How Effective The "FLU" Vaccine Is!!

Sudden onset of fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and a runny nose are the common problems during winter season. All these are the common symptom of Seasonal influenza or “flu”. Flu is most often caused by type A or B influenza viruses.

Many suggested that the best way to avoid getting the flu is to get the flu vaccine every year, before influenza season begins. This despite the fact that mounting research suggests this approach to flu prevention may be ill advised for long-term health, and doesn't actually work in the first place. In January 2015, U.S. government officials admitted that, in most years, flu shots are, at best, 50 to 60 percent effective. Then, in December 2015, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis of flu vaccine effectiveness revealed that, between 2005 and 2015, the influenza vaccine was less than 50 percent effective more than half of the time. These recent rates are way better than the previous years. In the 2004/2005 season, the flu vaccine was 10 percent effective. The 2014/2015 flu vaccine flopped with a mere 18 percent effectiveness rate; 15 percent among children aged 2 to 8.

Know The Deadly Disease Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria has been responsible for much of the human suffering and misery accompanying the process of social and economic development. Only in 2015, 91 countries and areas had ongoing malaria transmission.

According to the latest WHO estimates, released in December 2016, there were 212 million cases of malaria in 2015 and 429 000 deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the region was home to 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths. Some 13 countries – mainly in sub-Saharan Africa – account for 76% of malaria cases and 75% deaths globally.

However between 2010 and 2015, malaria incidence among populations at risk (the rate of new cases) fell by 21% globally. In that same period, malaria mortality rates among populations at risk fell by 29% globally among all age groups, and by 35% among children under 5.

Some Heart Attack Triggers- That May Surprise You!!

A diet high in greasy, deep fried delights and a life full of financial, work, and personal stresses will certainly take its toll on your ticker. We all know that!

However, doctors are now pointing to other, lesser considered, heart attack culprits. Here are some surprising cardiovascular cautions that you might not even be aware of…

Lack of sleep: Lack of sleep regularly can raise your risk of a heart attack. Researchers found that people who usually slept fewer than 6 hours a night were twice as likely to have a heart attack as those who slept 6 to 8.

Migraine headaches: People who get these are more likely to have a heart attack later in life than those who don’t. And ones that include auras that start before the headache hits seem to have a stronger link to heart problems.

Stomach problems in Cold Weather!!

Cold weather can be a pain in more ways than one! The digestive system can be a source of considerable illness in winter if people eat the wrong food and don't rug up. The digestive system enters an active stage in winter and that is why dietary reinforcements are usually more effective than in other seasons. But stomach problems also often occur due to cold air, eating unsafe and spicy foods.

Though the intestinal infection can affect people at any time of the year, it is most prevalent during fall and winter in the U.S. Despite the name, the infection actually has nothing to do with influenza. The stomach flu viruses attack the digestive tract leading to inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

The infection is not serious but is troublesome for the person affected by it. Symptoms often last for one to three days — in some cases even longer. Dehydration is the main risk factor involved in stomach flu, especially for babies and elderly people.

Know All About Stye

A stye is a small, painful red lump that develops on the inside or outside of an eyelid. It is also known as a hordeolum. If you have a stye, your eye may also be watery and you may have a red eye or eyelid. It usually affects only one eye at a time. However it's possible to have styes in both eyes or to have more than one stye in the same eye. A stye can also cause an eye to be sensitive to light and make your eye watery or feel scratchy.

Types of stye:
There are two general types of stye:
- External stye: It's known as external hordeolum. – a swelling that develops along the edge of your eyelid.
- Internal stye /internal hordeolum – a swelling that develops on the inside of your eyelid.

Symptoms of a stye:
The main symptoms of a stye are:
- a painful yellow lump on or in the eyelid
- foreign body sensation (particularly with blinking)
- redness of the eye or eyelid
- a watery eye, in some cases
- feeling pressure inside the bump.
- Itching of the eye
- Droopiness of the eyelid
- Burning sensation

Your Habits That Can Damage Your Brain!!

Our brain is the single most important organ in our body.  It’s the central processor for all our bodily functions, the part that interprets what we see and hear, smell and taste, and even a place where the chemical reaction associated with love occurs.

Sleep loss, junk food, inactivity — these things and more can take a toll on our brain health. Here are some issues to pay attention if we would like to keep our brain healthy.

Smoking
We know cigarettes cause cancer, but did you know that the addictive nicotine in the cigarettes can cause your brain to shrink? Not only that, but prolonged brain-shrinkage can lead to Alzheimer’s disease!
   

Know About de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis

De Quervain’s tenosynovitis occurs when the 2 tendons around the base of your thumb become swollen. The swelling causes the sheaths (casings) covering the tendons to become inflamed. This puts pressure on nearby nerves, causing pain and numbness.

Symptoms Of de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
- Pain or tenderness at the base of your thumb
- May feel pain going up to forearm
- Swelling near the base of your thumb
- A fluid-filled cyst in the affected area, which may or may not bulge through your skin
- Numbness along the back of your thumb and index finger
- A “catching” or “snapping” feeling when you move your thumb
- A squeaking sound as the tendons move within the swollen sheaths

Why It Happend?
Chronic overuse of your wrist is commonly associated with de Quervain's tenosynovitis.
Tendons are rope-like structures that attach muscle to bone. When you grip, grasp, clench, pinch or wring anything in your hand, two tendons in your wrist and lower thumb normally glide smoothly through the small tunnel that connects them to the base of the thumb. Repeating a particular motion day after day may irritate the sheath around the two tendons, causing thickening and swelling that restricts their movement.

How to Calculate 30-Day Readmission Rate

This  rate  is  calculated  by  identifying individual  residents admitted to the facility after an inpatient hospital stay during a given a given period of time, usually calculated on a monthly basis, and following them for 30 days.
a. The denominator for  this  calculation is the  number  of residents admitted to  your facility who have had an inpatient hospital stay during the month.
The numerator is the number of inpatient hospitalizations among   these   residents that   occur within   30-days   of admission to your facility after an inpatient hospital stay.
b. Residents sometimes have two (or even more) 30-day readmissions in a 30 day period.
Each  admission  to  your  facility  after  an  inpatient  stay  should  be  counted  in  the denominator, and inpatient hospitalizations within 30-days of the most recent admission to your facility after an inpatient hospital stay should be counted in the numerator. Thus, one resident could contribute two or more times to the 30-day readmission rate.

How to Calculate PQI 07: Hypertension Admission Rate

The heart pumps blood into the arteries with enough force to push blood to the far reaches of each organ from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. Blood pressure can be defined as the pressure of blood on the walls of the arteries as it circulates through the body. Blood pressure is highest as its leaves the heart through the aorta and gradually decreases as it enters smaller and smaller blood vessels (arteries, arterioles, and capillaries). Blood returns in the veins leading to the heart, aided by gravity and muscle contraction.

It is known as the "silent killer" since it has no initial symptoms but can lead to long-term disease and complications.. High Blood Pressure a.k.a. Hypertension can be controlled by outpatient means by either medication or lifestyle change. When someone is admitted to a hospital due to complications from hypertension, then preventative measures could have failed. However, the cause of failure is not represented here, and that can include both patient and provider based causes.

Prevention is an important role for all healthcare providers. Hypertension is a controllable condition using outpatient care and drug therapy. Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) are a set of measures that help identify quality of care for outpatient and other non-hospital care.

How to Calculate PQI 07 Hypertension Admission Rate?

Drinks That Help You In Gout

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot, and swollen joint. Gout is due to elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. This occurs due to a combination of diet and genetic factors. At high levels, uric acid crystallizes and the crystals deposit in joints, tendons and surrounding tissues, resulting in an attack of gout.

How It Occurs?
Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are in your body's tissues and in foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies. Normally, uric acid dissolves in the blood. It passes through the kidneys and out of the body in urine. But sometimes uric acid can build up and form needle-like crystals. When they form in your joints, it is very painful. The crystals can also cause kidney stones.

You are more likely to get gout if you