How Well Do You Know Your Heart?

Many years ago, I read an interesting novel by Rose Tremain called Restoration. Set in the mid seventeenth century England, the book's lead character Robert Merival, along with a fellow medical student, happen upon a man with an open wound on his chest that allows his beating heart to be seen, and touched by the human hand. When they reach in and touch the man's heart, the two marvel that when touched, the heart has no feeling. This organ, to which we ascribe all things relating to the most powerful of human emotions, itself has no feeling. The human heart has no feeling! Something about this "heart fact" continues to intrigue me, so I decided to look at some of the things we do, or don't know, about the complicated and much discussed human heart.

If asked to put their hand on their heart, most people would place it on the left side of their chest, but in actuality, it sits closer to the centre. The left lung is slightly smaller than the right, to accommodate the heart. The heart weighs less than one pound, with the average woman's heart weighing only 8 ounces and a man's only 10. A woman's heart beats faster than a man's. Some scientists believe that the longer the ring finger is in boys, the less chance they have of having a heart attack.

Here are more nitty gritty details about your heart. The heart is almost entirely muscle, the myocardium, and is strong enough to lift approximately 3000 pounds, close to the weight of a compact car. Your heart beats about 35 million times a year.....100,000 beats per day, 70 beats per minute, with enough strength to shoot blood a distance of 30 feet! By the time we turn 70, the heart will have beat 2.5 billion times!

The heart is the first organ to show at nineteen days and scientists believe that by eight weeks, when the embryo is only an inch long, the heart is fully developed. The heart starts beating in the unborn fetus before the brain is even formed. Scientists still don't know what makes it start beating, but know it is generated from within the heart itself and doesn't need a connection to the brain to keep beating. (1)

Working As a Night Nurse

If you have ever considered a career in nursing, you may have already looked into the many different fields that nursing encompasses. For instance, you could work in dermatology, hospice, pediatrics, nurse-midwifery, wound care, rehabilitation, plastic surgery, or radiology, among several other choices. Many of these fields require night shift work, and as undesirable as that may sound, you might want to take a second look at it. In nursing, as well as several other career fields, working nights can be extremely lucrative and may even help to push your career forward, if you are looking for a raise or a promotion.

Working the graveyard shift sounds about as exciting and attractive as working in a graveyard (unless you are actually into that kind of thing), but being a night shift worker can be very good for your bank account. Companies always pay their night shifts a great deal more - anywhere from 10 to 20 percent more than the average salaries for their positions! You may have some exhausting nights, especially working as a night nurse in any field, but the satisfaction of knowing that you are getting paid well for your time will be enough to get you through to the next shift.

Night shift nurses are also at an advantage when it comes to raises and promotions. You are not competing with the day workers, of which there are many more than the night shift, so you have more opportunities to climb the promotion ladder. It is also a disadvantage if you are not particularly good at your job, because your lack of skills will be that much more obvious in a smaller pool of nurses. If you are a hard worker, your good work will stand out, and vice versa. Nonetheless, you should be glad to have better chances for advancement in your field by working nights.

No Sweat Tips on How to Stop Sweaty Hands

Do you have those clammy, sweaty hands even though you're not nervous at all? Having sweaty hands can really be frustrating because you won't be able to properly interact with people, especially those who are most dear to you. This is also a no-no in the professional world, particularly if you are always meeting new people d eventually having to shake their hands. Just imagine how awkward that would be. Sweaty hands is a medical condition referred to as hyperhidrosis. But you don't have to hesitate anymore for there are solutions to it. Now, you'd be able to hold your partner's hands without worrying. There are actually natural remedies that you can use to be able to stop your hands from sweating too much.

Here are some of them:

    Be more conscious of your diet by limiting your intake of foods that contain iodine like onions, liver, broccoli, beef asparagus and turkey.
    You can also make use of tea, as it is considered a natural anti-perspirant because it contains tannin acid which is proven to reduce sweating. Try to soak your hands in a tea for 15 minutes for four times every day.
    Be more selective as to what food you eat-- try to include whole grains in your diet for they are good sources of fiber and vitamin B, for they are essential minerals needed to remove various toxins in the body.
    Remember that nothing beats eating healthy. So, see to it that you eat fresh fruits before each meal. You should also include vegetables in your daily menu.

Importance of Flu Vaccinations

With new strains of flu developing all the time, medical science does not promise that getting vaccinated against known flu types will guarantee your protection - but flu shots are often recommended for reducing your risk of catching these viruses.

The flu vaccinations offered by your local clinic or health centre will be specially designed to combat the most common strains of flu currently in circulation, or that are predicted to be contracted by more people during the winter season. In recent years, flu shots offered protection against the H1N1 pandemic, commonly known as swine flu, in addition to other common influenza viruses.

If you have ever suffered from flu, you will be familiar with the discomfort and health risks associated with the condition, which affects people in different ways but can be very serious in some cases, especially when contracted by young children or elderly people. If you are pregnant, or have medical conditions such as asthma, cerebral palsy or epilepsy, flu protection can be especially important. To ensure the best possible protection, many clinics recommend that everyone over the age of six months is vaccinated annually against new and returning influenza strains, which may not be covered by your previous vaccinations.

When you get flu vaccinations, your body will be injected with a small sample of the virus that will cause your immune system to produce antibodies and fight the infection. These antibodies will remain in your system and offer long term protection against this type of influenza for up to a year, though levels of antibodies begin declining after six months.

5 Quick Facts About Bloodborne Pathogens

Bloodborne pathogens are disease-causing bacteria and viruses that are present in the blood and body fluids of the infected. These infected fluids, in case of exposure, are capable of causing fatal diseases like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV in healthy human beings.

For the prevention of the diseases caused by bloodborne pathogens, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States Department of Health has come up with a set of rules or standards. These standards apply to all those people who are required to work with human body fluids directly or may be in contact with the body fluids indirectly. Here is a list of 5 facts about bloodborne pathogens, which can help you keep yourself, your family and coworkers safe.

• Bloodborne pathogens may spread through direct/indirect contact or droplet transmission. When the infected body fluid enters the healthy body through wounds or cuts or other gateways, it is called the direct transmission. Indirect transmission is when the object or equipment infected with deadly blood or fluids is used by a healthy person and the pathogens enter the body. Droplet transmission is when the healthy person inhales the droplets from the sneeze or cough of the infected person.

• Bloodborne pathogens spread in very favorable conditions. The unhealthy fluids contain some very deadly disease-causing bacteria and viruses, in a fairly good quantity. For the person being infected, if he is susceptible to the pathogens, he will definitely be infected. The pathogen also needs to enter the body through the correct site. Entry into the body or the blood stream triggers the infection, not mere touching.

Healthy Living - 6 Tips To Help You Live Long And Strong And Be The Best You Can Be

So, you want to live a healthy lifestyle but need advice on how to achieve that? Well you've come to the right place. There are many factors involved in living a long healthy life. Here are a few a great healthy choices to help you achieve your goal.

1. First things first, try to get a full nights sleep. Getting enough sleep is very important. Make sure that you get at least 8-9 hours of sleep each night. There are a lot of benefits to getting a full nights rest. They include; less stress and stronger immune system. Stress can cause a lot of problems with your health, such as, high blood pressure, anxiety, and weak immune system. Suitable rest is essential for living a long healthy life.

2. Another great way to achieve your goal is by eating healthy foods. Eating healthy is very important. When you eat healthy your body gets nutrients and those nutrients nourish your body. Eating foods like whole grains, leafy green vegetables, and fruits and vegetables are essential for keeping yourself fit and healthy. Foods like that are great because they prevent a lot of health problems such as, migraines, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and can even prevent some forms of cancer.

3. Take a daily multi-vitamin. Taking a daily vitamin can help you make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need to live a long and healthy lifestyle. Make sure you buy high quality vitamins, to take full advantage of them.

3 Important Facts About How You Can Save Lives With CPR Courses

Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure performed on any individual who is breathing abnormally or who is unable to breath because of non-pumping of blood by the heart. In such a case, manual stimulation is provided by either pressing the palms outward on the chest and repeating this movement a minimum of 20 times, in order to facilitate breathing. If not this, artificial respiratory techniques are used until better medical help can be accessed. It has to be remembered though, that this is only transitory help. CPR cannot do all the work by itself, it does require greater help to normalise breathing.

CPR courses are given to individuals who believe they can make a difference in people's everyday lives. Many cases have been reported of how lives were saved at the last minute, at everyday areas like swimming pools, traffic areas etc. because of timely CPR.

• CPR courses do not take a long time to accomplish; they even be can be taken online with the advent and spread of technology and some are also free! Gone are those days when workshops were being offered in places far away, and traffic jams and lack of motivation cited as constant excuses. Now, in the comfort of your own home, with your family members by your side, you can also sign up for group packages or single, depending on your requirement and catch up on some life- saving skills. You never know where something like CPR can come in handy.