Urinating too ofen. More often than is normal.

2.      Polydypsia- Being abnormally thirsty

3.      Polyphagia- Being so hungry all the time even after you have eaten what should normally be enough

Some people have blurred vision as well. This indicates that the elevated blood glucose levels have begun to affect your eyes adversely.

If you have any or all of these symptoms at the same time, it would be a good idea to go to a hospital or a community pharmacy to at least get a fasting blood glucose check. If it turns out that you are diabetic, it’s not a death sentence, there are so many people living with diabetes and it’s not infectious or contagious so you can’t spread it by any means.

If it turns out that you’re not, you might want to consider some lifestyle changes like

1.      Cutting down on sweets and sugar. Don’t coldstone when you can sweet kiwi

2.      Exercising daily or at least thrice a week  walking, jogging, any other physical sport

3.      Drinking water a minimum of 2 litres a day.

4.      Less processed food

With these little life style changes you reduce your risk of developing the condition or making it worse if you already have it.

Prevention is by far better than cure.

Aunty Nurse Cares