Creative Thinking

If you have not already discovered it, check out www.TED.com for wonderful, short, lectures on all matters of Technology, Entertainment and Design. Each day a new talk is published. I've learned a lot about new inventions in medicine, computers, engineering, and more. As well as theories about education, problem solving, and creative thinking.

Here's a good starting point, http://www.ted.com/talks/bart_knols_cheese_dogs_and_pills_to_end_malaria.html

Bart Knols describes his creative ideas in battling the Malaria mosquito. For example
1. His team investigated what part of the body the malaria mosquito was attracted to, the answer was feet.  What do feet smell like?  Stinky cheese. They tested that and discovered that Limburger cheese was an excellent bait for mosquito traps.

2. The best time to stop mosquitoes is as larva before they hatch. But how do you find mosquito breeding pools?  With trained dogs to sniff them out.

3. Turning the tables: Bart demonstrates a pill that makes human blood poisonous to mosquitoes. If they bite, they die and will never lay eggs.

Dengue Fever

"A danger foreseen is half avoided." - Chinese fortune cookie

It’s sad in our modern age of medicine to see many old diseases returning like whooping cough, measles, TB, etc. Part of the fault is overconfidence, we think the disease is gone and stop taking the shots that protect us. Then one sick person visits from overseas and sets off an epidemic.

Another cause for diseases spreading is a change in habitat or habitat invasion. When a new housing development is built next to a marsh, expect mosquitoes. Global warming is also causing animals and insects to move into new locations. For example, the Florida Keys is experiencing a wave of Dengue fever – huh, what? Isn’t that something out of old jungle stories?

Dengue (pronounced den’ gee) is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes for which there is no immunization and no cure. It affects 100 million people each year – usually in the tropics. An extreme case of Dengue, called Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), can be fatal but with hospitalization the survival rate is 99%.

The principal symptoms of dengue are high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash, and mild bleeding (nose or gums bleed, easy bruising). Generally, younger children and those with their first dengue infection have a milder illness than older children and adults.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) produces a fever that lasts from 2 to 7 days, with symptoms consistent with dengue fever. When the fever declines new symptoms including persistent vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing, may develop. This marks the beginning of a 24- to 48-hour period when the smallest blood vessels (the capillaries) become “leaky” allowing the blood plasma to escape into the body. This can lead to shock and death, if circulatory failure is not corrected.

Treatment

For normal dengue fever the “treatment” is pain relievers with acetaminophen like Tylenol. Do NOT use aspirin – you don’t want to thin the blood any further. Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and consult a physician.

If you feel worse (e.g., develop vomiting, severe abdominal pain, bleeding) in the first 24 hours after the fever declines, go immediately to a hospital for evaluation. You may need a plasma drip to keep you alive during the high risk period of DHF.

Bottom Line

Everything old is new again. Each of us needs to brush up on the symptoms and treatment of “lost” diseases that used to plague our grandparents.

Mosquitoes!

“The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey” - Andy Warhol

Mosquitoes can ruin an outdoor adventure. Many years ago I drove across country (via Canada) to my summer internship in New York with IBM. I had time to kill (the job start was delayed by one week due to paperwork) and so I had fun sightseeing. While in Edmonton, Alberta, I learned about Tar Sands and drove further north to see them. Then it dawned on me that it was June 20th, the longest day of the year and I was further north than I had ever been in my life. So I resolved to drive as near to the Arctic Circle as possible, find a campground and watch the sun not set. It was fun watching the sun move sideways near the horizon after midnight. What was not fun were the large mosquitoes! I figure the mosquitoes up north don’t have a long “warm” season to live so they are very aggressive and very hungry in the little time they have! I quickly abandoned the notion of pitching a tent and slept in my car after rolling up the windows and killing the several dozen mosquitoes that had followed me back inside!

Mosquitoes are everywhere and the traditional way to repel them is with a DEET based lotion or spray. So far as I can tell, fear over DEET is overblown. The Business Management site BNet.com, in “Is DEET safe for children”, does a nice job listing the studies that show DEET is safe. The website for Colorado Mosquito Prevention looks a lot like an advertisement promoting DEET but claims to be the product of an official state Tri-County Health Department.

However if you are DEET adverse or during an emergency, don’t have any bug spray on hand, it is possible to make your own Natural Insect Repellent Recipe as described on About.com. Many “natural” ingredients can repel bugs: citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, cedar oil, peppermint oil, clove oil, geranium oil, and possibly oils from verbena, pennyroyal, lavender, pine, cinnamon, basil, thyme, allspice, soybean, and garlic. But be careful – in high doses even natural oils can cause rashes or burns.

The About.com science writer, Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D, recommends combining different oils to create an all-purpose bug repellent. “A good rule of thumb is to mix the repellent so it's 5-10% essential oil, so mix 1 part essential oil with 10-20 parts carrier oil or alcohol. “ For small batches mix:

• 10-25 drops (total) of essential (herbal) oils
• 2 tablespoons of a carrier oil or alcohol

Here are some essential oils to try:

• cinnamon oil (mosquitoes)
• lemon eucalyptus or regular eucalyptus oil (mosquitoes, ticks, and lice)
• citronella oil (mosquitoes and biting flies)
• castor oil (mosquitoes)
• orange oil (fleas)
• rose geranium (ticks and lice)

Mix these with one of the following base oils (for a lotion) or alcohol (for a spray):

• olive oil
• sunflower oil
• any other cooking oil
• witch hazel
• vodka

Bottom Line
“Rub or spray the natural insect repellent onto skin or clothing, using care to avoid the sensitive eye area. You'll need to re-apply the natural product after about an hour or after swimming or exercise. Unused natural insect repellent may be stored in a dark bottle, away from heat or sunlight. If you wish, you may combine the oil with aloe vera gel to change the consistency of the product.” [About.com]