October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2014
Please like, share and tweet this brilliant breast cancer awareness butterfly!
Thanks.
#urticariaday2014
More and more people react to everyday situations with an itchy rash and wheals (swelling on the skin). This condition is called hives or urticaria.
International Urticaria Day was created by UNEV (the Urticaria Network e.V.) and the DAAB e.V., two organizations both based Germany. Both organisations aim to improve conditions for people with urticaria and other allergies. The purpose of International Urticaria Day is to raise awareness of this debilitating disease. Educational events for healthcare professionals, people with urticaria , the media and the public will be taking place in Germany and throughout the globe . To obtain more information about local events and to show support, visit www.urticariaday.org and follow the chat on Twitter #urticariaday2014. The Twitter handle is @urticariaday so please follow for more information.
In fact, 1 in 4 people is affected by urticaria. Symptoms are typically present for a few days or weeks –this is called acute urticaria. However, the disease lasts longer in many individuals. In Germany alone, over 1% of the population suffer from chronic urticaria. Which is a very high prevalence. It should be noted that women are affected twice as often as men and the incidence in children requires more research. In some cases it may well be an allergic reaction.
The diagnosis and treatment of chronic urticaria is tough . Only some varieties of urticaria have a known cause. These often takes months to identify and treat appropriately. Regardless of the type of urticaria a person may have, the signs and symptoms are the same – namely itching, redness, hives and/or swelling of the skin (angioedema). Effective treatments are now available more are being investigated. Urticaria is, typically, treated by dermatologists and there are specialized centers that cater of those with severe forms of the disease.
If you have or currently suffer from urticaria it would be great to hear from you please feel free to share your story in the comments section below.
In particular we are interested in the following questions:-
a) What were you earliest symptoms of urticaria?
b) How long did they last for?
c) What treatments for urticaria did you receive? How effective were these treatments?
d) How easy was it to get diagnosed with urticaria?
e) What one bit of advice would you give to somebody who has just been diagnosed with urticaria?
Thanks very much in advance!
ITP Awareness Ribbon
You can of course image my response!
“What is ITP?”
And then an immediate rush over to Wikipedia. I then discovered it was a bleeding disorder.
So I am very happy to share with you some information from The Platelet Disorder Support Association which supports people with Immune Thrombocytopenia and other platelet disorders. They have a pretty useful web site which you can check out here.
“Imagine being told that your child cannot play on the playground with other kids, ride a bike, participate in normal
childhood activities or contact sports because a bump, cut, or impact to their head could lead to life-threatening bleeding.
Now imagine trying to get emergency help for your bleeding child and being accused of abuse because your child is
covered with bruises. As an adult, imagine waking up in the morning with a mouth full of blood blisters, heading off to
work with a nosebleed that won’t stop for hours, or going to bed at night with a headache and fearing you’re having a
brain hemorrage and won’t wake up in the morning. This is life for someone suffering with the bleeding disorder ITP.
Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a condition in which the blood has a lower number of platelets than normal. Platelets
are cells that help the blood clot. ITP is called an autoimmune disease since it is the result of the body’s immune system
attacking platelets as if they are foreign cells. A person with ITP is at a higher risk of bleeding. ITP is often accompanied
by fatigue and sometimes depression and has a profound impact on a person’s quality of life.
ITP affects almost 10 times as many people as hemophilia, yet most people know nothing about it. This lack of public
awareness leaves many ITP patients feeling isolated and alone, and is the main reason why there is so little support for
research on ITP and the lack of advancement in treatment. ITP is a growing but little understood health problem that most
people (including some medical professionals) have never heard of. It affects individuals of all ages, sexes, and ethnic
origins.
This September patients of all ages, along with family members and health care providers, will come together for National
ITP Awareness Month and Sport Purple for Platelets Day.”
So please share the image above on social media to show your support for people with IPP.
Thanks in advance
More information on ITP from The Platelet Disorder Support Association
“ITP, immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura, is an autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, the body mounts an immune attack toward one or more seemingly normal organ systems. In ITP, platelets are the target. They are marked as foreign by the immune system and eliminated in the spleen and sometimes, the liver. In addition to increased platelet destruction, some people with ITP also have impaired platelet production.
Platelets are relatively small, irregularly shaped components of our blood. They are required to maintain the integrity of our blood vessel walls and for blood to clot. Without a sufficient number of platelets, a person with ITP is subject to spontaneous bleeding or bruising.
People with ITP often have bruises or small purple spots on their skin (petechiae) where their blood has escaped from their veins or capillaries. Spontaneous bleeding can also occur in the mucus membranes on the inside of the mouth or in the gastro-intestinal tract. It is possible, with a decreased number of platelets, to have a spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage. ITP is often accompanied by fatigue and sometimes depression.
Normal platelet counts range from 150,000 to 400,000 per microliter of blood. People with platelet counts under 10,000 have a severe case of ITP. 30,000 is sufficient for many to prevent a catastrophic bleed. Individual reactions to low platelet counts differ. Determining a safe platelet count is a decision to be made in consultation with an experienced treating physician.
The number of individuals in the United States with ITP has been estimated to be approximately 200,000. Our survey indicates that ITP occurs more frequently in women than men during childbearing years. It is usually a chronic problem. ITP in children occurs at about the same rate in boys and girls. It is frequently self-correcting but may become chronic. Adolescent ITP has more of the characteristics of adult ITP.
While most cases of ITP are controlled, it can be fatal in a small percentage of ITP patients.”
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
This month is global Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
To mark the event please share Donnee’s brilliant awareness image. CLIC Sargent are asking people to wear a gold ribbon to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. You can find out how to obtain one at their web site here.
If you know of any events commemorating Childhood Cancer Awareness Month please use the comments section below to share links and information.
Save a Life September
This September, you could learn how to save a life, as St John Ambulance’s annual awareness month, Save a Life September, returns. The nation’s leading first aid charity will be putting on free demonstrations across the country and urging people to download the free St John Ambulance first aid app, so you can carry life saving advice around in your pocket.
Research* carried out earlier this year by St John Ambulance has revealed the following statistics:
St John Ambulance believes that with a few first aid skills, anyone can be the difference between life and death. The charity’s Save a Life September campaign sees volunteers from the charity demonstrating five easy to follow techniques that could potentially save a life, and giving out pocket-size first aid guides so that people can carry the advice wherever they go. The free, chart-topping St John Ambulance first aid app is available on smartphones, and the website (www.sja.org.uk) offers demo videos, an interactive game, and plenty of first aid advice.
The charity’s CEO, Sue Killen, said: ‘Learning first aid is one of the single most important things you can do in your life. You may need it anywhere – at work, at home, in school, playing sport – you just don’t know. With basic first aid skills, anyone can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.
‘By holding free first aid demonstrations across the country, we want to reach as many people as possible, so that more people are equipped with the skills to save a life. Anyone who needs first aid should get it – and the more of us that can help in an emergency, the better. No one should die for a lack of first aid.’
To find out how you can learn to save a life this September, visit www.sja.org.uk/sals.
Key facts about Save a Life September
References:
* Research conducted by ICM, February 2014, using a weighted sample of 2000 adults aged 18+ in England. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Further information at www.icmresearch.co.uk