CategoriesSupplements

Digestive Aid

Digestive Aid is our complex enzyme formula. Enzymes are the catalysts (assistants) that convert nutrients to usable substances. In fact, enzymes regulate nearly all biochemical reactions in the body! Without them, life would not exist. We know healthy foods and supplements are essential to our health, but they are of no use to the body if enzymes do not convert the nutrients into energy and other usable elements.

A healthy diet should include all of the enzymes a body requires, so why have we created an enzyme supplement? First of all, enzymes are only found in raw foods. As soon as a food is cooked, or even heated, enzymes are destroyed. In order for your diet to contain all of the enzymes required for essential health, at least 80% of your diet would have to consist of raw, fully ripe fruits and vegetables. The body has a back-up system when your diet is insufficient, the pancreas and liver will then produce enzymes. However, our organs were designed to be a back-up, not the primary enzyme producers. When you require this production from the organs, it causes many digestive issues over time, such as craving unhealthy foods, increasing free radical damage and aging which appear as wrinkles around the mouth and eyes.

Daily Digestive Aid Is A Must! Even if you feel perfectly healthy, our Digestive Aid supplement is an excellent investment to the future of your health. If you are one of the few whose diet consists 80% of raw fruits and vegetables, you still need enzymes because most fruits and vegetables are genetically altered with enzyme inhibitors. Enzymes help food decompose, so inhibiting them allows food's shelf life to last longer before rotting. This is beneficial for grocery sales, but detrimental for our health. In addition, chemical pesticides and fertilizers deactivate many of the enzymes. Most fruits and vegetables are picked before they are ripe so they will not spoil on the way to the store, but this means the enzymes never mature. Now you understand why investing in our Supplemental enzymes ensures your future health. Our ingredients are created 100% from nature and plants.

  • Digestive Aid is especially beneficial for those who are not eating daily portions of fresh, raw vegetables and fruits.
  • Nutrients can only be absorbed into the body by delivery from the enzyme system. When this absorption is slowed or stopped; fatigue, lethargy and inability to concentrate commonly occurs.
  • Enzymes fight the aging process by increasing blood supply to the skin, delivering healthy nutrients and carrying away waste products that would otherwise leave your skin looking dull and wrinkled.
  • Once your bowels are working regularly, your food is being digested and your nutrients utilized optimally, you have a successful combination for achieving your ideal weight.
  • The enzyme protease breaks down proteins. The invaders of our blood system are protein coated (fungal forms, parasites, and bacteria) so it makes sense that ingesting protease on an empty stomach helps purify the blood of protein invaders.
  • The body uses enzymes to break down cysts, growths and tumors that can become serious threats if left unattended.

Signs of enzyme weakness:

  • Crow's feet around the eyes, longitudinal lines on the fingernails, teeth imprints around the edge of the tongue, or lack of mental clarity.
  • If you do not have a noticeable dip in the center of your top lip, you have a history of enzyme (raw food) deficiency.

NOTE: This product is not available at this time because we are not able to source some of the ingredients. We do have a product called Enzyme Complex that is quite amazing and you may want to review.

CategoriesSupplements

Bowel Stimulant

Bowel Stimulant is our natural, herbal bowel regulator. In his years of practice Dr. DeHaan has found almost all people are constipated or irregular, which means the body is not getting rid of all the waste material. Constipation is the precursor to all bowel diseases and many of the intestinal symptoms people suffer with. Sadly, the medical field has disregarded the importance of “being regular.” Constipation needs to be taken much more seriously than it currently is. Have you ever thought of constipation as a serious illness? More than likely, no, yet it kills slowly and indirectly. It doesn’t get very much attention, but the statistics are quite compelling. Irritable Bowel Syndrome plagues 20%, or one in every five, people. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, with colorectal cancer being the third most diagnosed cancer! Doesn’t that sound like a serious condition?

Constipation should be defined as 'partial elimination', but how does one know if they need help eliminating? By the age of 50, the average person has 45 pounds of 'sludge' in the intestine! This is fecal material that has slowly accumulated and compacted in the colon for decades. The stomach (abdominal) area is often referred to as the universal complaint of 'fat storage', but maybe it is less fat than you think. Constipation is diagnosed as having a bowel movement fewer than three times per week. Stools are usually hard, dry, small in size, and difficult to eliminate. Some people find it painful to have a bowel movement and often experience straining, bloating, and the sensation of a full bowel. It isn't a question of IF you might be constipated, but how extreme your case is. The true fact is, you should have a bowel movement for every meal that you eat! Your dog has to be let out after every meal, it is a simple rule of nature. If you are not eliminating this often, you need to help your system along.

Constipation is caused by lack of fiber in the diet, lack of exercise or insufficient water intake. Additional causes of constipation are medications, pain pills, or genetic factors. This is probably far different than what you have been taught by the medical field, so you may want to read the full article. Stop abusing your body with commercial laxatives filled with chemicals and sugars, use this natural alternative. We produce the absolute BEST natural solution for constipation. All of our ingredients are herbs produced in nature and our formula works even for severe cases where everything else has failed. We produce a specific combination of herbs as the body needs a chemical reaction to occur and homeopathic-style remedies are unable to do that. Our Bowel Stimulant will keep the body's elimination channel open by: stimulating bile production and its ability to be released by the liver and gallbladder; and promoting peristalsis of the Intestine.

Informative Tidbit

Did you know that 95% of the food you eat should be processed and eliminated from the body? The 5% remaining is the nutrition the body extracts from the food as it passes through the intestine. Of course, in today's world, it is doubtful that 5% of what we eat is nutritious. Due to all the preservatives, colors, dyes and pesticides, it is doubtful that 5% of your diet is actually nutrition unless your diet consists primarily of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Suggested Use: Start by taking one Bowel Stimulant with your evening meal. Increase by one capsule each evening until the bowels are moving as often as 'healthy elimination' dictates, (found in article above) without causing diarrhea. Once regularity is established, keep taking that dosage each evening to maintain it. If your bowels become diarrhea like, reduce the amount of capsules you take or add IC-2. Do not use Bowel Stimulant if the bowels are already loose, your body will lose too many electrolytes.

DO NOT USE during pregnancy as some of the ingredients cause muscle contractions and since the uterus is a muscle, contractions can cause premature labor.

Does Bowel Stimulant cause cramps? Intestinal cramping can occur when you first start taking it because it stimulates the contraction of internal muscles that have become atrophied or sluggish. These cramps are no more harmful to the body than when you perform push-ups and feel sore the next day when you haven't been exercising in a while. As your internal muscles develop strength, you will no longer feel cramping. If you experience cramps, simply place a hot water bottle on your abdomen to relax the muscles.

Can Bowel Stimulant be used every day? The most important thing for your overall health is that you have regular bowel movements. Some people do need to use it every day in order to have regular, dependable bowel movements. The reasons for this may be dietary imbalances, digestive problems or hereditary intestinal issues. Although Bowel Stimulant is in no way harmful, Dr. DeHaan recommends taking IC-1 as a daily bowel enhancer because it is a fiber base rather than a stimulant. If IC-1 is not effective enough to ensure regular bowel movements, please do not hesitate to take Bowel Stimulant every day.

Read More on INGREDIENTS

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Vaccine Toxicity

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, it is a very controversial topic. One party might suggest that not vaccinating a child is the very definition of child abuse and irresponsible parenting.

The opposing party might argue that vaccines cause everything from ADHD, Autism and Death, while providing no real benefit, so the risk is no better than Russian roulette. What kind of parent would you have to be to play those kinds of odds? Anti vaxxers says vaccination programs fail to protect the population from infectious disease and they actually accelerate the spread of disease in many cases. Following are a few of the compelling reasons why such statements are made. I will leave the final research of the argument to you, this page and site are dedicated to the facts and natural solutions.

The pro-vaccine propaganda published by drug companies is simply a business plan because they profit greatly from vaccines. Vaccines are all about money. These same companies govern, control and teach the false information to the medical professionals, which is why your medical doctor is promoting vaccinations for you and your children. If you dig deep, you will find that not one single long term study has ever been done to prove any vaccine is safe. The studies that were done were run by the people that make the vaccines! Follow the money. Remember, your health and that of your children is your choice and responsibility so please choose carefully.

Many websites have cropped up over the last few years to counter the pro-vaccine propaganda put out by drug companies (who profit from vaccines) and health regulators (who serve the drug companies). One of those sites is www.VaccinationDebate.com, which lists the following historical facts about vaccines:

  • In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia, 17/3/1973, p. 555)
  • In 1871-2, England, with 98% of the population aged between 2 and 50 vaccinated against smallpox, it experienced its worst ever smallpox outbreak with 45,000 deaths. During the same period in Germany, with a vaccination rate of 96%, there were over 125,000 deaths from smallpox.
  • In Germany, compulsory mass vaccination against diphtheria commenced in 1940 and by 1945 diphtheria cases were up from 40,000 to 250,000. (Hannah Allen, Don't Get Stuck! The Case Against Vaccinations and Injections. American Natural Hygiene Society, 1985.)
  • In 1967, Ghana was declared measles free by the World Health Organisation after 96% of its population was vaccinated. In 1972, Ghana experienced one of its worst measles outbreaks with its highest ever mortality rate. (Dr H Albonico, MMR Vaccine Campaign in Switzerland, March 1990.)
  • In 1977, Dr Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine, testified along with other scientists, that mass inoculation against polio was the cause of most polio cases throughout the USA since 1961. (Science, 4/4/77, "Abstracts".)
  • In the UK between 1970 and 1990, over 200,000 cases of whooping cough occurred in fully vaccinated children. (Community Disease Surveillance Centre, UK.)
  • In the 1970's a tuberculosis vaccine trial in India involving 260,000 people revealed that more cases of TB occurred in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. (The Lancet, 12/1/80, p. 73.)
  • In 1978, a survey of 30 States in the US revealed that more than half of the children who contracted measles had been adequately vaccinated. (The People's Doctor, Dr. R. Mendelsohn.)
  • The February 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of obstetricians and 66% of pediatricians refused to take the rubella vaccine.
  • In 1979, Sweden abandoned the whooping cough vaccine due to its ineffectiveness. Out of 5,140 cases in 1978, it was found that 84% had been vaccinated three times! (BMJ, 283:696-697, 1981.)
  • In the USA, the cost of a single DPT shot had risen from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 in 1987. The manufacturers of the vaccine were putting aside $8 per shot to cover legal costs and damages they were paying out to parents of brain damaged children and children who died after vaccination. (The Vine, Issue 7, January 1994, Nambour, Qld.)
  • In Oman between 1988 and 1989, a polio outbreak occurred amongst thousands of fully vaccinated children. The region with the highest attack rate had the highest vaccine coverage. The region with the lowest attack rate had the lowest vaccine coverage. (The Lancet, 21/9/91.)
  • In 1990, a UK survey involving 598 doctors revealed that over 50% of them refused to have the Hepatitis B vaccine despite belonging to the high risk group urged to be vaccinated. (British Med Jnl, 27/1/1990.)
  • In the USA, from July 1990 to November 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration counted a total of 54,072 adverse reactions following vaccination. The FDA admitted that this number represented only 10% of the real total, because most doctors were refusing to report vaccine injuries. In other words, adverse reactions for this period exceeded half a million! (National Vaccine Information Centre, March 2, 1994.)
  • In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association had an article on measles which stated " Although more than 95% of school-aged children in the US are vaccinated against measles, large measles outbreaks continue to occur in schools and most cases in this setting occur among previously vaccinated children." (JAMA, 21/11/90.)
  • In the New England Journal of Medicine July 1994 issue a study found that over 80% of children under 5 years of age who had contracted whooping cough had been fully vaccinated.
  • On November 2nd, 2000, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced that its members voted at their 57th annual meeting in St Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no" vote.

Link to original article HERE

FUN FACT: Bill Gates, the greatest vaccine proponent for mass vaccination, refused to vaccinate his own children, according to doctor that attended his children. Vaccines are the quackery of modern medicine. Mass vaccination programs not only fail to protect the population from infectious disease, they actually accelerate the spread of disease in many cases. No well informed person would ever consider vaccinating a child they cared for. Make your LEGAL WAIVER FORM here: HERE

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EMF Toxicity

The term EMF is often used to represent Electro-Magnetic Field. Others use ELF, which stands for Extra Low Frequencies. In terms of the effects on the body, both of these terms essentially represent the area we wish to address and be of help with. Andrew Weil, M.D. says "Electromagnetic pollution (EMF) may be the most significant form of pollution human activity has produced in this century, all the more dangerous because it is invisible and insensible."

We live in an invisible sea of electromagnetic field radiation. Subtle energies constantly swirl in and around our bodies, whether or not we are aware of them. Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) used to be energy waves with frequencies below 300 hertz or cycles per second. The electromagnetic fields we encounter daily come from every day things such as power lines, radar and microwave towers, television and computer screens, motors, fluorescent lights, microwave ovens, cell phones, electric blankets, house wiring, and many other things. Technically, anything that is plugged in or runs on a battery is putting off a field that is destructive to the body. Worst of all are the things you simply can't live without: cell phones, bluetooth and wireless internet! Yes, these are all saturating your cells at all times. And we havn't even begun talking about 5G!

Scientists estimate that the average daily exposure to EMF radiation is 100 million times higher than it was in previous generations! More Here

If you do the research, you will find just about any symptom or condition as possibly caused by EMF. Dr. DeHaan does not feel that EMF is the single cause of any condition, but it does act as an extra irritant to the body. IF you take two people to an area with measurable EMF, one may feel the effects and one may not. Just like one person might eat gluten and feel fine but the other gets serious intestinal cramping. The gluten and the EMF are not the real causes, but they are triggers to some deeper issue that keeps that person's immune system from optimal function in the presence of those irritants. But know that if you are one of those that never feels ill effects from EMF, they are causing some damage on a cellular level, and that will eventually accumulate to an issue.  It is highly advised and certainly prudent to protect your body from the inescapable ELF.

There are many kinds and forms of "EMF Shields" on the market. They are called diodes and go by many other names. Dr. DeHaan has tested a great many of them.  Although companies report the very nice things you read about their products, he found that a great majority of products either stop being effective over a short time, meaning they do not offer the EMF protection as advertised, or worst, they become negative! Many of these devices simply become charged with all the negative energy they are supposed to be shielding you from. When this happens, the innocent user is actually getting harmed by wearing the device.

EMF toxicity is a real thing. The best thing to do is expose yourself the least amount possible. Here are a couple of suggestions.

  • Stay away from smart devices as much as you can, limit time with them.
  • Do not wear these devices on your body, like smart watches.
  • Use cables for your internet, plug devices in to the router rather than using Wifi.
  • Set a timer so your internet box shuts off during the times you are sleeping.

Scientific Data

CategoriesVirus

Yellow Fever

The yellow fever virus is transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes and is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South America and Africa, not in Asia. Since the 17th century, several major epidemics of the disease have been recorded in the Americas, Africa and Europe. In the 19th century, yellow fever was deemed one of the most dangerous infectious diseases.

Yellow fever begins after an incubation period of three to six days. Most cases only cause a mild infection with fever, headache, chills, back pain, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. In these cases, the infection lasts only three to four days. However, in fifteen percent of cases sufferers enter a second, toxic phase of the disease with recurring fever. This phase is accompanied by jaundice due to liver damage, as well as abdominal pain, bleeding in the mouth, the eyes and in the gastrointestinal tract that will cause vomitus containing blood (giving the name black vomit). The toxic phase is fatal in approximately 20% of cases, making the overall fatality rate for the disease 3% (15% * 20%).

Surviving the infection causes life-long immunity and normally there is no permanent organ damage. Due to the increased bleeding tendency (bleeding diathesis), yellow fever belongs to the group of hemorrhagic fevers. The WHO estimates that yellow fever causes 200,000 illnesses and 30,000 deaths every year, with nearly 90% of the infections occurring in Africa. Since the 1980s, the number of cases of yellow fever has been increasing, making it a reemerging disease.

WHO recommends routine vaccinations for people living in endemic areas between the 9th and 12th month after birth. In about 20% of all cases, mild and flu-like symptoms may develop. In rare cases (less than one in 200,000 to 300,000), the vaccination can cause YEL-AVD (yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease), which is fatal in 60% of all cases. But in some vaccination campaigns, a 20 fold higher reaction incidence rate has been reported. Age is an important risk factor. In children, the complication rate is less than one case per 10 million vaccinations. Another possible side effect is an infection of the nervous system that occurs in one in 200,000 to 300,000 of all cases. This causes YEL-AND (yellow fever vaccine-associated neurotropic disease), which can lead to meningoencephalitis and in less than 5% of all cases, is fatal.

CategoriesVirus

West Nile

West Nile virus is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic rabbits, crows, robins, crocodiles and alligators. The main route of human infection is through the bite of an infected mosquito.

The West Nile Virus produces one of three different outcomes in humans. The first is an asymptomatic infection (approximately 90% of West Nile Virus infections in humans are without any symptoms); the second is a mild febrile syndrome termed West Nile Fever; the third is a neuroinvasive disease termed West Nile meningitis or encephalitis.

The second infection known as the febrile stage has an incubation period of 2 to 8 days followed by fever, headache, chills, diaphoresis (excessive sweating), weakness, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), drowsiness, pain in the joints and symptoms like those of influenza or the flu. Occasionally there is a short-lived truncal rash and some people experience gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, or diarrhea. Symptoms are generally resolved within 7 to 10 days, although fatigue can persist for some weeks and lymphadenopathy can last up to two months.

The more dangerous infection, encephalitis, is characterized by similar early symptoms, but also a decreased level of consciousness, sometimes approaching near-coma. Deep tendon reflexes are hyperactive at first, later they are diminished. There are other more complicated extrapyramidal disorders such as akinesia (inability to initiate movement) and akathisia (inability to remain motionless) that can develop. Recovery is marked by a long convalescence with fatigue.

More recent outbreaks have resulted in a deeper study of the disease and additional rare outcomes have been identified. The spinal cord may become infected, marked by anterior myelitis with or without encephalitis. WNV-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome has been identified and other rare effects include: multifocal chorioretinitis (eye infection), hepatitis, myocarditis, nephritis, pancreatitis, and splenomegaly.

CategoriesVirus

Variola

The variola virus includes several strains, all of which cause various "pox" diseases with the most famous one being Smallpox. Variola caprina is the virus that causes goatpox, and Variola porcina is the virus that causes swinepox. Variola major and minor are the famously known viruses that caused the highly contagious, epidemic (now considered nearly extinct) of smallpox.

The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the "great pox" (syphilis). The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans per year during the closing years of the 18th century (including five reigning monarchs) and was responsible for a third of all blindness. Of all those infected, 20–60%—and over 80% of infected children—died from the disease. Smallpox was responsible for an estimated 300–500 million deaths during the 20th century. This disease was considered eradicated in 1979, with the last naturally occurring case of smallpox diagnosed on October 26, 1977. Most believe smallpox was cured because of the vaccination, but some of the studies indicate that the disease had begun its steady decline and became practically obsolete before the vaccine was created simply because of the natural adaptation of the human immune system.

There are two clinical forms of smallpox. Smallpox localizes in small blood vessels of the skin and in the mouth and throat. In the skin, this results in a characteristic maculopapular rash, and later, raised fluid-filled blisters. V. major produces a more serious disease and has an overall mortality rate of 30–35%. V. minor causes a milder form of disease (also known as alastrim, cottonpox, milkpox, whitepox, and Cuban itch) which kills about 1% of its victims. Long-term complications of V. major infection include: characteristic scars, commonly on the face (which occur in 65–85% of survivors), blindness resulting from corneal ulceration and scarring, and limb deformities due to arthritis and osteomyelitis are seen in about 2–5% of cases. In addition, a form called variola sine eruptions (smallpox without rash) is seen generally in vaccinated persons. This form is marked by a fever that occurs after the usual incubation period.

The incubation period between contraction and the first obvious symptoms of the disease is around 12 days. Once inhaled, variola major virus invades the oropharyngeal (mouth and throat) or the respiratory mucosa, migrates to regional lymph nodes, and begins to multiply. In the initial growth phase the virus seems to move from cell to cell, but around the 12th day, the virus is found in the bloodstream in large numbers. Now a second wave of multiplication occurs in the spleen, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. The initial, prodromal, or preeruptive stage symptoms are similar to other viral diseases such as influenza and the common cold: fever of at least 38.5 °C (101 °F), muscle pain, malaise, headache and prostration. Since the digestive tract is commonly involved, nausea and vomiting and backache often occur. The prodrome stage usually lasts 2–4 days. By days 12–15 the first visible lesions—small reddish spots called enanthem—appear on mucous membranes of the mouth, tongue, palate, and throat, and temperature falls to near normal. These lesions rapidly enlarge and rupture, releasing large amounts of virus into the saliva.

Smallpox virus preferentially attacks skin cells, causing the characteristic pimples (called macules) associated with the disease. A rash develops on the skin 24 to 48 hours after lesions on the mucous membranes appear. Typically the macules first appear on the forehead, then rapidly spread to the entire face, proximal portions of extremities, the trunk, and lastly to distal portions of extremities. The process takes no more than 24 to 36 hours, after which no new lesions appear. At this point variola major infection can take several very different courses, resulting in four types of smallpox disease based on the Rao classification: ordinary, modified, malignant (or flat), and hemorrhagic.

So why would we include a remedy for a disease that has been "eradicated"? First of all, smallpox still exists. There are not many natural cases reported, but some who have been vaccinated get a form called modified smallpox. The vaccine, which we believe is more toxic to the human body than is positive for prevention, exposes the person vaccinated to a contaminated form of the smallpox virus and can cause variola sine eruptions. This is an indication that the immune system sees this vaccine as toxic and the detox Remedy would be appropriate. In addition, this remedy serves as a detox for all Variola species, including those that affect swine and goats, diseases that still exist today. Lastly, if great economical loss were to bring any nation or culture through a kind of great depression, where civilization went through a kind of 'dark ages' again, we believe Smallpox could once again become an epidemic.

CategoriesVirus

Rubella

Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by the rubella virus. Rubella is a common childhood infection usually with minimal systemic upset although transient arthropathy (joint condition) may occur in adults who contract the virus. Serious complications are very rare, although infection of a pregnant woman by Rubella virus can be serious. If the mother is infected within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, the child may be born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which entails a range of serious illnesses. Spontaneous abortion occurs in up to 20% of cases. Apart from this scenario, rubella is a relatively trivial infection.

However, Rubella is extremely contagious. Rubella is transmitted via airborne droplet emission from the upper respiratory tract of active cases (can be passed along by the breath of people sick from Rubella). The virus may also be present in the urine, feces and on the skin. There is no carrier state, the reservoir exists entirely in active human cases. The disease has an incubation period of 2 to 3 weeks. During this incubation period, the patient is contagious typically for about one week before he develops a rash and for about one week after.

After an incubation period of 14–21 days, German measles causes symptoms that are similar to the flu. The primary symptom of rubella virus infection is the appearance of a rash (exanthem) on the face generally a pink or light red color, which spreads to the trunk and limbs and usually fades after three days (it is often referred to as three-day measles). The facial rash usually clears as it spreads to other parts of the body. Other symptoms include low grade fever, swollen glands (sub occipital & posterior cervical lymphadenopathy), joint pains, headache and conjunctivitis (eye infection). The swollen glands or lymph nodes can persist for up to a week and the fever rarely rises above 38 C (100.4 F).

Forchheimer's sign occurs in 20% of cases, and is characterized by small, red papules on the area of the soft palate (see photo).

CategoriesVirus

Rotavirus

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children, accounting for close to 50% of hospitalizations for that. It is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. Rotavirus A, the most common of the 5 known species, causes more than 90% of infections in humans. Worldwide nearly 500,000 children under five years of age still die from rotavirus infection each year and almost two million more become severely ill. In addition to its impact on human health, rotavirus also infects animals and is a pathogen of livestock.

Rotavirus is usually an easily managed disease of childhood. Rotavirus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, via contact with contaminated hands, surfaces and objects, and possibly by the respiratory route. The feces of an infected person can contain more than 10 trillion infectious particles per gram; fewer than 100 of these are required to transmit infection to another person. It infects and damages the cells that line the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is a mild to severe disease characterized by vomiting, watery diarrhea, and low-grade fever. Once a child is infected by the virus, there is an incubation period of about two days before symptoms appear. Symptoms often start with vomiting followed by four to eight days of profuse diarrhea. Dehydration is more common in rotavirus infection than in most viruses caused by bacterial pathogens, and is the most common cause of death related to rotavirus infection.

CategoriesVirus

Rhinovirus

Human rhinoviruses are the most common viral infective agents in humans and are the predominant cause of the common cold. There are two modes of transmission: aerosols of respiratory droplets and contaminated surfaces, including direct person-to-person contact.

Human rhinoviruses occur worldwide. Symptoms include sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing and cough. They may also be accompanied by muscle aches, fatigue, malaise, headache, muscle weakness, or loss of appetite. Fever and extreme exhaustion are more common in influenza. In the United States, the incidence of colds is higher in the autumn and winter, with most infections occurring from September to April. Many children may have six to twelve colds a year! The seasonality may be due to the start of the school year and to people spending more time indoors (thus in proximity with each other) which increases the chance of transmission of the virus.

The primary route of entry for Human rhinoviruses is the upper respiratory tract. Then the virus binds to ICAM-1 receptors on respiratory epithelial cells. As the virus replicates and spreads, infected cells release distress signals known as chemokines and cytokines (which in turn activate inflammatory mediators).

Infection occurs rapidly, with the virus adhering to surface receptors within 15 minutes of entering the respiratory tract. Just over 50% of individuals will experience symptoms within 2 days of infection. Only about 5% of cases will have an incubation period of less than 20 hours and 5% of cases can have an incubation period of greater than four and a half days.