A new study suggests that air pollution can increase the risk of appendicitis. Researchers from the University of Calgary found that more cases of appendicitis were hospitalized on days when pollution levels were at peak.

The study has been presented to an American College of Gastroenterology conference and it seems to suggest that the general risk of tissue inflammation increases because of pollution.

A small pouch connected to the large intestine is known as the appendix. Though its role in the body is not clear, it is believed that it helps useful bacteria to aid digestion and fight infection. In Appendicitis, the appendix swells up and fills with pus.

In their study, the researchers identified almost 45,000 adults who were hospitalized between 1999 and 2006 for appendicitis.

According to a report published in PubMed journal, babies who born under caesarean section have a 20% higher risk of getting type 1diabetes than the babies born naturally.

Type1 diabetes can start in early childhood and it is on rise in many European countries because of some unknown factors.

The researchers from Queen’s University Belfast worked on 20 previous studies and suggested that contact with hospital bacteria instead of material bacteria in delivery may be the real culprit.

There are a variety of skin infections that occur in humans.  Skin infections can be of the transitory type such as pimples, impetigo and cellulites or be lethal such as pneumonia and meningitis.  Between 1997 and 2005, the number of visits to emergency rooms for treatment of skin infections rose form 8.6 million to over 14 million (Hersh, University of California, San Francisco).  Majority of this increase was of patients suffering from abscesses or cellulites.

Causes

The human skin is exposed to many bacteria.  However, since it is an effective barrier for the body, it does an admirable job keeping the bacteria out.  It is only when there are cuts in the skin can elements like bacteria enter the body and cause infections.

There are two major types of bacterium strains that cause skin infections.

The bacterium staphylococcus aureus is the common cause of many skin infections.  While over a quarter of the general population can be ‘staph carriers’, it doesn’t mean they require treatment.  Staphylococcus aureas can cause several skin infections including boils, cellulites or carbuncles.