Info on Flesh Eating Bacteria...

I received an email today containing some excellent information on flesh eating bacteria called necrotizing fascitis.  It's a condition that needs IMMEDIATE medical attention.  Hopefully this information will help you understand this rare but deadly condition.

Recognize the Early Signs
Even though it's highly unlikely you'll come down with necrotizing fasciitis, knowing how to recognize the early signs of this or any other disease can make all the difference in your outcome if you ever do.
Necrotizing fasciitis usually begins as a small, painful bump. The bump grows rapidly into a painful bruise. By rapidly, I mean in the course of just an hour or two. The center of the bruise will sometimes turn black in color as the skin begins to die. That's a sure sign you need immediate and urgent care. In the two cases we've been discussing, both women sought treatment on the fourth day after being infected. It goes to show that days, even a few hours, can make a difference.
You may also run a fever, feel dizzy, and experience weakness.
If you see these symptoms, get to the emergency room as fast as you can. You know how I feel about emergency rooms – crowded, impersonal, insanely expensive, and often gathering places for "Typhoid Marys" – so you know I don't say that lightly!
Simple Prevention and Quick Diagnosis Is Your Best Bet
While knowing how to recognize the early signs of necrotizing fasciitis could save either your life or your limbs, knowing how to prevent it is even better.
And, prevention is simple.
A couple of simple precautions are to avoid going barefoot, especially outdoors, and to wear gloves when doing physical labor.
I especially like mechanics' gloves, sold in home centers and auto parts stores for about ten dollars. They're tough, comfortable, form-fitting, dry quickly and are almost impossible to wear out. Wear them not only for any automotive work but anytime you're using tools, handing building materials, or even gardening. I also wear them to guard against germs at the gym or anyplace else I'm going to be touching equipment shared by others.
Anytime you cut yourself or get a scrape, wash and disinfect the wound and the skin surrounding it. Soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers are best. If neither is available, use hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, colloidal silver, or even distilled spirits (whisky, vodka, etc.)

Effective self-care for deeper or larger wounds includes an Epsom salt bath; regular table salt will do if you don't have Epsom salts on hand. Even a pinprick can be enough to give bacteria an opening into your body. In one case, a gentleman ended up with necrotizing fasciitis from a tiny puncture wound caused by a pine needle on his Christmas tree.
Another point to remember is to discuss sterilization and hygiene before any surgery, whether in-patient or outpatient. Sadly, a number of these infections start in hospitals.
Necrotizing fasciitis is rare. If you're careful to treat your injuries properly, you'll go a long way to preventing even the faint chance that you might develop a flesh-eating condition. Perhaps more importantly, the steps toward minimizing the risk of this disease can also help you avoid many other health risks.
It's all part of being ready for anything in these unprecedented times, when self-reliance is key.

Yours in Good Health,
Heather Robson, HealthEdge

Scott Walker Hits Another Home Run!

Governor Walker Breaks New Ground in Higher Ed
                                              Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), already well known for his efforts to curb union power, has now set out totackle an equally big task: busting the higher education bubble.
The problem of college affordability is recognized on both sides of the aisle, but sadly, most efforts to abate the problem - such as increasingfederal subsidies - have only exacerbated it. Walker wants to try a different approach for taxpayers and students in his state.
Last Tuesday, Walker released his proposal to create the University of Wisconsin Flexible Degree Program, a competency-based approach using bothonline learning and traditional college courses. He explained:
This unique competency-based model will allow students to start classes anytime they like, work at their own pace, and earn credit forwhat they already know... Students can use knowledge obtained on the job, through free open courseware, or anywhere else to quickly test out of amodule or a course. A student may move ahead as soon as he or she can prove content mastery.
Obtaining a degree through the University of Wisconsin system will now be more affordable and customizable. By tapping into and giving credit for theknowledge a student has obtained outside the classroom or through another school, the Flexible Degree Program brings down the cost and the timerequired to graduate. If a student proves his mastery of a certain subject, he can obtain credit without taking a full class. Walker's office notes:
Students can demonstrate college-level competencies - no matter where they learned the material - as soon as they can prove that they knowit...
Rather than molding coursework around a set timeframe, these modules can be designed to contain only the knowledge required within a specificcompetency. This could benefit working adults who need to start and pause their studies because of work and personal commitments. It could alsobenefit highly motivated students who are able to move through course materials at a faster pace.
Courses in this new program will be based on competency, not seat time, so students can move on to the next topic when they have mastered the currentmaterial. Students will have broad access to high quality coursework and student services, and they can graduate as soon as they can prove theirmastery of the material...
Students with extensive knowledge from the workplace, free open courseware, or other life experiences will be able to quickly move closer to degreecompletion by having their knowledge assessed and credited.
The classes can also be tailored to allow for a student's busy schedule or career goals. What's more, Walker expects the program to reach eveninternational students, broadening the university's student and revenue base.
Governor Walker, as was the case with his efforts to curb union influence and empower teachers, is on the cutting edge of a higher educationrevolution. As Heritage's Stuart Butler notes:
In as little as a decade, most colleges and universities could look very different from their present forms - with the cost of a collegecredential plummeting even as the quality of instruction rises.
If this transformation does come to pass, it could have profound and beneficial implications. It could significantly increase the internationalcompetitiveness of American workers in a world in which we need higher skills and productivity to compete. It could sharply improve the employabilityof those on the bottom rungs of America's income ladder, giving them the tools they need to move up. And it could do much to restore the AmericanDream for those who have begun to believe that opportunity in this country is disappearing. In other words, such a change could hardly come toosoon.
Walker's plan is a real solution to the problem of college affordability, cutting costs for the student and the taxpayer. The first-in-the-nationFlexible Degree Program is a great step toward giving all students their chance at the American Dream.