A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego, is developing a pill that restores insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body’s response to insulin – a hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood – gets weaker. Commercially available drugs so far only remove excess glucose…
Since last week when we wrote about the Ebola outbreak in context of a biololgical weapon – as well as the nightmare scenario it could bring upon the world given our criss-crossing global airlines system, Ebola Biological Warfare – A Pandemic Nightmare, the deadly virus appears to be expanding even more out of control while even the mainstream media is now widely reporting on it.
LANZHOU, July 18 (Xinhua) — A 38-year-old man in northwest China’s Gansu Province has died of plague, local authorities said.
The case was reported in Yumen City under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan City, the Jiuquan government said on Thursday. The man, who died on Wednesday, had been in contact with a dead marmot, which is of the squirrel family.
A total of 151 people who had close contact with the man have been put in quarantine and are under medical observation. None of them has reported syndromes of the disease so far, according to the local government.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has sent disease prevention and control specialists to Yumen to prevent the plague from spreading.
Plague is categorized as a Class A infectious disease, the most serious under China’s Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.
END
Chinese city sealed off after bubonic plague death
30,000 residents of Yumen are not being allowed to leave and 151 people have been placed in quarantine after man’s death
A Chinese city has been sealed off and 151 people have been placed in quarantine since last week after a man died of bubonic plague, state media said.
The 30,000 residents of Yumen, in the north-western province of Gansu, are not being allowed to leave, and police at roadblocks on the perimeter of the city are telling motorists to find alternative routes, China Central Television (CCTV) said.
A 38-year-old man died last Wednesday, the report said, after he had been in contact with a dead marmot, a small furry animal related to the squirrel. No further plague cases have been reported.
CCTV said officials were not allowing anyone to leave. The China Daily newspaper said four quarantine sectors had been set up in the city.
“The city has enough rice, flour and oil to supply all its residents for up to one month,” CCTV added. “Local residents and those in quarantine are all in stable condition.” No further cases have been reported.
Bubonic plague is a bacterial infection best known for the Black Death, a virulent epidemic that killed tens of millions of people in 14th-century Europe. Primarily an animal illness, it is extremely rare in humans.
The US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) says modern antibiotics are effective in treating plague, but that without prompt treatment the disease can cause serious illness or death.
END
Bubonic plague
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the disease in general. For information about the medieval European plague, see Black Death
Bubonic plague is a zoonotic disease, circulating mainly in fleas on small rodents, and is one of three types of bacterial infections caused by Yersinia pestis (formerly known as Pasteurella pestis), that belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae. Without treatment, the bubonic plague kills about two thirds of infected humans within four days.
The term bubonic plague is derived from the Greek word βουβών, meaning “groin”. Swollen lymph nodes (buboes) especially occur in the armpit and groin in persons suffering from bubonic plague. Bubonic plague was often used synonymously for plague, but it does in fact refer specifically to an infection that enters through the skin and travels through the lymphatics, as is often seen in flea-borne infections.
Bubonic plague—along with the septicemic plague and the pneumonic plague, which are the two other manifestations of Y. pestis—is commonly believed to be the cause of the Black Death that swept through Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated 25 million people, or 30–60% of the European population.[1] Around the Mediterranean Region, summers seemed to be the season when the disease took place. While in Europe, people found the disease most occurring in the autumn.[2] Because the plague killed so many of the working population, wages rose and some historians have seen this as a turning point in European economic development.[3][4]
Who, What, Why: How dangerous are tick bites in the UK?
Walkers are being warned to protect themselves against tick bites after a wet and mild winter. Just how dangerous are ticks, asks Vanessa Barford.
Experts have warned that ticks – blood-sucking, disease-carrying arachnids – appear to be on the rise in the UK.
Richard Wall, professor of Zoology at Bristol University, says there’s no definitive data on how many ticks are in the country. Some areas have none. Others – usually woodland and heath areas – may have more than 100 per square metre. However, the general consensus among rural communities is they are on the up, largely as a result of the warmer and wetter weather (good breeding conditions) and the growing number of wild deer (ticks like living on their skin).
The answer
Ticks are on the rise in the UK
Lyme disease is too
It is treatable so long as it is caught early
Symptoms usually take between three days to six weeks to appear
The number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease – the most serious bacteria infection spread to humans by infected ticks – has also increased, according to Dr Tim Brooks, head of the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory. He says laboratory proven cases have risen from about 200 in the late 1990s, to 1,200 last year, although the actual number of cases is probably three times that. Awareness and testing of the disease has also gone up, so the figures have to be seen in that context, he adds.
Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics if it’s diagnosed early. But neurological problems and joint pain can develop months or years later if it’s left untreated. In the worst cases, it can be fatal.
The most common symptom is a pink or red circular “bull’s-eye” rash that develops around the area of the bite, but it doesn’t appear in everyone. Flu-like symptoms and fatigue are other noticeable signs of infection.
Public Health England says the best way for walkers to avoid getting bitten is to use repellent, wear light coloured clothes so that ticks can easily be seen and walk on paths and avoid long grass or verges. Dog walkers are also advised to check their pets as ticks spread other diseases as well as Lyme disease to animals as well.
For those worried about their gardens, keeping lawns short, raking up leaf litter and creating a buffer zone between habitats ticks tend to like and lawn-paving, wood chips and gravel can help.
However, Prof Wall says a very small proportion of ticks carry Lyme disease.
Dr Brooks says the disease is a far bigger problem in other parts of Europe and the US, especially on the East Coast.
The most important thing is for those that think they might have symptoms of Lyme disease to go to the GP as prompt treatment will prevent complications. Symptoms usually take between three days to six weeks to appear after a tick bite.
And for those unsure how to remove a tick? Use fine tipped tweezers, or a tick-removal tool, to grasp the tick by the head as close to the skin as possible. Pull firmly and steadily, without twisting, as this could increase the risk of infection by prompting the tick to regurgitate saliva into the bite wound.
After the tick is removed, apply antiseptic and beware of a rash.
Older related material:
(Image: lh3.ggpht.com)
06 Oct 2012:
A 38-year-old man being treated for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has died.
The man had recently returned home to the UK and was being treated in complete isolation after being admitted to Gartnavel General Hospital’s Brownlee Centre in Glasgow, less than three hours after arriving in Scotland.
He was then transferred to the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Tests revealed he flew into Scotland from Dubai, though his journey originated in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
It was the first recorded case of the deadly disease in the UK. Other passengers who sat close to him on an aircraft are undergoing daily health checks. –Â Sky News (link to full story)
Glasgow man ‘critical’ with first UK case of killer fever
05 Oct 2012: A GLASGOW man is being treated in isolation after becoming the first person diagnosed in Britain with the potentially lethal Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
The 38-year-old is in a critical condition at the Brownlee specialist unit at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow.
He was admitted on Tuesday afternoon, less than three hours after flying into the city at 12:35pm on a connecting flight from Dubai. Test results confirmed his condition yesterday. –Â scotsman.com (link to full story)
17 May, 2012: Five people have died in the Black Sea region of Turkey of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, one of the diseases that can be transmitted by tick bites.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread to humans by infected ticks. Ticks are tiny, spider-like insects found in woodland areas that feed on the blood of mammals, including humans.
Tick bites often go unnoticed and the tick can remain feeding for several days before dropping off. The longer the tick is in place, the higher the risk of it passing on the infection.
Lyme disease can affect your skin, joints, heart and nervous system
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in Europe and North America. People who spend time in woodland or heath areas are more at risk of developing Lyme disease because these areas are where tick-carrying animals, such as deer and mice, live.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates that there are 2,000 to 3,000 cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales each year, and that about 15%-20% of cases occur while people are abroad.
Parts of the UK that are known to have a high population of ticks include:
Exmoor the New Forest in Hampshire the South Downs parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire Thetford Forest in Norfolk the Lake District the Yorkshire Moors the Scottish Highlands
Most tick bites occur in late spring, early summer and during the autumn because these are the times of year when most people take part in outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping – NHS Choices
Lyme is just one of a lengthening list of emerging infectious diseases that are soaring.
Experts say that increasing temperatures and altered precipitation patterns that accompany climate change are already playing at least a partial role in the spread and intensity of zoonoses — infectious agents that begin in animals and account for an estimated 75 percent of all newly emerging diseases -� Huffington Post
(Photo: wikimedia/Uploaded by Magnus Manske) DON’T FORGET TO FEED THE BIRDS!
Taking this opportunity to wish my followers here on WordPress (174), on Facebook (121) and Twitter (827) a very happy festive holiday and a wonderful New Year.
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I don’t say it often enough, but thank you so much for following, reblogging & retweeting Goaty’s News. I do hope ithas been some help to you.
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Goaty
PS: Please remember all volunteers (RNLI Lifeboats, Coastguard, Mountain Rescue, Lowland Rescue, Search & Rescue and others) and the Emergency Services out in cold, often horrendous, weather whilst many of us enjoy the comforts of home. Also, do remember those who are homeless at this time.
Researchers have designed a synthetic molecule that tricks the AIDS virus into destroying itself. The compound, called DAVEI, was developed by researchers at Philadelphia’s Drexel University and causes the deadly pathogen to eject its contents before it can infect human cells.
There is a 90% probability of heatwave conditions between 0900 on Thursday and 2100 on Friday in southwest England, West Midlands, London and southeast England.
Southwest England and the West Midlands have been elevated from level 2 to level 3. Southeast England and London remain at level 3.
East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and East of England remain at level 2. Northeast England and northwest England remain at level 1.
An update will be issued when the alert level changes in any region.
END
The very young, the elderly and the seriously ill are the groups who are particularly at risk of health problems when the weather is very hot. In particular, very hot weather can make heart and breathing problems worse.
16 May 2013Last updated at 17:27By Sophie HutchinsonBBC News
A doctor who worked for the private company which assesses people for disability benefits says its methods are “unfair”.
Greg Wood, a former Royal Navy doctor, resigned from Atos earlier this month, after working as an assessor for two-and-a-half years.
He told the BBC the system was “skewed against the claimant”.
But Atos Healthcare says it submits “clinically justified reports” and completely refutes Dr Wood’s claims.
Atos, which has been criticised in the past by disability campaigners and MPs, carries out work capability assessments (WCAs) on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Claimants have to score a required number of points in order to qualify for the full sickness benefit under the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
In a statement, Atos said: “We never ask healthcare professionals to make any changes to a report unless there are specific clinical quality issues identified within it.
“We do not deviate from government guidelines in our training. We do not have targets for getting people on or off benefits.
“We have a large team of fully trained doctors, nurses and physiotherapists who provide a professional and compassionate service through what we recognise can be a difficult and emotional process for people…
“We are a professional and ethical organisation.”
‘Compelled to speak’
In an interview with the BBC, Dr Wood says he believes Atos assessors are not free to make truly independent recommendations.
He said he felt compelled to speak out because it was “embarrassing to be associated with this shambles”.
Ema Hackett, 24, has a mid-range disability and is unable to work. A trained graphic designer, she has Hypermobility Syndrome which makes her joints abnormally flexible. She lives with chronic pain and also suffers from mental health problems.
She has a carer who comes in once a day to help with household chores and cook her dinner.
In the past three years, she has twice been rejected for full sickness benefit following assessments and twice she’s successfully challenged the decision through Atos’ internal appeal system.
“It feels like not only am I fighting my body to get up everyday, but I’m also fighting the system to get the money I need just to exist.
“I don’t have a frivolous life. I don’t really ask for much – I just want enough to live a normal life.
“The letters from the Department for Work and Pensions come in a brown envelope with a certain address on the back. Any brown envelope I look at the back and if it’s from the Department for Work and Pensions, I’m scared.”
“It’s very unfair on the people making claims, they deserve a fair assessment and as a taxpayer I’m pretty cheesed off about the £100m plus that’s being sprayed away on this dog’s breakfast,” he said.
The assessments – or fit to work tests – sparked protests from disability campaigners after their introduction in 2010.
But Dr Wood has criticised some of the tests which he says contain “dubious concepts and shaky reasoning”.
He claims assessors are told that if a claimant can walk from the kitchen to the sitting room, it proves they can walk 200m (650ft); and if a person can dress themselves once during the day that is proof they have enough concentration and motivation to hold down a job.
He insists these rules are not published in handbooks and guides, instead they are simply spoken about in training sessions.
Mr Gibson said the rules detailed by Dr Wood were incorrect and several questions were asked to build up a complete picture, alongside the medical evidence.
Dr Wood, who was given special responsibility to champion mental health at Atos, said: “I was instructed to change my reports, to reduce the number of points that might be awarded to the claimants. I felt that was wrong professionally and ethically.
“My view is the government has tried to catch more people in the net than the current test allows by pulling strings behind the scenes to get the result they most desire,” he added.
Mr Gibson said a report was only changed if there was insufficient medical evidence to back it up.
There were “no targets to take people off benefits” and that had always been the case, he added.
‘Highest level’
Dr Wood says the people being most adversely affected by the system have significant, mid-ranging disabilities, such as Parkinson’s disease, mental illness, and head and spinal injuries.
“The percentage of people entitled to ESA is now at its highest level ”
- Department for Work and Pensions
He also claims some of the most severely disabled people are being asked to attend face-to-face assessments, instead of the normal practice of examining their application on paper.
He says he saw a lot of people who had suffered severe strokes and brain damage.
“There was a man with a motor neurone condition who I actually put in the terminal illness group,” he said. “He should not have come for a face-to-face assessment. It was cruel and he was hopping mad.”
The DWP said between March and May 2012, 58% of decisions to award the full sickness benefit were made on paper only, so did not require a face-to-face assessment.
Employment minister Mark Hoban says the evidence speaks for itself.
“When we came to Office one in 10 people were getting the highest level of support. That has now gone up to three in 10,” he told the BBC.
“What’s important to me is to make sure the decisions which are made are good quality decisions and people are getting the right support.”
He said the assessments had undergone several independent reviews and were devised in conjunction with health professionals and charities.
“The percentage of people entitled to ESA is now at its highest level with over half of people completing an assessment eligible for the benefit,” a DWP spokesman added.
Labour MP Tom Greatrex, who has asked a series of Commons questions on the assessments, said Dr Wood’s allegations were “serious and shocking” and he had written to the prime minister asking for an investigation.
“The head-in-the-sand approach Tory ministers are adopting isn’t good enough,” he said.
“They need to get a grip on this chaotic process which is not only causing misery for some of the most vulnerable members of our society, but also costing taxpayers a fortune at a time when we can least afford it.”
Atos senior vice president Wayne Gibson told the BBC it was “surprised and concerned that someone thinks we are unethical”.
“We don’t make the decision about who gets a benefit or not.
“Our role in the process is to do an assessment, gather the medical evidence and write a report that goes to the department, upon which they can gather more evidence and make a decision.”
In a later statement, the company said the claims were “false and damaging”.
It added: “Clinical judgement is the foundation of our part of the Work Capability Assessment process. We send the DWP independent, clinically justified reports to help the department’s decision makers make a decision on benefit entitlement…
“We are a professional and ethical organisation which has carried out this work on behalf of the department for over a decade.
“Atos Healthcare conducts its business based on a code of ethics and a strong legal compliance culture.”
Whistleblower says Atos Work Capability Assessments are unfair
Up to 40% of patients with chronic back pain could be cured with a course of antibiotics rather than surgery, in a medical breakthrough that one spinal surgeon says is worthy of a Nobel prize.
A group of researchers claim that austerity measures in Europe and North America are having a devastating effect on health, including increased levels of suicide and depression. The author of the research, David Stuckler from Oxford University, and economist Howard Wheeldon spoke to BBC World’s Global programme.
Debt Despair: UK plagued by suicides as austerity shows no mercy
Suicide rates are soaring in the UK, with money worries pushing many over the edge. Cuts to mental health services and aggressive debt-collecting are cited by experts as major factors aggravating the situation. RT’s Andrew Farmer met one mother, who lost her child over debt despair.
Rates of suicide and depression are on the rise in Spain as the unemployment figures in the country reach a record high. So is this the human cost of austerity? Inside Story debates with guests: Diego Lopez, Madhur Jha and Maria Nyman.
Disaster Preparedness minister Musa Ecweru with a team from Office of Prime Minister, Uganda Red Cross and district authorities have rushed to Kasese district where torrential rains ravaged villages, killing five people and making scores homeless.
According to Uganda Red Cross, relief trucks from Red Cross and OPM arrived in Kasese Thursday night. The items are targeting 400 families who were mostly affected. They include: tarpaulins, sauce pans, blankets, mosquito nets, plates, cups, washing soap, jerrycans and water purification tablets. Five bodies of the people killed by floods in Kasese have been recovered along various parts of River Nyamwamba in Kasese municipality.
The mayor, Godfrey Kabyanga, said two of the bodies were taken to the municipality mortuary. He identified the deceased as, Paddy Karusu, former head of procurement and disposal of assets in Kasese district, Raphael Kibusu, a Bunyandiku Primary School teacher and another identified only as Gadi, an employee of Kilembe Mines, Patrick Mwanzi and a woman identified only as Kabugho.
The floods hit the district on Wednesday during torrential rains that caused River Nyamwamba to burst its banks and overflow to areas in the Kasese municipality, halting the hospital operations. The district health inspector, Ericana Bwambale, expressed fear of outbreak of diseases like cholera.
Karusandara, Lake Katwe and Muhokya villages located downstream have also been flooded.
The district leaders held an emergency meeting chaired by the resident district commissioner, Milton Odongo on Wednesday to chat out the way forward. Kilembe Mines Hospital located a few metres from the river, was on Wednesday closed after all the wards were flooded with mud and water that destroyed most of the infrastructure including the wards, nurses’ residences and hospital equipment.
Kilembe Mines Hospital in Kasese has been temporarily closed following the Wednesday floods.
one of the wards doused in water
“The heavy downpour that started on Wednesday morning forced water downstream to villages in low-lying areas.
The Medical Superintendent, Edward Wafula says that the facility will remain closed until rehabilitation on some of the facilities like the medical store, kitchen, surgery rooms, private wards, and the drug store, which were all washed away during the floods, is done.
This is one of the hospital’s private wards covered in mud
Wafula told Uganda Radio Network that some of the patients have been transferred to Kasese Municipal health centre III, Bwera hospital and Kagando hospital.
Several relatives of the patients were seen at the compound of the hospital carrying the patients to ambulances and other vehicles, to be transferred. They were accompanied by some medical workers of Kilembe hospital.
The hospital’s staff quarters were not spared by the over flooding River Nyamwamba. Only one house was left standing
Francis Muhindo, a resident of Rugendebara Sub County, says that he had brought his wife to give birth. He says that he is worried about her health and that of the baby as she has to travel a long distance to Bwera hospital, where she has been transferred after the floods.
Muhindo says that the hospital management should have set up temporarily structure at the hospital to handle emergency cases.
On Wednesday, medical workers at the hospital struggled to evacuate the patients who included pregnant women and children from the wards that were flooded. Some patients were removed from the surgical, children and emergency wards.
Meanwhile the bodies of the four people who were killed by the floods have been recovered.
In a telephone interview, Godfrey Kabyanga, the Mayor Kasese Municipal Council identified the dead as Paddy Karunsi, Gad Mbusa, a teacher at Kakiri Primary School identified as Kibuzu and Grace Kabugho, all residents of Kanyaruboga in Bulembia division in Kasese Municipal Council. The four bodies were found trapped in the mud.
most of the roads were impassable on Wednesday
According to Kabyanga, they are searching for two residents from the same area, who are still missing.
This morning, workers of the Red Cross from Kasese and Kabarole erected tents for the displaced people who have temporarily camped at Kisementi in Kilembe Township.
Elijah Muzigiti, the chairperson Kasese Red Cross Society, told Uganda Radio Network in a telephone interview that more than 900 people have been displaced by the floods. Most of the displaced are from Kyanjukli and Kanyaruboga villages in Kasese Municipal Council.
Red Cross spokesperson Catherine Ntabadde confirms that at least 432 homes have been affected by the floods. 200 of these homes have been completely destroyed.
On Wednesday, the floods hit the district after River Nyamwamba burst its banks, submerging several homes.
The floods cut off the Kasese-Fort Portal Road, leaving many vehicles and people stranded.
Several houses in areas along the banks of River Nyamwamba were submerged, leaving their occupants stranded.
Parts of the Nyakasanga Airfield and the neighbouring playfield, all in Kasese town were also cut off.
River Nyamwamba, which is fed by melting glaciers from the Rwenzori Mountains, is the main source of water for both agriculture and domestic, including the Mubuku Irrigation Scheme.” – redpepper.co.ug
Kasese Floods: Kilembe Mines Hospital closes
Thursday, May 2 2013 at 13:28
“Floods that hit Kasese Municipality Wednesday, killing at least four people and destroying property worth billions of shillings have caused the closure of Kilembe Mines Hospital.
The floods were triggered by a heavy downpour that caused River Nyamwamba to burst its banks.
“We have had a big problem at Kilembe Mines hospital and 195 patients have been evacuated to other hospitals. Fifty staff units were washed away. We have temporarily closed the hospital until we rectify the problem,” Dr Edward Wafula, the superintendent of the medical facility said.
He said the kitchen, the mortuary, the private wing and equipment, including the recently-acquired X- ray machine were destroyed.
“We have no power and water at the hospital,” he said.
Dr Wafula, however, said no deaths or injuries were recorded at the hospital since patients and workers were rescued in time.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of Uganda Red Cross Kasese Branch, Mr Joseph Zukwa said three bodies of people who died in the floods have been recovered.
Those who died are Paddy Kalusu, a former District Procurement Officer, a one Kibusu, a primary school teacher and one Kabugho, a mentally-sick woman.
Mr Gad Baluku, an employee of Kilembe Mines Limited is still missing.
The floods displaced about 800 people, according to Mr Zukwa.” – monitor.co.ug
National Masturbation Month was introduced in 1995 by the sex-toy store Good Vibrations, in response to the dismissal of U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. At a World AIDS Day presentation, an audience member had asked Elders about masturbation’s role in discouraging risky sexual activity among youth, and Elders had responded, “I think it is something that is part of human sexuality and a part of something that perhaps should be taught.” President Clinton subsequently fired her.
National Masturbation Month is intended to reduce the stigma surrounding the discussion and practice of masturbation. You’ve probably been observing it all along without even realizing it.
Since the inception of National Masturbation Month, various organizations have highlighted it by sponsoring “Wank Weeks” and (I am still not making this up) “Masturbate-a-thons,” where people raise money for sex-education groups by playing with themselves.
As charity fundraisers go, you can’t beat it. On second thought, you can!
LGBT people should pay particular attention to National Masturbation Month, for two reasons:
First, the squeamishness surrounding frank discussions of sexuality has been particularly damaging to those whose sexuality is perceived as “deviant” or “unnatural.”
Second, much of the contemporary academic opposition to same-sex relations comes from natural-law theorists (such as Robert P. George at Princeton) who condemn homosexual conduct for the very same reason that they condemn masturbation: Both allegedly treat the human person as a mere object.
I further explain this theory and its problems in the following video, one of a new series of 11.” – John Corvino
National Masturbation Day (NMD) is an annual event celebrated on a day in May[1] to protect the right to masturbate. The first National Masturbation Day was observed in 1995.[2] Until 2001, NMD was celebrated on May 7,[1] but in 2005 NMD was celebrated on May 28.[3] Alongside NMD, the month of May is celebrated as the National Masturbation Month.[4]
The NMD is organized to protest against social stigma against masturbation. Sexologist Carol Queen, an organizer of the NMD, argued, although 90% of men and 65% of women in North America masturbate regularly,[2] masturbation is viewed negatively in contemporary culture and deliberately excluded from the formal education system. According to Queen, “We gave our heads a shake and said it’s about time we fought back. That’s when we founded National Masturbation Day.”[2]
The NMD in the United States was being organized from its beginning primarily by the San Francisco-based sex toy retail chain Good Vibrations and its supporters.[1] The 1999 National Masturbation Day celebrations were organized by Good Vibrations with its general manager describing masturbation as a “birthright”. In a press conference held during the 1999 NMD celebrations, Queen declared masturbation and “right to orgasms” to be “inalienableconstitutional right“.[1]
The sixth National Masturbation Day was observed in 2001 and its sponsors included major names in the sex industry, including, among others, Good Vibrations, Toronto-based co-operatively run sex toy retail store Come As You Are, and Babeland. John Karastamatis writing in the Toronto Star noted that the organizers of the 2001 National Masturbation Day were associated with sex store businesses. He also pointed out that the majority of the NMD organizers were women. According to Cory Silverberg, one of the founders of Come As You Are, “The message we want to spread is that masturbation promotes health and happiness- that’s what National Masturbation Day and the masturbate-athon are all about.” The organizers of National Masturbation Day stressed the health benefits of masturbation citing examples such as stress management, healthier pelvic muscles, secretion of endorphins, decrease in chances of prostatitis among men, decrease in candidiasis among women, cardiovascular exercise and safe sex.[2]
End
Health
Your health, your choices
“There are many bizarre claims about masturbation, for example that it causes blindness, insanity, acne and even hair growth.
We sort fact from myth and answer your questions on what is arguably one of the most commonly practised sexual activities on the planet.
What is masturbation?
Masturbation involves sexually arousing yourself by touching your genitals. Both men and women can masturbate, and you can masturbate yourself or someone else.
Is it normal?
Yes. Apart from the pleasure it gives, masturbating can help you learn what you like and don’t like sexually. Men can also use masturbation to learn how to control their orgasms, while women can find out what helps them to achieve an orgasm. Many couples masturbate together and find it a very enjoyable part of their relationship. Other people don’t and that’s fine: it’s a personal choice.
How do you masturbate?
There’s no right or wrong way to masturbate. Men usually do it by rubbing their penis. Women usually touch and stroke their clitoris and the area around the vagina. The clitoris is a small soft bump in front of the entrance to the vagina. It’s very sensitive, and touching and stimulating it can give strong feelings of sexual pleasure. Most women need the clitoris to be stimulated in order to have an orgasm during sex or masturbation.
What is ejaculation?
Ejaculation is when semen shoots out from the penis when a man has an orgasm. There is usually about 5ml of liquid, but there may be more, especially if a man hasn’t ejaculated for some time. Women can also ejaculate fluid, but this is far less common than men. Watch a video on female ejaculation.
Is masturbation safe?
Yes. For the record, masturbating doesn’t cause blindness, insanity, acne and won’t make hair grow on your palms. Joking aside, there’s no risk of pregnancy or catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from masturbating, although there is a risk of infection if you touch someone else’s genitals and then touch your own. This is because STIs can be passed on through infected semen or vaginal fluid.
There is a risk of infection if you use sex toys during masturbation and someone else with an STI has used them before you. Any object used in sex can be called a sex toy, whether it’s designed for this use or not. It’s important to keep sex toys clean. If you’re sharing sex toys, wash them between users and put a new condom on them each time. Find out more about cleaning sex toys.
Can you injure yourself when masturbating?
You’re unlikely to do yourself any harm, although there is a risk of soreness, cuts or bruising if you masturbate too roughly or too hard, or use an object that could hurt you or cause damage. Men sometimes worry about whether they could break the penis. This is rare and only happens when an erect penis is violently twisted, usually by somebody else. Find out more in Five penis facts.
Does masturbation affect sperm count?
Masturbating will not affect a man’s ability to produce sperm. Men will not run out of sperm, as they produce it continuously. After a man has ejaculated, it will take some time before he can ejaculate again. This is normal and doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with his sperm.
Can you masturbate too much?
Masturbation is harmless, but if you do it a lot your genitals may feel sore. If men do it a lot in a short space of time, they can get a slightly alarming looking swelling of the penis, called oedema, caused by fluid in the tissues. However, the swelling disappears within a day or two.” – Source: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/goodsex/pages/masturbation.aspx
End
But not in the library loo…..
Times past….
Anti-masturbation yokes:
(Photo: thephuketnews.com) Anti-masturbation yokes (Click photo for source)
“These eye-watering devices date from an era when too much masturbation was faulted as a general source of moral decline, because it robbed the male body of sperm and “vital energies.” In Victorian times excessive self-stimulation was considered a serious threat to physical and mental health, leading to weakness, madness, and even death. The objects shown were prescribed by doctors for male sufferers of excessive masturbation – something similar was available for women.” – thephuketnews.com
At least 38 people have been killed in a fire at a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Moscow that housed as many as 41 people, including medical staff.
The fire started around 2:30 am Moscow Time (22:30 GMT) in Psychiatric Hospital 14 in Ramenskoe.By the time fire rescue arrived, the entire one-story building was engulfed in flames. The fire started in a wing for special treatment patients. One nurse managed to escape the blaze, bringing two patients out of the building to safety, where they were found by firefighters. The nurse told reporters that she was woken up by the fire alarm, and ran into the hallway where she saw a chair burning. She remembers seeing a flash. Firefighters found the bodies of 12 dead people, according to ITAR-TASS. Four were found near the exit of the hospital, while eight others were found in the wards.
The hospital had bars on its windows, preventing people from escaping. Most of the bodies were found still in their beds. “The fire started when they were asleep,” a law enforcement source told TASS, adding that people had little chance to escape. “Some of them tried to escape but were poisoned by the products of combustion,” he said. The fire, meanwhile, has now been fully extinguished but the building “burned down almost completely.” “Some windows had bars, some did not,” doctor-in-chief of the facility, Murat Shahov told lifenews. He said that only two patients in the facility could not walk, the rest suffered severe psychological illnesses. “There were patients with acute psychosis, alcoholics and one drug addict. We also had patients with schizophrenia.”
Authorities point to faulty electric wiring and a short circuit as the possible cause. Forty five police have cordoned off the area and are investigating the cause of the fire. Currently there are 120 people working at the site of the tragedy, including 30 pieces of machinery. According to the Ministry of Health 18 ambulances were on site. The Emergencies Ministry has published a list of 41 patients and medical staff who were inside the facility when the fire started (full list in Russian). The patients ranged in age from 20 to 76. The two medical staff listed as “to be verified” are believed to be dead.
Friday, 26 April, 2013 at 04:39 UTC RSOE
Other Reports
Dozens dead in fire in psych ward near Moscow, 3 survive
At least 36 people have been killed in a fire at a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Moscow that housed as many as 41 people, including medical staff. A nurse and two patients were the only survivors.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the fire, reporting that 36 people died, including two nurses. However, the Emergency Ministry has said that 38 died in the blaze.
Authorities point to faulty electric wiring and a short circuit as the possible cause. But, the investigators are looking into all possible causes of the fire, “including careless use of fire”, Investigative Committee representative Irina Gumennaya told the media.
The fire started around 2:30 am Moscow Time (22:30 GMT) in Psychiatric Hospital 14 in Ramenskoe in a wing for special treatment patients. By the time fire rescue arrived, the entire one-story building was engulfed in flames. The fire burned an area of about 420 square meters.
One nurse managed to escape the blaze, bringing two patients out of the building to safety, where they were found by firefighters.
The nurse told reporters that she was woken up by the fire alarm, and ran into the hallway where she saw a couch burning. She remembers seeing a flash. Â
Emergency response team eliminates fire at Mental Hospital No. 14 in the village of Ramensky of the Dmitrovsky District in the Moscow Region (RIA Novosti/Press-service of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry)
Authorities have recovered 36 bodies at the scene. “Seven died from carbon monoxide poisoning, while others perished from burns”, Gumennaya said.
Experts have begun to identify the dead bodies at a local hospital, the Emergency Ministry reported.
Rescuers found eight of the dead bodies by the exit inside the psychiatric hospital, suggesting that they were trying to escape but were prevented by the effects of carbon monoxide, RIA Novosti reported, quoting a source close to the investigation.Â
Firefighters were delayed getting to the scene because of a closed river crossing – the trip took an hour instead of the expected 20 minutes, local media reported.
The hospital had bars on its windows, preventing people from escaping. Most of the bodies were found still in their beds.
“The fire started when they were asleep,” a law enforcement source told TASS, adding that people had little chance to escape. “Some of them tried to escape but were poisoned by the products of combustion,” he said. The fire, meanwhile, has now been fully extinguished but the building “burned down almost completely.”
Emergency response team working on the fire scene at a mental hospital in the village of Ramensky. (RIA Novosti/Andrey Stenin)
“Some windows had bars, some did not,” doctor-in-chief of the facility, Murat Shakhov told LifeNews tabloid. He said that only two patients in the facility could not walk, the rest suffered severe psychological illnesses.
“There were patients with acute psychosis, alcoholics and one drug addict. We also had patients with schizophrenia.”
Forty five police have cordoned off the area and are investigating the cause of the fire. Currently there are 120 people working at the site of the tragedy, including 30 pieces of machinery. According to the Ministry of Health 18 ambulances were on site.
Emergency response team working on the fire scene at a mental hospital in the village of Ramensky. (RIA Novosti/Andrey Stenin)
A half-meter-long tunnel was discovered dug out under the burned hospital, suggesting that one of the patients may have been planning an escape, according to Interfax.
Investigators reported that the fire started in the hospital’s common room.
“One of the patients who survived the fire told investigators that when he woke up, the blaze had already begun and a couch in a common room was burning. He added that a new patient was recently admitted who suffered from drug addiction and constantly smoked, disregarding safety rules”, Gumennaya added.
Another eyewitnesses described how firefighters could not extinguish the blaze due to a lack of water: “The first car arrived without water. Then another came – also empty. It was only the third car that had water,” local resident Yefim Volkov told the media.
Emergency response team working on the fire scene at a mental hospital in the village of Ramensky. (RIA Novosti/Andrey Stenin)
Some sources claimed that the patients were unable to escape the building in time because they were sedated by powerful drugs, Korrespondent.net reported.
“The chief psychiatrist of the hospital told the investigative team that there were special headgear available in case of a fire, but none of them were used,” an investigator told the media.Â
One of the firefighters at the scene told reporters that the “building itself was all wooden, which made it easier for the fire to spread”.Â
The Emergencies Ministry has published a list of 41 patients and medical staff who were inside the facility when the fire started (full list in Russian). The patients ranged in age from 20 to 76. The two medical staff listed as “to be verified” are believed to be dead.
Fire inspectors made two visits to the hospital in 2012. During the first visit, a number of fire safety violations were found that were later fixed in time for the second inspection in August that same year.
Relatives of those killed in the fire will be paid 500,000 rubles ($16,000) in compensation, RIA Novosti quoted Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov as saying.
Moscow declared April 27 to be a day of mourning for those killed in the psychiatric hospital fire.Â
Tragic history of fires in medical facilities
Tragic blazes in medical facilities are common in Russia, with at least 18 cases in the past seven years.
Among the most notable was in 2009 in the Russian Republic of Komi, where a blaze in an old people’s home in the region took the lives of 23 people. Only three were saved in the incident.
23 people died in a fire at a wooden care home in the village of Podyelsk, Republic of Komi (RIA Novosti)
Two years earlier, a fire in the city of Tula, again in a home for the elderly, resulted in 32 victims. 247 patients, including medical staff were saved.
That same year, in 2007, another inferno in a care home claimed the lives 61 of victims. Only 35 people were saved.
Over 20 psychologists providing information and psychological support
Today 13:09
Over 20 psychologists of the Center of emergency psychological aid of the the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the Central Regional Centre and the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry in the Moscow region are working with the relatives of victims in a fire at a psychiatric hospital â„–14, Ramenskoye, Dmitrovsky district, Moscow region.
Psychological help is being provided by hot line 8 (800) 775-17-17, which has already received 114 calls.
LIST of administrative staff and patients the mental health facility â„–14 of Moscow Region, Dmitrovsky Municipal district, Kulikovsky rural settlment, Ramenskoye settlement,
American Cancer Society‘s official YouTube channel! ACS is working every day to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.
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Increasing potassium in our diets as well as cutting down on salt will reduce blood pressure levels and the risk of stroke, research in the British Medical Journal suggests.
Today is Black Monday for the UK Welfare State with a raft of cuts to social security, legal aid and advice services which leave the UK’s poor abandoned to their poverty. When challenged, architect of the cuts Iain Duncan Smith retorted that he could live on £53 a week. His expenses records suggest he might not.
There is a hike in Council tax which will see single parents in work paying up to 333% rises in their council tax contributions. There is the Bedroom Tax which will see 660,000 households, 420,000 of…
(Photo: http://thestar.com.my) The father being rushed to the emergency ward at Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.
“KUALA TERENGGANU:
A man chopped off his 67-year-old father’s penis before chopping his own, believing that the world is coming to an end.
Both are in critical condition at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital as doctors try to re-attach the severed parts.
In the gory 4am incident on Sunday, the 40-year-old suspect had also wanted to chop his brother-in-law’s penis. The latter fled the village home with other frightened family members.
Police said the suspect has no history of mental illness but could be under the influence of false religious teaching which he picked up from the Internet.
The suspect, a mechanic based in Balakong, had returned to the village home of his parents at Felda Kerteh 6, Dungun, a week earlier.
On Saturday morning, he called other family members, including a sister’s family in Pahang, to return home, claiming that “the world is coming to an end”.
After the family had arrived, the man spent the whole night lecturing to them about the apocalypse. He then started hitting his father with his fists and a rotan.
“The suspect was trying to force his father to cry, in order to invoke the spirit of Imam Nawawi, in order to save the world. However, he failed,” said state CID chief Asst Comm K. Manoharan.
“At 1.30am, after the father had retired to bed, the suspect stormed into his father’s bedroom with a kitchen knife and chopped of his father’s penis. He then chopped off his own. His mother witnessed the ordeal,” said Manoharan.
A call to the police was made at 4am and the two injured men were rushed to the Dungun Hospital.
They were later transferred to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital here to undergo operation.
A small community in Northern Ireland has brought life back to their abandoned phone booth by retrofitting it with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The community of Crossgar, population 1500, has also had more than 10% of its population trained in CPR and First Aid by the Red Cross in the hopes that in the event of a cardiac emergency someone trained in CPR will be nearby.
In an effort to tackle heart disease, the community has turned to this innovative way to enable access to a defibrillator and encourage the local community to be involved in the initiative and be first aid trained. While lots of communities have defibrillators, a small number of people know how to access and can confidently use them in a health emergency.
The kiosk in Crossgar is the first in Northern Island to be retrofitted, but city officials believe the idea can and should be replicated in other…
A doctor who worked for the private company which assesses people for disability benefits says its methods are “unfair”.
Goaty's News (UK) 