Sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty in medicine, with literally just a couple of medical practitioners here trained in this new area. However, what happens (or doesn’t happen) when you sleep one night has a significant effect on what happens (or doesn’t happen) next day when one is awake, or tries to stay awake. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. The way you feel while you are awake depends in part on what happens while you were sleeping. Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many diseases and disorders.

In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. Getting inadequate sleep over time can raise the risk of chronic health problems. It can also affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.

Sleep affects various aspects of your overall health, from your mood to your immune system. When you don’t get enough sleep, you experience sleep deprivation. Signs of sleep deprivation can include:

• Difficulty concentrating during the day
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Forgetfulness or poor memory

Tips for a “Good Night’s Sleep”.

• Get more sleep- ideally aim for 7-9 hours every night.
• The bed and bedroom should be cool, quiet, dark and comfortable.
• A consistent sleep schedule is important, with regular bedtime and waking (except when the Olympics are on television all through the night).
• The 3,2,1 rule: No physical activity for 3 hours before bedtime, no heavy meals for 2 hours before bedtime, and no electronics, including television, video, telephone, smartphone or radio 1 hour before bedtime. On the other hand, people who include regular physical activity into their daily routines tend to be better sleepers.
• The bed should be reserved for only two activities that start with the letter ‘S’: sleep and sex. It is hoped that sickness, which also starts with an ‘S’, does not keep you in bed too long.
• A cool bath, and a warm drink, may help you relax before bedtime. However, drinks containing caffeine or theophylline (coffee, tea and ‘black’ soft drinks), and alcohol, should be avoided.
• If you sleep in the day, even a brief nap, this may affect your ability to fall asleep at night. Avoid taking naps close to your bedtime.
• (Easier to say than to do but) avoid taking your daytime problems to bed with you. Stress can be a major destroyer of sleep patterns.

Over time, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to health conditions like diabetes, depression, obesity, dementia and cardiovascular diseases. Some of these diseases are associated with fatal outcomes so literally ‘not getting proper sleep can kill you’. In these situations, the physician has to treat both the actual condition and the underlying sleep deprivation for optimal management. One night of poor sleep can affect you the next day. Many poor nights of sleep can affect you for a lifetime.

Dr. Colin V. Alert, MB BS, DM. is a family physician and associate UWI family medicine lecturer.

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View the full post CARPHA urges vigilance following WHO Declaration on Mpox on NOW Grenada.

Santo Domingo, DR – President Luis Abinader said today that the Dominican Republic has reduced malnourishment by 45% in terms of food, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The president assured that the country has managed to reduce the percentage of the undernourished population from 8.3% in the 2018-2020 period to 4.6% in the 2021-2023 period.

After highlighting other advances, Abinader pointed out that employment today registers a record number of active workers in the labor market and that unemployment has been reduced to 5% during the last three years.

The president said that the average minimum wage has grown 14% above inflation, thus improving the purchasing power of Dominican workers.

“It is no coincidence, therefore, that the Dominican Republic is today in the category of High Human Development in the United Nations index, and that in recent years we are one of the few countries in the world that have climbed positions,” he said when he was sworn in for a new presidential term.

He said that in 3, the Dominican Republic’s GDP per capita reached US$11,200, “consolidating us as a middle-income economy.”

AGRICULTURE WILL BE A PRIORITY

Regarding agriculture, the president stressed that the goal is full development and support and that strengthening the agricultural sector will continue to be a priority of the government.

He indicated that the agricultural policy he has implemented has been fundamental to guaranteeing the country’s food security and maintaining producers’ profitability.

He pointed out that according to the United States Department of Agriculture, for the first time, in the current year 2024, the country will exceed US$1,800 million in exports of agricultural goods to that country, including beef, whose market has been reopened after being closed for more than 20 years.

However, he specified: “I am aware that the impact of extreme atmospheric phenomena on our agriculture as a result of Climate Change, forces us to dedicate more and more resources to the development of infrastructures and technologies that contribute to strengthening the resilience that our agricultural sector has shown to have and increase the efficiency and productivity of the resources we dedicate to it.”

He maintained that financing has been a critical piece of agricultural policy in his administration.

He added that the credit program with rates and conditions adapted to agriculture has made it possible to position agriculture as one of the economic activities that attracts the most investment and development in the country and that this new government will continue to strengthen credit and channel the resources required to guarantee the profitability and sustainability of agriculture.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, made the declaration on Wednesday, citing rising incidence of mpox and fatalities in some sub-Saharan African countries due to a new variant (Clade I).

The announcement came just a day before Sweden confirmed its first case of the highly infectious variant.

In response to the WHO’s declaration, the University of the West Indies (UWI) has pledged to dedicate its research expertise to address this challenge. The university said it would work with regional partners, leveraging cutting-edge virus sequencing technologies acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We currently have the capabilities in our laboratories to make rapid and accurate diagnosis of mpox and will work closely with regional Ministries of Health, the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA), and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) to respond to any introduction of the virus in the region,” a UWI spokesperson said.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George said the WHO’s designation signals the need for countries worldwide to enhance surveillance and implement preventative measures. He noted that the declaration also enables the WHO to access emergency funding for an improved global response.

“The designation by the WHO is a signal that countries across the globe should enhance surveillance and implement preventative measures to help persons protect themselves from the possibility of infection,” Dr George said.

Mpox is described as a highly infectious disease spread through close contact, including intimate or sexual contact with an infected person, and through contact with contaminated materials such as bedding or clothing. The illness typically begins with flu-like symptoms followed by a characteristic rash.

Whilst no acute infections have been reported in Barbados, the ministry has urged both public and private sector physicians to remain vigilant, conduct tests according to protocol, and report suspected cases. Environmental and nursing staff at the island’s ports of entry have been instructed to increase their vigilance.

Health authorities emphasised that those most vulnerable to severe illness include children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems. They advise anyone with a travel history who develops an unusual rash to seek immediate medical attention.

Although there is no specific treatment for mpox, the spread can be contained through the isolation of infected individuals for 21 days and supportive medical care. Mild and moderate cases can be managed at home under isolation. (BT/BGIS)

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“Eating at least one well-balanced meal each day can go a long way in ensuring that you get the right amount of nutrients and minerals your body needs to function”

View the full post Energy boosting foods on NOW Grenada.

Cases of the Oropouche virus (OROV) emerging in Europe have health officials on high alert.

As of the end of July, 19 cases had been reported with 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany, per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The disease is typically spread through bites from mosquitoes and midges (small flies, particularly the Culicoides paraensis species), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Since first emerging in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, the Oropouche virus has had "limited circulation" in regions of South America, particularly in forested areas.

Three-toed sloths and birds have been identified as "natural reservoirs" for Oropouche, which means they act as hosts of the disease.

"The virus doesn't spread from person to person," Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, confirmed to Fox News Digital.

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On Aug. 1, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiological alert urging countries to "strengthen surveillance and implement laboratory diagnosis for the identification and characterization of cases … potentially associated with OROV infection."

By the end of July, there were 8,078 confirmed cases of Oropouche virus in five countries, including Bolivia (356), Brazil (7,284, with two deaths), Colombia (74), Cuba (74) and Peru (290), as reported by the PAHO.

"Experts fear that if the current outbreak of Oropouche fever expands further, it could overwhelm South America's already stretched health care system," according to an article published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Aug. 8.

The PAHO’s alert also warned of cases of the virus in Brazil that were transmitted from pregnant women to their fetuses in Brazil.

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"These cases are under investigation," the CDC stated on its website, noting that the agency is working with PAHO and "other international partners" to assess potential risks the virus presents during pregnancy.

Siegel said, "There is some risk to the fetus in terms of birth defects."

OROV, which is classified as an arbovirus, is often mistaken for other similar viruses, like Zika, dengue, chikungunya and malaria, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, stiff joints and chills.

Some may develop a rash that begins on the torso and spreads to other body parts.

Symptoms usually begin within four to eight days of being bitten, and last for three to six days.

"Symptoms can abate and reoccur," Siegel noted.

In severe cases, patients may develop meningitis, encephalitis or other "neuroinvasive" diseases, the CDC stated.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health

For those patients, symptoms can include intense headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, lethargy, stiff neck and involuntary eye movements. 

"Around 4% of patients develop [neurologic symptoms] after the first febrile illness," Siegel said.

Most people who contract Oropouche will recover on their own without any long-term effects, the CDC stated.

"There are no vaccines for prevention and no treatments," Siegel said.

The best means of prevention is to avoid bites from midges and mosquitoes, according to experts.

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"People are advised to take preventive measures, including the use of repellents, clothing that covers legs and arms, and fine mesh mosquito nets, and to take extra precautions during outbreaks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women," the PAHO advised in its alert.

Supportive care can include rest, fluids and medications to reduce fever and alleviate pain.

"Patients who develop more severe symptoms should be hospitalized for close observation and supportive treatment," the agency stated.

There have been "very few" deaths reported from Oropouche, the CDC noted.

Those who are experiencing symptoms and have risk factors can contact their local health department for testing.

"Clinicians in these areas where importation has occurred may not be familiar with this infection and need to be alert to its possibility," Dr. Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC for comment.

The World Health Organization’s emergency committee will meet next Wednesday to decide whether to trigger its highest alert level over an Mpox outbreak sweeping through several African countries.

The WHO said in a note to journalists that the closed virtual meeting will start at 1000 GMT Wednesday.

“The committee will provide me with its views on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

If that turns out to be the case they will advise on “how to better prevent and reduce the spread of the disease”, he added.

Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

The disease causes fever, muscle aches and large boil-like skin lesions.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country currently most affected by the latest outbreak, with 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases by August 3 and 455 deaths, according to the African Union’s health agency.

SOURCE: AFP

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After nearly a decade of keeping it under wraps, Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky has shared her POTS diagnosis with the world.

The athlete, who has won 14 Olympic medals for swimming, the most of any female Olympian, said she has POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome).

In "Just Add Water: My Swimming Life," Ledecky's new memoir, which was published by Simon & Schuster in June, she wrote that the disease can cause "dizziness, fainting and exhaustion."

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Here's more. 

POTS is a disturbance in the autonomic nervous system, which controls some of the normal regulatory functions of the body, according to Dr. Blair Grubb, a cardiologist and expert on POTS at The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.

"When the person stands, gravity will try to displace downward roughly 20% to 30% of the body's blood volume," he told Fox News Digital. 

In response to this displacement, the brain tells the heart to beat faster and more forcibly, and tells the blood vessels in the lower half of the body to tighten, or constrict, to three times the level they were previously, the doctor said.

"This allows for accumulation of much more blood than normal in the lower half of the body," Grubb said.

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As more blood is displaced downward, the brain gets less and less oxygen. 

Ledecky discussed this effect in her book. She wrote, "I pool blood in the vessels below my heart when I stand. My body then releases extra norepinephrine or epinephrine, which adds additional stressors on my heart, making it beat faster."

Individuals with a genetic trait called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (also known as joint hypermobility syndrome) appear to be more susceptible to developing this condition, according to Grubb. 

"However, POTS is frequently triggered by a viral infection, such as Epstein-Barr virus or COVID-19," he told Fox News Digital.

One of these infections can trigger an autoimmune response, in which the body's immune system attacks itself and produces antibodies that interfere with the ability of blood vessels to tighten, the doctor said.

POTS can also occur on its own, without any obvious triggers.

A POTS patient’s symptoms will depend on how much blood is displaced downward, experts say.

"It can vary from mild cases where your heart races and you get a little dizzy upon standing, all the way to presenting as a disabling condition, disallowing patients from being upright," Valerie Iovine, PT, a physical therapist at Strive Physical Therapy in Philadelphia, told Fox News Digital.

"It can also change over the course of life, but can also change day to day or week to week."

The disorder’s name — postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — literally translates to "when you become more upright, your heart races," noted Iovine, who treats many patients with POTS and also has the disorder herself.

"The heart will flutter in an attempt to properly oxygenate the brain," she said. 

"But in addition to the dizziness, headaches, passing out or near passing out, many with this disorder don't realize that it can account for other issues, like temperature dysregulation, blood pressure dysregulation and GI dysfunction."

In more extreme cases, patients may have difficulty thinking, concentrating or remembering — sometimes called brain fog, according to Grubb.

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People may also experience blurred vision, black spots in their visual field, tunnel vision and headache. 

"Even greater displacement of blood can cause the individual to lose consciousness," Grubb said.

The primary treatment for POTS is increasing water and salt intake, Grubb said. 

"It is also important to recondition the patient through exercise, building the strength in their lower extremities," he said.

Some medications, such as midodrine and droxidopa — known as vasoconstrictors — can work to tighten blood vessels and increase blood return to the heart, according to Grubb. 

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Still other drugs, such as fludrocortisone or desmopressin, work by increasing the volume of fluids available for the heart to pump. 

"Medications such as pyridostigmine facilitate nerve transmission and help the nervous system work more effectively to maintain normal vascular function," Grubb added.

Many often use the term "exercise intolerance" when describing symptoms of POTS, but Iovine said that "poorly prescribed and dosed exercise" is the problem.

"Exercise is the best management for POTS," she said.

"I would argue that for these patients, movement is medicine."

In her book, Ledecky noted that swimming can be an effective treatment for POTS, writing that "reclined aerobic exercise, such as swimming, and strengthening your core, can provide relief."

Seeking care from a cardiologist and a physical therapist is essential, according to Iovine.

The cardiologist can help to get vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure under control, she said, while a knowledgeable physical therapist can help to manage symptoms and increase upright tolerance. 

"Things like proper hydration, extra electrolytes, and being able to keep cool can also help manage symptoms," Iovine advised.

"The heat will make the blood vessels expand, making it harder to get the blood up the head against gravity," she said.

"POTS can be a challenge for anyone — from people with complicated pre-existing conditions, all the way to the top athletes, like Katie Ledecky," Iovine told Fox News Digital. 

The disease can often cause a flu-like feeling after exercise, something called post-exertional malaise/post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PEM/PESE). 

"This is when the autonomic nervous system can have a reflexive reaction to stress or exercise, either making existing symptoms worse or creating a new host of issues in people with POTS," Iovine said. 

"This can pose an issue in the sense of rigorous exercise for an Olympic athlete — or in other cases, exertion may be as simple as getting out of bed and walking to the kitchen."

POTS causes a "dynamic disability," Iovine noted.

"One day, it may allow you to swim like an Olympic athlete, and other days, [it will] have you stuck in bed or even in a wheelchair."

POTS is particularly challenging in athletic activities that involve frequent "start and stop" activities, such as basketball, volleyball, soccer and field hockey, added Grubb.

Both experts emphasized that POTS is a "real illness."

"People who were previously quite healthy develop severe limitations and disabilities," Grubb said.

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"They can experience disabling fatigue, exercise intolerance, heat intolerance, palpitations, lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting and brain fog."

Iovine said that due to the "invisibility" of the disease combined with the high heart rate and variability of presentations, it is often dismissed as a function of mental health.

"Patients are often turned away from proper care, made to believe it is all in their heads," she said.

"POTS is a very real condition, and the good news is that there are very real management strategies as well," Iovine went on.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health

While there is no cure for POTS, many patients are able to manage their symptoms and return to their daily activities.

Added Iovine, "Build up your care team and your confidence to advocate for your health and keep to your regimented routines for management."

Grenada’s healthcare system is on track to improve with the appointment of 6 Grenadian doctors, graduates of the University of Medical Sciences of Granma, Cuba

View the full post New medical graduates from Cuba on NOW Grenada.

A country’s economy grows and the standard of living of its residents is determined, in large measure, by the involvement, engagement and productivity of its workers. Workers who are engaged and producing at their optimum are workers who are healthy – emotionally and physically.

During this World Breastfeeding Week 2024, the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector is happy to come alongside the Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation to remind us all of the importance of breastfeeding to workers, and to enterprise and national development.

Mothers who are able to breastfeed their children and are provided adequate facilities at work to express and store breast milk are generally more engaged, satisfied and committed workers. They are more inclined to get into and remain in formal employment. They are more likely to be advocates for the organisation.

Children who are breastfed are shown to be generally healthier and better-adjusted children. As adults, they have lower incidences of chronic, non-communicable diseases than other segments of the population. They are able to engage better, think more clearly, and therefore be more productive.

Let us join together to close the gap and support mothers who are able to breastfeed their children. Mothers benefit. Children benefit. Our communities benefit. Our nation benefits.

(Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector)

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