It’s long been presumed that it is unhealthy for women during pregnancy to change the cats, but now more than ever, there is no reason for pregnant women the responsibility for pooper-scooper. Recently, a report brought out in American Journal of Psychiatry says that people exposed to toxoplasma gondii parasite, which occurs in cats and farm animals is 24% higher risk of developing schizophrenia. The scientists who compiled the survey are scheduled for further research on whether the treatment toxoplasma gondii infection can be stopped is the progression of schizophrenia.

This parasite can be found in undercooked meat and cat faeces. It is believed that the parasite can live up to a year in a moist shady environment. If you are pregnant or have children already, you can take the following precautions to avoid infection with the parasite has led to you veterinarian Dr. Ron Hines;

• Keep cats soil in your garden, flower beds, children’s sandboxes,  and shady.
• Still put on gloves when doing anything that may be contaminated with cat faeces, and wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, as there was no possibility of contamination has taken place.
• Children’s sandboxes should be covered with tents of plastic or cloth when not in use.
• Change your cat litter box frequently (every day) and non-pregnant to have a family member to do so.
• Use boiling water and bleach to sanitize litter boxes. Do not forget, however, that the bleach does not kill parasites.
• Are not rare or undercooked unpasteurised meat or milk, Mal baked pork, lamb and game to be the most risk.
• Female and cat controlled way of antibodies to Toxoplasmosis. A title is a healthy human or animal shows, which which can’t contract the disease now, as they wasted the past. Antibody negative cats and women could be infected during pregnancy, and thus are at higher risk.
• Do not acquire new cats during human pregnancy.
• Minimize contact of pregnant women cats.
• Wear gloves when working in the garden, or soil.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water throughout the day.

Scientists was believed that, schizophrenia is related to abnormal brain structure and functioning of the mother’s stress during pregnancy can harm the brain development of the fetus, causing the mental illness like schizophrenia. Now there is no firm evidence to support these hypotheses. According to a report on the Archives of General Psychiatry, people born in the mother, who experienced the death of a relative during the first trimester of pregnancy is 67% higher risk of developing schizophrenia.

The researchers examined data on 1.38 million births in studying the impact of stressful situations that high during the pregnancy on the development of mental illness. Of these, 1.38 million, 21,987, those children whose mothers experienced the death of a relative during the first trimester of pregnancy, and 14 of 206 children whose mothers experienced a relative who has a serious illness such as cancer. Of these, 1.38 million, 7331 of these children went to the development of schizophrenia. The study was called “the death of a family association and the schizophrenia usually appear with significant only for people with a family history such as grandparents, siblings, or parents) of mental illness.” In addition to the death of a relative within six months before or for some other time during pregnancy were found to be related to the development of schizophrenia, and the offspring.

Can Panic Attack Cause a heart attack?

According to recent studies, there is a strong link between panic attacks and heart attacks. With this respect, however, is still open for further studies.

Smoller and the colleagues (2007) decided to see if the panic attacks are associated with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke in elderly women.

They examined data from 10 clinical centers in the center of 40 women’s health initiative. The study examined a total of 3369 postmenopausal women generally healthy (age 51-83 years) were recorded in 1997 and 2000 in Migraine Study and myocardial ischemia that completed a questionnaire about occurrence of panic attacks in the previous 6 months. Then looked at cardiovascular events, including those that led to the death.

Researchers have identified a genuine fear of a sudden the panic attacks, anxiety, or very unpleasant, with four or more DSM symptoms of panic attacks. A total of 330 patients reported verification real panic attacks in the 6 months prior to the study and 273 had limited experience symptoms of panic attacks (anxiety, panic attacks, plus 1-3 symptoms).

Scientists determine the potential risk for coronary artery disease after adjustment for all risk factors, including smoking, hypertension, body mass index, history of depression, and physical activity. The risk of subsequent heart disease was more than 4 times greater, and 3 times the amount of the race, the women who had experienced true panic attacks than those without history of panic, but not women, who were not true panic attacks, but the symptoms of anxiety. Depression is not associated with cardiovascular events after adjustment for panic attacks.

Researchers have found that panic attacks are relatively common in postmenopausal women. They seem to be an independent risk factor for morbidity and cardiovascular mortality in older women. This is not to say, panic attacks can lead to a heart attack (as it might be that women with pre-existing heart conditions are genetic or pre-panic symptoms), but that does not mean that if a woman is a complete coup history of panic attacks, which have a higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. These women should be more closely monitored by doctors for their health problems.

Reference from Smoller JW et al.