Surprisingly Common Areas Where Germs Thrive

Harmful microbes and germs can lurk in almost any environment. The problem is that they usually remain unseen and hidden. It can be difficult to know where they may be silently wrecking their havoc. It does not help that such germs can also be found in various places commonly exposed to most people. Here are just some of those common areas where germs may lurk.

Bar Snacks

It may be quite a common activity just eating snacks offered at the bar. But imagine just how many hands that have come into contact with the snacks before you put your hands into them. Harmful germs may easily transfer from one person to another this way.

Magazines In Clinics

Waiting for your appointment with your doctor may give you sometime to kill at the waiting room. This may lead you to read the magazines prepared especially for waiting patients. But most clinics may be unaware that it may be easy for microbes to transfer from one person to another. The worse thing about it is that most people coming to the clinic may surely be carrying some microbes and viruses that may easily be contracted by another. Magazines may be just one of the common contact points where these microbes may contaminate.

Day Care Centers

Day care centers may also be a potential area where germs may easily spread. Baby diapers and toys can get easily mixed. Toys can end up in kid’s mouths. Adults picking up used diapers can bring germs along with them. There are just many things happening at day care centers that make it quite an easy place for microbes to spread.

Restaurant Menus

Considering that restaurants are frequent places where people meet to eat, the restaurant menus can be an easy place where different microbes can accumulate. As they go from one eating patron to another, they might carry germs and gets transferred as other people handle the menus. It can even get worse as people eat finger foods along the way.

New Studies Reveal Hidden Risks and Benefits of Aspirin

Recent studies have revealed many things about aspirin. There are previous beliefs that have been debunked while others that show other added benefits that the common aspirin may have. Here are some of them:

Reduce Pre-eclampsia Risk

A study published in Lancet in 2007 indicated that pregnant women who took aspirin or other anti-platelet medication have a 10 percent less chance of developing pre-eclampsia, a condition characterized by sudden increase in blood pressure during pregnancy. This condition can cause serious complications both to the mother and the fetus.

Protect Against Parkinson’s Disease

A 2007 study published in Neurology suggests that women who took aspirin for two or more times a week for at least a month have a 40 percent less chance of developing Parkinson’s.

May Affect Prostate Cancer Test Results

Taking aspirin regularly may hinder the detection of prostate cancer. A study published on the 2008 issue of Cancer suggests that men who regularly take aspirin as well as other NSAID’s had 10 percent lower levels of prostate-specific antigens. This can sometimes hinder the early detection of prostate cancer in regular aspirin users.

May Prevent Asthma In Middle Aged Women

The 2008 issue of Thorax journal contains a study that reported women 45 years old and above who took 100 mg of aspirin every other day also were 10 percent less likely to develop asthma over the next decade as compared to women who took a placebo. It was also noted in the said study that aspirin can worsen the symptoms in about 10 percent of the people who may already have asthma.

What Doctors Want From Patients

When doctors want to provide the best medical diagnosis to their patients and what might be ailing them, utmost cooperation between the two is needed. Many times, doctors may not be able to get all the information that they need from the tests alone and may require help from the patients themselves. Here are some of the things that doctors usually want from their patients every time they come for a visit.

Be honest.

Doctors usually want their patients to be quite honest with them. There are many patients who might try to hide something from their doctors during medical check ups out of embarrassment or shame. This action may sometimes prove serious and may greatly affect a doctor’s diagnosis. Sometimes patients will try to hide something for as long as possible and may only divulge it when it is already to late. It is often better to be quite honest with your doctor and try to tell what might be ailing you right away.

Get a second opinion from another doctor, not from relatives.

A lot of people may find it easy to believe what a relative may say about what might be ailing them. The trust can sometimes get in the way of getting into the bottom of your condition. Getting an accurate assessment of your physical condition and health should come from doctors and medical professionals and not from your mom or relative with no medical experience whatsoever.

Don’t think that you have every ailment out there.

A lot of people can easily be convinced that they may be suffering from something when they actually do not. It may come from something a relative may say or what they saw on TV atone time or another. They become so convinced that they feel they require some treatment for something that they do not actually have. It can also become quite hard for doctors to convince them that they are actually healthy.

Protecting Against Medical Mistakes

Even medical professionals are liable to make mistakes now and then. Even if you are confined in a reputable hospital does not necessarily mean that you are already safe. It may sometimes take some vigilance on your part to make sure that you can protect yourself from certain medical mistakes. Here are some of the ways how to do it.

Always insist on cleanliness.

When staying at the hospital, you might come into contact with several health professionals who try to look into your welfare. Before they do, try to ask if they have washed their hands. Although it is standard procedure for health professionals to do so before giving medication, changing a wound dressing or removing an IV, it pays to remind them in order to make sure.

Look into the safest hospitals and health facilities in your area.

It really pays to do some bit of research on which hospitals in your area are considered to be the safest ones. You can get inputs from colleagues, relatives and friends. This way, you can have a choice to be confined to a health facility that you know will be safe and where medical mistakes may be less likely to occur.

Avoid being a distraction.

Although you try to have talks with doctors or nurses who are attending to your care, you might try to avoid becoming a distraction. Friendly chitchat may be a cause if interruption that might easily distract the hospital staff from administering your medicines or doing a sensitive procedure.

Get informed.

Try to have a good idea why certain things are being done to you while being confined at the hospital. Have a better grasp of what your doctor or the medical staff might be doing and find out the reason behind them. Try to ask the reason behind the medications being administered to you as well as the tests you have to undergo.