Health Topics Web

The vaccination schedule for tetanus varies from country to country but the principle is generally the same across the board. It’s important to remember that tetanus is a very rare disease. In the UK for example (population approx. 60 million), only 6 people get it each year.

The Principle

With all vaccinations, whether for tetanus or Hepatitis B for example, the principle is the same. You should receive the first few doses quite close together to encourage a strong reaction by your immune system. Later, you can receive booster doses years apart.

United Kingdom

In the UK, for example, children receive the vaccine at two, three and four months of age. They then get a booster at around 3 years of age and a further booster in their teenage years. This should give full immunity for life.

Adults who never received any immunisation get three shots at one month intervals. They then get a booster shot 10 years later and another one another 10 years after that. Again this gives immunity for life.

United States

The US has a very similar immunisation schedule for tetanus but also recommends a booster shot every 10 years for life. This is at odds with UK opinion. Having said that, there is no risk to having “too many” tetanus shots.

Combined Vaccine

It is quite rare to find a tetanus vaccine on its own. More often you will find them combined with any one or more of the vaccines for diptheria, pertussis and polio.

Risks

It’s important to remember that it is quite difficult to get tetanus, even if you are not immunised (some people cannot due to allergic reaction to the shot, for example). The bacterium responsible for tetanus is anaerobic and cannot multiply when exposed to air. Also, you can only get it if the spores get in your wound. These spores are not found in rust (a common misconception) but are found in animal faeces and organic soil.

So there is a higher risk of tetanus from a puncture wound e.g. from a nail (rusty or not) or from a wound that is visibly dirty where animal faeces or soil is present. A typical random scratch is very unlikely to give you tetanus.

Millions of people are affected by this debilitating condition that frankly does not receive enough funding compared to other conditions. Although it is not directly life threatening, it greatly affects the quality of life of sufferers, many of which can even become suicidal.

Hair Cell Damage

Tinnitus depends on a number of factors but in every case there is always some damage to the ear.

The inner ear contains a small organ known as the cochlea. This looks similar to the spiral shape of a snail’s shell and contains tiny hair cells.

Like grass on a football pitch, if a little force is applied to the hair cells then they will merely deflect but return to their original shape. However, if too much force is applied then the hair cells can become permanently damaged.

Timing

Long term and progressive hair cell damage can happen particularly if someone is within range of very loud noises for frequent and continuous periods. It can even happen from a single incident if it is loud enough.

Stress

Nearly all people who have tinnitus also suffer from stress. Greater stress also causes much higher intensity symptoms of tinnitus.

It is not clear why this is so but it is thought to be related to the circulation of the blood and how this links in with the hair cells and their connection to the brain via the nervous system.

What is known is that reducing your stress can relieve or even eliminate your tinnitus.

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More and more people these days are suffering from panic attacks. A single attack will not do much damage in itself but it is very easy to fall into the trap of recurring attacks and this gives you a new condition called panic disorder. Let’s find out exactly what happens during an attack and how we can use this knowledge to prevent them happening again in future.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Panic Attack?

This is useful to know because some people experience great anxiety with some physical symptoms but it is not a panic attack.

In a panic attack there is a very rapid onset of physical symptoms and fear that builds very quickly and lasts for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Some of the symptoms described are an intense fear of dying, a feeling of helplessness, rapid heart beat, profuse sweating and chest pains.

What Happens During A Panic Attack?

So why does this happen? There is a key system in your body that almost takes over called the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).

All animals have evolved so that if they are in immediate danger from a threat like a predator, the SNS takes over and delivers a good dose of adrenalin plus increased heart rate and sweating to give you the best chance of survival. If you get even more scared then the SNS does its best to give you even more “tools” to escape with.

When someone has a panic attack they get a feeling of fear. The SNS responds. The problem is that people who get panic attacks mistake the symptoms as something much worse e.g. a heart attack. They get even more fear. The SNS responds even more. It’s a vicious circle and suddenly you reach peak fear and peak symptoms very quickly and you find it all hard to understand. This is a full panic attacks.

Some people get repeated panic attacks (panic disorder) because the fear of having another attack actually drives the attack in the first place. This is an even more vicious circle but it can be broken.

During An Attack

One way to cope during an attack is to use “coping statements” such as “this is natural and it will pass” or “I cannot come to any harm, this will not kill me”.

Try to disassociate yourself from the attack. Try to stop thinking about “what if” and focus on the now. It can help to detach yourself and try to visualise looking at yourself from the outside and overcoming the attack. This disassociation works because the emotional connotations are removed.

These simple techniques are just the tip of the iceberg and there are many other techniques that you can use, for example behavioural therapy. What even the doctors agree on is that drugs are not an answer and are largely ineffective. You are better off seeking therapy and using self-help books to overcome panic attacks and panic disorder.

Testicular cancer is one of the rarest generally but among guys aged 15 to 40 it is the most common there is. How would you know if you had testicular cancer?

Symptoms

The main symptom of testicular cancer is a small peanut or pea sized lump on the testicle. If you feel your testis during a hot shower or bath then it should be smooth all over the front and sides (the back is covered in a tubular structure called the epididymis that extends from top to bottom). If you feel a hard lump coming from within the testicle then this could be cancer.

In some men there is no small lump but instead the entire testicle becomes hard or even swells to 3 or 4 times the normal size. Although there is usually no pain in the testis some men do report pain.

Rarely, the first symptom of testicular cancer can be extreme back pain. This means that it has spread to the nearby lymph nodes. It is much more common to first discover something wrong with one of your testes though.

Tests

If you think there is something unusual about one of your testes then you should visit your doctor who will check them himself. He might not be able to feel what you can. If you are sure that there is something wrong then insist on testing.

One of the tests that will be done is an ultrasound. This is a cheap, easy and non-invasive test and is the same equipment that is used to check the healthy of an unborn child. The sonographer puts some gel on a transducer and slowly moves this over both your testes.

The second test that is normally done is a blood test to look for tumor markers. There are two tumor markers that are very useful for detecting testicular cancer. If they are raised then you have cancer. However, if they are not raised then it does not mean that you don’t have cancer. Therefore the ultrasound is still the definitive test for determining if you need surgery because 95% of lumps found on the ultrasound will turn out to be cancer.

Also, in most cases your doctor will refer you to a specialist doctor called a urologist first. The urologist will order the tests and decide if you need to have your testis removed in an operation called an orchidectomy.

After Surgery

After surgery your testis will be checked for cancer and what type it is and the size of the tumor/extent of spread. If there is confirmed cancer then you will also have a CT scan of the abdomen and chest X-ray and you will be referred to a cancer specialist also known as an oncologist.

The oncologist will look at your tumor type and scan results and then advise what treatment (if any) you need. Testicular cancer is highly treatable even if caught late. However, you should get medical treatment asap if you suspect you have it because it could mean the difference between not needing any treatment after surgery (surveillance) or needing 3 months of chemotherapy.

Male pattern baldness is a fact of life for most men. At the age of 20, 1 in 5 of us have some hair loss already and by the age of 50 half of all men are starting to bald. But if we understand the science behind hair production and loss then there is a way to delay and even reverse these effects.

DHT

Men produce testosterone but this chemical in itself is not all that useful so the body converts it into other chemicals which are more potent. One of these is DHT which is then used to help various processes in the body and it gets there in the bloodstream.

Unfortunately, DHT has a side effect which is to denutrify the hair follicles over time. Each hair that the follicle creates gradually becomes thinner over time. Eventually, the follicle becomes so malnutritioned that it gives up producing hair. However, if it can be renutrified as you’ll see below then it can start producing hairs again, so long as you don’t leave it too long.

Risk Factors

Of course the biggest risk comes from genetics so there is not much that you can do about that. There is a common myth that you get your baldness from your mother’s father. This is not true and genetics of hair loss is much more complex than that.

Treatment

There are 2 FDA approved drugs for treating hair loss, one is Minoxidil and the other is Finasteride. With both of them, the vast majority of men report a cessation of hair loss and most of them also experience hair regrowth. They both work in different ways – one of them reduces DHT and the other widens the blood vessels to get better nutrients to the hair follicle. Unfortunately, this can have side effects elsewhere in the body.

The other way to treat it is naturally. Indigenous tribes have for years used natural herbs that stimulate the scalp and give better blood flow to the follicles. The follicles take their nutrition directly from the bloodstream and so this results in cessation of hair loss, thicker hair and even regrowth from dormant follicles.

Most women will have one or two yeast infections in a lifetime. For the unfortunate few they may have several recurrent infections every year. But many other vaginal disorders are also easily mistaken for a yeast infection when they are in fact something else e.g. bacterial vaginosis. Let’s take a closer look.

What Is a Vaginal Yeast Infection?

Your vagina naturally contains many different types of bacteria, as do other parts of our body, including yeast. Under normal circumstances they help to keep each other in check. But sometimes the yeast can overgrow (particularly after antibiotic use) unhindered and cause an infection.

Symptoms

The main symptom is an itching sensation. The entire vulva can become inflamed and red and sore to the touch. When you urinate and the urine touches those parts then it can sting. Note that this is different from a urinary tract infection where the pain would be felt as the urine passes down the urethra.

Some women feel pain during intercourse and you can also have a discharge, however this affects only 20% of women. It usually looks white and lumpy like cottage cheese. Ordinarily there is little to no odor. If you have a very strong and fishy smell then you don’t have a yeast infection but bacterial vaginosis instead.

Causes

One of the biggest causes is antibiotic use. If you are given a course then I highly recommend drinking probiotic yogurts during and after in order to repopulate yourself with healthy bacteria.

Bad clothing can also contribute to yeast infections. If you are prone to getting repeated infections then you need to wear more loose trousers. Also, you should wear cotton panties and never wear synthetics.

Treatment

If you only get one or two in your lifetime then antifungal medications are best. These normally come in the form of a cream. These will wipe out the yeast.

The problem with antifungals is that they wipe out the yeast but do not stop it from coming back again. If you are one of these women who suffer from frequent infections then the environment of your vagina is still prone to a new infection. In your case, I would consider some natural therapies instead.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is known as the silent killer because it is responsible for millions of deaths from stroke, heart failure or heart attack. Yet on autopsy the true original cause of death due to hypertension is rarely made.

Do you monitor your blood pressure at least several times per year? Do you know what it should be at? Then you could be at risk of complications due to high blood pressure.

What Is The Definition Of High Blood Pressure?

The normal range for blood pressure is 90 to 119 systolic and 60 to 79 diastolic.

For example, a blood pressure of 100/70 is healthy. A blood pressure of 150/90 is hypertension. By the way, systolic pressure is when the heart beats and diastolic is when the heart relaxes.

Causes of Hypertension

Most people with hypertension have the essential or primary type. This means that they do not have a specific medical condition that causes it such as kidney problems. 95% of cases are essential.

One of the biggest causes is a high sodium intake from eating too much salt. Another is not enough potassium intake which comes from eating fruit and vegetables.

The more overweight you are then the higher your blood pressure will be. This is because excess weight puts pressure on the kidneys. If you snore loudly then you might have sleep apnea and this is strongly linked with hypertension.

Lastly, in some people it is just down to genetics. There will very often be a history of hypertension in the family in these cases. You should try changing your diet and lifestyle but if this doesn’t work then you must take daily drugs for the rest of your life.

Treatment

Nobody wants to take a battery of drugs with side effects and complications for the rest of their life. If you have hypertension then drugs should be a last resort.

The first thing you should do is lose weight if you are overweight. Even losing just 5 pounds could bring you back into the healthy range.

Secondly, you should modify your diet. You might even want to consider the famous DASH diet for getting back to a normal blood pressure.

Third, try drugs. But only consider them as an absolute last resort.

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a chronic condition where acid frequently escapes the stomach and into the esophagus where it causes the most common symptom of a burning sensation. Anyone can have occasional heartburn but if you experiencer it at least once a week (many have it every day) then you are said to have GERD.

Other Symptoms

Heartburn is the main symptom but there are others too. Some people experience regurgitation of acid into the mouth where a foul taste is discovered. The acid can even erode the teeth over time. Another less common symptom is a hoarseness of the voice due to acid affecting the vocal chords. Some may also experience difficulty swallowing.

Causes & Risk Factors

GERD is caused when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that separates the esophagus and the stomach does not do its job properly. Normally, it should be closed unless food is passing down into the stomach. But in some people it can malfunction and allow acid out.

If you are overweight then you are at greater risk. This is because the stomach becomes distended due to the large amount of food and this in turn causes the LES to malfunction and remain open for long periods.

A significant minority of people may have a hiatus hernia. This is a condition where part of the stomach is squeezed or herniated through the small gap in the diaphragm. This is not life threatening but it does weaken the LES.

Smoking, alcohol intake, family history and advanced age are also risk factors for GERD.

Diagnosis

Often no testing is required. If your doctor notices that you have chronic heartburn and drugs clear it up then he will not run any other tests. If your symptoms are unusual or you’ve been having them for some time or drugs do not make any difference then you may have a number of tests.

An endoscopy is when a camera is put through the mouth and into the stomach to check for hiatal hernia. A pH test can also be done. A very thin tube is placed just above the LES and the acidity (pH) is monitored over a day or two.

Treatment

The good news is that there are a number of ways to treat GERD.

Proton pump inhibitors are used by most people. Thse are a class of drugs that inhibit production of stomach acid. There are few long term side effects but one of them is a greater risk of osteoporosis.

Otherwise you may want to consider natural remedies or lifestyle changes.

The first time I ever heard of a burpee was whilst I was reading the book, Solitary Fitness by Charles Bronson.

No, Charles Bronson in this case is no relation to the late actor – this guy is actually Britain’s longest held prisoner (unfairly in my opinion) and many might also call him Britain’s most violent prisoner.

Yet beneath the veneer of a quick temper lies a man who has developed both mind and body whilst living in a solitary prison cell. His book is very interesting and full of simple bodybuilding exercises that you can do without any formal equipment.

Back to burpees – I remember him talking a great deal about them as a great form of exercise.

Burpees look like a push up followed by a jump in the air and then returning to a push up and repeating the entire process. It takes a little coordination to perfect but what will follow is a very fast and explosive type of exercise that is guaranteed to burn a ton of calories.

You can see why Charles is a big fan of it because it can be used in combined spaces without any equipment, however it is also used by many sportsmen too (particular those in mixed martial arts). By the way, Charles does 2,500 push ups every day and also holds several world records!!

There are many variations of this exercise such as the classic squat thrust, the explosive burpee, the man-maker and more. I found a great article here on the many variations possible:

Just One Exercise: The Burpee

Many people also try out different challenges such as the 100 Burpee Challenge which is a challenge to see how quickly you can do 100 repetitions. This can vary depending on how much you weight and how tall you are but the best athletes can get a time of just over 5 minutes which is very difficult indeed.

Here is a good video showing how to do a burpee:

Also check out Charles’ book here:

Solitary Fitness

What is hypochondria? Also known as hypochondriasis, this is when someone excessively worries about their health. I know this because I suffer from it myself, unfortunately.

What happens is that the person will notice what they believe to be a symptom and then exaggerate it out of all proportion, often only seeing the worst case scenario.

An Example

An example for me are moles on the body. We hear all the time about the need to be vigilant with any disease or cancer and the media actually do not help anyone as I will reveal to you shortly why.

So I might look at a mole and see something slightly irregular. Actually, there is no such thing as the “perfect mole”. My brain will rack about all the possible risk factors: did I get burnt when a child, do I get too much sun now?, how many moles do I have on my body, what skin type do I have etc.

Warped Logic

The brain of a hypochondriac works in a strange way. Prevalence of illness in anyone is due to many factors and doctors can assign a probability range. But hypochondriacs like myself will always see the worst case scenario and adopt the most conservative stance.

Another problem that I sometimes have is that I wonder if seeing a symptom and then deciding not to pursue it because I think I am simply exaggerating, is the wrong course of action. Maybe I am not exaggerating? This can cause a “tug of war” in the mind!

Does Vigilance Save Lives?

The reason that the media make this problem worse is that with many illnesses, there is little proof that vigilance saves any lives. In fact, doctors are finding that people who are not vigilant probably have the same survival rate as those who are. This is because it is only normal for someone to notice something that is not right and then follow up with their doctor and there is therefore perhaps no need to educate widely. Obviously, there are some exceptions where educational health awareness campaigns have saved lives but this cannot be said across the board for all diseases.

Treatment Options For Hypochondria

What about treatment options? Is there anything out there that is helpful? Speaking from a personal point of view, I tried cognitive behavioural therapy but it did not work because I disagreed with everything that the therapist said. Antidepressants may help.