New software using cell phones may allow doctors to analyze coughs and diagnose respiratory illness, including pneumonia.

“A cough is one of the most common symptoms of illness and a common mode of disease spread,” says researcher Suzanne Smith, PhD, of STAR Analytical Services. “Yet we don’t use technology in any way to measure or understand what coughs mean.”

The program is designed to distinguish different coughs using acoustic vocalization analysis, a way to distinguish different audio tones. Researchers hypothesize that the sound of coughing varies by illness, and that these subtle differences may be enough to determine which illness a patient has.

If this is true, it could mean greater accessibility to medical services for individuals who live far from a doctor. An early diagnosis would also help determine what treatments are necessary and ensure that patients receive the proper medications they need to recover.

Efforts are currently focused on pneumonia,  a disease that kills 1.8 million children every year. Most of them live in developing countries. Software capabilities, if initially successful, are likely to grow. Cell phones could potentially be used to diagnose everything from the common cold to influenza.

The project is in its beginning stages, but the possibility of such a program could save millions of lives, not to mention billions of dollars in health care costs.

Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Global Health Program says that this is the exact sort of thinking it will take to tackle the world’s health challenges.

"I'm excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs," he says.

You may not realize that you’re taking too much of a popular pain reliever. The most widely used medication in the United States, acetaminophen (Tylenol), is effective in relieving mild to moderate pain and reducing fever—when used at the recommended dosage. When more than 4,000 milligrams of acetaminophen are used a day, however, it can harm the liver. Acetaminophen overdosage causes an estimated 56,000 visits to emergency facilities each year and is the most frequent cause of liver failure.

Although the problems have been recognized for years, they recently gained more scrutiny. The Federal Drug Administration has taken a closer look at the safety of over-the-counter and prescription medication containing acetaminophen. Last week, an FDA joint advisory committee gathered to discuss safety questions surrounding acetaminophen. They made several recommendations, such as lowering the maximum daily dosage and strengthening the labeling.

And, manufacturers may be asked to play a bigger role in helping prevent overdoses. One issue: many remedies contain acetaminophen along with other medications. Consumers may not be aware they are swallowing acetaminophen along with both prescription and over-the-counter remedies. A majority of acetaminophen-related deaths have involved opioid/acetaminophen combination products, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone (Percocet) and acetaminophen/hydrocodone (Vicodin). Typically, the package warning labels concentrate on the more potent opioid drug.

Although the FDA is not required to accept the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so.

To help protect yourself from overdosing on acetaminophen, Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Remington Professor of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, offers these tips:

• Know that APAP is the abbreviation for the chemical name of acetaminophen and, if found on the list of ingredients, means the product contains acetaminophen.
• For occasional, modest pain, consider starting with a dose of 500 mg (rather than 1000 mg).
• Be aware there are two concentrations of nonprescription acetaminophen for children. The infant formulation is more concentrated than the formulation for older children. Make sure you understand the concentration level before giving medication to a child.
• Check the dose of acetaminophen that is included in any combination medication. Ask your pharmacist if you are uncertain.
• For over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, seek products that treat just the symptoms you have. For sneezing and a runny nose, for example, a product containing an antihistamine and a decongestant would be sufficient.

For more information on acetaminophen, see the Pharmacist Activist Newsletter. For information and support on relieving back pain, a very common pain complaint, see the Healia Back Pain Guide. And talk to others about treatment and relief at the back pain online health community and support group.

Reported cases of swine flu in the United States are continuing to climb since last week. On Monday, the World Health Organization reported that 40 cases of swine flu have now been confirmed in the United States.  However, there are breaking reports that there have been 28 cases of swine flu among high school students in a New York City school. Many more cases are likely.

Swine flu is mainly spread from person to person when the virus is carried in droplets from coughing or sneezing of infected people. You can also become exposed by touching contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs, and then touching your mouth or nose. In the past, most cases of swine flu in people were those who were in close contact with pigs. The swine flu virus may be shed by infected people beginning 1 day before symptoms and up to 7 or more days after symptoms start. 

Typical symptoms of swine flu are similar to the regular flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some infected people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting with the new swine flu.

The regular seasonal flu vaccine does not cover the new swine flu virus, but there are ways to reduce your risk of getting swine flu. Here are 7 tips for preventing the swine flu from affecting you:

• Regularly wash your hands with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds. Try to do this after you cough or sneeze or touch surfaces in public places. If soap is not available, carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue whenever you cough or sneeze. And immediately dispose of the tissue after use.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth as the flu virus can enter your body that way.
• Avoid close contact with sick people and avoid places with large numbers of sick people such as hospitals.
• If you have flu symptoms, call your doctor to see if you should receive one f the recommended prescription drugs. The swine flu virus is susceptible to the prescription flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza.
• If you think you may have the flu, stay home from work or school and avoid close contact with family members and others.
• Avoid direct contact with pigs. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products.

Share your tips about how to stay away from the swine flu or ask a question about swine flu on Healia Communities.


_{Photo: Mussels, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization are closely monitoring the outbreaks of a new type of swine flu in the United States and Mexico to avert a potential flu pandemic. The outbreak has killed at least 16 people in Mexico and infected eight people in the United States. All the American cases have recovered. 

The new strain of flu virus is unusual because it contains gene segments from swine, bird, and human flu virus strains. It is believed that some infections were transmitted from person to person instead of from pigs

On Friday, Mexico City health officials closed schools across the city, urged people with flu symptoms to stay home from work, and encouraged people to take precautions such as regular hand washing.

Health officials have warned for many years that new flu virus strains such as the current one could precipitate a global flu pandemic, which could kill millions of people. The pandemic of 1918-19 resulted in at least 40 million deaths worldwide.

The CDC has not yet recommended against traveling to Mexico. The current season’s flu vaccine does not protect against the new swine flu virus but the CDC is apparently working on a swine flu vaccine. People cannot catch swine flu from eating pork or pork products.

Have a question about swine flu? Ask the medical students at Healia Communities.


_{Photo: treehouse1977, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A study released this weekend in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology reports researchers have discovered human antibodies that defend against several strains of the flu including the avian (bird) flu, the 1918 pandemic flu, and common seasonal flu strains. The discovery could lead to the development of vaccines that protect against several flu strains, eliminating the need for seasonal flu shots. More immediately, the antibodies might be used to confer protection against a flu pandemic.

Researchers found the naturally-occurring antibodies – proteins produced by the immune system to protect against invading bacteria and viruses – by screening a huge number of flu antibodies collected from the blood of volunteers. It is unknown how common the antibodies are in the general population. They tested the antibodies in mice and found that they were effective in neutralizing the common seasonal flu known as H1N1, the H5N1 avian flu, and the virus responsible for the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic that killed nearly 50 million people worldwide.

What makes the newly discovered antibodies special is that they bind to a place on the surface of the flu virus that does not mutate or change often. Other portions of the influenza virus surface, including the two major surface proteins known as hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), mutate frequently to evade detection from the immune system. Current flu vaccines are directed against these ever-changing proteins, making them good for only one season because the virus changes its surface proteins enough to make the existing antibodies useless. This mechanism also means that flu shots often provide less-than-optimal seasonal protection because changes in these proteins can occur so rapidly that the antibodies produced in response to the vaccine no longer recognize the virus.

Since the new antibodies are made by human cells and are monoclonal, meaning that they are all directed against the same portion of the flu virus, the researchers believe that clinical trials testing their use could be started soon. Other types of human monoclonal antibodies are already in use to treat some types of cancer. If the trials are successful, injection of the monoclonal antibodies could provide protection against multiple flu strains for high-risk individuals such as health care workers, and may also be used to treat those who already have the flu. In the future, the researchers will try to isolate the portion of the flu virus that these antibodies target and use it to make vaccines that could be used to protect everyone against multiple flu strains.

For more information on vaccines, see the Healia Health Guide on Vaccines. If you have questions about the flu, ask it in the Healia Health Community for Cold and Flu.

_{Photo: samantha celera, Flickr, Creative Commons}

In the first study of its kind, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University report that lack of sleep can increase your odds of catching a cold. In the study, people who slept less than seven hours a night were nearly three times as likely to catch a cold as people who slept eight hours a night or more. What’s more, people with low “sleep efficiency” – who reported spending less than 92 percent of their time in bed actually asleep – were more than five times as likely to come down with a cold as those whose sleep efficiency was 98 percent or more.

The study lends credence to the idea that sleep deprivation can impair the immune system, making it harder for people to fight off infection. Other studies have suggested that lack of sleep can increase the risk of heart disease, weight gain, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes.

In the study, researchers tracked 153 healthy volunteers with an average age of 37 for two weeks, calling them daily to ask about the amount and quality of sleep they had gotten the night before. Then, the volunteers had samples containing the rhinovirus, one of the more common causes of colds, squirted inside their nose and each checked into a hotel room for five days. Afterwards, the researchers tested them for infection with the virus and for symptoms of the common cold including sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, and congestion.

While nearly 90 percent of the volunteers became infected with the virus, only 35 percent got sick. Those who had slept fitfully or for fewer hours each night were much more likely to show symptoms than those who slept soundly for eight hours or more.

Cold symptoms are caused by the reaction of the body’s immune system to infection with a cold-causing virus, not by the infection itself. If a person’s immune system mounts a defense that is equal to the infection, it can fight off the virus that person even realizing they are fighting an infection. However, when the immune system is not able to control the infection early, it must mount a much larger response to rid the body of the virus, leading to the symptoms of a cold.

The researchers suggest that sleep may “fine tune” the immune system, allowing it to mount an appropriate immune response using signaling molecules called cytokines and histamines. Lack of sleep may hamper the immune system by interfering with these molecular signals.

According to the researchers, seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night is a reasonable goal to help people maintain a healthy immune system. One important finding of the study was that tossing-and-turning had an even greater impact on the ability to fight off a cold than sleep time. You can also improve the restfulness of your sleep by practicing good sleep hygiene such as setting a regular bedtime, not watching TV in bed, and getting out of bed when for a while when you can’t seem to sleep. Engage in something relaxing for a few minutes, and then get back in bed when you feel tired.

For more information on sleep hygiene, join the Healia Health Community on Sleep Disorders, and for more about the common cold, join the Healia Health Community for Cold and Flu.


_{Photo: deeleea, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Today marks the start of National Influenza Vaccination Week, which runs December 8 through 14 this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designed the event to highlight the importance of continuing influenza (flu) vaccination, as well as to remind people that it is still beneficial to get the flu vaccine in December and the months beyond.

The flu is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus that produces symptoms such as high fever, sore throat, coughing, body aches, extreme fatigue, runny or stuffy nose, and even nausea and diarrhea in children. It spreads easily from person to person but simple actions such as vaccination and good hygiene are effective ways to protect yourself. The flu virus changes every year and so the flu vaccine must be administered yearly in order to be effective. Vaccination should begin as soon as vaccine is available and continue throughout the flu season, into December, January, and beyond.

Each year in the United States, an average of 20,000 children younger than five are hospitalized because of flu-related complications. As many as one in five children younger than five may have to see the doctor, visit the ER or other urgent care for treatment for flu. About 100 children on average die from complications of influenza each year.

This year, Tuesday, December 9th, is designated as Children's Vaccination Day. Thursday, December 11th, is designated as Seniors' vaccination Day, and Friday, December 12th, will focus on vaccination of health care workers.

Between 143 million and 146 million doses of influenza vaccine will be produced for use in the United States during the 2008-09 influenza season. This is an all-time high supply of vaccine making it possible for more people than ever to seek protection from the flu.

The CDC recommends that children aged six months up to their 19th birthday get vaccinated against the flu. Children under six months are too young to receive the flu vaccine, but they are among the most vulnerable to develop serious, even fatal, complications from flu. This makes it crucial for close contacts (family members, caregivers, etc.) of such infants to be vaccinated, and the CDC also recommends that close contacts of all children younger than five get a flu vaccine each year to provide added protection to this high risk group. Additionally, people who live with or have other close contact with a child or children of any age with a chronic health problem (asthma, diabetes, etc.) should get a flu vaccine.

Children ages six months up to nine years who are getting a flu vaccine for the first time need two doses of vaccine the first year. The second dose should be given 28 or more days after the first dose.

Get specific advice on how to avoid the flu by reading 3 Tips for Preventing the Flu. For more information on flu vaccination, see the CDC website on seasonal flu vaccines. For information on how to cope with the flu, join the Healia Health Community on cold and flu.

 

_{Adapted from CDC, Vocus/PRWEB releases}

_{Photo: Jim Gathany, CDC, PHIL}

Influenza or “the flu” is a serious contagious disease. Each year in the United States more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, 20,000 of whom are children younger than 5 years old. Approximately 36,000 people die from flu each year, which is more than the number of people who die from more widely publicized causes such as prostate cancer, homicide, and MRSA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges you to take the following steps to protect yourself and others from the flu:

1. Take time to get a flu vaccine.
   The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. The vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses or it can make your illness milder if you get a different flu virus. Getting a vaccine is very important for people at high risk for serious flu complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart or lung disease, and people 65 and older. People who live with or care for those at high risk should also get a flu vaccine to protect their high-risk contact.


2. Take everyday preventive actions.
   The things you do everyday can make you more or less likely to get the flu. Some simple preventative measures can reduce your chances of getting the flu dramatically: Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. Try to avoid close contact with sick people. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth because this is the main way germs are spread. If you get the flu, you can reduce the chances of infecting others by staying home from work or school and limiting contact with others, covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throwing the tissue in the trash after you use it.


3. Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor recommends them.
   If you do get the flu, antiviral drugs are an important treatment option. (They are not a substitute for vaccination.) Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. These drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster and may also prevent serious flu complications. This could be especially important for people at high risk. Antiviral drugs work best if started within two days soon of developing flu-like symptoms, which include: fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches.

For more information on the flu or to pose a question to other people like you or to health experts, see the Healia Health Community on Cold and Flu.

Related Healia Health Blog post on National Influenza Vaccincation Week

 

_{Source: Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm}

_{Photo: Lost Albatross, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Today, the makers of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines warned that these products should not be given to children less than 4 years old. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a trade association of manufacturers and distributors of OTC medicines and nutritional supplements, are voluntarily labeling OTC pediatric cough and cold medicines as not for use in children under 4 years old. They also recommended that parents do not use products with antihistamines to sedate or make a child sleepy.

Many pediatrician groups have called for the banning of OTC cough and cold medicines in children less than 6 years of age, claiming that there is insufficient evidence that they work in that age group and that these medicines are associated with thousands of safety problems. Previously, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that OTC cough and cold products not be used in infants and children under 2 years of age due to potential serious side effects. However, the FDA has not yet issued a statement about the use of such products in children older than 2 years.

During the upcoming cold season, parents should be careful to use pediatric cough and cold products exactly as labeled and only when necessary.  

Your peers and experts at Healia Communities can answer your questions about cold and flu.

_{Photo: Kaptain Kobold, Creative Commons License}

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today expanded the number of Americans who should get the flu vaccine. The CDC advised that all children between 6 months and 19 years old should get vaccinated now with either a vaccine shot or the nasal spray vaccine. The CDC also continues to recommend the vaccine for people in high risk groups, including health care workers, people 50 and older, pregnant women, and those with chronic conditions.

Federal health officials stated that there should be plenty of flu vaccine available and that this year's formula will be more effective than last year's. Each year, the CDC makes predictions about the flu virus strains that will circulate in the coming flu season.

According to the CDC, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year for flu complications and 36,000 people die annually from the flu-related problems.

Parents with children should consider vaccinating their children well in advance of the peak flu season which is usually January and February. Call your pediatrician or local health department to find out where the flu vaccine is available.  

Have a question about the flu vaccine? Ask the Healia Flu Community.

 

_{Photo: Judy Schmidt, CDC}