LetLucia

                                                       Sorry for my silence. I had exams and then I went on Spring break and I had so much fun! Yaay! So, you remember during the Ebola season (or Flu seasons usually) how people wore facemasks around because they did not want to get infected? Well, the truth about those masks is that they protect other people from the contaminated air YOU have to offer! Just kidding. But yes, they are effective enough to keep things in but they are not as effective when you would like to keep contaminated air from other people out. The facemasks can protect you against large droplets or splashes released from coughing and sneezing, or blood; as is the case with doctors, and keep them from contaminating you but however, the smaller particles would find their way in through the not-so-tight openings around the mask. This is not to say they do not provide protection at all from others, but it is just quite minimal.                          

http://www.cartoonsbysheila.com So, I got a question from a friend few days ago and she wanted to know what causes the skin to itch. There are quite a number of factors but the common ones are usually dry skin, allergies, or bites. Allergies are usually immediate, especially after the body's very first response to an allergen  (something that causes an allergic reaction); which is usually slow. The first response is referred to as  initial sensitization and ‘sensitization’ here means the response of the body to an allergen! Anything after that happens fast! I hope I’m not losing you. So, in response to an allergen, the body releases a chemical called histamine that triggers the itching. You can take antihistamines to help with allergic reactions. I’m allergic to pollen, so I can relate. The same goes for bites from insects and all those creepy things. The insect releases a chemical that triggers histamine production. So, stay away from bugs!!! Just kidding.

Yaay! I caught your attention. Now that you are here, I really do have something to tell you about Benzene , which is a major component of petrol, which is in your car. I didn’t lie. It causes Leukemia (cancer of the blood) at low levels.                                                                 Just a recap, I am currently a student at Texas A&M University getting a master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in environmental and occupational health. So, one day in class, the Professor casually told us that to reduce our exposure to benzene, when we go to fill up our fuel tanks at the gas station, we should go uphill to prevent inhalation of the gas (petrol) fumes. Then I laughed! I laughed because, in Nigeria, we have attendants standing at those pumps for hours, serving gas! But nothing was funny. I cannot imagine how much benzene they are inhaling. The limit to not exceed is 1 part per million (1ppm) for 8 hours a day (see 1ppm as 1 second in 12 da