Tag: infection

‘Leisure sickness’ – why you get ill when you stop work (and how not to)

Warming feet by the fireIt must be Murphy’s Law. You soldier through the cold, dark months of winter, working your fingers into stumps trying to get everything finished before the holidays and then… the day after you down tools, you’re struck down with a cold. Of all the luck – another Christmas Day wrapped up in bed with a thermometer in your mouth!

A sickly yuletide is a situation that no one wants to face; but no doubt many of you will. Symptoms of headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and a bunged up nose are usually more common at the weekends and during holidays. And while it’s all too easy to assume that our suffering is due to bad luck or seasonal bugs, it may be neither; for up to 3% of us experience this phenomenon of getting unwell when work stops. It’s called ‘leisure sickness’ and there are many causes. Read more

What is Ebola? Why is it scary? A really simple answer

Ebola in Guinea by European Commission DG ECHO, on Flickr“Ebola Virus outbreak” is a headline that produces terror. Well, it should… but I’m not sure that it does. There’s been an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea and Liberia in West Africa, but how many of us actually know what Ebola is – let alone why it is so scary? A quick poll of friends showed that they didn’t know what it was either (i.e. “flesh eating bug”).

So let us find out what Ebola is, and whether we should be scared about it: Read more

Could Sir Elton John be immune to HIV?

Elton John in NorwayIt is a little known fact that some people are born with an immunity to HIV/AIDS. Such a person could be exposed to infection again and again and yet not contract the illness. They are the lucky ones. But more than that, they could also be the ones who hold the cure for the world. Some suggest that Elton John may be one such person who is immune to HIV. I today’s post, I look at what causes someone to be immune to HIV and whether Sir Elton John might have this special gift… Read more