Hormone-affecting chemical found in certain perfumes

 In a study of 53 perfumes and aftershaves, six were found to contain a high amount of dangerous hormone-affecting chemical diethyl phthalate (DEP), an Austrian environmental protection organization said Thursday.

In a press conference in Vienna on Thursday, Global 2000 said its study results showed a high concentration of DEP in certain kinds of fragrances.

Potential side-effects of the chemical, which Global 2000 said can enter the bloodstream once applied to the skin, are fertility problems in both men and women, increased risk of breast, testicular, and prostate cancers, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

Austria Press Agency quoted Professor Andreas Lischka, Director of the Children's Hospital in Glanzing, Vienna saying such chemicals are particularly dangerous for pregnant women, as they can enter the blood stream and affect the development of the fetus.

Global 2000 said it was pleased that the majority of fragrances did not contain the chemical, but was at the same time alarmed that others contained it in relatively high concentrations.

"We must take immediate action in the form of prohibitions," said Helmut Burtscher, a Global 2000 biochemist.

Eating more fish may cut young women's heart disease risk

Young women may reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease simply by eating more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, researchers reported Monday in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

In the first population-based study in Danish women of childbearing age, those who rarely or never ate fish had 50 percent more cardiovascular problems over eight years than those who ate fish regularly. Compared to women who ate fish high in omega-3 weekly, the risk was 90 percent higher for those who rarely or never ate fish.

About 49,000 women, 15-49 years old, median age of just under 30 years in early pregnancy -- were interviewed by telephone or answered food frequency questionnaires about how much, what types and how often they ate fish, as well as lifestyle and family history questions.

Researchers recorded 577 cardiovascular events during the eight- year period, including five cardiovascular deaths in women without any prior diagnosis of the disease. In all, 328 events were due to hypertensive disease, 146 from cerebrovascular disease, and 103 from ischemic heart disease. Inpatient and outpatient admission for cardiovascular disease was much more common among women who reported eating little or no fish. In three different assessments over a 30-week period, women who never ate fish had a three-fold higher disease risk compared to women who ate fish every week.

"To our knowledge this is the first study of this size to focus exclusively on women of childbearing age," said Marin Strom, lead researcher and post doctoral fellow at the Center for Fetal Programming, at Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. " We saw a strong association with cardiovascular disease in the women who were still in their late 30's."

Fish oil contains long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are believed to protect against heart and vascular disease. Few women in the study took fish oil supplements, so these were excluded from the analyses and the results were based on the dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids, not intake from supplements.

The most common fish consumed by women in the study were cod, salmon, herring, and mackerel.

Parents should chill over house dust mites

Parents wanting to help their children avoid asthma and other allergies are being told to give their toys a frosty reception by sticking them in the freezer.

Medical scientists in New Zealand and Taiwan have discovered that freezing children's soft toys can kill almost all house dust mites (HDMs), the microscopic bugs associated with a range of allergies, including asthma.

Other effective remedies for killing HDMs, commonly found in children's soft toys, were tumble drying and washing with eucalyptus oil and detergent, the scientists from New Zealand's University of Otago and Taiwan's Changhua Christian Hospital found.

HDMs were strongly associated with the development of asthma in children, and the severity of asthma was in proportion to the number of house dust mites a child was exposed to when sleeping with soft toys, said a statement from the university Monday.

"Children frequently sleep with their favorite toys close to their airways and this may be important for HDM-sensitized asthmatic children," said University of Otago Associate Professor Rob Siebers.

The scientists tested the three different cleaning methods on 36 toys divided into three groups of 12.

Freezing toys for at least 16 hours at minus 15 degrees centigrade resulted in a 95-percent reduction of HDMs, as did soaking in an emulsion of eucalyptus oil and liquid detergent for one hour before rinsing and drying.

Hot tumble drying for one hour reduced mites by 89 percent, the study found.

"Washing and soaking with eucalyptus oil and detergent is very effective in not only reducing live mites, but also reducing house dust mite allergens, compared to freezing and tumble drying," said Siebers.

Ten of the 12 toys cleaned this way showed no live mites at all.

Siebers said all three methods were more effective than just washing toys, because water needed to be above 55 degrees centigrade to kill HDMs, but this usually damaged the toys.

"My advice for parents is to either tumble dry for one hour, or freeze the soft toy overnight, and then wash it in a cold wash to remove any allergens."

Siebers said the thickness of the material used in making the toys could alter the effectiveness of the three methods.

The scientists would conduct further research to determine how quickly HDMs recolonized soft toys and how often toys should be treated.

House dust mites main cause of respiratory allergies in Singapore

 Scientists in Singapore said on Friday that they found exposure to house dust mites to be the primary cause of respiratory allergies in the tropical city sate.

The scientists from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the National University of Singapore surveyed about 8, 000 people, with 80 percent found to be reactive to house dust mites.

These people show only minor reactivity to other allergens.

The high rate of reactions from house dust mites are "strongly correlated with increased rates of allergic rhinitis and asthma in Singapore," the scientists said.

"We believe that results from this study will help to understand the differences of allergies in the tropics and other parts of the world," Olaf Rotzschke, the lead investigator of the study at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

The results also suggested that changes in lifestyle resulting in more time spent indoors increased the exposure to high loads of house dust mite allergens.

It is estimated that close to 15 percent of Singapore's adult population are affected by asthma and nearly 40 percent troubled by allergic rhinitis.

China reports 11 new H7N9 human cases

Eleven Chinese people were confirmed to be infected with the H7N9 bird flu on Wednesday in four regions, with 8 in critical condition, according to local health authorities.

The southern province of Guangdong reported 4 new cases, including a 5-year-old girl and a 42-year-old man in Zhaoqing City, a 49-year-old man in Foshan City and a 56-year-old man in Shenzhen City, said the provincial health and family planning commission.

The girl and the man from Foshan are in stable condition while the other two remain in critical condition, according to the commission.

The eastern province of Zhejiang, the region hit hardest by the H7N9 virus, confirmed four new human cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of affected cases to 69 in the province so far this year, said the provincial health and family planning commission.

The patients were two men and two women, all in critical condition, according to the commission.

Two new cases were reported in Hengxian County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the regional health and family planning commission. They were a 41-year-old woman, in critical condition, and his 5-year-old son.

A 36-old man in Quanzhou City of east China's Fujian Province was confirmed to be infected with the virus on Wednesday. He is in critical condition, according to the provincial health and family planning commission.

Chinese health authorities on Wednesday reaffirmed no proof has been found that the H7N9 virus is spreading from human to human.

Most human H7N9 infection cases have been isolated so far, said a statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

During the Spring Festival holidays, expert teams sent by the commission have been supervising local hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong in diagnosing and treating H7N9 patients, the statement said.

Health authorities and hospitals in provinces with high incidence of H7N9 are working hard to identify H7N9 cases as early as possible, it said.

Some Therapy Options For Depression

This therapy deals with how you relate to other people in your life. It focuses on how you communicate and express you feelings. Your social skills are seen at the key to understanding why you are having trouble in your life. You need to learn how to become more self assertive and positive, making eye contact, and rehearsing what you will say or do in a situation. This can be very practical for you to learn better communication skills. But for many people this is not enough. I saw so many couples who were never going to be able to have good relationships. They were different to the core and neither of them could really change. I was never one to prescribe divorce but when I would sit week after week with two people who obviously were destroying each other, I knew they were destined to fail in the relationship.

Anti Depressant Therapy:

There is never anything to be ashamed of in taking anti depressant medication. Anyone you know may be taking it someday, including you. We are so lucky that there are now anti depressants with fewer side effects. We can take them and get fast treatment for depression. Taking the right anti depressant can change your life, and change it for the better. I have talked to so many people who have told me that they had no idea how bad off they were until they started taking anti depressants. If you combine anti depressants with talk therapy, you may get the most benefit of all.

We have learned that depression is triggered by a chemical imbalance in your brain. Just like an antihistamine can stop your sneezing, anti depressants can stop your depression. They can help you to function and get your life moving again. They can lift those heavy clouds off your shoulders and let you see the light.

How long you take the medication is up to you. The biggest challenge is to find out what dose works for you. Too many people give up after the first few weeks saying that the side effects were awful and they never go back to the doctor

It is very important when an anti depressant is prescribed for you or you order it over the internet that you know plenty about this medication. You need to know what its side effects can be.

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Aromatherapy Acessory Information

Other aromatherpy accessories include electric Vaporisers, Bottles, Jars, Ear candles, Massage Tools and Dispensers. Storage Bottles and Boxes are normally used for the storage of essential oils, are fashioned out of alder wood. It is very common to have these boxes exquisitely carved and polished in natural colors. An aromatherapy storage box does exactly the same. These are wooden boxes with dividers inside to keep all the jars protected from banging into each other. Other aromatherpy accessories is containers. The containers are used to store your essential oils. They come in the form of glass bottles or jars.

Glass bottles for aromatherapy are especially made of thick walls which defend the oils from the outside temperature variance. These jars have flat inside edges that restrains any oils from adhering to the central portions of the container. Electric Diffusers is considered one of the most important aromatherapy accessories because it helps in the diffusing of the smell for their respective person so it can be inhaled. These are available in a great variety, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. A vaporizer is a very important aromatherapy accessory that provides a great way to enjoy the benefits of essential oils.

There are two maon forms of vaporizers – oil burners and electric diffusers. Oil burners integrate the traditional beauty of a burning candle with the healing properties of essential oils. Ear candling is a latest treatment derived from an old shamanistic tradition. It is also known as Thermo Auricular Therapy. Ear candles can be used to treat a range of conditions. Another great accessory you could get is a spray bottle. With one of these, you can use any choice of essential oils as a perfume, air freshener, or even a natural deodorant. When you go to buy the aromatic accessories, keep your lifestyle and habits in mind.
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