Care Points

Hair loss can be caused by many factors, not all of them hormonal.  Stress can play an important role in hair loss, as can such activities as braiding the hair too tightly, causing lack of blood flow to the hair root.  Food allergies, chemicals, drugs and poor eating habits can all be contributing factors to hair loss.

Genetics, of course, play a major role in the amount and quality of hair that you possess, including such factors as colour, shine, thickness and even whether your hair is curly or straight.  For all the wonders of modern technology and scientific progress made by the human race, we have not yet discovered the cure for hair loss.

Most hair loss is permanent, but some is temporary, depending on environmental factors such as stress, which I have mentioned before.  Patients who undergo stringent chemotherapy treatments are very likely to suffer from hair loss, but after the treatments are stopped, hair re-growth is experienced.

Hormonal treatment in women and even in men can trigger hair loss.  This is particularly noted in some contraceptive pills designed to prevent pregnancy in women.  Chemical treatments on the hair itself can damage the hair follicles and even products designed to improve hair appearance, like hair thickeners, are not advised for use directly upon the scalp.

The best way to disguise hair loss is of course to apply the use of toupee’s, wigs, weaves and synthetic or natural hair implants.  The choice of product is a very personal choice, with one option being suitable to one person but abhorrent to another.  Each option has its pro’s and con’s and whichever you choose, the details will be fully explained by a professional.

Toupee’s and wigs can be attached with special types of glue or can be woven into your natural hair.  Some weaves are surgically attached to the scalp via the means of steel loops or hair loss sufferers can choose to have synthetic hair implanted into dormant follicles on the scalp.  The last option is to have strips of living hair surgically cut from your scalp and to then have the living follicles transplanted after having the wound stitched shut.  The only other option available is to dare to go bare!

Again, a very personal choice to make!  There is no way to guarantee that the genetic lottery will bless you with a healthy head of hair, even if your parents both sport glossy heads of exuberant curls!  Only time will tell if you’ll keep your Samson-like locks or if due to hair loss in the future you’ll brave that Kojak impersonation.

Right.  You’ve woken up this morning and whilst brushing your teeth you’ve noticed a fine line that you’re quite sure wasn’t there before.  Time to panic!  What can you do to reverse the visible signs of ageing, you wonder?  Ah, you are not the first, nor shall you be the last to ask this age-old question.

A visit to the beauty department can be quite confusing in and of itself.  Sure, there’s a well dressed and expertly coiffed lady at the cosmetics counter who will be only too happy to assist you, so long as you are going to buy the product that she is selling.  She’ll extol the virtues of anti-ageing cream X, but so will the ten other beauty professionals at each cosmetics stand you approach.

Hmmm.  My advice?  Educate yourself.  Each beauty product has a vast list of ingredients on its packaging, but what does all that mumbo jumbo actually mean?  Let’s begin with a fairly common ingredient in many popular anti-ageing creams that have proven results. Retinoid.  What are retinoid, you may ask?  These wonderful chemical additives cause the skin to build more skin cells more quickly, giving an overall smoother and finer appearance over an extended period of time.

Vitamins feed not only the body, but also the skin, so it should come as little surprise that you will find vitamins in some of the anti-ageing creams available on the market today. Vitamin C boosts collagen production, which gives the skin a fuller, plumper appearance and boosts blood flow to the skin, which increases nutrient uptake, feeding the skin more effectively.

Vitamin A is another popular additive to many anti-ageing skin creams.  It aids in sloughing off dead skin cells and in plumping the appearance of the skin.  Alpha-hydroxy acids are derived from fruit acids and this ingredient in anti-ageing creams helps to shed older, dead skin cells more quickly and effectively, revealing a smoother, finer, younger skin that exudes a youthful glow.

Your beauty regime will indeed benefit from the addition of one or two good anti-ageing creams, but as with all things, its going to be a case of trial and error until you find the one that is going to suit your skin type.  What works for one person will not necessarily suit the other, so don’t give up if you’re not happy with the first one you try.  Persevere, there is such a vast variety available, you are guaranteed to find the perfect one for you!

Anti ageing creams clutter the shelves of every high end department store on the planet and with so many name brands claiming to reverse the signs of ageing, it really is very difficult to choose any one product.

Choosing the correct product for your skin type and specific needs can be a daunting task indeed.  The old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ seem to apply.  Don’t wait until you are on the wrong side of ninety to decide to start shopping for a decent anti ageing cream.  Begin a skin care routine at an early age and you are less likely to look like last seasons Italian leather handbag when the years start to show.

Anti ageing creams cannot be expected to carry the entire load alone.  To maintain that youthful glow you will need to eat a healthy diet, exercise, get enough sleep and keep the dancing ‘til 3am fuelled by copious amounts of tequila to a minimum.  Anti ageing creams are a pick me up, a little helping hand, to maintaining a youthful appearance.

Ingredients in anti ageing creams that have been proven to assist in the maintenance of a youthful skin include vitamin A, which helps to reduce the depth of wrinkles.  The nourishment offered by vitamin C when applied to the skin increases blood flow and boosts collagen production.  Collagen is a component of the skin that assists in a plump, youthful appearance to the skin.

Alpha-hydroxy fruit acids speed up the process of shedding old skin cells, revealing the new skin beneath.  Retinoids are added to anti ageing skin creams to assist in the quicker production of new skin cells and over time the skin appears smoother and finer in appearance.

You have to choose the product that feels right for you and this, I’m afraid, requires kissing many frogs before you find your prince.  You will have the guidance of the usually well-informed cosmetics assistant at your local department store to assist, but as with all things, the proof is in the pudding and you’ll only know if you’re happy with your new anti ageing cream once you’ve used it for several months and notice improvements to your skin.

There is no happiness on earth that can be equated to the happiness of a person who successfully recovers from acne. Well, we know that there are much severe diseases and maladies than acne, however, acne are said to cause most mental embarrassment to the sufferer. No wonder people keep on trying different modes of treatment for treating their facial acne successfully. As with any other disease, it’s true for acne too that prevention is better than cure. But how can we prevent the acne menace? Here are the top 7 methods to prevent acne naturally:

1. Avoid deep fried food, dairy products, sugars, salty food stuffs, and the food that is highly processed and contains gluten.

2. As far as possible, try to limit the use of makeup that usually leads to clogging of pores and excess oiliness. This in turn results in acne. It is said that washing face merely with cold water is sufficient to clear acne, instead of using ample soap. Only if your work involves handling oils and fumes, you should use soap to clear out the skin.

3. Vegetables and fruits should make about 50A% of your daily diet. Along with supplementing your body with sufficient and healthy nutrients, you get enough fiber through these. The fiber clears up your bowel and thus, you enjoy good gastric health, one of the major causes for healthier skin.

4. The damaged skin is repaired during sleep. Therefore, sleep for at least 8 hours per day. The freshness you feel after getting up adds to your skin sheen.

5. Pat dry or air-dry your skin after washing. Avoid rubbing it with rough cloth or towel because it may spread your acne and also may result in infection.

6. The natural sunshine is also one of the healers of acne. You should not expose to excess heat of sun but soft natural sunshine if taken on face for some time everyday, it results in clearer skin.

7. Water intake: you should at least drink 10 glasses of water per day to experience the healing power water has on your acne. This is one of the sure shot and easiest remedies to treat acne naturally.

Follow the above guidelines scrupulously and you will surely enjoy a normal and healthy skin without acne. Well, it costs almost nothing to follow above regimen!

Millions of people in the whole world are suffering from obesity, now a major illness among human-beings. People are carrying out health campaigns and take out statistical information about obesity to make people aware of its consequences. Germany has been announced as one of the country having the highest number of overweight people in Europe. Hence the German government has undertaken a plan to improve the quality of food in schools and hospitals and implement regular exercises for children as obesity problems are prominent among children now days. The other reason for overweight people in Germany is the excessive drinking of beer. Now people are in search for solution to reduce their weight as quickly as possible.

Treatments are available for that purpose too. Oral treatment is the quickest medium to lose weight successfully. Following are the FDA approved oral medication for Obesity:

Xenical is an approved treatment for obesity. Xenical manufactured by Roche pharmaceuticals is clinically tested and has shown the desired results. Xenical with its main ingredient Orlistat works in the stomach and small intestines. It is a lipase inhibitor. It stops the lipase, the enzyme which breaks down the fats into smaller components to make digestion easier, from breaking down the extra fats from the food and does not let it get absorbed in the blood. Finally leading this unabsorbed fats directly to the bowels. Xenical Orlistat is available in the dosage of 120mg online.

Reductil Sibutramin an appetite suppressant works by reducing the craving for food and thus helps in weight loss. Reductil works by affecting the neurotransmitters in the brain giving the feeling of satiety even after eating less. Pharmaceutical company Abbott is the manufacturer of reductil and it is available online in 10mg and 15mg dosages. Reductil is given only on prescription, whether it is online order or over the counter.

Both the medicines are also available online on prescription. Online process is not complicated as you just have to fill in a form concerning your health and also a form about your personal information. The given information remains discreet if the order is being placed from a legal online clinic. Details about the weight loss pills are also provided so that the person knows all about its effects and side effects. To have desired weight loss exercises and a balanced diet with addition to these pills can do wonders.

If you are on a weight loss program, the question whether sugar is good or bad is not for you! You will always discard anything related to sugar, including the aforementioned question! There are many people who cringe at the mention of the name sugar. Great is their fear that they have greatly reduced their sugar intake despite being non-diabetic. Well, we are not promoting sugar here, because we also know that excessive sugar intake is obviously bad for diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Sugar is however a strict no if the blood sugar level is high.

Let us examine the two-way approach to the sugar question and derive some neat conclusion.

Is sugar good?

Did you know that the brain plays an important role in metabolism? It accounts for about 15% of the metabolism even though it is one of the small organs of the body. Moreover, the metabolism rate of brain is much higher than many other organs even at rest. This metabolism rate cannot be maintained if the brain doesn’t have a constant sugar supply.

The brain does not have a long term reservoir facility for sugar and therefore, it has to depend upon the blood to maintain its sugar level. It is therefore true that sugar is brain food and the brain cannot survive without sugar and may die if it is totally deprived even for 2 minutes.

This means that for efficient functioning of the brain, sugar is of utmost importance. Moreover, sugar is the most crucial form of carbohydrate that is vital during the formative years and also during life crisis situations like dehydration.

Sugar is also the most sustained form of carbohydrate in the body. For the mal-nourished, the importance of sugar is unquestionable. Sugar Also makes our diet a complete by adding essential energy to it.

For many people, inclusion of sugar in the diet is mentally and psychologically satisfying and this may help to reduce stress levels significantly.

But as the saying goes, everything should be done in moderation; sugar too needs to be taken in moderation. Otherwise, we may have to face its bad consequences as listed below.

Is sugar bad?

It is a well-known fact that sugars in natural forms like those in fruits or sprouts are much better than the refined sugars.

* Refined sugars have no nutritional value as such
* After they break down in body, too much insulin is released that tries to store it, this overcompensation may result in actually very low sugars thus leaving brain deprived
* This in turn results in poor brain functioning especially in children
* Too much sugar almost always contributes to obesity
* Sugar has been linked to

* Breast cancer
* Heart disease
* High blood pressures
* Diabetes
* Raised cholesterol and triglycerides
* Migraine headaches
* Kidney disorders
*Gallstones
* Hyperacidity
* Varicose veins

Excess sugar is also said to deplete the normal copper content of the body as well as interfering with the absorption of magnesium and calcium. All in all excess sugar weakens the immune system.

From the above description as well as from different studies, it is evident that sugar in moderation can work wonders on an individual. It is for your own good that excess sugar should be avoided for your body’s optimal health.Even when you are attacked by the sweet tooth syndrome, opt for natural sugars from fruits and veggies. These have many benefits!

Diabetes can have complications that affect your body so silently and gradually that you may not even realize what is happening until it is too late. In fact, for some people, it is only when a problem arises that the underlying source of the problem—diabetes—is discovered. When diabetes is diagnosed early and properly controlled, however, these complications can be greatly minimized.

Diabetes complications have their start in the changes diabetes causes in the smaller blood vessels of the body, and in the nervous system. Complications affect the eyes, the kidneys, the nerves, and the heart. Generally, the longer you had been a diabetic before being diagnosed, the longer you have had diabetes in all, and the less control you have over your diabetes, the greater your risk for complications, though no doctor can predict with absolute accuracy who will and who will not develop complications.

Heart disease is the most common and perhaps most dangerous complication of diabetes. Diabetic patients develop heart disease twice as often as non-diabetic patients. In addition to controlling their disease, diabetics can control other risk factors that can cause heart disease, such as hypertension (high blood pressure), hypercholesterolemia (high levels of cholesterol), cigarette smoking, and excessive weight or obesity. Reducing any of these additional risk factors will lessen the likelihood of heart disease.

Kidney disease is another complication of diabetes. As with heart disease, controlling diabetes helps to avoid complications from kidney damage and kidney disease. Another risk factor for kidney disease is hypertension, or high blood pressure. Monitoring your blood pressure and maintaining it at a healthy level can help prevent kidney disease and other complications.

Blurry vision is a common problem among diabetes patients, though proper blood sugar control can go along way toward eliminating that problem. Diabetes can threaten your vision in several other ways. If you have diabetes you are at greater risk for glaucoma and cataracts. Diabetic retinopathy is another well documented complication that may affect patients. It is essential for all diabetics to have regular eye examinations and to keep their blood glucose level stable if they wish to avoid eye problems. Many eye problems can be avoided or eliminated all together with proper diabetes control.

Peripheral vascular disease, or disease of the veins not in the heart or brain, is another problem that people with diabetes have to guard against. Diabetes affects the nerves and blood vessels in the legs and feet, and can lead to diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage from diabetes). Diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease can lead to serious complications and possibly even amputation. Again, proper care and control of diabetes is your best line of defense.

Because of poor circulation, patients with diabetes are prone to oral and skin infections. Any cut, scratch, injury, or sore that is not healing well or promptly should be immediately brought to the attention of your physician or other health care provider. Left unchecked, such infections can be quite serious, even life threatening.

Did you know that the changes in lifestyle you will be faced with when you are told you have diabetes will make you a healthier person overall? Not only will your new lifestyle help you manage your diabetes, but you’ll enjoy all of your life more if you take a few important steps to becoming a healthier individual.

Your health care professional wants to help you fight the damage diabetes can do to your body. The more you manage your diabetes, the more you can prevent the serious side-effects it can cause. Your health care professional will assess the severity of your disease, determine whether or not you need medications and which type, and advise you on the lifestyle changes you need to make. The more you work together with your health care provider, the more you can prevent diabetes from getting out of control.

The complications of diabetes are many and troublesome. They include diseases of the eyes, heart, and kidneys to name only a few. The medications used to treat diabetes are not without their side-effects as well. There are ways you can control the progress of diabetes, however. The most important of these are diet, exercise and education.

Eating a healthy diet means nutritious food and regular meals (and snacks if recommended by your nutritionist or health care provider). You may need to watch the amount of salt, fat, or carbohydrates you consume; in some cases, even protein intake must be monitored. Maintaining a healthy weight will help you maintain your health and aid in preventing further diabetes complication. Some patients are able to manage their diabetes through diet and exercise alone and do not need to take supplemental medications.

Exercise can help make your heart stronger, help you achieve or stay at a healthy weight, and help you feel better, all while making it easier to keep your blood sugar under control. Always talk to your physician or health care provider before beginning any new exercise plan. If you have been newly diagnosed with diabetes, talk to your physician or health care provider about any exercises you are currently doing to see if they may be continued or need to be modified.

The more you understand about how diabetes affect you body, the better able you will be to control your diabetes. We are learning new things about diabetes and the ways to treat it every day. New medications are also being discovered that help diabetics manage their blood sugar. Testing methods are using smaller and smaller blood samples, making those routine blood sugar readings less painful. Your doctor, nutritionist, or other health care provider can help you learn more about diabetes. There are also many reputable sources of information online. The more you know about your disease, the more you can control it, and live the life you deserve.

Doesn’t it seem that more and more of the people you know are diabetics? It’s true. The number of people being diagnosed with diabetes grows every day. And no wonder. We drink gallons and gallons of sugary sodas and eat junk food with no nutritional value, we are bombarded with stress—it’s no surprise that more and more of us are being faced with diabetes.

Proper foot care is essential for diabetics. Even if you aren’t a diabetic now, you may be in the future, and good foot hygiene is a good idea for everyone.

Here are some steps to food foot care:

•    Clean your feet every day:  This is one of the most important steps you can take to keep your feet healthy. Make sure to dry your feet thoroughly—especially between your toes—to prevent fungal infections. Use a gentle cleanser.

•    Trim your nails regularly: Your nails should be of an appropriate length so that your feet fit comfortably into your shoes. The nails should be smooth so that they do not get caught on the fibers of your socks. Be careful not to cut your nails too short so you do not cause ingrown nails. Watch for signs of fungus or other nail disease.

•    Socks are important too: You should wear clean socks every day. Your socks should be made of a material, like cotton or a wicking synthetic, that allows moisture to evaporate and air to circulate. White socks will prevent dyes and colorants from irritating your sensitive skin.

•    Shoes, your last line of defense: Shoes should fit properly. They should have a toe box that is large enough to allow you toes freedom of movement and circulation of air. Do not lace or otherwise close them too tightly as that can create pressure points. Always check the inside of your shoe before you put it on for any flaw or bump which can create problems

You only get one pair of feet in this life, and they have to carry you for many years. Take good care of them and they will serve you well.

Asthma is a disease that can make patients suffer a lot, to the extent that it can claim lives. But it is not a dangerous disease to have and can be avoided by preventing and keeping away the patient from the risks of asthma. People with a family history of asthma ought to always be cautious, in fact, they should have proper medical checkup every month. If there are any chances of the person showing even slightest symptoms of the disease, the doctor would prescribe inhalers that can be carried with the patient.

Another major asthmatic risk is people who have chronic allergy. With time, all people prone to suffer from allergies have the tendency to catch asthma at any point of their life. So, such patients should also take medicines only prescribed by the doctor and first of all try to avoid any kind of allergy by taking allergic shots.

People who reside in urban areas are also prone to asthmatic attacks. If you are one of them, you should either wear masks while you are out of home or try to keep away from pollution. Exposure too secondhand smoke also invites asthmatic reactions in the body; therefore, try to stay away from smoke in all ways. Recent scientific studies prove that children who possess stumpy birth weight lack resistance power and so the possibilities for allergy and asthma are more.

Certain drugs like beta blockers, anti-inflammatory drugs can lead to asthma to some. Too much of stress and anxiety can cause shortness of breath and later can expand to asthma. Chronic sinusitis could also show the way to asthma, and should be avoided. Sinusitis should be taken seriously and be treated in the initial stages itself. Gastro esophageal reflux disease also causes heart burn and this in fact can direct to bronchial spasm, which is a form of mild asthma. Extreme phobia to anything should be steered clear of and treated, for the reason that intolerable fear would create shortness of breath.

Many of the asthma people are generally obese. Interestingly, they might not show the symptoms once they get rid of the extra pounds. When a patient is diagnosed with asthma, always be cautious about the surroundings even at home. The entire place should be kept dirt-free. Even the sofas and beds are to be cleaned and vacuumed so as to remove dust mites.

Childhood asthma is a never-ending respiratory illness that’s typified by swelling of the bronchial pipes as well as airways inside the lungs. The irritation may set in motion as of a germ, an allergen. Parents should take care of children, who gasps more than normal and find shortness of breath as they take few steps. Asthma can be treated completely if detected in the early stages.