Health News Update

Moist wound healing, the latest news on healing your skin

The latest health news on skin healing is moist wound healing.  You have a skin wound and whether it be a cut, abrasion, road rash, or simple skin breakdown, there are new ways to help the healing process along.  In the past, we stuck on a Bandaid, waited for a scab to form and when the scab cracked open, waited for the healing process to begin again.
New theories on wound healing, however,  promote healthy skin development by healing from the inside out, therefore reducing scar formation.

Moist wound healing is the newest process of healing skin wounds.  Why don’t you try the bench mark wound therapy used in hospitals today?  This process is known as moist wound healing. How do you do it?  The following is a step-by-step process of how you can use this new technique:  First, make sure you don’t have a complicated wound that may be infected or is deeper than a simple burn or a bed sore etc.   If so, or you are unsure, seek appropriate medical care and advice from you doctor or emergency department.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

2. Make a solution of saline (0.9% sodium chloride)  Or purchase sterile saline solution from a pharmacy. It must be a sterile solution.  Check out web recipes from a reputable source such as your local health unit or community care access site.

3. Bathe the wound in the sterile saline solution.  Make sure it is room temperature.  It should not sting.  This sterile saline solution reduces inflammation, purges the wound of debris and/or any bacteria.
Let it air dry for a few minutes.

4. Apply Tegaderm, a product made by 3M.  It is a breathable yet occlusive dressing.  There are demonstrations on various websites including YouTube on how to apply.  I’ve added the Youtube video here for you to see how it’s done.

5. Allow dressing to stay in place as long as it adheres to the skin unless there is yellowish drainage or obvious infection indicated by such symptoms as yellow drainage or redness.

6. Repeat daily or even twice daily if necessary.

7. Above all, seek physician care if the healing is not going well, or you any questions or worries whatsoever.

The principals behind moist wound healing are:  Moist healing promotes healing of the skin from within, from the dermis to the epidermis layers.  Don’t put anything on a wound that you wouldn’t put in your eye !!!  That means no rubbing alcohol, or soap!!!

Watch the process of moist wound healing in the following video:

Cancer Health News

In the most recent health news:  Cancer drug tests in the U.K. were recently stopped early because of the impressive success of tests for a new prostate cancer drug.  This drug trial was stopped because the drug was so successful at targeting cancer tumours that it was deemed unfair not to offer all the 922 people involved in the drug testing the use of this new cancer drug.  This is exciting health news for suffers of prostate cancer (and potentially other cancers) which an estimated 913,000 men worldwide are diagnosed with each year.  This cancer drug is called an alpha radiation drug which targets the tumors, relieves pain, and patients are found to be living longer.  Scientists are excited with this health news.  This health news first appeared on the BBC news site.

Alpha radiation treats prostate cancers

A trial of a new cancer drug, which accurately targets tumours, has been so successful it has been stopped early.

Doctors at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital gave prostate cancer patients a powerful alpha radiation drug and found that they lived longer, and experienced less pain and side effects.

The medics then stopped the trial of 922 people, saying it was unethical not to offer all of them the treatment.
Lead researcher Dr Chris Parker said it was “a significant step forward”.
Cancer Research UK said it was a very important and promising discovery.
Radiation has been used to treat tumours for more than a century. It damages the genetic code inside cancerous cells.
Alpha particles are the big, bulky, bruisers of the radiation world. It is a barrage of helium nuclei, which are far bigger than beta radiation, a stream of electrons, or gamma waves.  Dr Parker said: “It’s more damaging. It takes one, two, three hits to kill a cancer cell compared with thousands of hits for beta particles.”
Alpha particles also do less damage to surrounding tissue.

He added: “They have such a tiny range, a few millionths of a metre. So we can be sure that the damage is being done where it should be.”
In 90% of patients with advanced prostate cancer, the tumour will have spread to the bone. At this stage there are no treatments which affect survival.
The study looked at patients with these secondary cancers, as the source of radiation – radium-223 chloride – acts like calcium and sticks to bone.
Half were given the radium-223 chloride drug alongside traditional chemotherapy, while the other patients received chemotherapy and a dummy pill.

The death rate was 30% lower in the group taking radium-223. Those patients survived for 14 months on average compared to 11 months in the dummy group.

The trial was abandoned as “it would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo”, said Dr Parker.  “I think it will be a significant step forward for cancer patients”.

Researchers also said the treatment was safe. Curiously there were fewer side-effects in the group taking the treatment than those taking the dummy medicine.

The findings are being presented at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress but they have not yet been peer-reviewed by other academics.
Prof Gillies McKenna, Cancer Research UK’s radiotherapy expert and director of the Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, said: “This appears to be an important study using a highly targeted form of radiation to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bones.

“This research looks very promising and could be an important addition to approaches available to treat secondary tumours – and should be investigated further.”

Male breast cancer linked to Finasteride

The latest health news for men is reporting that Finasteride a brand name medication known as Propecia for treating baldness in men has been shown to cause breast cancer. Other health news reports that the drug named Proscar which is used to treat enlarged prostate is also reported as causing breast cancer in men. Although it is not known definitely is finasteride actually causes male breast cancer, patients are being warned to report any symptoms such as nipple discharge, soreness or lumps to their doctors immediately. The following health news comes from Health Canada.

Health Canada says labels are being changed on finasteride drugs to add safety information on rare reports of breast cancer in men.

Finasteride is a prescription drug sold under the brand name Propecia, used for the treatment of male pattern hair loss, and the brand name Proscar, for treating a non-cancerous enlarged prostate.

A Health Canada statement issued Thursday says male breast cancer has been reported in a small number of patients around the world using both the one-milligram and five-milligram formulations of the drug.

It says most reports have been associated with the five-milligram dosage.

However, the agency says based on available evidence, it’s not known for sure that finasteride can cause breast cancer — only that the possibility can’t be ruled out.

It says patients taking finasteride should report any changes in their breasts to their doctor.
Changes might include breast enlargement, lumps, tenderness, pain or nipple discharge.