Kategori: Blogging

How Do You Get Hemorrhoids?

A lot of people don’t even know they have hemorrhoids. The rectum is not an area you can readily see. Some times you don’t know you have hemorrhoids until you see blood in the toilet water after a bowel movement, when you start to have pain or discomfort in the rectum, or when you feel extra tissue around the rectum.

So how do you develop hemorrhoids? For sure, constipation is not the only way you can get hemorrhoids. Here are some additional ways:

Alcoholism or drinking to many alcoholic drinks

Being pregnant and not eating enough fiber

Doing daily heavy lifting and holding your breath while you do it

Eating excessive processed foods, which are low in fiber and move slowly through your colon.

General body weakness, which will affect the colon function

Having a predisposition to constipation or inheriting a weakness in the colon and rectum area * Holding fecal matter too long in the rectum causing pressure to buildup in the rectum veins – postponing a bowel movement

Having a weak liver, which reduces the amount of bile released into the intestines. Bile helps to active peristaltic action.

Having inflammation in the rectum that causes you to have constipation

Irregular eating patterns

Lack of protein leading to weak tissues and slow healing of wounds

Not eating foods that keeps you constipation free such as fiber, vegetables, essential fatty acids, protein, water.

Not getting the right vitamins and minerals in your food.

Being overweight

Poor muscle tone in the anal area from lack of exercise

Pressure on rectum veins from cysts or tumor in the colon

Sitting in a chair at home, at work, in a car, or in a truck for long periods

Using laxatives to the point where your colon no longer works properly and you end up with constipation
As you can see there are many reasons that you can develop hemorrhoids. And most of them relate to the function of your colon. If you want hemorrhoid relief look at the list and see which condition or situation relates to you and try to make changes in these conditions. In addition to changes add new foods that will help your colon to work better.

Drugstore Hemorrhoid Medications

There are many drugstore and alternative Internet products for treating hemorrhoids. Most of the products are not made to cure or eliminate hemorrhoids but to give you temporary relief of itching, pain, swelling or bleeding. I don’t recommend using any type of product that is not natural or that comes from a drugstore.

If the product contains petrochemicals, additives, coloring, dyes, or other chemicals, which enhance its appearance and feel, I would not use them. Most, if not all, of these chemicals will be absorbed into your body where your organs of elimination will have to deal with eliminating them.

All products whether drugs, drugstore medications, or natural formulations use chemicals, substances, oils, and herbs that have the following properties:

Anesthetics – suppresses pain and gives relief…any name with the suffix “caine” like tetracaine

Analgesics – suppresses and give pain relief – some of them are Anacin, Tylenol with Codeine, OxyContin, Darvocet, Ultracet

Vasoconstrictors – helps to narrow or constrict hemorrhoidal veins…any name with the suffix “rine” like phenylephrine

Lubricants – provide lubrication in the colon to relieve constipation – mineral oil, flax seed oil, castor, oil olive oil

Astringents – help to tighten tissue, which have been pushed out by hemorrhoid action – zinc oxide, witch hazel, calamine

Keratolytics – help to remove excess hemorrhoidal tissue. They are compounds of sulfur and salicylic acid
Many of the drugstore medications have anesthetics. They can aggravate and irritate the hemorrhoids you’re trying to eliminate. If you are using one of these drugstore medications, consider using a more natural remedy.

In 1975 Carl I. Flath, wrote a book called The Miracle Nutrient – How Dietary Fiber Can Save Your Life. In his book he talks about the effectiveness of drugstore suppositories,

“Suppositories quickly work their way up in the rectum beyond the location of most internal hemorrhoids, and so are of limited value in reducing local pain. As antiseptics they are essentially worthless, since the surface areas they are supposed to protect are under constant exposure to new bacteria….

Anesthetic agents do offer temporary relief from local irritations and pain… Neither the suppositories nor the ointments, however, do anything whatever to correct the basic cause of hemorrhoids—constipation.”

Constipation, Hemorrhoids or Piles, and inactivity go hand in hand. If you have been constipated for quite a while, chances are you have hemorrhoids. If you are inactive because you just like sitting around or are confined to a bed or chair, then you will have constipation and hemorrhoids.

So if you want to get rid of hemorrhoids, you need to take 3 steps. These three steps can be done at the same time, especially if you have hemorrhoids that are itchy, painful, and are in need of attention.

First you need to do something about your hemorrhoids. There are many different natural remedies for reducing, relieving, and eliminating hemorrhoids. Since everyone is different in his or her chemical make-up and nutritional requirements, one remedy will not work for everyone.

Each of you has to find out what remedy works best for you. Use the remedy that feels right for you, the remedy where you have the ingredients, or that one based on the severity of your hemorrhoids.

Here’s one remedy you can try – Collinsonia Root Powder Collinsonia is a vegetable, known as “Stone Root” because of it hardness. It comes in powder and liquid. Stone Root is found in Canada and in Florida. It has been found quite helpful in aiding hemorrhoids.

Linda Clark in her book called, Linda Clark’s Handbook of natural remedies for common ailments, 1976, says this about collinsonia root. “I have heard people rave enthusiastically about the results of this remedy, which works quickly.” It’s benefits come from,

Supporting blood vessel contractions and flow

Reducing irritation and inflammation of veins

Providing a tonic effect on weaken veins, capillaries, and tissue

Improving digestion

Helping to keep mucus membranes healthy
Secondly, you need to do something about becoming regular and to eliminate mild or chronic constipation. To start with, do these simple changes in your diet.

Eat fruits as a snack between meals – oranges, apples, bananas, prunes, grapefruits, mangos, watermelon, grapes, cherries.

Stop eating bread, flour products, milk, sodas, back off on eating a lot of protein.

Eat a few serving of vegetables during the day – green lettuce, celery, carrots, and so on

Drink at least 2-3 glasses of water every day or drink more water than you normally do.
The third thing you need to do is add some exercise to your daily routine. It can be any thing as long it is something you like and you do it regularly – walking, swimming, or rebounding. Don’t over exercise; all you need is 10 – 20 minutes per day.

There you have it, the threes step to getting rid of hemorrhoids – a hemorrhoid natural remedy, a slight change in your diet, and 10 minutes of daily exercise that you like.

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes, also known as gestational diabetes mellitus, GDM, or diabetes during pregnancy, is a type of diabetes that only pregnant women get. If a woman gets diabetes when she is pregnant, but never had it before, then she has gestational diabetes.

Normally, your stomach and intestines digest the carbohydrate in your food into a sugar called glucose. Glucose is your body’s main source of energy. After digestion, the glucose moves into your blood to give your body energy.

To get the glucose out of your blood and into the cells of your body, your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin. If you have diabetes, either your body doesn’t make enough insulin, or your cells can’t use it the way they should. Instead, the glucose builds up in your blood, causing diabetes, or high blood sugar.

Gestational diabetes happens in about 5 percent of all pregnancies, or about 200,000 cases a year in the United States.

How do I know if I have gestational diabetes?

Health care providers will test most women who have average risk for gestational diabetes when they are between 24-28 weeks pregnant.

If your risk is higher-than-average, your health care provider may test you earlier, possibly as soon as you know you are pregnant.

There are two approaches to testing for gestational diabetes:

• In the one-step approach, a woman will fast for 4 to 8 hours. Then a health care provider will measure her blood sugar and will do so again 2 hours after she drinks a sugar drink. This type of test is called an oral glucose tolerance test.
• In the two-step approach, a health care provider measures a woman’s blood sugar 1 hour after drinking a sugar drink. Women whose blood sugar is normal after 1 hour probably don’t have gestational diabetes. Women whose blood sugar is high after 1 hour will then have an oral glucose tolerance test to see if they have gestational diabetes.

Will gestational diabetes affect the baby?

Most women who have gestational diabetes give birth to healthy babies, especially when they control their blood sugar, eat a healthy diet, exercise, and keep a healthy weight.

In some cases, though, gestational diabetes can affect the pregnancy and baby. Some potential risks include:

• The baby’s body is larger than normal—called macrosomia. A large baby may need to be delivered by a surgical procedure called cesarean section, instead of naturally through the vagina.
• The baby’s blood sugar is too low—called hypoglycemia. Starting to breastfeed right away can help get more glucose to the baby. The baby may also need to get glucose through a tube into his or her blood.
• The baby’s skin turns yellowish and the whites of the eyes may change color—called jaundice. This condition is easily treated and is not serious if treated.
• The baby may have trouble breathing and need oxygen or other help—called Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
• The baby may have low mineral levels in the blood. This problem can causes muscle twitching or cramping, but can be treated by giving the baby extra minerals.

How is gestational diabetes treated?

Many women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies because they follow a treatment plan from their health care provider.

Each woman should have a specific plan designed just for her needs, but there are some general ways to stay healthy with gestational diabetes:

• Know your blood sugar and keep it under control – By testing how much sugar is in your blood, it is easier to keep it in a healthy range. Women usually need to test a drop of their blood several times a day to find out their blood sugar level.
• Eat a healthy diet – Your health care provider can make a plan with the best diet for you. Usually controlling carbohydrates is an important part of a healthy diet for women with gestational diabetes because carbohydrates affect blood sugar.
• Get regular, moderate physical activity – Exercise can help control blood sugar levels. Your health care provider can tell you the best activities and right amount for you.
• Keep a healthy weight – The amount of weight gain that is healthy for you will depend on how much you weighed before pregnancy. It is important to track your both your overall weight gain and weekly rate of gain.
• Keep daily records of your diet, physical activity, and glucose level – Women with gestational diabetes should write down their blood sugar numbers, physical activity, and everything they eat and drink in a daily record book. This can help track how well the treatment is working and what, if anything, needs to be changed.

Some women with gestational diabetes will also need to take insulin to help manage their diabetes. The extra insulin can help lower their blood sugar level. Some women might also have to test their urine to see if they are getting enough glucose.

What happens after the baby is born?

For most women, blood sugar levels go back to normal quickly after the baby is born. Six weeks after the baby is born, you should have a blood test to check your blood sugar levels. The test also checks for your risk of getting diabetes in the future.

If you know you want to get pregnant again, have a blood sugar test up to three months before becoming pregnant to make sure your blood sugar level is normal.

Children whose mothers had gestational diabetes are at higher risk for obesity, abnormal glucose tolerance, and diabetes.

Women who have had gestational diabetes and children whose mothers had gestational diabetes are at higher lifetime risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. It may be possible to prevent type 2 diabetes through lifestyle changes. Talk to your health care provider about diabetes and increased risk from gestational diabetes.

Hair Loss Treatment: Do It The Natural Way!

Hair loss treatment can be done inexpensively by doing it the natural way. You may not have the money to afford any surgery. Simply pay attention to your diet and make use of natural plants for hair loss treatment.

Your Diet Matters In Hair Loss Treatment

You may have forgotten that the hair is composed of protein therefore it is a must that you take in sufficient protein in order to maintain a healthy hair. To be able to sustain a healthy hair growth, nutrients are needed as they do take care of the hair and the scalp. The numerous nutrients which you need to take in are protein, B-complex, Vitamins A and C, omega-3 fatty acids, and cysteine, which is another amino acid. Any deficiency with these nutrients is likely to cause hair loss. Vegetarians should not forget that they should integrate foods rich in protein in their diets such as the beans, wheat, brown rice, corn, nuts, or seeds. The cysteine is another amino acid which makes up the protein. It can be found in foods rich in sulfur like the meat, fish, egg yolks, onion, nuts, garlic, kale, raspberries, and cabbage. This amino acid is also a renowned detoxifier.

The vitamin B, most especially the biotin, aids in maintaining the health of hair. Among the best sources of the vitamin are the egg yolks, milk, meat, brewer’s yeast, soybeans, saltwater fish, and whole grains. You should remember that taking in the uncooked egg whites deplete the biotin content in the body so therefore eating it must be avoided. The use of saccharin which is commonly found in most toothpastes and taking in of antibiotics also produce an adverse effect on your body’s biotin absorption.

Then, make sure you take in enough Vitamin A. The best sources are broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, fish liver oil, yellow squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, peaches, and cantaloupes. Vitamin C is another very important component that ensures a healthy hair. It can be found from the citrus fruits, green vegetables, and berries.

The Omega-3 fatty acids are needed for a good circulation that will feed the hair roots. It also supplies the body with enough motivation to get on with the production of the hormones. Its best sources are the tuna, salmon, and flaxseed.

Plants That Help Out With The Hair Loss Treatment

Among nature’s components which help out in hair loss treatments are the aloe vera, jojoba, henna, capsicum, lemongrass, and Dong Quai. What are these? What good do they bring as hair loss treatments?

The aloe vera promotes the balancing of the scalp’s Ph and then heals from the inside. It also cleans the pores. The jojoba treats eczema, dandruff, seborrhea, and psoriasis. It works well as a moisturizer so hair loss can be minimized. The henna works as a natural conditioner, repairs, stops hair breakage, and restores the silkiness and shine of the hair. The capsicum treats hair loss by as much as 50% and heightens the flow of blood. The lemongrass stabilizes the oil in the scalp and gives out enough nourishment for the hair. The Dong Quai possesses phytoestrogens that minimizes the buildup of the DHT.

It never fails to secure the natural hair loss treatments via the use of herbal plants and maintaining a proper diet. Your hair is your crowning glory. Hence, learn to take care of it.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Are You Suffering From Tension Headache?

Whether headache is the cause of tension or the tension is the cause of headache? Think over… if their origin is due to the common cause?

Well, the dividing line between tension and headache is thin.

The tension headache is the unique and generous gift of high paced life style of the modern world. Most of the people caught in the grip of this civilization are out to run an endless marathon that has no end. Many of these crazy run ups end on stretchers, ambulances and ICUs in the hospital. Tension headaches are directly responsible for this sorry state of affair.

What is the source of these tensions? An individual, on a normal working day is connected to his family, his friends and his office. Any serious tension in any of these places is the direct cause of their tension headache.

The causes of tension headache may be simple or complex. Your son’s poor percentage in the higher secondary examination, and his inability to get admission in any of the reputed Colleges might become a major reason for your tension headache. Well, any kind of stress or worry could be the root of your tension. This is why tension headache is the most common form of headache.

Herein, the tension type headache is not to be confused with any of the serious forms of headache. Tension headache could be due to a single factor. The moment a solution is found to the problem, it disappears.

You may not need any treatment or medicine for this type of tension headache. This headache can be compared to the sharp, passing showers. It comes and it goes. But if you experience intense pain when you have such headaches, you need to consult your doctor immediately.

How to treat the tension headache? The correct treatment is to go to the root cause of the tension and treat that cause. When that cause is satisfactorily resolved, the headache is also gone.

And last but not the least, solving your tension headache through over the counter medications is neither the correct nor the recommended solution for it. At best, this can be described as a temporary solution. The effect of headache will reappear again.

So, learn to be at peace with yourself to treat this peculiar headache. Find a solution in the activities that pleasure you. You may read some lessons on right type of living as well. For, good literature many a times solves the riddles of tension.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Seven Reasons For Temporary Hair Loss

Not all types of hair loss would lead to permanent baldness. Depending on the nature and cause of the baldness, the chances of growing back your hair could be good. Temporary hair loss could be caused by several factors. The seven very common causes of temporary baldness could be (1) illness, (2) poor nutrition, (3) medications, (4) medical treatments, (5) recent high fever, flu or surgery, (6) infancy (7) childbirth.

According to medical studies, people who are diabetic, suffering from lupus and thyroid disorders often suffer from hair loss. According to medical practitioners, hair loss can be attributed as an effect of the illness and the poor absorption of nutrients into the body of a sick person. This condition is often times temporary and the hair would often re-grow upon the patient’s recovery. The medications and medical treatment undergone by a patient also contribute to hair loss. There are certain medications, especially those drugs used for treatment of gout, arthritis, depression, heart problems and high blood pressure and those treatments used to fight cancer, which cause hair loss in some people. In most cases, as soon as the patient is taken off medication, the hair would grow again.

Aside from illness and medications, there are natural bodily transitions, which could result to hair loss. Childbirth may cause excessive hair loss for several months in some women. During pregnancy, women often experience active hair growth and after delivery, the excess hair is shed as the body corrects itself. In infants hair loss usually occurs when the first six months and the baby sometimes go bald. The shedding of hair is a natural process in this case. As the baby grows older, more permanent hair replaces the old ones.

Article Source: Health Guidance

Why Does Female Hair Loss Occur?

Female hair loss usually presents in two types – temporary and permanent. Temporary hair loss in women is also known as telogen, transient or non-genetic, while permanent hair loss is the same as genetic hair loss or androgenetic alopecia. To better understand alopecia in women, it is necessary to first know about the hair growth cycle.

Men and women lose an average of 40 to 100 strands of hair daily. The growth stage can range from two to six months with the hair growing at an average of one-half inch per month. The hair transition phase takes place after the growth stage and happens for about one to two weeks after which the resting phase occurs when the hair is then shed at a rate of 40 to 100 strands on any given day. Hair growth cycle is a significant part of the process that can lead to female hair loss.

The failure to grow new hair is attributed to genetic predisposition, aging, hormonal imbalance and the levels of endocrine hormones, particularly androgens. During the time that hormonal changes caused by menopause are occurring, the levels of androgens rise and many women find that their hair has thinned. Family history is also an indicator of whether or not a woman will suffer some degree of genetic alopecia. If the mother or aunt has thinning hair, daughters may expect to undergo the same experience when they reach the same age as their mother or aunt when the hair loss occurred.

When women suffer from hair loss, their hair follicle is normal but the growth cycle is abnormal. There are also disorders where the hair follicle is damaged. Androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss in women. This is caused by various hormonal imbalances triggered by conditions such as pregnancy and menopause. Another type of hair loss is alopecia areata, which may affect both men and women. This is also known as patch baldness and at its worse can cause all the hair in the head to fall. Telogen effluvium, cicatricial alopecia and traumatic alopecia are the other forms of baldness in women caused by factors such as stress and hair styling practices.

For all types of hair loss in women, the diagnosis is based on a thorough family background check and a targeted medical screening. Some laboratory tests may also be performed such as a punch biopsy. Androgenetic alopecia is usually treated with minoxidil, while corticosteriods and other agents are used to treat alopecia areata. Telogen effluvium usually does not require treatment as the condition goes away when the underlying cause is treated.

Female hair loss can be very depressing. A woman’s hair is considered her crowning glory and losing it will likely take its toll, not just on her appearance, but also on her frame of mind. Management of this condition should include a psychological assessment and emotional support should be provided by the people who have a close relationship with the individual involved.

The Best Headache Treatment Tips For You

The best treatment to your headache is to understand your headache!

The reasons may not be far to seek! Some types of headaches may come and go! No medication is necessary for them. Just control your diet, drink lots of water and you would be alright after sometime! The heavy load of oily stuff that you ate in yesterday’s late night party, could be one of the reasons! In that case, give stomach some time and some chance to unload the extra burden! In the hope to get instant relief, if you stuff it with pain killers and antibiotics, you might get relief, but in the long run, some other ailment will take hold of you, and you will have to suffer the side effects!

Only, when the headache persists over a period of days, and when you feel internally that something is definitely wrong with your system, consult your doctor. He will be, it is sincerely hoped, able to identify the root cause of your headache, on the basis of your feedback.

Some home remedies work miraculous way in the area of headache. It is now the known fact that the pressures of the modern competitive, and materialistic civilization, is the cause of many a tensions and headaches. Tension, stress and headache are comrades in arm!

Grandma’s treasury is full of traditional medicines for your headache! If there is no grandma in your house, there must be one in the neighborhood! Before visiting the doctor, taking her advice, may be both time-saving and money-saving! And the valuable advice, when it works to your advantage, will definitely be a heritage property. You will likely to pass on the benefit of advice to others!

Take a small, clean towel and dip it in white vinegar. Wrap the towel around your head, close your eyes and relax. You should be a changed man after about half an hour. Make a paste by pounding the dry ginger. Apply the paste on your forehead. Slight burning sensation notwithstanding, it is likely to send your headache packing. Onion is known to be a miracle-cure for headache. Let the tears overflow through your eyes, anyway they were about to flow on account of the unbearable headache, and soon you will wonder where this headache has gone. The cost of the onion will not exceed the professional charges of the medical practitioner, whatever may be the market trend!

And finally, give headache a chance, it came unannounced, most likely it will depart unannounced! Without your treating it, rather ill-treating it!

How to Prevent Headaches?

“Prevention is better than cure.” But the attack of headache is so sudden and violent, where is the time to prevent it?

Headache arrives unnoticed and ultimately departs and you forget everything, the causes of its arrival! You have never tried to analyze, why you are repeatedly having the bouts of headache. Preventing headache is not one of the items in your agenda.

You have to do certain things, follow certain regimen to get rid of yourself the headache problems. You just treat the pain, without going to its root causes. You believe you are an active, bright person. That was so, till 9.00 a.m. this morning and you were making brisk preparations to go to your office duty. Suddenly, you are confronted with a nagging, throbbing headache, which would not let you do anything! What can be done, except applying for a day’s leave? But, that has not solved the problem throughout the day, you suffer and suffer more. Will it be alright by tomorrow?

For the time being, you have solved the problem by taking antibiotics, but by evening again, it has resurfaced! This has happened to you a number of times in the past.

So, now you have to budget your time, according to your revised plans to live a head-ache free life!

From where do you start? Do proper exercise at a fixed time of the day. Try your best to live a tension-free life. Avoid stress. What causes the headache? Try to identify the factors. Is it food, alcohol or oversleeping? Yes, sleeping many times cures and at times causes headache. Taking pain killers so often, your body’s natural ability to fight the diseases may vanish if you test it with painkillers. Painkillers are not faithful health agents! They also suppress the pain, without affording it a permanent cure. And when the pain resurfaces, it will arrive with double force!

Herbal products and supplements have been proved to be effective in preventing headaches. Learn relaxation therapy from an expert yoga teacher. Some of the techniques those are bound to be helpful for you to prevent headaches are visualization, meditation, deep breathing exercises and many more. Daily practice of such techniques is a must.

Preventing headache is not a course of medicines, it is a discipline!