World Tuberculosis Day!

Today is the World Tuberculosis Day, TB is one of the most spread infectious diseases in the world. It is calculated that a third of the earths population is carrying the TB bacteria and every year about 9 million people get sick and roughly 2 million people day from TB.

Most deaths occur in Africa and Asia as it is more common there but also because medicine is expensive and hospitals often are few and far between.

TB is an airborne bacteria that spreads through coughing, it mainly spreads if you have regular contact with a TB sick person inside, most commonly within the household.

TB symptoms are fever, sweating during the night, tiredness and weight loss. If the lungs are affected then symptoms are persistent coughs for more than three weeks with either mucus or blood or even both. The diagnosis is made from questioning, x-rays and bacterial diagnostics testing.

To treat TB you need a mix of four different medicines for two months and then only two of them for four more months. It is very important to take the medicine for the full 6 months this is to prevent resistence in the bacteria which is very common unfortunately. This is also what makes the disease quite expensive as so many drugs are need for such a long period. This is why the poorer countries really need our help as if they barely can afford to feed themselves they obviously can’t afford expensive medicines for 6 months.

Give these people a chance of life, donate now by clicking here.

World Leprosy Day 2010

Today is World Leprosy day, which is the culmination of world Leprosy week 2010, last year someone was diagnosed with the disease every two minutes that is 250,000 too many.

Leprosy leads to the loss of sensation in hands and feet, later the damaged nerves leads to the loss of use in muscles. Paralysis and deformations are common as is the loss of limbs. If medication is set in early the Leprosy can be cured before any serious deformation has occured. But if the damage has already been done then surgery can repair some of the damage and others might be helped by rehabilitation and/or protective footwear. LEPRA the charity is helping to eradicate and treat Leprosy in several countries around the world and educating the communities surronding people affected by Leprosy, to remove the stigma attached to being sick and how to prevent Leprosy

Please help them eradicate Leprosy and other diseases of poverty by sponsoring my London marathon you can easily Donate by clicking here.

A childs hand affected by Leprosy.

World AIDS Day 2009

Today we should not think of ourselves, others have bigger problems than us. My broken heart is nothing compared to the 33 million people in the world living with HIV.  What is even worse is that roughly about 2.7 to 3 million new peole were infected with HIV in 2007, have we not come further than this?

We know how it is spread so we should no how to stop it…well this is where ignorance and poverty comes in. People need to realise that HIV/AIDS will not disappear becaues you hide your head in the sand, you me anyone can get this if we do not accept that the disease exist and take precautions not to get it. We need educate people how it spreads but also not to fear the people that have HIV/AIDS.

It also saddens me that poverty prevents sick mothers and fathers bringing up their healthy children and instead dying through lack of affordable medicines.

1st of December each year is World AIDS Day please donate to those less fortunate then yourself, you can donate to Lepra by clicking on my “sponsor me now” button or do it directly by visiting Lepra’s website

Figures are from

Running on medication, painkillers, vaccine or whilst sick

Ok this is a post I have realised I have to write, I have noticed many people end up on my blog by using the exact searches below;
“Can I take paracetamol during a marathon”
“Paracetamol marathon”
“Paracetamol and running”
“Marathon running and tamiflu”
“Tamiflu and running a marathon”
“Tamiflu and running”
“Ibuprofen running the marathon”
“Ibuprofen and running”
“Swine flu vaccine marathon”
“Swine flu vaccine and running”
“Painkillers running marathon”
“non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and running”
“NSAID and running”

Seriously guys do you really need to ask yourself this question???

If you are sick and/or in pain you should not run especially not a marathon. If you have a sports injury (or injury in general) you should RICE it R= Rest I= Ice C= Compression E= Elevation. Then you should not run until painfree again, if in severe pain seek professional medical help. Remember that painkillers just masks the pain and that they do not cure you. If your pain is chronic then you need to discuss running on medication with your doctor.

If you are sick, whether it is a cold, Swine flu, normal flu or stomach upset you should not run at all until you are well again. Running whilst being sick is dangerous and stupid. I do not recommend running with a hangover either although not all agree with me on this point.

And if you are not sick then you have absolutely no reason to take Tamiflu,unless you are in a risk group with a close family member ill in flu or Swine flu. My personal belief is that if you are not sick and take Tamiflu as a precaution then you are EXTREMELY SELFISH. There is not one single country that has enough stocks of Tamiflu to cover all their population, which means that if you take Tamiflu as a precaution there might not be enough if a pandemic breaks out and you are not immune just because you taken Tamiflu once. Secondly the more people that takes Tamiflu unecessary the quicker Swine flu will become resistant to the drug.

If you just had a vaccination against something it might be advisable not to run the same day otherwise it should not be dangerous. Although sometimes the vaccine itself make you ill with a mild mini version of the disease you were vaccinated against, not uncommon with flu vaccines. If this happens to you do not run until you feel better.

Lastly some people take painkillers like Aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Ibuprofen or Paracetamol before a run believing that it might improve their performance or prevent sore and aching muscles. Studies on runners in a 160 km ultra marathon showed that there was NO difference at all in the performance or muscle damage and soreness between the group taking painkillers and the group not taking painkillers. The study also showed that the group that took the painkillers had an increased risk of getting Endotoxemia and inflamation. Other studies have shown that endurance runners taking NSAIDs had increased risk of getting hyponatraemia and renal failure. So do not take painkillers before running because they will not improve your performance or minimise damage and soreness and it can be life threatening. Yes some runners will moan at me for this advise but seriously if you run a long way you might get pain for two reasons;

1. You have run a hell of a long way and the pain is your body saying enough no more, often not a serious injury and will ease of once the race is over after rest.

2. Something is a bit more serious you either have a proper injury or your body might not be made for long runs.

There is no reason to take painkillers to prevent these pains as for reason number 1 it is much better to take the painkiller AFTER the race. For reason number 2 you should stop running straight away THEN take the painkiller and seek professional medical help to see if it is a serious injury or if you are not predisposed to long runs stick to shorter painfree runs. Again painkillers does not heal you they only mask the pain.

In Swedish
Folk har hamnat på min blogg efter att ha sökt på termer som “Springa med smärtstillande” “maraton och Ibuprofen” “springa maraton med Tamiflu” “Svininfluensa vaccin springa maraton”. Min tanke är seriöst behöver ni verkligen fråga sådan idiotiska saker?

Är man sjuk eller har ont så ska man inte springa utan vila tills man blir bättre och/eller smärtfri. Har man just blivit vaccinerad mot något så kan det vara bra att vila den dagen och om man blivit lite sjuk av vaccinationen, som man kan bli ibland, så ska man vänta tills man blivit frisk igen.

Är du inte sjuk så ska du inte ta Tamiflu, förutom om du är i en riskgrupp och en i din närmsta familj blivit sjuk. Att äta Tamiflu utan att vara sjuk är själviskt inget land i världen har tillräckligt med Tamiflu till alla sina invånare så bryter en pandemi ut så kommer färre behövande få Tamiflu. Att ha ätit Tamiflu en gång gör dig heller inte immun mot svininfluensan samt ju fler som äter det i onödan desto snabbare blir svininfluensan resistent mot Tamiflu.

Sedan tror en del löpare att man springer fortare och får mindre ont efter ett lopp om man tar smärtstillande i förebyggande syfte innan lopp. Detta stämmer inte studier på löpare med eller utan smärtstillande visade inte någon skillnad i prestationen och/eller muskelskador/smärtor efter ett 160 km lopp. Men de som tagit smärtstillande hade ökad risk för att få Endotoxemia och inflammation. Andra studier har visat på att långdistance löpare som tar smärtstillande innan ett lopp hade högre risk att få hyponatremi och njursvikt. Så att ta smärtstillande innan ett lopp ger dig inga fördelar i loppet och med återhämtning efter loppet utan kan istället vara livsfarligt. Tänk även på att smärtstillande inte botar dig utan gömmer bara smärtan tillfälligt.

Don’t be scared of Swine flu.

Since my last blog post about Swine flu I have had a lot of visitors that have found me through google searches. The search words have been “Swine flu London”, “so scared of Swine flu” and “should I be scared of Swine flu”. I hope you found the answers to your queries, you are welcome to write comments.

So should you be scared of Swine flu? The answer is NO YOU SHOULD NOT BE SCARED. Treat the flu with respect but don’t be scared. The Swine flu is only dangerous to people with underlying health problems, people with heart problems, diabetes, HIV, cancer, bad asthma and pregnant women should be careful. To the majority of healthy people it will be JUST A BAD FLU, when you get it stay at home to avoid infection the risk groups, do not visit your GP surgery or the hospital as you will take the infection directly to people in the risk groups.

Do not demand Tamiflu, take Lemsip, Ibuprofen or Paracetamol instead, rest and drink plenty of water. Leave your windows a bit open to get fresh air and force yourself to eat even if you do not have an appetite. Follow these steps then you will be better in between 3-7 days, expect to feel a bit low on energy for up to a month after if you had a really high temperature. If you experience complications like dehydration or breathing difficulties call the doctor.

So don’t fall for the media hype and do not be scared. We in London are not scared and then as good as all of us know someone that has been sick with the flu. I believe I have had it myself and by seaching the internet I have found some evidence that the flu I had last year in Mexico probaly where Swine flu. So you see there is no need for you to be scared.

If you have a holiday to London booked do not cancel the trip unless governments puts travel bans in place. It is to late to stop the Swine flu from spreading across countries now so whether you travel or not does not matter. So enjoy yourself and stop worrying.

OBS I am not a doctor but I have had the flu twice in my life, once the seasonal flu in 1998 and then probably the Swine flu in March/April 2008. If you do not know the difference between the flu and a cold then you have certainly not had a flu ever, trust me on this.

In Swedish
Många har hamnat på min blogg genom att googla “London Svininfluensa”, “rädd för svininfluensan” och “borde jag vara rädd för svininfluensan”.

Det enkla svaret är nej du behöver inte vara rädd för svininfluensan. Om du inte tillhör någon riskgrupp så kommer influensan bara att vara en jobbig influensa.

De i riskgrupperna är personer med hjärtproblem, svår asthma, diabetes, HIV, cancer och gravida kvinnor.

Om du får svininfluensan och inte tillhör riskgruppen stanna hemma, gå absolut inte till doktorn eller sjukhus för då tar du med smittan till riskgrupperna.
Be absolut INTE om Tamiflu utan ta istället paracetamol eller ibuprofen tabletter och drick vatten, öppna fönstret lite så du får frisk luft och vila, tvinga dig att äta även om du inte har någon aptit. Om du följer detta så blir du bättre på ca 3-7 dagar, räkna med att känna dig lite orkeslös i upp till en månad efter om du hade väldigt hög feber. Om du får komplikationer som uttorkning eller andningsproblem ring din doktor.

So fall inte för medias skrämselpropaganda de vill bara sälja tidningar. Vi i London är inte rädda och då känner de flesta utav oss någon som varit sjuk. Tror faktiskt att jag har haft det själv efter att ha hitta bevis på internet att Svininfluensan redan cirkulerade i Mexico/Nordamerika förra året. Så det finns ingen anledning att vara rädd.

Om du har planerat att åka till London så ska du åka. Det finns ingen anledning för regeringar att förbjuda resor eftersom influensan redan har spridit sig till alla länder. Det är försent att stoppa den. så ta det lugnt och njut avlivet utan att vara rädd.

OBS jag är ingen doktor men jag har haft influensa två gånger i mitt liv. Första gången 1998 den vanliga säsongs influensan och sedan troligen Svininfluensan i mars/april 2008. Om du inte vet skillnaden mellan förkylning och influensa så har du definitivt aldrig haft influensa.

Apparently we are scared of Swine Flu?!?

Being Swedish I regularly read Swedish news, normally they are more informed then English news and report more on what is happening around the world and not only what’s on our doorstep. One exception though is BBC news online and their fantastic international channel. Special report on Swine Flu is based on facts and not sensational scaremongering like a lot of newspapers.

However this time the Swedish news are wrong. Apparently we Londoners are are really worried and scared about the Swine Flu. This is news to me and yet I live and work in central London. Swedish newspapers don’t seem to understand the British spirit, the Blitz did not scare Londoners, IRA did not scare Londoners and not the nail bomber nor the 7/7 bombings. Trust me I have was here for the end part of the IRA, the nail bomber and the 7/7. Sure it affected us but scared us pah it did not.

So are we scared of the Swine Flu??? Of course not. Life goes on as normal we work, shop, party, eat and sleep.

Obviously we don’t want to catch it if we can help it but we are not worried unnecessarly. The news here have almost stopped reporting on Swine Flu as we are sick and tired of hearing about it.

So what do we know about the flu so far, well it spreads rapidly across the globe, incubation period is 1-7 days with 3 days seamingly the average. It started in Mexico in February, although my personal belief is that it started earlier. Symptoms are fever, without fever you do not have swine flu, but you may get some or all of these also cough, tiredness, chills, headache, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, aching muscles, joints and limbs.

The flu is quite mild still and only those with already existing medical problems should worry as with normal flu. Wash your hands regularly, stay home if you feel ill and sneeze into disposable tissues. And for F%#K sake do not take Tamiflu unless you are really really ill, taking Tamiflu willy-nilly just because you feel a bit poorly is selfish and dangerous to the rest of us. The more people that take it unnecessarly the quicker the Swine Flu will become resistent. Stay at home and take paracetamol. Lemsip or similar instead drink plenty of water and eat even if you don’t have an appetite, you will get better. Obviously seek help if you get dehydrated or experience breathing difficulties.

But just because the Swine Flu is mild now we should not become complacent. The Swine flu could mutate and/or become resistent to Tamiflu. Lessons from the Spanish Flu which started 1918 rather mildly but then came back with a vengeance and killed 50 million until it ended in 1920 need to be learnt. So do not go to any ridiculous Swine Flu parties and if offered the flu jab take it. The conspiracy theories about the Swine Flu and the flu jabs are ridiculous and should be ignored together with the newspapers sensational scaremongering garbage. Read the facts and skip the rest.

Will I take the flu jab? Yes but I will let those in greater need take it before me. If lucky I might even be resistent as I was in Mexico last year and got the flu real bad, 11 of us went there 10 fell ill, really ill, in fact most people that went to that conference got ill and not just our delegation. I have never been so ill in my life and I was ill for a whole month.

OBS I am not a doctor I am merely expressing my own view.

In Swedish

DN rapporterar att Londonbor är rädda och oroliga för Svininfluensan, detta är nyheter för mig och då bor och jobbar jag ändå i centrala London. Blitzen skrämde inte Londonborna det gjorde inte heller IRA, spikbombaren eller 7/7. Så nej Londonborna går inte runt och oroar sig vi gör som vi alltid gör jobbar, shoppar, festar, äter och sover.

Även fast vi inte är rädda så utsätter vi ju inte oss för onödiga faror, vi är bara så trötta på att höra om Svininfluensan hela tiden. Vi försöker att inte vara nära någon som ser ut att må dåligt och vi tvättar händerna oftare det är typ allt. Blir folk sjuka så stannar de hemma istället för att gå till jobbet som man annars ofta gör här. Något annat har jag inte märkt. Om man inte räknar alla utlänningar på Heathrow som går runt i löjliga ansiktsmasker uppskrämda av sina respektive länders media.

Men det som retar gallfebern på mig är alla gnälliga j%#&ar som tar Tamiflu i onödan. Att ta Tamiflu i onödan är själviskt och farligt för oss andra eftersom det leder till resistens. Använd ditt förnuft gå inte på Svininfluensa partyn och blir du erbjuden vaccination ta den. Konspirations teorierna om svininfluensan och vaccineringen är bara löjliga, lika löjliga som dålig journalistik när det är nyhetstorka.