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Common-cold Se e

You can't beat it, but you don't have to join it.  Maybe it got the name ¡°common cold¡±  because it's more common in winter. The fact is, though, being cold doe 't have anything to do with getting one. Colds are caused by the  read of rhinoviruses, and, at least so far, medical science is better at telling you how to avoid getting one than how to get rid of one.

Children are the most common way cold viruses are  read to adults, because they have more colds than adults¡ªan average of about eight per year. Why do kids seem so much more easily to get colds than their parents? Simple. They haven't had the o ortunity to become immune to many cold viruses.

There are more than 150 different cold viruses, and you never have the same one twice. Being infected by one makes you immune to it¡ªbut only it.

Colds are usually  read by direct contact, not  eezing or coughing. From another person's hand to your hand and then to your nose or eyes is the most common route. The highest concentration of cold viruses anywhere is found under the thum ails of a boy, although the viruses can survive for hours on skin or other smooth surfaces.

Hygiene is your best defe e. Wash your hands frequently, preferably with a disinfectant soap, e ecially when children in your household have colds.

But even careful hygiene won't ward off every cold. So, what works when a coughing,  eezing, ru y nose strikes?

The old prescription of two a iri , lots of water, and bed rest is a good place to start. But you'll also find some of the folk remedies worth trying. Hot mixtures of sugar£¨or honey£©, lemon, and water have real benefits.

1. According to the e ay, you may have a cold because
A. it is caused by the cold winter weather.
B. the  read of rhinoviruses gets people infected.
C. because another person's coughing pa es the cold to you.
D. because you wash your hands too often.

2. The best way to keep yourself from getting colds is
A. to keep yourself clean.
B. to use a disinfectant soap.
C. to take two a irin pills every day.
D. to drink lots of water.

3. Children have more colds because
A. they are usually infected about eight times each year.
B. they are not immune to many cold viruses.
C. they never wash their hands so that their thum ails are dirty.
D. they don't like eating lemon.

4. When you are having a cold,
A. it is always the same kind of cold that you had last time.
B. it may be the same kind of cold that you had last time.
C. it is certainly not the same kind of cold that you had last time.
D. it is probably not the same kind of cold that you had last time.

5. When one is having a cold, he often has some symptoms EXCEPT
A. coughing.
B. having a sore throat.
C. having a ru y nose.
D. having a stomachache.

Drug Reactio ¡ªA Major Cause of Death

Adverse drug reactio  may cause the deaths of over 100, 000 US ho ital patients each year, making them a leading cause of death nationwide, according to a report in the Journal of the America Medical A ociation.

¡°The incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactio £¨ADRs£©in US ho itals was found to be extremely high,¡± say researchers at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

They carried on an analysis of 39 ADR-related studies at US ho itals over the past 30 years and defined an ADR as ¡°any harmful, unintended, and undesired effect of a drug which occurs at doses used in huma  for prevention, diagnosis, or therapy. ¡±

An average 6.7% of all ho italized patients experience an ADR every year, according to the researchers. They estimate that ¡°in 1994, overall 2, 216, 000 ho italized patients had serious ADRs, and 106, 000 had fatal ADRs.¡± This mea  that ADRs may rank as the fourth single largest cause of death in America.

And these incidence figures are probably co ervative, the researchers add, since their ADR, definition did not include outcomes linked to problems in drug administration, overdoses, drug abuse, and therapeutic failures.

The control of ADRs also mea   ending more money. One US study estimated the overall cost of treating ADRs at up to $4 billion per year.

Dr. David Bates of Brigham and Women's Ho ital in Boston, Ma achusetts, believes that healthcare workers need to pay more attention to the problem, e ecially since many ADRs are easily preventable. ¡°When a patient develo  and allergy or se itivity, it is often not recorded,¡± Bates notes, ¡°and patients receive drugs to which they have known allergies or se itivities with disturbing frequency.¡± He believes computerized surveillance systems¡ªstill works-in-progre  at many of the nation's ho itals¡ªshould help cut down the frequency of these types of errors.

1. Researchers at the University of Toronto believe that
A. ADRs have caused medical problems, though they seldom lead to death.
B. ADRs have very often caused patients to die in Canada.
C. ADRs have caused many deaths in America over the past 30 years.
D. it is easy to prevent ADRs from ha ening.

2. The investigators say that
A. 67 patients out of 100 in every America ho ital die from ADRs each year.
B. 67 patients out of 100 in every American ho ital experience an ADR each year.
C. 6. 7% of all ho italized patients in American experience ADRs each year on average.
D. 6. 7% of all ho italized patients in Canada experience ADRs each year on average.

3. An American research estimates that the total sum of money  ent in treating ADRs each year is as much as
A. $ 40, 000, 000, 000.
B. $ 4, 000, 000, 000.
C. $ 400, 000, 000.
D. $ 40, 000, 000.

4. The Canadian investigators think that
A. the ADR incidence figures from their research are surely very exact.
B. the ADR incidence figures from their research are probably too high.
C. the ADR incidence figures from their research are perha  too low.
D. None of the above is true.

5. According to Dr. David Bates, ho itals in America
A. are not paying enough attention to po ibilities of ADR ha enings.
B. have never tried to use computers to prevent ADRs from ha ening.
C. do not use those drugs which will cause side effects to their patients.
D. know that many ADRs are easily preventable.

Silent and Deadly

Tra ient ischemic attacks£¨TIAS£©, or mini-strokes, result from temporary interruptio  of blood flow to the brain.  Unlike full strokes, they present symptoms lasting anywhere from a few seconds to 24 hours.  Rarely do they cause permanent neurological damage, but they are often precursors of a major stroke.

¡°Our me age is quite clear,¡± says Dr. Robert Adams, profe or of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia in August. ¡°TIAS£¬while le  severe than strokes in the short term, are quite dangerous and need a quick diagnosis and treatment as well as a ropriate follow-up to prevent future injury.¡±

Unfortunately, mini-strokes are greatly under diagnosed. A study conducted for the National Stroke A ociation indicates that 2.5% of all adults aged 18 or older£¨about 4.9 million people in the U. S. £©have experienced a confirmed TI A. An additional 1.2 million America  over the age of 45, the study showed, have most likely suffered a mini-stroke without realizing it. These findings suggest that if the public knew how to  ot the symptoms of stroke, e ecially mini-strokes, and sought prompt medical treatment, thousands of lives could be saved and major disability could be avoided.

The problem is that the symptoms of a mini-stroke are often subtle and pa ing. Nonethele , there are sig  you can look out for:

¬£*Num e  or weakne  in the face, arm or leg, e ecially on one side of the body.
£*Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
¬£*Confusion and difficulty  eaking or understanding.
¬£*Difficulty walking, dizzine  or lo  of coordination.
£*Severe headache with no known cause.

Along with these symptoms, researchers have identified some key indicators that increase your chances of having a full-blown stroke after a TIA: if you're over 60, have experienced symptoms lasting longer than 10 minutes, feel weak and have a history of diabetes.

As with many diseases, you can help yourself by changing your lifestyle. The first things you should do are quit smoking, limit your intake of alcohol to no more than a drink or two a day and increase your physical activity. Even those who suffer from high blood pre ure or diabetes can improve their odds¡ªand minimize complicatio  if they do have a stroke¡ªby keeping their illne  under control.

If you experience any of the symptoms, your first call should be to your doctor. It could be the call that saves your life.

1. Which of the following is NOT true of mini-strokes?
A. The cause of them remai  unidentified.
B. They seldom cause permanent neurological damage.
C. They symptoms of them are often pa ing.
D. They are not unrelated to major strokes.

2. To prevent mini-strokes from turning into major strokes, it is important to
A. save thousands of lives.
B. avoid major disability.
C. seek prompt medical treatment.
D. prevent future injury.

3. The pa age indicates that the symptoms of mini-strokes
A. are always easy to  ot.
B. are frequently hard to recognize.
C. usually last a couple of days.
D. can by no mea  be avoided.

4. All of the following may be sig  of mini-strokes EXCEPT for
A. trouble seeing in one eye.
B. num e  in the face.
C. lo  of coordination.
D. severe headache caused by external injury.

5. It can be inferred from the pa age that mini-strokes are
A. more dangerous than major strokes.
B. silent and deadly.
C. difficult to cure.
D. sure to lead to major strokes.

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