Practical Health Information

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Monday, June 01, 2009

Swine Flu Immunity

Swine Flu - a not-so-pretty name for symptoms of fever, coughing, runny nose and/or sore throat, joint aches, severe headache, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and/or lack of appetite.Combating this virus, which has already claimed the lives of more than 100 people in Mexico alone, according to some reports and which has spread to other countries, could prove to be a formidable task, even in the United States. Why? Well, there is presently no known cure for this strain of flu and with more than 50 million U.S. citizens uninsured, the number of those who could be adversely affected is staggering. Sadly, the U.S. has reported its first confirmed fatality from the virus; a 23 month-old child from Texas.

Let's start with the common sense tips, try to avoid getting into crowded places especially the one that attract tourists such as night club and bars because been into those places at this time your chance of getting swine flu will be higher. If you are like me who spend 4 or 5 times a week in a gym, make sure to spray the equipment before using them, most gym provide those kind of spray cleaning free for their members to use.

Diet is very important. Sugar and refined flour products stress the immune system. Similarly, hydrogenated oils and deep-fried foods should be avoided. Fresh, brightly colored produce will help to boost your immune system. Fresh produce is high in vitamin C. The bright color in plant foods is from carotenes and bioflavonoids. These are powerful antioxidants that will help to protect your cells. The carotenes are precursors to vitamin A.

There are many effective ways to manage stress. These include the relaxation response, meditation, hypnosis, visualization and so forth. The important thing is to find a technique that appeals to you and practice it regularly.

Eat a good diet, including fish, antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and vitamin d. In a study reported in archives of internal medicine, published Feb 23, 2009, patients with low levels of vitamin d were more likely to sustain an upper respiratory tract infection.

If you have flu symptoms (such as coughing, sneezing, fever, vomiting, diarrhea), stay home from work or school to avoid spreading the disease. Do not return until two days after your symptoms are gone. If you have more severe symptoms (such as difficulty breathing), visit your doctor or healthcare provider. But if your symptoms are moderate, try to stay away from the hospital as you run the risk of further spreading the influenza to others with compromised immune systems.

Get in the habit of washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you are not near water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Although influenza spreads by respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing, it can be carried on other surfaces.

Purchase a supplement that has anti-viral effect. Zeolite is an ideal supplement because it has demonstrated anti-viral action, and it ALSO removes heavy metals and foreign chemicals. This has the added benefit of freeing your immune system from focusing on foreign chemicals, so it can now focus on killing virus particles. Just remember that all zeolite supplements are not effective. It is important to choose the right one. Otherwise you may just be spending your money and still be without protection.

By: gupta12

Monday, May 18, 2009

Five Causes Of Sciatica And Ways To Treat It

Have you ever felt pains that can be felt either in the buttock, lower back, or maybe running down the upper part of your thigh? These afflictions can be nagging episodes of Back Pain and may also be characterized by weakness or numbness. If you have felt this type of pain then you may have experienced sciatica.

Today, most of us are experiencing or at least have experienced Sciatica. There are a number of causes for sciatica and we are going to discuss five of them in this article and at the same time the things that we could do in order to have relief of this pain. The reliefs may vary from a surgical and non-surgical approach.

The most common cause of sciatica is spinal disc herniation. Going back to human anatomy focusing on the skeletal system, our spinal discs have two components. The annulus or the cartilage part and the liquid nucleus. There are times, could be due to improper posture when reaching for an object or accident, when the nucleus can be displaced and protrude through the cartilage that surrounds it. This is the state where the spinal disc is herniated. The protrusion of the nucleus can cause swelling and impinge a nerve root. This will cause back pain or sciatica, the generic term is a Slipped Disc. But most of the time this back pain will go away once the swelling subsides.

Another cause is the Piriformis syndrome. This is where the Piriformis muscle, located at the buttock part, is impinging or compressing the sciatic nerve. The compression is because of spasms caused by accident or trauma to the Piriformis muscle.

Spinal tumors are also causing sciatica because of the growth of these tumors are compressing the nerve. These tumors may induce terrible back pain and may run up to the lower extremity area such as the legs and feet. Pregnancy can also cause sciatica, this is because as the baby grows, it also stretches the uterus and thus impinges on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is often triggered by work related issues, for example if you carry something to heavy for yourself.

The measures to be taken in order to relieve sciatica may differ depending on the cause. The most common relief for sciatica is taking in anti-inflammatory medications. Therapy is also another way of relieving sciatica. If you do want something that you can do at home, you can try doing some stretches. Worst case scenario for relief is when you need to have surgery. Surgery however is risky and the process would involve removal of a nerve that is within the spine. One wrong move then more damage could be made and thus leading to a more serious problem.

Sciatica may come from a number of causes and have a number of remedies. Being careful with your body is probably the best way for you to not experience sciatica.

By: Cravenplan

Sciatica is a horrible form of Back pain that can be treated with Manual lymph Drainage

Monday, May 11, 2009

All About Laser Eye Correction

Laser eye correction might not mean anything to some people. But it definitely means a lot to people suffering from near sightedness, far sightedness, or astigmatism. This is a cool scientific breakthrough that allows eye doctors – ophthalmologists – to cure a variety of eye conditions using laser.

Laser eye surgery is also known as ocular surgery, orogolomistician surgery, eye surgery, or sometimes the term is used interchangeably with LASTIK surgery. The last one is incorrect. LASTIK surgery is a more complicated surgical procedure used to treat eye problems different from the ones that are treated with laser eye correction.

Laser eye correction surgery has more to do with eyesight, as the name suggests. If you got poor vision, laser eye correction could make life easier for you. No more eyeglasses. But since the eye is a sensitive organ, it’s best to consult with a professional ophthalmologist first regarding the surgery before making any rash decisions. An ophthalmologist should tell you whether laser eye correction is necessary to improve your vision.

Anesthetizing a patient is an important aspect of eye surgery. Imagine going under the knife on the operating table without anesthesia—or you don’t have to imagine at all, simply read some history books on the Middle Ages. This is why anesthesiologists work very closely with ophthalmologists during eye surgery operations.

This website contains everything you need to know about laser eye correction – laser eye correction surgery to becoming a laser eye doctor to long term LASIK complications. So read on before consulting with your resident eye doctor.

By: Arcel

You can view more information at Laser Eye Correction.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Cure Tinnitus - Ring In The Ear

A disorder in the ear, known as tinnitus is known as an abnormal ear noise. The abnormal ear noise is often only heard by the patient experiencing it. The noise is caused by the ear itself or the brain. If you want to protect your ear from such a disorder, then you should know its causes, treatment, and prevention.

Is tinnitus a disease? The answer is no, tinnitus is not considered a disease. It can be a symptom of previous and original causes. There are lots of things that could bring tinnitus to a person. Some of these things include previous and current infections in the ear, wax and other foreign objects getting inside the ears, nose allergies that either prevent or stimulate fluid drain resulting to build up of wax and even ear injuries brought by extremely loud noises. Sounds that could be recognized by a person suffering tinnitus may vary from some peaceful background sounds into those that are almost undistinguishable even with loud noise in the environment.

Various mental conditions have been connected with tinnitus. This is because some people suffering from severe ringing in the ears can feel isolated when the noise hinders their daily routines. However, tinnitus is not a mental disorder. It would be best to seek counseling for the depression and seek help to cope with the noise. A good tinnitus treatment would be masking. Learning to drown the noise inside the ears or head by using external noise is good way to cope with tinnitus. Various electronic devices can be used such as clocks ticking or TV or radio hissing. Comforting music or meditation music can also be used in order to drown out the ringing in ears.

An important cause of ringing of the ears is aging. As people grow old, many of their body functions diminish. Hearing is one of the body functions that weaken as we grow old. A weakened hearing means that you can no longer hear external noise clearly, and thus internal noises, the tinnitus, could be heard more clearly.

There are actually very little is known about this condition relatively to other hearing problems. some tend to over react about it, some are shocked and also some panics a lot, actually, this is not good according to researches, because, people became more stressed out and will most possibly have sleepless nights because of worrying so much, so instead of helping themselves to overcome the problem they worsen their conditions

We saw that tinnitus is not a disease. Rather, it is a symptom resulting from several causes. Tinnitus could be caused by some ear infections. Foreign matters getting into the ear and harming it can also be a source of tinnitus. There are other things that can cause tinnitus such as accumulated wax in the ear, nose allergies affecting the ear, and even ear injury from loud noises such as explosions, firecrackers and the like. In some cases, oral medicines produce side effects that lead to tinnitus.

By: AnnaGold

Learn how you can cure your tinnitus in a very simple and effective method, read the tinnitus blog and share your experience with outhers.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Relaxation Techniques For Panic Attacks

There are many relaxation techniques available to reduce the intensity and occurrence of Panic Attacks. The following techniques are the most common:
• Meditation
• Visualization
• Deep breathing
• Sounds

Meditation can allow you to learn how to turn your focus of your thoughts from your Panic Attack symptoms to your breathing. By concentrating on your breathing, you will be able to stop thinking about your Panic Attack, thus, giving you the chance to gain control of the situation and get yourself out of your Panic Attack.

Visualization is very similar to meditation. Here you can use a recorded tape or your own imagination to describe a peaceful and pleasant place to be. You will focus on this place and in your mind, be there. This will then allow you to turn your focus from you Panic Attack symptoms to your peaceful place. It will also lower your blood pressure, normalize your breathing, relax your muscles and make you feel relaxed.

Deep Breathing is one of the simplest things that you can do to relax yourself. Here you will close your eyes and just concentrate on your breathing. Breathing in slowly, holding it for a few seconds and then breathing out slowly. After you have done this for a few minutes, you should feel relaxed and calm.

Sounds can be very relaxing. You can turn on some soothing music, such as ocean waves, a fire crackling or classical lullaby. Make yourself comfortable and just close your eyes and envision you are somewhere else. For example, you are sitting on the beach in front of the ocean with the warm breeze softly blowing your hair and the sun slowly going down in the sky. Think how peaceful this would make you feel. Your thoughts will turn from your Panic Attack symptoms and just fade away.

All of these techniques are different, yet, they all have a similar goal of giving you skills to learn to relax yourself and face a Panic Attack without feeling overwhelmed or out of control. Using these techniques along with other types of treatments can be a very effective combination for bringing relief and freedom from Panic Attacks that affect your life.

By: Shawnna McMains

Want to learn more about Panic Attacks from someone who has actually experienced them: Go to www.helpwithpanicattack.com or checkout this Free Report which is packed full of information about panic attacks.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Cataract Surgery Recovery Tips And Advice

Cataract surgery recovery is by and large quick with little or no problems whatsoever. After cataract surgery procedure, the patients usually go home and rest for the rest of the day. After the surgery the doctor will usually perform a short “post operation procedure”. The cataract surgery recovery of the phacoemulsification procedure will more quick and uncomplicated. Most doctors will usually advice their patient to use eye drops to promote healing. Patients who want to recover quickly are advised to wear a protective shield over their eye or eyes to protect the eyes from injuries. Patients must also keep their eye clean.

The patient usually goes home as soon as the patient has recovered from the operation procedure. Although the patient is discouraged from driving home and must have somebody with them within the first twenty-four hours after the operation procedure. The patient’s vision will clear within a few hours after the surgery procedure. Their vision will eventually improve quickly within a week or two.

After the cataract surgery procedure, the doctor will give the patient some anti-inflammatory eye drops if the patient’s eye or eyes are swollen. Antibiotic ointments or eye drops are given to the patient to prevent the infection of the eyes (even though cataract surgery complications are quite rare).

If you want to have a good cataract surgery recovery, make a follow up appointment with your ophthalmologist after a week of the cataract surgery procedure. The doctor will give you advice on how long to you will use the eye drops and when to start driving again. Your ophthalmologist will prescribe you with glasses within four weeks after the cataract surgery procedure.
To have a fast cataract surgery recovery you must follow these guidelines:
* Have a good rest two or three days after the surgery procedure.
* Avoid bending and lifting a few days after the surgery procedure. Bending and lifting causes the increase of pressure on your eyes and will lead to a longer healing process.
* Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes.
* As much as possible stay indoors. If it is unavoidable, cover your eyes if it is windy or in case something blows in your eyes.
* Do follow up visits to your doctor within a month or two. Be sure to have a follow up appointment the next day after the surgery procedure.
* Wear an eye patch for a few days after the surgery procedure.
* If you are experiencing some pain, loss of vision or notice some increase of redness in your eye or eyes, you must go to your doctor right away.
* In most cases, if you experience some discomfort or some leaking of fluid in the eyes, avoid pressing the eyes. It will cause damage to the post operative eye. Just wipe any discharge with clean tissue or cloth without rubbing or touching the eyes.
Follow all these and you will be guaranteed to have a fast cataract surgery recovery.

Please check out ArticleFit.com for useful tips and info about alzheimer.

By: Maryann Floretta

Learn more about weight loss at ArticleFit.com.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Do Stop Snoring Mouthpieces Actually Work?

Have you accepted the fact yet that you may be such a heavy snorer you are in danger of being thrown out of your bedroom in the middle of the night? If so, there are solutions on hand to help you and one such solution is a stop snoring mouthpiece.

Firstly, you need to ascertain what causes you to snore. For example, are you a "tongue based snorer" where your tongue slips back and obstructs the airway or perhaps a "mouth breather" where the air being sucked in can create a lot of vibration; which may, or may not be because of an abnormality in the construction of the nasal passages or small nostrils that would force you to breath through the mouth. Stop snoring mouthpieces are one option that may work if vibration is the problem.

Intially, the mouthpiece needs to be fitted/moulded to your mouth and when worn, it acts by keeping the mouth and tongue in the correct position to stop the vibrations. There are two types of stop snoring mouthpieces, one you can mould to fit yourself and the other has to be fitted by a dentist. This "mandibular advancement device" actually moves the jaw and tongue forward by between 0 and 12mm depending on the specific device and raising the soft palate to prevent any blockage of the airways that could lead to pronounced snoring.

If you have false teeth, gum disease or any mandibular joint dysfunction you should always take professional advice first. If buying a self-fitting device watch for whether or not any sideways movement is accommodated, and/or the ease of any possible mouth breathing as this is not possible with all devices.

Stop snoring mouthpieces are just one option and there are other possibilities such as anti-snoring pillows, nasal and throat sprays, other medications and exercises, or perhaps changes to the diet before you even have to consider surgery.

The remedy that works for the individual will differ according to how and why you snore. It is perhaps wise to consult a medical practitioner before you start buying any products. If you don't like the thought of putting a stop snoring mouthpiece device into your mouth all night, why not think about one of the anti-snoring pillows or another option is to consider the use of specific exercises.

By: Sophie June Hayes

Sophie has lived with a profound snorer for years! See Sophie's story at No More Snore. Find out what worked for her partner here.