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Showing posts from April, 2010

Asthma Coach

Asthma is a chronic condition that is treatable and controllable but definitely not curable. Sufferers often describe the feeling as a metal band squeezing their chest. The traditional model of managing patient care doesn't work for complicated chronic problems like asthma. A more creative way of management is to provide a disease manager or who helps a roster of children with asthma through their treatment plans. Millions of American children suffer from asthma and only within the past 10 years have physicians found adequate ways of controlling this condition. Unfortunately both children and adults today dont always get the right treatment because many people don't realize that asthma requires two types of medication to adequately control the condition. Think of the lungs as being too irritable and when they are exposed to a trigger such as pet dander or smoke the muscle fibers around the bronchioles constrict causing the wheezing sound that is so indicative of asthma. Rescue ...

Joint Replacement for Arthritis

Arthritis is a generic term that encompasses over 100 different medical conditions, all of which affects the musculoskeletal system in one way or another. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritic condition and affects over 60% of those who are diagnosed with arthritis each year. Osteoarthritis causes the degeneration of the joints to the point which the opposing bones begin to rub against each other. This causes incredible pain, discomfort, disability and swelling. One of the single greatest surgical contributions made to the treatment protocol of your arthritis has been joint replacement or arthroplasty. In a joint replacement surgery the physician will replace the destroyed joint with an artificial one. In the case of the knee or hip the artificial joint is made out of metal and plastic. In hand replacements the new joint is commonly made out of silicone or some of the patient’s own tissue. Also known as arthroplasty, joint replacement surgery is very common. Knees, hips a...

Easy Ways to Change Your Family’s Diet for the Better

Do you want to eat a more healthful diet, but your family isn’t on board? Or maybe your family is willing, but you aren’t sure what to do. Where do you start? Does it have to be complicated, difficult, or expensive? The good news is, you can improve your family’s dietary habits for the better and it does not have to be difficult. It can even save you money. Here are some ideas. 1. Replace all white with brown This is a fairly simple first step to take to improve your family’s diet, but it has a big impact. You don’t have to do it all at once; for example, you can add a bit of whole wheat flour to white flour baked goods, then gradually increase the amount of whole grain flour. Try starting with whole grain pancakes, waffles, or pasta – these are hardly distinguishable from their white-flour cousins. Here is a partial list of “white” foods and their “brown” counterparts: - White rice / Whole grain brown rice – White flour / Whole wheat flour – White sugar / Sucanat or raw, unfiltered ...

Medications to Treat Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure is a chronic long-term condition caused by damage to the heart muscle. Because the heart muscle is no longer able to pump blood around the body effectively a significant number of symptoms occurs, which is a side effect of a lack of oxygen. For instance, individuals often suffer from fatigue and a decreased ability to do any type of physical activity because the blood is shunted away from the legs and extremities in order to give the highest concentration of oxygen to the more vital organs. Medications are only one of the factors in the arsenal used to treat the symptoms of congestive heart failure in individuals who suffer from this rather significant condition. People who do have congestive heart failure may have to take many different types of medications, all of which can have potential side effects. Potentially, this mixture of medications can also induce dangerous drug interactions. For this reason it is highly important that an individual who is taking m...

Meditate to Medicate

Meditation, deep breathing, and visualization are finally being recognized as genuine methods to aid in becoming fitter and healthier. It is becoming clear that such techniques are not simply the preserve of monks in temples but, instead, are readily available for the everyday person who desires better health, higher energy levels, and boosted immunity. Especially for those of us who follow an exercise regime, learning a couple of basic meditation or deep breathing based exercises can have a huge positive impact upon recovery from training and immunity levels. Interestingly the University of Wisconsin found the positive emotions after meditation led to beneficial changes in brain activity and antibody responses to flu vaccine. This is AWESOME! It is showing that all you require for boosted immunity is patience to learn and perform some fundamental meditation techniques. You don’t necessarily need pills and potions. Often they are over-priced and ineffective anyway. You just need to lea...

The Correlation Between Prostate Health and Sex

The prostate gland is a small walnut sized gland that can bring about a drastic change in your sex life. Prostate problems arise from a benign or malignant growth in the gland. Benign prostatic hyperplasia, as is evident from the name itself, is benign in nature and a common condition among a large majority of men, usually after they cross the age of forty. Malignancy in prostate grows slowly and is contained within the gland in most cases. However, in many cases it can spread outside the gland too. Prostate health and advancing age has a dual effect on the sexual capabilities of an individual. On one hand prostate medicine or other treatments like radiation and surgery can result in a side effect that is related to sexual capabilities. On the other hand, advancing age in its own right can decrease sexual prowess. During or after treatment for prostate enlargement, men may go through a period when they face erectile dysfunction, which is an inability to retain an erection long enough t...

Nutritional Guidelines for Healthy Bones

With the recent medical education push toward prevention and treatment of osteoporosis more and more people are searching for ways to naturally prevent this debilitating disease. Osteoporosis bone fractures, although not life-threatening, does result in death of the sufferer approximately 30% of the time. Patients who suffer from hip fractures also have a high risk of disability and poor motor function. will help you to prevent osteoporosis bone fractures and worsening of your condition. Fortunately, osteoporosis isn’t a have or have not disease. As people age over the age of 35 they begin to lose bone faster than it can be manufactured by the body. The question usually isn’t do you lose bone but at what rate and can you slow the progress. Many people understand the role that calcium plays in the . What they may not realize is that dairy products aren’t the only place to get a good source of calcium. Healthy eating guidelines recommend that you consume most of your calcium from plant ...

Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is usually a chronic disease that begins insidiously when the heart muscle is damaged by disease or illness. At other times the symptoms of heart failure can begin suddenly. There are diseases that can weaken the heart muscle, such as hypertension or high blood pressure, diseases that cause the heart muscle to stiffen or diseases that increase the demand for oxygen by the tissue that overloads the work of the heart muscle. The heart muscle isn’t able to keep up with the work required and blood backs up before entering the heart. This causes congestion in the tissues as fluid leaks from the blood vessels and causes the tissues to swell. This can happen in the ankles, feet, lungs or other areas of the body. This heart failure can affect many different organs of the body, all of which contribute to the signs and . One of the symptoms is shortness of breath which limits the physical abilities of the person who suffers from heart failure. Because the blood als...

Coping With Erectile Dysfunction

Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is defined as the loss of a mans ability to have and maintain an erection. This can either be due to physical or psychological factors, or a combination of both. Although these psychological factors may be difficult for the man to admit, men who cannot have an erection may still have a strong sexual drive and can feel quite vulnerable about the impotence. More common in older men, situations such as marital problems; stress; anxiety; certain types of medication; alcohol; smoking; diabetes; high blood pressure; money issues; are among the most notable factors. Severe depression may also play a part in this condition as well. It should be noted, however, that even though a man cannot maintain an erection for psychological reasons, he may continue to have erections during the night. While he may have a problem with one partner, he may not have the same problem with another. Therefore, the cause can be with either him or his partner. Erectile dysfunction...

What Is Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart condition in which the muscle becomes inflamed, possibly from infection, and does not work as well as it should. There can actually be a multitude of causes for cardiomyopathy which includes some viral infections. Individuals who suffer from cardiomyopathy will be diagnosed with either primary or secondary disease. Primary myopathy is attributed to a specific cause in the body, such as heart valve disease or congenital heart defects. Secondary cardiomyopathy is related to diseases which involve other organs or the heart. The heart muscle will become enlarged, thick or rigid and in more rare cases, muscles gets replaced with scar tissue. As cardiomyopathy becomes worse the heart becomes weaker. It is less able to pump blood throughout the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This leads to congestive heart failure, and arrhythmias. As the muscle becomes weaker other severe complications can arise, such as heart valve problems. At this time physi...

Diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure, also known as CHF, is a chronic and long-term heart condition that results in significant symptoms which impact an individual’s life. When symptoms occur they are often significant enough to send an individual to their primary care physician for diagnosis. People may experience shortness of breath, fatigue, difficulty with exertion, swelling of the feet or ankles, or chest pain. The is usually confirmed by a physical examination and combined with a thorough medical history and a variety of noninvasive tests. Your physician and will start with a thorough medical history which will evaluate when you first notice symptoms, your past medical history, any history of infectious diseases which may have negatively affected the health of your heart and any past familial history of coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure. During the patient history the physician will have their information about any alcohol and drug use, any history of high blood pressure in...

Hemorroids Relief

Symptoms of hemorrhoids include itching, burning, and pain. The magnitude of discomfort depends on how serious the hemorrhoids are, but regardless of the severity, it is wise to deal with the problem immediately. While hemorrhoids may not be life-threatening, living with hemorrhoids can be uncomfortable and downright painful! Hemorrhoids typically don’t go away on their own, so it’s best to find a cure right away and get the relief you need. Hemorrhoids are caused by extreme pressure forced upon the anus or the rectum. Heavy lifting, constipation, and remaining seated for long stretches of time can all put duress on the rectum area and cause veins to bulge. Bulging veins in that part of the body is what hemorrhoids are. Going to the bathroom and sitting, two things we all do each day, further inflame hemorrhoids, causing the pain to worsen. In a worst-case scenario, hemorrhoids actually burst, which causes bleeding, severe pain, and possibly even a blood clot. When this occurs, the hem...

Why Do I Have Skin Tags?

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A skin tag is often described as little bits of skin that rejects from the surrounding area from a narrow stalk.  They usually pop up around the neck, under arms, eyelids and in some cases under the breasts.  Although they vary up in an appearance they are usually smooth or slightly wrinkled and irregular.  Early or beginning skin tags can be small as a flattened bump and others can get as large as a grape. Although skin tags are a type of growth they are completely harmless.  This means they are not cancerous and have not been found to be calm potentially cancerous if left untreated.  Most people tend to leave them alone in the areas of the body where they are not very noticeable unless they grow to be very large. Although researchers know that they are not potentially dangerous they also are not exactly sure what causes the skin tag.  For the most part they tend to start appearing around middle age and have several factors which seem to play a role.  The first one is chafing or irrit...