Hair Care Info | Regular Care of Hair

Hair Care Info

Regular Care of Hair:

Taking care of hair is in fact much the same as taking care of skin. An effective hair care discipline involves cleansing, toning and conditioning routines carried out with religious regularity.

Tips about Tea | Is Tea Harmful ?

Tips about Tea

Is Tea Harmful?

Nobody knows exactly, where or when, the first cup of tea was brewed. According to folklore, Emperor "Shen Nung" who reigned over China in 2732 BC discovered the stimulating effect of tea accidentally when wild tea leaves fell into his pot of boiling drinking water.

Tetanus Prevention Tips

Tetanus

Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a serious but preventable disease that affects the body's muscles and nerves. It typically arises from a skin wound that becomes contaminated by a bacterium called Clostridium tetani, which is often found in soil.

Nail Fungus Prevention Tips

Nail Fungus Info

Ok, so you think you may have a nail fungus.  You have noticed that your nails are turning a yellowish brown color and they are starting to flake.  You are not alone, medical experts estimate that approximately 20% of Americans have a nail fungus infection.  So, how do you get rid of it?  You're options are basically to use prescription drugs, over-the-counter creams or try herbal supplements and topical solutions.  In our opinion, herbal nail fungus supplements and topical solutions have a number of advantages over the other treatment options.

Guide To Loose Body Fat | How to Lose Body Fat

These days we live in a very fast paced society where we do not have the time to learn about the foods we consume or the health we should maintain. Whenever we are hungry we eat the food that is easily available. We are in such a hurry that we do not bother to learn whether the food we are consuming has the proper nutritional value or whether it is a balanced diet with proper concentration of essential elements required by our body. If we want to have any amount of weight loss we will have to pay attention to what we are eating and engage in some form of physical activity.

Dengue | fatal disease | causes | cures | How to fight Dengue | Causes and Prevention of Dengue Fever | Dengue Tips | Dengue Fever medicine

Dengue - fatal disease, causes and cures

How to fight Dengue? Causes and Prevention of Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a flu kind of illness spread by mosquito bites. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family virus. This is also widely known as 'Break bone fever' due to the severe joint pain caused during the attack. Dengue can be diagnosed by blood test. The infected person as such cannot spread the infection but can be a source to spread it.

Low Back Pain Info

What makes up the spine?

The lower spine consists of five bones, called the lumbar vertebrae. The vertebrae support the body and protect the spinal core and nerves. Between each vertebra is a disk filled with a jelly-like material. The disks act as shock absorbers for the vertebrae. Along the spine are many nerves. Injury to these nerves can cause pain.

Pregnancy Tips

Pregnancy Do's and Don'ts

This page on www.medicaldoctoronline.blogspot.com is about Pregnancy and being pregnant. It covers having a fit pregnancy, early pregnancy test, and exercise during pregnancy. This resource page will help you find what you need to known about being pregnant.

Eczema Prevention Tips

What is eczema? 

Eczema is a common skin condition that can cause mild to extreme irritation. When eczema is mild, it often causes dry, hot and itching skin. In more severe forms, eczema causes raw, broken and cracked skin.

Scratching the irritated skin or ignoring treatment can result in oozing or weeping patches, which are prone to infection. The condition is not contagious and may flare up and recede due to a variety of internal and external conditions. Eczema is also called dermatitis and may be a chronic condition.

Malaria Prevention Tips

What is malaria?

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite. Patients with malaria typically are very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. Four kinds of malaria parasites can infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.

AIDS Prevention Info

AIDS Tips for Teens

AIDS is a condition caused by a virus called HIV that attacks a person's immune system, making it defenseless against diseases and infections. The full medical name for AIDS is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and the virus is called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Diarrhea Prevention Tips

Tips on how to cope with diarrhea

This page has some suggestions for ways to cope with diarrhea.  As well as taking any medication from your doctor, it’s possible to make small lifestyle changes to help you cope better.

Diabetes Health Tips

Diabetes - General Information

Artificial Pancreas Safe, Effective in Early Study 

An "artificial pancreas" designed to deliver the key blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin to diabetic patients without the need for injections has been found safe and effective in a preliminary study with ten patients.

The device is an insulin reservoir, implanted in the tissue lining the abdominal cavity and connected to a sensor implanted in the jugular vein. The reservoir requires insulin refills every month or so. When the sensor detects an increase in blood glucose, the reservoir delivers the required amount of insulin.

Typhoid Fever Prevention Tips

Typhoid Fever


What is typhoid fever?

It is an illness caused by a bacterium called Salmonella typhi and is contracted by drinking water or eating food contaminated by Salmonella. There are about 107 different strains of the bacteria.

High Blood Pressure Tips

Tips to help you control your high blood pressure

Make sure your blood pressure is under 140/90 mm Hg

If your systolic pressure is over 140, ask your doctor what you can do to lower it.  

 If you have diabetes it is even more important to maintain your blood pressure at an acceptable level, which reduces long-term bassociated with this disease process.  You should be receiving regular monitoring and advice from you GP/diabetic practitioner.

Vomiting Prevention Tips

Vomiting Info


Vomiting can be an exhausting and unpleasant experience, caused by a number of conditions. The term 'vomiting' refers to the forceful ejection of contents of stomach through the mouth. Popularly known as 'being sick' or throwing up', vomiting is a reflex action caused by stimulation of vomiting center in the brain stem.

Hearing Loss Tips

Hearing Loss Defined

Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults. Roughly one-third of Americans over 60 and 40 to 50 percent of those 75 and older have hearing loss.

People with hearing loss find it difficult to talk with friends and family. They may also have trouble understanding a doctor's advice, responding to warnings, and hearing doorbells and alarms.

Arthritis Tips

Arthritis Info

Arthritis ('arth' meaning joint, 'itis' meaning inflammation) isn't a one-note story or even a few variations on a single theme; it actually consists of more than 100 different conditions.

These can be anything from relatively mild forms of tendinitis (as in 'tennis elbow') and bursitis to crippling systemic forms, such as rheumatoid arthritis. There are pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and arthritis-related disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, that involve every part of the body. There are forms of the disease, such as gout that almost nobody connects with arthritis and there are other conditions - like osteoarthritis, the misnamed 'wear and tear' arthritis - that a good many people think is the only form of the disease.

Flu Prevention Tips

Useful tips about the Flu 

The rewards of eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily are worth the effort, proven to be strong weapons to fight the forces of flu and colds.

Keep tissues handy for coughs and sneezes.  Then dispose of tissues in a "no-touch" container.  This is a container that is emptied without touching the contents.

Smell problem Prevention Tips

Problems with Smell

Problems with smell are common in older people. Thirty percent of older Americans between the ages of 70 and 80 have a problem with their sense of smell. Two out of three people over 80 have a problem with their sense of smell.

Problems with smell can have a big impact on the lives of older people. Our sense of smell lets us fully enjoy the scents and fragrances in the environment, like roses, coffee, and rain.

Anxiety Prevention Tips

Anxiety  Info   

Everybody knows what it's like to feel anxious “ the butterflies in your stomach before a first date, the tension you feel when your boss is angry, the way your heart pounds if you're in danger. Anxiety rouses you to action. It gears you up to face a threatening situation. It makes you study harder for that exam, and keeps you on your toes when you're making a speech. In general, it helps you cope.

How to Keep Healthy

Many of us suffer needlessly when it comes to our well-being or physical health. In most cases this can be attributed to a lack of knowledge about our lifestyle to include our eating habits along with physical activity. If we learn how to keep healthy, our lives would be so much more enjoyable. With minor tweaks in the way we approach our health and wellness, we can live a much more productive life, not only physically, but mentally as well as spiritually. To do this, we must adhere to good habits that include diet, exercise, eliminating stress, and coping with or eliminating diseases and conditions.

Diet

With so many places to find a fast meal, it is hard to maintain control of your eating habits when coupled with a fast pace lifestyle. We do need food to provide the energy our bodies need, but it is our choices that ultimately help or harm us. From increasingly large burgers to fried chicken, we are bombarded with endless quick meals. However, we must give our body what it needs and not what our taste buds want. A good diet limits the amount of meat intake and increases the amount of fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, and nuts to keep your system running smoothly.

Exercise

The other key component to keeping healthy is regular exercise. You don’t have to be a gym rat or anything of that nature, but you must develop some type of workout. It can be something as little as walking. You just need to get your heart rate up for a good 20 minutes to really burn calories and get the blood flow pumping. Taking just 30 minutes of your day is all you really need. You can do as little as 3 to 4 days a week or make it a daily routine. Set a goal to exercise 30 minutes a day. If you eliminate 500 calories from your daily diet and burn 500 calories from daily exercise, you can average the loss of two pounds a week! This can become a habit that you wouldn’t mind having.

Eliminate stress

Our bodies are not equipped to deal with stress on a routine basis. Constant stress can lead to a rise in blood pressure which increases your chance for a stroke or a heart attack. It also affect the blood cells that aid in fighting infections. These weaken cells leave you helpless against common colds, other illnesses, and medical conditions.

Manage, Avoid, or Eliminate diseases and conditions

Having a disease or a medical condition can severely affect the quality and quantity of your life. Diseases like diabetes and high cholesterol can take a heavy toll on your body. Conditions such as arthritis or heartburn acid reflux may appear as a minor inconvenience, but the continuous affect on your body can make for serious long-term health problems. Take steps to listen to your body when it talks to you. When you feel pain or notice a difference in your overall health, your body is warning you of something that has it off balance and needs your attention. Don’t hesitate to call your doctor. The earlier you respond to these warnings the better.

There is no big secret on how to keep healthy. If you take care of your body, it will do the same for you in return. It is best that you take every measure possible to lead a healthy lifestyle. Avoid things that are not good for the body or moderate your intake to eliminate long term damage that can arise from it. If you are not managing your diet, exercising, and remaining stressed-out, it is only a matter of time before your body falls ill. Be proactive and keep healthy by treating your body right.

Insomnia Raises Risk of High Blood Pressure

Researchers Add to List of Health Risks for Poor Sleepers

Insomniacs who sleep less than five hours a night are five times more likely to develop high blood pressure than sound sleepers who get enough rest, a new study shows.

The link between another sleep disorder, sleep apnea, and hypertension is well established. But the newly published study is one of the first to find that insomnia also raises the risk for high blood pressure.

Researchers estimate that 8% to 10% of the U.S. population may be at risk for high blood pressure related to chronic insomnia.

"We have known for many years that insomniacs have a high risk for depression and other psychiatric disorders," study researcher Alexandros N. Vgontzas, MD, tells WebMD. "Now we are increasingly recognizing the association with medical morbidities like high blood pressure."

Vgontzas, who directs the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at the Penn State College of Medicine, says the major strength of the new study is that it included both subjective and objective measures of insomnia.

Poor Sleepers vs. Sound Sleepers

The study involved 1,741 randomly selected adults living in central Pennsylvania who agreed to spend a night in a sleep laboratory.

Based on their responses to questionnaires designed to assess sleep quality, more than half of the study participants were classified as being normal sleepers, 8% had insomnia with symptoms persisting for at least one year, and 22% were classified as being poor sleepers who had difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or had poor-quality sleep.

A little more than half of the participants slept more than six hours, which was considered normal.

The sleep assessment revealed that:

* People who slept less than five hours a night and had insomnia had the highest risk of hypertension, with a fivefold greater risk than people who slept more than six hours a night without insomnia or poor sleep.

* Those who slept five to six hours a night and had insomnia had a 3.5-fold increase in high blood pressure risk, compared to normal sleepers without insomnia or poor sleep.

* The high-blood-pressure risk among people who reported having insomnia, but slept for more than six hours during their night in the sleep laboratory, was similar to people who described themselves as normal sleepers.

The findings are published in the April issue of the journal Sleep.

"We found little increase in risk among people who were unhappy with the quality of their sleep but who did not have evidence of insomnia on objective measurement," Vgontzas says.

Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Sleep researcher William C. Kohler, MD, tells WebMD that he is not surprised by the findings.

He points to a growing body of research linking lack of sleep to a wide range of medical conditions, including obesity in adults and children, and related diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

Kohler is medical director of the Florida Sleep Institute in Spring Hill and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

"There is more awareness about the importance of sleep to our overall health, but despite this, very few physicians adequately screen their patients for sleep problems," he says. "This should be routine."

The typical adult needs about eight hours of sleep a night, but Kohler says a few people can get by on four or five hours and others need nine or 10.

"If your body needs eight hours and you typically sleep for five or six, you will pay for it by being tired all the time and not functioning all that well," he says.

He says insomniacs can take steps to improve their sleep, including:

* Reserve the bedroom for sleeping and sex. Your sleeping space should not do double duty as a home office or media center. "A person with sleep problems shouldn't watch TV in bed, eat in bed, or even read in bed," Kohler says. "The bedroom should be for sleeping."

* If you don't fall asleep in 20 minutes, get up and do something boring. The bed often becomes a war zone for people who have trouble sleeping, he says. Instead of lying there tossing and turning, get up and perform an activity that isn't too stimulating until you feel tired.

* Have a small snack. Kohler recommends a glass of milk, cheese, or even turkey

* Create a nice sleep environment. The lights should be off and you should be comfortable.

* Exercise, but not just before going to bed. Studies show that exercising improves sleep, but doing it too close to bedtime can keep you awake.

By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Health News

Outgoing Nature Could Get You to 100

Want to live to 100 or beyond? Be very outgoing and know how to manage your stress.

A new study found that those were the traits found in the children of people who lived to 100, and longevity is thought to run in families.

"We have observed that these appear to be really important traits that set the children of centenarians apart from other people the same age who may not age as well," said Dr. Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study, which focuses on older people and their family members, has tracked the health of children of centenarians as they age, trying to uncover the common denominators of longevity.

The latest findings are published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Because research had already found that longevity runs strongly in families, Perls and his colleagues decided to look at 246 offspring of those who lived to 100 to see if their children, now about age 75, had common personality traits. They evaluated levels of five personality traits -- neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness -- and compared them with published norms for each trait.

They found that the offspring of centenarians were more extraverted than the published norms. That means "they are quite social, establish important friendships and view these friendships as 'safety nets,' " important sources of help when needed, Perls said.

The offspring of centenarians scored lower than the norms on neuroticism, the study found. Perls said that translates into an ability to manage stress very well.

Women in the study also scored high in agreeableness, a trait that might pave the way for friendships, Perls said. The men in the study were no higher in agreeableness than normal, and men and women scored average levels for openness and conscientiousness.

As for the exact relationship between personality and longevity, "we are relying on scientific literature to understand exactly what it means," Perls said. For instance, he said, it makes sense that scoring lower in neuroticism -- and handling stress well -- would contribute to a longer life, because stress has been shown in scientific studies to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Other research has found social ties to be important to an older person's health.

"We really found that the offspring of centenarians, in their 70s and early 80s, are very much following in the footsteps of their parents," Perls said. "They have 60% reduced rates of heart disease, stroke and diabetes."

The latest study findings do not surprise Colin Milner, chief executive of the International Council on Active Aging, based in Vancouver, Canada. "It's probably been said before in different ways," he said of the study's findings on the longevity benefits of managing stress and forming friendships.

"We are talking about the positive aspects of life," Milner said. He said that his grandmother, who is 98, has the traits Perls found that are associated with longevity. When she became a widow, Milner said, she stayed positive and remained open to new experiences -- which for her included becoming a hockey fan -- and making new friends.

When he gives lectures to people at retirement communities on active aging, "you walk in and see who is engaged in life," he said. "If you are engaged, you are less negative, more open, and more agreeable. That's why you are engaged."

And, he said, "people will engage with you" if you have those traits.

But what to do if you aren't naturally outgoing and aren't good at handling stress?

Remember, Perls said, that you can get better at each. People can make a point of trying to be more outgoing, he said. They might plan to travel more, for instance, and would naturally meet people along the way.

"If you don't have a personality that naturally manages stress, figure out a way to reduce stress that works," he said. "Exercise, enjoy time with the family."