Recently in Health Category

I came across a live version of "Me and a Gun" by Tori Amos while looking through iTunes a few weeks ago, maybe months. It is absolutely, without a doubt, the most haunting version of this song I've heard by her. It's downright creepy. I found the same live performance she did as the iTunes file, so watch it here:

I wasn't a fan of the song to begin with because it deals with such a touchy matter that makes me quite sad. When push comes to shove, no one "deserves" to get raped. I don't care how they look or what position they put themselves in. Our bodies are meant to be shared with those who we choose and not by force.

As I have said before, the best thing to do is to continuously be informed of the alarming statistics.

Approximately 3% of American men, or 1 in 33 have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. In 2003, 1 in every 10 rape victims were male. 2.78 million men in the USA have been victims of sexual assault or rape. (For women, this is 1 in every 6 women and 17.7 million women in the USA have been victimized.)

Every 2 minutes, someone in the USA is sexually assaulted.

A victim of sexual assault are:

• 3 times more likely to suffer from depression;
• 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder;
• 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol;
• 26 times more likely to abuse drugs; and
• 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

People could tell me a million times that rape doesn't happen to men, but I'll tell you right now that it does. Only 10% of these cases are reported to the authorities. 60% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to police. 6% of rapists ever serve a day in jail.

To point you in the right direction to get more information, you can go to Men Surviving Rape or RAINN. (The statistics were taken from the RAINN website.) If you're in Australia, go to South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault. To get information about the myths of about male rape go here.

Ewww yuck. I'm still sick. Not even a little better. In fact, I sneezed about 18 times in a row... no, I did sneeze 18 times in a row... really. I slept from about 9 pm until 11 am this morning and I don't have any medicine because a nameless Chinese guy (who's name is very likely to be Gilbert) didn't pick up medicine like I asked him to. I'm trying NOT to go to the doctor. I probably should, but I don't want them to put me on any antibiotics. Doctors are crazy about putting people on antibiotics for anything. You could go in with a cold and they'd give it to you. Then of course, I'd get one to the doctors who say, "Oh you have the flu. Get rest and drink plenty of fluids. That will be $90, thank you." So why bother?

If it doesn't get better on Monday, I'll have no choice but to go to the doctor. I can't go to "work" with the flu unless I want a few people to die in my care.

So what am I saying? Don't go to the doctor and say that you need antibiotics. Why? Because if you grow an immunity to them and you REALLY get screwed, then you're mega screwed. Then of course, you'll have to buy more antibiotics which costs you more money, then you gain resistance to that and the chain keeps going on. Go to the doctor and let him or her figure out what's wrong with you. That IS their job, right? And if you don't trust your doctor to do the right thing, something's seriously wrong.

And while I'm at it, if you do get prescribed antibiotics, take them until they're gone. That's going to make sure that all the bad bacteria in your body is dead. If there is just a little bit left, they'll gain resistance from what you just took. And Jesus, don't share your medications with other people. You're doing a lot more harm than good. Especially when you've already taken a few... you're not only screwing yourself, but your friend too and... um, that's the bad kind of screw.

Too many times I've had my friends asking for antibiotics. I don't take other people's and I don't give mine away.

So if you didn't learn anything from this, then that's your fault. Or maybe it's mine because I guess I'm not that good of a teacher. But I tried. I think you get the underlying message though.

Ah yes, I'm pressed on time right now. I'm actually already 45 minutes late to class and yesterday I didn't even bother going. Last week I missed Wednesday. I'm debating whether to go today. You may be asking what is causing me to skip class so much. You remember that pain I had last week, well really, it's still lingering around. It's just not as bad as it was. A bit more manageable. On the Pain scale (1 being none and 10 being a LOT), it was around a 7 or 8 last week. This week it's about 3 or 4.

I just don't feel like going to class. Knowing that I only have a few weeks left is doing this to me. So I look for any excuse I possibly can to skip and stay home. But I'll be going today whether I want to or not. I have a group project due next week and I am sure my group members would appreciate seeing me more than once a week.

Well in about 10 mins I'm going to have to run out the door. Before I leave, the dog usually tears something up, pisses in the floor or makes my life miserable so I should go now. I've gone back to download a few of my favorite podcasts and some new ones so I'll let you know how that goes. I'm hoping it will be a fun and interesting learning process so I won't suck as much.

Oh and did you know that triple cheeseburgers from McDonald's are REALLY bad for you? I'm never going to eat one... I don't think I ever have. The sad thing is that the Australian McD's is a little better for you health-wise. There's no telling how bad it is in the US. I have to make an educational video about high blood pressure that's due on Tuesday. I'm using iMovie and iDVD to make it. I might post it as a podcast video but then again, I might not. So that's kinda why I found how bad cheeseburgers are. (And if it was an "educational" video with my project partner, I would be in heaven! Heh heh. But he doesn't swing that way and I am not going to make him.)

OK that's it for now. Everybody have a nice life.

Today I'm going to educate you on cardiac arrest because I feel like my weblog can't only be about me, me, me, me and me. You need to know what to do in circumstances when you can potentially save a life. And I hope I can educate you a little to do that. :)

What is cardiac arrest?

It's the sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. The victim may or may not have diagnosed heart disease. It's also called sudden cardiac arrest or unexpected cardiac arrest. Sudden death can occur within minutes after symptoms appear.

What causes cardiac arrest?

Coronary heart diseases is the most common underlying reason that a person can die of cardiac arrest. Electrocution, drowning, choking or trauma can cause cardiac arrest.

Can cardiac arrest be reversed?

Brain death and permanent death start to occur in just 4-6 minutes after someone first experiences cardiac arrest. It can be reversed if it's treated within a few minutes with an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restore the heartbeat. A person's chance of living is reduced 7-10 percent each minute. Very few attempts to resuscitate are successful after 10 minutes.

What are some warning signs of cardiac arrest?

Do you know the warning signs of cardiac arrest? Knowing them by heart (literally) can really save your life. Cardiac arrest can happen immediately and with absolutely no warning. Here are some warning signs:

• Sudden loss of responsiveness: There is absolutely no sign of response when the person is tapped on the shoulder.
• Irregular breathing: The victim is not taking normal breaths when you tilt the head up and check for five seconds.

If these signs are present, you should immediately call emergency services such as 911 in the US or 000 in Australia. (And did you know, anywhere in the world, you can call 112 with your cell phone to reach emergency services? It is true.) Get an automated external defibrillator (AED) if you can and immediately begin CPR.

If you are alone with an adult who has these signs of cardiac arrest, call emergency services, get an AED (if one is available) before you begin CPR. Use an AED as soon as one arrives.

(Curious to know what an AED is? Check here.)

Insidecardiacarrest.com has very good information and videos to keep you vigilant on what to do if something like this happens to you. Know what to do when a heart attack happens so you can potential save a loved one's life or even a stranger.

A lot of information here came from both the American Heart Association and Insidecardiacarrest.com.