We told you about Wolfram|Alpha in the past. Now it seems that the answer engine (as opposed to search engine) can help you if you were diagnosed with a disease or are on a drug treatment.

The new features allow you to compare your situation to others with your condition. You can enter the name of your disease and see, for example. how many others have been diagnosed with it, what were their symptoms, what other diseases they commonly have, and relevant blood tests.

For example, entering diabetes into the engine shows this data (among other things):

You can see info about other patients, their symptoms, and the drugs that were prescribed for them. You can also learn about those drugs by clicking “show drugs”, which will give you the names of the drugs as you see on the bottle, including other data.

If you or someone you know have been diagnosed with a new condition, or even if you suffer from a condition and want to know more about it or about the treatment you’re taking, Wolfram|Alpha can be a fascinating place to start your discovery.

Wolfram|Alpha

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Last December Brittany Murphy was found dead at her home. Many rumors were raised regarding the cause of her death – from drug overdose, to a cardiac arrest, and also possible murder by her husband Simon Monjack. An autopsy found that she had died of complications of pneumonia.

According to TMZ, another cause was suggested early during the investigation – mold that was found at the couple’s home. It was deemed “not to be a contributing factor”. A few months have passed, and Monjack also died mysteriously inside that same house, also of pneumonia, leading authorities to investigate into the mold issue.

Photo by Rob & Jules

The connection between mold and respiratory health

According to an article published by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in 2005, even though mold is present normally in all homes, it’s usually harmful only in large concentrations to allergic or sensitive individuals.

There are tests you can take to see if you’re allergic to fungi (a mold is a type of fungus). In people who are allergic to fungi, a wide range of allergic illnesses can occur, from asthma to rhinitis (an inflammation of the nose causing a runny nose). The article also mentions other illnesses that can happen after exposure to mold:

• Respiratory infections – By a fungus called aspergillus.
• Irritant reactions – These include sneezing, coughing, etc.
• Toxic reactions – That usually happens after you eat food contaminated with mold.

Should you check your house for mold?

As you can read above, most of the problems caused by mold are related to allergic reactions, such as sneezing, coughing, shortness of breath, etc.

The article mentioned that respiratory infections can be caused by the fungus aspergillus. Aspergillus usually doesn’t cause infections in healthy people, and usually only attacks people whose immune system is weak (such as those taking steroids for a long time, treated with chemotherapy, or people that have AIDS). In healthy people an inflammation of the lung may occur, but it usually recovers by itself.

It may be that other factors played a part in Brittany Murphy’s case, apart from the mold itself.

Photo by inspire*dream*create*

What can you do if you’re still afraid?

According to the article, "The best known management of indoor fungal contamination is prevention". "Regular inspection for sources of moisture and their elimination is the most important strategy to control indoor fungal growth. Since fungal growth depends on moisture and a carbon source, the most important strategy for reducing or eliminating its growth is controlling the amount of moisture present."

They recommend the following steps to prevent mold growth:

1. Maintain indoor relative humidity at no greater than 50 percent.
2. Seal all leaks to prevent water accumulation and use a sump pump in basements prone to flooding.
3. Increase the use of bathroom and kitchen ventilation by using exhaust fans.

If you do discover areas of mold growing in your home, you should clean it with a dilute bleach/detergent solution. There are commercial products available for this purpose.

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A pandemic, according to Google Dictionary, is “an occurrence of a disease that affects many people over a very wide area”. Examples of pandemics include the cholera, smallpox, and malaria pandemics, as well as a pandemic that happened not so long ago – swine flu.

Now what if such a pandemic would hit your neck of the woods and affect your close ones? Discovery and Facebook decided to give you a rather creepy taste of how it would feel. Visiting this page will take you to their project, in which you are taken to a fictional Facebook page, in which you and your Facebook friends are involved in an imaginary crisis, including status updates, pictures, and comments about the disease.

The whole experience is meant to promote Discovery’s new show, The Colony, debuting July 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, in which 7 volunteers are dropped into a town and told that there’s a biological disaster in the area.

What do you think? Are you going to watch it after experimenting with their Facebook app, or are you too freaked out?

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Headaches can ruin any activity, but during exercise they can literally bring you down. Even through it is known that headaches are a major problem for a large number of people (in the US alone about 45 million people suffer from chronic headaches), the relation between headaches and exercise is less talked about.

An article in Fitness Magazine tackles the issue. It turns out that regular cardiovascular activity (the kind you do when you jog, swim, run on a treadmill, etc.) lessens the reaction in our brain which brings about headaches, thanks in part to release of endorphins during exercise, which act as natural painkillers. The blood flow to the brain is also improved during exercise, which, along with less muscle tension and fatigue also helps deal with the headaches.

On the other hand, certain activities, or doing them wrong, can actually bring about the occasional workout ache.

Having a headache during workout? Photo by magandafille

For example – improper breathing – holding your breath while exercising can trigger a headache, according to the article. Also the choice of foods you eat before workout can affect your headaches during the workout: a pre-workout banana or smoothie can prompt headaches in some people.

The article covers more headache triggers, such as sudden sprinting, dehydration, weak muscles and poor posture, as well as ways to correct these problems and have a pain-free workout. You can read it by following the link below.

Is Exercise Giving You a Headache? [Fitness Magazine]

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Ahhh, summer… What hasn’t been written about it? It’s fun, hot, sunny, and brings about all sorts of problems. From sunburn to heat rashes to insect bites.

Here at A Disease A Day we recently told you about sunscreen myths and about the best 4 sunscreens.

Photo by Warm ‘n Fuzzy

Now Reader’s Digest published an article covering 8 remedies you can concoct at home that will fight summer-related problems. For example – swimmer’s ear – the ear inflammation we covered before here on A Disease A Day. Reader’s Digest solution – garlic:

Take advantage of garlic’s potent antibacterial properties and use this herb in eardrops. You can buy garlic oil in health food stores, or make your own. Grate three medium cloves of garlic and place them in a shallow dish. Cover them with olive oil and let the mixture stand overnight. Strain out the garlic and apply 3 drops in the affected ear.

Interested in the other remedies? Follow the link to learn more.

8 Home Remedies for Summer’s Common Problems [Reader’s Digest]

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Last month we told you what the 4 best sunscreens are. But even though you thought you had it all covered (pun intended), a Fitness Magazine article has published an article about skin cancer myths, relating to the white-protection-in-a-bottle and other issues.

Photo by tread

For example:

Myth: I shouldn’t put sunscreen too close to my eyes.

Truth: Despite the small surface area involved, 5 to 10 percent of all skin cancers appear on eyelids. While most of these cancers are of the less deadly varieties (squamous and basal cell carcinomas), they’re still a concern. “They can grow large and be very destructive,” says Jordana Gilman, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. If the thought of rubbing SPF on your lids makes your eyes water, try one of the specially formulated products for sensitive skin, such as Coppertone Sensitive Skin Faces Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 for Faces ($7.99, drugstores). Also look for sunglasses that offer 99 to 100 percent UV protection.

Follow the link up ahead to read the whole article. And while you’re at it, you can also visit our article about skin cancer and how to avoid it.

Boost Your Sun Safety Savvy [Fitness Magazine]

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Two days ago we helped you understand how much caffeine is in your drinks. Today we’re still on the topic of drinks, but this time it’s their sugar content.

You may have heard health enthusiasts raging on about how much sugar is in everyday drinks. Now Men’s Health have put together a feature covering what they claim are the 20 worst drinks in America 2010 (don’t worry if you don’t live in America – many of the drinks are sold elsewhere, too).

What’s special about the article are two things: You can see the amount of sugar next to the drink by comparison to sugary treats. And you will be surprised to learn how much sugar supposedly “healthy” drinks contain.

For example, SoBe Green Tea -

“Leave it to SoBe to take an otherwise healthy bottle of tea and inject it with enough sugar to turn it into dessert. The Pepsi-owned company’s flagship line, composed of 11 flavors with names like “Nirvana” and “Cranberry Grapefruit Elixir,” is marketed to give consumers the impression that it can cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t be fooled. Just like this bottle of green tea, all of these beverages are made with two primary ingredients: water and sugar.”

You can find out what the other 19 drinks are in the full article.

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It’s been awhile since we last featured one of those crazily useful infographics, and now there’s a new one (well, new to us anyway). Randy Krum has created a poster, aptly named The Caffeine Poster. Alongside facts about the addictive energizing molecule (did you know it was discovered in 1819?), the poster answers the age-old question – how much caffeine did I just consume?

Looking at the poster you can see that even a simple cup of coffee can range in the amount of caffeine it contains. For those of you addicted to sports drinks, you can see how much your poison has contributed to your daily caffeine intake.

Looking up at the top of the graph you also realize that 300 mg of caffeine can lead to caffeine intoxication. Looking at the same place will also show you that drinking a Starbucks Tall Coffee will take you frighteningly close to that point.

The full infographic can be found here.

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Ask every pediatrician and they will tell you that vaccines do no harm. At least nothing but side effects, like every drug can. Ask Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and he will tell you otherwise. In 1998 Dr. Wakefield published a study which linked the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella to autism. That study influenced millions of parents to refuse the shot for their children, in spite of doctors’ recommendations.

Now, according to MSNBC, Dr. Wakefield was banned from practicing medicine in his own country, Britain.

Abandonment of the vaccine has led, according to the article, to a resurgence of the disease in Western countries where it had been mostly stamped out. Even US celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy have endorsed Dr. Wakefield’s approach.

Photo by alvi2047

We have already covered a possible consequence of measles here on A Disease A Day (called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis).

Now, as mentioned above, the UK have decided to deal with the problem, starting with Wakefield himself, as “Britain’s General Medical Council, which licenses and oversees doctors, found Wakefield guilty of serious professional misconduct and stripped him of the right to practice medicine in the U.K.”.

On our end, all we can do is try and convince you, if you’re a parent, to give the vaccine to your child. We hope that the following links will help:

• MSNBC’s article – “Britain bans doctor who linked autism to vaccine”
• Study dispels link between autism and measles vaccine – The Washington Post
• Anti-measles campaign saves seven million lives – The Independent

Having read that – are you convinced of the benefit of the vaccine? Or have you never had any doubt? Let us know in the comments below.

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The folks at stripes39.com are at it again with a new infographic. After 15 things to know about urine, they now teach 15 things to know about steroids.

Steroids such as testosterone are available in our body and help it build muscles, among other things. Drug companies have created substitutes of these hormones to help in some diseases, such as delayed puberty.

Of course, other uses have followed – bodybuilders and athletes have discovered these substances help them gain muscle quicker. Their use hasn’t skipped sports, either, as Major League Baseball has also been plagued.

This infographic gives a clearer picture – what they actually do, as well as some other juicy facts.

Via: Medical Assistant Schools

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