Thursday 31 March 2011

Parotidectomy - Removal of Parotid Gland - Salivary Gland Surgery

The parotid gland, situated around the ear, is one of six major salivary glands. These glands produce the saliva which lubricates the mouth, helps in digestion, protects the teeth, and facilitates taste. Parotidectomy, or removal of the parotid gland, has several indications. These include the removal of benign or cancerous tumors, access for deep lying tumors and rarely, for removal of chronically infected glands.

This surgery is fraught with potentially significant complications. The most worrisome is facial nerve weakness. The facial nerve, which innervates the facial muscles, runs through the parotid gland and therefore, surgery on the gland could interfere with the function of the facial nerve. This may transpire in several ways. If the tumor is cancerous, the nerve may need to be removed along with the tumor itself, in order to achieve a cure. If the tumor is benign, the surgeon will make all attempts to preserve the nerve. However, stretching of the nerve, or adjacent cautery may result in temporary or permanent weakness.

The second potential side effect is numbness over the ear and face. This results from stretching or interference with the auricular nerve, which is a sensory nerve overlying the parotid. Usually, the area of numbness will recede with time to about the size of a quarter over the back part of the jaw.

The final risk particular to parotidectomy is Frey's syndrome, which is sweating over the face, on the operated side, whenever the patient eats savory food. This is troublesome only for a minority of patients.

Currently, there are several techniques available to avoid facial nerve injury. Meticulous surgery is the first and foremost principle. In other situations, particularly in a scarred or previously operated-on gland, a nerve monitor is indispensible for identifying the nerve with the computer before it can be actually seen. If the nerve has to be removed, as in the case of a salivary cancer, an immediate nerve graft can be done.

The numbness over the face can be avoided if the surgeon is able to preserve the auricular nerve and avoid stretching.

Finally, sweating over the face can be treated by applying an antiperspirant to the affected area prior to ingesting the savory food.

One additional technique worth mentioning is the use of a facelift incision to avoid an unsightly scar. This technique is particularly applicable for small parotid tumors.

In summary, the potential risks particular to this type of surgery can be avoided or treated with current advancements in technique.

Nebulizers for Better Breathing

An albuterol nebulizer is a way to treat asthma and other respiratory conditions in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs. A nebulizer is a device designed especially for those who are unable to use inhalers, such as young children or adults who have trouble getting the proper dosage from a normal inhaler. The device works when it converts liquid prescription medication into a fine mist that sufferers can breathe in through a tube-like mouthpiece. It can also come with a face mask for infants and infirm patients. Through this way, the medication relaxes the lungs and opens up the airways after an attack. This process is superior to a standard inhaler because it gets the medication more directly to the lungs and allows for the full potency of the medication to have its effect.

Using an albuterol nebulizer can cause side effects. While none of the mild ones should cause worry, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor just in case. The most common one is a dry or sore throat, but other possibilities include headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sinus infection, shakiness, nervousness, and trouble sleeping.

Unfortunately, the medication may not work at all, or even worse, can make the problem worse. If you experience wheezing or shortness of breath, see a physician as soon as possible. Other signs that may need immediate medical care are an irregular heartbeat, pain in the chest, or skin that is red, peeling, blistered or swollen. Any symptoms such as hoarseness, dizziness, or headaches that are extreme also require attention.

Don't let the side effects scare you from necessary medication. An albuterol nebulizer is almost always a safe and effective treatment for respiratory problems and the side effects are very rare and many times will go away after a week of usage. It's simple and easy to use, and it can help calm asthma attacks and help sufferers to breathe easier. In the end the final decision of whether to use a nebulizer or an inhaler will be up to you and your doctor because everyone is different. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and some peoples symptoms may not require the strength and dosage ability that the nebulizer's have to offer so they can avoid the sometimes hefty price tag that comes along with them.

So if you're interested in finding a good alternative to traditional inhalers talk to your physician about an albuterol nebulizer and see if it's right for you.

Portable Oxygen Concentrator: Lead A Healthy Life

Most of the people are able to lead a normal life even in the presence of the heavy pollution and hectic schedules mainly due to the presence of advanced medical technologies that are available in the present world. Breathing troubles can be considered as the most common issues faced by many people across the globe. It is your duty to make sure that you are placed in a comfortable environment wherein you are not getting infected by any dust particles around the globe. This in a way is forcing many people to still remain within your living walls without moving out to any places that are surrounding you with the passage of time. In fact this trend can be easily overcome by making use of the powerful portable oxygen concentrator that are available in the market wherein you are given the actual benefits while moving out without causing any unexpected health issues with the passage of time. The functioning of the device is helping any people to move without any worries as you will never meet up with the situation wherein the oxygen contents will be over with the passage of time.

The device actually operates with the help of atmospheric oxygen wherein the pure elements are getting filtered from the nitrogen compounds and then are passed through the device which in turn is helping many people without facing any issues with the passage of time. There are many companies manufacturing these devices and it is your duty to get hold of the best device as you might be requiring it with you all throughout. You are even allowed to carry the equipment with you while even flying as it is FAA approved and there are many people moving on with the device as they are not in a position to actually predict the time wherein the device will be required due to the weak health conditions. You can even consult your physician in order to check with the device and they will definitely recommend you to use inogen one portable oxygen concentrator as it is exhibiting an efficient performance with time. You can even recharge the batteries when required even though the device will function without any issues for hours continuously as it could be used along with both AC as well as DC power outlets without any issues.

The device actually operates with the help of atmospheric oxygen wherein the pure elements are getting filtered from the nitrogen compounds and then are passed through the device which in turn is helping many people without facing any issues with the passage of time. There are many companies manufacturing these devices and it is your duty to get hold of the best device as you might be requiring it with you all throughout. You are even allowed to carry the equipment with you while even flying as it is FAA approved and there are many people moving on with the device as they are not in a position to actually predict the time wherein the device will be required due to the weak health conditions. You can even consult your physician in order to check with the device and they will definitely recommend you to use inogen one portable oxygen concentrator as it is exhibiting an efficient performance with time. You can even recharge the batteries when required even though the device will function without any issues for hours continuously as it could be used along with both AC as well as DC power outlets without any issues.

Home Care Services

Most people are retiring in better health than ever before and can look forward to decades of an active and fulfilling life. When you first retire, especially if you retire early, health care might be one of the last things on your mind. But as we continue to age, health issues inevitably begin to crop up, and eventually we may need some form of assistance.

Traditionally, seniors citizens who can no longer live independently have moved in with their children or other family members. This is still the case in much of the world; particularly in Asia, children feel that they have a firm responsibility to take care of their parents regardless of the sacrifice that might entail, reasoning that their parents gave them life and raised them from birth, creating an obligation to return the favor in whatever way possible.

In Western traditions, senior citizens more often feel that they don't want to burden their children or other family members; the children may be living far away, with busy lives and financial obligations toward their own children. Many seniors prefer living independently, even alone if one spouse has died, and communities have responded by establishing senior centers and various other facilities and services for senior citizens.

If a senior is no longer capable of living completely independently but does not yet need full nursing home care, various levels of home care are available, from full professional home health care provided by a registered nurse to life assistance services in the form of meal preparation, laundry and housekeeping, shopping and other errands, and companionship.

A senior's capabilities are broadly defined in the senior care industry by the term "Activities of Daily Living" (ADLs): bathing and grooming, dressing, going to the bathroom and controlling one's discharges, "transferring" (getting out of bed, or getting into or out of a chair), eating, and walking. These basic ADLs may be defined somewhat differently by different organizations. In addition, there are "Instrumental ADLs" (IADLs), which are not necessary for fundamental daily functioning but are generally necessary to allow independent living: doing housework, preparing meals, taking medication correctly, shopping, using the telephone or other technology, and managing money. Health care practitioners and case workers will determine how many ADLs and IADLs a senior is capable of performing in assessing home care needs.

The simplest home care services involve a person coming to the senior's home on a regular basis - often daily, from a few hours to the full day - to help with ADLs and IADLs as necessary and provide companionship. Sometimes, a housekeeper is all that's necessary, but if the senior has any potential medical problems, the home care provider should at least be able to recognize symptoms and know how to response in case of emergency. Certainly, experience in working with a senior would be a minimum requirement for any potential candidate.

There are many agencies that provide home care services, and the individual care provider should already be screened and experienced. If one person doesn't work out, simply call the agency and request someone else. Alternately, you can find a private direct-hire home care provider. However, be sure to get references, and follow up on the references. With no agency vouching for the individual's capabilities or experience, you need to make sure the person is capable.

100% Natural Kidney Stones Treatments

Are you tired of the pain associated with kidney stones such as back pain, abdominal pain, aching groin and genitalia, fever and chills, nausea, body weakness and even bloody urine? If these agonizing symptoms were not treated immediately, then you have the tendency to suffer even more intense pain that can last for months or years. As a result, you will need to undergo expensive surgical procedure to either remove the stones or one of your kidneys.

Why choose an expensive treatment for this condition, when you can practically find several ways and effective remedies that will naturally dissolve and eliminate you're the dreaded kidney condition? If you will only start searching on the Internet now about the natural remedies for kidney stones, you will be amazed to find a number of cost effective treatments available in the market today. Here are some of the natural remedies to help treat the condition that you can easily find anywhere.

Water therapy is the most common and the cheapest way to help you treat the dreaded condition. Remember that the condition is created when the urine does not have the correct balance of fluid and a combination of minerals and acids. When the urine contains more crystal-forming substances than the fluid can dilute, crystals can form. Drinking at least ten tall glasses of water once a day can help you maintain a well-hydrated body. It will also help you cleanse your body from other toxins that you get from the foods you eat.

Did you know that lemons are potent with citric acid? Experts also said that citric acids and lemons are effective substances that can dissolve hard materials, even stones. Adding a lemon to your drinking water can also help you eliminate the kidney stones. Lemon leaf was also beneficial for this purpose, as it can strengthen the functions of stomach and promote its action. So next time you go into the grocery store, don't forget to add some lemons in your list.

Cranberry juice is another natural treatment for the condition that can help you prevent stone formations in your urinary tract. You can also try ginger extracts, which were clinically proven by scientists as an effective natural remedy for dissolving kidney stones. Perspiration is the most natural way to get rid of the toxins inside your body. There are thousands of reasons for you to have a daily exercise. Aside from feeling better about yourself, it can also help you boost overall health, including flushing the kidney condition.

The Human Body's Digestive System

What Is the Human Body's Digestive System?

There are very few things in this world that you can honestly say you can't live without. The human digestive system is definitely one of those things.

Simply put, this system is in charge of absorbing and transporting all the nutrients your body needs in order to thrive -- and it gets rid of all the waste.

A strong digestive system is vital to your complete health. Many people today are reporting that they have problems with heartburn, acidity and bad waste removal.

The cause is the speed of our life style, and the lack of sufficient sleep or need for a nourish diet. The fast food eating habits we have refined sugar, antibiotic, preservatives and hormones that obstruct the body's digestive system and health overall. Supposed "junk food" is contributing to an enormous assortment of illnesses and size of the body.

Organic digestive vitamins, supplements, probiotics and herbs are famous for providing people with quick relief from troubles such as heartburn, acidity and bad waste removal.

Given that standard synthetic drugs will be frequently difficult for your body to take in and carry unwanted side effects, a valuable choice is the use of organic fibre, enzymes, supplements, vitamins, probiotics, and herbs that are resulting from organic sources.

All organic digestive relief are quick acting and simply absorbed by your body. Organic digestion liquids or chewable wafers will help you to improve the absorption of food nutrients from healthy foods you consume and supplements you ingest - and you are able to decompose dairy foods and more indigestible foods.

Organic digestion fibre, enzymes, vitamins, supplements, probiotics and herbs help stabilize and ease your body's digestive distress.

Enzymes will be proteins that will be an essential energy factor that you need for your digestive action and response that your body will need to you to have proper health. Enzymes mixed with coenzymes form almost 100,000 distinct substances in the body to make it possible to hear, see, move, and digest food, feel, and permit the brain to work proficiently.

All tissues, organs, and the trillions of cells in your body depend on the interaction of enzymes and the oomph they help create.

In your human body digestive system enzymes destroy food elements that are too big or have started to decay. When food elements are too big or have begun to decay, your body is incapable of absorbing them and they develop into intruders into your cells, blood stream, and intestines.

Next your immune system starts to tackle them in order to look after us. The outcome may take the forms of runny eyes, nausea, acid reflux, headaches, fatigue, heart burn, leaky gut, respiratory or allergies difficulty, Candida, weight gain, or constipation.

Regular cooking, processed foods cooking with a microwave and some freezing wipe out the enzymes organically contained in food. Sometimes our very own body's enzyme creating ability gets overwhelmed and your digestive capability is negotiated.

Using antibiotics will also destroy helpful micoflora in your intestines. Research reveals that as you get older, the cells in your pancreas develop into less resourceful causing an enzyme shortage that deteriorates the cells in your body. This enzyme shortage then, speeds up the aging procedure making an unwanted cycle.

You can offset the effects of food aging, preparation, and digestion overwhelm with all organic enzyme supplements and methods that boost the quantity of enzymes in your body and make a healthy, accurately functioning digestive system.

How you feel on a day to day basis, both mentally and physically are related to how well your digestive system is able to process the food you are eating.

The most important thing you can do to help the digestive process is to eat healthy food.
I am also a believer in proper food combining for better digestion.

Obviously, all organic fibre is very essential for a healthy human body digestive system. Soluble fibre will attract water throughout digestion. This will delay the digestive procedure and will allow the intestine and stomach to take in more nutrition from the foods you have consumed.

All organic fibres allow food to flow through the digestive areas of the body and permits toxins and waste to be removed by means of the bowel. Fibre eliminates any obstruction within your intestines that might cause constipation. Fibre is vital for your body to take in minerals, vitamins, and additional nutrients and to ease the elimination of waste materials.

A well-functioning, healthy human body digestive system is absolutely vital to our health and well-being.

Issues to Look Up When Analyzing Air Purifiers

In case you've figured out that a purifier might help your health, it's ideal for you to know how to shop for one. Every company will try to convince you that their company has the best product for you, however it is certainly a good idea to do some research and be able to to sift through all of the marketing claims and half-truths. You can surely find more than a few effective air purifiers on the market, unfortunately many are a waste of money. Now I want to explain a few things to recognize when you go on your quest for the right air cleaner.

It is crucial to seek a solution to the worries you are looking to solve or prevent by using an air purifier. It maybe that you suffer from relentless allergy symptoms, or perhaps your pets are smelling up your house, or maybe that you bought a new home and have learned about the releasing of gaseous toxins from paints and flooring. Each of these air quality problems deals with a very particular aspect of air quality and thus requires a specific type of cleaning methodology to fix it.

For allergies, it is going to be a great idea to get an unit that uses a real HEPA filter as opposed to a HEPA type filter or any other variety of filtering. Only a HEPA filter has been able to effectively trap the tiniest particles from the air in your living space. If you are trying to cope with offensive smells and are hoping to eliminate them, an air cleaner with some activated carbon is what you want consider a purifier that has an activated carbon filtration. Additionally, you should be conscious that more than a few air purifier companies include only a very tiny amount of activated carbon so that they can claim it as a benefit of the unit. Some of the top models have quite a bit of activated carbon and are going to be very effective at removing odors from the air. For toxins put off inside your home or office because of the offgassing of furniture, paint and carpeting, regular filtration may help some, but you should consider looking for an air cleaner that provides some type of plasma technology. These release hydroxl radicals into the air which neutralize harmful compounds.

A couple other things to remember are your price point and the sq. feet of space that you are trying to clean. You will surely find purifiers that reach the whole spectrum so try to read up on the various options. Look at some of the reviews and find out what users say about them and I am sure that you can come across the air purifier that will help the air health in your home or office for a long time. Take a look at the author's website for many comprehensive reviews.

How to Remove Gel Nails Without Acetone

There are women who are particular about beauty and one of those techniques is having pretty and chic nails. Nowadays there are a lot of ways in beautifying one's set of nails such as applying nail polish to boost their appearance. But there are also other nail beautifying alternatives that include applying gel nails.

Gel nails are a great choice of artificial nails for women who cannot grow their nails naturally long. This type of artificial nails looks really beautiful and natural in any way. You can even add nail art on it if you want to have unique look of your nails. These nails are made available to various beauty stores and nail salons these days, and are not that expensive. These are actually affordable and are indeed perfect for special occasions like parties and events.

Gel nails may be removed by the use of acetone, but acetone is harmful for nails and skin. Plenty of women prefer to use acetone-free gel nail removal techniques, and the best thing you can do is to go to a nail salon and have your nails removed by a nail professional. They are trained and skilled beauty technicians who know how to remove them safely. However, if you choose to remove them yourself, there are many acetone-free gel removal techniques that are easy to do.

Foil Wrap Removal Method

The first thing you should do is prepare your gel nails for removal by taking off all traces of enamel and the surface is rubbed with a 240 grit file. Dip the remover in a bowl of warm water for about two minutes and making sure not to exceed five minutes. Use one of the following to drench with remover: a gauze pad, a cotton ball or a cotton pad, to be placed on top of the enhancement surface. Next is to cover the cotton pad securely in a square tin foil to avoid evaporation, and leave this for about 30 minutes. You may check for development with a cuticle pusher to make sure the product is completely removed. When it is done, rub the surface of the nails to ensure all gel nails have been effectively taken off. Then rinse your hands thoroughly, and apply hand lotion to condition your nails and skin.

The Bowl Soaking Method

These nails should be prepared for removal as well with the use of a 240-grit nail file. Use a bowl to fill with warm water, and mix in the remover enough for soaking your fingers. Cover your hands with a towel and leave for 20 to 30 minutes. After lifting and patting dry your hands, continue removing the gel nail with a cuticle pusher.

Body Magic Shaper - Looking Good Made Easy

Are you spending hours of strenuous exercise just to get your goal body shape?

Although shaping your body with some exercise and diet is still the best option, it usually requires a lot of time to see drastic results. Are you planning of attending your friend's party next week and need to lose weight fast? Any kind of exercise or diet will not help you look good in just a week or days. So how is it possible to lose inches off your waist instantly?

Recently, a new wave of products have come onto the market that allow women and men to shape their bodies using compression. These body shapers have revolutionized the weight loss scene, making it possible to look great instantly and lose weight at the same time. Weight loss occurs from compression garments because the friction placed on problematic areas causes more fat to be burnt in those areas. This of course is no substitute for exercise and a balanced diet, but can help those who want to lose weight by giving that little extra fat loss boost.

Probably, the best product on the market for body shapers would be the Ardyss body magic shaper. You can find a lot of body shapers out there, but they would most likely not be as high quality as an Ardyss product. Body magic shaper is definitely what you need if you want to have excellent results.

By for Ardyss is known for their body magic product. It is known to make your abdomen look smaller, will firm up your stomach, and raise your breasts. It comes in sizes from 22-42 and you can choose colors from black, beige and white. Typical reduction in waist sizes are between 2-3 dress sizes. This is a remarkable transformation which some people refer to as the liposuction treatment, minus the liposuction.

Reviews for this product have generally been good. Most people love this product because of the instant effect it has on their appearance. However, some people find the garment a little uncomfortable, and prefer not to wear it. Some have complained about the company in general, saying that their customer service is satisfactory at best. However, although I agree with this comment maybe a year ago, Ardyss has made a lot of improvements in this area, and are constantly looking to make their company better. Overall, if you are just looking to look good fast, this is a great product to buy.

Caring for Your Skin After IPL Laser Treatment

You've determined to have IPL laser treatment and may have even scheduled your appointment already. You're excited to see changes in your skin, but at the same time you are worried about the down time that may come after the procedure. Following are some guidelines on what to expect after having IPL treatment.

General Recovery

Just like most other laser skin treatments, there is very little down time after having an IPL treatment. Many people will have these procedures and immediately return to work, go back to their children at home, or have lunch with their friends. While there will be some signs that you have just done something with your face, many people are able to cover it up with makeup and head right back into their daily life.

Most people will just have some redness in the skin or potentially a bit of puffiness. It is completely safe to cover this with makeup or slip on some shades so that it isn't obvious to the rest of the world that your face has changed a bit.

The real results will start to be seen over the weeks following your IPL treatment. Most people will see great results within two to three weeks of their procedure.

IPL Laser Treatment for Brown Spots

When you have IPL treatment for brown spots, you will actually see the spots get darker after the procedure. Don't go sit in that chair, close your eyes, and expect to stand up a half hour later with no brown spots at all. Now that you know they actually get darker after the procedure you can spare yourself a freak out session when you look in the mirror!

The darker brown spots will start to slough away over the two weeks following your IPL treatment. Within a few weeks of treatment you should see drastic improvements in those spots. This isn't an immediate process, but you will be quite pleased with the results in the end.

A natural fading away over time is actually best because others won't notice what is happening or know that you have had a procedure for your brown spots. They will know you look younger and fresher than before, but it won't be like those brown spots suddenly disappeared through surgery.

IPL Treatment for Rosacea

If you seek IPL laser treatment for Rosacea, you should have very little to no recover time needed after the procedure. Some patients will have puffiness under the eyes for a day or two, but most don't even experience that. This is a very effective, safe treatment if you suffer from Rosacea.

Experience Counts

Before going, make sure to heed this warning against "cheap" or "discount" IPL treatment providers. These treatments are extremely safe and do not injure the skin providing they are applied correctly. If the heat is set to high then you could blister your skin which does lead to a more painful, obvious and harmful recovery time.

The good news is blistering should only occur when the IPL treatment was not administered correctly for your skin. If you are working with a knowledgeable professional with the skill, experience and training to safely do IPL laser treatments, you should have nothing to worry about.

If you want to go in for a fast treatment that delivers great results without downtime, you have to find an IPL provider who knows what they are doing!

Monday 21 March 2011

Quality Of Food More Important Than What Food You Eat

Much of my week has been taken up by searching out used furniture for our new apartment. It can take some time to coordinate picking things up from various people, especially when you don't have a vehicle like us, but to me the effort is worth it.

I don't often talk about environmental concerns because I try to stick to health and nutrition, but the environment and "sustainability" is actually the most important factor for me in many of my choices - from a vegan diet plan to buying a desk.

With furniture, I try to buy used not only because it's less expensive, but because I think there's so much value in reusing things that might otherwise go to landfill, in extending the useful life of the resources that went into the product, and in reducing (ever so slightly) the amount of new production.

It's nice how these benefits line up with my inner frugality, but when it comes to nutrition, that isn't always the case. Right now, we often have to pay more for the local, organic food that is better for the environment. Unfortunately, the environmental and health care costs associated with inferior grocery store foods are external to the prices of that food. We don't pay for them in the grocery store, but instead those costs are paid by our taxes or not at all, meaning the planet takes the hit.

Spending more on food that doesn't have as much of an impact on the environment benefits everyone, but when other people don't follow the same values, your individual impact is lessened.

If you think of these foods in terms of creating health for yourself and your family, the extra cost is an investment to reduce future health care spending - and more importantly the priceless quality of a long and healthy life.

You will read in many nutrition websites and books (including mine) about specific good foods, bad foods and superfoods, but the truth is that often more important than what you eat is the quality of those foods.

For example, there are many cultures around the world that eat very different diets, but are exceptionally healthy. Some follow a vegetarian diet plan, while others eat lots of meat. The common thread is that they eat high quality foods, foods that are grown on high quality soil or picked/caught in the wild, that aren't tainted with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and preservatives.

My goal this spring will be to find the local Ottawa farmers' markets or produce delivery. Phil is in charge of growing sprouts and herbs on our window sill, and is looking for a gardening space to do some food growing starting in the early spring (if anyone has tips for me on local produce or gardening space in downtown Ottawa, please leave a note).

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency

The telltale signs you must look out for:

* Twitching eyelids...twitching of a small muscle anywhere in the body is a sign of magnesium deficiency and happens due to magnesium's job in muscle relaxation. Magnesium deficiency is one of more common mineral deficiencies... probably because it is so easily depleted by stress, alcohol and coffee. The other signs of low magnesium include leg cramps, insomnia and depression. Low levels of magnesium also increase our vulnerability to conditions like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and kidney stones.

Unfortunately wheat loses 90% of its magnesium during the milling process.

So it can be very difficult for a normal diet to provide enough magnesium.

Good sources of magnesium are whole wheat, tofu, kelp, nuts and brown rice.

* Cracks in the corners of your mouth...Known as angular cheilosis. Together with mouth ulcers...and most infections of the tongue or mouth...is a sign of vitamin B deficiency. This is due to their role in cell reproduction. The mouth is vulnerable as it is an area repeatedly scalded and abraded. The mouth may be the first sign of low vitamin B in the body. Other indicators can be dermatitis, tiredness as vitamin B plays an important part in energy production, and also poor stress response.

The vitamin B group is mainly found in vegetables, seeds, whole grains, nuts, legumes and organ meats. White pasta, white bread, and white rice are lacking in these vitamins. Alcohol, coffee and stress account for enormous reduction of all B vitamins due to their water-soluble nature.

* Bleeding gums...Vitamin C has a critical role in reproduction of connective tissue which is important for wound healing, blood vessels and healthy gums...and vital for immunity. The widely known vitamin C deficiency disease is scurvy but may happen when levels are low enough...but even minor deficiency may cause bleeding gums...mainly notice when brushing teeth or biting into a hard fruit. Signs of vitamin C deficiency often occur in clusters...so you can experience easy bruising at the same time...which equally occurs due to increased weakness of the blood vessels.

The answer is to eat freshly prepared vegetables and fruit. The richest sources are broccoli, peppers, guava, berries, Brussels sprouts and citrus fruits. Stress and tobacco will quickly drain the nutrient.

* Goose bump skin...Skin that feels or looks like 'goose bumps'...especially on the upper arm is a sign of vitamin A deficiency. This condition is called follicular hyperkeratosis...and is simply a blockage of the hair follicles. After the skin...vitamin A plays an important role in maintaining healthy eye vision, respiratory health and immunity.

It is vital to eat good amounts of dark green, orange and yellow vegetables. It is also important to maintain high levels of zinc and vitamin C...as these nutrients have a critical role to play in converting the form of vitamin A you get from vegetables and fruit into functional form for your body.

Does your tongue look rosy red?

A pale tongue can inform you that you are suffering from anemia...and more iron is needed in your diet.

Liver from organically raised animals is the best source...but keep in mind to avoid liver during pregnancy...the high levels of vitamin A may harm unborn babies.

Do your cracked lips never heal?

If your persistent cracks at the corner of your mouth never seem to heal...and no amount of moisturizer cures the problem...then you should take a look at your diet.

It is very likely that you are lacking riboflavin, vitamin B2 and other B vitamins...take B complex supplements to cure this problem...and is available from any good drug store.

The Healthmate Far Infrared Sauna - How To Get Free Shipping!

Back pain? Arthritis? Blood circulation problems? Even if you suffer from none of those, how nice would it be to slip into your own Healthmate far infrared sauna in the privacy of your own home to reap the benefits of detoxification, relaxation, soft, glowing skin and so much more. In this article I'm going to tell you why a Healthmate far infrared Sauna is such an awesome investment to make for your health and how to get free shipping!

Why Healthmate Far Infrared Sauna Is An Awesome Investment

Healthmate is has been producing high-quality saunas for over 30 years and is a brand that is recommended by doctors and practitioners the world over. The Healthmate far infrared sauna is safe, reliable and effective. Made for the highest quality Canadian western red cedar wood, these saunas use patented and durable M-type infrared heaters. The infrared rays are reflected around the sauna by large panels and are absorbed by the body. Unlike conventional saunas, the heat is independent of the air temperature and they are therefore cheaper to run.

The digital control panel is accessible from the inside or the outside of the sauna and means that you can easily pre-het the sauna at a certain time while the stereo system will help you to relax even more (if that's possible!) Although some customers of some other brands of infrared saunas complain that they are not always easy to assemble, this is certainly not the case here. From all accounts you can put this one together in 30 minutes or under and you don't need special tools, wiring or plumbing to do so.

It is clear that, although a Healthmate far infrared sauna is not cheap, it is a high quality purchase from which you will benefit for years to come and it will certainly grace any home. This is most aptly shown with the life-time warranty that comes with the wood, heaters and electrical components.

Shopping Online Is So Convenient!

The sheer size of a Healthmate far infrared sauna means that many people choose to shop for online. Instead of having to take the product home by yourself, your sauna can easily be delivered to your door and carried in for you! Online stores also give you the ability to check out customer reviews and to see what the delivery charges will be before you commit.

How to Get Free Shipping

Now that we have established that shopping online for a Healthmate far infrared sauna is the way forward, you can take advantage of a very quick way to see which sauna dealer is offering free shipping. Go first of all to the comparison site Shopping.com and do a search under the name of the product you have decided to buy. Shopping.com will immediately return a list of dealers who stock this sauna and most importantly what the shipping charges are if any. You can simply click on the link for that store and you will be taken to it without having to search for it yourself.

Just make sure that there are no shipping costs involved before you confirm and pay for your order! Nextag.com is a similar comparison site that allows you to compare prices, customer reviews and shipping costs easily and quickly. The only disadvantage with these comparison sites is that sometimes the product you want is not listed!

How To Make Organic Soap

We all use soap to wash with, and bathe our bodies. Soap can be solid in a bar, or liquefied. They both lather and clean what needs to be cleansed. What we know to be is that soap happens from a chemical reaction that occurs between chemicals in the soap making process called saponification. In simple terms saponification is the process by which an acid and a base chemically react to form what we know as soap. Soap is a combination of an alkali metal such as sodium potassium with a mixture of fatty carboxylic acids.

There are different approaches one can use to make soap. You can also have a variety of different types of acids to choose from to interact with the base in the soap making process. However there is one rule that all the techniques of soap making follow; regardless of the acid used the base MUST have one ion of hydroxide. It is for this reason that the base of popular choice is lye which as one ion of hydroxide and one ion of sodium. The sodium ion however does not take part in the saponification process. Another base that is used is also potassium hydroxide for the chemical composition of the one ion of hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide is the base of choice that is used in liquid soaps. The acids in soap are fat based. There are many to choose from. Examples are olive oil, coconut oil or tallow. They can be either animal or vegetable based.

Each acid or fat has its own unique composition of triglycerides. Triglycerides are chemical compounds comprised of three fatty molecules attached to a single molecule of glycerol. Every triglyceride reacts with a based differently depending on the type of triglyceride it is. The same is true for the proportions of base to acid used in the soap making process. The amount of base used per soap recipe is contingent upon the chemical composition of the acid. When the correct proportions of base to acid are used saponification occurs. It is the triglyceride in the acid that releases the single glycerol molecule. This molecule then transforms into glycerin when released. The releasing of the glycerol molecule allows the fatty acids to chemically combine with the hydroxide ion to form with the basis into soap.

In conclusion we can say that making soap is composed of two distinct chemical reactions. The first one is when glycerol changes into glycerin. The second is the acid and base chemically interacts to form the soap.

The Lost Art of Resting

Physicians and ancient philosophers, poets and religious leaders, professional athletes and corporate CEOs, they all have one thing in common - they understand the importance of rest. Yet somehow the rest of us have forgotten this lost art and just how vital it is to our health and wellbeing. In fact, inadequate rest is the single greatest challenge to our health that we face today as a society, and unfortunately, the problem only seems to begetting worse as our lives become even more hectic.

Don't Fool Yourself

We live in a society today that has convinced itself that we can work and work and work with little or no rest, day after day, year after year for most of our adult lives. Unfortunately, living such an unbalanced lifestyle takes a tremendous toll on body, mind and soul because they are not given sufficient time to recharge each and every day.

The restorative power of rest is vital to every facet of our lives and yet we try and fool ourselves by compensating for our lack of adequate rest and sleep by using stimulants like coffee and energy drinks to temporarily increase our mental focus and energy. These may allow you to scrape through the day but eventually the body and mind are going to break down under the strain caused by inadequate rest.

Benefits of Rest

If you truly want to restore a healthy balance to body, mind and soul in today's hectic, results-oriented society, then you must accept the fact that you need to set aside time for resting. While this seems like such a simple solution, the restorative power of rest has been proven to have far reaching effects and benefits:

* Improved health - Rest is just as essential to our bodies as water and air. Remember, we only have one body in this life, so it makes sense to take care of it as best we can.
* Decreased stress - Rest allows our bodies and minds to combat the physical and mental damage caused by having too much stress in our lives.
* Stronger relationships - There is more to life than work and stress. Taking the time to rest allows us to strengthen our relationships with friends and loved ones.
* Time for reflection- In today's hectic world it's difficult to find the time to step back and reflect on whether or not we are living our lives the way we truly want to. Resting gives you this important opportunity.
* Restoration of balance - Our lives should not be defined by what we do, but rather who we are. Setting aside time for rest allows your true identity to assert itself, away from the demands and constraints of your occupation.
* Improved productivity - When you allow your body, mind and soul to rest and recover, you will be far more productive than when you are attempting to work on fumes.
* Energy reserves - When crisis hits, you will need vast amounts of physical, mental and spiritual energy. By living a lifestyle that incorporates plenty of rest, you will be ready to face all of life's emergencies.

Restore Your Body, Mind and Soul

If you want to restore a healthy balance to your body, mind and soul then you must first learn to take responsibility for your own wellbeing, consciously set aside time for resting and learn to say no, so that other tasks are never allowed to infringe on your resting time. You must also learn to find contentment with your current life, and enjoy the things you do have, rather than focusing on those you don't.

You should also simplify your life and focus on enjoying values rather than possessions that can consume your free time. It's also important to include your friends and family in your new lifestyle because you will motivate each other to stick to the discipline of concentrated rest. You should also make a conscious effort to live within your means, because debt is one of the biggest sources of stress in life.

Finally, you must completely embrace the idea of rest, and that living a lifestyle centered on the practice of concentrated rest does not make you weak, as today's results oriented society might suggest, but rather it allows you to live a longer, fuller, more meaningful life than those who never take the time to step away from their hectic, stressful lives.

Doctors Changing Careers - Motivations

This is the first of a series of articles directed at medical doctors considering a career change. Topics look into (i) factors that influence your career path (lifestyle, commitment, responsibilities, pride, finances, age), (ii) what keeps doctors from making career changes, (iii) attitudes of family, friends and the public to the career-changing doctor, and (iv) what options doctor's have in non-medical areas.

As a medical practitioner you have some of the most highly 'transferable' skills sought after in business and commerce. Your medical degree connotes professionalism, team-work experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, hard-work, education, intelligence, wisdom and life-experience.

What motivates career change?

If you do a search for 'doctor AND career change' on Medline it will return to you numerous articles about factors influencing career specialisations that doctors choose within medicine; but you will find very few articles for doctors considering a change to career outside of medicine, and no articles discussing the process of making this difficult decision. In this article I attempt to summarise my own anecdotal findings from conversations with other doctors and my own experience. A motivation to change careers often develops over many years (if not decades) and may even start while at medical school. For many, a dissonance grows stronger over this time period from a general sense of unease to a strong desire to 'just quit' and 'take my chances'; balanced against this is the sense of responsibility and commitment we feel to our patient's and a hope that one's lot may improve with more advanced specialisation or professional status. This conflict many generate many problems affecting work and social life.

Factors influencing doctors to leave medicine

1. Personality-job role conflict

Sometimes there is a clash between key personality traits and the expectations/pressures of a doctor's role. Although, the practice of medicine is flexible and their are fields that require varying degrees of particular attributes, for some people there are no common medical specialties that satisfy them. Personality traits that may conflict with the doctor role include:

• narcism eg. "I'm too good to waste my time on these #%!@ people", "I'll only see y and z patients; you see the rest"
• high novelty-seeker e.g. "I'm so bored doing this all the time", "How can I spice this up?", "The first 2 months of a new job are fun, but then I need to move on"
• anti-social e.g."I really don't like being around people", "leave me alone"
• laissez-faire' - an attitude of bare-minimalism that places patients and yourself at excess risk e.g. "whatever", "yeah yeah", "it's not the best I could do, but it'll do".
• indecisiveness e.g. "I can't do it, it's too risky", "I can't decide - let's do a TRM MCT scan", "You decide"

2. Disappointment/failed expectations

Most pre-med students have over-valued conceptions about what it is to 'be a doctor'. Media, societal concepts, and the health profession itself create a very simple and biased schema of a doctor being 'a person who heals people'. The realities of medicine becomes more apparent further into medical training as one receives more clinical experience. There are several areas that doctors frequently feel disappointed by:

• cure-rate is very low for many diseases
• unreasonable expectations from patients to be cured
• unappreciated by patients
• excessive administration and 'red-tape' requirements in practice. Often these form the basis for a feeling of being dis-illusioned, incompetent, and/or ineffectual.

3. Initial 'wrong' career choice I love computers.

If I had done some formal computing studies at secondary school I most likely would have made a career from computing, however, when I arrived at University I had been groomed by family expectations to study a professional degree - so I did. I made a 'wrong' career choice. Now to be truthful, 'wrong' is not the correct word to use, as at the time it was right choice for me (medicine suited my need for assurance of job and income security, and boosted my low self-confidence); however, medicine is not the right career choice for me anymore. For some other doctors, they may discover strong interests in other fields such as music, writing, journalism, politics, I.T., research, or have hobbies that develop into businesses. In these circumstances, doctors may find that their non-medical interest exceeds their interest in medical practice. You don't have to dislike medical practice as a reason to leave it!

Thirty years ago once a person entered a profession it was expected that they would stay in that profession until they retired. Fortunately, the paradigm shift over the past decades has been for people to change jobs as they see fit and that a decision to change careers has become an acceptable option - at least in the commercial world. Leaving medical practice is probably one of the last areas that this concept is becoming acceptable, perhaps because of the special role that doctors have in society. We discuss this some more on the next page.

4. Existential crisis:

Maybe whatever job you are employed in you will always feel 'dissatisfied', because you are searching for fulfillment that is not obtainable by what job you do! People have varying degrees of need for existential meaning, most workers can find a sense of fulfillment from their jobs, doing the job they do well etc. However, some people frequently change career (or consider it) because they feel that the career they are doing is not 'meaningful' enough. For such people, they find they keep saying to themselves, "why am I here", "why am I alive", "I need to leave a mark on the world", "I want to be famous/ well-known/ important". For some people, the drive to 'find' existential meaning continues throughout their entire lifetime, with numerous job changes, travel, hobbies, religions, relationships, and/or careers. It is critical that you identify if this is you or not, because changing careers may not help. Maybe you need God, not a job change.

5.Lifestyle:

When work interferes with your family or personal relationships, there is often a motivation to cut-down on work or change jobs. In medicine, the competitive training environment can make part-time work/training untenable even though the effects of late hours, missed anniversaries, work stress can be disastrous on your personal life. For these reasons, some doctors look to self-employment, home business or career changes as an alternative, to allow them to accommodate family and lifestyle far more readily.

6. De-registered:

Unfortunately, the vagaries of medicine are that sometimes after years of education and training, events occur that do not allow a doctor to continue medical practice even though they want to. Sometimes a charge of medical negligence or bad decision-making ends a career. Sometimes, doctors move to new countries hoping to continue medical practice but are impeded by registration procedures. Sometimes, ill-health (blindness, injury, GBS, CFS, depression) means that the body or mind will not do the job you want to do.

As you can see, there are many different reason why doctor's may be motivated to change careers. In reality, most doctors will find that they are driven to change by several factors, although one may be more salient than others. Identifying what is driving your need to change careers is crucial. In the next section, we look at factors that motivate us to stay in the medical profession.

Increase The Productivity Of Your Business With Pharmacy Compounding Help

In a survey of industries it is not a stretch to say that the pharmaceutical industry is in no danger of seeing a decline in the foreseeable future. Advancements in the treatment of a variety of diseases are unveiled on a yearly basis and, as there is no decline in disease, there is no decline in the efforts to successfully combat them. Also, with the increase in longevity there are more issues related to aging populations that will require people to take even more medications as they age. Pharmacy compounding help can offer training to pharmacists looking to add compounding to their services.

There is a misconception when it comes to the job of a pharmacist as many people just think of them as pill counters. The truth of the profession is that pharmacists attend and attain degrees from pharmacy schools becoming highly trained.

Understanding drugs means knowing how they can affect a patient, as well as interactions with any other medications that a person may be taking. This requires an enormous knowledge of chemistry and attention to detail.

Compounding pharmacists are trained to create medicinal formulations that are not available from pharmaceutical companies. Because there are many people who take a number of different drugs, having them compounded together can make regimens easier to take.

The varieties of delivery systems include injectable medications, topical solutions, suppositories, and oral medications. Patients who are living with chronic conditions are especially suited for compounding and it has also found a large following in women who are struggling with menopause.

Bioidentical hormones are synthesized to act as a hormone replacement therapy for women who are losing hormones through the process of menopause. These compounds mimic natural hormones and can alleviate the symptoms and issues of this life change greatly.

The medicines that are created by these pharmacists are only created with the express authority of a prescribing physician. This process is truly a partnership between medical professionals in an effort to unburden patients and make their lives easier.

There is another important avenue of service that compounding can accomplish and that is in the area of research. The leap from laboratory to use in a doctor's office is long and requires the completion of a variety of trials.

Just making it to the point of clinical testing is a huge triumph for researchers and a testament to the potential of a proposed medication. Finding the right method of delivery is part of any drug trial and pharmacists can work with researchers to create various dosages as well as forms for experimentation.

Drug validation and synthesis is a science that demands a keen eye for detail, which is something that trained pharmacists can accomplish. Making the leap to compounding can increase the business of any pharmacy, but it is not to be taken lightly.

The overall level of responsible of your operation will increase and demand more from your employees as well as a commitment to continuing education. The benefits to medicine and patients, however, cannot be easily calculated.

Tips on How to Start a Home-Based Facial Business

Beauty is a very lucrative business. Every year, billions, even trillions of dollars are spent all over the world just on hair care, cosmetics, and skin care. This is the reason why it's not surprising to see beauty based businesses popping up like mushrooms all over the place. Cosmetology, or anything that has to do with the beauty industry is probably one of the most popular professions at present. It provides a lot of opportunities for growth and profit which makes it one of the fastest growing careers. However, a lot of people get intimidated to put up their own beauty business because of the high capital cost that it requires. But don't let that hinder you from starting your own business. If you don't have enough funds yet to rent a commercial space for your business, having a home-based facial business is a great way to start your beauty career. Let me share to you some tips on how to start your very own home-based facial skin business.

1. Plan it out. Like any other business, you have to make a detailed business plan. A well written business plan will definitely play a big role on your business' success.

2. Learn before you earn. Before you even open your home business, you have to be armed with enough knowledge on what you will do. It would be best if you become a licensed aesthetician first prior to opening your business.

3. Once you're all set, you can now register your business on your city or town. You need to have the necessary permits for your home-based business to operate.

4. Designate an area of your house to your business. It could be a spare room or a small space anywhere in your house. Once you've designated an area, you can now start to decorate it. Make your space appear like a professional spa. You can do that without spending a lot. Just choose your decors properly. Don't forget to load up on aromatherapy candles and other spa essentials such as oils.

5. Invest in a skin care device. There are a lot of skin care devices available in the market today. Having your own skin care device could really help your business boost its popularity.

6. Market your business. There are many ways to market your home-based business. You can put up your business website so that people on your area and surrounding cities can find you. If you have the budget, you can also have some ads placed on your local paper and you can also give out flyers. It's also best to have business cards ready so anytime a customer hops in, always give out a business card so that he or she can endorse your business to others.

Anemia: Symptoms and Types

Anemia is caused in different ways including blood loss, lack of red blood cell production, high rates of red blood cell destruction. Blood loss is the most common cause of anemia, especially iron deficiency anemia. Heavy menstrual periods or bleeding in digestive tract can cause blood loss. Surgery or cancer can cause blood loss. Lack of red blood cell production may occur in acquired and inherited conditions. It prevents a person's body from making enough RBC. Following factors can prevent person's body from making enough red blood cells it includes diet, hormones, some chronic diseases and pregnancy. High rates of red blood cell destruction with acquired and inherited conditions can cause person's body to destroy RBC. It includes sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and lack of certain enzymes in this condition reflects in red blood cells and cause them to die faster than healthy RBC.

Symptoms for anemia occur in a person like feeling tired, headache, difficulty in breathing, weakness, overall pallor, depression, dizziness, some additional symptoms may also include like hair loss, malaise, worsening of heart problems etc. Most of the symptoms include risk factors in infants, women and adult through internal bleeding. Symptoms occurring in infants are likely due to a lack of sufficient iron they need to grow. Women can lose a lot of blood only when they are more prone to becoming anemic. Adults with internal bleeding can cause a lot of blood loss; this is usually due to stomach ulcers.

Natural food supplements can also be helpful for anemia treatments. Vitaforce(TM) is abundant in organic iron, it has extraordinary blood properties. A patient suffering from anemia should take chlorophyll; it is a juice of green pigment of plants. It has almost exact same chemical make ups of hemoglobin which is responsible for carrying oxygen to blood. Fresh organic juice of carrots, beets increases the red blood cell count in body. Person should take dark leafy vegetables that have extraordinary blood properties. Some other foods that contain iron are bananas, raisins, parsley, peas, plums, prunes, broccoli and yams. Regular intake of teas and coffee should be avoided so as to facilitate normal absorption of iron in body. Performing yogic exercise and breathing exercise helps in normalizing the hormonal and enzymatic activities in human body.

Anemia types can be categorized with iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, folic acid deficiency anemia, hemolytic anemia etc. But the most common affecting type of anemia is sickle cell anemia that is incapable of carrying oxygen thus depriving the body tissue from being supplied with required nutrition and oxygen. Hemolytic anemia inherited or acquired disease that causes the red blood cells to be deformed or a result of another inherited blood disorder. Iron deficiency anemia is caused due to blood loss and lack of iron in the diet. These factors lead to the body to not having required levels of red blood cells. Person suffering from anemia related problems can seek proper anemia medication with iron or vitamin supplements. If a patient needs high doses of supplements, it should be taken under supervision of a registered medical practitioner only. Patients who need hospitalization due to their anemic symptoms will also most likely need intensive treatment such as oxygen or blood transfusions.

The Benefits of Omega 3 Fish Oil

Omega 3 fish oil is one of the vital components that your body needs in order to stay healthy and active all throughout your life. In your lifetime, you need to have the health and quality of life you need in order to become effective in your daily life. It is essential to intake foods that are essential for your health and the ones that will keep you going all through your life.

You should know that this supplement is essential for your body but the body cannot manufacture it; therefore, you will need to intake foods with high level contents of this supplement. The ultimate source of this supplement came from fish and it is proven that several types of fish can really help you to have the best quality of health. They have the highest level of this supplement that you can intake in order to help you go on with your life effectively and efficiently.

Omega 3 fish oil will help you to gain advantage of your health in every single way. Fishes such as tuna, cod and salmon are the most popular source of this supplement. Many studies that were conducted signified that the use of this supplement helped people to mower their risks in acquiring several ailments that are detrimental in the life of people suffering from these. In particular, this fish oil can help you to increase the quality of your heart, making way for it to pump blood effectively all throughout the body.

Moreover, there are different health benefits that you can have if you will employ the intake of foods rich in this type of supplement. Compared to other methods of maintaining the level of your health, this will help you to cut down your expenses against those medications that can really cost you a lot of money, but are not proven safe and effective to use all the time.

If you really want to have the best solution for your health, or if you are suffering from a certain disease, you should employ the use of these supplements. This is a great way for you to use in order to help you go on with your life as it can treat your disease. All you need to do is to commit yourself in having its service on a regular basis.

Omega 3 fish oil is a better way for you to take in order to have the best service for your health. You just have to make positive use of it in order to achieve results that will lead for your health to optimize in every possible way.

Monday 7 March 2011

Clippers for Hair

Perhaps you are a professional hair stylist or barber, and need a new pair of clippers. Or, maybe you do your own hair, or your son's hair. As with anything on the market, there are professional models and every day models available. You just have to decide which you want.

Why Do You Want New Clippers

Do-it-yourselfers will have different requirements for their equipment than professionals. The do-it-yourselfer will use his clippers maybe once a month, as opposed to all day, 5 or 6 days a week. Salon strength hair clippers have more amps, which makes them more powerful-and also more expensive. They won't bog down when they get hot. This will make cutting hair easier, if you do several heads of hair a day. If not, a simple, inexpensive set will do.

Size Matters

Do you have small hands? Or maybe you have basketball player hands. Either way, you'll want to consider the size and weight of the clippers you buy. Again, if it's just for home use, it probably won't matter. But if you are cutting hair all day every day, the weight, size, and shape of your clippers will make or break your day. Look at the different shapes of clippers and consider the different angles you'll be holding your arms as you work. Consider the weight, and remember that while amps mean power, they also mean weight. Find the lightest clippers you can, balanced with the power you need.

Cord or Cordless

As a professional, you may find that the cordless clippers are not strong enough to last the day. While they would be extremely convenient, you would have to have several pair to get through all the heads of hair you'll face. It won't hurt, however, to have a pair as a standby. For an individual, they will come in handy in those bathrooms with too few outlets.

Accessories

Some professional stylists use the same comb guide with each cut, adjusting the length of hair on their own. Others use different size comb guides for each length of hair. Whatever accessories you use, remember to get a cleaning brush and clipper oil to maintain your Clippers For Hair.

Durability

When you only use your clippers once a month or so, it's really frustrating to pull them out of the drawer and find that they won't work. Often, it seems that you've hardly gotten your money's worth out of them. As a stylist, if you don't invest in a quality pair to begin with, you'll find yourself buying another cheap pair every month or so. Check out the brands. What do other stylists use? What other hair styling equipment do you use with the same brand? You may find that the clippers that are the same brand as your hair dryer and curling irons is equally high quality.

Regardless of the intensity with which you'll be using your clippers, be sure to get a brand that suits your needs. A cheap, poorly made pair will do you no good at all.

Home Made Body Scrubs - An Inexpensive Way to a Glowing Skin

Home made body scrubs are excellent for removing dead cells. They provide fatty acids to dry and scaly skin, enhancing elasticity and softness. Home made scrubs are made of natural components which do not have side effects and are inexpensive. Scrubs have three most important components namely, essential oils, exfoliation and carrier oils.

The scrubs which are also called scratch scrubs offer you relief from the itching produced by skin that is dry and flaking. Homemade scrubs are very effective and its effects are soon visible.
Here, various recipes of homemade body scrubs are shared with the reader so that you can make them at home easily without spending too much money.

1. Body Scrub Recipe - A mixture of sea salt and olive oil is an effective body scrub you can easily make at home. Permit the mixture to penetrate deep into your skin, rub it well into your body and then wash it away.

2. Salt Scrub Recipe - Another magical homemade body scrub is the combination of 2 Cups avocado, 1 Cup apricot or oil extracted from peach kernel, 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract, 8 Cups Kosher salt, sesame oil or jojoba oil extracted from seeds which are not toasted and 1 Cup cocoa which is not sweetened or ¼ Cup coffee crystals which are freeze dried. Mix these ingredients well and blend with honey to make a smooth paste which you can easily apply on your body.

3. Brown sugar scrub - Another popular homemade scrub is the Brown sugar body scrub. It contains 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons aloe Vera gel, 1 teaspoon lemon juice which is squeezed fresh, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon honey and 1 teaspoon almond oil. This mixture will be brown and smooth and will effectively remove dead cells.

4. Almond and Bran Scrub - Almond and Bran Scrub can be used on your body once a week to bring life and luster to your skin. Mix almonds and bran with a cup of hot green tea. Mix it well till it becomes smooth. When the mixture reaches body temperature pour tens drops of lavender oil to the mixture. Blend it well.

5. Sugar based body scrub - This scrub is made with fruits, sugar and honey to make your skin supple and smooth. Moreover, it soothes and rejuvenates your skin. Mashed fruit, a tablespoon sugar along with honey can be made to a paste to offer your skin the shine you desire.

Homemade Skin Care For Your Face

Retaining our youthful look is something we have always cherished since time immortal. First it was the prerogative for the kings and queens; as evident from the archeological excavations from ancient civilizations from around the world. Today, every one, no matter what their social rank is, wants to have a skin that is smooth, youthful and soft throughout their lifetime and does everything possible to achieve it.

Their search often ends with the many stores that carry commercial facial treatment products like creams, masks and soaps. But most often such products are so full of chemical ingredients that they do more harm than good for their skin. The best way to avoid that is go for many homemade skin care treatments that you can easily do in your home with things readily available in your kitchen. These treatments are sure to make your skin look radiant and have a healthy glow.

There are simple things you will need to maintain your homemade skin care routines. They include olive oil, lemon, Aloe Vera gel, water, washcloth and a knife.

To start you in-home facial treatments, first wet your skin with water.

Now take 1 tbsp. of olive oil, which is generally present in every kitchen and smooth it all over your skin. The great thing about olive oil is that, it does not clog the skin's pores but helps to bring out the impurities that are present in your skin. These impurities cause many of the breakouts and blackheads that you see often in your skin. Apart from bringing out the impurities, olive oil also helps to make your skin soft. Now with the oil on your skin, massage the oil gently for 5 minutes. Do not rub vigorously, but use gentle but firm movements. Use a circular motion to rub this beautiful, healthy oil to your skin.

For the next step of your homemade skin care routine, take a washcloth and steam it to make it hot. Make sure it is not too hot but just comfortably hot that you can tolerate. Place this washcloth over your skin which has been massaged with the olive oil and leave it until the washcloth cools down. Use this cooled down washcloth to wipe off all the excess oil from your skin.

Now take a lemon, another readily available item in your pantry, and cut into two. Rub these freshly cut lemons halves all over your skin. The reason for this homemade skin care step is to kill all bacteria that may be present in your skin with the lemon juice as it is a natural antiseptic. Lastly, rub about ½ tsp of aloe Vera gel all over skin. Aloe Vera is an excellent natural moisturizer and this gel will help to reduce redness that is often seen in most skins.

To get the full benefit of this treatment, make sure you do it two times a day.

TRIA Laser Hair Removal System: A Review

This article will give you some details about TRIA hair removal system, offered by TRIA beauty. Currently priced at $495, it is expensive--quite expensive. It is useful for people with light to medium skin tones and dark hair. Fortunately, the product comes with an inbuilt skin sensor, allowing you to test your skin before treatment. This hair removal system can free you from a lifetime of shaving, waxing, ingrown hairs and razor burn, making your life much simpler. It delivers permanent, professional results at home, only in a matter of 6-8 months.

TRIA's two step process simplifies the hair removal process, but only on paper. In essence, you need to be very cautious of doing more damage than harm; though TRIA has a good reputation. Size of treatment head is quite small, which can make it inefficient for larger body parts. It uses pulsed diode laser which works well for dark hair on pale skin. Dark melanin absorbs near infrared radiation from the lasers, creating excessive heat.

TRIA laser hair removal system flashes near infrared radiation into your skin, allowing black hair to absorb it. This heats and fries up the hair follicles. The treatment like any other laser treatment can leave some rashes, but they usually subside in no time. If that is not the case, please use an ice pack till the pain and rashes subside. It is recommended that you alter power settings and ensure you find one that suits best.

As a consumer, you would be interested in amount of time you need to spend with this product. Usually, bikini line and underarms take somewhere between 5-10 minutes, whereas legs can take longer, upto 30 minutes. It is recommended that you should treat yourself twice a month, followed by once a month for the following 3-5 months.

Unfortunately, FDA does not recommend using this product on face, especially around the eyes. Before you embark on a hair rising experience, please consult the manual and read all the details properly. Better still, consult with a clinical consultant.

Remember though, these kind of treatments will not permanently remove hair. TRIA laser hair removal product could do with larger treatment head, longer battery life and lighter weight. As a matter of fact, most consumers have complained about its small treatment head and how it is ineffective on larger treatment areas. Still, if you are interested, research laser hair removal techniques well.

How to Get Gratis Makeup Samples For Gratis - Best Tips

One of the things that women should really have is a good makeup kit in order to enhance their looks no matter what the occasion is. However, spending money just to try out the different kinds of makeup can be very expensive, not to mention confusing. One way that you could get to decide on what makeup products that you should be getting for yourself is to find gratis makeup samples. These samples are given out for free, so you don't have to spend much in order to decide on the right makeup.

If you happen to be at a mall, why don't you drop by at the cosmetic stores and stores that sell makeup products? Many of these stores give out sample products as promotions. They usually have gratis makeup samples to give away at their counters and you could get to try them. The stores even have stylists and makeup artists that could help you decide on what type of makeup is right for you.

Another way that you could get free samples is to go to online stores that specialize in makeup and cosmetics. There are many online stores that give out promotions for their products, and one way that they do this is to give out their products for free. Aside from the products that they sell, some of the online stores even give tips on their websites on how to choose and apply makeup in order to get the right one that will match your skin.

Many of the websites that offer gratis makeup samples often ask for your email address. You do not have to worry about giving out your email address to them. They will use this to register new customers, and they may occasionally send useful newsletters to the email address that you provide. You will then be informed of any new products or promotions that are available on their website. You should first read the terms and conditions on their website so that you would be safe.

You could also visit the manufacturer's website if you want to get gratis makeup samples. All you have to do is to send out your contact details, and they will usually send out free samples of their makeup products. Although they may send emails to your email address, this is usually just to promote their products. If you don't want to receive their emails, some companies would let you unsubscribe from the service. You could also mark their emails as spam and not worry about it any more.

Searching online for free samples is very convenient, but you might not be able to test the products right away. If you visit the makeup stores, however, you could get to test the product that you are going to use. You would also be able to decide much better because they have professionals that can help you decide on the right makeup.

Choosing the makeup that you need is easier if you have gratis makeup samples available. If the makeup that you choose works, you can keep on using that. However if it does not work out as intended, you do not have to worry since you got the samples for free.

How Electrolysis Can Be Used For Isolation

The term electrolysis has Greek origins and means to separate. Electrolysis is a process that uses strong electrical currents to cause chemical reactions. These reactions would otherwise not occur without this form of stimulation. The end result is the separation of different elements from naturally occurring mixtures, such as ores.

The process requires three main components: an electrolyte, direct current, and two electrodes. The electrolyte contains mobile ions that carry the electric current. The current must be supplied at a strength that can stimulate the electrolytes ions. Both electrodes are conductors that work as an interface between the current and the electrolyte. They are typically made of semiconducting materials, graphite and metal. All of these main components are necessary for the overall process to work successfully.

Electric energy is passed across the electrodes that are within the electrolyte. Each electrode attracts oppositely charged ions, and either absorbs or releases electrons. Ions that become uncharged atoms by losing or gaining electrons then separate and are discharged. Those that become charged ions move into the electrolyte. This is how separation occurs.

This procedure has been used since the 1800s to separate many different and important elements. For example, it was used to decompose water into it's hydrogen and oxygen components. It was also used in the discovery of potassium, barium, sodium, magnesium and calcium. Fluorine was discovered through this means as well.

Using the electrolysis mechanism, two processes were founded to help in the creation of certain substances. The Hall-Heroult process uses the electric current to produce aluminum. The Castner-Kellner process uses it to create sodium hydroxide. Both of these are important in chemistry and manufacturing.

This chemical process uses electricity to create charged and uncharged ions, and to separate one type from the other. In this way, it has been used to isolate many different elements. In fact, it has helped in the discovery of multiple substances.

Electrolysis is known well to be used for hair removal and blemish removal. It is a preferred method of permanent hair removal, even over Laser hair removal. Laser hair removal is only good for people with light skin and dark hair. The laser will not pick up light hair. The laser also is known to burn and/or damage skin, specifically if the skin is a darker tone. Electrolysis is known to be a more reliable and permanent removal for hair and blemishes overall.

Treating Osteoarthritis With Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine

Chondroitin Sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) that is composed of a chain of alternating sugars. It is a proteoglycan that is usually found attached to protein molecules. A chain of Chondroitin may possess more than a hundred individual sugars which can be sulfated in different positions and amounts. This chemical is an important natural structural component of cartilage and bone and provides the much needed resistance to compression and strain caused by movement and lifting the weight of the body.

Because of its function, it has been widely researched for its possible role in the treatment of a degenerative disease called osteoarthritis, and sure enough, scientists have found it to contain properties that may help reduce the symptoms of the disease. Others even claim that it can stop the progression and can eliminate the symptoms entirely. But in contradiction to these claims the British Medical Journal has voted against its efficacy as an osteoarthritis treatment basing from its comprehensive review.

However, many still use this non-vitamin non-mineral supplement in the form that uses a partner agent called Glucosamine. This substance is an amino sugar and is the precursor for glycosaminoglycans, the group of chemicals which Chondroitin belongs to. Its use as a separate supplement has been deemed safe in the prevention of cartilage degeneration and arthritis treatment. But like Chondroitin, there's conflicting evidence in its efficacy as a treatment for osteoarthritis. But clinical studies show that their separate effects are increased when administered in conjunction with each other.

Most of the Chondroitin and Glucosamine supplements today are derived from bovine products, specifically the trachea. Other known sources for these substances are pork by-products, shell fish, salmon, and shark. They can also be produced synthetically in a laboratory setting. They come in the form of capsules, tablets, and even powder. It is taken orally with a total daily dose that ranges from 800 mg to 1,200 mg taken two to four times a day. You must allow a month or so for the effects to present themselves. The therapy is done for six to twenty-four months. Effects beyond that period are unclear.

The exact mechanism of action of this supplement is unknown. But the combined substances (Chondroitin and Glucosamine) are believed to enhance the ability of collagen to absorb shock brought about by constant movement and the weight of the body. They are also believed to block the enzymes that deteriorate the structure and functioning of the cartilage. These substances may also help in water retention in the joints thereby reversing cartilage loss.

Reports of significant lessening of inflammation and pain are often heard from subjects who have taken part in clinical studies in relation to the effect of the supplement. Some of them have even decreased the dosage of their NSAIDs, which is the conventional treatment for osteoarthritis. Joint function can also be significantly improved, along with greater mobility and range of motion without the restrictive pain that accompanies each purposeful movement (except for severe cases that have already developed contractures).

Keep Away From Interstitial Cystitis by Taking Precautions

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in our bladder. In this disease, the patients get acute or sever pain while passing urine. Also this disease is called bladder infection. Anyone can suffer from this painful disease. But mostly it affects the women as they have very short urethra. And the bacteria that are the cause of this disease enter easily their urinary tract through urethra tube. Then the bacteria start to keep multiplying themselves there. Normally, the urine contains of fluids, salt, and waste products. But when bacteria enter, the urinary tract gets infected. Also this disease is common in young ones and teens. The women get infected by this infection mostly during their menopause period. In addition to it, pregnant women get infected by this infection as well. It is common in young children and teens as well.

There are many symptoms of interstitial cystitis. The acute pain during urinating is common among the patients of this disease. Some patients urinate at the night frequently. Some patients urinate after every ten minutes. Some patients get the feeling of burning sensation while passing urine. Some can get the pain after sexual intercourse. Apart from it, some patient gets pelvic pain. Pelvic pain is a long-term pain in both men and women. There are many ways to prevent from interstitial cystitis. You can consult with your doctor whenever you feel the acute pain in your bladder. Mostly, the doctor recommends the antibiotics to patients of this disease. However, we should not take any antibiotics without consulting doctor.

But you can take precautions to prevent you from interstitial cystitis. Water is very essential for our body and we all know this thing very well. And it helps in eliminating the bacteria from our body. Therefore, we should drink more than 2 liters water a day. Drinking water is not only helpful in this disease but also in other diseases. We should drink juice and tea daily. Moreover, we should change our undergarments daily. We should not use strong perfumes around genital areas. Also we should maintain proper hygiene after and before sex intercourse. There is also exercise to make our bladder strong. The name of that exercise is kegel. This exercise is an effective for both men and women. The most important thing about this disease is that sugar plays an important role. So we should try to use less sugar as it invites bacteria strongly.

Bio Hazardous Waste Disposal - An Unavoidable Necessity

The importance of bio hazardous waste disposal can never be overstated, because these hazardous waste materials have the potential to cause considerable threat to public health and environment.

What is Bio Hazardous Waste?

The term bio hazardous waste material refers to biological agents and substances present in or arising from the work environment that may pose a health hazard to the well being of the worker or to the community. By another definition, bio hazardous waste is any waste containing infectious materials like blood. Items of special concern are sharp wastes such as needles and blades that can cause injury to medical workers during handling.

Bio hazardous wastes are categorized into the following six different types.

* Human body fluids
* Human blood products
* Pathological wastes
* Microbiological wastes
* Animal waste
* Sharp waste

Sources that generate hazardous waste, such as health care providers, laboratories and hospitals have a responsibility to correctly treat and dispose of these wastes either by their own resources or by taking the assistance of medical waste disposal services. Of importance specially is that the waste material should be properly packed and labeled to prevent exposure that may cause injury and/ or health hazard.

Waste minimization, disinfecting and disposing of wastes within the laboratory premises assumes a lot of importance. For instance, there should never be a mix up of medical waste with the normal trash. This practice significantly adds to the costs of not only bio hazardous waste disposal but also of waste management as a whole. Laboratory personnel must understand that the following items do not fall under the category of biological waste.

* Gloves that handle containers of blood
* Paper towels on which blood is not spilled
* Any material that has not come in direct contact with blood

Labs must disinfect and dispose of waste in the right way. Liquids and waste that contain blood must be disinfected and then flushed. However, labs must take care to see that solutions containing large amount of blood must not be disinfected to prevent clot formation in pipes. If the quantity is large, it is prudent to take the services of a bio disposal company. Small amounts may however be disinfected in the labs by adding a proper disinfectant, by making sure there are no bubbles in the solution, letting the solution stand for at least 30 minutes and then pouring it down the drain.

What is the Need for a Medical Waste Disposal Company?

The job of preparing bio hazardous waste disposal (or autoclaving) that constitutes proper labeling, packaging and transportation can be time consuming and hard work. For any source such as a hospital or a laboratory that generates wastes on a regular basis, disposal can also be an expensive job. A waste-disposal company best does such work efficiently and in a cost effective way. In addition, it must be noted that improper disposal can attract civil and criminal liability because of lack of responsibility to protect the health of people and the environment. Secure bio hazardous waste disposal is therefore an unavoidable necessity.

Medical Applications of Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera

All things, including the human body, emit infrared radiation when near room temperature and increase in proportion with the surrounding temperature. Thermal imaging cameras are a thermographic application that converts this infrared radiation into a visible light display allowing us to see objects clearly with color codes dependent on temperature variance. Infrared and thermal imaging finds applications in several fields such as electronics, military and surveillance, firefighting any many more. In addition to these more pragmatic uses it and infrared video cameras also find a place in medical diagnostics, for both humans and animals.

Thermography has been used in the field of medicine for the last 30 years and its safety and effectiveness have been proved beyond doubt with volumes of peer-reviewed studies and medical literature as proof. Infrared video cameras have proved to be a sensitive diagnostic tool for a myriad variety of clinical and experimental situations. Breast cancer, nervous system disorders, neck and back problems, pain syndromes, arthritis and soft tissue injuries are some cases wherein it has proved to be useful. This is a completely non-invasive technique and does not require the use of radiation or other potentially harmful elements.

Intensive thermographic studies have proved an anticipated baseline of normal pattern of thermal imaging of a human body, both in steady state as well as dynamic situations. Testing using a thermal imaging camera or infrared video camera, the deviations from characteristic normal temperature patterns are noted. These deviations are associated with different pathological phenomena that provide the basis for non-invasive investigations.

Today, thermal imaging cameras are the best way to study skin temperature for clinical diagnosis. For instance a "hot spot" indicates inflammation of the skin, directly overlying injury whereas a "cold spot" is a reduction in blood supply usually due to thrombosis or scar tissue. Tendons and joints show inflammatory changes as much as two weeks before the symptoms are visibly apparent. It also can be used to assess the vasculature and blood flow to tissues before and after exercise. Epileptic foci and tumors can be detected by observing the patterns and "thermal signatures" in an infrared video camera.

High resolution dynamic thermal imaging cameras provide intra-operative real-time physiological, anatomical, and pathological information and hence are useful during surgical procedures. Dynamic infrared imaging has been applied in a variety of neurosurgical, cardiovascular and melanoma cases. Last but not the least, thermal imaging is also useful in veterinary practice. To a trained practitioner "thermal signatures" of the animals taken from an infrared video camera relay information about blood flow deviations, indicating the presence or absence of health issues.

Anti-Dandruff Treatment - Ketoconazole Shampoo

Dandruff is a common problem for millions of people. Almost every one of us had somehow faced problems with dandruff. Ugly white flakes on a head skin and shoulders can ruin the look of the prettiest haircut. For some people it is not a big problem because dandruff goes away just by itself, but for others it is a real big problem.

There are a lot of shampoos, hair masks, scrubs, home remedies for dandruff treatment. But unfortunately most of them are not treating the actual cause of dandruff - fungus infection, but just symptoms.

Ketoconazole shampoo is a treatment for diseases related with scalp problems. It is used to control dandruff. It can help fighting itching, scaling and flaking that is associated with dandruff. Ketoconazole is a preparation that prevents growth of fungus that in most cases is actually causing dandruff. Also in some situations it could be used as a treatment for some other skin conditions that are appearing due to fungal infections of a scalp. Some people use it as a method of dandruff prevention. When using it as a prophylaxis it is used less frequently - just once a week.

Some single research claims that ketoconazole shampoo is also a hair loss treatment. There were made some experiments on mice, but still mechanism of action isn't clear.

How to use: Apply ketoconazole shampoo on wet hair and scalp. Completely cover head skin and hair with lather. Leave it for about 3-5 minutes. Rinse hair and scalp with warm water. Use it about two times a week.

Evidence Based Medicine - Gold Standard?

Health care decisions are increasingly "Evidence Based". This means that bonafide, usually "double blinded placebo controlled" clinical trials, published in respected "peer reviewed" journals are considered the highest standard for evidence of therapeutic efficacy.

These are then utilized by government, health professional organizations, and insurance companies to develop "Clinical Parameters" which are considered the "gold standard" for organizational and individual practice.

There is no question that critical health care decisions must be based on valid evidence. However, it is well known that clinical trials, and hence evidence based parameters can be flawed. As a Principal Investigator for many clinical drug trials, I have observed that "Parameter Selection" and "Type 2 Error" are major factors creating these flaws.

Parameter selection involves deciding which "dependent" factors may change favorably as a result of an "independent" factor" i.e. new therapy or drug. For instance, when studying asthma one might select:
1) lung function
2) symptoms
3) quality of life indicators
4) use of rescue medication
5) frequency and
6) severity of attacks
7) major attacks leading to ICU or ventilator management, or
8) disastrous outcomes such as death.

In this scenario a certain drug may show statistically significant improvement in the first five or six parameters but not the last two or three. These last parameters are relatively infrequent events and hence require a greater number of subjects and/or a longer study to measure either positive or negative outcomes. This is the concept of "Type 2 Error" - not seeing an effect due to inadequate sampling volume.

The problem here is that a drug may be approved based on data showing significant clinical trial benefit in some parameters expected by the manufacturer to be positive, yet show no difference in other parameters which may be more significant or be negatively impacted if the sampling size was greater.

We often see this effect after a medication is released and used by many more patients, i.e. "Post Marketing Experience" or when a drug is subjected to a much larger trial i.e. 30000 subjects instead of 300. That is when "black box warnings" of death or permanent impairment are posted, or a drug is taken off the market.

How to Stay Healthy - Tips From a Physical Therapist

Contrary to what most people believe, there are people that schedule an annual check-up with their physical therapist to ensure that they stick with an overall health and wellness maintenance plan for staying healthy. When you visit a physical therapist to maintain health and wellness, the physical therapist will do a complete evaluation of your health level and then personalize a treatment plan. The plan includes rehab therapy for any problems that the physical therapist has located as well as a personalized plan for how to stay healthy and live a high quality of life.

Any physical therapist will tell you that patient education is an essential part of physical therapy. The education includes how to improve points in your body which exemplify weakness to prevent pain and injury in the future, maintain flexibility and muscle mass, practice a healthy diet, and much more. So if you pay a visit to a physical therapist here are some basic tips they will provide on how to stay healthy before they go into a detailed treatment plan with you.

Physical Therapy Evaluation

A physical therapist will recommend a complete evaluation so he/she can devise a treatment plan that will teach you how to stay healthy. The evaluation includes a complete review of your physical capabilities including extremity range of motion, spinal range of motion, cardiovascular and pulmonary, neurological function, assessment of your daily living activities, and much more. The physical therapist will then go through your health concerns with you in detail and then compile a plan to help you stay healthy.

General Recommendations for How to Stay Healthy

In addition to discussing your evaluation and treatment plan with you in detail, your physical therapist will also make the following general recommendations for how to stay healthy:

• Water: Water flushes all of the toxins out of your system. A physical therapist will recommend that you sip on water throughout the entire day as opposed to taking it in all at once. This will help to keep your cells hydrated and your system free of toxin build up. If you wait until you are thirsty to drink water then you have waited too long.

• Stretching and Exercise: It is very important to do stretching exercises on a daily basis to maintain mobility and flexibility. It also helps to prevent injury when you engage in exercise. You should stretch your hamstrings, chest muscles, and shoulders to maintain good posture and then exercise on a daily basis doing something you enjoy such as walking, riding your bike, or doing the gardening. Whatever it is make sure you engage in movement every day.

• Eat Breakfast: You may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that is because it really is. In order to get a jumpstart on your day eat a breakfast that is high in protein with a ratio of 4 to 1 carbohydrates and protein. Avoid cereals that are high in sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

• Balance Your Diet: In addition to eating breakfast make sure you practice a balanced diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and protein. Avoid processed foods because they contribute to the build up of toxins in your body and basically lower your energy level. Instead, stick with fresh produce and natural foods and eliminate caffeine and alcohol as well as fast foods that are high in saturated fat. If you smoke, consider kicking the habit.

• Stay Mentally Active: Just like your body needs exercise so does your brain. Make sure you stay mentally active by reading a lot, doing puzzles, engaging in social activities, keeping up with your hobbies, and any other activities you enjoy which will provide you with mental exercise.

These are some of the basic tips a physical therapist will provide on how to stay healthy. It is also necessary to visit your physical therapist regularly so they can help you stay on top of what is happening with your health and your body. Physical therapists can also guide you and keep you on course with a daily health regimen to maintain overall health and wellness.

About Carol Lane:

Carol Lane has been a health-and-wellness expert for over 18 years.

Lane served as a physical therapist in the Army for four years, ensuring the men and women fighting for our freedom remained fit and well. Lane has also spent seven years working in various rehab facilities and home health agencies helping children and adults take care of themselves.

In 1998, Lane established her own practice, Results Physical Therapy. Results initially specialized in older adult exercise programs and manual therapy, and then expanded to preventive care for adults of all ages, which allows patients to handle problems before they become serious as well as maintaining the health they have. In 2006, she expanded her practice to the Greater Bangor and Dexter areas in Maine.