Government bans unlabelled silver cleaners

ARE your teeners one of those trendy guys glinting with silver accessories? If they are, beware.

According to some sources, silver accessories made shiny by cleaning solutions flooding the market
now have alarmed authorities over reports of poisoning.

On this, the government has issued warnings against silvers being cleaned by silver cleaning
solutions that are unlabelled and thus come from unregistered sources.

The culprit, silver cyanide, an active component in the cleaning compound has been detected with
over the safe levels in these silver-cleaning products.

Cyanide is a chemical compound that can cause poisoning, especially when cyanide ions are dissolved
in water, according to the wikipedia.

At this, the Departments of Health (DOH) and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have
issued a ban on selling of unlabelled silver jewelry cleaning solution.

In a joint advisory dated September 24, both agencies issued a warning on buying unregistered and
unlabelled silver jewelry cleaning solutions or agents proliferating in the market today.

The advisory states, “laboratory analysis of samples of silver cleaners solution show elevated levels of
cyanide clearly posing imminent danger or even death to humans, particularly when accidentally or
deliberately ingested.”

Both agencies said these substances pose as threat to health and safety, thus they stress their strict
prohibition and sale in the market.

The advisory also carries a warning to all commercial establishments such as jewelry shops and other
retail outlets and ambulant vendors against selling or dispensing these silver cleaners.

By Presidential Decree 881, the law has empowered the secretary of the Department of Health to
regulate the sale, labeling and distribution of hazardous substances.

The same decree defines hazardous substance as those which toxic, corrosive, irritant, strong
sensitizer, flammable or combustible and that which causes substantial injury when ingested.

The public then is enjoined to report to the DOH any information leading to the apprehension
of persons engaged in distributing these products. Any individual in possession of such banned
substances may as well surrender them to the DOH for proper disposal, the advisory said.
(racPIABohol)

Motorcycle, waveboard top causes of injuries for 2nd quarter of 2010 – DOH

THE Department of Health National Electronic Injury Surveillance System on Monday revealed that motorcycle-related accidents still remain as the most common cause of transport related injuries. It also showed that only 11.5% of those injured motorcycle occupants were using helmets at the time of accident.

“All road users should take the necessary precaution, especially motorcycle riders”, Heath Secretary Enrique T. Ona appealed.

From April to June this year, a total of 2,015 transport/vehicular accident-related injuries were reported. Nearly half (49.8%) of the transport/vehicular accidents were collision accidents.

About 40% of the total reported transport/vehicular accidents occurred in Central Luzon followed by MIMAROPA (19.8%). Majority (73.3%) of those injured were males and the 15-44 years age group were the most common victims of transport/ vehicular accidents, accounting for 64.9% of the total cases.

Majority (99.4%) of those injured secondary to vehicular accident reached the hospital alive, while 18.8% of fatalities declared dead on arrival were motorcycle occupants.

The most commonly sustained types of injuries were open wound/laceration (39.3%), abrasion (29%), and contusion (13.9%).

Ona also disclosed that fall accidents rank number 2 among the external causes of injuries. This is because falls due to the use of waveboard reached 363 in the second quarter of 2010. Other causes of injuries include mauling (14.83%) and contact with sharp objects (13.06%).

Ona added that most (92.6%) of waveboard fall related injuries involved children below 15 years old. There were more males (83%) than females (17%), and that majority (90%) of cases occurred at the National Capital Region. (DOH/PIA)

Anti rabies program hits 2-years sans rabies mark

TWO years and counting.

Bohol anti-rabies advocates and Boholanos has a reason to pick October 8, 2010 as a day of celebration: the day
completes a two year mark when health authorities have not found any rabies case in human or canines involved in bite
cases all over the province’s 47 towns and a city.

The last reported canines rabie case was in October 8, 2008, or exactly two years ago, shared Bohol veterinarian Dr.
Stella Marie Lapiz during the recent Kapihan sa PIA.

At the weekly forum aired live over DyTR and broadcast from the PIA at K of C Drive in this city, Dr. Lapiz said that while
Bohol may be declared as the next rabies free province in the country if the zero rabies case is sustained for three years,
floating in the horizon however is a bigger goal, to be declared internationally as a model for its community based efforts
against rabies.

According to the Department of Health, absence of human and canine rabies occurrence in a place for three consecutive
years merits a declaration as rabies free.

To date, the island province of Siquijor has kept its citation as rabies free.

For Dr. Lapiz, while Bohol has been using international standards in its moritoring and evaluation for its rabies program,
snagging an international recognition may not be that distant goal.

Keeping her hands close to her chest, Dr Lapiz said all of the achievements so far, she credits to the man Boholano
barangay volunteers, communities and the international and national donors whose funding support has kept the
program yapping.

Bohol used to be ranked number 4 and number 3 among the country’s rabies watchlist in 2005 and 2006.

Eversince, the provincial veterinarian said the help they get from these institutions and sectors have pushed for the 2
year milestone.

Since 2006, Bohol launched its Provincial Anti Rabies Prevention and Elimination Program with an initial local government
fund of P1M, national government support fund and some P7.5M from a non government organization partner called
Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC).

According to Dr. May Elizabeth Miranda of the GARC, their organization got interested in counter-part funding the Bohol
programs as they belived that Bohol would be in a better position to show to the world that rabies is preventable, and
that community mobilization against rabies is one effective and efficient tool.

An organization into helping countries fight rabies, GARC’s Dr. Miranda said they are excited of the developments in
Bohol as it may put the province in the limelight being a world model for community based rabies control, which their
organization can share.

Owing to the need to make the program as integretaed and as massive to be provincewide, the BRPE council led
by the governor engaged communities by institutionalizing the Bantay Rabies sa Barangay who will be doing the
dirty job of dog surveys, registration, vaccination and dog related incident arbitration in their local levels. (PIABohol)

Danao finally breaks habit, Go for sanitation, hygiene

PERHAPS an out-building made of coconut and nipa leaves for a toilet merits no news at all.

But when it eloquently shows a community’s first tentative steps to break a habit that kept generations from
learning the benefits of sanitation and hygiene, it surely gives them the print space.

In Danao, Bohol, communities have started to dig the truth behind health, sanitation and clean environment,
a fact that makes Danao Mayor Thomas Louis Gonzaga hopeful in his drive to bring his town off the hooks of
poverty.

“I believe in good health starts with a clean environment” the mayor said and adds, “education is the key to
good health.”

Unsuccessful in their initial attempt to get the people digging for their own sanitary toilets despite the
town providing toilet bowls, cement and technical help, the need to get people understanding the value of
cleanliness finally got to them through the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program (4PS).

Implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the 4Ps in Danao town also
allowed beneficiaries, whom the town granted toilet construction materials, to sit on community assemblies
and family development sessions.

It was through DSWD’s Family Development Sessions (FDS) that program partners sa Department of Health,
LGU and Department of Education picked the opportunity to deal with educating the beneficiaries the
importance of having toilets.

Here, what the town could not do: educating their people was unwittingly advanced by the 4Ps.

Educating the people to contribute to a cleaner environment in line with the town vision of a brisk extreme
eco-tourism activity as an engine for over-all development was then a big problem, Mayor Gonzaga admitted.

We want the communities to install sanitary toilets for health and hygiene purposes, but habit seems to get on
the way, the athletic town chief executive confessed.

Adopting an approach called community driven development, communities identify their problems and map
out solutions to them, explains a municipal social welfare officer of one of the DSWD 4Ps beneficiary towns.

4P is a national government poverty alleviation program that provides social assistance in conditional cash
grants to extremely poor households to help them break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

Its long-term objective is for communities to improve their health and education particularly of children aged
0-14 years old.

To continually avail of the cash grants, the government ascertains that family beneficiaries attend health and
pregnancy assistance sessions, regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines for children, responsible
parenthood sessions, mother’s classes, parent-effectiveness seminar and family development sessions.

To keep the children informed, children of beneficiaries must attend day-care, pre-school, elementary and
high-school at least 85% of the time. (rac/PIABohol/DSWD7)

Keep the “habit” against dengue

KEEPING the four ‘o clock habit is still the most effective contribution a community can do against the onslaught of deadly dengue, says Philippine National Red Cross (BNRC) Board member Romeo Teruel.

Newspaper reports quoting the Department of Health last week bared that dengue has been noted in almost all the towns here in Bohol and has claimed at least 7 lives from January to July.

The same reports also said that the Provincial health Office has noted about 787 cases of possible dengue including those treated or suspected of the disease brought about by the Asian tiger mosquito, aedes aegypti.

Inspect vicinities of our homes every 4:00, empty all those containers which may be venues for the mosquitoes to breed, lid every water container and destroy all potential homes of mosquitoes, Teruel advised.

Teruel, whose concern also includes supporting PNRC generate blood to help patients, pointed out that dengue has become a recurring problem so that PNRC could not just be passive. He stressed that PNRC is going out of the way to be ready in any eventuality.

Dengue then used to be only noted during some months, but seemingly, the mosquitoes have also adapted to the conditions and made them perennial threats, a medical practitioner shared.

PNRC has been the most immediate source of blood support for transfusions but recent data showed that the blood bank’s storage capacity may not be enough to respond to the current need, revealed Ms. Nenita Briones, Red Cross Administrator.

The most important is that while we are urging people to donate blood, while we are preparing, the community’s involvement is most needed, Teruel intoned at the recent Kapihan sa PIA aired on dyTR.

According to Dr. Annabella Oncog of the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, dengue can be manifested in the form of fever, coupled with lack of appetite, headaches, vomiting even if a patient does not have coughs or cold.

However absent any competent practitioner in the towns that can run confirmatory tests for dengue, Dr Ancog advised that if parents are not certain as to the patient’s fever, they must see their doctors immediately.

Ancog also said the most critical period for dengue is when the disease has affected the body’s capacity to allow blood to clot due to lowered platelets.

While a dengue detection kit for patients can be bought at local drugstores, Ancog said the best thing still is to see a doctor. (racPIA-Bohol)