Dementia doesn’t only rob people of their memories and other cognitive abilities, but also causes other conditions marked by a number of symptoms, especially during its early stages. Making things worse, these symptoms are not easy to recognize. From failing to recognize irony to losing one’s balance, many early symptoms of dementia seem normal at first and so are often missed.

How will you know if you or someone you know are already showing signs of dementia? Here are some early signs you should be aware of.

1. Unusual Food Cravings

Big changes in the kinds of foods you crave, especially when it’s leaning towards sweets, could be an early sign of dementia. Some Japanese researchers said that disease-related changed in the part of the brain that controls your appetite and taste buds explain the sudden change of cravings.

2. A Tendency to Hoard

Hoarding and other compulsive habits are linked to dementia, according to one research. Buying a newspaper everyday and storing it but never actually reading it is a common example of compulsive behaviour related to the onset of dementia.

3. Missing Sarcasm

Sarcasm is part of our culture. It’s a “nice” way to be critical, and so we use it all the time even among friends. However, research suggests that people with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia can hardly pick up on sarcasm and almost couldn’t tell if someone is lying. It is because the disease messes up the part of the brain that interprets and spots higher-order of verbal information.

4. Changes in Personality

A frequent change of mood is a sign of dementia that is often overlooked as it can also be a sign of less serious condition like pre-menstrual syndrome in women. However, when it’s accompanied by a shift in personality, it would be best to check for other dementia symptoms. An example of a personality change is a sudden change from being shy to outgoing. The reason behind this is that dementia can affect a person’s judgment.

5. Failing Sense of Direction

Sense of direction and spatial orientation are among the first things that deteriorate with the onset of dementia. This could mean failing to recognize landmarks and forgetting regularly used routes. You may also find it challenging to follow directions and step-by-step instructions.

6. Confusion

People in the early stages of dementia are often confused. This is unavoidable: when thinking, judgment and memory fails, confusion arises. Confusion can happen in different situations. For instance, misplacing one’s car keys, forgetting what it was you meant to do, and difficulty remembering someone they have met before.

Although dementia is more common in people over 65 years old, it can also affect younger individuals as young as 30 years old. With early diagnosis and treatment, you can maintain optimum mental function for longer and slow down progress of the condition.

 

You dread the day when antibiotics do not work anymore. This is a frightening thought because you depend on antibiotics from ear infections to life-threatening infections. Many Singaporeans consider antibiotics especially if it is prescribed by doctors and knowing that you can possibly form a resistance to it is a horrible experience. The threat is very real and therefore should be addressed.

It is high time that you learn about antibiotic resistance. Here are the things that you need to know about it:

What’s an antibiotic?

Before anything else, you have to know that bacteria are around us. These are single-celled organisms. Some bacteria are not harmful like the ones found in your intestines. However, there are many disease-causing bacteria that can lead to diseases or illnesses.

Antibiotics (also called antimicrobial drugs) have the power to battle infections instigated by bacteria found in animals and humans. Antibiotics either kill the bacteria or make it difficult for them to propagate and grow. You have to know though that antibiotics cannot kill viruses like colds, sore throats, sinusitis and flu.

What’s antibiotic resistance?

From the word itself, it is the ability of the bacteria to resist or repel the effects of antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance happens when a particular bacteria change in a way that it diminishes the efficacy of agents developed to prevent if not cure the infections. If this happens, the bacteria will be able to survive thereby continuing to propagate wrecking more harm.

Why should you be concerned?

Antibiotic resistance is not a simple problem. In fact, it is considered the world’s most persistent health concern that needs to be addressed. Instead of doing good, it will cause more harm because the once easily treatable infection will not be healed and thereby becomes harmful infections. The fact that it can prolong the agony of children and adults should be your concern. It can spread to the family and even co-workers. If you have this, it will be difficult and expensive to treat it.

What are the reasons of the resistance?

This is the critical thing that you should know so you can keep away from it. The reasons for the resistance include misusing and overusing antibiotics. You have to keep this in mind so you can prevent the spreading of the resistance.

What can you do to prevent such resistance?

It was mentioned earlier that the reasons for the resistance are misuse and overuse of antibiotics. The key here is to use the antibiotics smartly as you can control its spread.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a test that determines whether or not a person is infected with HIV, a virus that weakens the immune system and eventually develops into AIDS. Some HIV screening tests check the antibodies produced by your immune system in reaction with an HIV infection, while other tests look for traces of the virus itself. Rapid tests usually produce results in 20 minutes.

Why It’s Done

HIV testing is crucial for slowing the spread of HIV infection. Most people are unaware that they’re infected with the virus, so they’re less likely to take precautions in preventing the spread of HIV to others. Early diagnosis of the disease often results in earlier treatment with drugs to delay its progression to AIDS.

Health experts recommend individuals aging 13 to 64 years old be tested for HIV. Screening tests can be done through the community HIV testing centres in your area in Singapore or during your visit with your healthcare provider. Getting tested is especially important for pregnant women as they can pass down the virus to their babies during pregnancy or through breast-feeding. Taking medications to combat HIV during pregnancy or delivery also reduces your chances of transmitting the disease to your baby.

How Often Should the Test be Done

Specialists suggest taking at least one anonymous hiv test in Singapore for individuals aging 13 to 64 years old, particularly those who are sexually active and have multiple sex partners. Yearly testing is also recommended if you’re at a high risk of developing the infection. Consider undergoing the test yearly and before having sex with a new partner if you:

• Have had unprotected intercourse with more than one partner
• Have been diagnosed with an STD like syphilis or hepatitis
• Use intravenous drugs like hormones, silicone or steroids
• Have had unprotected sex with a person who falls into any of the aforementioned categories

Also consider getting an HIV screening if you’ve been sexually assaulted, or is planning to get pregnant.

How to Prepare for HIV Testing
No special preparations are needed for taking an HIV test. You may just need to schedule an appointment with your doctor, or simply walk in for an HIV testing in some public health clinics in Singapore.

Screening Options to Test HIV

HIV is often diagnosed by testing your blood or the cell samples taken from inside your cheek. Urine samples may also be used to test for HIV antibodies, but its results tend to be less accurate. Today, newer types of test already check for HIV antigen to quickly confirm a diagnosis soon after getting infected. Here are some of the following test you can undergo to help you take extra precautions and to prevent transmission of the disease to other people.

1. Rapid HIV Testing
Some rapid testing offer highly accurate information within 20 minutes. These tests look for HIV antibodies in your system using your blood samples, or fluids collected from your lower and upper gums. Getting a positive reaction on this test will require you to take a confirming blood test.

2. Home HIV Testing
Performing a home HIV testing involves two options: mailing your blood sample to a testing centre and just calling in for the results, or collecting oral fluid samples and using a kit to test it yourself in your home. Both methods are ideal if you’re prefer having an anonymous HIV test, as it ensures your anonymity and offers confidential referral to follow-up testing sites in case you get a positive test result.

3. Early Detection HIV Testing
Some tests are able to detect HIV earlier, before the antibodies become detectable in a standard HIV screening testing. These tests evaluate your blood for any genetic material from the HIV virus, or for proteins that develop within the first few weeks of acquiring the infection.

Unlike the standard HIV testing, early detection tests may cost more and may not be widely available yet. Also, even if you’ve undergone this test, you’ll still need to take the standard antibody testing later on to confirm test results and avoid occurrence of false-positive and false-negative results.

4. Other Tests to Tailor Treatment
If you received an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, undergoing certain types of test will help your doctor in determining the stage of disease you have. Some of these tests include:

• CD4 Count. This test is used to monitor your CD4 cells. These cells are a type of white blood cell that are specifically destroyed and targeted by HIV. Even if there are no symptoms, the infection will progress to AIDS when your CD4 counts decreases below 200.
• Viral Load. Similar with the standard HIV screening test, Viral Load test measures the amount of virus present in your blood. Some research have shown that individuals with higher viral loads fare poorly compared to those with lower viral loads.
• Drug Resistance. Unlike the first two tests, drug resistance test works by determining whether or not the type of HIV you acquired will be resistant to certain anti-HIV medications.

HIV Testing Results

1. Negative HIV Test Result
A negative HIV testing result may mean two things: Either you’re clear from HIV, or it’s too soon to tell. It’s possible to get a negative result if you were only recently exposed to the virus, since your body hasn’t had time to produce the antibodies yet. That’s why health experts recommend getting retested for the virus after several months, or undergoing one of the early detection tests.

2. Positive HIV Test Result
While there’s still no cure for HIV/AIDS, treatment has come a long way in offering improved and extended quality of life. If the disease is well-treated, infected people will still have a chance to experience a near-normal life expectancy. Undergoing early treatment for the disease will help in keeping you healthy and delaying the onset of AIDS. If you ever test positive, do inform your partner so they get evaluated and treated as well.

Undergoing an HIV test is one of the best ways to protect yourself from the disease. Fully understanding how the test works won’t only keep you from acquiring HIV, but also from spreading it to the people around you.

After confirming a breast cancer diagnosis, it could get difficult to focus on what to do next. You are understandably scared and confused, most likely because you’re not prepared—no one is—to discuss about prognosis and medication for cancer.

According to the best oncologist in Singapore, here are 10 questions you should ask your doctor. The answers of your specialist will help better understand your case and treatment choices.

1. “What type of breast cancer I am diagnosed with?”

Doctors classify breast cancers in various ways. The most common way is to locate where the cancer cells originate, which will determine whether the disease will spread and the kind of treatment to perform.
Most breast cancers, however, start in the milk ducts. They are known as invasive ductal carcinomas, meaning that they have penetrated the milk duct’s wall and propagated into the breast’s fatty tissues. Once the cancer is there, it’s possible for the cells to further spread to other parts of the body.

Rarer types of breast cancer diagnosed by an oncologist from Singapore may involve the breast’s connective tissues, the nipple, or the linings of the lymph or blood vessels. Some are also non-invasive, meaning they have not spread. They are contained within the milk ducts and are called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

2. “Has the cancer spread to my lymph nodes?”

Whether your cancer has infected your lymph nodes—or elsewhere in your body that are part of the immune system—is among the important predictors of the severity of the disease. Once the lymph nodes are involved, it changes the treatment plan—more aggressive approaches, like chemotherapy, are considered.

3. “How big is the tumour?”

The size of the tumour is another vital indicator that will help determine your treatment plan. Your Singapore oncologist uses the size of the tumour to identify the ‘Stage’ and further categorize your cancer. The size will be estimated through physical examination, ultrasound, mammogram, or MRI of the breast. The accurate size of the tumour won’t be known until a pathologist has examined the tumour after it is surgically removed.

4. “What stage is my cancer?”

Staging of cancer is a way of classifying the severity of a patient’s case. You may have heard of Stages 0 to IV, which reflects the size of the tumour and the severity of the metastasis. The higher the stage, the bigger the tumour is. Your oncologist uses staging to create a treatment plan, gauge prognosis, and communicate with other Singapore oncology consultants.

5. “Do I need to undergo a surgery, and if so what kind?

The answer for this question varies from patient to patient, and may change over time as the tumour grows. Some cases cannot initially be removed through surgery. In other instances, whether or not to operate and the type of surgery depends on the stage of the disease, the location and size of the tumour, and the size of the breast. If your cancer is operable, your choices would be breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy. Within each of the two broad treatment categories lie more surgical options. Discuss with your Singapore oncologist, and if in doubt, you can certainly seek for second opinion.

6. “Do I need radiation?”

In general, Singapore oncologists recommend radiation therapy for breast cancer patients who undergo surgery for removal of cancer tumour (lumpectomy). For patients who undergo whole-breast removal, radiation therapy may be recommended for those who are at higher risk of re-growing cancer cells again—those with tumours larger than five centimetres and with over four cancer-affected lymph nodes.

7. “Do I need chemotherapy?”

Typically, this cancer treatment is a must for women with high-risk cases. Some factors that may indicate that you need chemotherapy are cancer-infected lymph nodes, higher-grade tumours, HER2-positive tumours, and breast cancer cases in patients below 40 years old. If you need chemo, it will be provided as an outpatient treatment every two to three weeks, delivered through a port of directly into your vein.

8. “Do I long-term medication?”

If you have ER/PR-positive tumour, meaning your tumour can detect estrogen and use it to fuel its growth, your oncologist will likely recommend to continue getting an anti-estrogen therapy for up to 10 years after cancer treatment. Anti-estrogen treatment is usually a once-daily pill. For women in premenopausal stage, tamoxifen is the commonly prescribed medication; postmenopausal women have more options.

9. “Should I undergo breast reconstruction?

The answer for this involves medical and personal considerations. Some patients prefer not have breast reconstruction, while others believe that it benefits their physical appearance and psychological recovery. As for when the right time is for breast reconstruction, this depends on the stage of your cancer. Women with early-stage cancer and have been treated can have immediate reconstruction. But for those with Stage III cancer, discuss with your oncologist the right timing for a reconstruction surgery.

10. “Should I consider clinical trials?”

Treatments for breast cancer have improved tremendously over the years, and the reason for that significant progress is because patients have been willing to try the newer treatment options. For any stage of cancer, a well-thought clinical trial could be the best option you have. If you’re willing to consider this option, your oncologist Singapore can answer the questions about clinical trials you may have in mind.

Any cancer is a critical threat to your health, but being diagnosed with one doesn’t mean it’s going to bring you to a terrible end. Get up and fight for a better health. With the right knowledge about your situation, it’s easier to look for ways on how to counteract this highly treatable disease.