HEALTH

Allergic to Penicillin? Maybe Not.

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 2 Comments

Most people can recall being asked by the doctor whether they have an allergy to penicillin or not. In fact, 10 percent of the general population is estimated to have Penicillin Allergy. However, in the past few years, the prevalence of Penicillin Allergy has decreased.

Studies have found that when tested, the vast majority of people who reported having Penicillin Allergy, are not allergic to the drug. Clinicians found, that many people who were told they were allergic to penicillin, never had their allergy confirmed with testing. Interestingly, others who were positively diagnosed in the past, were no longer allergic to penicillin.  Continue reading →

Ebola Vaccine

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ Leave a comment
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I recently wrote another article for Bioislifemedia.com about an Ebola Vaccine. Before you read it, first learn about Ebola by reading this article that I published last year What Ever Happened to Ebola?!

“Ebola is a virus in the family of Filoviridae along with Marbug virus, that causes Hemorrhagic Fever. The virus leads to hemorrhaging by causing the body to lose the ability for your blood to clot, through multiorgan damage and drop in blood pressure. There are actually several Ebola viruses: Sudan Ebola, Zaire Ebola, Cote D’Ivoire Ebola, and Bundibugyo Ebola. They are all distinct species of Ebolavirus. The virus got it’s name from a small river in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).“ – Stacia Nicholson, What Ever Happened to Ebola?!

Then read about the candidate drug that may be the first vaccine to prevent Ebola in humans.

 

Varicella Disease: Chickenpox & Shingles

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 2 Comments

Varicella was once a common childhood disease. Due to childhood vaccination initiated in 1996 in the United States, the viral infection has already begun to fade out of common knowledge. Many young adults and adolescents today, have never experienced the itchy blistering rash, or missed days of school because of it. Some people have even begun to contest the necessity of vaccinating against the virus that causes chickenpox infections in children. However, preventing chickenpox can also prevent two painfully debilitating conditions later on in life; Shingles and Postherpetic Neuralgia.

Varicella-Zoster Virus

The Varunknownicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) is a DNA herpesvirus that infects humans and some primates.  It is the cause of both Chickenpox (Varicella disease) and Shingles (Herpes Zoster).

Varicella Disease: Chickenpox

Chickenpox is a highly infectious childhood disease that primarily affects children between the ages of 1 and 9 years old. It causes an itchy vesicular rash to appear on the body, accompanied by fever and malaise.

Chickenpox is self-limiting, and does not require treatment to be resolved. Healthy individuals develop a mild disease that  generally clears within a few weeks. Symptoms such as dehydration, fever, and puritis, can be managed with fluid replacement, acetaminophen, and calamine lotion, respectively. Continue reading →

Phony Pharmaceuticals, Counterfeit Medicine as Dangerous as Street Drugs.

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 4 Comments

Fraudulent pharmacies have popped up all over the internet, to take advantage of the high profits that can be made off of selling pharmaceutical drugs. These sites often offer cheap prices and discounts on otherwise expensive medications. They also usually allow the purchase of prescription medicines without the need for a prescription. Often-times the medicines sold online are counterfeit medicines, and while they may seem like a suitable alternative to expensive prescription drugs, they are harmful. The manufacture, warehousing, distribution, and sale of counterfeit drugs is a criminal enterprise, and worldwide problem affecting the healthcare system. Globally, the counterfeit pharmaceutical drug trade is a multibillion dollar industry, and ten percent of the worlds medicines are counterfeit.

Continue reading →

The Truth about Cow’s Milk

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 2 Comments

The public has a negative perception of drinking animal milk, precisely cow’s milk, with many critics citing that no other mammal, besides humans, continue to drink milk into adulthood. Milk has also gained a bad reputation for containing hormones. The natural assumption that has followed, is that milk is not healthy or beneficial for humans. Cow’s milk has been associated with possibly causing increased risks for developing Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, and certain cancers, but what exactly is in milk, and is drinking milk good for you?

What is milk? Continue reading →

Bath Salts Still Responsible for the Zombie Apocalypse

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ Leave a comment

“Bath salts” may still be responsible for the zombie apocalypse. A Florida man ate another mans face, again! The first time it happened was in Miami, 2012. Most recently 19-year-old, Austin Harrouff attacked and stabbed to death a couple in their own garage, and then commenced to eat the face of the male victim. The last time designer drugs commonly referred to as “bath salts” were implicated in the cause of such heinous cannibalism. The toxicology reports however, did not find the drugs in his system, and now that it has happened again, people are hesitant to blame the incident on a drug induced psychosis, but are suspecting a mental health illness.

However, it is very likely that bath salts are the cause and I’m going to tell you why. Continue reading →

Film on Apples and Why Fruits Spoil

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ Leave a comment

So, I was tagged in a users video on Facebook captioned “Look what happens when you pour boiling water over an apple! Is this wax? What do you think it is?”

As the water was poured over the apple, a filmy substance began to whiter away from the skin of the apple.  Some people were genuinely shocked to discover that a wax was overlaid on the surface of the apple (in all actuality it did appear alarmingly gross and disconcerting). This wax is what is referred to in the food industry as edible surface coatings or biopolymers.

Why are fruits and vegetables coated?

To explain why fruits and vegetables are coated, it first needs to be explained why fruits spoil or decay. People often don’t think of it this way, but fruits and vegetables are alive. They are literally living tissue just like you and I, and they undergo respiration. Once fruits and vegetables are picked or harvested, they continue to respire. Apart from the “vine” they no longer have an external source of energy; they cannot eat or drink. Instead they used up their internal supply of stored starches and sugars. As they use up this supply they begin to age and decay. Essentially they die!  Continue reading →

The U.N. Admits What Science Already Proved about Cholera in Haiti

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ Leave a comment

January 12, 2010 Haiti was hit with a massive and devastating earthquake. It’s expected that following such a natural disaster, homes, public buildings, and roads would be damaged, and many lives lost in the rubble. One can even imagine that people will be without lights, food, and housing for extended periods of time, but what is forgotten is that in the aftermath of  an earthquake, there comes flooding. Flooding of rivers and land, and the flooding of humanitarian aid workers from afar. Tragically, this flooding has led to the introduction of a pathogen into Haiti that has claimed the lives of many and complicated the recovery from the 2010 earthquake, that leveled the country. The pathogen responsible is Vibrio Cholerae, which causes Cholera. Although pandemic, Cholera had not been seen in Haiti in over a century.

Since Haiti had not been touched by this disease in a century, then where did the  Cholera come from?

Recently, the United Nations has publicly acknowledged and taken responsibility for the outbreak in Haiti; though it had already been researched and reported that Cholera entered Haiti with the influx of U.N. troops from parts of the world where Cholera is endemic.

 

The first victims lived near a base housing 454 United Nations peacekeepers freshly arrived from Nepal, where a cholera outbreak was underway, and waste from the base often leaked into the river. Numerous scientists have since argued that the base was the only plausible source of the outbreak…New York Times

 

Continue reading →

Psychologically Transmitted Disease: Heroin Addiction

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 1 Comment

Heroin has regained the attention of the media, as its use is now reported to be of epidemic proportions. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) the amount of deaths related to opioids including heroin has quadrupled since 1999 to 2014. Today the incidence of heroin abuse is seen primarily in White males, in young people —both male and female, ages 18-25, and in states occupying the Midwest region of the  United States. The reason for this recent epidemic has been associated with the use of prescription opioid painkillers. In fact, non-medical use of prescription opioids is a major risk factor for heroin use.  In addition, the cost of heroin has decreased,  its purity increased, and its availability is still readily attainable.

With so many people currently dying from heroin, government officials and policy makers are struggling with how to cope with an epidemic that is neither air-borne, vector-borne, or food-borne, but born out of the psychology of pain. Recently, media attention and public debate has surrounded the establishment of heroin clinics as a solution to the death crisis. Addicts may go to heroin clinics to receive injections of heroin, and in case of overdose, the antidote Naloxone (Narcan). Astonishing as it may seem, this is not the first time there has been a heroin epidemic, and neither is the idea of giving heroin to addicts at heroin clinics novel. Continue reading →

Misnomer Labeling: “Evaporated Cane Juice”

~ Dr. Stacia Nicholson, PhD ~ 6 Comments

Today’s consumers are concerned with the dietary and nutritional value of their foods. They  want to know the sources of the ingredients in their food,  if the ingredients are organic or GMO (genetically modified organisms), natural or synthetic, and how those ingredients compare to other alternatives. So manufacturer’s find the best way to appeal to buyers, and to compete with other products on the market. One way in which they do this is by using terms that agree with consumer ethos like “healthy” and “natural”. Consumers need to be careful not to be confused or misled by clever labeling tactics. For example, “gluten-free” is sometimes placed on items that are inherently gluten-free or on which the gluten-free status is irrelevant. As such, the use of “Evaporated Cane Juice” as an ingredient name has been controversial for some time now. There have even been lawsuit’s againts Wholefoods and Chobani  because of it.  Continue reading →