The Rabies Virus by Sam Rieche

    

         Imagine waking up one morning and feeling sick. It starts with flu-like symptoms, so you do not go to the doctor for treatment. Instead, you expect to manage the symptoms on your own until it passes. After a few days, as the symptoms worsen, you begin to experience symptoms that are not related to the flu—excessive salivation, mental confusion, double vision, muscle paralysis, difficulty swallowing, light sensitivity, unmanageable headache, hallucinations, and irritability.

You decide it’s time to see a doctor and get a ride to the hospital where they start running tests to determine a diagnosis. After some time, the doctor walks in with a concerned look on his face and asks if you have traveled outside of the country or have been bitten by any animals recently. Confused, you answer “no.” However, you remember that you had gone on a camping trip three months ago, but you hadn’t been bitten by any animals that you are aware of. The doctor asks if you have experienced any sensations of pins and needles anywhere on your body, to which you point toward the back of your shoulder. Even more concerned now, the doctor orders samples of saliva, serum (blood), and spinal fluid for a new round of tests.

Two hours later, the doctor returns to inform you that you have tested positive for the rabies virus—a death sentence. He explains how he suspects that you had been unknowingly bitten by a rabid bat while camping three months prior and, therefore, had no reason to seek post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for prevention of the virus. Unfortunately, he further explains, there is no cure for full-blown rabies. The only ethical thing they can do for you now is to place you under a medically-induced coma so you can die peacefully without having to suffer further.

History

            The rabies virus has been a significant and deadly issue throughout human history. In the 16^th century, Girolamo Fracastoro, an Italian physician, discovered that rabies was a fatal disease and referred to it as “an incurable wound” (Wnek 1). However, the rabies virus has been recognized as far back as 300 BC for which Aristotle had acknowledged the transmission of the virus from stray dogs to people in one of his literary works (1). In the 18^th century, Germany, France, and Spain passed legislation which called for the extermination of stray dogs in an attempt to eradicate the virus (Smith 1).

In 1804, Georg Zinke first proved the rabies virus to be infectious by transmitting the virus from a rabid dog to a non-rabid dog, then from the dog to a rabbit and a hen via injection of saliva (Pearce 1). In 1885, French biologist Louis Pasteur created the first rabies vaccine for dogs (Wnek 1). However, vaccinating dogs for rabies would not become a routine practice until the 1920s (Smith 1). In 2013, there were 5,865 laboratory-confirmed cases of animals with rabies in the United States that had been reported to the CDC (Wilson and Rohdey 1).

The rabies virus has been able to spread throughout the world due to man’s ability to travel overseas. Since early history, it has been commonly perceived that dogs are to blame for the transmission of the virus to humans and other animals. This may be a valid theory or belief as dogs have been domesticated and owned by humans for centuries, and dogs who are allowed to spend a lot of time unsupervised outside are at a greater risk of becoming infected. For this reason—as well as the large population of stray dogs among various countries—countries such as Germany, France, and Spain passed legislation in the 18th century that called for the elimination of stray dogs in an attempt to eradicate the virus (Smith 1).

According to the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of human deaths caused by the rabies virus has been declining since the 1970’s due to animal control programs, vaccination programs, outreach programs, and the availability of modern rabies biologics (“Rabies” 1). Twenty-three cases of human rabies have been reported in the United States, however, eight of these had contracted the virus outside of the country (1). According to the CDC, “each year between 60 to 70 dogs and more than 250 cats are reported” as rabid, and with 30,000 to 60,000 people having to undergo rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (1).

Examples

In 2011, a Maryland resident died from organ transplant-related rabies, for which the donor had unknowingly been infected with rabies prior to death (“Media Statement” 1). Interestingly, the donor recipient did not develop symptoms until a year later after receiving the kidney transplant. The typical incubation period for rabies is about one to three months (1).

The donor’s cause of death was unknown and the donor recipient had no reported animal exposures, which lead to the suspicion of transmission via organ transplant. Thus, triggering a joint investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The CDC tested tissue samples from the donor and recipient which revealed they had the same type of rabies virus—a raccoon type (1). Therefore, it was determined that the donor’s cause of death was due to rabies, which also caused the death of the organ recipient.    

In 2004, 15 year-old Wisconsin resident Jeanna Giese became the first person in documented history to have survived clinical (full blown) rabies without receiving rabies prophylaxis before or after she became infected:

Jeanna was exposed to the virus in September of 2004 while at church where she found a bat and released it outside. The bat had bitten her, but it was so small that she didn’t worry about it.

Approximately 1 month after the bat bite, the girl complained of fatigue and tingling and numbness of the left hand. These symptoms persisted, and 2 days later she felt unsteady and developed diplopia (i.e., double vision). On the third day of illness, with continued diplopia and onset of nausea and vomiting, she was examined by her pediatrician and referred to a neurologist. At that time, the patient continued to have blurred vision and also had partial bilateral sixth-nerve palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with and without contrast and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) studies of her brain were normal, and the patient was sent home. On the fourth day of illness, the patient's symptoms continued, and she was admitted to a local hospital for lumbar puncture and supportive care. On admission, she was afebrile, alert, and able to follow commands. She had partial sixth-nerve palsy, blurred vision, and unsteady gait. Standard precautions for infection control were observed… During the next 36 hours, she had slurred speech, nystagmus, tremors of the left arm, increased lethargy, and a temperature of 102^oF (38.9^oC). On the sixth day of illness, the bat-bite history was reported, and rabies was considered in the differential diagnosis. The patient was transferred to a tertiary care hospital. Because rabies was recognized as a possibility, expanded infection-control measures, including droplet precautions and one-to-one nursing, were instituted at time of transport. On arrival, the patient had a temperature of 100.9^oF (38.3^oC), impaired muscular coordination, difficulty speaking, double vision, muscular twitching, and tremors in the left arm. She was somewhat obtunded but answered questions appropriately and complied with commands… Clinical management of the patient consisted of supportive care and neuroprotective measures, including a drug-induced coma and ventilator support. Intravenous ribavirin was used under an investigational protocol. The patient was kept comatose for 7 days; during that period, results from lumbar puncture indicated an increase in antirabies IgG by immunofluorescent assay from 1:32 to 1: 2,048. Her coma medications were tapered, and the patient became increasingly alert. On the 33rd day of illness, she was extubated; 3 days later she was transferred to a rehabilitation unit. At the time of transfer, she was unable to speak after prolonged intubation. As of December 17, the patient remained hospitalized with steady improvement. She was able to walk with assistance, ride a stationary cycle for 8 minutes, and feed herself a soft, solid diet. She solved math puzzles, used sign language, and was regaining the ability to speak. The prognosis for her full recovery is unknown. (“Recovery of a Patient from Clinical Rabies --- Wisconsin, 2004” 1)

The theory behind the doctor’s decision to place Jeanna under a medically-induced coma, was to introduce antiviral rabies drugs, allow her body’s immune system to go into hyper-drive, and see if it could overcome the virus. There is no cure or treatment for clinical rabies, and Jeanna was fading fast. Therefore, the doctor asked her parents’ permission to conduct this experiment, since they had nothing else to lose. Miraculously, the experiment worked for Jeanna Giese and came to be known as the “Milwaukee Protocol.” Over time, however, this protocol has failed other patients diagnosed with clinical rabies.

Solutions

            “Rabies is 100 percent preventable” and just about all mammals are able to carry and transmit the virus (“Rabies” 1). In developing countries, domestic dogs are the primary cause of human transmission. Over time, various methods have developed in an effort to eradicate and prevent the spread of rabies worldwide. Some of these strategies have proven effective, while others have not. As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO):

Past rabies elimination strategies included the reduction of population density through culling, based on the rationale that rabies transmission is density-dependent with disease density increasing proportional to host density. However studies have shown that culling is an ineffective means of elimination and mass vaccination is most efficacious to reduce disease incidence in all species. (“Control and Elimination Strategies”)

 Thus, attempting to kill off animals that pose the greatest risk of rabies transmission is not an effective strategy. Not to mention the severe effects on the ecosystem that would correlate with such an act.

            One solution that has been used between Israel and Jordan, where wild jackals are the primary vehicle for rabies transmissions, is the scattering of edible pellets that contain the rabies vaccine (Efrati 1). This method of not only vaccinating domestic animals but wild animals as well, has successfully limited the spread of the virus by stopping the transmission process that typically goes from wild animal, to domestic animals, to humans. However, due to recent political tensions between the two countries, a rabies epidemic has erupted as a result of their temporarily ceased joint efforts against the virus (1).

            In the United Sates, bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, stray animals, and domestic pets are the main carriers of the rabies virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is largely responsible for the documentation, management, diagnostic testing, and elimination strategies used to combat rabies in the United States. The CDC reports:

The number of human rabies deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has been steadily declining since the 1970’s thanks to animal control and vaccination programs, successful outreach programs, and the availability of modern rabies biologic. Dog rabies vaccination programs have halted the natural spread of rabies among domestic dogs, which are no longer considered a rabies reservoir in the United States. Nonetheless, each year between 60 to 70 dogs and more than 250 cats are reported rabid. Nearly all these animals were unvaccinated and became infected from rabid wildlife (such as bats, raccoons, and skunks) … Despite the control of rabies in domestic dogs in the United States, each year interactions with suspect animals result in the need to observe or test hundreds of thousands of animals and to administer rabies postexposure prophylaxis to 30,000 to 60,000 persons. (“Rabies” 1)

Thus, the CDC’s preventative measures for animals include vaccinating pets, spaying/neutering pets to prevent growing stray populations, and contacting animal control suspected rabid animals and for large stray populations that are likely unvaccinated and ill. For people, medical facilities and pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis rabies vaccines are readily available. As a result, human rabies is very rare in the United States with one to three cases per year (1). However, human fatalities do occur “in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure” (1). It is also advised to receive pre-exposure prophylaxis for rabies before traveling outside of the country, especially to Asia and Africa where the prevalence of rabies is extraordinary high due to lack of resources and medical facilities (1). Additionally, the United States has adopted the strategy used by Israel and Jordan of orally vaccinating wild animals (“RABORAL V-RG: Oral Rabies Vaccine for Wildlife”).

Absurdity of Rabies

            It is absurd that many people are unaware of and/or are misinformed about the rabies virus as a whole. Society has painted a picture that any rabid animal can be identified by two main characteristics: extreme aggression and foaming at the mouth. A picture that almost portrays a rabid animal or person as a real-life zombie. However, this is not always true. In fact, it can be nearly impossible to determine if an animal is rabid just by observation. One of the reasons this disease can be difficult to identify is because the rabies virus can manifest itself in two different ways: furious rabies and paralytic rabies. However, both types have an incubation period, begin with flu-like symptoms, and cause death within approximately two weeks of symptom onset.

In the case of furious rabies, one may become “hyperactive and excitable and may display erratic behavior” (Johnson 1). One may also experience insomnia, hallucinations, difficulty breathing, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing, and fear of water (1). Although this type of the virus can be easier to detect through observation, animals displaying what may be perceived as one of these symptoms may be deceiving. For example, certain dog breeds, such as those from the bully-family, naturally salivate a lot. Additionally, aggression from wild animals is not a definitive indication of rabies, either. Wild animals are wild and will become aggressive when they feel threatened.

Paralytic rabies, on the other hand, typically takes longer to set in for, for which one would “slowly become paralyzed, eventually slip into a coma, and die” (Johnson 1). As noted by Johnson in her article “Rabies: Types, Symptoms & Causes,” the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 30 percent of rabies cases are of the paralytic type (1).

It is also absurd that, with today’s technology and recourses, researchers have not been able to find a cure for clinical rabies or develop more reliable testing that can accurately detect the virus before it becomes clinical or causes death. According to the CDC, “samples of saliva, serum, spinal fluid, and skin biopsies of hair follicles around the nape of the neck” can be used to test for rabies in humans antemortem, however, “no single test is sufficient” (“Rabies” 1). The most accurate way to detect rabies in people and animals is through testing brain tissue samples postmortem. Perhaps researchers should think outside of the box and consider a quote by Lewis Carroll, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Although this may seem like an absurd suggestion, many medications that are used today, such as penicillin and Valium, were discovered by accident.

Another absurdity spread by the media and society is the misconception that nocturnal animals seen during the day are very likely to be rabid. This is, also, not always true. For example, mother raccoons will leave their babies for short periods of time during the day to forage for food.

Conclusion

            Even though rabies is considered rare in the United States, it is still a major issue. The CDC reported 5,508 rabid animals and three human rabies cases in 2015 in the United States alone (“Rabies” 1). “Several major health organizations, including World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO),” have come together and “pledged to eliminate human deaths from [rabies worldwide] by 2030” (“World Rabies Day” 1). Hence, nations have to work together in order to control and eliminate the spread of rabies.

            Additionally, if you see an animal that appears to be sick or in distress, do not touch it in an effort to help it. Instead, contact animal control as they are vaccinated and trained to deal with potentially rabid animals.

 can be quite difficult

Works Cited

“Control and Elimination Strategies.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 3

Apr. 2017, www.who.int/rabies/control/en/.

Efrati, Ido. “Israel on the Brink of a Rabies Epidemic, Thousands of Coyotes Killed.”

Haaretz.com, 24 Jan. 2018, www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-on-the-brink-of-a-rabies-epidemic-1.5762862.

“Human Rabies.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 7 Nov. 2013,             www.who.int/rabies/human/en/.

Johnson, Shannon. “Rabies: Types, Symptoms & Causes.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 19 Oct.

2015, www.healthline.com/health/rabies.

 “Media Statement.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, 15 Mar. 2013, www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/s0315_rabies_organs.html.

“Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).” Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Feb. 2010, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5907a1.htm.

Pearce, J. “Louis Pasteur and Rabies: a Brief Note.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery &

Psychiatry, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 1 July 2002, jnnp.bmj.com/content/73/1/82.

“Rabies.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and   Prevention, 23 Aug. 2017,

            www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/surveillance/human_rabies.html.

“Rabies.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and

            Prevention, 20 Sept. 2011, www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html.

“RABORAL V-RG: Oral Rabies Vaccine for Wildlife.” RABORAL V-RG: Oral Rabies Vaccine

for Wildlife | Raboral.com, www.raboral.com/about-rabies/raboral-v-rg.

 “Recovery of a Patient from Clinical Rabies --- Wisconsin, 2004.” Centers for Disease Control

            and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Dec. 2004,             www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5350a1.htm.

Smith, Yolanda. “Rabies History.” News-Medical.net, 28 Apr. 2015,

            www.news-medical.net/health/Rabies-History.aspx.

Walker, Stephen. “Jeanna Giese First Person to Survive Rabies.” Extraordinary Children, 15

May 2017, http://mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/ec/jeanna-giese-first-person-to-survive-rabies/.

Wilson, Pamela J., and Rodney E. Rohde. “8 Things You May Not Know about Rabies – but

Should.” Elsevier Connect, 28 Sept. 2015, www.elsevier.com/connect/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-rabies-but-should.

Wnek, Krista. “RABIES.” Austin Community College,        www.austincc.edu/microbio/2993q/rv.htm.

“World Rabies Day.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control   and Prevention, 28 Sept. 2017, www.cdc.gov/worldrabiesday/prevention.html.

Epidemic of Over-fishing by Chelsea Hopkins

The Epidemic of Overfishing

          Image yourself waking up on a beautiful and perfect day. The day is so magnificent that you decide to go fishing. You load the bed of the truck with everything you will need, and hook up the boat to have a successful fishing day. When you get to the dock to unload the boat and all your equipment you notice it is locked and a big sign is up that reads “Closed No Fishing do to the

Epidemic of Overfishing.” Fishing is the principal livelihood for over 200 million people and provides an important source of protein for more than 1 billion (Overfishing Stories). What would you do to help with the issue of overfishing to maintain a health population of fish in our waters?

            Fishing has been going on for many years dating back to the biblical times. In the Bible, the book of Matthew, chapter 17, verse 27 Christ said “Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” This is also the time where Christ was feeding the multitude of people on a hill side ranging to about 5,000 people. For many years fisherman could go out and fish without restrictions. It was not till about the 2000’s that restrictions were finally placed on fishing. Around the late 1900’s and early 2000’s is when our fishing industries spiked and scientist started to notice the decrease in fish population. This is also the time the idea of managing our fish wildlife started.  In the state of Texas restrictions on coastal seining and netting were constructed in 1874. However, in 1895 it became clear that it was

needed to have a regulatory office for the depletion of over-fishing. It was not until the 1960’s when 126 counties where under complete or partial control with fish regulations. Stats have shown that in 1950 only one percent of the high seas were fished and zero percent of specie were exploited. The reason for this is because the fishing industry was not developed at this time and the vessels were much smaller than they are today. In 1960 the boats began to get larger and more fishing in the high seas raised to a thirty-three present while thirty-nine present of specie were over-fishing. By 2006 our fishing industry was peaked and boats were bigger and more of them out at the high seas more than ever. There was sixty-three present of high seas fishing and eighty-seven present of the species have been over-fishing, exploited, or collapsed.

            There are many examples of over-fishing but one that jumps out the most is the Cod fish. In the early 2000’s Cod fish was one of the many fish being over-fished. Because of this they started putting caps on how many fish you could catch and the weight and size of the fish. The science community has taken the stats of the population from the early 1900’s to now and they have come up with all fishing industries will be collapsed by 2050. One half of fish are caught illegally ranking about 50 billion dollars a year. Eighty present of the entire world‘s fishing stock has been exploited.

Three hundred thousand whales and dolphins are killed in the fishing nets from all the fishermen. Ninety present of predatory fish are gone because of the lack of restrictions and lack of protection for the fish. Eight million square miles of the great Pacific is two times larger than the United States.

            The solution to preventing over-fishing is to educate others about the situation and take a stand for getting better regulations for worldwide fishing industries and not just for the United States industries. Also we as the people who fish and the wildlife personnel needs to be more aware of the number of vessels in our waters. Not only is the number of vessels a problem but also the size. The bigger the boat is the more fish they can catch and store. Also the wildlife personnel should set up

protected areas for fish to have enough time to reproduce and gain there numbers back to a well and

safe number for their specie to be able to thrive. To add to the solution there needs to be more strict requirements of science base catches. In return to this solution we should see that the number in the population of fish increase over time.

            It has been said that the science community does not know what they are talking about when it comes to fish and/or fishing by fishermen. The same fishermen also say that the science community is just out for their money and depleting their businesses by putting regulations on their fish. It is absurd they some fishermen feel this way when in fact the science community is trying to find a way to help the fishermen in the long road. With the science behind it, our fish population will rebuild its self in the course of a few years. It is also absurd to think that there are an endless amount of fish in the water. As the saying goes “there are plenty of fish in the sea,” in fact there is not. Just like humans or any other kind of animal in the world the fish need time to reproduce and rebuild in number to contain their specie. Third it is absurd that the United States is the only country who has regulations on their fishing industry. We as in everyone in the world needs to be on the same page to protect our specie in the waters around us all.

            In conclusion like the movie Finding Nemo “fish are friends.” They need our help to sustain a healthy number in population. Without our help our oceans will run dry of fish, and the fish as we know them will become extent like all other animals who have been over hunted through the years. We need to stand together to stop overfishing and bring awareness to the situation before it is too late.

Work Cited

“Effects of Overfishing.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/winter-2014/articles/effects-of-overfishing.

http://www.some.ox.ac.uk/research/global-ocean-commission/

Bible book of Matthew chapter 17 verse 27

https://www.bloomberg.org/press/infographics/vibrant-oceans-how-to-prevent-over-fishing/

www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/winter-2014/articles/effects-of-overfishing

www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/winter-2014/articles/effects-of-overfishing

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mdttk

http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cod/

College Campus Suicide Epidemic

Introduction

Going off to college is one of the most exciting and scary experiences a young adult can endure. Parents who have sent their child to a university have their concerns of partying, alcohol, and drugs, but they don’t ever think that the “college life” can end in suicide. Suicide amongst young adults aged between 18-25 years is the second leading cause of death. With these numbers rising every year, colleges and universities need to be producing effective programs to help prevent these suicide epidemics amongst their students, because no parent wants to receive that heartbreaking call.

History

The most common factors of suicide is depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, loneliness, and lack of a support system (Chesin and Jeglic 30). The rate of college students taking their own lives has tripled since the 1950’s (Lucier 1). “Childhood physical and sexual abuse significantly correlate with attempted suicide years later”  (Bridgeland 63). Once children leave the “nest” they begin to recall moments and events that happened in his childhood, during grade school, or in his past living situation, causing him to develop a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Chesin and Jeglic 30). As young adults they most likely experienced, or still experience sexual abuse, bullying, losing someone close to them, and have lived with the constant feeling of not meeting expectations set by others. Most students want to go off to universities to get fresh starts. They think that being placed in a new environment will help them start over and forget about where they came from or what happened in their past.

The stress of college is another huge contributor to rate of suicide throughout college campuses. Eight out of ten students suffer from stress emotionally and physically (Applebury 1). The biggest concern of stress amongst these students is the risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts (1). Universities and colleges are high stress environments due to classes, studying, grades, finances, and social activities. Large amounts of stress has been proven to intensify pre-existing mental health issues, leading to “95 percent of student suicides to be caused by anxiety and depression due to stress” (1).  

Examples

Students who are considered “perfectionists” are the ones who are most risk for suicide when placed on a college campus (Caval 1). Recently graduated high school students who ended with a perfect or almost perfect GPA usually go to a university where other students were similarly successful. Students there was in the top of their class in high school making the campus extremely competitive. This can lead to extreme amounts of stress to stay on top. Madison Holleran experienced this amount of stress that led to her death on January 17, 2014 (1). Holleran was a freshman at Pennsylvania State University and ran for its track and field team (1). She was the perfect example of young adult who seemed to have it all together (1). She was beautiful, smart, athletic, and popular on campus (1). What everyone did not know was that she was strugglingimmensely with trying to keep up with her high school “reputation” (1). Her father saw  dramatic changes in his daughter a couple of weeks before her death and stated, “I believe stress is the cause of my daughter’s death” (1). Madison Holleran felt that she could not live up to her parents and her own expectations for herself. From personal experience this is a very common feeling for a college freshman and can lead to thoughts of not being good enough or that there is no way that you can ever come out successful.

Going into a new environment in hopes of having a fresh start does not always happen for a person. The hopes of being able to start over and get away from whatever happened to a student before he moved onto a college campus can either end in them getting their hopes up or it can be the best decision he could have ever made for himself. A second chance was the reason Alex Jacome went to Tarleton State University right out of high school. He had hoped to get away from his homelife of where he was so used to hearing, “you will never amount to anything” from his mother on a regular basis. He hoped that Tarleton would give him the opportunity to make something of himself and to get into the movie producing industry after graduation. My friend, Alex Jacome passed away in his dorm room March 2, 2017 from a sleeping pill overdose. We had no warning of what was about to happen. Days later the information that he was failing his classes came to the surface. He felt that he had failed himself and had proven that his mother was right about him all along. Alex also knew that he was going to have to move back into that house after the semester was over, because he was going to lose his scholarship. Hemade the decision that he would rather not be a part of this life than go back into that home and situation again. The fear of going right back where he had come from, and the feeling of hopelessness, is what killed Alex Jacome.

Solutions

            Over the last five to ten years, universities have been trying to develop suicide prevention programs to help with this epidemic, but are they effective? For many universities there is an on campus counselor or therapist that is included in the student’s tuition. Sounds good,  right? The downside of this prevention program is that the tuition only covers the cost of a certain number of sessions. Tarleton State University only allows five sessions by their on campus counselor with no extra charge. After the five sessions are over they refer you to an off campus therapist or counselor. The university then is not liable to follow up on the student to see if they are continuing treatment or not due to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) (The JED Foundation 21). If a student is recommended to the counseling center by a third party such as a peer or a professor, the counseling center does not have the right to make an appointment for the student; it has to be done on his/her own time (21). FERPA is a way for students to be able to go to school and have a sense of privacy from faculty and from their families, but if a student is in danger of a mental illness the school should be allowed to contact their families to make sure the correct actions are taken. Alex Jacome is an example of what happens when schools only allow a limited number of counseling sessions and do not contact families with concerns. Alex took advantage of the five free sessions and then when they were used up he could not afford togo see an off campus professional. If he was allowed more than 5 sessions then maybe he would have been able to overcome his struggles.

When first year or transfer students are admitted into a university, the faculty and staff should hold suicide prevention training. The training should include recognizing signs from other students and in themselves, and they should be trained on where to go for help. There are a handfuls of schools, like Ohio State University, are doing these trainings during orientation for incoming freshman and transfer students. Before the school started these trainings, only 12.6% of students agreed that they were educated on suicide prevention in 2007 (Wallace 1). After the school made the training mandatory for all students the numbers rose to 51.8% in 2014 (1). "We're listening because there's so much student distress out there and we know from the research ... two-thirds of the students, when they're really struggling, they don't go to campus mental health professionals or faculty or even their parents. They go to each other” (1). Students being trained on this topic will help them be able to help each other, which is hopefully the outcome of these trainings. By looking at the numbers, all universities and colleges should have mandatory trainings nationwide to help decrease the number of on campus student suicides.

Absurdity

            Albert Camus is a famous and well known absurd fiction author. His stories mainly focus on one question, “Is life really worth living?” (Sineokov 1). It is probably the same question that struggling college students ask themselves. Camus believes that suicide is the one truly serious philosophical problem (1). He wants his readers to see the question of suicide as a natural response to the absurd world (1). College campuses are a world of their own; they give students the idea of the real world without officially entering the real world. Some would say that universities are full of absurdity. Camus believes that living day by day with a schedule and just getting by everyday is not living (1). Camus would agree that a college student’s life is not worth living, because it is not truly living.

Conclusion

Going to a university to further your education is great when it comes to achieving life goals. As a society we need to educate ourselves on preventing suicide especially with students. College is stressful and can be overwhelming, but it should not be overwhelming to the point that it is not worth it. With the right stress and time management, and increased on campus counseling, students could go to school to succeed and not worry about surviving this time in their lives. With suicide prevention training and students helping other students we could help control this increasing epidemic.     

           

           

           

Obesity in America by Steven Monarres

When having a new born baby, the parents want nothing more but for him to come out healthy and strong.  At the very beginning of a child's life, he is weighed to make sure he or she is healthy and strong.  Some may be genetically underweight or over weight depending on the parents.  However, in the United States as the children grow up, we start to see a high percentage of the kids are dealing with obesity.  Many factors play a role in this uprising epidemic. The side effects of obesity are terrifying for anyone to go through child or adult, which is why we as parents and individuals need to take care of our own heath condition and life style to help prevent this epidemic.  

While growing up kids are all brought up differently, whether it be wealthy or poor, no one is raised the exact same. Parenting is a domino effect, it is passed on down to each generation. Parents would often say, "Well, that’s how I was raised…" or "When I was growing up, I had to do this…" to justify their type of parenting that they do with their children. Some parents raise their child in sports harder than they would with academics or vice versa. Another big factor that plays a role in causing obesity is the type of food a family eats. At a young age, kid’s minds are like a sponge, so if you begin creating bad habits or routines a child would believe that those decisions that are being done are fine and nothing is wrong with it. For example, some parents smoke or drink and to them it is an everyday thing, and when a child growing up sees it they would be more likely to continue that effect. Therefore, that is how obesity has become the norm for people, and they overlook it.  In a study, it was shown that, “more than one in three adults were considered to be overweight” (National Institute of Diabetes).

As a young child growing up, I was raised in a lower middle-class family. My mother was a fulltime student and had two jobs, so she was never home much. Most of my time was spent with my grandmother, whether it be reading books or playing outside. The only type of electronic devices in our house were a computer, TV, and a little Game Boy that would only be able allowed to use for about only an hour or two out of the day. My grandmother never liked it when I would spend time on electronics. She had believed that the less I watch TV the more room left in my head to store knowledge. Once a week, we would go to the park to go fishing, riding bikes, or even just to walk. Over time, after constantly going to the park and outside, it had become something normal to me, so much so that after getting home from school going outside and playing was the highlight of my day.  

My whole family was raised around sports; therefore, sports was heavily pushed on me at a young age. Most people, especially in nowadays, would have thought that pushing me so hard would ultimately make me lose interest. However, it only wanted me to get better to impress my family. Since I had always done some type of physical activity, sports had come easy to me. The only thing that I had to work on was the fundamentals of each sport.  

 Since I was involved in so many physical activities, obesity was never an issue or even a thought in my mid. At the age of ten, my brother John was born, and he was brought up complete differently. When he was born, everything was slowly beginning to change differently from the schools, house, cars, and vacations. John had received pretty much almost whatever he wanted. For Christmas, he was given an iPad tablet as a gift. After that, he was so used to getting instant gratification that after a while of doing this he would lose attention on anything that wouldn’t satisfy him instantly. This really affected his life tremendously, and he became lazy. This led to a bad health style, and we have noticed he was putting on a couple pounds because of it. Getting him to play football was extremely hard, and we would have to almost force him to go. As years began to press on, we as a family saw that over time John would be able to break this habit of instant gratification and into learn how to work hard for a better life style.  

Now, there are multiple steps that you could take to help lessen the chances of you or your children being obese. One way is to always stay physically active as much as you can. At the beginning set yourself up with reachable goals that you can work towards to achieve (How to do cardio for fat loss). For instance walking or running a certain amount of a distance every time you run. It’s also always a good habit to create a schedule for yourself to follow. On a calendar you could put what days out of the week you are going to run and how far you are going to run each of those days. Walking and running are one of the best ways to work out for losing weight (1). While walking your body is using just about every single one of your muscles. This allows your body to burn as much fat off as it can during each work out.

Another good thing to do is to go to your local gym and sign up. However, if you have never really knew how to work out properly you should get a trainer to help guide you or just research the information yourself on how to work out properly. If you don’t do the necessary step during a workout chance are you are going to injure yourself. Also, with a private trainer, he or she is there to help you to achieve your overall personal goal. They are willing to sit down and talk with you to find out what days out of the week they can get you into the gym and for how long (The Education of a Personal Trainer). They do this in order to figure out how to brake the work out into levels and will help guide you through each step of the way. The people who train have a well-known amount of knowledge to answer any questions you may have, and if they do not know it, they would research it to come up with answer (1).   After a couple of weeks of this, you should begin to see a difference in how much easier each day of walking and working out will get. When you are able to reach your daily go of walking, you should set new ones for you to achieve (1). Next never settle; always strive to become better than what you were last week or last month. A reminder that it isn’t going to be easy; everyone is different and might take longer for others to achieve their goals. Another good tip to keep in mind is don’t worry about how everyone else looks or how well they are doing, only worry about you and your goals. Everyone had to start somewhere, you can’t run before you walk trust the process.  

Now, working out and walking a couple days out of the week will help and is a good start to begin. However, one of the biggest role into losing weight is the type of food you eat as well (Fat Burning Foods for Weight Loss). When eating “foods that contain high amounts of fat and sugar, causes your body to develop more fat tissue” (1). Maybe, if your younger and worked out while eating fast foods and still had a good body. Now, if you are older right now, you know that isn’t the case anymore. If you want to achieve weight loss you have to have self-control and determination to eat right.

 When going grocery shopping, always look at the back of the product you are buying and see how many calories, sugars, cholesterol, and the amount of sodium are inside the food. If you haven’t been looking are this before you will be surprised how many calories you are taking in with all the foods you get. Some people believe that eating fruit is a good thing to do when on a diet, although not all fruits are good for you to eat. Many of the fruits contain too much sugar almost as much as chocolate (“Dr. Oz Explains How Some Fruit Could Be Bad for You”). Apricots are quite heavy; if you were to eat too many it could lead to acid reflux (1). The unhealthiest part about the fruit is the core. It contains amygdalin, which forms cyanide in the stomach (1). This is a potent poison that may cause nausea or dizziness if consumed to many. A good fruit to eat is strawberry’s, they contain fibers, vitamin C, lots of water and very little sugar which helps fight cellulite. Also as melons and watermelons, are high in water and low in sugar. Pears are not good for you; they can disrupt the work of your insistence because of their powerful constipating effect. Avocados have 227 Kcal in each serving, they can be compared as the something as butter.

 Try to stick with whole meats like fish, white chicken meat, and egg whites, things of that such to eat. In addition, you want to add in some greens into your meals (1). Any type of vegetables would help with your digestive system. One step to help you out a lot with these meals is meal prepping. Before the week begins start making all of the meals you are going to eat for lunch or dinner. All you would have to do is warm it up, and it’s good to go. Starting a diet like this is extremely hard and takes a lot of self-control, but after you start to get the first couple of weeks out the way it will start to get easier as you go along.

            This life style can get pretty overwhelming at times with all the dates to work out and keeping up with all the calorie intake. It is not made for everyone; it’s pretty much your second job. Five days out of the week you are working hard to stay on track with all your goals to maintain at the end of the week and maybe on the weekend you can have a cheat day, plus on top of your regular everyday life. When you go out with friends to go have fun, you need to stay on top of what you’re eating and drinking. You no longer have a typical American life style by going out eating whatever you want whenever you want.  If you think that one little piece of cake wouldn’t hurt me your wrong. It most definitely can, but your body runs off of what you feed it and what you put in is what you are going to get in return.

            Today, in America, we are faced with a huge problem with obesity in young and old ages. As we look at today’s kids in America, they feel entitled to everything they see on TV. This development of instant gratification has crippled them from being able to develop a drive to work hard for what they get. leading them to laziness and an unhealthy life style. So, start you kids of right with any type of physical activate and healthy habits instead of just putting a tablet in front of them to self-entertain. Get up and move and help this nation fight against obesity.

Worked Cited

“Dr. Oz Explains How Some Fruit Could Be Bad for You”. Youtube. Feb 4, 2015.