Mothers are selling their BR***ST MILK on Facebook

Doctors agree that breast milk is better than formula as it is packed with disease-fighting substances. However, many women struggle to express enough milk and resort to bottle feeding

Women in the UK and U.S are selling their breast milk online, despite serious concerns that it could be harmful for babies. Mothers are using community forums, including Facebook, to make some quick cash out of their extra milk.

 Buying br***st milk is tempting to new parents struggling to express their own, as it provides babies with better protection against illnesses and allergies compared to formula.

Websites such as onlythebreast.co.uk appear to answer this need, saying: 'Our discrete breastfeeding breast milk classified system makes it possible to sell or buy breast milk in a clean, private way.'

 Donor mothers list their milk under the age of their baby and if they can provide fresh milk on demand. A search around the site reveals women from Essex to Newcastle are offering it either fresh or frozen for around £1 per fluid ounce, while $2 per ounce is the standard rate in the U.S . 

There are legitimate ways to both donate and receive breast milk for free via milk banks. These centres store breast milk for babies whose mothers can't breastfeed. The banks collect expressed milk from pre-screened mothers who have a plentiful supply and a baby under six-months old. It is then pasteurised before it is offered to nearby hospitals.

New mothers buy and sell breast milk on various social networks including Facebook

But today doctors in Germany warned new parents against privately obtaining their baby's food through social networks such as Facebook. The Professional Association of Pediatricians said that although breast is generally the best option for newborns, mothers unable to breastfeed should not turn to the internet.

 'Donors can be taking medicines or drugs, have infectious illnesses like AIDS or Hepatitis,' Wolfram Hartmann, president of the association, said. 'Nobody can check whether the unknown mother's milk is harmless for the particular child' he warned, adding that the milk's quality could also be affected during its transportation. 

The warning follows a report by the online edition of German news weekly Der Spiegel and the association's own research, it said.

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Posted in: breast milk news,latest health news

10 ways to Get Rid of Stretch Marks During or After Pregnancy

Stretch marks are common among women.This is because when women reaches her puberty they start gaining weight quickly.

This develops fine lines on their body which is known as stretch marks. Stretch marks is also seen when one is pregnant or trying to gain muscles. Sometimes hormonal changes also leads to stretch marks.

Eliminating stretch marks is not an instant process and if market products are claiming for instant result then they are certainly lying. If you passionately want to eliminate your stretch marks then you need to have patience for it.

It is possible to diminish them if not completely eliminate them. Generally stretch marks are scene along the side of your stomach ,chest ,bottom of belly and on your thighs.

So you will notice that stretch marks appears on places where lot of fat has been accumulated.

Here is a comprehensive list of remedies through which you can get rid of stretch marks:

1.Olive oil is considered as quite an famous remedy for stretch marks.Rub olive oil until you start seeing the marks diminishing.Its a long process but it works.Get into the habit of applying olive oil on stretch marks immediately after you take bath.This will slowly become your habit and you will see the result without much of an effort. Getting rid of stretch marks on the breasts is possible by gently exfoliating the area using raw sugar and almond oil.

2.There are other oils also which are considered to be helpful in stretch marks such as almond oil,castor oil,avocado oil and vitamin E oil.If you don’t have vitamin E oil then you can buy vitamin E capsules and break the capsule in any oil and then apply on the effected area.Vitamin E capsule can be used on your hair and face also .This gives nutrition and add shine to your hair and face.

3. Massaging body with aroma oil during your pregnancy reduces your chances many fold of getting stretch marks during pregnancy.

4. Aloe vera is also known to diminish stretch marks. All you have to do is to take aloe Vera gel ,cod liver oil and if you don’t have cod liver oil then take vitamin E oil and apply on the stretched mark area. This is considered to be a quite a speedy process in healing stretch marks.

5. Rubbing Vaseline intensive care cream on stomach twice a day during pregnancy prevents from stretch marks.

6. Apply generous amount of castor oil on the affected area and rap it with a plastic bag and place a hot water bottle on it. Do it for half an hour and wash it off. This helps in treating stretch marks .Many parlors also gives sitting of this in exorbitant amount.

7.You can make a lotion for stretch marks and apply it daily. Mix ½ cup extra virgin oil and1/4th cup aloe vera gel and add the liquid of 6 Vitamin E capsules and 3-4 Vitamin A capsules.(These capsules are easily available in any chemist shop).Blend all the ingredients and store the mixture in a bottle and put it in the refrigerator. Apply daily on the stretch marks area .Don’t forget to shake the bottle well before you apply the lotion.

8. Eggs are a rich source of protein and apply egg white on your skin greatly effects in helping stretch marks.

9.Cocoa butter is a very famous remedy for stretch marks. You can make a 100 dollar stretch marks cream with it at home. Just mix 1/2cup cocoa butter ,1 tbsp vitamin E oil,2 tsp grated bees wax .Heat the mixture till the wax get melted .Store and refrigerate the mixture. You can add wheat germ oil and apricot kernel oil into the mixture or speedy recovery. Apply this cream every day on the affected area.

10.Shea butter has become one of the most popular beauty product. It has high source o vitamin E and Vitamin A which makes skin healthy. Rubbing them twice a day helps in stretch marks.

All the above remedies are inexpensive and can be made easily at home. You have to be patient in trying these remedies. For instance cocoa butter works for some and olive oil doesn’t.So keep on trying . It is best to do something rather than completing ignoring it.

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Posted in: latest health news,strech marks news

Neighbours Bedridden With Leg-Swelling Disease After Being Bitten By Mosquitos (PHOTOS)

TWO neighbours have been bedridden for years suffering from a rare leg-swelling disease in the first case of its kind.

Esther Ntshanlintshali and Busisiwe Zulu developed elephantiasis after being bitten by mosquitos.

The pair live a stone’s throw from each other — and thought to be the first case of sufferers living so close.

Esther, 69, has been bedbound for 12 years since the condition made her legs swell to four times their normal size.

She said: "I have battled this disease for a long time. I cannot move around in my house or go outside. It is so difficult and painful." And mum-of-three Busisiwe, 53, has been suffering the same for 18 years in Alexandra township in South Africa.

Her daughter Mbali, 32, said: "She is trapped in this room and always in pain."

The disease - made famous by John Hurt's portrayal of real-life sufferer John Merrick in 1980 film The Elephant Man - is caused by a parasite carried by mosquitos.

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Posted in: latest health news,Mosquitos

Into the blue: Girl, 9, with rare liver disease has to sleep under bright lamps

A schoolgirl has to spend up to 12 hours a day under a bright blue ultra violet light to prevent her skin from turning yellow because of a rare liver condition. 

Brianna Minnich, nine, spends each night sleeping under UV lights that help battle a rare disease that can sometimes lead to brain damage.

Her skin and eyes turn yellow whenever she has a sudden change in mood caused by illness, injury, stress, being bullied at school or even arguing with her brother.

Brianna, from Whitehall, Pennsylvania, has Crigler-Najjar syndrome - a condition so rare that only around 200 patients in the world suffer from it.

Her illness means she has dangerously high levels of bilirubin - a naturally occurring waste product from the blood that is usually broken down by an enzyme in the liver - that the UV rays help to lower.

The UV rays from the blue light affect the bilirubin in her system when they come into contact with her red blood cells and skin tissue.

By helping to manage bilirubin levels in her body and keep them at an acceptable level, Brianna is saved from any long term damage.

Currently Brianna has to sleep under a 4ft bank of photo-therapy lights over her be but as she gets older it’s likely she’ll need a liver transplant.

Her father Bob, 29, said: 'Her bilirubin levels were considerably high, right up in the high twenties for the first month or so after being born.

'We were told soon after the diagnosis that she was only the 52nd person in the country to have the disorder and just the 212th in the world.

'In the past three or four years her body has maintained a much more steady level of around 10-15 - the average person has a level of around 0.5 so it’s still very high.

'She was started on Phenobarbital immediately, and used what was called a "bili blanket" which is a small photo-therapy blanket until she grew out of it.

'Whenever she is unwell and whenever she has a sudden change in her mood such as getting upset at her brother or if she gets bullied then her skin tone changes drastically to a much more visible yellow until she calms herself back down.

'She also sleeps under a 4ft long bank of photo-therapy lights every single night, for at least 9 hours a night which typically keeps her skin tone fairly ‘normal’.

'The only thing you can really see is her yellow eyes - people ask us all the time "why are your daughter’s eyes yellow?"'

After being born Brianna underwent tests and was constantly in and out of the hospital for two weeks before finally being transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

She was eventually diagnosed with Crigler-Najjar syndrome at two-and-a-half weeks old and spent the best part of a month in hospital before being released.

Photo-therapy has helped Brianna but it becomes less successful as she grows up so her dosage of phenobarbital must increase.

The daily medication helps jump start her liver but whenever the dosage is increased it causes her to feel lethargic for weeks and constantly falls asleep at home and school as well as leaving her feeling depressed.

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Posted in: Brianna Minnich news,latest health news,liver disease gist

Trying to have a baby? New formula predicts woman's chance of becoming pregnant

A formula that predicts a woman’s chances of pregnancy has been devised by scientists.

It combines information about how fertility drops with age with the length of time a woman has been trying to start a family, to come up with their odds of conceiving.

For example, they have worked out that the average 25-year-old who has been trying to get pregnant for six months has a 15 per cent chance of doing so in the following month.

By the age of 30, her odds are 13 per cent and, at 35, they have dropped below 10 per cent.

The speeding up of the biological clock mean the chances of pregnancy plummet after 35.

The average 40-year-old who has been trying for six months has just a 5 per cent chance of getting pregnant in the next month – or odds of one in 20.

The calculations also show that when a woman is 25, it will take 13 months for her odds of conceiving quickly to fall below ten per cent.

But a 35-year-old woman has just six months before her chances are so slim.

The long-standing rule of thumb is that those trying for a family should wait a year before seeking help, although doctors are increasingly acknowledging the impact of age.

The researchers, from the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics, say that more detailed information could make it easier for couples to discuss fertility issues with their GP.

Professor Geraldine Hartshorne said: ‘People feel embarrassed and upset and don’t want to go to the doctor. Men, in particular, can be a little bit reluctant.

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Posted in: latest health news,pregnancy news

How Facebook could prevent you from catching an STD

If you worry about spending hours on Facebook, then relax - it could be good for your health. 

The social networking site may help prevent the spread of s**xually-transmitted diseases, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Colorado found that s**xual health advice on the site encouraged condom use among teenagers, decreasing the chance of them spreading STDs.

They recruited 1,578 young adults between 18 and 24 for the study. Some were asked to ‘Like’ and receive news from a s**xual-health Facebook page called Just/Us, which shared articles about condom use and s**xually transmitted infection testing.

Another group signed up to a Facebook page called 18-24 News, which provided general news items targeted to the age group.

The idea was to see whether receiving updates from a s**xual health-based page - rather than a general news page - made the young adults more likely to wear condoms.

When the researchers conducted a survey two months later, they found 68 per cent of people signed up to the s*xual advice site had used condoms during their last sexual encounter, compared to just 56 per cent in the news group.

Furthermore, the proportion of s**xual acts where a condom had been used was 63 per cent in the first group, but only 57 per cent in the news group. 

The study is published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Unfortunately, the effects of the s**xual health information appeared to wane over time. 

After six months there was no difference in condom use between the two groups.

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Posted in: latest health news

Women's hearts 'get twice the benefit from fish oil than men's

Eating oily fish may boost women’s heart health more than men’s, claim researchers.

The oils - found in fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna - are known to improve chances of surviving a repeat heart attack.

But a new study suggests women could benefit more from their effect on the heart.

Researchers at the University of Reading found fish oils have a direct impact on the muscle cells that control the elasticity of our blood vessels.

In tests, women got double the benefit compared with men as elasticity improved four-fold in women compared with two-fold in men.

In fact the beneficial effect of the fish oil in women was as potent as that of drugs that are prescribed to people with poor blood vessel elasticity, such as those with diabetes.

At least 39,000 women a year in the UK suffer heart attacks and their chances of dying are higher than a man’s.

Study leader Professor Christine Williams, the University’s first Hugh Sinclair Professor of Nutrition and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: ‘Studies examining women’s heart health are much less common than those which study men, partly because the studies are harder to carry out in women due to the varying effects of hormones during the menstrual cycle.

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Posted in: latest health news

Yet another good reason to avoid annoying people

It’s irritating enough being around someone you don’t like.

Now, to make matters worse, scientists have discovered that bad company could also affect your brain.

Whether you like someone or not can affect how your brain processes their actions, according to new research from the University of Southern California.

Most of the time, watching someone else move causes a ‘mirroring’ effect — that is, the parts of our brains responsible for movement are activated by watching someone else in action.

But being around someone you don’t like can send this process awry – you might think the person is moving more slowly than they actually are, for example.

Past research has shown that race or physical similarity can influence brain processes, and we tend to have more empathy for people who look more like us.

However this study took differences in race, age and gender into account – everyone who took part was a Jewish man.

The researchers split the men into two groups – half were presented as neo-Nazis, with the aim of making them disliked, the others were presented as likable and open-minded. 

When the men viewed someone they disliked, the part of their brain that was otherwise activated in ‘mirroring’ — the right ventral premotor cortex — had a different pattern of activity for the disliked individuals compared to the likeable ones.

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Posted in: annoyance gist,latest health news

S****x addiction IS a real disorder

It has traditionally been written off as an 'excuse' for philandering celebrities, but a new study suggests that s***x addiction is a real disorder.

The disorder, in which sufferers have relentless sexual urges that feel out of their control, is even being considered for inclusion in America's 'bible' that lists all mental conditions, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 

Until now, however, researchers have been struggling to define what hypers**xual disorder, as s***x addiction is formally known, actually is.

Under one proposed definition, a person who simply has frequent s***x would not be diagnosed with it, said study researcher Rory Reid, an assistant professor and research psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

But a person whose s**xual activities are excessive, frequently used to cope with stress and interfere with their ability to function in daily life may meet the criteria for the disorder.

In a new study from the university, the researchers emphasised  they are not trying to turn common behaviours — such as having a lot of s**x, or watching pornography — into disorders.

Instead, people with hypers**xual disorder report feeling out of control, and act on their s**xual urges, disregarding the repercussions.

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Posted in: latest health news,sex news

South African doctor held in UAE jail on 10-year-old charge

 The family of a 77-year-old South African doctor, known for his work treating black children with cancer during the apartheid era, expressed fears for his health yesterday as a court in the United Arab Emirates ruled that a medical panel should investigate a decade-old case against him.

Cyril Karabus, a leading paediatric oncologist, has already spent two months in Abu Dhabi's Al Wathba prison, which is notorious for its human rights abuse, after being arrested in Dubai for the manslaughter of a three-year-old girl in 2002. He was tried and convicted in absentia 10 years ago, but claims to have had no knowledge of the charge against him.

Abu Dhabi Criminal Court assigned a medical committee yesterday to examine records of the case, which are reported to have gone missing, and set the doctor's bail at Dh100,000 (£17,000).The case against the doctor centres on whether or not he administered a blood transfusion to the infant, Sara Adel, who suffered from terminal leukaemia, while working as a locum at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre in the UAE capital.

He claims that he treated the child, but she died anyway.Close to tears, Dr Karabus' daughter Sarah, a paediatrician based in Cape Town, described the effect her father's detention is having on the family. "It's completely traumatic for all of us, utterly traumatic. He's an old man, he's unwell. He's a father of five and a grandfather of two, with another on the way who we just hope he will be back to meet."

Ms Karabus was with her father as he was pulled aside by police at the airport on 18 August as they were leaving the country after a 10-hour stop over in Dubai on their way back from a wedding in Canada."He had no idea what it was about," she said. She was forced to fly out of the country with the rest of family, as their visas were valid for only 24 hours, leaving her elderly father to face the charges alone. "He remembers the girl and he had talked about her before, but he had no idea there was a case against him."

Ms Karabus has said that her father – who worked at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town for 35 years, where he set up the haematology and oncology unit – appeared "broken" at previous court appearances and has been unable to call his family from jail, though he has told his lawyer he is generally being treated well. After his bail is paid, he will be allowed to leave jail, though his passport has been confiscated and he will not be allowed to leave the country.

"He's a man of integrity; he's not someone who deserves this," Ms Karabus said. "He stayed and worked in the public health service all his life because he wanted to save lives, not make money."Dr Karabus, who was given a three-and-a-half-year term in absentia, was accused of failing to give a transfusion to the girl at the required time, and of falsifying medical records to make it appear as though he had. He had left the country by the time the child died. The British Medical Association has joined other professional groups around the world to condemn the detention of the doctor.

"Karabus is an elderly man in a fragile state of health, who is being held in conditions designed to break him and to weaken his health further. He is also a doctor being held in prison over his medical practice, apparently because that practice did not lead to a 100 per cent success rate," it said in an open letter. "Doctors considering working in the UAE should be aware that the conclusion of this case may have implications for how they practise."

The medical panel have until 20 November to report their findings, and the family remain cautiously hopeful. "The system is very different to any system we are used to, but they have now found the medical file, and if the file is intact it will exonerate him," said Sarah Karabus."We are hopeful but don't expect anything any more. I'm scared to get my hopes up."

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Posted in: cyril karabus