How to Avoid Common Skin Infections at The Gym

Exercising at the gym offers substantive benefits – weight control, disease prevention and even mood improvement – but it’s important to remember that germs thrive in the gym. And that could put you at a risk for common skin infections, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), unless you take some precautions. “While skin… Continue reading How to Avoid Common Skin Infections at The Gym

New Hepatitis C Infections Have Tripled over The Past Five Years

Editor’s Note: Hepatitis C is a potentially deadly viral infection, and the majority of deaths occur in people 55 and older. A simple hepatitis C test can tell whether you have contracted it. Risk factors include: receiving a blood transfusion before 1992; sharing needles or getting a tattoo in unsanitary conditions; and having multiple sexual… Continue reading New Hepatitis C Infections Have Tripled over The Past Five Years

Vitamin D Can Help Older Patients Fight Respiratory Infections

Older, long-term care patients can reduce the incidence of acute respiratory illness by taking high doses of vitamin D, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The findings of the clinical trial, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, could help reduce one of the leading causes of serious… Continue reading Vitamin D Can Help Older Patients Fight Respiratory Infections

Coconut Oil May Someday Help Fight Infections

Coconut oil could help reduce the use of antifungal drugs, say researchers who have discovered that it controls the pathogen known as C. albicans. A new inter-disciplinary study led by researchers at Tufts University made the discovery while studying  mice. In humans, high levels of C. albicans in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to bloodstream… Continue reading Coconut Oil May Someday Help Fight Infections

Study: Wealthier People Get More Antibiotics

Doctors, retail medical clinics and urgent care centers appear to be locked in a battle for patients, and that means they’re prescribing increasing numbers of antibiotics, according to a team led by Johns Hopkins researchers. “We found that both the number of physicians per capita and the number of clinics are significant drivers of antibiotic… Continue reading Study: Wealthier People Get More Antibiotics

Predicting Superbugs’ Countermoves to New Drugs

With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, even common infections that were easily controlled for decades such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections are proving trickier to treat with standard antibiotics.New drugs are desperately needed, but so are ways to maximize the effective lifespan of these drugs. To accomplish that, Duke University researchers used software they… Continue reading Predicting Superbugs’ Countermoves to New Drugs

Discovery Could Cure Skin Infections

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and partners have tested the use of ionic liquids to break bacterial biofilm layer on skin. A release from the laboratory explains that biofilms, which are like a protective tent over a colony of harmful bacteria, make the treatment of skin infections especially difficult. Microorganisms protected in a biofilm pose a significant health risk due to their antibiotic resistance and recalcitrance to treatment.