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Tag Archives: Influenza

Is Hand-Sanitizer Helpful or Is It Just Causing You Harm?

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Steven Cheema | 3 comments

Flu Season. Image Source: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/143/f/d/changing_seasons_by_laurynduerr-d66adh8.jpg

With the weather changing from the gorgeous sunny days to the dark and grey rainy days, people do just about anything to avoid contracting the flu. Some people go as far as getting a flu shot every year, whereas other people just do basic stuff such a layering on the clothes before going out. One common thing that most people do is use hand-sanitizers to kill off the bacteria and viruses they contract during their everyday routine such as opening doors, using transit, and using the elevator, but is using hand-sanitizer really as helpful and as harmless as you think it is? I’ll fill you in on the two main types which are triclosan-containing and alcohol-based sanitizers.

Normal Hand-Sanitizer. Image Source: Flickr

Triclosan is the main anti-bacterial ingredient used in hand-sanitizers that do not contain alcohol. Based on the study conducted at the University of Michigan, it is shown that it does not reduce illness and infections and is not even used in hospitals in the US and Europe. Furthermore, triclosan does not protect against viruses, which is the main factor that contributes to the flu. Triclosan is also found to be harmful in animal studies, which show a decrease in muscle strength and also causes harm to the immune system. Verdict? Skip using these, they have no better effect than just washing your hands with soap and water.

On the other hand, alcohol-based sanitizers are pretty good germ killers. They are used on cruise ships to reduce the outbreak of sickness but there is still a downside in using these. Alcohol-based sanitizers cannot break through dirt, which means that if your hands are dirty, the bacteria will not be killed. Verdict? Alcohol-based sanitizers are a good alternative to soap and water when there is no sink near by, but using soap and water is still the way to go.

Washing your hands with soap and water is still the most effective way to reduce the spread of germs during the flu season. Here is a short video on how to properly wash your hands to avoid contracting the flu.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/health/hand-sanitizer-toxic-upwave/index.html?hpt=he_bn3

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Posted in Public Engagement

Tagged Flu, health, Influenza, Sanitizer

A “Blueprint” to Better Health

Posted on October 21, 2013 by nsmyrnis | 2 comments

Source: Wikipedia http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Drawing-syringes-with-needle.jpg

With the coming of winter, flu season is upon us and many of our healthcare providers have begun encouraging us to get vaccinated against this deadly influenza virus. The threat of seasonal flu is felt across the globe, causing 250,000 to 500,000 deaths per year, and is the first leading cause death by infectious disease in children. Despite its occurrence being so widespread, there has been no vaccine developed that can provide complete protection from the virus, that it is to say, no vaccine until this past year. Researchers at the Imperial College London have recently come up with a “blueprint” for, what they believe to be is, a universal flu vaccine.

This theoretical vaccine would be taking a newer approach to vaccination, and could potentially be used against all existing forms of the flu as well as any new flu strains that may develop. One of the reasons for the flu being an annual reoccurring problem is that the virus has the ability to continuously change its outer physical characteristics, so that it is no longer recognized by your body’s immune system; in particular by your antibodies.

Influenza Virus: Source Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus

All conventional vaccinations act to provide the body with antibodies against a specific pathogen type, so that when you are exposed to that disease your body will be prepared to easily clear the infection. While this form of vaccination is successful against many diseases such as small pox, diphtheria, and measles, it is much less effective against the influenza virus as the changing of the viral-surface renders the antibodies obsolete. The aim of this new universal vaccine, however, is not to activate the immune system’s antibodies but rather activate an entirely different area of our immune system, that being our CD8⁺T-cells.

CD8 Tcell Source Wikipedia: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Blausen_0625_Lymphocyte_T_cell.png

Rather than recognize a virus by its surface characteristics, as is the case with antibodies, a CD8⁺T-cell will identify a virus by its internal material that is common to all strains of that virus. Now you may ask, if there is another more effective way of clearing the flu, why doesn’t our body simply use T-cells and forget about antibodies? The problem is, that when faced with infection, our body is ‘hard-wired’ to first use an antibody response since that is usually the best defence against most diseases. Unfortunately that is not the case with influenza, and it is for that reason that this new vaccine aims to by-pass the antibody response and activate the T-cell response instead.

Despite the discovery that T-cell mediated immunity is effective against the flu and that a theoretical blueprint has been made using this information, an actual vaccine which can be mass-produced and distributed is still quite a few years away. However, researchers are encouraged by their results thus far, and believe that an effective vaccine is not only plausible, but inevitable.