How Your Doctor Decides Which Medication is right for You

You go to your doctor’s office for a routine check-up.  Everything is fine but your cholesterol is a little high.  The doctor wants to put you on medication because lowering your cholesterol will significantly reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.  Sounds good until you get to the pharmacy and realize this will cost you a hundred dollars a month, for life.  Why would my doctor prescribe a medication for me that is going to cost $1,200 a year?  Why didn’t he choose something a little cheaper?  Why didn’t he tell me about eating better and exercising?

Your doctor will go through a thought process before prescribing your medication.  Some of it is based on age, sex, race, weight, experience, and other medical conditions.  You may be surprised to find out that some of his decision may be based on the “attention” he receives from the drug companies.  The term attention is used to refer to the many number of gifts or freebees given to the doctors for prescribing certain medication.

The billion dollar drug manufacturers know how to influence your doctor into prescribing their drug.  In years gone by, the gifts given to doctor were pretty extravagant.  I’ve heard stories of a leased car, an Alaskan cruise, and untold free rounds of golf.  Recently, the companies have come to a “gentleman’s agreement.” They discovered the gifts were getting out of control with each company trying to one-up the other.  The free items were reduced significantly to pens, pencils, pads, clocks, and anything else you can use in a doctor’s office.  Look around the office; everything has a drug name on it.

Celiac Spree? You Need To Go Gluten Free!

If you are suffering from severe and chronic abdominal pain and bloating after meals, have excessive gas, or have large bulky stools that may have blood in them, you need to go to a doctor. While there are many causes for this set of symptoms including dysentery and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (which can only be treated with medications), it may be something called celiac spree, which is treated simply with a change in diet to a gluten free diet.

Celiac spree is an allergic condition of the small bowel that causes inflammation and damage to the lining hindering absorption of nutrients. This is why you get the symptoms of malabsorption and intestinal damage (bleeding) described above. You may also have weight loss and suffer from dietary deficiencies like iron deficiency anemia and B12 deficiency neuropathies for example.

Know Your Types of Antidepressant

Depression is a serious problem, because of the nature of it and because most cases of it are likely going unnoticed and untreated. According to the statistics, everyone has had to fight off at least one bout with depression, though there are numerous cases where the mood lasts far longer. There are many dangers that are connected to this particular mood disorder, though it can be treated with one of the various types of antidepressant. It should be noted, though, that some people might not get any sort of benefit from using certain types of antidepressant. 

Knowing the various types of antidepressant out there can help you recognize if you have options other than what you're already taking. This selection also helps doctors decide what would be best for a specific patient. Different types of antidepressant work in different ways, though they all have the universal effect of helping lift a patient's mood and temporarily alleviating the air of doom and despair that hangs over the heads of the depressed. If nothing else, knowing the various antidepressant variations out there can at least give you some idea of what's going on in your head and why it is helping you cope with your problems.

An Overview of Heart Disease

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in most developed countries around the world, and the number of cases is rising constantly as a result of both modern lifestyles and increased overall longevity. While developing the condition can have a devastating impact on the sufferer's life, modern medicine has developed several effective treatments for heart disease, ranging from drugs and lifestyle improvements right through to surgery.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, so before we look at some of the symptoms of cardiac disease we'll look at some of the ways you can help your body ward off the risks.

Living a healthy lifestyle can go a long way to reducing the chances of developing cardiac problems, but there is unfortunately an element of inherited risk, so even those with excellent overall health may find that they're genetically programmed towards heart disease in later life. Thankfully, the greatest influence genetics has on heart disease is that of making us more susceptible to certain causes, and with careful adjustments of our lifestyles we can greatly improve our prospects of avoiding it.

Drinking Water Is A Must!

You can barely make it through a day without hearing or reading some piece of warning or advice about your health. Our society is obsessed with all of the latest fads and techniques for doing as little as possible and eating as much as you want while maintaining the body of a supermodel. There are so many diets and health plans that can be found on the Internet or in any magazine that it becomes easy after a while to simply ignore everything you read. For the most part, many of the warnings and pieces of advice you see could be safely ignored without any serious effects on your life. One piece of advice, however, that you cannot afford to ignore is about drinking water.

Drinking water is one the most simple, easy to follow, and most necessary pieces of health advice that you'll ever hear. Take the advice seriously. Drinking water is absolutely essential to your life for a variety of reasons. Because our bodies are made up of such a high percentage of water in the first place, it only makes sense that drinking water would benefit our bodies in great ways.

Ultrasound Is Powerful Treatment Not Just Pictures

Most of the people associate ultrasound with pregnancy diagnostics. This may be a popular idea but ultrasound is being widely used in many other medical treatments and diagnostics like tumors, cancers, kidney stones and several others. It is interesting to note that ultrasound is not only used for medical applications but also in industrial field, as a weapon and as a disintegrating element. Ultrasound is a sound that has a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. The frequency is approximately 20,000 hertz.

Medical Ultrasonography is one of the main applications of ultrasound. It is a diagnostic imaging technique that is used to visualize the internal organs. The size and structure of the organ is analyzed in order to understand the complications (if there are any) or determine the features and nature of the organs. Obstetric Sonography is widely used during pregnancy.

Without Zinc You Are Headed Towards Dementia or Alzheimer's

Zinc is one of those minerals that have been discovered necessary to hold off the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's.  Older people and those with dementia and other mental disorders have been found to be deficient in zinc.  In most studies zinc has been shown to improve mental capacity in elders.

To get zinc into your blood stream you need to have a specific acid that is excreted by the pancreas.  This acid is called "picolinic acid” When food containing zinc or zinc supplements reaches the small intestine, duodenum, the pancreas excretes picolinic acid.  This acid binds with zinc and moves it across your intestine wall and into the blood stream.

Picolinic acid is created in the liver and kidneys from the amino acid tryptoph.  This amino acid then moves into the pancreas.  If you have diabetes or if your pancreas is overworked or weak, you will not be excreting enough picolinic acid and will not be providing enough zinc to your brain.  You will need to supplement your diet with zinc.

Treating Neck And Back Injuries

Many people experience neck and back injuries on a frequent basis. Either from work related injuries or from just moving the wrong way. Your neck and back are easy to injure. There are many pills that you will be prescribed to relieve the pain. But these pills do not fix the problem; they only dull the pain for a small period of time. More frequently, alternative treatments are being used to cure these injuries. Injuries of the neck and back can be some of the more painful injuries and you will find yourself debilitated for that period of time while waiting for your pills to work. This is no way to live.

Alternative treatments are very reliable in this field and will fix your injury and heal your pain. These methods are not as obscure as they used to be. They are becoming more and more popular. Not just for neck and back injuries but for many other illnesses as well. Let me outline for you the alternative treatments that would be best for these types of injuries.

Acne Home Remedies

Diet and Good Nutrition:

Good nutrition is the foundation for healthy skin. A well-balanced diet will ensure that your body receives the vitamins and mineral it needs to support and maintain the health of the skin. Foods rich in sulphur, such as onions and garlic, may be particularly helpful to those who suffer from acne. There are also several nutritional supplements that may be helpful in the maintenance of healthy skin. Supplements of b-complex vitamins as well as vitamin C, and A are very important for the strength, growth, and vitality of the skin. Vitamin E and the mineral zinc orotate are also useful supplements as they both contain antioxidants that can help protect the skin from damage. And don't underestimate the power of water. Water helps to hydrate the skin, plump up the glands, and move waste and nutrients through the system. Plan on drinking at least six to eight glasses of purified water each day to keep skin healthy and deter the development of acne. We recommend using a Wellness Water purification system available at www.ghchealth.com.

Cleansing:

In order to prevent or alleviate acne, you need to keep you skin nourished from the inside and clean on the outside. People who suffer from acne need to be especially careful about the methods and products used to cleanse the skin.

Cancer Information and Support Can Hasten Healing and Save Lives

It's the word that no one ever wants to hear: cancer. Although our parents or grandparents might have heard that word and considered it an automatic death sentence, today's focus on prevention, early detection, and treatment means that people who are diagnosed with cancer often have a very good chance of beating the disease.

The Latest Statistics:

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), death rates from cancer have been decreasing since the early 1990s. In a recently published report on cancer from the years 1975 through 2004 (the latest year for which statistics are available), the NCI noted that, "Death rates decreased on average 2.1 percent per year from 2002 through 2004, nearly twice the annual decrease of 1.1 percent per year from 1993 through 2002."

Anorexia: A Disease Induced By the Society?

Anorexia Nervosa can be translated “nervous loss of appetite”. This type of eating disorder has been affecting the female gender for centuries, occurring in various cultural and ethnical groups around the world. The unusual behavior of people affected by the disease attracted the attention of various medical scientists throughout the course of history. Early data related to Anorexia Nervosa can be found in manuscripts written many centuries ago. Although they are very inaccurate, the first studies on this form of disease date back since the end of the 17th century. These early studies describe Anorexia Nervosa as a purely physiological disease, developed on the premises of physical dysfunctions. More substantial data on Anorexia Nervosa has been collected towards the end of the 19th century, when the neuropsychological nature of the disease has been described for the first time.

Hepatitis A - How to Prevent It

Hepatitis A is a very highly contagious infection of a person's liver and a virus causes it.  It isn't considered as dangerous as other viral types of Hepatitis, but it does cause severe pain and inflammation that affects the human liver's abilities to function properly. 

The most likely way of contracting Hepatitis A is through food or water that has been in close contact with someone who has already been infected.  People that are infected may appear to be normal while not knowing that they are already sick from the virus.  It is said that some people don't even develop any signs or symptoms, while others may feel like they have a severe case of the 'flu. 

Some symptoms of Hepatitis A are fatigue, nausea, dark urine, muscle pains and itching.  Some people even experience their skin changing to a yellowish color, also know as "jaundice".  It is said that you can have the virus for a month or more before you even start noticing any types of symptoms.  But, when they do appear, they come suddenly, which makes people feel like they are coming down with a case of the 'flu. 

Choosing A Wheelchair

When looking to buy a wheelchair, probably the most important feature is comfort. It is also important to try out the wheelchair and make sure it fits and you are comfortable on it, as well as in it. Looking for the wheelchair that is right for you, might start to get long and tedious, but with the variety of models that are out today, you should be able to find one that suits all of your needs. When looking at wheelchairs, think about how you spend your day and what sorts of tasks you do, this will help to pick out the chair that will best fit you. If you need to transfer yourself, it is optimal to buy a chair model that is able to change heights.

Apart from what you will be doing with your wheelchair, it is also important to consider that type of environment that you will be using your chair in. Will you be traveling a lot outdoors in your wheelchair? Or will you being using it indoors only? If you decide that you will need to use your chair outdoors, you will be better off picking a model that is powered. This will help to give the wheelchair more power to move you in different types of outdoor environments. It is also safer to use a wheelchair with a motor when going outdoors. You will also need to have access to a vehicle that is wheelchair accessible. If you do not already have one, make sure to have arrangements before hand and that the wheelchair will fit inside the vehicle.

Asthma Triggers And How to Control Them?

Do you enjoy the outdoors? Do you love pets? What if you had to choose between these things and your ability to breathe?

Unfortunately, for many asthma sufferers, that choice is one they make every day. Asthma affects millions of Americans, many of them children. Asthma is a serious condition that restricts airways and causes breathing difficulties, which result in approximately 5,000 deaths annually.

So, how can asthma sufferers do the things they love without suffering? Knowing asthma triggers and how to manage them are the first steps to a fuller, happier life.

Here are a few asthma triggers and ways to manage them, as recommended by the Consumer Federation of America:

Depression

Depression is a very serious matter, which does not discriminate. 

Depression doe not care what your age is, what gender you are, or even what your race or social class is.

Depression can often make a person feel sad, helpless, hopeless, and irritable.  It is normal for people to have these feeling sometimes, but some people cannot just snap out of it and this is the difference between what is normal and major depression.  It is the determination and brutality of the emotions that determine the mental illness of depression from normal mood changes.

We are going to talk about different types of depression and how it can affect you.  Depression is an illness that affects your body, mind, disposition, thought, sleep, energy, concentration, weight, and much more.  Depression is not a mood, it is not a sign of personal weakness, and it cannot be simply willed away.

Speed Up Your Weight Loss Naturally

Everywhere you go you see a weight loss plan being advertised. In the supermarket checkout line there are dozens of magazines displayed. On almost every one you will see a diet plan or diet tips that are guaranteed to work!

As more people suffer with obesity and loss of energy, the concern becomes greater to lose weight. In desperation, people try every new diet that comes out. Some of these are not good for your health and can cause severe problems with continued use.

Another popular method of weight loss is taking diet pills. Sometimes a doctor will give you an appetite suppressant, but these are only meant for temporary use.  Many take over-the-counter pills, but these are really only supplements and may not deliver the desired results.

Alzheimer's Disease - A Carer's Guide

There are various definitions of Alzheimer is disease including:

 - ‘The slow onset of memory loss leading to a gradual progression to a loss of judgment and changes in behavior and temperament.”

 - “A living death”

 - “The global impairment of higher functions, including memory, the capacity to solve problems of day to day living, the performance of learned percepto-motor skills (for example tasks like washing, dressing and eating), and the control of emotional reactions in the absence of gross clouding of consciousness.”

Memory Loss:

Memory loss occurs in all cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The most recent memories are the first to be affected, the things we’ve done in the last few hours or days. Later, as the disease progresses, the past memory also deteriorates.