Shingles and the Risk for Heart Attack and Stroke

Shingles (Herpes zoster) is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox (varicella). People tend to contract chickenpox when they are children. This initial infection causes painful rashes, blisters and can lead to significant scarring if proper care is not given. However, the infection never leaves the body, even after the outward symptoms subside.

Anyone who contracted chickenpox as a child is at risk of developing shingles later on in life, especially after they reach the age of 50. Shingles often starts with pain and tingling in the area of the body where a rash will later develop. The condition is often accompanied by fever, chills and headache. The rash itself can persist for seven to 10 days, and the affected person is usually back to normal in two to four weeks. However, in severe cases, shingles can affect the eyes, leading to blindness.

A recent British study published in the journal Neurology has demonstrated that there is a link between shingles and an elevated risk of heart attack or stroke. Subjects were followed for over six years after they developed shingles. The risk of having a stroke was not significantly increased in the overall group, but the chances of subjects experiencing a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or “mini-stroke” increased by 15 percent. The risk of heart attacks in the larger group was raised by 10 percent.

The biggest increase in risk was among those who developed shingles before the age of 40. Subjects in this group faced a 74 percent increase in the risk of having a stroke. This is because the shingles virus seems to be able to spread and affect the cerebral arteries, which can lead to strokes. The researchers who performed the study have recommended that anyone who develops shingles before the age of 40 be closely monitored for strokes or heart attacks by their health specialist. They have also suggested that more adequate prevention against shingles could be provided to people under the age of 60. This newly published research confirms that shingles is indeed a serious health risk and should be addressed through vaccination as soon as possible.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Shingles?

The best prevention for shingles is through vaccination. The vaccine is usually given to people over the age of 60, but there is FDA approval for the use of this vaccine for those between the ages of 50 and 59. The final decision on vaccination lies with you and your health specialist. You should get the shingles vaccination even if you have developed shingles in the past as you could still be at risk in the future.

Most people do not experience any side effects from the shingles vaccine, but others may notice a small rash or blister at the injection site. People with allergies to either gelatin or neomycin, an antibiotic, should not get the shingles vaccine. Anyone who is HIV positive, suffers from leukemia or lymphoma, or who is otherwise immuno-compromised should also avoid getting the vaccine. If you are experiencing an active shingles infection, then you will not be able to receive the vaccine. In addition, pregnant women should not receive the shingles vaccine.

Where Can I Get a Shingles Vaccine?

If you are concerned about the long-term consequences you may face if you contract shingles, you may want to visit a travel health specialist as soon as possible. He or she will be able to provide you with a full medical exam and administer the shingles vaccine if you meet the criteria for immunization.

Chinese New Year – a Time of Happiness and Good Luck

Chinese New Year is fast approaching, and millions of people from around the world will be making the journey to the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau in order to join in on the celebrations. If you are thinking of visiting the region to celebrate the Year of the Horse, then you should take the following advice into consideration so that you stay healthy throughout your travels.

1Schedule a Visit with a Travel Health Specialist

You should take the time to schedule an appointment with a travel health specialist at least one month before you embark on your trip to China. The specialist can provide you with a comprehensive travel consultation and a discussion about your medical history to make sure that you are fit to travel. This meeting should be scheduled well in advance just in case you need to make follow-up visits for vaccinations prior to your departure.

2Make Sure Your Vaccinations are Up to Date

Your travel health specialist can provide you with vaccinations that are recommended for traveling to China. You may also be given anti-malarial medication to take with you as well as prophylactic antibiotics for unexpected illness. Your travel health specialist will give you exact instructions that are tailored for your health and travel situation.

3Exercise Caution When Eating and Drinking

Family meals and street food stall delicacies are a major draw to Chinese New Year, but travelers should be very careful about what they choose to eat and drink. Avoid eating any raw or under-cooked eggs and poultry. Do not eat fruits or vegetables that you cannot peel or sterilize. Drink sealed and bottled water from reputable companies if you are concerned about tap water. In addition, you may want to bring along a water purification kit if you are going to be visiting regions with questionable water sanitation facilities. You should also bring along over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medicines in case you become unwell from anything you eat.

4Practice Good Handwashing Techniques

One of the best ways to stay healthy is to make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly as often as possible. Be sure to use clean running water and lots of soap. Lather your hands, fingers and wrists for as long as it takes for you to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. Rinse your hands well and use a clean paper towel to dry them. If you find yourself without soap and water, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60 percent alcohol.

5Stay Safe, Even if You Become Ill

If you do become sick while visiting China for the New Year, then you should try to get in touch with a doctor as soon as possible. In the meantime, cover your nose and mouth in order to avoid spreading illness to others. If you have a fever, difficulty breathing, or you cannot keep down water, then you should contact a doctor immediately. Some major cities may have Western medical facilities, but if you are in a rural area, then you may have to travel a long distance in order to get adequate help.

Happy New Year!

By taking the appropriate steps to safeguard your health during your travels, you can ensure the best possible chance to enjoy each of the 15 days of the Lunar New Year celebrations in China. Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year!

According to a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO), the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic may have been responsible for up to 203,000 deaths. When deaths due to flu-related complications such as cardiac and respiratory issues are added in, the total could go up to nearly 400,000 fatalities. This is a steep rise from the original laboratory reported number of deaths of 18,449. While this flu pandemic was nowhere near as lethal as other strains of the virus, particularly that seen during the 1918-1919 flu season that resulted in over 50 million global deaths, the impact of the 2009 flu pandemic now stands at 10 times the original estimate. Moreover, the new study demonstrated that the infection and death rates varied greatly based on demographics and geography.

Indeed, one of the key take home points of the new study is that even a global pandemic can have great heterogeneity in terms of its deadly impact. For example, the Americas were impacted much more heavily than Europe or Australia, causing great difficulty for the WHO as it tried to craft a global response. Indeed, the impact of the disease varied greatly even within regions; for example, Argentina was hit very hard, while the impact in Chile was far less. Some have proposed that exposure to past disease strains that were similar to the 2009 strain may have had a preventative effect, whereby past exposure almost acted like a vaccine to the new disease. Most experts agree that quality of care was not a sufficient explanation for differences in impact, but the disease was more deadly in countries in which it peaked during cold weather months.

Additionally, the 2009 pandemic took an especially heavy toll on children, young adults, and pregnant women. Approximately, 80% of deaths from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic were in people younger than 65 years old, a sharp contrast to the typical influenza epidemic in which 80-90% of deaths occur in people over 65. Therefore, in terms of years-of-life-lost, the 2009 pandemic had a much greater impact than a typical flu season.
In short, experts are still trying to determine the exact reasons the disease took a deadly toll on certain regions and age groups. However, the additional data will be integral to improving public health response to future pandemics and to build out better influenza monitoring systems that take these key variations in disease impact into account.

In the United States, the flu season tends to begin in October and can continue into the springtime. If the news about the high death toll from the 2009 pandemic has concerned you, remember that it is not too late to get your flu shot, the best preventative measure you can take.

Sources
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/11/26/247379604/2009-flu-pandemic-was-10-times-more-deadly-than-previously-thought/
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/health/who-revises-estimate-of-swine-flu-deaths.html?hpw&rref=health&_r=3&

Name: Mikayla
Age: 16
Lives in: Ohio
Destination: Villa Nueva, Guatemala
Trip Date: Summer 2013

Like many Central American countries, Guatemala is a land of contrast. Great natural beauty easily yields to trash-strewn urban barrios. The threat of crime and violence can overshadow the welcoming warmth of locals. And to Mikayla, a teen traveler from Ohio, it was the striking disparity between the impoverished lifestyles of many Guatemalans and the happiness in which they seemed to live.

“What I found most interesting was how they had nothing but were still the most friendly people I had ever met,” she said. “They spent their spare time just playing and having a great time with each other.”

With a few months hindsight, Mikayla, whose mother is a Passport Health Travel Medicine Specialist, filled us in on her church-sponsored journey and lifelong lessons learned along the way.

Passport Health: Why Guatemala?

Mikayla: We were helping to build a roof for an add-on that locals were constructing on their orphanage. And we also built some cabinets for the local people.

Passport Health: Had you traveled abroad before?

Mikayla: I had not. This was my first time.

Passport Health: How did daily life of the locals differ from the life you live back in the states?

Mikayla: Oh my goodness! They wake up super early in the morning to get their chores done. They walked everywhere no matter how far they had to go. And they start cooking and preparing meals first thing in the morning.

Passport Health: Did you eat any local delicacies or interesting foods during your trip?

Mikayla: I did! They made grilled chicken. So, that wasn’t much different. But I had some frijoles (beans) they had boiled and then mushed up and also tortillas they had hand made.

Passport Health: The weather is different than your hometown. Was it challenging to acclimate?

Mikayla: Yes, it was warm but it wasn’t unbearable. The sun was a lot closer so we got sunburned faster than what we were used too.

Passport Health: What about your trip was most surprising?

Mikayla: That’s a tough one; I wasn’t expecting it to be so dirty (trash everywhere) and animals to be wandering on the streets. They didn’t have storm drains there so when it rained the dirt roads were turned into rivers of nasty dirty water.

Passport Health: Did you find any cultural similarities?

Mikayla: The only similarity there really was, was that they dressed the same as us.

Passport Health: How did your trip impact the way you view people living outside the U.S.?

Mikayla: It made me realize that there are amazing people all around the world that are so caring and just want to be treated with kindness. Those people have close to nothing but still wake up with a smile and keep living. They are the strongest people I have ever met.

Are you planning a trip to Guatemala? Be sure you are healthy and prepared for your adventure by scheduling a visit with a travel health specialist before you go.

Sources:
https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1129.html
https://www.nuevoreto.org/

As a humanitarian aid worker, you will be travelling to some of the most impoverished and dangerous areas of the world as you provide essential assistance to those in areas subjected to natural disaster or war. This aid can also come in the form of missionary work to people in third-world countries. In all of these situations, as a humanitarian aid worker, you will encounter a higher health risk than someone traveling through an area as a tourist. Therefore, proper pre-travel precautions are even more essential, and here are five tips to maintain your own health during the time you spend rendering assistance to those in need:

Preparing to Go

Once you learn that you are traveling overseas, you should schedule a visit with a travel health specialist. They can provide you with valuable information about the area to which you are traveling and the health risks you are likely to encounter. The specialist can then help you protect your health by supplying you with appropriate vaccinations, medications and essential components for your travel kit, such as water purification tablets, mosquito repellent and sunscreen.

Packing your Travel Kit

As a humanitarian aid worker, you will need to make sure that you have all the essential supplies with you to protect your own health abroad, as these items are not likely to be widely available in your destination. Some of the items you may want to pack include:

• water purification tablets and/or filtration system, if water sources may be compromised
• mosquito repellent and mosquito netting, in areas subject to malaria especially
• sunscreen and hat
• protective gloves and goggles
• protective face mask, in areas subject to contagious illness
• first aid kit
• medication for prevention of travelers’ diarrhea

Manage Your Stress Levels

When entering a disaster area, it is easy to become emotionally stressed by the people and situations that you encounter. Be sure to bring family photos with you, so you can maintain a connection with the world you left behind. Many humanitarian aid workers find that keeping a journal of their experiences is a great way to alleviate stress during the situation, and the journal can be an invaluable source of information as you plan for future missions. Contact with those at home can also be another way to manage stress and maintain essential communication with your loved ones.

Minimize Risk of Injury

If you are in an area that just suffered a natural disaster, you face the additional physical risk of injury from unstable building collapses or injuries caused by falling debris. Stay alert to your surroundings and the possible dangers you may encounter as you go into the community to render assistance. If you are injured while on-site, even if it is something as simple as a small cut, seek attention from medical personnel traveling with you in order to minimize the chance of infection.

Upon Your Return

When you return home, be aware of your own health condition. If you experience any medical symptoms indicating that you may have been exposed to illness or disease during your trip, arrange to visit a medical professional as soon as possible.

Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of depression. Over 30 percent of humanitarian aid workers experience depression after they return home. If you believe you are suffering from depression upon your return, seek counseling so that you can cope better with the issue.

Your service as a humanitarian aid worker is of great value to those you are helping. Maintaining your own physical and emotional health is of utmost importance, so you can continue to provide support services to those in need during a crisis situation.

Remember: Maintaining your own good health is the best way to ensure that you can be of help to others.

SOURCES:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/humanitarian-aid-workers