Information – Health +
Employers must give health insurance
Employers must give health insurance
By Dina El Shammaa, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: January 01, 2008, 23:09
Abu Dhabi: Expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, whether working or living there, are entitled to health insurance coverage, said an official from the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) on Tuesday.
According to the Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Regulation Bill under Law 23, all employers and sponsors must provide health insurance for expatriates who live or work in Abu Dhabi.
This includes expatriates residing in Abu Dhabi, even if their visa is issued in another city, such as Dubai, people who are sponsored by expatriates residing in the emirate and all individuals sponsored by expatriates residing in the capital city.
“A sponsor or employer is responsible for ensuring that resident expatriates are in possession of valid health insurance,” said Sultan Al Daheri, team leader of Reimbursement and Claims at HAAD.
“They will be held personally liable for the cost of all healthcare services that are provided to persons on their sponsorship in the event that such a person is not covered by a valid health insurance policy,” said Al Daheri.
Penalty
Failure to subscribe or renew the subscription in the Health Insurance Scheme (HIS) by an employer or sponsor for workers and those residing under their sponsorship will result in a penalty of Dh300 monthly for every person without an insurance subscription, said Al Daheri.
In addition, employers and sponsors must not pass on the cost of providing Health Insurance to Employees.
If an employer or sponsor does pass on the cost to their employee, they will be considered in violation of the law and subject to investigation and penalties.
If an employee living in Abu Dhabi files a complaint against lack of fulfilment of an obligation arising from a health insurance scheme, a written complaint, called a Letter of Inspection Notification, is lodged at the Customer Service Section in HAAD.
Moreover, if any dispute occurs between parties involved, such as healthcare institutions, employers, or insurance companies, the problem is managed by the Enrollment and the Inspection Section (EIS) who send out their inspection team to monitor the issue and make sure a proper health insurance policy is provided to all employees.
Common complaint
According to HAAD Customer Service Head Afra Khalifa Al Ghathi, one of the most common complaints received at HAAD is related to Health Insurance Policies The EIS section also claims to receive up to six serious complaints per day.
Once HAAD officials receive these complaints, confidentiality is maintained so that the employee’s position in the company is not jeopardised.
“Sometimes employers may fire or deduct from the employee’s salary as reaction to the complaint. We put that into consideration and make sure the employee’s name while lodging the complaint is not mentioned and all related details are kept confidential.
“We do not want to jeopardise the individual’s position in any way and encourage people to openly share their experiences with us. It is our role to make sure employees and residents in Abu Dhabi are given a proper health insurance scheme,” said Al Daheri.
Who to contact: Complain with confidence
Any complaints regarding health insurance regulations are handled by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi’s customer service department, via three channels. The complainant’s identity is kept confidential.
Toll free number: 800800 (from Abu Dhabi)
E-mail: healthcentre@haad.ae
Visit: the Health Authority Headquarters, Airport Road
Total upper limit coverage: The annual upper limit for healthcare services is Dh250,000
Alcohol protects against leg artery disease
Alcohol protects against leg artery disease
A moderate consumption of alcohol can protect against arterial disease in legs of the elderly.
Leg artery disease (or lower extremity arterial disease) is a condition in which the arteries in the legs get clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. Over time, a build-up of plaque and a hardening of the arteries can impact circulation in the legs, ankles and feet. Symptoms of this condition include burning, aching, pain, and coolness in the legs, as well as changes in skin colour or the development of slow or non-healing sores on the legs or feet. It is said that adults who drink moderately have a lower risk of developing leg artery disease as compared to those who have zero alcohol consumption. However it is important to weigh these benefits against the many potentially harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
To assess the benefits of alcohol in the prevention of leg artery disease, American researchers studied 5,635 generally healthy, community-dwelling adults who participated in a cardiovascular health study. A total of 172 cases of leg artery disease were diagnosed during a mean of 7.5 years of follow-up between 1989 and 1999.
The results indicated that elderly men and women who reported drinking between one and 13 servings of beer, wine or liquor in a week had a 44 percent lower risk of being hospitalised for leg artery disease, compared with elderly men and women who reported no alcohol consumption. By contrast, it was also found that this apparent protective effect was not evident among study participants reporting less than one, or 14 or more, alcoholic drinks a week.
Moderate alcohol consumption was also associated with a trend for declining arterial pressure in the lower legs, another indicator of lower risk for arterial disease. Thus, it can be said that there exists a combination of potential cardiovascular benefits that come with moderate alcohol consumption. But it is important for older adults to discuss their alcohol consumption with doctors on a regular basis.
American Journal of Epidemiology,
January 2008
Laser scanner for 3D view of tumours
Laser scanner for 3D view of tumours
ANI
LONDON: Scientists have developed a new laser scanner that can give 3D view of the deformed blood vessels inside tumours.
This scanner could prove beneficial to doctors in determining the boundary between cancerous and healthy tissue during surgery.
A novel form of non-invasive imaging called photoacoustic tomography is used by the scanner. A laser light to “twang” cells is utilized so that they emit an ultrasound wave, which is then detected and used to form a 3D image.
The present day ultrasound scanners capture images by aiming high-frequency sound waves at the body. These waves are reflected whenever the density of tissue changes, for example at the boundary between muscle and bone. The “echoes” that result then used to create a picture.
However, these scanners can be useful in capturing images of high-contrast subjects like antenatal scans, but gives rise to only low-contrast images of the inside of a tumor, as the density of blood vessels is similar to that of the surrounding tissue.
The high-resolution photoacoustic tomography scanner offers a solution for this problem. It has been developed by Paul Beard and colleagues at University College London, UK.
Very short pulses of non-harmful near-infrared laser light are thrown at the tumor. When this light is absorbed by tissue, the cells get heated up and expand a little, creating an ultrasound wave that can be detected by a sensor.
The intensity of the ultrasound wave depends on how well the tissue absorbs the near-infrared radiation. This results in high-contrast images of blood vessels because haemoglobin is very absorbent at these wavelengths.
“It’s very scalable,” NewScientist.com quoted Beard, as saying.
He added: “Our scanner is best suited to providing high-resolutions images at a short range, but the technique could be used to image tumours a few centimetres into the breast.”
The researchers also created a new ultrasound sensor so as to convert the reflected ultrasound into a high-resolution 3D image.
It comprised of a thin layer of a polymer sandwiched between two reflective layers. The outer layers only reflect certain wavelengths of light and the laser light used to penetrate a patient’s tissue shines straight through all three layers.
The polymer layer then picked up the acoustic signal generated using the infrared.
“This work demonstrates progress,” said Hao Zhang, an expert on medical imaging at Washington University in St Louis, US.
He added: “In my opinion, it is important for more precise quantitative measurements.”
However, Zhang points out two potential problems. At the moment it takes a relatively long time to capture the image, while the laser scans each reflective surface. In addition, the sensor is flat making it difficult to scan images over curved parts of the body.
However, Jeremy Skepper, a physiologist at the University of Cambridge in the UK said that the ability to image blood vessels at this resolution is very striking.
“It’s less expensive and more portable than other solutions,” he says. “It’s a powerful additional tool to the ones we already have,” he said.
Skepper also suggested that the device could prove to be highly portable in future owing to advances in laser diode technology.
A glass of wine a day delays dementia
A glass of wine a day delays dementia
16 Dec 2007, 1238 hrs IST,PTI
NEW YORK: Wine can be food for health as long as you are smart about how you drink – one goblet daily may help in preserving your memory for long.
A study has found that a glass of wine everyday delays dementia in those who are at risk from Alzheimer’s disease as they are already having memory problems.
“While many studies have assessed alcohol consumption and cognitive function in the elderly, this is the first study to look at how alcohol consumption affects rate of progression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia,” according to lead researcher Vincenzo Solfrizzi of University of Bari in Italy.
Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia used to classify people with mild memory problems and no significant disability.
The researchers came to the conclusion after they evaluated alcohol consumption and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment in a group of 1,445 people aged between 65 and 84 years.
The team then followed 121 people with mild cognitive impairment and their progression to dementia.
The researchers found that those with mild cognitive impairment who had up to one drink of alcohol a day, mostly wine, developed dementia at an 85 per cent slower rate than people with mild cognitive impairment who never drank alcohol.
“The mechanism responsible for why low alcohol consumption appears to protect against the progression to dementia isn’t known. However, it is possible that the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain may play a role in why alcohol consumption appears to protect against dementia.
“This would support other observations that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may protect the brain from stroke and vascular dementia,” Solfrizzi said.
Fruits, veggies cut cancer risk
Fruits, veggies cut cancer risk
10 Dec 2007, 0050 hrs IST,REUTERS
WASHINGTON: Just three servings a month of raw broccoli or cabbage can reduce the risk of bladder cancer by as much as 40%, researchers reported this week. Other studies show dark-coloured berries can reduce the risk of cancer too — adding more evidence to a growing body of research that shows fruits and vegetables, especially richly coloured varieties, can reduce the risk of cancer.
Researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, surveyed 275 people who had bladder cancer and 825 people without cancer. They asked especially about cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage. These foods are rich in compounds called isothiocyanates, which are known to lower cancer risk. The effects were most striking in non-smokers, the researchers told a meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research. Compared to smokers who ate fewer than three servings of raw cruciferous vegetables, non-smokers who ate at least three servings a month were almost 73% less likely to be in the bladder cancer group, they found.
A second team of researchers from Roswell Park tested broccoli sprouts in rats. They used rats engineered to develop bladder cancer and fed some of them a freeze-dried extract of broccoli sprouts. The more they ate, the less likely they were to develop bladder cancer, said Yuesheng Zhang, who led the research. They found the compounds were processed and excreted within 12 hours of feeding. That suggests the idea that compounds are protecting the bladder from the inside, said Zhang.
Health Tips – Sore Throat……
A sore throat can really get you down, so here are a few things you can use to take away the suffering.
Vinegar can ease the pain. Any type will do but wine vinegar or cider vinegar may taste better. Put a teaspoon of vinegar in a glass of water. Gargle, then swallow. Do this 3 times a day until things are on the mend.
Put some warm water in a glass and mix with some salt. Put in your mouth and gargle and spit out. Don’t swallow. This should get rid of the soreness.
Take a few almonds and mix them with a couple of teaspoons of honey. Sit down and eat away. This will give the pain of a sore throat nothing to moan about. Honey is a natural pain killer, so are almonds. The almonds will also help to relieve the inflammation.
Hope that one of these ideas will bring you some relief.
Health Tips – Snake Bite
Treatment:
* Keep the victim calm and still.
* Keep the affected area below the level of heart, so as to contain venom locally.
* Wash hands thoroughly or put on the latex gloves before attending the wound.
* If the bite is not bleeding, wash the wound well with mild soap and water and pat dry with clean swabs or other non-fluffy material.
* If the bite is actively bleeding, control the bleeding by applying direct pressure with a clean and dry cloth until the bleeding subsides.
* Remove any of the constricting items.
* Lightly compress the limb above the wound with a roller bandage.
* Immobilise the injury, immobilise an injured arm with a sling and an injured leg by binding it to the injured leg.
* If the patient stops breathing, be ready to resuscitate if needed.
* Observe the bite for signs of infection (increasing skin redness, swelling) and other vital signs (temperature, pulse, rate of breathing, blood pressure).
* If the area around the wound begins to swell and change colour, the snake was probably poisonous.
* Get medical help as soon as possible.
Warning
* Do not apply ice or a cold pack to snakebite because cold can cause the venom to spread further.
* Do not apply a Tourniquet such as a belt, necktie or cord.
* Do not slash the wound with a knife.
* Never try to suck the venom orally.
* Patient should never be put to strenuous physical exercises.
* Site of the bite should not be raised above the heart level.
* No stimulants or pain medicators should be taken without the prescription of the doctor.
* Removal of the dressing/elastic wraps to be avoided until you are at a facility ready and able to administer antivenom.
* Do not eat or drink unless told by the doctor.
Prevention
* Do not thrust hands or feet into any areas if you cannot see into the area.
* Avoid playing or picking up any snake unless you are properly trained.
* Wear long pants and boots if possible while hiking into an area known to have snakes.
* If given adequate warning, snakes will avoid coming near to you. Hence before entering an area with an obscured base, tap ahead with a walking stick.
Osteoporosis – Prevention is the key
Osteoporosis – Prevention is the key
By Priya Mathew
Dr Ayman Mofti
IT HAS NOT YET captured the imagination of the health fanatics in this part of the world the way more ‘popular’ diseases such as cholesterol or blood pressure have. But then, Osteoporosis and its implications haven’t been under the media glare for long even though its complications have been making life difficult for human beings, especially, the female of the species, for ages.
“For many years there was no easy tool to diagnose the condition characterised by low bone mass due to thin bone and large holes in the bone, which in turn makes the bone fragile and prone to fracture. Furthermore, there was no effective treatment for the condition until about eight to ten years ago,” says Dr Ayman Mofti, Rheumatologist with American Hospital Dubai.
That might explain to some extent why the media chose to give Osteoporosis the royal ignore all these years. But that has added to the misconceptions people harbour about the condition.
Facts
Osteoporosis, as we know it, falls into two categories, primary and secondary. The most common one is primary Osteoporosis which is not associated with any other disease. It usually occurs in post-menopausal women due to the drop in hormones leading to bone loss.
Men too are candidates for osteoporosis but it happens at a significantly older age, mainly in their late sixties and early seventies.
The main problem with Osteoporosis is that it goes unnoticed as it does not have any symptoms. “Many people believe that pain is a symptom of Osteoporosis. But actually it is the complications that arise due to Osteoporosis that cause the pain. And the complications can vary from broken vertebrae or fractures that cause severe pain and immobility to spinal deformities in the form of humps,” says Dr Mofti.
Figures
Statistics say that 1 in 3 menopausal women develop some kind of fracture due to osteoporosis that will in some way threaten the longevity of their lives.
Of all fractures, hip fracture is the most serious complication as about one fourth of women who have had hip fractures die within a year. About half of them have difficulty walking on their own and become totally dependent on others.
Though hip fractures carry a high mortality rate, the most common fracture due to osteoporosis is the vertebral fracture. Something as delicate as coughing or sneezing is known to cause the collapse of the vertebral bone in women with severe osteoporosis.
Avoiding fractures
No wonder Dr Mofti lays great emphasis on preventing fractures once diagnosed with Osteoporosis. “Studies have shown that about 35 per cent of menopausal women develop some kind of fracture that may impact their lives. You can imagine the enormity of the situation when you compare the figure for men belonging to the same age bracket. It is a mere 14 per cent. And hip fractures take the cake in terms of mortality rate. So extra care has to be taken to prevent fractures.”
That would include rearranging the furniture layout of the room if it is not patient friendly as tripping and falling forms a major cause of fractures. Another factor that needs to be taken care is the eyesight. If plagued by vision problems, no time should be lost in rectifying them. If certain types of medication, especially medicines for blood pressure make you dizzy, consult your physician and have them replaced by more favourable medicine.
Prevention is better than cure
As with any other medical condition, the age-old adage of prevention is better than cure holds true for Osteoporosis as well.
In order to prevent Osteoporosis, you need to know whether you are at risk of developing Osteoporosis.
Risk factors
Though one cannot do much about the genetic make up as well as the fact that one is a woman naturally progressing towards menopause, there are a whole lot of other risk factors that can be altered to prevent the onset of Osteoporosis.
Inadequate Calcium intake particularly during young age would affect the amount of bone reserves one would have in old age.
An average person requires about 1000-1500 mg of Calcium a day. Young people who drink milk everyday and consume dairy products would easily get the required quantity. But children with lactose intolerance would need to take Calcium supplements in order to build up optimum bone reserves.
Sedentary life style with little or no exercise, especially weight bearing exercise, increases the risk for developing Osteoporosis.
Habits such as excessive smoking and drinking also put you at risk for Osteoporosis.
Certain medications such as high doses of cortisone used for a long time (3 months or longer) or high therapeutic dose of thyroid hormone supplement are said to affect the bones leading to osteoporosis.
Small built women who weigh less than 55 kg are also at the risk of developing Osteoporosis.
Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to Osteoporosis. A person is supposed to have 400-800 international units of Vitamin D every day. Its deficiency either due to mal-absorption or due to less exposure to sun can cause softening of the bone which in turn makes the bone more fragile. Vitamin D deficiency is more evident in women in this part of the world as they spend most of their time indoors and whenever they venture out they are covered from head to toe by their traditional dress.
Regular screening
Osteoporosis is a silent disease. Majority of the people come to know they have Osteoporosis only after they break a bone or two. That is why Dr Mofti insists on regular check ups for postmenopausal women for Osteoporosis. Women deemed to be at a higher risk should be screened for it every one or two years while women with lowered risk should be screened once in five years.
Currently, the most accurate method available to diagnose Osteoporosis is the DEXA test that measures the bone mineral density. It uses a measuring unit called T-score which compares the bone density of an individual with that of an average young adult of the same sex. The T-score can tell the extent of risk you are at for developing Osteoporosis.
If the T-score turns out to be -2.5 or higher, the person can be considered to have Osteoporosis. Further evaluation is recommended to find out whether the patient has primary or secondary Osteoporosis.
“Many people are still very reluctant to take a test for Osteoporosis. It might be due to their ignorance about the impact of Osteoporosis. That’s where the media has a significant role to play. If people are made aware of the consequences of Osteoporosis the way they know about the ill-effects of cholesterol or blood pressure, it would be easy to tackle the problem,” says Dr Mofti.
And it is not as if you have to pay through the nose to conduct the test for Osteoporosis. It costs as much as a comprehensive test for Cholesterol, which would vary from Dhs 250 to Dhs 500.
Treatment
“Ideally, we need medicines that would rebuild bone as well as medicines that would reduce the bone loss. Medicines that would actually build up the bones are still understudy while we have several medicines which reduce bone wash out,” says Dr Mofti.
Hormone Replacement Therapy is also recommended as a preventive and therapeutic medicine for Osteoporosis though it requires longer period of treatment. Though it has its benefits it has its limitations in that it cannot be used in women who are predisposed towards deep vein thrombosis and breast cancer.
Exercise is also recommended before and after the diagnosis of Osteoporosis. Weight bearing exercises such as lifting weight, walking, etc which put pressure on the bones would do a lot of good as it stimulates the bone.
Eliminating the risk factors would also go a long way in controlling Osteoporosis. It is never too late to quit smoking, cut down alcohol consumption and increase Calcium and Vitamin D intake. All these would help but not as effectively as it would have if implemented before being diagnosed with Osteoporosis. Remember, prevention is the key element in tackling Osteoporosis.
Smoking mothers lead to fat children: study
Smoking mothers lead to fat children: study
TOKYO – Children whose mothers smoked even in early stages of pregnancy are at nearly three times greater risk of obesity later in life, according to a Japanese study.
While researchers do not know the exact correlation, it is possible that the children whose mothers smoked were deprived of nutrition in the womb, the study said.
The survey was done over a period of nearly two decades by a team led by Zentaro Yamagata, professor at Yamanashi University’s School of Medicine.
It covered some 1,400 women in Japan who gave birth between April 1991 and March 1997. The researchers then collected data on about 1,000 of their children when they entered fourth grade at age nine or 10.
The risk of obesity was 2.9 times higher among children whose mothers smoked when they were three months pregnant or in earlier stages of pregnancy compared with children of non-smoking mothers, the study showed.
The results “indicate smoking during pregnancy, even in the early stages, can affect the health of children over a long period of time,” Yamagata said.
Researchers can “speculate” that children who had been poorly fed in the womb would stock up on nutrition after they were born, he said.
“But we don’t know the truth. What is important here is to stop smoking,” he said.
The results of the study were announced at a meeting of public health experts in Japan last week and will be carried in a North American magazine to be published in December.
AFP
‘Smoking turns men bald’
‘Smoking turns men bald’
26 Nov 2007, 1154 hrs IST,ANI
WASHINGTON: Asian men should kick the butt if they don’t want their locks to fall off, for a new study has stated that smoking might be the cause of age-related hair loss among them.
According to doctors in Taipei, the risk for the condition is largely genetic, however some environmental factors may also play a role.
“Androgenetic Alopecia, a hereditary androgen-dependent disorder, is characterized by progressive thinning of the scalp hair defined by various patterns,” the authors wrote as background information in the article.
“It is the most common type of hair loss in men”, they added.
A survey was conducted among 740 Taiwanese men of age 40 to 91 (average age 65) in 2005, where at an in-person interview, information was gathered from the men regarding their smoking habits.
They were also asked about other risk factors for their hair loss and if they were suffering from Alopecia, and if so, at what age they began losing their hair.
Using clinical classifications, their degree of hair loss was assessed, height and weight were measured and blood samples were taken for analysis.
It was found that men increased their risk of hair loss with advancing age, but still had lower risk than the average white men.
“After controlling for age and family history, statistically significant positive associations were noted between moderate or severe Androgenetic Alopecia and smoking status, current cigarette smoking of 20 cigarettes or more per day and smoking intensity,” the authors wrote.
They noted that the relationship between the two could be caused by a number of means. Smoking may destroy hair follicles, damage the papilla that circulate blood and hormones to stimulate hair growth or increase production of the hormone estrogen, which may counter the effects of androgen.
“Patients with early-onset Androgenetic Alopecia should receive advice early to prevent more advanced progression,” the authors conclude.
ClicksandWrites 
You must be logged in to post a comment.