New Case of flesh-eating bacteria occurred in USA

After a case where student of psychology at the University of West Georgia was found infected by  the flesh eating bacteria known as Aeromonas hydrophila, A new case was seen in the USA and this time its New Mother.

   Lana Kuykendall is a paramedic, so when a rapidly spreading red and black bruise appeared on the back of her leg after giving birth to twins, she knew something was wrong.

She and husband, Darren, raced to the hospital and within 90 minutes, the new mother was having surgery for necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but potentially deadly infection also called the flesh-eating bacteria.

“She’s still critical,” Darren Kuykendall told GreenvilleOnline.com. “It’s been a nightmare.”

After a normal pregnancy, the Piedmont couple welcomed their twins, Abigail and Ian, on May 7 at an Atlanta hospital, he said. Except for Lana needing blood, the delivery went normally and the babies were fine, he said.

  Lana Kuykendall with Her Husband

But he said by the next day Lana, who had begun having leg cramps the night before, was weak. She couldn’t stand or walk. When tests revealed nothing wrong, they returned home Thursday.

By Friday morning, however, Lana, 36, discovered the strange lesion on the back of her left leg.

“That scared her. She thought it was a blood clot. So we rushed immediately to Greenville Memorial Hospital,” Darren Kuykendall said.

“And the longer she sat there, the bigger that spot got. It was initially the size of a 3-by-5 index card. But it got bigger and bigger. It moved a quarter of an inch in half an hour. Then the high-risk OB physician had a suspicion of what it was.”

Limbs Infeccted after Flesh eating bacteria attack it

Necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial infection that often occurs in an arm or leg after a minor trauma or surgery, according to the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation. Group A Strep is most often responsible in minor traumas, the group reports.

People have developed the condition through a host of experiences, including a C-section or natural childbirth, abdominal surgery or a scratch, a broken leg or a cut, according to the group.

A recent highly publicized case involves Aimee Copeland, a 24-year-old Georgia graduate student who got the infection after suffering a cut in a zip line accident, according to The Associated Press. Doctors had to amputate her left leg and may still have to remove her fingers, her father said.

The disease occurs when bacteria enter the body and emit toxins that destroy the soft tissue, which becomes infected and must be removed, according to the NF foundation. Along with surgery, treatment includes antibiotics and other medications.

If it spreads, it can cause systemic shock and death within days.

In Lana Kuykendall’s first surgery, doctors removed the dead skin and tissue, her husband said. A little more tissue was removed during a second and third surgery, but no more infected tissue was found in the last operation Monday, he said.

Group A strep caused the infection, which also spread to her blood, and she is being treated with antibiotics, he said. She was still on a ventilator in the intensive care unit on Tuesday and sedated.

Kuykendall, 42, has no idea how the infection occurred.

“They are saying things are leaning her way. Her vitals are good and her lab results are looking good,” he said. “But this could go either way at any given time.”

Married for four years, the couple met at the scene of an accident — he’s a firefighter and she’s a paramedic with Greenville Hospital System. The twins are healthy and being cared for by family and friends, he said.

Read More

College Girl Battles With Flesh Eating Bacteria!!!

A student of psychology at the University of West Georgia met with an accident when homemade zip line snapped and led her left calf open. Aimee Copeland, 24, received 22 stitches, but weeks after it was found that she has contracted the flesh eating bacteria known as Aeromonas hydrophila.

Aimee Copeland

She has lost her left leg and a part of abdomen and it is suspected that she will lose her hand fingers as well. Aimee's Father Andy Copeland said that Aimee is having remarkable recovery and instead of looking at the dark side of the story, they have been focusing on the brighter side.

Andy further affirmed that it feels great when they get to listen from doctors that Aimee is recovering well. Even doctors are shocked to see the determination of Aimee and they have affirmed that this determination is helping her to recover so well.

Aeromonas hydrophila  Image Taken from Electron Microscope

Dr. Buddy Creech, who is an Assistant Professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said that the bacterium starts destroying the tissues that surround as it looks for nutrition. Destroying process leads to inflammation and swelling and once it comes, then it gets very difficult to control the infection.

"When it gets into those deeper tissues, it has a remarkable ability to destroy the tissues that surround it in sort of this hunt for nutrition", said Creech.

Affect seen After Bacteria slowly eat Muscles Tissue

Read More

Doctors remove four extra limbs from baby who was born with

A baby boy born with six legs has had a successful operation to remove his four extra limbs, doctors said today.

The youngster from Karachi in Pakistanwas believed to have had a parasitic twin, which had not developed properly in the womb, resulting in the extra legs.

A team of five doctors had fought to save the boy's life at the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi.

Baby Boy after Surgery

The head of the NICH, Jamal Raza, said the abnormal birth was the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies.

'It was strange that apparently an abnormal baby with six legs was as normal as other children,' he said.

Before surgeons could operate they said they had to work out which of the limbs belonged to the boy and which to his twin.

Baby Before surgery 

Doctors examined MRI, blood tests and CT scan reports before deciding to perform the surgery. The operation lasted eight-hours and was performed in stages.

The baby had been in an intensive care unit ward since he was born last week to the wife of an X-ray technician.

Imran Shaikh, the baby's father who lives in Sukkur, said he was grateful his son was treated.

'We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government and doctors for helping us successful operating my baby,' he said.

Shaikh and his wife live in Sukkur, around 280 miles north of where his son is being cared for. His wife is reported to be recovering well from the birth and in a good state of health. 

His wife - who is also his cousin - has been unable to travel because she had a caesarean section delivery.

He said they were planning on naming their son Umar Farooq.

The Sindh provincial health department said they were examining if he needed any further treatment to live a normal life.

Read More

Taking care of skin this Holi

With Holi just round the corner, the one thing that worries almost every person is skin diseases from chemical colours. Dr. Abhijit Desai, Makeover Expert and MD of Evolve Med spa, shares some tips on how to take care of your skin during the most colourful festival of India

You are planning to enjoy Holi but you are afraid the harmful colours would cause unwanted skin disorders, don’t worry and just follow some simple steps to enjoy safe and colourful Holi this year:

girl celebrating Holi

1. Use Skin Friendly Natural Colours: Although holi traditionally is meant to be played with natural colours, but over the years natural colours have been replaced by synthetic colours which contain many harmful chemicals like heavy metals, acids, mercury sulphite, powdered glass etc.


All these are toxic and can result in skin allergies like itching, irritation, dryness etc.

2. Avoid Water based colours: Many water based colours have an alkaline base capable of causing severe problems. If it enters the eyes, it can pose a great danger to one's vision.


Colours in the form of paste have toxic compounds mixed in a base of engine oil or other inferior quality oil, capable of causing skin allergy, temporary blindness and much more.

3. Coat your skin with petroleum jelly: Harmful colours contacting your skin causes itching, red rashes and irritation in the area of contact, hence it is advised to apply petroleum jelly, body oil or edible oil on exposed parts, to prevent colours from coming in contact with your skin.

4. Cover maximum body part: To protect your skin during holi, wear clothes that cover maximum part of the body including your hair.

5. Post Holi skincare: If there is any rash or irritation then visit a dermatologist. Use a mild cream like Elocon or Flutivate and if it doesn't subside then visit the dermatologist.

Read More

No more surgery for Amitabh Bachchan , Big B fine

Amitabh Bachchan has shown signs of improvement, and doctors at the Seven Hills Hospital Friday decided against another surgery on the megastar.

“The surgery was supposed to happen but after the check up, doctors decided there is no need of any surgery. He is doing fine,” a source told IANS.

Following two abdominal surgeries Saturday, the 69-year-old veteran complained of pain, due to which his stay in the hospital was extended.

On Thursday night, Big B blogged that more doctors had been called for consultation over his condition and that an incision on the neck was made — indicating serious health concerns. But all seems under control now.

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh has chosen to keep his medical condition private, and his family members as well as the hospital authorities have been asked to remain tigh-tlipped about it.

“I refrain from giving greater details of my condition… in the west patient has the right to not disclose - even to family!! I realise anxious members of EF and TwFmXt need to know…whenever there is some important procedure, will inform,” Big B had tweeted Thursday.

So far there is no new update from the actor, whose recurring abdominal condition is a result of an injury on the sets of “Coolie” 30 years ago.

 

Read More

Amitabh Bachchan Abdominal Surgery was successful

Veteran Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was completely healthy  after undergoing a three-hour operation on Saturday for an abdominal ailment, a hospital official said.

Bachchan, 69, has a history of abdominal problems -- the legacy of an accident suffered while filming three decades ago.

"The operation lasted three hours. Bachchan is hale and hearty now," a spokesman for the Seven Hills Hospital in India's entertainment capital Mumbai told AFP.

Bachchan, who acts in several films a year, is the father of top Bollywood star Abhishek who is wed to leading actress Aishwarya Rai.

Amitabh Bachchan

He was admitted to hospital Saturday morning after complaining of abdominal pain earlier in the week, sparking worries about his health among thousands of his adoring fans.

Abhishek sought to reassure fans about the health of his father after the latest medical scare, saying the surgery had been successful.

"The surgery went off well and dad is now in the room resting," he wrote on microblogging website Twitter.

"The Big B," as he is known, has suffered abdominal problems since he ruptured his spleen during a fight scene on the set of the 1982 film "Coolie", after which he was critically ill for months.

His last major health problem was two years ago when he announced he was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and needed regular medical check-ups.

A regular on Twitter and an avid blogger, Bachchan was posting his health status till the day before the latest surgery.

"Set now for another trip to hospital, a destination that invites me more often than I would like," he tweeted.

Each Bachchan message attracts a huge readership and hundreds of comments contributed by Indians who view him as a national father figure.

Update :

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who underwent two abdominal surgeries Saturday, tweeted fans about his condition as soon as he could from the hospital bed and thanked them for their wishes, which he feels never fails.

Big B's scheduled abdominal surgery went off smoothly Saturday morning at the SevenHills Hospitalhere. His abdominal pain was due to an injury he suffered during shooting of "Coolie" in 1982.

"Took long because 2 surgeries had to be done on either side..yes there is pain, but nothing good in life ever achieved without it!," Big B tweeted.

"Back ..!! Thank you for your prayers.. your love and wishes never fail..indebted for life, one that I shall never be able to pay back," the 69-year-old wrote.

When son Abhishek saw his father's tweet, he reprimanded him and called him Auro, the character that Big B played in the film "Paa" where the father-son was in a role reversal.

"It's past your bedtime Auro!!. Stop tweeting and back to bed. :-)," tweeted Abhishek.

On that Big replied good-humouredly, "OK ... Paa !! Am already in bed .. been on it the whole day .. "

Read More

Italian man with two hearts suffers a double heart attack - and lives

In what can be called a medical miracle, doctors have managed to save the life of a 71-year-old Italian man who had two hearts and suffered double heart attacks at the same time.

At first, doctors thought they had a typical case of cardiac arrest – the man was short of breath, sweating profusely and his blood pressure was low.

However, they were in for a surprise when upon closer inspection it was found that the patient had been walking around with two hearts and had now suffered a dueling attack.

According to medical reports, the man wasn't born with two hearts but had undergone a rare heart transplant (called a heterotopic transplant) years ago in which a new organ was paired with the diseased one.

"You can develop two independent heart rhythms, especially in a scenario where one heart gets a little better," Rade Vukmir, professor of emergency medicine at Temple Universityand a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians told MSNBC.

This is apparently exactly what happened to the Italian patient.

After being admitted to the hospital, doctors administered drug therapy in an attempt to correct his dysrhythmia, only to have the medicine shut down both of his hearts.

Doctors then were able to successfully use a defibrillator to revive both hearts simultaneously. He's now reportedly doing well with his two functioning hearts.

Read More

Pomegranate juice beneficial for kidney and heart disease patients

Washington, Nov 12 : If you wants to be healthy and free from kidney and heart disease start drinking the pomegranate juice daily. Recent research has shown that, Pomegranate juice, which is rich in antioxidants, offers a wide variety of health benefits to kidney disease patients including managing blood pressure and lowering cholesterol, a new study has claimed.

 Lilach Shema and her colleagues from the Western Galilee Medical Center in Israel investigated the long-term effects of drinking pomegranate juice on heart disease risk factors like high cholesterol and blood pressure in kidney disease patients

pomegranate

.

They randomised 101 dialysis patients to receive about three-and-a-half ounces of pomegranate juice or placebo, three times a week.

After one year, the number of blood pressure drugs patients took decreased in 22 percent of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 7.7 percent in the placebo group, while an increase was documented in 12.2 percent of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 34.6 percent in the placebo group.

They also found that patients who drank pomegranate juice had healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels and less plaque build-up in their arteries.

Read More

High intake of calcium increases risk for prostate cancer in men

Washington, Sept 17: A new study has found that high intake of calcium causes prostate cancer among African-American men who are genetically good absorbers of the mineral.

"High dietary intake of calcium has long been linked to prostate cancer but the explanation for this observation has been elusive," said Gary G. Schwartz, Ph.D., associate professor of cancer biology, urology, and public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist and co-author on the study

Prostrate Gland 

.

Schwartz and colleagues from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Cancer Prevention Institute of California studied 783 African-American men living in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, 533 of whom were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Their study found that men who reported the highest intake of calcium were two times more likely to have localized and advanced prostate cancer than those who reported the lowest.

Men with a genotype associated with poor calcium absorption were 59 percent less likely to have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer than men who genetically were the best absorbers of calcium

Calcium rich food

.

And, among men with calcium intake below the median, genetically poor absorbers had a 50 percent decreased risk of having advanced prostate cancer than the best absorbers.

The finding is available in the online issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Read More

Drinking Too Much Water Could Be Harmful To Your Health... Says Experts!

Experts warn that drinking the recommended eight glasses of water a day could actually be harmful to a person's health

.

Glasgow-based GP Margaret McCartney says benefits of drinking water are often exaggerated by organisations with a vested interest, such as bottled water brands. Writing in the British Medical Journal she also claims that drinking when not thirsty can impair concentration.

A report claims that the benefits of drinking copious amounts of water are quite simply myths, suggesting there is no evidence behind claims that water prevents multiple health problems.

According to Dr McCartney, consumption of excessive amounts of water can in fact lead to loss of sleep and even cause kidney damage instead of preventing it.

Professor Stanley Goldfarb, a metabolism expert from the University of Pennsylvania also claims there is no evidence to suggest that water suppresses appetite.

'If children drank more water rather than getting extra calories from soda, that's good - but there is no evidence that drinking water before meals reduces appetite,' he says.

Around 2.06 billion litres of water was consumed in Britain last year in comparison to just 1.42billion litres in 2000.

Read More

Drink Green tea and live Cancer free Life!!!!!

Green tea is tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan and South Korea to the Middle East. Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing, and harvesting time.

Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting that regular green tea drinkers have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer.

Green tea contains salubrious polyphenols, particularly catechins, the most abundant of which is epigallocatechin gallate. Green tea also contains carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), minerals such as chromium, manganese, selenium or zinc, and certain phytochemical compounds

In other hand, Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers^.The cancer cells may metastasize (spread) from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, problems during sexual intercourse, or erectile dysfunction. Other symptoms can potentially develop during later stages of the disease.

 In Recent research, researchers have discovered that an active compound polyphenon  found in Green tea can slow the progression of prostate cancer. The study examined in 26 men between 41 to 72 years diagonised with prostate cancer were given capsule of  polyphenon E and the results suggested a significant reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression.

Similarly, results of recent year long clinical trial conducted  Italy revealed that consumption of green tea polyphenols reduced the risk of developing prostate cancer in man. However the research are just beginning and lots of work remains to be done and I strongly feel that consumption of green tea should be encouraged and the chances of cancer cure should be explored.

Read More