Common-cold Sense

¡¡¡¡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 doesn't have anything to do with getting one. Colds are caused by the spread 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 spread 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 opportunity 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 spread by direct contact, not sneezing 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 thumbnails of a boy, although the viruses can survive for hours on skin or other smooth surfaces.

¡¡¡¡Hygiene is your best defense. Wash your hands frequently, preferably with a disinfectant soap, especially when children in your household have colds.

¡¡¡¡But even careful hygiene won't ward off every cold. So, what works when a coughing, sneezing, runny nose strikes?

¡¡¡¡The old prescription of two aspirins, 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 essay, you may have a cold because
¡¡¡¡A. it is caused by the cold winter weather.
¡¡¡¡B. the spread of rhinoviruses gets people infected.
¡¡¡¡C. because another person's coughing passes 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 aspirin 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 thumbnails 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 runny nose.
¡¡¡¡D. having a stomachache.

Drug Reactions¡ªA Major Cause of Death

¡¡¡¡Adverse drug reactions may cause the deaths of over 100, 000 US hospital patients each year, making them a leading cause of death nationwide, according to a report in the Journal of the America Medical Association.

¡¡¡¡¡°The incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactions£¨ADRs£©in US hospitals 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 hospitals 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 humans for prevention, diagnosis, or therapy. ¡±

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

¡¡¡¡And these incidence figures are probably conservative, 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 means spending 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 Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, believes that healthcare workers need to pay more attention to the problem, especially since many ADRs are easily preventable. ¡°When a patient develops and allergy or sensitivity, it is often not recorded,¡± Bates notes, ¡°and patients receive drugs to which they have known allergies or sensitivities with disturbing frequency.¡± He believes computerized surveillance systems¡ªstill works-in-progress at many of the nation's hospitals¡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 happening.

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

¡¡¡¡3. An American research estimates that the total sum of money spent 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 perhaps too low.
¡¡¡¡D. None of the above is true.

¡¡¡¡5. According to Dr. David Bates, hospitals in America
¡¡¡¡A. are not paying enough attention to possibilities of ADR happenings.
¡¡¡¡B. have never tried to use computers to prevent ADRs from happening.
¡¡¡¡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

¡¡¡¡Transient ischemic attacks£¨TIAS£©, or mini-strokes, result from temporary interruptions 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 message is quite clear,¡± says Dr. Robert Adams, professor of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia in August. ¡°TIAS£¬while less severe than strokes in the short term, are quite dangerous and need a quick diagnosis and treatment as well as appropriate follow-up to prevent future injury.¡±

¡¡¡¡Unfortunately, mini-strokes are greatly under diagnosed. A study conducted for the National Stroke Association 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 Americans 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 spot the symptoms of stroke, especially 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 passing. Nonetheless, there are signs you can look out for:

¡¡¡¡¬£*Numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
¡¡¡¡¬£*Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
¡¡¡¡¬£*Confusion and difficulty speaking or understanding.
¡¡¡¡¬£*Difficulty walking, dizziness or loss 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 pressure or diabetes can improve their odds¡ªand minimize complications if they do have a stroke¡ªby keeping their illness 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 remains unidentified.
¡¡¡¡B. They seldom cause permanent neurological damage.
¡¡¡¡C. They symptoms of them are often passing.
¡¡¡¡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 passage indicates that the symptoms of mini-strokes
¡¡¡¡A. are always easy to spot.
¡¡¡¡B. are frequently hard to recognize.
¡¡¡¡C. usually last a couple of days.
¡¡¡¡D. can by no means be avoided.

¡¡¡¡4. All of the following may be signs of mini-strokes EXCEPT for
¡¡¡¡A. trouble seeing in one eye.
¡¡¡¡B. numbness in the face.
¡¡¡¡C. loss of coordination.
¡¡¡¡D. severe headache caused by external injury.

¡¡¡¡5. It can be inferred from the passage 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.