Daily Health News on Doctor Blog: July 2018

[brightcove:3507214781001 default]

A 71-year-old man died after eating what many consider a delicacy: raw oysters. The man, whose name has not been released, ate an oyster at a restaurant in Sarasota, Florida that turned out to be contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. Said to have been dealing with underlying medical conditions, the man died two days later, USA Today reported.

Vibrio bacteria usually cause gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. But people with medicals issues such as liver disease, diabetes, stomach disorders, or other conditions that weaken the body’s typical immune response are at a higher risk of more serious complications or even death, according to the FDA. Anyone with one of these conditions showing symptoms of a Vibrio infection should get to a doctor ASAP.

Earlier this year, a Texas woman died after eating raw oysters as well. While on vacation in Louisiana, Jeannette LeBlanc, along with friends and family, picked up some shellfish, shucked and ate them, and soon after developed extreme side effects. Over the next couple of days, she had trouble breathing and developed severe sores and rashes. Once at the hospital, she was diagnosed with vibriosis, the name for an infection caused by Vibrio bacteria. LeBlanc fought the illness for three weeks, according to her wife Vicki Bergquist, and then died from the infection.

Due to the nature of the sores caused by Vibrio infections, the bacteria are often dubbed flesh-eating. Vibriosis is separate, however, from necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called a flesh-eating infection, which is caused by bacteria like group A strep, E. coli, and staph, according to the CDC. Still, around 80,000 people get sick with vibriosis every year and around 100 of them die, the CDC says. It’s estimated that around 52,000 of those cases are caused by eating contaminated food, mostly raw or undercooked shellfish.

So why all the finger-pointing at oysters? They feed by filtering water. If the water is contaminated with bad-guy bacteria, oysters can become contaminated too. There are some 12 different species of Vibrio living in salt or brackish water that oysters might come into contact with.

Swimmers are also at risk, but only if contaminated water gets into an open cut or wound. (Last year, a man died from vibriosis after swimming with a new tattoo.) "The words flesh-eating might make you think that if you touch it, it will degrade your skin on contact, and that’s not true," Gabby Barbarite, PhD, a Vibrio researcher at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, told Health in a previous interview. "You have to have a pre-existing cut—or you have to eat raw, contaminated seafood or chug a whole lot of contaminated water—for it to get into your bloodstream; it can’t break down healthy, intact skin."

While that's certainly a relief, it doesn't bode well for the raw bar: There’s little you can do to protect yourself other than eat your oysters cooked. Just because you're dining at a fancy establishment, eating your raw oysters with hot sauce, or chasing them with chardonnay, you're not safe from bacteria, according to the FDA. Heat is the only thing that will fully destroy those buggers, so order oysters fully cooked. (Cook them at home following a few easy FDA-approved safety tips, and make sure to always wash your hands with soap and water after touching raw shellfish.)

To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter

Oysters are also a major culprit in spreading hepatitis A and norovirus–commonly referred to as the stomach flu. Both infections can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Just a handful of reasons why raw oysters made our list of foods you should never order when you eat out.

Not a shellfish fan to begin with? Remember to keep open wounds away from salt water. And if you get a cut while traipsing around seaside, clean it as soon as possible. "Seek medical attention within four to five hours if [you] see redness or swelling," or if you have a fever or feel nauseous, signs that the infection has spread, Barbarite said previously. Caught early, Vibrio bacteria can be treated with life-saving antibiotics.

from Food - Health.com https://ift.tt/2uxwLe0

One Brazilian mom is making sure her 13-month-old son Enzo — who was born with a large birthmark on his face — knows that she’s his number one supporter.

Enzo was born via c-section last March after it was revealed his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, his mom Carolina Giraldelli, 26, of Cáceres, Brazil, told SWNS.

Surgery later revealed that Enzo’s birthmark was a harmless Congenital Melanocytic Nevus, which can form in the womb early in development, according to the Association for Large Nevi and Related Disorders.

The moment sparked something for Giraldelli, who told SWNS she saw the birthmark and decided “from then on I should become another person who was much stronger, fearless, brave, and ready to face all the obstacles that would now be presented to my son.”

Recently, Giraldelli had a makeup artist paint a birthmark on her face that was nearly identical to the baby boy’s, according to SWNS. Then, the mom turned the camera on to capture the moment her son saw her.

“I confess that for some time it was very difficult to see and feel the eyes of society flickering my son with looks of pity, contempt, scare [fear] and sometimes disgust,” Giradelli told SWNS.

And although it’s not easy, she added to the U.K. news wire that she and her husband, João Renato Cestari, “act normally” and that “if someone feels revulsion, curiosity or fear, we try to make him understand that he, despite his mark, is a normal boy who is much loved, just like others.”

In the video, Giraldelli greeted her son, whose face immediately lit up with a smile. And while she told SWNS “he did not completely understand it,” the little boy still showed her “complete joy.”

“I’m sure he loved my attitude. We took lots of pictures and our morning was a lot of fun,” she told SWNS. “After the photos I went to work with the makeup on.”

Although Giraldelli took the makeup off before she went to bed, she told the outlet, “How I felt has stayed with me ever since.”

from Family - Health.com https://ift.tt/2uqf00n

Social Icons

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Monday, July 30, 2018

Friday, July 27, 2018

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Monday, July 23, 2018

Friday, July 20, 2018

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Monday, July 16, 2018

Friday, July 13, 2018

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Monday, July 9, 2018

Friday, July 6, 2018

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Monday, July 2, 2018

Social Icons

Search This Blog

Popular Posts

Blog Archive