Archive for October, 2009
Cough Variant
Posted by: | CommentsAsthma cough variant asthma is a condition that is predominated by cough. It is an asthmatic condition that is triggered by a cough. And a cough can have its various causes such as dust, animals allergy, weather, viral infections etc. The cough is a symptom of asthma and is triggered by some causes as mentioned above. A person that has this type of asthma should take the necessary precautions to be able to avoid this condition.
The cough irritates the airways that carry air in and out of the lungs. It causes a swelling in between and sufficient air cannot be transported into the lungs. Cough variant asthma is a condition that can be controlled or even prevented. A patient suffering from this condition should take necessary precautions available to avoid this asthmatic attack from occurring during a cough.
A cough variant asthma can be controlled by taking medications that are available. Tablets, inhalers and therapy are some of the medications available for controlling this condition. The inhalers help to prevent and give relief to an asthmatic patient, before and during the attack. Tablets contain various types of steroids for different conditions and this differ from patient to patient.
Therapy is given to ease the tension in the airways and to minimize the chance of triggering a cough. Cough variant asthma therapy also helps the patient’s mental health to be able to deal with his or her unpredictable situation mentally. There are also cough syrups available for asthma conditions that also help to reduce cough variant asthma.
Mercy Maranga
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/cough-variant-655017.html
Cluster Headaches – Essential Overview Guide
Posted by: | CommentsSuffered by over one million people in the United States alone (with 90% being male between the ages of 20 and 50), cluster headaches is one of the least common types of headaches. While the cause is unknown for this very debilitating type of headache, it has been reported that using alcohol during an attack increases its severity. However, no proof has been cited to conclude that alcohol use actually causes and onset of a cluster of headaches.
What Is A Cluster Headache?
Similar to the severity of a migraine, cluster headaches start suddenly, offering little warning of its advancement. Some people have reported a feeling of discomfort or a mild one-sided burning sensation in the head and face prior to an attack. The pain may be short lived (often less than an hour), but will disappear, only to return later in the day and into the evening.
Most sufferers report as many as four or more of these short-lived headaches in a single day, with the duration of the series, lasting for days, weeks, or in the most severe cases, months. While the headache periods may last for prolonged periods of time, sufferers usually are granted months or years of relief in between these painful attacks. Sufferers are most affected during the spring and fall, which often makes them susceptible to misdiagnosis as less serious allergy headaches.
What Does A Cluster Headache Feel Like?
When experiencing a cluster headache. Sufferers most commonly report pain on only one side of the head and face during a single series. It should be noted, however, that the pain can move to the other side once one cycle is over, and a new one begins. Most commonly felt behind the eye, the pain from a cluster headache often radiates to the face and down the neck. The effected eye may become swollen, droopy and begin to weep. Excessive sweating is not uncommon during an attack, leaving the sufferer with a flushed face.
How Do I Treat A Cluster Headache?
Due to the fact the chronic cluster headache periods are continuous, patients often do not respond favorably to regular forms of headache therapy. However, preventative therapy administered as soon as symptoms begin may help to lesson the severity and duration of symptoms. Some common forms of treatment include:
Histamine Desensitization.
Oxygen Inhalation.
Surgical Intervention.
They may not be as effective as some treatments; taking analgesics, using massage therapy and relaxation techniques. Using preventative prescription headache medications have also been used successfully by some patients.
Matthew Hick
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/cluster-headaches-essential-overview-guide-135722.html
Remedies for Sinusitis
Posted by: | CommentsSinusitis is an infection that occurs in the nasal cavities, the sinuses. If the cilia filter is malfunctioning, the bacteria we inhale by breathing can get blocked in the sinus cavities and produce a local infection.
Treating sinusitis is made with drugs prescribed by the doctor, and some home remedies.
The treatment must kill the bacteria, make facial pain and pressure disappear, clear up the nasal cavities and maintain intact the sinus and nasal tissues.
Treatment must be instituted as soon as possible to help the patient feel better and prevent other complications. The doctor will prescribe an antibiotic drug (oral or inhale drugs) if the sinusitis is caused by a bacterium; a decongestant, analgesics who will reduce the pain and corticosteroids to slow down the inflammation in the nasal cavities.
Some general symptoms of sinus infection are: headaches, fatigue, facial and upper jaw pains, and tenderness of the sinus area, sore throat, cough, colored nasal drainage, bad breath and swollen eye lids.
Sinusitis is difficult to diagnose in children but if your child has repeated sinus infections you can be vigilant to its symptoms in order to begin home treatment when you see that another infection will occur.
Treatment for acute and chronic sinusitis differs. For acute sinusitis, that generally lasts 2-3 weeks, doctors recommend antibiotic treatment for 5 to 7 days. Even if you feel better after a few days, make sure you do not interrupt the treatment until the doctor says so. Antibiotics have side effects and if you are not feeling well after taking them, request your therapist a different antibiotic. You can also use steam inhalations to minimize your nasal congestion.
The chronic sinusitis lasts longer, about 6-8 weeks and it is more difficult to treat.
Antibiotic therapy will be followed for at least 2 weeks and it is possible to use more than one antibiotic drug. Corticosteroids will be also used in order to relieve the inflammation of the nasal passages.
At people who have a weakened immune system (by cancer, HIV) unusual sinus infections may appear. These infections can be caused by fungus and other types of bacteria than the usual ones. In this case doctors recommend antifungal therapy associated with corticosteroids and even surgery.
If a patient has followed the classical antibiotic therapy and there were no signs of improvement the surgical therapy will be recommended because a complication could have occurred: the infection of the facial bones.
You can visit http://www.sinus-infection-guide.com or http://www.sinus-infection-guide.com/home-remedies.htm for more home remedies information
Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/remedies-for-sinusitis-99589.html
Do you regularly feel discomfort or bloating after eating certain foods? Is your life disrupted with constant cycles of constipation and diarrhoea, with your insides feeling raw? Does your skin regularly feel irritated or your joints sore? Do you suffer from chronic headaches or migraines? All these health issues can be symptoms of a food intolerance, or at least a contributing factor.
While less than 2% of the population suffer from food allergies, it is estimated that more than 20% of the population suffer from food intolerance. Food intolerances can affect anyone at any age, (we commonly work with children who have an intolerance to food) but since symptoms often occur some time after the food has been eaten it can be difficult to find the problem food. Years of research has found the basis of what causes allergy and food intolerance. Poor digestion causes your immune system to begin to attack partially digested components within the food that “leak” through the intestine and can migrate around the body. Sometimes that partially digested components lodge in the intestinal wall, sometimes in a membrane around a joint or even the brain. Antibodies quickly find these components and indicate to the rest of the bodies and this triggers the immune system and causes inflammation. Inflammation causes irritation: soreness, pain and swelling
There are many techniques that have been developed through the years to determine food intolerances. Some techniques were developed before scientists discovered the immune response, for example muscle reflex testing, and acupuncture. These techniques increasingly use electronic signal processors to improve their accuracy. However, these techniques can be still be compared to using a piece of seaweed for weather prediction. It takes someone with extremely good powers of judgement to understand a muscle reflex or voltage change due to a food sample being contacted with the skin. We often meet with patients who have been tested and told they are intolerance to a wide range of staple foods, fruit and vegetables. Their symptoms can improve sometimes but they often end up with a very unbalanced diet.
A more modern and clinically proven technique looks at the root cause of the food intolerance symptoms, the immune system. Indeed, a clinical trial of immune system tests found that most people with IBS that avoided the foods suggested by an immune test had their symptoms significantly improved. These tests do need a blood sample. With the right training, blood sampling is virtually painless and takes a few seconds. A sterile finger pricker lances the skin and a blood drop appears. The drop is collected and that is that, you don’t really need a dressing and its hard to see where the blood came from a minute later. That small blood sample is taken and the levels of the antibody determined by a laboratory. Some tests need to be sent away (york test). Our specialist practice in Inverness has a small lab where the tests can be done whilst you wait (
food intolerance testing inverness), taking less than one hour. The food intolerance test results are very unambiguous and can be used to guide an elimination diet with some certainty.
The immune (blood) testing is a lot more accurate than the old fashioned ways of testing. Sometimes people go through the mill, completely unnecessarily.
A patient (Mr. M.) came to us with a huge list of things he was told to not eat by an electronic muscle reflex test. He was an active young male who was told to avoid all grains, milk, nuts and yeast. He was suffering from rhinitis (blocked nose that would not go away) and had followed his food avoidance diet based on the electronic results and his symptoms had still not got any better. A big issue for him was that he used to like going out with his friends to go for pizza and have a few beers. He had lost a lot of weight and felt hungry all the time because of his active job.
I blood tested him and found that he gave a very weak positive result to oats and yeast (so weak it took imagination to see the positive blue spot on the test plate). So he had put up with not being able to go get a pizza, not being able to pop out for a sandwich at lunchtime and spent a lot his time being starving (active outdoor job in Scotland – you need food!!) for no particular reason at all.
So he is now back onto a balanced diet again and can enjoy a beer this Christmas.
If you have been electronically tested and given a big list of foods that you are intolerant to, it might be a good idea to get a second test done somewhere else perhaps by the immune method and compare the results.
Dr Richard Day
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/food-intolerances-what-are-the-symptoms-of-food-intolerance-and-what-tests-are-available-85193.html
Are Dog Beds Necessary?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you get your dog used to sleeping in one spot he’s less likely to sleep on the floor or other hard surfaces which can cause arthritis and calluses in later years. Starting out correctly can help keep your dog fit and healthy for all of his life. So now that we have established that a dog bed is essential, what type do you get and how do you pick the best bed?
What to Consider in a Dog Bed
Have you ever considered you dog’s specific needs for comfortable rest? Does your dog sprawl and stretch out completely? Or does he avoid the bed because he needs to cool off? Take his habits and needs into consideration when buying a dog bed. Yor pet will thank you for it!
Some Of The Benefits of a Dog Bed
The type of dog bed you choose depends on your canine and his preferences. Orthopedic beds are often a good choice for a senior dog as they are designed with special high-density foam for additional comfort and cushion for your hound’s aching bones and joints.
Beds with sides are great for dogs that like to hang their head over the edge. You can also add pillows to keep your pooch comfey. Picking the right dog bed can also help with allergy and clean up relief. It provides you with a main area where the majority of the shedding and/or dander is contained and if you select a good machine washable bed, just toss it in the washing machine!
Some other Dog Bed Considerations
It is important for an older dog to have a comfortable rest area and there are dog beds that are specfically designed with older dogs in mind. A good dog bed is essential for a senior hound as they spend a good portion of the day at rest. They even make orthopedic pooch beds now to help address this issue. Remember that an achy body can mean a cranky pet. Older dogs enjoy sleeping more and playing less.
The best way to make sure you are ordering the correct size bed is by measuring your dog in his favorite laying position and adding five inches. If he’s relaxed to his maximum size you’ll need to make sure the bed is big enough to support his entire body.
A canine that sleeps in a tight curled up position might prefer a round bed with sides. Next on the list of requirements is probably a chew proof bed, especially for puppies!
There are a number of styles of dog bed, such as indoor or outdoor, heated or not, travel or car beds and as previously mentioned orthopedic beds for the older hound.
Your canine will enjoy a high quality dog bed for all the same reasons that we enjoy our beds! Think of the bed as an investment, multiple high quality beds will last the lifetime of your best friend, and so will their benefits!
Stephen Dolan
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/are-dog-beds-necessary-123051.html