Sunday, October 26, 2008

Lung Cancer, to Smoke Or Not to Smoke

Lung cancer is one of the leading cause of death out of so many cancers around it surpasses colon and breast cancer. It is usually seen in people ages 60 to 70. There are 2 types of cancer the benign and the malignant. In lung cancer malignant is higher compared to benign. Here are the following causes:

1. Leading the list are those smokers. It is the highest percentage than other causes. It is 10 times diagnosed to smokers than non-smokers. The longer the person smokes the higher the risk of having lung cancer it is because of the Tar in tobaccos and cigarettes.

2. People who work in mining like arsenic, chromium, iron oxides and coal dust.

3. People who live in the city than those who live in the country side, provinces or anywhere outside the city. It's very obvious it's because of the air pollution from cars, factories etc.

What are the symptoms?

In the early stage of cancer, you barely see any symptoms, that's why when the time it's diagnosed it is already in the advance stage. the most common symptom is

* having a cough that just don't leave even if antibiotics are already taken. When having some doubts about your cough you should see a doctor immediately. Especially, If it's been weeks or even months( with or without phlegm) and

* if your weight dropped rapidly,

* sudden lost of appetite and

* coughing out streaks of blood.

Then this means you have to see a doctor right away. Now smoking may feel really good when you're still young but how about when you get old? Remember: prevention is always better than cure.

This is written by Ivy Cruz a mother of two wonderful kids, a loving wife to her husband and a certified health buff.

You can check all her works and learn more about your health at:

http://aybi-mysocalledlife.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Danger of Asbestos

Asbestos is the collective term used to describe a family of several types of mineral fibrous rocks. There are currently six different regulated types of asbestos, with the three main types being Crocidolite, Amosite and Chrysolite.

Crocidolite which is usually blue can be found a lot in southern Africa, Australia and in Russia. The Amosite which is usually brown is most commonly found in Africa. The Chrysolite is of a white colour and can be found in different places all around the world. All those three types were actually imported a lot in the United Kingdom before being banned from use in the eighties for some and at the end of the nineties for others.

Asbestos fibres have been incorporated into many different materials and especially building materials since the end of the nineteenth century because of their useful properties. It was used as an acoustic insulator, a thermal insulator but also as fire proofing. The mineral fibre was actually known by the ancient Greek who recognized certain hazards of it. But its disadvantage is that it is a highly toxic material and can cause serious illnesses such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Asbestos fibres can be easily inhaled and can become lodged in the tissue of your chest and as a result, your body's natural defenses may not be able to break them down. This can then lead to lung diseases and cancer especially if you are exposed to the fibres repeatedly over a certain number of years.

Even though the white asbestos, also called chrysolite, is still used a lot in the United States and known as less dangerous as the other types of asbestos, it can still cause cancer in humans but with some uncertainty as to the scale of the risk involved there.

The first death recorded as related to asbestos occurred in 1906 and at the same period, scientists started to notice a large number of deaths and lung diseases in asbestos mining towns.
The British Lung Foundation carried out a survey recently that revealed that most tradespeople were actually unaware of the health risks posed by asbestos, and that they did not think about asking if there was any asbestos on the site they were working on.

Today, the best way to find out if there is asbestos in a building is to ask a company to carry out asbestos surveys. More and more companies have actually specialized in asbestos surveys as well as asbestos risk assessment and legionella risk assessment.

The author is working for a company doing asbestos surveys, asbestos management but also legionella risk assessment.