Mysterious skin disease killed 19 in Vietnam, seek international help

HANOI, Vietnam (Sat, Apr. 21) – The mysterious viral skin infection has killed 19 in Vietnam since it was first reported exactly one year ago in April 2011. More than 170 other people have been registered during last year who are suffering severe medical complications due to this mysterious disease. 

Mysterious skin disease killed 19 in Vietnam, seek international help

Most of the cases have been reported from the Ba To District, which is one of the poorest in the country. The symptoms include a severe rash and ulcers on the skin, as well as high fever that ultimately leads to liver problems and organ failure. 

The mysterious illness was thought to be died out after killing 11 people last year; but apparently it has come back with even more forcefully and 8 deaths are reported only in the last month; while 68 new cases have come under spotlight. 

Vietnamese health ministry officials have requested formally to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control to investigate the cause of this mysterious infection and to take appropriate step to stop it from spreading to the other parts of the country.

Sukkur-born miracle boy with six legs named 'Umar Farooq' after successful operation at NICH, Karachi

KARACHI, Pakistan (Fri, Apr 20) – Sukkur-born infant with six legs was successfully operated at National Institute of Child Health (NICH) in Karachi, Pakistan yesterday.

Sukkur-born miracle boy with six legs named 'Umar Farooq' after successful operation at NICH, Karachi

The doctors had decided to go for surgery after they established that the baby actually did not have six legs, but had got extra limbs of conjoined twins, and they were successful in removing the extra limbs.

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.

According to earlier reports, father of the baby, Imran Sheikh, is an X-ray technician whose meager salary of 6,000 Pakistani rupees a month was impossible to cater for his son’s treatment at the hospital. He appealed to philanthropists and the government of Pakistan to help his baby boy. Pakistan Baitul Mal – a charity organization in Pakistan – helped the poor family for their child’s treatment. The family also collected some money from their own sources while the major help was tended by the Baitul Mal.

 

Father of the baby boy said after the surgery, “We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government and doctors for helping us successful operating my baby.”

 He said they have thought to name their son ‘Umar Farooq’.

The heartening news of this boy’s successful surgery spread like jungle fire in Pakistan. Thankfully, this boy would be able to live a normal life with two legs.

 

Report Tags: Imran Sheikh, Six-legged boy, Sukkur-born boy with six legs, Umar Farooq, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, conjoined twins

Medical Mystery or Miracle -- Exclusive Video: Six-legged baby boy born in Sukkur (Sindh, Pakistan)

SUKKUR, Pakistan (Wed, Apr 18) – The miraculous baby boy with six legs born to an X-ray technician, resident of Sukkur (Sindh), is being treated at National Institute of the Child Health in Karachi and the doctors are trying their best to save his life while bringing him to normal by operating the extra limbs. 

Medical Mystery or Miracle -- Six-legged baby boy born in Sukkur

 According to Mr Jamal Raza, the director of the Institute, the unnamed infant has a unusual genetic condition. "It is not one baby actually. They are two, one of them is premature," he said.

The special baby boy was born to the wife of Imran Sheikh almost a week ago in the town of Sukkur, around 450km (280 miles) north of Karachi.

Dr Ishratul Ebad, Governor of Sindh, instructed concerned officials to ensure every possible assistance for the treatment of the baby boy.

"We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government for helping us treating my baby," Imran Sheikh told the media.

"The doctors are examining the infant to plan for necessary treatment to save the baby's life and ensure he lives a normal life," said a statement from the provincial health department.

Watch Video of the special baby boy below:

Beware! Caffeine Toxicity/Poisoning from excessive use of energy drinks can lead you to death

The concern about the health of kids due to frequent intake of energy drinks and other beverages is heightening after the death of 14-year-old Maryland girl, who was reported dead after drinking two energy drinks within 24 hours. 

Add caption Caffeine Toxicity/Poisoning from excessive use of energy drinks can lead you to death

According to details; Anais Fournier died last December due to caffeine toxicity which rose sharply after she consumed two cans of Monster energy drinks, which contained 480mg of caffeine – almost equal to caffeine found in 14 cans of Coca Cola.

Fournier suffered a cardiac arrest the next day and passed away from cardiac arrhythmia due to none other than risen caffeine toxicity; U.S. TODAY reported, the amount of caffeine found in the body of the girl was almost five times the recommended caffeine limit from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

Wendy Crossland, the mother of deceased girl, told media that her daughter had 24-ounce energy drink while she was hanging around with her friends in the mall. 

“She drank another one less than 24 hours later, even though she knew I do not allow them because I know they are bad for you. She went into cardiac arrest three hours later at home,” Crossland said further. 

Caffeine poisoning is not rare in the U.S. and cases of caffeine poisoning have increased over the last few years, from 1,128 in 2005 to 13,114 in 2009. 

Caffeine is a stimulant, and is found in a multitude of food products, from coffee, to chocolate, to sodas -- and the amounts found in those products usually are not enough to cause any harm to health, Medscape noted. 

But caffeine poisoning is not uncommon in the U.S. TODAY reported that cases of caffeine poisoning have increased over the last few years, from 1,128 in 2005 to 13,114 in 2009. 

A recent study in the journal Pediatrics showed that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of teens and young adults drink energy drinks. Nearly half of the 5,448 reported caffeine overdoses in 2007 were in people younger than 19. 

"The known and unknown pharmacology of agents included in such drinks, combined with reports of toxicity, raises concern for potentially serious adverse effects in association with energy drink use," researchers wrote in that study. "In the short-term, pediatricians need to be aware of the possible effects of energy drinks in vulnerable populations and screen for consumption to educate families."

VIDEO: Canadian blogger Furious Pete Showing the reality of 'before and after' shots used by dieting industry

Worth $60billion-a-year in America, the dieting industry is big business and many advertisements feature ‘before and after’ shots to show you just how effective the product is.

Canadian blogger Furious Pete Showing the reality of 'before and after' shots used by dieting industry (Image Credit: Youtube)

A Canadian blogger and eating champion, known as Furious Pete, has began a barrage at the dieting industry’s use of ‘before and after’ photographs to establish the reality of claims made about supplements and training programs.

Furious Pete has posted a video on YouTube which became an internet sensation as it got more than 3.0 million hits within just 48 hours, since it was uploaded on February 5, 2012.

He says: 'Take two hours off, you worked hard. Rest up and make sure the vascularity disappears. Grab a bag of chips and down all of them. 

'Grab yourself a two litre bottle of pop and drink it all. Diet pop works even better because it has more carbonation and will make your stomach even bigger.'

He then recommends drinking chocolate milk, saying: 'It will bloat the hell out of you.'

Then, the before shot is complete. Pete stands with his stomach hanging over his pants and the bulging biceps from just hours before have disappeared, proving that we 'shouldn't believe everything we see.'

Watch video below:

'It worked for so many different health problems': Professor Dr Mike Evan MAGIC PILL Goes Viral

TORONTO, Canada (Jan. 12) – Professor Dr. Mike Evans answers an old and the most frequently asked question "What is the single best thing we can do for our health" in a completely new way.

Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital.

An illustrated video with a simple message about health has received more than a million hits on YouTube, much to the delight of the Toronto doctor who created it.

Health conscious people from around the globe are coming to watch this month-old video from Facebook and Twitter.

Dr. Evans says his message — to complete a half-hour of exercise every day — is like a magic pill to cure aches and pains.

Panda Tea for Health and Fitness: World's most expensive tea from Panda Dung

‘Panda Tea’ is what might be the upcoming craze for the health and fitness conscious people around the globe; but behold it will not be available for a those who can’t afford to spend almost 220,000 yuan ($35,000) for 500 grams (18 ounces).

An Yanshi with his experimental plants of world's most expensive tea

According to details; a Chinese citizen An Yanshi believed that panda poo is the key ingredient to produce the world’s most expensive tea, what he called ‘Panda Tea’ whose logo features a smiling panda wearing a bow tie and holding a steaming glass of green tea.

An Yanshi, 41, has purchased 11 tonnes of Panda dung from a panda breeding centre to fertilize a tea crop in the mountains of Sichuan province in southwestern China, home to the black and white bears.

An Yanshi - a calligraphy teacher at Sichuan University – has left his job to dedicate himself for this project for which he has planted the tea crop on just over a hectare (2.5 acres) of land. An no only hopes to make money from the tea but he aims to convince the world to protect the environment and replace chemical fertilizers with animal extracts, before it is too late.

The passionate former university professor dressed in a panda suit for his interview with AFP “Panda dung is rich in nutrition… and should be much better than chemical fertilizers,” An told AFP, as he sat at a traditional Chinese tea table drinking tea grown with cow manure.

The tea addict An got the idea to use panda faeces as fertilizer after attending a seminar last year where he came to know that the bears normally absorb less than 30 percent of the bamboo they consume, excreting the remaining 70 percent.