Does accident proneness exist?

Well, probably it does. Some people seem to be more prone to accidents (with injuries requiring medical attention) during most of their lifetime than others : see a review/metanalysis here. Just statistical data.

And what about multiple accidents in a row happening to a person, but 'clustering' in time?

This is my accidents/injuries list of the past week :
Last Monday I slightly burnt my arm when taking a hot dish from the oven. I held the burned spot on my arm under cold running water for some time, and after all, it was not so bad.
On Wednesday, in my office, I bumped my knee into the sharp corner of a metal drawer of my desk: big bruise, all colours of the rainbow by now....
On Thursday evening, when washing up the dishes, I cut my wet hand on a sharp knife. A lot of blood, but a bandaid did the trick.
On Saturday, when vacuumcleaning, I hit my toe – hard - on a table post. Sharp pain, you know how intense this pain can be, and it still hurts a little now.
And finally, yesterday, around 5 pm, the culmination point (at least, I hope so!): when helping unpack, move and install new furniture at my sister's house, an angry heavy garage door decided to fall with its full weight on my poor head (defective mechanism – nobody could foresee). I was knocked down to the floor by this really serious blow, managed to crawl upright after some time, and everything in the next 2 hours seemed to happen in slow motion... My family wanted to drive me to hospital, but I refused. I just wanted to sit and lie down, and be left on my own, and rest and recover. I didn't lose consciousness, but my sight, hearing, muscle coordination, etc.... seemed to have gone into a kind of 'safe mode', only allowing basic impressions and movements. Two hours later came the nausea, and I threw up once. After that I felt better, but, after 10 minutes of heavy shivering, I was left with a serious headache and felt extremely tired. Later last night I tried to watch television, but something was wrong with my vision. So I went to bed after taking a paracetamol, and had a good night's sleep. When I woke up this morning, I felt better, but my head, right ear and eyes were hurting, and I had this weird sensation of cold in the area on my head that received the blow. So I went to see my doctor: concussion, of course. 3 days of rest at home.

Until Saturday I thought I was just being a little clumsy, although not exactly more stressed or tired than normal. That stupid accident yesterday, however, that could have happened to anyone being at that place at that exact time. Not caused by clumsiness, or inattentiveness, or whatever. It just happened to me.

Any warning from the universe involved? One could wonder.
But I think I'll stick to 'coincidence' as an explanation for the time being.... and be very, very careful in the next days....

Moderate alcohol consumption cuts the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 50%.

Today BBC News reports on 2 studies (of the Swedish Karolinska Institutet) published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, showing that moderate alcohol drinkers have a 50 % lower risk of developing RA than non-drinkers. Smoking on the other hand, these studies report, is to be considered a very high risk factor, reinforcing findings from earlier studies.

Heavy drinking is of course deleterious for health, but moderate drinking may have some health benefits. There is also evidence for moderate drinkers having a reduced risk for other inflammatory processes, like cardiovascular disease.

Researcher Henrik Kallberg added

'the reason for this reduced risk is still unclear'

.....Hmm, I can immediately think of at least 2 reasons:

1. From a nutritional biochemistry viewpoint : Ethanol influences the activities of desaturase enzymes. These are key enzymes in the fatty acid metabolism. Some studies (see an example) indicate that alcohol stimulates their activity. Even through a broad range of alcohol concentrations. More specifically, well-active desaturase enzymes help in converting more substantial amounts of essential fatty acids linoleic acid (omega-6) and alphalinolenic acid (omega-3) in several steps into 'good' prostaglandins and thereby avoid excessive 'overflow' of fatty acid metabolites into the inflammatory arachidonic pathway.... However, very high alcohol intake over a longer period of time has shown to have the opposite effect.

2. From an ayurvedic viewpoint : Alcohol opens blocked srota's, the micro- and macrochannels throughout the body, resulting in better removal of all kinds of junkmaterial from the body (metabolic waste, toxins, free radicals, etc...) and more optimal metabolism, at least temporarily... Excess alcohol is considered a cellular poison.

ME/CFS in The New York Times yesterday

"Chronic Fatigue Syndrome no longer seen as "Yuppie Flu", that's the title of a rather good article about ME in yesterday's New York Times.
'Good' in the sense that the known triggers (viruses, toxins, etc...) and the seriousness of the disease ('as sick and as functionally impaired as people with AIDS, breast cancer, COPD, ....) are mentioned , and that some of the CDC's misconceptions on ME are discussed.
Not so good :
- the choice of a patient who recovered (partially) with 'exercise' and treatment. In general exercise worsens the condition of people suffering from ME!
- the focus on 'fatigue' again, whereas the main ME/CFS symptom is 'exercise intolerance'! Big difference...

Losing weight.... some initial stages...

The following is an extract from some advice I gave to a recent friend from Mumbai, India, who decided to lose weight. I put it here, because it contains pieces of information that are maybe useful for others among you who are overweight and try to do something about that. For reasons of privacy, I leave out all personal details of course....

“......(Giving advice without having met you in person is...) still a little tricky, because being overweight can have several causes. Important : have you been screened for the presence of diabetes, or pre-diabetes (enhanced diabetes risk)? If not, I would advise you to do so.... The prevalence of diabetes worldwide is rising, especially in people of your (and my) age. Any other specific health problems you are aware of? Any compulsive eating behaviour? Any thyroid problems? (In general I do a very thorough symptom screening with my coachees before giving specific advice).

But anyway, here is some general free information already! And you are free to use it or neglect it of course.
Losing weight is not only a matter of what you eat and how much you eat, but much more how you are metabolizing foodstuffs. Difficult to read from just your picture what your prakriti (birth constitution) is, but I do have some idea... I don't know how familiar you are with the ayurvedic sanskrit terminology, but I suspect a mixed prakriti pitta/kapha, and your actual constitution (vikriti) probably contains a certain vata component, which you should try to bring down. General line of treatment here : first lower vata, and then avoid build-up of excess kapha.

Lowering vata : mainly through regularity in daily lifestyle. Easier said than done, I know. Trying to install a regular sleeping pattern and regular meal times is crucial though. Avoid mental stress where possible. This includes mental overexertion! And maybe you will not be happy to hear this, but the use of modern technologies like mobile phones, computers, gaming stuff, etc... are well-known vata-promotors! Please observe regularity (and avoid overuse) in these too!
An Ayurvedic remedy that helps well in lowering mental vata : Brahmi. Gives calmness and clearness to the mind. Two types of medicinal plants are known as 'Brahmi' in India: Centella Asiatica and Bacopa Monnieri. Both are ok, but I do have a slight preference for Bacopa Monnieri. Observe maximum dosages.

Avoid excessive build-up of kapha
This is where your diet comes in. Please do not try very severe diets, because, 1° they will make you feel awful, and 2° you will have 'relapses' in eating behaviour and build up more weight in the end! Instead : eat normal meals, well-balanced, at regular times (breakfast, dinner, supper). Go easy on butter and ghee, healthy vegetable oils are preferred in cooking your food. If you are a meat-eater, no excessive quantities either. Fish and eggs are ok. Avoid too sweet foods, particularly if prepared with plain white sugar. As a sweetener honey is particularly good for you (honey has the capacity of 'scraping away' excess kapha from the body srota's). Most important: plenty of vegetables (cooked + salads). Use enough 'hot' spices like black pepper, ginger, etc... They better digestion, but most of all 'speed up' your metabolism, and that is exactly what you need. I would also strongly advise you try taking Chitrak for a while, another ayurvedic remedy, botanical name : Plumbago Zeylanicum. Chitrak specifically clears the srotamsi (the macro- and micro body channels) from obstructing ama (toxins that, especially in obesitas, obstruct the normal 'flow' of healthy nutrients into the cells and, more devastatingly, the normal elimination of waste metabolites from your cells!)
Try taking 2 tablets of chitrak 2 to 3 times a day for several weeks (in combination with a rather balanced diet, make the best of it!), and please let me know how you are feeling afterwards. Chitrak enhances digestion and metabolism, and many people experience some weight loss. Chitrak can increase hunger feelings, don't worry too much about that, just eat some healthy stuff then to calm that hunger. Just observe the following when on chitrak : if your stomach starts really 'hurting', then you should stop the intake of chitrak immediately. It means chitrak has worked and the srota's are already cleared up considerably. If this would happen, just ask me what to do next....
After 2 weeks on Chitrak (not before!) you can start taking a multivitamin/mineral tablets to further normalize healthy metabolism. This multi should at least contain the following nutrients:
°All B-vitamins : B1, B2, B3 (nicotinic acid or nicotinamide), B5 (mostly as calcium pantothenate), B6, B9 (folic acid) and B12. If you can find a supplement containing also choline and inositol, that's even better.
°Vitamin C, vitamin E
°Minerals : should contain at least magnesium, calcium, zinc, chromium, selenium, ..

If you want to give it a try, just go for it. I'll be glad to help you further after this first stage! (...)...”

"Kinderen en ME" - 1ste internationaal congres van MEAB vzw op 12 mei in Brugge

12 mei is internationale ME-dag. MEAB vzw, de nieuwe Belgische vereniging actief rond kinderen en jongeren met ME, grijpen deze gelegenheid aan om hun 1ste congres te organiseren. Op mijn aanwezigheid en mijn steun kunnen zij rekenen : ik werd zelf op mijn 17de hard getroffen door ME, en de jarenlange uitputtingsslag die volgde hypothekeerde mijn hele verdere toekomst.... In België zijn er naar schatting zo'n 30 à 40.000 ME-patiënten, waaronder spijtig genoeg steeds meer kinderen! Vroegtijdige diagnose en onmiddellijk starten met behandelen zijn cruciaal om de kansen op herstel te verhogen en de toekomst van deze jongeren zo veilig mogelijk te stellen... Lees het perscommuniqué!
Een interessant programma, met goede sprekers. Het geheel wordt gemodereerd door Prof. Kenny De Meirleir. Ook Olaf Bodden, wiens Duitse voetbalcarrière door ME werd geruïneerd, zal er zijn. Een entrance fee van 1 Euro kan geen beletsel zijn om je maandagnamiddag naar Brugge te begeven (Magdalenazaal).

"Onbewoonbaar verklaard" vanaf vandaag beschikbaar

Het nieuwe boek van ME/fibro-patiënte Yoke Boon, "Onbewoonbaar verklaard, CVS en fibromyalgie ongecensureerd" kan je vanaf vandaag bestellen via de site van Wwaow (World wide association of Writers). Voor de zachte prijs van 14,82 € is het boek van jou. Verzendkosten België 3,70 €, Nederland 4,78 €. Dit is de bestelpagina.

Kort:
“Toch wil ik weer schrijven, voor mezelf, voor
anderen…
Het is sterker dan mezelf. In tegenstelling tot het
gepolijste, gecensureerde en zalvende van (...)
is dit dagboek zoals het is: hard, de
naakte waarheid, zonder franjes.
Ik besef dat ik mijn nek uitsteek en dat ik reacties
zal uitlokken. Maar dit is nu eenmaal de situatie en
ik neem geen blad voor de mond.
Dit is waarschijnlijk mijn laatste boek en ik wil het
allemaal gezegd hebben.
Het leven zoals het is: leven met zware CVS en
fibromyalgie.”

Voorpublicatie van Yoke Boon's nieuwe boek

Yoke Boon, vroeger auteur van 'De strandstoel in mijn keuken' (supertitel trouwens, als je weet waarover ME/CVS gaat) schreef een nieuw boek : 'Onbewoonbaar verklaard'. Alle info op www.yokeboon.be.
Voorpublicatie beschikbaar via de site.
Ik ben alvast gebiologeerd door wat ik in die voorpublicatie las, en ik hoop dat Yoke echt die rauwe ellende kan beschrijven, dat 'afgesloten zijn' van echt leven, de in-diepe miserie die zwaar getroffen ME-patiiënten overkomt,..... Ik kijk ernaar uit om het boek te lezen, en bericht zeker als het verschenen is....