Recognizing and Managing High Blood PRessure

July 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
My blood pressure the other day

Image by BostonTx via Flickr

There has been in increase in the number of people diagnosed with high blood pressure. This condition is very dangerous and can result in serious health risks. An ideal blood pressure reading is 120/80 or lower. If you have high blood pressure that is not controlled you run the risk of experiencing artery damage, aneurysms and heart failure. Treating high blood pressure includes lifestyle changes, as well as medication if necessary.

Symptoms
Many people do not experience symptoms if they are in the early stages of this condition; however, a few may experience headaches and dizziness.

Treatment
The first course of treatment is usually a change in diet. This includes a reduced sodium diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat foods. It is suggested that the diet contains no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

If an individual is overweight, losing that weight can significantly lower blood pressure. According to medical professionals, even a small loss of just five pounds can lower your blood pressure.

Exercising regularly can also lead to lower blood pressure. Adults should try to exercise at least 30 minutes each day. Other lifestyle changes include quitting tobacco and limiting alcohol.

Depending on the level of the high blood pressure condition, your medical professional may prescribe medication including calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, rennin inhibitors and others. Medications for severe cases include alpha-beta blockers and vasodilators.

It is very important to follow your physician’s instructions and advice to lower your blood pressure to avoid additional health risks.

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Patient Prevention

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Research into the area of disease and injury prevention has allowed the average human being to live a longer and fuller life. The research performed in the last century has obliterated diseases, improved diagnostics and created new medications to treat illnesses. Without medical research, our lives would be much less rich. While doctors continual educate themselves on the latest technology and research, it is important for each patient to use resources like tatoomcity.org to understand how illness and disease prevention can be implemented into their daily life.

Eat Well

Research, shows that eating a healthy and well-balanced diet is one of the key factors in preventing illness and disease. Making simple changes to your diet can help you prevent heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses. Even better, you will avoid all of the complications these illnesses can cause. Consider using the food pyramid to help build a better diet.

Exercise Well

While it may be hard to find the time to exercise on a regular basis, those who do live healthier and longer lives. It isn’t necessary to run a marathon each week, instead, consider walking for 20 minutes three times a week or taking a yoga class. Any kind of movement can help you lead a healthier life.

Sleep Well

As our lives have become busier, we have found extra time by cutting into our sleep time. Those who don’t sleep enough are susceptible to depression, the common cold, and may not heal as well. By simply taking the time to sleep seven to eight hours each night, you can help keep your body healthy.

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Focus on Management in Healthcare

April 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This image is to Support and describe the Five...

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For many individuals, the goal is to work in a management position in the healthcare field. There are numerous opportunities to do this, including simply moving up within the ranks of being a nurse. However, for those who have a more profit-based skill set, it may be better to consider management careers that focus on this particular need.

Revenue Cycle

One position to consider is revenue cycle manager. In the healthcare industry, this particular person’s duties are extensive. The job can change from one organization to another, too. Here’s a look at what you can expect in this career:

  • This manager’s main job is to keep operating costs down.
  • The secondary job of someone in this career is to increase revenue for the organization.
  • The goal is to improve patient care while improving revenue.
  • These managers also develop and implement methods for improved healthcare procedures.
  • Many revenue cycle managers work in research and development to find new opportunities for healthcare organizations to grow and expand within financial constraints.

This type of job requires someone with good analytical skills. Having an education in areas of healthcare, such as nursing or technician training, can be helpful. Most will need a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) to work in this particular career.

Take into consideration your ability to perform well as a revenue cycle manager. You will need to have an ability to work with patients by understanding their needs. In addition to this, you must have the ability to help the organization to grow financially strong. For those who do take on this type of position, the options for promotion and advancement are high.

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Become Your Own Guardian: Home Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. There are, however, various treatment options available depending on the patient’s level of suffering and life situation. Many sufferers of Parkinson’s live in assisted care facilities, but many of them live at home without professional care. These patients have to be aware of the increasing dangers of the disease as it progresses. It is important, however, for those with the disease to make an effort to lead a normal life. The list that follows will detail important factors for handling the home treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

  • Change your diet. What you put into your body in terms of food can both keep you healthy and decrease eating difficulties.
  • Create an exercise schedule. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed or had Parkinson’s for a while, exercising and doing physical therapy will be beneficial in the long run.
  • Make adjustments to your home. You may need to change the location of furniture to get around the house. If you aren’t using a walker, having a chair or table available to lean on every couple of feet could save you from falling.
  • Find ways to manage tremors and freezing. Find a technique that works for you. If you feel a freeze coming on, practice focus methods. If you’re experiencing a tremor, having a weighted object close by to clutch might provide you with extra control.
  • Be aware of signs of depression. It’s easy to become frustrated in depressed as the disease advances. If you are feeling depressed, contact your doctor. It’s harder to fight the disease without a positive mindset.
  • Understand and be able to identify signs of dementia. If you are having trouble with memory, don’t hesitate to call your doctor.
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Three Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer Patients

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Being diagnosed with breast cancer is cataclysmic. There are treatments available, but most people are only aware of the kind of treatments that cause further grief, such as chemotherapy. While chemo may be a wise choice for some, it is not the only option available for breast cancer patients. Targeted therapies are a type of treatment that singles out cancer cells instead of attacking cells indiscriminately. There are currently three such targeted therapies for breast cancer patients, and they are detailed below.

  1. Herceptin: Herceptin targets a gene called HER2. Every gene in our bodies has a protein associated with it, and that protein can act as a receptor — or signpost — for the gene. Breast cancer cells often have too much of the HER2 gene, which causes multiplication. This targeted therapy seizes the HER2 receptors to impede the receptor from receiving an indication to grow. Herceptin works only in patients with an abundance of HER2 receptors.
  2. Tykerb: Tykerb is given to patients with HER2 breast cancer along with chemo treatments. These patients have not responded to the Herceptin treatment; Tykerb is the next step. The treatment can also be given along with a hormonal therapy. Tykerb works similarly to Herceptin in that it targets proten receptors in HER2 cells. Herceptin, however, is an immune system therapy, which means that it functions like an antibody and can kill off cancer cells. Tykerb simply blocks them.
  3. Avastin: If the patient hasn’t had chemo, Avastin can be prescribed to block blood vessels bringing life to cancer cells. Tumors grow blood vessels to sustain their growth; Avastin blocks the protein — vascular endothelial growth factor — that allow for this growth of vessels in and to the tumor.
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Tell Acne to Stay Away with These Anti-Zit Tips

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s hard to get through adolescence without having a few pimples. Acne prevails during those teenage years due to an increase in testosterone, but many suffer with the disease throughout adulthood. Whether you’re a spunky teenage girl or a worrisome middle-aged man, there are preventative measures you can take to reduce the occurrence of unsightly pimples and get on with your life. The following list details seven ways acne can be prevented.

  1. Be wary of hair products. Your hair touches your face whether you like it or not. Both men and women wear products in their hair — pomade, gel, spray — and those products can irritate the skin.
  2. Change your sleeping position. This tip sounds ridiculous at first, but sleeping face down can cause acne because of the oils on the linen from your hair and face. If you’re sleeping with your face in those oils, the bacteria can form throughout the night.
  3. Don’t touch! Touching your face smears oils from your fingers onto your face.
  4. Wash objects that often touch your face. Cell phones are dirty. When we put them to our faces, the dirt from the cell phone moves to your face.
  5. Shower off sweat. After the gym or any vigorous activity that causes sweating, make sure you wash immediately to ensure acne cannot form.
  6. Lose the hat. Wearing a hat causes forehead sweat, and the rubbing of fabric against skin can cause irritation.
  7. Don’t sleep with products on. With makeup caked on your face at night, your skin doesn’t get a chance to breathe.

These previous tips are not foolproof. Depending on your genetics, you may be more or less prone to developing acne.

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Tips for your Tract: 6 Methods for Preventing a UTI

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Twenty percent of women will develop a urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime. Of that 20 percent, another 20 percent will experience a second UTI, and 30 percent of those who have a second will also have a third. By the time you reach the last group of woman sufferers — those who get four UTIs in their lifetime — 80 percent of those who had three will have recurrent UTIs throughout their lives. Men do not usually have problems with UTIs, and the reason why women acquire UTIs more frequently than men is unknown. Fortunately, there are a number of precautions and steps women can take to prevent UTIs. Consider the following list for staving off the dreaded infection.

  1. Drink plenty of water. Continuously flushing out your system with water is a good way to both prevent UTIs and keep your body healthy from toxins.
  2. Try not to hold a full bladder. If you feel the need to relieve yourself, don’t wait too long to do so. If there are any bacteria in your tract already, holding in urine for too long can give it more chance to turn into an infection.
  3. Wipe properly after urination. Most women are aware that wiping from front to back is the correct direction. Wiping from back to front fosters the movement of bacteria into your urinary tract through your urethra. This is especially important to adhere to after going number two.
  4. Wash yourself following sexual intercourse. Sex can be a dirty task; it’s important to maintain a cleanly genital area so bacteria don’t have somewhere to grow. Avoid using heavily scented products, however, for they can cause irritation and make a UTI more likely.
  5. Change you diet slightly. Adding cranberry juice and vitamin C to your diet can help combat UTIs.
  6. Consider cotton undergarments. Other fabrics don’t allow the skin to breathe and promote bacterial growth.
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Information to Put in Your Head Before Treating Lice on You Head

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Anyone who sends their child to public school has had to deal with the possibility of head lice. Head lice is a common — yet misunderstood — condition that affects the scalp, causing itching and irritation. Other symptoms of head lice include neck rashes and swollen lymph nodes caused by an infection. A typical misconception is that head lice only affects unhygienic hosts, causing parents to panic and children to become embarrassed if infested. There is also controversy over how to best treat head lice. The paragraphs below will detail the best practice for removing an infestation as well as crucial elements to consider during the process.

Once you determine you child has lice, the most significant decision you can make is to remain calm. Head lice is not life-threatening, will not last forever and is completely treatable. In order to ensure that you have terminated a life infestation, you have to be focused and thorough in your actions. The first step is to procure a head lice shampoo. Shampoo your child’s hair with the product and remove the individual nits with a lice comb. Nits are lice eggs that hatch within 10 days of being lain. The shampoo will remove the lice living on your child’s head, but it will not remove the nits. If nits are left in, your child will be re-infested by lice in a number of days.

Consider these additional tips when treating your child.

  • Don’t become discouraged if the head lice return after the first shampoo. Try again until you are able to find all the nits.
  • Wash every bit of clothing and linen your child touched.
  • Do not resort to shaving your child’s head if treatments aren’t working. Visit a pediatrician before making rash judgments.
  • Although alternative treatments are an option, be wary of the kooky ones as they can disrupt normal balances and be difficult to remove.
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Real Viagra is Your Friend

March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Viagra is a little pill that helps men who have difficulty in achieving and maintaining erections naturally.  The drug interacts with a man’s blood vessels in such a way that they become dilated, which allows more blood to flow into the penis, thus engorging it. Opening up the blood vessels too much or for too long, however, can be a serious health hazard.

Of course, there are going to be dangers to anyone who takes a drug that alters the way the blood flows through the body, and those dangers are going to be even more severe to a man who is already stricken with health problems. Despite this, many men and their doctors feel that it is worth the risk of side effects to take a drug like Viagra.

Many spam websites claim to be selling authentic Viagra, and, unfortunately, some men will purchase the drug from these sites because they don’t want to have a conversation with their doctor about the problem.  If you are planning to buy Viagra online, be cautious of websites that aren’t selling authentic Viagra. Before ordering, research the website to ensure it is not known as a spammy site. A reputable site will advise you to consult with your doctor before buying any type of medication.

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Pink Isn’t Cute When It’s in Your Eye

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Pinkeye

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The name conjunctivitis isn’t recognizable to most people, but if you mention pinkeye, everyone knows what you mean. Pinkeye is common and can suggest one of three things: a viral infection, a bacterial infection or allergies. Most are familiar with the symptoms, and the nickname makes the main feature pretty obvious. In addition to color, watery and itchy eyes can often be precursors to conjunctivitis. Because there are three variants of pinkeye, knowing exactly how to treat it isn’t always clear. The list below details a number of methods of treating pinkeye based on which type afflicts you.

  • Bacterial
    • You can usually spot a bacterial case of pinkeye by the discharge. If you’re experiencing green or yellow discharge from one of your eyes, and after multiple days the symptoms have not spread to your other eye, you most likely are suffering from bacterial conjunctivitis. This form is easily treatable with antibiotics usually administered in the form of eye drops.
  • Viral
    • Viral infections are much more difficult to treat than bacterial infections. You can tell if you have viral pinkeye if the symptoms linger for a week or more and spread from one eye to the other quickly. Viral infections are more contagious than bacterial infections, which is what account for the rapid growth. Antibiotics will not help viral conjunctivitis, but a steroid regimen can ease symptoms.
  • Allergic
    • This type is not contagious, but it can be the biggest nuisance if it’s recurrent. In the case of allergy-related pinkeye, treatment usually involves symptom reduction strategies such as a cold, wet washcloth over the affected eye or creams to soothe itching.

If you suspect pinkeye, be careful not to rub your eyes. If it is a viral infection, this action will spread the infection. You should also make sure to wash your sheets, towels and clothing once the infection has passed to avoid contracting it again.

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