Smileband health topics

What are seizures?

A seizure, also known as a fit, is caused by a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain, which can be due to conditions such as epilepsy.

A person having a seizure may not show any obvious symptoms, but in severe cases they may lose consciousness or experience convulsions.
Seizures usually begin suddenly but are often different in their duration and severity.

A person may have one seizure and no further symptoms, or they may have further seizures.

Not everyone who has a seizure will be diagnosed with epilepsy.

Causes of non-epileptic seizures include diabetes, heart conditions, and mental health conditions.

Types of seizure

There are 2 main types of seizure:

Generalised seizures involve both sides of the brain from the start of the attack. Common subtypes include tonic-clonic (grand mal) and absence seizures (petit mal). Febrile and infantile spasms are two types of generalised seizures that occur almost exclusively in young children.

Partial (or focal) seizures are the second major seizure type. These begin in a specific area of the brain and may be contained there. Or they may spread to the entire brain.

• With simple partial seizures, the person remains conscious.
• Complex partial seizures involve impaired consciousness.  

  What causes seizures?

  Often the cause of a seizure is unknown. Many conditions can provoke seizures, including:
  • Stroke
  • Brain tumour
  • Head injuries
  • Electrolyte imbalance
  • Very low blood sugar
  • Repetitive sounds or flashing lights, such as in video games
  • Medications, such as anti-psychotics and some asthma drugs
  • Withdrawal from medications, such as certain tranquillisers or narcotics, or alcohol
  • Use of drugs such as cocaine and heroin
  • Cancer
  • Brain infections, such as meningitis

  What are the symptoms of seizures?

  Symptoms of seizures vary widely, depending on the part of the brain affected by the electrical misfiring. If a very small part of the brain is affected, you might sense only an odd smell or taste. In other cases, you could have hallucinations or convulsions, or you could lose consciousness.
  
  Generalised tonic-clonic: This is sometimes preceded by an aura - awareness of a strange odour, taste, or vision. You might lose consciousness and fall, and experience muscle rigidity (stiffness) or convulsions (jerking movements of the arms and legs). You might also lose bladder control or bite your tongue. After regaining consciousness, you might feel confused and fall asleep.
  
  Generalised absence: This involves loss of awareness and blank stares or eyelid fluttering for up to 20 seconds. You feel well enough to resume activity immediately after the seizure.
  
  Simple partial: Although you don’t lose consciousness, you have involuntary movements, sensations, or psychic experiences such as awareness of a smell or a sense of déjà vu lasting several seconds.
  
  Complex partial: Initial disorientation is followed by strange movements of the arms or legs or odd vocalisations for one to three minutes, as well as loss of consciousness.
  
  Jacksonian: Muscle twitching begins in a single area and then progresses, for example, from the hand to the arm.
  
  Febrile: Preceded by fever in young children, these seizures can be very brief tonic-clonic type seizures or partial seizures lasting more than 15 minutes. Most children who have a fever-induced seizure never experience a second seizure.
  
  Infantile spasms (West Syndrome): Lasting just a few seconds, bending of limbs, neck, and torso while lying down may occur often during a single day. This usually only strikes children younger than three, often those with developmental delays or disabilities.

Smileband health topics

What is sickle cell anaemia?

Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic (passed from parent to child) disorder that affects the body's blood cells. In this disease, faulty haemoglobin (a substance that carries oxygen in the blood) causes the red blood cells to change shape when oxygen is released to tissues.

Sickle cell genes are most commonly found in people of African-Caribbean descent. Carrying the genes doesn’t mean a person will be affected by sickle cell anaemia.

The disease gets its name because the faulty blood cells are shaped like sickles - old farming tools used to cut wheat. When the deformed cells go through blood vessels, they clog the blood flow and can break apart.

Sickle cells can cause pain, damage the blood vessels or other areas of the body and cause anaemia (low blood count).

Sickle cell anaemia is found most often in black people. However, other ethnic groups also can have sickle cell disease. Antenatal screening can be offered if family origin suggests a risk for the condition. 

What causes sickle cell disease?

Normal red blood cells are round and are able to move through small blood vessels in the body to deliver oxygen. In sickle cell anaemia, a chemical change in haemoglobin causes the substance to form long rods in the red blood cell as the haemoglobin releases oxygen. These rigid rods change the shape of the red blood cell into a sickle shape.

Sickle cell anaemia is not contagious. Children are born with sickle cell haemoglobin, which they inherit from their parents. Individuals may be carriers who have sickle cell trait or may actually have sickle cell disease. People who inherit only one sickle cell gene are carriers, but people who inherit two sickle cell genes have sickle cell disease.

What are the symptoms of sickle cell anaemia?

Sickle cell anaemia can cause a painful sickle cell crisis. A sickle cell crisis is also known as a vaso-occlusive episode (VOE).

Other symptoms of sickle cell disease include:

• Fatigue
• Anaemia
• Swelling and inflammation of the joints 
• Sickling crisis - blood blockage in the spleen or liver

Sickle cell anaemia can also cause damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys and bones 

How is sickle cell anaemia diagnosed?

Sickle cell anaemia is diagnosed by examining a sample of blood under a microscope. When the abnormal sickle-shaped cells in the blood are identified, a diagnosis is made. Also, a blood test called the haemoglobin electrophoresis can determine if a person has the disease or is a carrier.

How is sickle cell anaemia treated?

The only cure for sickle cell anaemia is a bone marrow transplant, where affected bone marrow is replaced with bone marrow from somebody who does not have the condition.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for England for the management of acute painful sickle cell episodes in hospital say:

• A thorough assessment of people who go to hospital with an acute painful sickle cell episode is needed to ensure they have an accurate diagnosis and are given appropriate pain relief within 30 minutes.
• People with an acute painful sickle cell episode should have an assessment of pain relief every 30 minutes until satisfactory pain relief has been reached, and then at least every 4 hours.
• Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of death in people with sickle cell disease and is often missed as a possible complication. People with an acute painful sickle cell episode should be assessed for acute chest syndrome if they have symptoms such as abnormal respiratory symptoms, chest pain, fever, or signs and symptoms of hypoxia.

Smileband health topics

What is psychosis?

Psychosis is characterized by an impaired relationship with reality. And it is a symptom of serious mental disorders People who are psychotic may have either hallucinations or delusions.

Hallucinations  are sensory experiences that occur within the absence of an actual stimulus. For example, a person having an auditory hallucination may hear their mother yelling at them when their mother isn’t around. Or someone having a visual hallucination may see something, like a person in front of them, who isn’t actually there. 

The person experiencing psychosis may also have thoughts that are contrary to actual evidence. These thoughts are known as delusions. Some people with psychosis may also experience loss of motivation and social withdrawal. 

These experiences can be frightening. They may also cause people who are experiencing psychosis to hurt themselves or others. It is important to see a doctor right away if you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of psychosis. Recognizing the symptoms of psychosis

Symptoms of psychosis include: 

• Difficult concentrating 
• depressed mood 
• sleeping too much or not enough 
• Anxious 
• suspiciousness 
• withdrawal from family and friends 
• delusions
• hallucinations 
• disorganized speech, such as switching topics erratically
• Depressed 
• Suicidal thoughts or actions. What are delusions and hallucinations?
  Delusions and hallucinations are two very different symptoms that are both often experienced by people with psychosis. Delusions and hallucinations seem real to the person who is experiencing them.

  Delusions

  A delusion is a false belief or impression that is firmly held even though it is contradicted by reality and what is commonly considered true. There are delusions of paronida grandiose delusion and somatic delusions. 
  People who are experiencing a delusion of paranoia might think that they are being followed when they are not, or that secret messages are being sent to them. Someone with a grandiose delusion will have an exaggerated sense of importance. Somatic delusion is when a person believes they have a terminal illness when in reality they are healthy.

Smileband health topics

Healthy Eating Top Tips

• 1. Eat lean protein
• 2. Eat high fibre complex carbs
• 3. Limit high sugar refined carbs
• 4. Eat healthy fats and limited saturated fat
• 5. Drink lots of water

The body can be very adaptable although it prefers to stay in its current form of weight, body fat and muscle unless you change your eating habits. If you want to gain lean muscle mass you need a surplus of quality calories which can be made up with a variety of Musclefood lean cuts of meat. You then need to burn more calories than you consume to loose excess weight… easy right?!

Many bodybuilders are well aware that muscle building requires good diet. A critical component of this diet is protein. But the most asked question is how much exactly of this muscle building protein do we need? It is not quite logical to generalise because the need of every body builder/athlete is different. A 145 lbs body builder and a 200 lbs bodybuilder obviously have two different levels of need for protein. 

Smileband health topics

I have this horrid poo smell from my mouth. I brush my teeth twice a day, floss, use Dentyl PH mouthwash, I have the best oral hygeine of anyone I know but I still have this smell. I am too embarrassed to even ask my flriends or family to tell me my breath stinks. I am becoming totally reclusive because of it. Id rather go to my GP and tell him ive got an STD. I know ive got it coz sometimes people look around and ask if ive farted, and I see people with babies smelling their nappies when I speak. It really is starting to badly affect my life but I just cant pluck up the courage ot go to my GP. How on earht can i ay "DR, My breath smells like poo!" Please, if anyone has any tips let me know.   Everyone experiences breath odor at some point in their lives. It can be concerning to have a strong odor on your breath that brushing and mouthwash don’t seem to help — especially if your breath smells like feces. While there are some benign causes for breath that smells like poop, most of the issues that cause this phenomenon are more serious and require medical attention.   Possible causes

There are a number of different causes of breath that smells like poop, ranging from poor hygiene to liver failure. Let’s take a look at them.

Poor hygiene

Poor oral hygiene can cause your breath to smell like poop. Failing to brush and floss your teeth properly and regularly can make your breath smell because plaque and bacteria accumulate on and between your teeth. Food that’s not removed by flossing stays between your teeth, causing your breath to smell unpleasant.

Gum disease can also contribute to foul-smelling breath. It’s caused by neglecting oral hygiene. Neglecting your oral health also leads to an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the mouth, which can cause the odor on your breath. Dentures that aren’t properly cleaned on a daily basis can also cause severe halitosis. 

Bowel obstruction

Intestinal obstructions are dangerous medical emergencies that occur when a blockage forms in either your large or small intestine.

A blockage in your intestinal tract can cause breath that smells like feces due not only to the feces that are trapped inside your intestines, but also due to food you’ve eaten that can’t move down your intestinal tract. Anything you eat while unable to pass a bowel movement remains inside the digestive tract and ferments, causing bad breath. 

Vomiting, Sinus infections, GERD, Ketoacidosis, Liver failure, 

Treatment options Please goggle this problems above, we care for your health smile band. 

Smileband general news

The Muslim population could triple in some European countries by 2050, with the UK projected to see one of the most rapid rises throughout the continent.

A report entitled Europe's Growing Muslim Population said the percentage of Muslims making up the total population of Britain could rise from 9.7 to 17.2 per cent.

It attributed the rise to the levels of migration in 2015 and 2016, plus Muslims as a whole having a higher birth rate and lower average age to other Europeans.

As of 2016, the UK's share of Muslims was recorded as 6.3 per cent, compared to the European total of 4.9 per cent.

An inflation to 17.2 per cent in the UK, the highest projected increase, would see the number of Muslims in Britain triple. The Pew Research Center report modeled three scenarios for estimating the number of Muslims who would be living in Europe by 2050.

All three used a mid-2016 estimate of 25.8 million as a baseline, but assumed different future migration rates.

Smileband health topics

A breakthrough Alzheimer's drug edges scientists one step closer to a cure, new research suggests.

Taken twice a day, a tablet, known as LMTX, significantly improves dementia sufferers' brain injuries to the extent their MRI scans resemble those of healthy people after just nine months, a study found.

Lead author Professor Gordon Wilcock from the University of Oxford told MailOnline: 'I haven't seen such brain injury recovery before after a drug treatment.'

LMTX, which is under investigation, also significantly improves patients' abilities to carry out everyday tasks such as bathing and dressing themselves, while also boosting their capabilities to correctly name objects and remember the date, the research adds.

The drug contains a chemical that dissolves protein 'tangles' in the brain that clump together to form plaques in the region associated with memory, according to its manufacturer TauRx Pharmaceuticals. Y

Dissolving these tangles and preventing the formation of new plaques may slow or even halt memory loss in dementia sufferers, the pharma company adds. 

Alzheimer's disease affects around 850,000 people in the UK and 5.5 million in the US. How the research was carried out 

Researchers from the universities of Oxford and Aberdeen analysed 800 Alzheimer's patients across 12 countries.

The study's participants received a 100mg LMTX tablet twice a day for 18 months.

They were tested on their ability to name objects, follow commands such as 'make a fist', recall items from a list of 10 and identify their name, the time of day and date.

Their ability to eat without help, use a telephone, wash and dress themselves, and control their bowel and bladder was also assessed.

MRI scans monitored the participants' brain injury. 

Patients' brain scans resemble those without dementia after nine months 

Results reveal after just nine months patients' brain injuries improved significantly to the extent their MRI scans resembled those of healthy, elderly people without dementia.

Professor Wilcock said: 'I haven't seen such brain injury recovery before after a drug treatment.' 

The participants' ability to complete tasks such as correctly naming objects and eating unassisted also significantly improved. 

Drug side effects were largely gastrointestinal or urinary related, which caused 40 patients to discontinue the treatment.

Professor Wilcock said: 'This drug, like all drugs, has side effects, the bigger the dose the more likely you are to get side effects.' 

Further studies investigating a lower LMTX dose are due to begin shortly. 

Professor Wilcock said: 'It will only be approved and available for patients if future trials are positive. It will probably be another five years.' 

The findings were published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 

Dr James Pickett, head of research at Alzheimer's Society, said: 'When the results of the LMTX drug were first presented in 2016, questions were raised amongst the research community about how the results were interpreted. 

'This newer trial takes a different analytical approach and while we encourage researchers to explore all potential angles in their data there are some issues remaining that mean we cannot interpret this data as a positive result. 

'These issues include the lack of a strong control group and that the numbers of people who were taking LMTX alone are quite small. 

'We have been waiting more than 15 years for a new drug for dementia. This was the first large-scale trial to target another potential culprit, the tau protein. From the results that we have seen, we cannot say that LMTX is an effective drug for Alzheimer's.