Swine Flu (Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Virus

As we all know, recently we are all hit with the panic of swine flu. This morning, when I read the newspaper, there is one case of suspected swine flu in Kuching. The guy had just came back from U.K and had been sick since then.

I believe most of us heard about swine flu but to know what is that, maybe, we thought it is connected with pig. Or maybe we know the numbers or infected people in every countries. But to protect ourselves from this virus, we know nothing. Well, that is me. All I know is there is new virus call H1N1. Further of it, I'm blank! So, this morning, when I ask myself what is swine flu, it takes me to do some google search.

What is Swine Flu?

Scientifically, swine flu is a influenza A virus that is resistant to antiviraal medications amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine). However, this virus is sensitive to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza)... Hhmm, sound like a tough virus to me.

In general English words, this disease can causes death if we do not seek immediate medications

Symptoms
Normal symptoms are fever, cough, sore throats and some may even have breathing problem. Other symptoms would be vomiting, diarrhea, headache, chills, fatigue and dyspnea.

What to do if you suspect that you have this disease?
Firstly, avoid going to public. Second, go to the nearest hospitals to seek immediate medication to prevent the disease from spreading out to the public as well as saving yourself.

Prevention
Swine flu can be prevented via vaccination. In general way, remember to wash your hand frequently and not touching your face or nose with your hand if it is dirty. If you know anyone with flu, avoid touching them. The virus can remain viable for up to 48 hours on surfaces, therefore, it is good to clean your hand with soap or alcohol-based hand dissinfections.

Many of us wonders why is it that these virus came arise with the economy downturn. Is this another of the punishment from Mother Earth? Well, in general, our Earth is 'sick'. It may indirectly contribute. Nobody knows the exact answer.

There are explanation of the causes and reason scientifically. I am not going into details about this. I believe none of us, who is just normal people will not even understand the scientific jargons that explains the sickness.

Cosmetics & Skincare Banned by Ministry of Health

A while ago, I receive this emails about 26 skincare / cosmetics brand that are banned by our Ministry of Health. How true is this, I am not sure. But I believe that it is better to be safe than sorry, right?

The new is from News Straits Times 2008/10/26. However, when I go to NST website, they do not have archive news from January 2008 onwards. I couldn't find the archive for this one. Anyway, let's just avoid from buying those brands...

NST 2008/10/26

The dark side of skin whitening products

The Health Ministry has taken 26 cosmetic products containing banned substances off the shelves in the last two years. Do you know what those products are? Do you also know that some of them are still being sold openly? New Sunday Times reporters went a hunting
THE plot was set -- to search for the perfect skin whitening product. The only difference was all the products earmarked for the search were banned ones.

But some of them were blatantly sitting on the shelves, waiting for the next unsuspecting victim to come by.

The hunt, which spanned six shops and utilised the reporters' winning portrayals of desperate vain pots -- yielded a bagful of products that could make you fair very fast.

How fast, you ask?
If you are willing to spend the ringgit, all you need is three days. These products are priced from as low as RM10 (works a bit slower) to a few hundred ringgit a set.

But what is wrong with them?

Nothing, if the product does not contain any ingredients such as hydroquinone, retinoic acid/tretinoin or steroids, which are banned in cosmetics.

The Health Ministry has, in the last three years, banned 26 cosmetic products for containing such ingredients.

Despite the ban, two creams are still being advertised on its distributor's website, alongside the agents' phone numbers.

The New Sunday Times team managed to buy the creams at a shopping complex.

The traders had no qualms about revealing that some "immediate effect" products did contain hydroquinone, although the abels did not state so.

"Produk ini memang cepat dan bestseller. Sebab ia ada bahan kimia hydroquinone. Tapi jangan risau, ia selamat. (This best-selling product works very fast because it has the hydroquinone chemical. But don't worry, it's safe)," one said.

What's more worrying is that some of the banned products have now been repackaged and renamed, but according to the traders, were essentially the same.

"Barangnya sama sahaja, cuma ada masalah dulu. Jadi sekarang dah tukar nama. (It's the same product. There were some problems earlier, so they changed the name)."

The National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau said consumers should be aware that hydroquinone and retinoic acid/tretinoin were scheduled poisons that were regulated as pharmaceuticals.

It is only allowed to be used under medical supervision and only supplied by doctors or pharmacies.

"Unsupervised use of hydroquinone could cause skin redness, irritation and discolouration.

"Excessive amounts of hydroquinone, when absorbed into blood circulation, could cause ringing in the ears, tremors, nervousness, vomiting, head-aches, seizures, muscle spasms and difficulty in breathing," the bureau added.

All this in the quest for that Asian obsession, fair skin.

From foreigners hawking whitening soaps, gels and creams by roadsides at every nook and corner of the bustling city, to booths in shopping establishments being crammed with similar products, it seems that fair skin is in vogue.

Adding to this is a multitude of advertisements drumming in the message for the need to be fair-skinned.

It is none too surprising then that a New York Times report in 2006 quoted a survey by market research company Synovate, saying that four out of every 10 Malaysian women use a whitening product.

The report also explained how whitening products work.

Some contain acids that remove old skin to reveal newer, lighter skin underneath.

Others inhibit melanin, like those with mulberry extract, licorice extract, kojic acid, arbutin and hydroquinone, an ingredient in prescription creams for blemishes as well as in photo processing materials.

The report also stated: "Some of the most effective agents are also risky and are often the least expensive, like mercury-based ingredients or hydroquinone, which in Thailand sells for about US$20 (RM70) per kilogramme, compared with highly concentrated licorice extract, which sells for about US$20,000 per kilogramme."

It makes one wonder what's really in the RM10 whitening cream.
Below are the 26th of the banned skincare/cosmetics by health ministry...
1.Dr Seagar SkinRecon
2.Ain's Beauty Care Natural Lightening Cream
3.Felisa GP Lotion
4.Sri Mutiara Krim Kecantikan Malam
5.Dewajah Night Cream
6.Ains Beauty Care Clear II Cream
7.Ains Beauty Care Face Lotion 1
8.Ains Beauty Care Face Lotion 2
9.Rihanna Beauty Cream
10.Sub Whitening Revitalizing Cream
11.Sub Instant White Cream
12.Herbarites Skin Whitening(Sensitive Skin)
13.Deep Skin White Plus
14.Atika Beauty Skin Lightening Cream
15.Crystal White Extra Night Cream
16.Crystal White Night Cream
17.Golden Deer White Complex Cream
18.Cellnique Skin Whitening Plus II
19.Cellnique Skin Whitening Essence I
20.Sendayu Tinggi Body & Skincare Cool & Lightening Soap
21.Kzanah White Pembersih Wajah
22.Gloskin Krim Malam & Siang
23.Reena's Astringen Lanjutan
24.Skin Desires Deep Whitening Cleansing Milk
25.Eetye Whitening Cream
26.O'Lynn Lynn's H2O Series Skin Lightening Cream

Hip Hop Dance

Last week, I started to try something new, which is hip hop dance. I found it very interesting with the new moves and steps which is slightly or almost the same like aerobics. The difference is, for hip hop, there is more actions and twisting that creates a style, postures or attraction to viewer. For aerobics, it is more to look at ourselves.

Hip hop is fun! Has anyone watch the movies "Bring It On"? It is about groups of teenagers doing cheer leading in their schools. The hip hop that I went is something like that. It is something new to learn and very motivating as we challenge our body into fast dancing that steps up and improving our self esteem.

For those who is interested to learn dancing, you can drop by at Premier 101 (somewhere near to Choice Daily). The price is also very reasonable. Here are some of the schedules that I have:

Tuesday :
9.00am - 10am ~ Steps/aerobics/yoga (RM5)
7.40pm - 8.40 pm ~ Reggae (RM6)

Wednesday:
9.00am - 10.30am ~ Line dance (RM5)

Thursdays:
9.00am - 10.00 am ~Steps/aerobics/yoga (RM5)
7.30pm - 9.00pm ~ Line dance (RM5)

Friday:
9.00am - 10.30am ~ Line dance (RM5)
6.30pm - 7.30pm ~ Hip Hop (RM6)

Saturday:
1.30pm - 3.30pm ~ Line dance (RM4)

Here is hip hop dance that I get from youtube..

World Malaria Day

Malaria is a type of tropical disease that is well known amongst children and pregnant women. This disease is cause by a parasite called Plasmodium, which infects the red blood cells. The first symptoms would be cold fever, pain and sweating. Areas in Asia, Africa and Central and South America are the major places where Malaria is spreading. In another worlds, places with high temperature.

In conjunction with the increasing of cases, World Health Organisation (WHO) had dominate 25th April 2009 as the World Malaria Day. This is to create awareness between in people about the danger of Malaria which could possibly lead to death.

The main symptoms for Malaria are:
- flu-like illness with fever, chills, muscle aches, and headache
- some might get nausea, vomiting, cough and diarrhea

Let us all united in taking part by creating awareness among ourselves and making sure that our home is safe from the breeding of the deadly virus.

Beware of Rove Beetle, Poisonous Insect

Rove Beetle or another name, Charlie is very poisonous. Malay name are called "Semut Semai" or "Semut Kayap". There are roughly 47,000 types of species for these insects. The size are less than 1cm and can be found in paddy field, school field and jungle. The adult "Charlie" can live up to 40 to 60 days.

Rove Beetle are carnivore, which means, they eat small insects. When there is heavy rain or flood, they would migrate to dry land. The entire body of "Charlie" contains the most poisonous toxin called pederin. Pederin is 12x more poisonous than cobra venom.

It is wise to avoid from being bitten by Charlie. Some measurements that we can take note to avoid are :

• Do not sit near to the lights
• Minimize lighting
• During beetle epidemic, it is advisable to close all doors and windows to prevent the insect from entering the house
• When contacted, wash with water and soap
• Go to the doctors if you suspected that you are been bitten by one of the Charlies!!!!