The Toothbrush That Doesn’t Need Toothpaste – or Water!

Wanting to brush your teeth after every meal and being in a position to do so are not always the same thing. If you are one of those people who manages to carry both toothbrush and toothpaste with them you are more organised than I am so I was intrigued when I came across a toothbrush that cleans teeth without the aid of paste or even water.

The publicity for the hyG toothbrush recommends it for those going camping or to festivals – two areas where you are very unlikely to find me – but I do appreciate the benefit of being able to brush not just after a meal but to erase the traces of that mid-morning coffee and almond croissant.

It works by breaking the strong attraction that exists between teeth and plaque. It does this by reversing the polarity of teeth from negative to positive and since plaque is positively charged it is repelled from the teeth and onto the negatively charged hyG toothbrush.

So how does it do that is exactly? Apparently, all you need to do is wet your thumb and make sure it is in contact with the metal plate on the toothbrush’s handle to create the necessary electronic charge. Even when used without toothpaste or water, the hyG toothbrush has been shown to be up to 48% more effective at removing plaque than normal brushing – which puts its certainly ahead on most daily routines. I have tried it out myself on a recent trip and given that it is considerably lighter than my electric toothbrush — and needs no recharging — it was certainly just as effective and a plus on the packing side.

If you want to get one for yourself you should be able to find one in your local Waitrose store, health food shops, or your dentists. It is also available online from www.pharmacy2U.co.uk

The World’s Healthiest Airline?

Flying these days can present some challenges: risk of DVT, food poisoning from inadequately heated food, and all those airborne viruses so a round of applause for Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in Abu Dhabi. No, I have never heard of them either, but they fly from both London Heathrow and Manchester with 60 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Australia and Asia.

What’s so great about them? Well they are installing new state-of-the-art technology on their long and ultra long haul aircraft which can monitor the condition of passengers who display signs of sickness that might require immediate medical attention. Apparently the “Tempus IC” system allows cabin crew to take photo imagery and gather vital information about a passenger’s health and vital signs, including blood pressure and an electrocardiogram.

That information is then transmitted to a medical team of global experts who specialise in assistance in in-flight medical contingencies. Following their advice the crew will take a decision about what to do next for the passenger and the flight and hopefully you will be treated much more efficiently and swiftly than previously.

RDT is a British company who specialise in the development of leading-edge diagnostic device technology for use by non-experts in remote locations and have installed this technology for commercial shipping fleets, luxury yachts and with the US Military.

As someone who suffered a burst blood vessel in my eye on a Delta Airline flight and was pretty much ignored, I think this is good news and if you want more information go to www.etihadairways.com

Attention Cruise Ship Travellers

I travel a fair bit on cruise ships as a speaker, and I know a number of my readers enjoy this form of holiday – after all many of us met when you came to one of my talks onboard! The fear of any traveller is being ill while away and the Norovirus has been a real challenge over the past couple of years with many ships, and passengers succumbing to outbreaks.
Now a new report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases last week on a combined research project from Boston University School of Medicine, Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts University School of Medicine, has worrying news for us.
They have found that widespread poor compliance with regular cleaning of public bathrooms on cruise ships may predict subsequent norovirus infection outbreaks. This is the first study of environmental hygiene on cruise ships where outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis often occur because of the close proximity of such a large group of people. Recent studies into outbreaks of gastroenteritis have confirmed that 95 percent of cruise ship outbreaks are caused by norovirus. It should be said that all this research was done on 66 ships monitored by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so is US based, but I think we can learn a lesson from it .

The problem seems to be mainly around how thoroughly everything in a public bathroom is cleaned and disinfected as only 37 percent of the 273 randomly selected onboard bathrooms were thoroughly cleaned daily.
The most neglected area for cleaning was any handles on stall doors, or entrance and the researchers found that the stand of cleaning did not vary by cruise line and did not meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program inspection scores.
Washing your hands is of course essential, but this is no help if the bathroom doors are not clean. The solution as ever is preventive action so carry antibacterial gel and handwipes and do not touch the doors with your bare hands – use a barrier such as a handwipe of tissue to cut down the possibility of infection.
It’s not generally realised that one of the biggest sources of infection in public areas are the handrails – whether on a ship, or anywhere else. Avoid using them if you can, and if you have to put your bare hand on them then always use an antibacterial wipe of gel before touching food or drink, or your own face.
The good news is that although the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning was 30 percent on more than half of the ships, near-perfect cleaning was documented on several vessels, so it can be done and is being done on ships that maintain high standards of cleaning and monitoring.

Varicose Veins Linked to DVT

Varicose veins are generally harmless, though not considered attractive, but a new study in Graz, Austria reveals that danger may be lurking under your skin.

There are any number of reasons to get varicose veins including family history, jobs where you are standing for long periods such as hairdressers and teachers, being very overweight and of course in pregnancy.   The most common form generally seen is superficial vein thrombosis (SVT), where the veins become inflamed and swollen.  It can be a painful condition, but most doctors don’t regard it as a major problem.
However this new research looked at a potential link between varicose veins and DVT (deep vein thrombosis) which a dangerous condition that prompts blood clotting in the legs.  Clots that break away can cause thromboembolism (restricted blood flow), and even death if the clot reaches the lungs and triggers a pulmonary embolism.

Of the 50 patients examined who had confirmed SVT it was found that one in four of them had DVT, although none had shown any symptoms.   This suggests those with varicose veins need to be alert and ask for a sonagraph screening to establish if they are at risk.

Varicose veins and Vitamin K link
One factor in keeping your veins healthy is to have a good intake of vitamin K as its importance for circulatory health is already well known.
There was an important study done in France in 2007, only on male subjects, with and without varicose veins. They found a link between getting varicose veins and low levels or no activity of a protein called matrix GLA protein.  This protein is only properly activated when vitamin K levels are adequate, so the researchers at Nantes University concluded that a dood intake of the vitamin may play a role in varicose vein prevention.

If you have any history of narrowing of the arteries in your family, then some nutritionists 5 to 15 mg of vitamin K per day, but that is considerably higher than the recommended daily allowance.
If you want to increase it in your diet then it’s mostly found in dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, also in cheddar cheese and oats.

WARNING!!! Vitamin K needs to be carefully monitored if you are on blood thinning or anticoagulant drugs after a stroke or surgery and a limited intake is suggested.

Tobacco cure for ‘cruise ship virus’?

Anyone who regularly travels by plane or ship will probably have fallen victim to norovirus and its unpleasant symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting. It is sometimes referred to as the “cruise ship virus”, as it has occurred with frightening regularity there, but this microbe can spread like wildfire through any place where people gather such as offices, schools and military bases.

Because of the large numbers of cases, a search has been on for a vaccine and this new certainly is unique in its origin as it was “manufactured” in a tobacco plant using an engineered plant virus. Science has always turned to nature when seeking cures – not always with the best results – but it has been effective in many cases. A study of the top 150 proprietary drugs used in the USA in 1993 found that 57% of all prescriptions contained at least one major active compound derived from plants and we would not have aspirin without white willow bark, or digoxin without digitalis, and many more examples.

Researchers are particularly turning to plants in the battle against fast spreading infectious diseases like norovirus, swine flu, and bird flu. They are doing so because plant biotechnology makes available more efficient and inexpensive ways to bring vaccines quickly to the public and this is especially critical in times when viruses mutate into unpredictable new strains as they are doing more and more today.

It is less expensive than developing conventional vaccines because purification from plant extracts is simpler as there are no infectious agents to clean up. There are no viruses in plants which can infect humans, so you don’t have to worry about viral removal.

Noroviruses are always mutating, making it difficult to produce an effective vaccine in the time scale required. The costs involved in this are huge so it is a great development to be able to use plant biotechnology to create a cheaper, quicker vaccine that is uniquely suited to combat mutating viruses like norovirus and the flu. Plant-based vaccines can be produced and put into clinical tests within eight to 10 weeks and for commercial use that means a fast turnaround of two to four months.

And where does tobacco come in? Well the scientists involved re-engineered plant viruses to produce high levels of specially designed “virus-like” nanoparticles in tobacco plants. These particles are the same size as the norovirus, but they consist only of the outer surface protein — that is the portion of the virus recognized by the human immune system. The particles contain none of the infectious material of the original virus, but they stimulate a robust immune response to fight off an actual infection.

So a good use for tobacco plants, and good news for tobacco farmers who must have seen a serious downturn in profits in the last few years. After successful experiments, a nasal delivery system for the virus-like particles is being developed and will start clinical trials in late 2009.

Up to 80% saving on treatment abroad

It has become more common for people to seek medical, and dental, treatment abroad. Around 80,000 people did so last year, including a friend of mine who went to Poland for expensive dental work and the flight, treatment and hotel still cost far less than a couple of sessions with his regular dentist. The range of things on offer range from fertility treatments to knee and hip replacements – and all parts of the body, internal and external, that you can think of.

The idea of combining treatment with a holiday might sound attractive – certainly better food while you convalesce in a hotel on the beach – but how do you know where to look and what sort of value you will be getting? Fortunately there is online help from Treatment Abroad, who have just released their 2009 survey of prices available to medical travellers. They surveyed 180 clinics and medical tourism operators in 39 countries and found that patients can make savings of over 80% on some common medical treatments.

Yes, but when it comes to health the price is only one part of the equation and quality of treatment, surgical expertise, reputation, patient safety are also vital factors. So too is communication and it really is not a good idea to have treatment if the staff involved don’t speak excellent English and you can’t make yourself fully understood.

If you are waiting on an NHS appointment it can certainly seem attractive and a good use of your money; for example, varicose vein treatment in Poland is on average 84% cheaper than in the UK and if wrinkles are getting you down then a trip to Cuba for a forehead lift could save on average about 87%. Other procedures such as elective surgery, cosmetic or dental work don’t have the same high saving, but still cost around 55% less than in the UK.

Other factors influencing patients to leave the UK for treatment are concerns about post operative infection in UK hospitals, the length of NHS waiting lists and the comparative high cost of private healthcare in the UK.

You can get more information and a free comprehensive guide to medical tourism from http://www.treatmentabroad.com and I advise you to study it carefully and weigh up all your options before you come to a decision.

Deep vein thrombosis main risk not from air travel

We are all aware of the risks from DVT on long-haul flights, but it seems that it might have been overestimated according to researchers at the very wonderfully named German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. They have found that DVT is very unlikely in healthy travellers, so you could ditch those unattractive flight socks, but that there is another – and very real – risk. If you have had an accident where you have to wear a cast or splint then that can mean an increased risk of DVT in the leg and pelvic area.

Why is it a problem?

Blood clots have the ability to travel to the lungs, leading to pulmonary embolism, and if for any reason you are unable to move your legs regularly, then the blood flow through your veins is slower than usual. As a result, blood may clump together, forming a blood clot which can lead to DVT. Having a pulmonary embolism can reduce the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells, overstrain the heart and even cause heart failure.

Wearing a cast or splint increases the risk of DVT

You know that if you have to wear a cast or splint that you will usually suffer unbearable itching, but most people do not know that this also increases the risk of DVT. The advice from Professor Sawicki, lead researcher in the study, is that to prevent serious complications, it is important to get back on your feet and move around again as soon as possible and medically advised. If you really can’t move then your doctor may prescribe anticoagulants to reduce the blood’s ability to clot.

If you prefer a natural approach then there are a number of foods and supplements that are known to thin the blood. These include foods with high amounts of aspirin like substances called salicylates, omega-3 fatty acids, foods with natural antibiotic properties such as raisins, cherries, blueberries, grapes, strawberries and oranges and vitamin E supplements. You might also want to avoid foods that are high in vitamin K as that helps the blood to clot and so is counter-productive. These foods include spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, lettuce and peas.

But isn’t air travel the main risk?

Surprisingly, even in higher-risk groups, the risk of air-travel-related thrombosis is still well below half a percent. Research on millions of air travellers has revealed that only about 2 to 5 out of every 10,000 people who took a flight longer than 6 to 8 hours developed DVT that caused symptoms (at the most 0.05%). Even people who had a higher risk – for example, because they had large varicose veins or were very overweight – were not highly likely to develop deep vein thrombosis: only 20 out of every 10,000 travellers were affected (0.2%). Nor was there any evidence to show that people on short flights of less than 4 to 6 hours had an increased risk of thrombosis.

If you would rather be safe than sorry – and you did invest in those special compression flight socks – then the advice is that you will lower your risk by putting them on at least 2 hours before the flight and keep them on throughout the entire journey.

10 point healthy flight check

As this is the time of year when we can start jetting off on holiday, I thought you might like some tips for having a healthy flight. As my last flight resulted in my getting a serious infection, I have a vested interest and have investigated various ways you can protect yourself while flying off to somewhere wonderful – or even Benidorm.

The problem with travelling by air is all those people; first at the airport itself and then when you get on the plane and you are forced to breathe in the same recycled, stale air, plus all their germs. Your plane has a system where it continually brings in around 50 percent fresh air into the cabin and then cleans and filters the remaining 50 percent and sends it straight back to you. Assuming a perfectly efficient, effective and highly maintained system you should be fine – but I prefer not to trust in fine or perfect maintenance.If you feel too hot and direct the air vent to you then that’s an open invitation for germs from your fellow passengers coughs and sneezes to be sent express delivery to you, so wear fewer layers and don’t open the vent. Follow this action plan at least 2-3 days before you fly and minimise your risk.

1. Prevention is the best plan so prepare your immune system to repel boarders by ensuring you eat a light, healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and as much garlic as you can manage without becoming a social outcast. Take Echinacea and a good multivitamin and try to take at least 1 gram of vitamin C a day.

2. Are you a nervous flyer? If so, carry Rescue Remedy and put six drops on your tongue to help calm your nerves.

3. Once at the airport, boost your C intake to 2 grams in 500mg doses over a few hours. It will support your immune system and helps reduce the symptoms of colds.

4. Ginkgo will help if you get symptoms such as headaches, nausea, fatigue and dizziness when flying as it will increase blood flow and oxygen to your brain.

5. To avoid deep vein thrombosis you need to keep your blood circulating, so walk round as often as you can and in your seat do some exercises to stretch and flex your feet and calves. CoQ10 is a supplement that also helps thin the blood and worth taking around 100mcg if you are at risk of DVT.

6. Jet lag travelling can be a real problem if you cross time zones and 600mcg of melatonin can help with this. Melatonin should not be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers, or children. Please be aware that it is not legal to buy in the UK, and can only be bought online and then imported for your own use, then it’s no problem.

7. A simple trick is to alter your watch to the destination local time as soon as you are on the plane and this ‘tricks’ your body into adjusting faster.

8. Drink all you want – as long as it’s water or juices. That celebratory ‘we’re on holiday’ drink on the plane is a bad move health-wise and issues an open invitation to bacteria. When you drink alcohol it will dehydrate you, as you know if you have over-indulged, and when that happens the minute pores inside your nostril get enlarged and makes an even bigger gateway for those all those viruses and bacteria you are trying to avoid.

9. Make your meal the vegetarian option and give your stomach a break. Meat protein means your body works harder to break it down and that diverts resources from tackling any possible virus or bacteria that may have got into your body.

10. Carry, and use, a sanitising hand gel. Not just when you use the bathroom, but every time you walk round the plane and have to touch the back of the seats for balance or to allow other people through. It’s contact that is the problem and anywhere other people have touched is potentially hazardous.

Enjoy your flight and have a happy, healthy landing!

Cutting the cost of travel vaccinations

One of the drawbacks to foreign travel, at least to me, is the number of vaccinations that you seem to be required to have. I am travelling to the Far East this month and was told I had to have Typhoid, Teteanus, Polio, Hepatitis A and Malaria. I am not a fan of vaccinations unless absolutely essential, as they do have side effects. The most serious to me is that they do compromise your immune system, and these are some of the others:

Headache, Itching, Loss of appetite, Fever, Nausea and vomiting, Anaphylaxis (extreme allergic reaction), Redness or pain and swelling around injection site, A general feeling of being unwell.

I like to keep my immune system as healthy as possible to naturally ward off infection and illness so I phoned my favourite homoepathic chemist and asked if there were any effective alternatives to these vaccinations. I was assured there were certainly were, and I was sent a neat set of little bottles to take one a day for the next 10 days. If homoeopathy is good enough for the Royal Family it is certainly good enough for me, and there is an additional bonus that doesn’t worry them, in that it is a huge cost saving. My remedies cost me £13, including postage, and the cost quoted at a Travellers Clinic was the best part of £150 which seems an awful lot of money to me.

I will let you know how I get on, and if you want to find out more then call Galen Homoeopathics on 01305 263996

Personal portable superbug protection

There have been so many stories in the press about ‘superbugs’ and the danger of infection in hospitals, or anywhere you are away from home and staying in a public environment. I am a great believer in being proactive, and I have a close friend who has been in hospital 6 times over the last 5 years, and got infected each time – so I was happy to pass on to him some news that came my way this week.

If you are concerned for yourself, or a friend or relative in hospital, or care home, then you could buy them something that will be a lot more welcome than flowers or fruit. Just launched is a product called PatientPak which the manufacturers claim will help protect people when they visit hospital as it is proven to kill pathogens, including MRSA, and is effective within 10 seconds. It is also proven to kill a wide spectrum of viruses and bacteria including E Coli, Norovirus, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria and Avian Flu (H5N1), and can also be used in the home or when travelling.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, has proposed that the NHS constitution gives patients responsibilities as well as rights, and that means you are going to be responsible for high standards of personal hygiene in order to avoid bringing infections on to a hospital ward – and also presumably to discourage you from suing them if you do fall ill.

The PatientPak consists of a number of items formulated and developed by medical doctors, which has only been available so far in hospitals. They work by stopping harmful bacteria building up resistance to the active ingredients and this is what you get in the Pak:

** Two types of antimicrobial wipes: one for surfaces for cleaning surfaces and killing germs on door handles, bed frames, toilet seats, food tables, work surfaces and taps and a gentler one for your face and body.

** An antimicrobial sanitising hand spray to use before handling food, after using the toilet and after any physical contact with others, together with a hair and body wash.

** A fabric spray that kills germs that can survive on fabric and can be used on clothes, curtains or bed linen.

** A pH-neutral cleansing soap and nail brush which are essential for removing spores and other pathogens, including C difficile. Your mother was right about always thoroughly washing your hands, it’s the first line of defence against germs.

** Finally, they include a toothbrush plus toothpaste, lip balm and pen.

The pack is a one-off item, you use it and dispose of the contents at the end of your hospital visit to minimize the transfer of bugs when you get back home. All that, plus a leaflet full of advice on good hygiene practice and how you can protect yourself from superbugs. There’s also a polite notice that patients can place next to their hospital bed, which requests that people check that their hands are clean before treatment is given – and includes your visitors who pick over the fruit they have brought you and then leave you with their germs! This note was apparently suggested by the leading charity, MRSA Action UK, to help if you are too shy, embarrassed, or ill, to ask people to wash their hands before approaching you.

The pack retails at £15.99, which sounds like a bargain to avoid all those bugs, and you can buy it in main branches of Boots, Holland & Barret and the pharmacies in major supermarkets. If you can’t find it then you can buy online from www.patientpak.com.

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