https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb en-us Here is my appraisal of an average working poor family in Danao City…. https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=185 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 10:13:17 GMT https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=185
The family is usually made up of the grandparents, the parents and five or six kids. Who by the way don’t attend school since the family just doesn’t have enough money for uniforms, shoes, books, etc. The family begins each day to the sound of a nearby rooster crowing at 4:30 AM. If they are lucky they’ll have enough food for breakfast, yes its hard life compared to others. Soon the husband leaves to look for scrap material along the road for any thing that might be sold to a junk dealer; copper wire, old door knobs, plastic bottles, scrap metal – the list goes on and on.

And if there is enough household money the mother and oldest daughter will sell barbecue chicken or pork cooked on an open fire outside. The family will do almost anything to supplement and to add extra income. Sometime later around 7 or 8 AM, the older kids will rummage around along the edges of the road where people have dumped their garbage. The kids will hunt from side to side of the road for dumped garbage. As they search it reminds me of the of old California Gold Rush Miners but in this case it’s pursue to help their family. Occasionally the kids will find a treasure of metal cans that can be sold. Afterwards the kids will return home to play and to be kids once again.

As it starts to get dark in the evening the husband returns home with a peso or two in his pockets; just enough to buy a kilo of rice and some dried fish to feed his family. Before long the day is over and everyone turns to sleep…. Life goes on.


Chuck in Danao City
]]> One thing I didn’t like about traveling to China is.... https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=184 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:52:47 GMT https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=184
Chuck in Danao City
]]> Here is my appraisal of an average working poor family in Danao City…. https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=183 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:50:13 GMT https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=183
The family is usually made up of the grandparents, the parents and five or six kids. Who by the way don’t attend school since the family just doesn’t have enough money for uniforms, shoes, books, etc. The family begins each day to the sound of a nearby rooster crowing at 4:30 AM. If they are lucky they’ll have enough food for breakfast, yes its hard life compared to others. Soon the husband leaves to look for scrap material along the road for any thing that might be sold to a junk dealer; copper wire, old door knobs, plastic bottles, scrap metal – the list goes on and on.

And if there is enough household money the mother and oldest daughter will sell barbecue chicken or pork cooked on an open fire outside. The family will do almost anything to supplement and to add extra income. Sometime later around 7 or 8 AM, the older kids will rummage around along the edges of the road where people have dumped their garbage. The kids will hunt from side to side of the road for dumped garbage. As they search it reminds of the of old California Gold Rush Miners but in this case it’s pursue to help their family. Occasionally the kids will find a treasure of metal cans that can be sold. Afterwards the kids will return home to play be kids once again.

As it starts to get dark in the evening the husband returns home with a peso or two in pockets; just enough to buy a kilo of rice and some dried fish to feed his family. Before long the day is over and everyone turns to sleep…. Life goes on.


Chuck in Danao City
]]> Australian research pinpoints brain dysfunction in hyperactive kids....... https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=182 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:47:00 GMT https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=182
Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have major dysfunction in brain regions known to help us concentrate, according to Melbourne University's Professor Alasdair Vance.

Vance said the study found that the brain activity of teenagers with the disorder was lower in two connected neural networks than in other adolescents.

Vance said in a statement, "We found there was less activity in the 'action-attentional' system in the brains of children with ADHD." He further reported, "This system is known to be involved in helping us to maintain focused attention and stops us from getting distracted by stimuli that are irrelevant to the task at hand."

Vance found ADHD sufferers also had less activity in areas used in visual-spatial manipulation but increased activity in other parts of the brain.

"Activity in regions of the brain that are always more active in children than in adults were also apparent, suggesting there could be a widespread maturational lag affecting the brain's neural systems in people with ADHD," he said.

The research, published in this month's British Journal of Psychiatry, was based on the MRI brain scans of 14 boys aged 12 to 16 taken while they were performing mental memory tasks.

It found adolescents with the disorder performed significantly worse on these tasks than other teenagers of the same age. Children with ADHD often have difficulty performing tasks and suffer from concentration difficulties, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior.
]]> Stalling malaria's deadly path https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=181 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:43:47 GMT https://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/kb/link.php?action=detail&id=181
"Usually mosquito bites are a harmless nuisance. But when the insect carries parasites that cause malaria, just one bite spells trouble," says Doctor Mario Baquilod, division chief of the Department of Health Infectious Diseases Office. Further Dr. Baquilod explains, however, that the chances of contracting malaria will only increase if one goes to a defined geographic area where the parasites and the mosquito species that transmit them are confined.

"The risk of acquiring malaria is also determined by the intensity of malaria transmission in the area and season of one's visit to the area, as well as the length of stay, type of accommodation and likely activities between dusk and dawn," says Baquilod. This is why Baquilod advises people who are going to any of these places, especially during the rainy season to take chemoprophylaxis -- usually the inexpensive doxycycline -- as a precaution two or three days before travel. The drug has to be taken daily up to four weeks after one leaves the place.

Although no prophylaxis is 100 percent effective, the correct medicine will reduce one's risk of contracting severe illness, he says.

According to DOH entomologist Norma Joson, malaria is caused by four species of the Plasmodium parasite, namely P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. Only the first two are endemic to the Philippines. The parasite is primarily transmitted by the two species of Anopheles mosquito native to this country, the Anopheles flavirostris complex and the Anopheles maculatus complex.

In the Philippines over 70 percent of malaria infections are due to P. falciparum infection.

Only the female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria, as only female mosquitoes bite humans to take a blood meal. The Anopheles are mostly found in the clear running water of mountain streams, either well exposed to the sun or along a more shady edge, in seepage water, springs and shallow wells.

When the malaria-carrying mosquito bites a human, it injects the malaria parasites into the person's blood. The parasites travel through the person's bloodstream to the liver, where they grow to their next stage of development.

In six to nine days, the parasites leave the liver and enter the bloodstream again. They invade the red blood cells, and begin to multiply quickly, causing the blood cells to burst. The infection spreads and the person starts experiencing malaria symptoms. On the other hand, when a non-infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, the mosquito sucks up parasites from the person's blood. The mosquito is then infected with the malaria parasites, which go through several stages of growth inside the mosquito.

The early symptoms of malaria include flu, with periods of chills and fever lasting several hours and occurring every few days. When one experiences this, it is best to immediately seek medical attention.

Without treatment, the illness may deteriorate rapidly, especially in high-risk groups including pregnant women, young children, and immune-compromised patients.

The best way to beat malaria is to prevent contact with the mosquitoes, in the first place.

"The malaria parasite has proven to be insidious, managing to mutate and resist drugs and insecticides created to fight it. Even scientists looking for a cure for malaria admit that it may take several more years to create a vaccine that provides total protection," says Baquilod.

As part of the nationwide Malaria Control Program, the DOH, in coordination with its local partners, conducts awareness campaigns in endemic areas, does house-to-house insecticide spraying operations during outbreaks, and distributes mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides to families living in high-risk areas. "We also advise them to wear long-sleeved shirts or blouses and long trousers to protect their arms and legs, especially from dusk to dawn when these malaria-carrying mosquitoes are out," Baquilod says.
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