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Ways That You Can Cope With a Chronic Disease

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:38:04 +0000

You may feel that receiving a diagnosis of a chronic disease is the end all of your way of life as you know it. This does not have to be the case. You can control the effects that most diseases have on your body with a few simple steps the lifestyle alterations to keep yourself as healthy and vital as possible. The simple fact on increasing your overall health and taking better care of yourself can be a major factor in controlling a chronic disease and getting you back in charge of your life.

Get Healthy
This may sound overly simplistic but it’s one of the most powerful pieces of advice that you can get when talking about taking charge of your chronic disease and controlling its effects over your life. Things like smoking, high blood pressure and out of control diabetes can all have negative effects on your efforts to get your disease under control. Make sure that you are addressing these factors as soon after your diagnosis as you can.

Get a Little Help from Your Friends
Your best chances of getting a handle on your chronic disease will come from the interactions that you have with your friends. This support system can be a massive benefits you in your efforts to control your disease. Make sure that you talk with your friends and let them know what is going on and if they have questions or concerns take the time to talk it over with them face to face so that they can be better able to be there for you in the times you need them.

Get Back in Touch with Nature
No, were taking about moving to a nudist community and growing organic carrots for the rest of your life. This is just the fact of getting back in touch with nature and connecting to the world around you. Little things like taking walks in the woods or skinny dipping can be a big benefit. Get as much time in the sun as you can and get as much fresh air as possible and you will see a big increase in your sense of well-being.

Watch What You Eat
The old adage of you are what you eat is very true. Watching and improving your diet is one way that you can get a controlling aspect over your condition. Food can have a very major impact on your health both positive and negative. Make it a point to eat foods that are as close to raw and whole as you can get and make sure that you are avoiding overly processed foods that have been robbed of vital nutrient and compounds that can have a majorly beneficial effects on the body.

Grow Your Way to Better Health
Herbs and Supplements are another very powerful tool that you can use to get control over your health and improve the management of your chronic condition. Many of the most powerful herbs can be grown in your own garden and that means that you can enjoy them at their fullest potential. They can be as spices and seasoning, used in baking and added to healthy flavorful drinks. Herbs a natural and ancient medicinal form that can have a very positive impact on your disease management.

Get the Lead Out
Be on the lookout for heavy metals in the foods and products in your life. Many times the presence of heavy metals can interfere with the effectiveness of the medications that you take for your disease and prevent them from working at their fullest potential. Make sure you get your homes water tested for heavy metals and also have the soil of your garden tested and replaced if needed. If your water comes back with a result the use of a whole house filtration system may be the answer to eliminate the contamination.

Think your way to Success
Many people laugh about the power of the mind over the body. The truth is that the connection of the body to the mental outlook is very powerful and can be one of the most important factors in the success of failure of a disease management program. It may at times be easier said than done but make every effort you can to keep yourself positive and you will see your efforts increase many times over.

As you can see, with proper care you can get your disease under control and get on with your life. These simple steps are able to help just about anyone with any type of serious disease. Give them a try and see how much of a benefit they can have in your life.

Multiple Sclerosis Health Tips

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:14:54 +0000

When the term Multiple Sclerosis is said we often as quick to think about a slow as debilitating degradation of a person into a state that they are not able to live on their own. The truth is that this does not always have to be the case. There are things that a person can do to make their existence better and slow the rate of bodily control loss that they experience. With these tips you can easily extend the time that you can enjoy a high quality of living, even with MS.

You Can Live a Quality Life even with Multiple Sclerosis
One of the first things that you need to do is to assess your lifestyle and see what is not working for the improvement your overall level of health. Once you have this information you need to take action steps to change these things and get yourself to a fitness level that will help you to fight off the ravishing effects of MS. Some of those factors are, eating healthier, lowering stress levels and increasing mental health. IF you are a smoker stop and if have high blood pressure or diabetes get those condition sunder control. The healthier your body is the better equipped you are to fight this disease.

Include Natural Herbs in Your Diet
One thing that has been shown to help with controlling the effects of multiple sclerosis is natural herbs. Herbs that are beneficial to the support of the brain and the central nervous system have been shown to reduce the severity of MS symptoms and to slow the onslaught of the disease. Three of the most popular rare yerba mate, valerian root, and gotu kola.

Take Control of Your Diet
One of the best ways to help improve your overall health and slow the progress of MS is to get your diet under control. This is not to say that the occasional cheeseburger is going to hurt you, infect there is something to be said for the benefits of pleasurable indulgences such as this, but you need to get in the right frame of healthy eating habits and stay there as much as possible. A healthy body begins with a healthy diet and a healthy body is what you need to fight this disease.

Soak Up the Sun
The light of the sun is one of the best sources that our bodies have for vitamin D. D is one of the most important vitamins for a healthy overall body. The good news is that Vitamin D is also known to have a very positive effect on your battle with MS. Be careful not to get a burn but make sure that every single day you are able to get out unclothed and without sunscreen for about 20 minutes in bright sunlight. This will not only have a positive effect on your body but also the cool breeze and warm sunshine on bare skin will have a very beneficial effect on the mind.

Keep Yourself Active
This is vital; MS ravishes your Muscular and nervous systems. You can fight it by keep them as strong as possible. This means that you will want to stay active and vibrant as much as you can. Do not help the disease along, make it as difficult as you can for it to do is damage.

Reduce your Consumption and Interaction with Heavy Metals
Although we do not fully understand why, there is a definite correlation between contact and consumption of heavy metals with the development of MS. These heavy metals can be found in your water, beauty products medicines and food. Make it a point to begin paying attention to what you are consuming to reduce the impact of heavy metals in your life.

Keep yourself Positive
This is a key step. The body is very much in tune with the mind. If you have a positive mental outlook on your life then you will see that your health is better because of it. Make it a point to keep yourself in a good state of mind and it will make dealing with your condition easier in the long run.
So as you can see you do not have to consider MS to be a death sentence that will leave you without the ability to live a productive and meaningful life on your own. You can overcome the challenges and difficulties that are associated to MS and continue to live a comfortable existence with the condition.

Common Stroke Prevention Medications

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:11:57 +0000

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is abruptly stopped due to a blockage within an artery or the bursting of a blood vessel that causes bleeding within the brain. When an individual has had a stroke or is considered as having a high risk factor for developing one, they are often prescribed medications in order to prevent an initial stroke from happening or another one from occurring.

High blood pressure or hypertension is considered the highest risk factor for having a stroke; therefore, high blood pressure medications are also given to patients who suffer from this condition in order to prevent a stroke.

Antiplatelet Drugs for Stroke Prevention

Antiplatelet drugs act in such a manner as to prevent the platelets within the blood from clumping which prevents the formation of blood clots. These medications include aspirin which is commonly prescribed for patients who have had a stroke or a “TIA” or “transient ischemic attack” which is when a patient has experienced symptoms that are stroke-like for less than a period of twenty four hours.

“Clopidogre” (“Plavix”) is often prescribed in order to prevent another stroke from occurring and decreases the ability of the blood to clot. “Dipyridamole” including “Persantine” and “Aggrenox” is a stronger form of blood thinner that combines aspirin and dipyridamole and is typically prescribed to prevent a stroke or TIA. “Ticlopidine” (“Ticlid”) is also another antiplatelet drug that is used to prevent a second stroke.

Anticoagulants for Stroke Prevention

Anticoagulants are blood thinners are typically prescribed first after a patient has had a stroke and work in such a manner as to prevent the formation of blood clots. Heparin is an anticoagulant that is given when a patient is hospitalized to reduce the risk of stroke or blood clots from forming in the veins of the legs and is also sometimes given to patients who are experiencing a stroke in order to reduce further damage from occurring.

Heparin is not given orally and is only given intravenously or by injection (sub-cutaneously). Warfarin is also an anticoagulant that is typically prescribed to be taken on a daily basis in order to reduce a patient’s risk of having a stroke and is commonly prescribed for individuals who have “AF” or “atrial fibrillation” which is a heart condition that increases the risk of having a stroke.

Thrombolytic Therapy

Thrombolytics are drugs that are sometimes utilized used when a patient is admitted to the hospital at the onset of a stroke as it works in such a manner as to break up the blood clot that is causing a disruption in the blood flow to the brain. This medication is the most effective if the patient has reached the hospital within three hours from the onset of the symptoms of a stroke.

Thrombolytic therapy may not be an option for some patients and a physician make this determination based on several factors including the amount of time between the onset of symptoms and when the patient has reached the hospital, therefore, it is essential that if you or a loved show any warning signs associated with a stroke that you seek emergency medical attention as soon as possible.

The Ugly But Real Truth About Child Abuse

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:07:01 +0000

I was enraged after reading that a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. It quickly became clear how prominent the abuse of children really is. Of course there are so many negative short-term effects of child abuse, including bruises, cuts and broken bones. But there are also numerous long-term physical effects that we should all be made aware of.

One type of abuse common among children that really is painful to learn about is Shaken Baby Syndrome. I always knew that Shaken Baby Syndrome could lead to death, but according to ChildWelfare.gov, “The injuries caused by shaking a baby may not be immediately noticeable and may include bleeding in the eye or brain, damage to the spinal cord and neck, and rib or bone fractures.” These conditions can lead to even more serious long-term ailments including blindness, mental retardation, learning disabilities, paralysis and cerebral palsy, among others.

Child neglect can also cause long-term impaired brain development. When I read the following quote from the ChildWelfare.gov Web site, I was shocked: “Child abuse and neglect have been shown, in some cases, to cause important regions of the brain to fail to form or grow properly, resulting in impaired development.” What’s really sad is that these impairments can affect the cognitive, language and academic abilities of children. Basically, a child who has been neglected may grow up with disadvantages. This doesn’t have to be the case, and can be prevented!

One’s physical health can also, in the long run, be affected by child abuse. More than one study has proven a correlation between a dysfunctional household (where child abuse often takes place) and poor overall health. These health problems include allergies, bronchitis, high blood pressure, ulcers and asthma, and can persist well into adulthood. It is crazy to learn that coming from an abusive home can lead to health problems which are seemingly unrelated.

There are so many more ways that childhood abuse can impact a person. From psychological damage to behavioral consequences, abuse during childhood can lead to a vast array of difficulties.

Make no mistake about it: The effects of child abuse are devastating and far-reaching. Child abuse is more than a few broken bones. It’s a heartbreaking but true reality that coming from a dysfunctional and abusive home can really impact a person physically for his or her entire life.

Diabetes and Nephropathy

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:22:39 +0000

Nephropathy is the medical term for kidney disease. Kidney disease is one of the possible long term consequences of diabetes.

Approximately 30% of people with type 2 diabetes develop some degree of kidney disease, and the same figure applies to patients receiving dialysis treatment.

It used to be thought that people with type 1 diabetes were the group most at risk, but over the years research has found that the chances of developing kidney disease are the same for both type 1 and type 2.

The job of the kidneys is to filter the blood, removing unwanted matter and passing it out of the body in urine. One of the symptoms of diabetes is the need to urinate frequently. This is because the kidneys are filtering out the excess blood glucose that is not being absorbed due to a lack of insulin or insulin resistance.

If you have high blood pressure as well as diabetes, this increases your risk of kidney disease significantly.

Nephropathy is a gradual process and starts with what is called hyperfiltration. As previously mentioned, excess sugar in the blood draws with it water, which the kidneys then filter, resulting in the waste being removed from the body by urination. In the early stages of diabetes, because the amount of glucose is so high, the kidneys have to work hard and they become swollen. This is hyperfiltration.

This can very quickly become what is called microalbuminuria, so fast in fact that some type 2 diabetics will already be at this stage when they are first diagnosed.

Because the kidneys are working so hard, part of the membrane that contains the glomeruli capillaries which do the actual filtration, can become damaged and protein starts to get into the blood.

This can then, in 25-50% of cases, lead to a condition called proteinuria. This is a result of further damage to the kidney membrane, and levels of creatine and urea rise in the blood. When this stage is reached, total kidney failure is likely within 7 years.

The next stage is called advanced clinical nephropathy, which is basically more of the same, but levels of protein, creatine and urea entering the blood are much higher.

Finally, kidneys function at 10-15% of their required level, and kidney failure is imminent. The only options are dialysis or a kidney transplant.

However, all of this can be avoided by controlling blood sugar levels, blood pressure and blood fats. Nephropathy is often caused by personal neglect when diabetes is diagnosed, and is completely avoidable.

Dealing With Disease – Multiple Sclerosis Health Tips

Sat, 22 May 2010 02:42:08 +0000