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Archive for August, 2011

When it comes to dealing with acne there are many things you can actually do to get rid of the problem. There are many different solutions, cremes and methods you can employ to get rid of this unpleasant skin condition. And every solution can be quite effective in different cases. Still, there are some things you should never do to your acne no matter what type of it you seem to have if you don’t want to make the problem even worse. Some of these things may be commonly suggested as an effective solution to acne by people who aren’t very competent on the matter. So if you don’t want to make your acne worse, here are some things you should definitely avoid doing about acne:

Excessive hygiene

While keeping your skin healthy and clean all the time is important becoming fanatic about it may have negative consequences. It is important to remove oil excess and dirt from the skin daily in order to prevent inflammation and bacterial infection. However, if you are washing your skin several times a day and use a strong antibacterial soap or solution for it you risk making your skin too dry and irritating it. This in turn can make your skin more vulnerable to external factors and lead to excessive damage. So don’t become a hygiene maniac if you have acne.

Excessive use of anti-acne solutions

Moderation is one of the most important aspects for any type of treatment including anti-acne solution use. While used in small or moderate amounts, most acne treatments can be very effective and eliminate acne breakouts effectively. However, if you feel that the solution isn’t working as desired or just want to get results faster using excessive amounts of it or more often than needed can actually damage your skin and make the acne problem even worse.

Mixing different solutions

It may seem like a rational move to mix different effective solutions for acne in order to maximize the benefit and get results faster. However, this is definitely not the brightest thing to do if you want to keep your skin healthy. Different solutions use different ingredients that may interact with each other and cause side effects. Moreover, by combining several topical solutions you can irritate your skin and cause additional problems that will ultimately lead to acne breakouts.

Dealing with the problem on your own

Sure, you can easily buy just any kind of anti-acne solution online or in the pharmacy. But if you don’t see any improvements it’s recommended to visit a doctor rather trying to use all types of solutions on your own. This is especially important when it comes to such drugs as Accutane. Although it’s hard to find this drug in a typical pharmacy, you can easily purchase Accutane online. Using such potent medications without your doctor’s supervision is very dangerous because it can lead to harmful side effects and make the problem even worse. So if you really want to get rid of acne make sure to pay a dermatologist a visit and undergo all health tests you’ll be indicated with. Your skin problems can be a sign of more serious health conditions you’re unaware of.

The role of doctors in our culture is very important. Because they can be useful in treating injuries and illnesses, they have become a profession. To ensure only the best people enter the profession, there are high educational standards to meet. The training is long and difficult. But, once doctors have qualified, they command respect. This is not just for the knowledge and experience they have collected. The power of the placebo effect also relies on believing the doctors actually know what they are doing. Remember, in all clinical trials, placebos are rated as highly effective by an average one-third of participants. If someone in a white coat gives you a pill in the right circumstances, you are likely to feel better even though the pill is made out of chalk. It’s all part of the magic of being a doctor.

The profession has also made big strides in shaping public opinion. The general practitioners used to be the gods. Now, thanks to television shows like House, it’s the surgeons in the top hospitals. Not that any of them are like House, you understand. But many do feel they can do what they want. So they develop reputations for their skills and build empires inside their hospitals. This grows their income and protects them. Why? Because once a patient is allocated to a particular empire, it holds on to that patient. That means the empire gets the credit for all the fee income earned and, if anything goes wrong, no one outside the empire gets to hear about it.

In other countries where they practise socialized medicine, there’s a team approach to treatment. Instead of one doctor having a monopoly on controlling treatment, the patient becomes the focus of interest for a group of healthcare professionals representing a range of relevant knowledge and skills. There are regular meetings where groups of people discuss how best to treat the individual. Collective decisions are taken. Why is this better? Well, suppose a patient comes in and reports pain. The first doctor diagnoses the problem and begins treatment. Some time later, the patient is still complaining of pain. In our system, the first doctor might fear loss of reputation if he or she calls for a second opinion, so simply prescribes more painkillers. If the pain persists, the dosage of the painkillers is increased or stronger drugs are used. The result is our country has the highest consumption of prescribed medications in the world. We’ve been persuaded the best treatment always comes in a pill bottle. In other countries, doctors and other healthcare professional work hard to avoid prescribing drugs. This not only cuts down the long-term cost of treatment, but also tends to produce better results.

None of this takes anything away from Tramadol. Indeed, if you travel round the world, the drug is widely available for treating moderate to severe pain. Although the brand names can differ from country to country, the basic chemistry is recognized as highly effective. But outside the US, you will find Tramadol is prescribed as part of a wider range of treatments to manage the pain. Indeed, the aim is to enable you to have a good quality of life without having to depend on any drug.

In a way, this is way too technical for an article here but, unless you understand a little about the law, it’s hard to understand why your drugs cost so much. Bear with us. It gets easier as we go on. A patent is a monopoly. Whoever invests the time and money to invent something new gets the exclusive right to sell the product for a limited period of time. Because there’s no competition, the inventor can charge a higher than usual price to recover the development costs. At the end of the period of protection, anyone can copy the design and manufacture the product. Not surprisingly, this brings down the price fast and we consumers benefit. But there’s no protection on the idea itself. So if another manufacture starts with the idea of the original product and also invests time and money to create a new way of exploiting the idea, that is also protectable by a monopoly. That’s why the little blue pills were unchallenged on the market until 2003 when two other drugs arrived on the market. Both these new drugs were separately created and neither copies the original. This did produce a little competition in the market but not enough to really help the consumers. Both the new manufacturers had spent a lot of money and wanted to get it back as quickly as possible. It suited all three to keep the prices high for the erectile drug market.

Pfizer’s original patent will run out in March, 2012 and the arrival of generic copies will potentially reduce its $1 billion in sales to the US market. So Pfizer is suing one of the world’s biggest generic manufacturers to stop it from entering the US market until 2019. The basis of this action is the fact Pfizer registered a second patent on the underlying chemistry of the drug in 2004. The name of the generic is sildenafil citrate and there’s no doubt at all that the first patent is valid. The second patent is disputed as a crude device for trying to buy an extra seven years of monopoly during which we can be gouged by higher prices. Essentially, it reinvents the original chemistry with one of two minor variations. The generic manufacturer is unimpressed but so far, the United States Patent Office has agreed with Pfizer that there’s sufficient novelty in the second application to justify a new patent. We all wait with interest to see what the court in Virginia will say.

Why should you care? Although you may be buying online and therefore buying the generic copies manufactured outside the US at lower prices, everyone who goes through the US system to get a prescription ends up paying top dollar for the drug. Come March 2012, there should be a flood of generics into the US market and, when you go into your neighborhood drugstore with a prescription, you should see retail prices drop significantly. Viagra has proved itself a highly effect drug. That’s why it’s the biggest seller in the US. Because of the lack of price competition, we’ve all been paying more than we should. So we should all be cheering on the generic manufacturers. That’s the way we get the Viagra we need without having to pay extortionate prices.

Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that develops over a long period of time. The bones in the body start to weaken increasing with age. Many people are not even aware that they have it until they fracture a bone.

Some people are more prone to osteoporosis than others. Women are more likely to have it than men. Small boned people are at higher risk than large boned individuals. Caucasian and Asian women are at a higher risk than Hispanic and African-American women. It usually affects people who are 50 and older. Even though the incidence is higher in women, men do develop osteoporosis especially men who live past the age of 65.

Osteoporosis is usually preceded by osteopenia. The medical profession defines osteopenia as low bone mass that has not yet reached the level of osteoporosis. Those who do not have osteopenia or osteoporosis need a plan to prevent it. Individuals who already have one or the other should employ strategies to control it (prevent further bone loss). A successful plan will consist of methods to prevent bone loss and build bone mass. Since alcohol consumption and smoking can damage bone, doctors recommend that people at risk avoid smoking and restrict alcohol consumption. A good diet is also essential. For maximum bone health the body needs calcium and Vitamin D. Calcium constitutes a major part of bones. Vitamin D is necessary to help the body absorb the calcium.

According to the US Surgeon General’s office, men and women between the ages of 19 and 50 require 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 200 IU (International Units) of Vitamin D daily. Those who are past 50 should take 1200 milligrams of calcium daily. Individuals from age 51 to 70 require 400 IU of Vitamin D and those over 70 should have 600 IU. However, more recent research has increased the requirement for Vitamin D to 400 to 800 IU for those under fifty and 800 to 1,000 IU for adults who are fifty years or older. Adults on various medications should also evaluate their prescriptions. Some medications can cause loss of bone mass. Some examples are glucocorticoids and corticosteroids. People also increase their risk for osteoporosis by following an inactive life style. Exercise will build bone density as well as develop muscle strength. When you stress your bones by engaging in physical exercise, the body responds by building new ones. You need to engage in two types of activities: weight bearing exercise and strength bearing exercise.

Weight bearing exercise involves placing weight on your feet as you do when walking, stair climbing or jogging. A good strength bearing exercise is weight lifting. If you already have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you should ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist. A physical therapist can help you work out an exercise program that is doable, challenging and enjoyable. Planning a program with a physical therapist will also ensure that the exercises will be safe and effective. In addition to building bone and muscle mass, you also need exercises that help balance and coordination.

In theory, everyone is the same except, obviously, they are not. Let’s start with age. Seniors may be physically active but, look inside, and you will find their liver and kidneys are not working as well as in days gone by. This means it takes longer for impurities to be filtered out of the blood. For these purposes, drugs are impurities. So, when an older person takes any medication, it’s processed through the stomach into the bloodstream and then circulates for longer. This means an older patient must either take a smaller dose or the time between doses must be longer. If such simple steps are not taken, it’s easy for older people to have peaks of drug concentration close to overdose levels. Adverse side effects are more common.

At the other end of the age scale, most drugs are not tested on children and young adults. It’s not considered ethical to expose underdeveloped human bodies to the risk of injury unless there’s a clearly identified need. As a result, doctors are often left guessing whether to risk prescribing drugs and opting for the lowest possible doses. Now we come to the politically incorrect question of body weight. Without getting into the speed of your body’s metabolism, thin people should receive smaller dose than those carrying more weight. Doctors often use a formula relating grams to pounds of weight.

A further difficulty is that pain is very subjective. Some people seem to be able to accept levels of discomfort that would have others rolling on the floor in agony. This is partly physical and partly psychological. As we grow up, we learn from our parents and peers how we are supposed to react when injured. Boys are supposed to be tough. It’s OK for girls to cry. Stereotypes are difficult to shake. This makes it very difficult to assess how much pain anyone is feeling. All a doctor can do is ask and try to place the answer on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the worst pain imaginable. The louder the complaint, the higher the dose or the stronger the drug. For the doctor, it’s all trial and error until the patient admits to feeling less pain. Against this background, it’s interesting to see some new research into using a new technique on an MRI scanner to measure pain. Arterial spin seems to show changes in the parts of the brain associated with pain. If this research can map the brain to show more precisely which part of the brain to monitor, it may be possible to produce a more objective method for measuring pain.

This would have immediate benefits for the patient, always giving the right dose. It would also be good for society because it would reduce the risk of drug abuse. As it is, patients who are developing a dependence can exaggerate their reports of pain and get additional tablets to feed their habit. This is less of a problem for drugs like Tramadol which are significantly less addictive than the opiates. But even Tramadol can be abused if people take it for too long at too high a dosage. No matter what the diagnosis, it’s always better to have the right dosage for your age and physical size.

Omega 3 Vitamins are the remedy for most of the modern day degenerative diseases such as cancer, arthritis, heart attacks etc. Modern diet primarily consists of processed foods that lack in nutritional value and have negligible omega 3 content.

Omega 3 fats are a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential for the healthy functioning of each cell in our body. These consist of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

The ideal ratio between Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids should be 1:3, however our increased dependence on processed foods, cereals, whole wheat breads etc have turned this ratio upside down. To bring back the ideal balance, we need to consume a diet rich in EPA and DHA fats.

Cold-water fatty fishes are the richest source of DHA and EPA fats. Other than fishes, certain seafood such as shrimps, crabs and herrings also contain essential fatty acids.

For those who are allergic to fish or are vegetarians, green leafy vegetables, walnuts, hemp seeds, flaxseed oil and canola oil are the best foods. However, these contain ALA fats that need to be converted into EPA and DHA to be utilized by our body.

Fish oils contain substantial amounts of both EPA and DHA fats. Superior quality supplements contain Vitamin E that acts as a good antioxidant and is a rich nutrient too.

However, before choosing a supplement, make sure it is molecularly distilled. Molecular distillation is a refining process that removes toxins such as mercury, metals, PCBs and other contaminants from the Fish oil. Such ultra-refined products are safe for regular consumption.

Studies show that regular intake of fish oils reduce the triglyceride serums and increase the HDL or good cholesterol levels in the blood stream. This reduces the risk of coronary heart diseases.

Joint problems such as arthritis can be treated with an increase in Essential fatty acids in our diet. Fish oils have blood thinning properties, which enables better blood flow throughout the body. They inhibit blood clotting and the formation of platelets. This helps people suffering from Reynaud’s disease and varicose veins.

Essential fatty acids trigger the secretion of Sphingomyelinase, an enzyme that protects against cancer-causing substances. EFAs are known to increase the metabolism rate in the body and help in burning away excess fat.

Mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, insomnia, Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD can be treated effectively by increasing the Omega 3 content in your diet.
This also helps in increasing I.Q. levels and concentration power in children.

Omega 3 Vitamins can provide significant improvement in your health and overall quality of life. All you got to do is choose Pharmaceutical grade supplements and make them a part of your daily diet.