Facing the feared form of TB

Anyone with tuberculosis who doesn’t take TB medication every day exactly as the doctor prescribed could develop XDR-TB, the potentially deadly treatment-resistant strain of TB.

Also worrying is that anyone with HIV/Aids or a weakened immune system is an easy target for XDR-TB. The symptoms are the same as for regular tuberculosis that responds to treatment. Sufferers have a dry cough at first and later cough up phlegm or blood.

Other symptoms are chest pain, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite and shortness of breath. Some people might experience bouts of fever, sweat a lot and suffer from diarrhoea. Patients have to wait two to five months for the XDR-TB test results. South African scientists will know only by June 2008 whether patients currently being treated for XDR-TB are reacting positively to treatment.

Compulsory isolation of XDR-TB patients might be the only way to prevent this deadly TB from spreading

Click here for more on tuberculosis

70%
That’s the percentage of cervical cancer cases that can be prevented if all teenagers –boys and girls – receive a new vaccination called Gardasil. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women. This vaccination is extremely effective against four important strains of the human papilloma virus that causes cancer and genital warts.

Click here for more on cervical cancer

THE EYES HAVE IT
Spectacle lenses that are manufactured and cut digitally are now available in South Africa.

These lenses are thinner and flatter than regular lenses and enable you to see the world in sharper focus and widen your field of vision. The digital manufacturing process can be applied to almost any type of lens and the new lenses cost the same as regular lenses. For more information contact your optician.

Cellphone cancer verdict
IT’S NOW BEEN PROVEN: CELLPHONE USE CAN LEAD TO BRAIN CANCER

If you’ve used a cellphone for over 10 years you have an increased risk of developing certain kinds of brain tumours, according to new findings by Swedish oncologists.

Long-term users apparently have double the risk of developing glioma, an often malignant cancer of the brain; and 2,4 times the risk of developing acoustic neuroma, a benign growth that can lead to hearing loss and brain damage.

Reduce your exposure to cellphone radiation by spending less time talking on yours, or use a headset.

All this in the December issue of YOU Pulse