Herpes vs HPV by: Monti Robinson

There are several strains of the Herpes virus. The two most common strains are known as Oral Herpes (HSV-1) and Genital Herpes (HSV-2). You can have Oral Herpes on the lips, which is most often called fever blisters, or cold sores. Oral Herpes is transmitted from person-to-person by kissing, oral sex, or sharing things like a drinking glass, a toothbrush, or eating utensils. Genital Herpes is most commonly transmitted by vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Non-genital herpes (herpes on other parts of the body; is most often called shingles). Shingles is not sexually transmitted. It is a secondary event long after the initial infection with common 'chicken pox'. Shingles is usually a one-off occurrence.

Genital warts can appear at any portion of the body. In the case of sores and blisters that happen in the genital area, they are caused by HPV or the human papillomavirus. HPV is caused by sexual contact. The HPV infection is a common STD or sexually transmitted disease in North America. If the virus is dangerous it can also cause penile or cervical cancer.

According to a survey done by Center for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 50% of the people who are termed as sexually active have been affected by HPV at some time or the other. After the person is infected, the warts may appear within a month or three months after the infection. Although warts are common in this disease, there are some who might not have warts at all. If you feel that you are infected by warts, you should consult the doctor immediately. Genital warts can look like red growths or bumps, or they can take the color of flesh. The bumps generally appear around the vagina or anus, and at times on the cervix. Sometimes they can be extremely painful if the bumps appear on groin, thigh, penis and scrotum.

Sometimes the warts can look like a cauliflower, and at times that are so tiny, that they can be hardly noticed. There can be multiple blisters or a single blister. At times they can appear in clusters. If the person had oral sex with his or her partner, the genital warts can appear inside the throat or the mouth of a person. The main reason behind the spread of HPV is oral, anal or genital sex with an infected partner. At times it is difficult to know if you are affected or not, because like most of the STDs you will never find any visible symptoms. In most women warts are found either on the cervix or inside the vagina. In case of men, they are found on the tip of the penis.

Although genital warts are common, they are perfectly curable and there are some viruses that may lead to cervical cancer. Women should have annual pap tests in order to know if there are any abnormalities. During pregnancy genital warts can become prominent. If they are near the vaginal opening, they may cause complications during childbirth. There are people who can shun themselves from any contact with the outside world if they are detected with HPV. It is better not to stigmatize yourself with anyone and create opportunities for dialogue and dating. There are millions of people living with HPV and Herpes looking to meet other people living with the virus.

How Does Alcohol Affect The Body's Organs? by: Yvonne Volante

Alcoholism can be a deadly disease. In this article we explore some effects that alcohol can have on the body's organs. For some great resources and articles about how vitamin therapy can help, be sure to visit www.fluidvitamin.com.

ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON THE STOMACH

The action of alcoholic beverages on the stomach is so extremely risky that it becomes unable to bring forth the natural digestive liquid in sufficient aggregate and also fails to absorb the food which it may imperfectly digest. An affliction marked by the sense of nausea emptiness, prostration and distention will always be faced by an alcoholic. This results in a loathing for foodstuff and is teased with a craving for more booze. Thus there is engendered a nonterminating disorder which is called dyspepsia. The disastrous forms of confirmed indigestion originate by this practice.

THE LIVER

The anatomic deteriorations caused by the constant use of alcoholic beverages are often of a fatal character. The organ which most frequently undergoes structural changes from alcoholic beverages is the liver. Most often, the liver has the capacity to hold active substances in its cellular parts. In cases of poisoning by diverse poisonous compounds, we analyse liver as if it were the central depot of the foreign matter. It is practically the same in respect to alcoholic beverages. The liver of an alcoholic is never free from the influence of liquor and it is too often saturated with it. The minute membranous or capsular composition of the liver gets affected, preventing proper dialysis and free secretion. The liver becomes large due to the dilatation of its vessels, the surcharge of fluid matter and the thickening of tissue. This follows contraction of membrane and shrinking of the whole organ in its cellular parts. Then the lower parts of the liquoric becomes dropsical owing to the obstruction offered to the returning blood by the veins. The characterization of the liver may be charged with fatty cells and undergo what is technically designated 'fatty liver'.

EFFECT ON KIDNEYS

The Kidneys also feel the pangs due to the excessive consumption of liquor. The vessels of idneys lose flexibility and power of attenuation. The minute structures in them go through fatty modification. Albumin from the blood decidedly passes through their membranes. This results in the body losing its power as if it were being run out of blood gradually.

LUNG CONGESTION

Alcoholic beverages relaxes the vessels of the lungs easily as they are most exposed to the fluctuations of heat and cold. When subjected to the effects of a rapid variation in atmospheric temperature, they get readily congested. During severe winter seasons, the suddenly fatal congestions of lungs clearly affects an liquoric.

ALCOHOL AND THE HEART

Consumption of alcoholic beverages greatly affects the heart. The quality of the membraneous characterizations which cover and line the heart differences and are thickened, become cartilaginous or calcareous. Then the valves lose their suppleness and what is termed valvular disorder becomes continual. The structure of the the coats of the great blood-vessel leading from the heart share in the same differences of composition so that the vessel loses its elasticity and its power to feed the heart by the recoil from its distention, after the heart, by its stroke, has filled it with blood.

Again, the muscular arrangement of the heart fails owing to degenerative differences in its tissue. The elements of the muscular fibre are replaced by fatty cells or, if not so replaced, are themselves transferred into a modified muscular texture in which the power of constriction is greatly reduced.

Those who feel the pangs from these anatomic deteriorations of the central and governing organ of the circulation of the blood learn the fact so insidiously, it hardly breaks upon them until the mischief is far advanced. They are conscious of a central failure of power from slight causes such as overexertion, trouble, broken rest or too long abstinence from nourishment. They feel what they call a 'sinking' but they know that wine or some other stimulant will at once relieve the sensation. Thus they seek to relieve it until at last they discover that the remedy fails. The jaded, overworked, active heart will bear no more. it has run its course and the governor of the blood-streams broken. The current either overflows into the tissues gradually damming up the courses or under some slight shock or excess of motion ceases wholly at the center.

Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine by: Tania Plantier

The Origin of Chinese Medicine

It began in China over four thousand years ago. But its methods have no geographic bounds. Today, it is practiced the world over. Chinese herbs do not only come from China, they come from everywhere.

The oldest known book about Chinese Medicine is The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic. It was compiled before 200 BC. It's a summary of medical ideas and techniques that were in use long before the second century BC.

Today, Chinese Medicine has expanded far beyond the Inner Classic. Countless variations and innovations have appeared. But some principles are unchanging. These root principles, such as yin and yang, describe natural laws, the laws your body must ultimately obey. These root principles endow Chinese Medicine with a unique knowledge making it, in some ways, far more evolved than modern technological medicine.

Qi and Blood - It's all about Flow

Chinese medicine is about qi. We study where it comes from, where it goes, and how it flows. Your body is nourished by, cleansed by, and dependent on flows. Think of your qi as all your body's energies, electrical, chemical, magnetic, and radiant.

Matter and energy, (flesh and qi), are governed by natural law. Natural forces such as gravity, time, inertia, friction, yin, and yang, all affect us, inside and out.

Qi must flow. Movement shows that qi exists. Warmth shows that qi is present.

There are many kinds of qi. There's qi of the channels and qi of the collateral channels, protective qi, digestive qi, central qi, and original qi. There's normal qi and perverse qi, kidney qi and lung qi and liver qi (every organ has its own qi).

Qi and blood nourish the body. Qi moves the blood, and blood is mother of the qi.

Normal flows of qi and blood are the basics of good health. When they are abundant and flowing, we are well. When blood or qi is weak or stuck, we become ill.

Theory of Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang describe change.

Yin and Yang refer to the sides of a mountain.
In the morning, one side is in shade, the other in sunlight.
Later in the day, the sides have reversed.
Dark becomes light and light becomes dark.

Nature is like this, forever changing, undulating. In time, Yang turns to Yin. Yin predictably becomes Yang.

Change is certain, a basic law of nature you can count on, like gravity.

Yang and Yin support one another as they oppose each other. There is always yin within yang and yang within yin. You simply can' t have one without the other.

We see the body and its disharmonies in changing shades of Yin and Yang. This helps to understand where events come from and where they are going to.

This helps to understand the disease and the patient.

Theory of the Organs (Zhang and Fu)

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the internal organs have the same familiar names as those we know - heart, liver, kidney etc. However in TCM these 'organs' include more than the flesh and blood of the viscera. Some of the organs also perform tasks which are not perceived by current instrumentation or understood in the West.

As Chinese medicine is largely about energy (qi), many of the organs involve the production, circulation, and storage of energy. To the Chinese doctor, the normal biological function of an organs is often secondary to how the organ is functioning in the creation or circulation of Qi. When the qi is normal, the organ will behave normally.

Chinese medical theory groups the organs into Yin/ Yang pairs. The Yin organs - the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver are called the Zang are considered most important, structurally solid, and primarily responsible for the creation and storage of Qi and Blood.

The Yang organs, large intestine, small intestine, stomach, gall bladder, and urinary bladder are called the Fu and are considered less important. They are the hollow organs, responsible mainly for digestion transportation, and elimination.

There is another pair of organs which have energetic functions, yet have no physical reality. These are referred to as the Pericardium and Triple-Heater.

The Five Elements - Relationships of the Organs

A Storm in the Mountains and the Valley is Flooded

Parts of the body are interdependent. The heart depends on the lungs for oxygen. If the kidneys don't work, all the organs suffer. The Five Elements help us understand these relationships. According to this principle, there exist five elemental types. They are known as Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood.

Each type corresponds to a major organ system. Fire corresponds to the Heart, Earth the Spleen, Metal the Lungs, Water the Kidneys, and Wood to the Liver. Each type also has a characteristic taste, color, body odor, or emotion. Some of these correspondences are:

1 - Fire/Red/Heart/Joy/Bitter/Scorched (acrid)

2 - Earth/Yellow/Stomach/Spleen/Worry/Sweet/Fragrant

3 - Metal/White/Lungs/Grief/Hot/Fleshy

4 - Water/Black/Kidneys/Fear/Salty/Putrid

5 - Wood/Green/Liver/Anger/Sour/Rancid

Each element relates to the other according to two cycles of influence- the generating cycle (clockwise) and the checking cycle. Disharmony in one element will create disharmony in others according to these cycles.

The 8 Principles: Pathogenic Yin/Yang Pairs (Disease Factors)

Another way to see disharmony is according to the Eight Principles. These are four Yin / Yang conditions that assess the nature and location of the disharmony. Then, the treatment plan is usually simple - strengthen what is weak, cool the hot, moisten the dry, and so forth. These pairs are:

EXCESS/ DEFICIENT (shi/xu) Simply put, too much or too little. These terms describe both the disease and the patient. Sudden illness is excess. Chronic illness suggests deficiency. Symptoms of excess are stronger or more pronounced than those caused by deficiency. A severe sore throat suggests wind-heat excess (viral), while a persistent scratchy throat implies heat cause by a deficiency of coolness (yin).

INSIDE/ OUTSIDE (interior/exterior) Does the disharmony originate inside the body, or is it invading from the exterior? Diseases caused by deficiency, emotion, or stagnation are Interior. Airborne viruses, bacterial infections, or other pestilential diseases are Exterior. Exterior diseases can penetrate the body and become Interior disease.

HOT/ COLD People can be hot and cold. And just as it can be hot in Miami and cold in Siberia, the Liver can be hot while the Kidney is cold. Disease can also be called hot or cold according to the way it affects the body.

DAMP/ DRY Because life loves water, excessive dampness inside the body helps microscopic life such as bacteria, virus, fungus, etc to breed. Because your body is a whole world, you can have damp-heat in the south (a bladder infection) and dry conditions in the north (dandruff) Swollen tissue, excess phlegm or other fluids are also examples dampness. Dryness indicates a scarcity of fluids. Causes of dryness are Blood or Yin deficiency. Excessive heat scorches the yin fluids and leads to dryness. Prolonged exposure to dry weather will cause dryness inside the body as well.

The Five Emotions

Emotions mingle in the mind/body with countless other currents. They affect the flow and rhythm of our organism by influencing the qi. The qi directly affects the organs.

When emotions are intense, they change our body in profound ways. The emotions correspond to the organs and the five elements. For example,
Joy (or a lack of it) is associated with the Heart (fire),
sadness (over contemplation) the Spleen/Stomach (earth),
grief the Lungs (metal),
fear the Kidneys (water),
anger the Liver (wood).
Strong emotions pervert the qi to create disease. Fear or anger lead to constraint of qi, which results in depression, stagnation, and a multitude of physical ailments.

http://www.eqilibrium.net

The Dangers of Expired Medications by: Sudesh Samuel

Expired medications are commonplace and inertia notwithstanding, many of us tend to rely on an intuitive sense of their value in continuing to store and use them. Such drugs can be harmful to health in several ways; they can be unpredictable in effectiveness, simply ineffective, or even toxic.

The formal way of classifying a medication as having expired is through it’s labeled expiry date. This date is often set based on a combination of the common properties of the dosage form as well as the stability and expiration studies of the product that have been conducted by the manufacturer. Importantly, this expiry date is contingent on specific storage conditions of the product. Although a medication may pass it’s labeled expiry date, it may not necessarily be any less effective or dangerous to consume depending on the product itself, the storage conditions and the circumstances leading up to expiry.

When most medications pass their expiry date under appropriate storage conditions, they are generally taken to have become so variable in effectiveness as to have become unsuitable for use. This often comes about as a result of the degradation of the active ingredients of the medication with exposure to physical, chemical or microbiological variables like temperature, pressure, humidity, light, bacteria as well as other components of the product known as excipients.

Creams may “crack” once their expiry date is passed, leading to a separation of the components and hence provide a non-uniform delivery of active ingredients. This can lead to the poor control of conditions like eczema or acne. Tablet medications can mechanically “powder” off, change in consistency with exposure to water vapor or even experience the contained drug itself becoming ineffective on prolonged exposure to air as occurs with glyceryl trinitrate, an emergency medicine that can easily become ineffective in relieving acute symptoms of chest pain. With common injections, should the acidity change to fall outside a fairly narrow range, significant pain and tissue damage can result from use. With most eye drops, an expiry date of one month after opening is accepted to minimize the potential for dangerous bacterial contamination.

With any medication, once a specific threshold of remaining active ingredient is passed, the medication can no longer be relied upon to deliver accurate doses. This loss of reliability is often exacerbated by the fact that the active ingredients can degrade into various combinations of active, inactive or toxic breakdown products. The common aspirin is for instance, known to react with moisture to breakdown into salicylic acid, which is active, and acetic acid, which is inactive and can lead to toxicity in excess.

While the expiry date provides a useful gauge of when to stop using a medication, there are also many other factors that can informally accelerate the expiry of a medication and make it dangerous to use, chief among which is how the medication is stored. It is oftentimes not just the medication that is affected by storage conditions but also the storage container. Under inappropriate storage conditions, certain containers can leech material into liquid medication preparations, or medication particles can stick to the container rather than remain separated. On average, a 10 degree rise in temperature doubles the rate of chemical reactions that occur to a medication product and can accelerate the rate of bacterial contamination several fold. Just like an ice cream can simply melt or a loaf of bread becomes mouldy much quicker if not refrigerated, many medication products can easily expire much faster when not stored appropriately.

With oral liquid and topical medications, potentially dangerous changes associated with expiry can at times be detected by color or consistency changes, component separations, altered smell or taste (oral preparations). Should a suspicion of expiry arise, a medication expert should be consulted regardless of whether or not the labeled expiry date has been passed.

“Expiry” should also be understood to occur once a supply of medications is no longer used appropriately for it’s intended purpose. Consultation with a medication expert is always advised to prevent the inappropriate use of existing medication supplies. Inappropriate use can often occur with self-medication and is harmful. An unfinished supply of a previously used antibiotic may be tried to treat a new infection that is actually untreatable by or resistant to that antibiotic. This practice may not only delay recovery but can also encourage the proliferation of “super bugs” that have resistance to many antibiotics. Another incorrect purpose involves sharing medications and this can be especially harmful if another is allergic to the shared medication or a child or pet is medicated with an adult’s medication. Children often require dose adjustments to accommodate their size while many human drugs are often unsuitable for pets. Even a simple food like chocolate that we may enjoy can easily be toxic to a pet dog.

Another mechanism whereby medication expiry is dangerous occurs when an unfinished supply is used despite new information that points to increased precautions associated with the medication or that has led to it’s recall. An example is obtaining pain relief from a previous supply of a painkiller like Vioxx (rofecoxib) or Celebrex (celecoxib) in spite of an existing heart condition that is now known to relate to an increased risk of fatality under those circumstances of consumption.

Expired medications that are kept instead of discarded not only take up space but can actually discourage the appropriate use of new supplies in the treatment of illness. A medication cabinet, if not tended to regularly, could eventually contain more expired medications than viable ones and this can lead to the accidental consumption of an expired medication in place of a viable one. It is definitely advisable to clear the medication cabinet of expired medicaitons at least annually if not more often.

A further danger however, lies in how expired medications are disposed of. Expired medications and pharmaceutical byproducts can be harmful to the environment especially when they end up in our rivers and drinking water supply. Hormonal compounds like estrogen from birth control pills and patches as well as antibiotics have been linked to being flushed by individuals and institutions into sewage, draining largely unchanged and collecting in rivers and streams, then returning in tiny amounts into drinking water. Traces of antibiotics could worsen bacterial resistance while estrogens and other steroids are known to change the reproductive characteristics of fish. Even trace amounts of chemotherapy medications have emerged in tap water and this could be severely detrimental to the unborn babies of pregnant women who drink such water. The long-term impact on human health of medications in our rivers and drinking water is as yet unknown but no one would want to wait to find out. We can all play our part by inquiring on and using pharmacy or state-run programs for the disposal of expired medications instead of sending them down the sink or the toilet bowl.

A pharmacist is the expert of choice to approach in handling medication expiry and should be consulted if in doubt. As a general rule, it is always best to safeguard your own health and that of those around you by expeditiously and appropriately discarding all expired medications.

How Music Can Help You Burn More Fat by: Arina Nikitina

Browsing one of the Russian websites I have recently found a little article claiming that music can affect our health both improving and worsening it. That sounded very interesting and I decided to research how can music actually affect our well-being.

What I found has blown my mind and I want to share the results with you.

Scientists all over the world agreed that music influences hormone production that are directly connected with our emotions. If you think about it you are influenced by music all the time. Think of your last time you've watched a horror movie. Remember how music actually made your heart race faster. Music physicians in Japan and China help patients form their own music aid kits, where you can find CDs with the names like "Liver", "Lungs", "Migraine" or "Metabolism".

Now let me tell you about my most valuable discovery. Music can not only improve your overall health, it can also help you lose weight! Eating dinner while listening to Mozart helps to improve your metabolism and food digestion. When you eat while listening to the pop or rock music you automatically start eating faster. As a result you swallow bigger pieces making it harder for your stomach to digest the food.

Which inevitably leads to extra pounds. "When we listen to classical music, subconsciously you get an image of luxury, wealth and sophistication", explains this phenomenon psychology Dr. Adrian Nort. It improves our mood, and makes us take our time and eat slowly enjoying food.

Exercising while listening to the classical music help you lose weight a lot faster than listening to loud fitness pop music. Why? Maybe because during the experiment a first group of people listening to Vivaldi music worked out on a stationary bike a half an hour longer than the group who was listening to the pop music.

Even if you are not a big fan of classical music I urge you to try it! What do you have to lose except for the ugly looking cellulite, extra body fat, and bad eating habits?

Are You Frustrated You Have Not Been Able to Stop the Bullies? by: Paula McCoach

You are frustrated as a professional! You have given these bully victims all of your best techniques, and they are still being bullied. What should you do?

You are out of ideas! You are have given this student your best shot. You know what you should do?

Keep trying.

Tell those bully victims to return to you every time they are bullied. Tell them to keep a list of what the bully says, when they say it and who says it. They can keep a chart.

Then, You should talk to the bully several times. Each time the consequences should become more severe for the bully. Some of the consequences should include discussing what harassment is and giving them the county policy on the consequences of harassment.

Secondly, a phone call to their parents should be made informing them that their child has been reported for bullying several times.

Thirdly, you can enroll that bully and victim in The Bully Zapper mentor program.

Note on talking to parents: be sure you have ample proof and several incidents to cite to the parent before calling them. I usually wait until I have an adult who has observed the bullying behavior to be sure I am reporting valid information.

Finally, after attempting several of these interventions, an office referral and/or involvement of the administration should occur. If the bully is in the Bully Zapper Mentor Program already and they are still bullying, they should be removed at this point and referred to the administration.

I feel that it is more important to promote successful mentor/mentee relationships, and refer the students who do not respond to more serious consequences. If these bullies are having some success with their mentors, they should be told that they need to leave this particular student alone or they will be removed from the program.

At this point, in or out of school suspension could occur, possibly a class or schedule change for either of these students, and/or a Pupil Services Team meeting on both of these students.

Most of all, you are to be commended for your work with victims and the bullies too. With the above techniques, I have had great success with stopping the bullying, rehabilitating the bullies and making the school environment more comfortable for the former victims.

© 2004 Permission granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to the email coach@bullyzapper.com and http://www.bullyzapper.com.

Five Tips To Get Kids to Eat Healthier by: Mubarakah Ibrahim CPT

Dealing with an overweight child can be a very delicate situation. We do not want to damage their self esteem by telling them they are fat or lazy, yet at the same time they must be conscious that they have to be more aware of their weight and eating habits for them to be healthy. Parents have a significant influence over the situation. Consequently most of the effort will have to come from the parents. Try these tips for getting kids to eat healthier.

#1 Kids listen to what you do not what you say.

Parents must be an example to their children. Children watch you even when you don’t know they are. If you are sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream and a bag of chips you are sending the wrong message to them. They don’t know you have PMS or you had a hard day or even you’ve been good on your diet for a month and this isn’t so bad. They are seeing lounge and eat. Nothing more or less. Make a salad in the middle of the day and offer them some. Have a piece of fruit as you go out the door and give them permission to go grab themselves a piece to take with them. This changes the message to snack and snack healthy.

#2 Encourage healthier eating habits by cooking healthier meals. You don’t have to announce “ we are all going to eat healthier so we can loose weight”. Cook a healthier recipe that you think your family will like. When they complain or ask “what’s this”, simply tell them you thought you’d try a new recipe. Don’t be disappointed or discouraged if they won’t eat it, or don’t like it. Simply offer them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in its place. Most importantly do not go back a cook again trying to give them what they want. When given a choice they will most likely choose their “regular” less healthy meal.

#3 Implement house rules that require healthy eating. If you have a child that loves juice tell them they can only have juice if they drink and equivalent amount of water first. If you have a child that’s use to grabbing a handful of cookies when they get home. Instead of taking the cookies away , which is sure to give you a “health witch” title, Simply state “you can have cookies, after you eat a piece of fresh fruit first”. This will not only increase the amount of healthy foods and drink they eat, but also fill them with whole foods which leaves less room for junk.

#4) Be like your mother.

Remember when you had to eat all your vegetables? Offer (healthier) desserts after dinner to those that eat their vegetable. You may be in a situation of one child having dessert and the other not, however that’s great learning experience for everyone, You get what you earn. Life lesson at the dinner table. And no it’s not unfair. Kids understand immediate reward/punishment better than speeches. Keep the talking to a minimum, state the rule then stick to it.

#5) Be firm and be consistent.

Kids will push to test your limit. When you decide to implement a healthy habit stick to it. No matter how much a kid cries, whines, or sneaks (and they will). Stay firm that this is the rule. Discuss the rule with you’re your spouse so you can have a united front. If your children are use to free range in the kitchen, and eating whatever they want implementing all these tips at once will be to drastic a change for them. Try implementing one rule a week or even every two week. Remember health eating is a process and slow and steady wins the race. Not only will the new “house rules” be a change for your children but it will be a change for you as well, requiring more monitoring and more planning (making healthy snacks and ingredients always available).

How to Breaking Your Weight Loss Plateau by: Mubarakah Ibrahim CPT

Today is a typical morning like any other for you. You get up, go for your workout at the gym or go for a nice run, before you start your day. Or maybe you go from work to the gym to jump on the treadmill for 40 minutes then home. No matter when you fit your workout in, you are to be commended you’ve stuck to it. SO why isn’t the weight coming off like it did when you first started your new workout routine. Everything is the same. Cardio 3 to 5 days a week. Weight training 2 to 3 days a week. Your diet is still in tack (despite the PMS breakdown in the chocolate abyss). If you are still doing everything the same and you can’t seem to drop those last 10 lbs then you can’t drop those last 10 lbs because you are still doing everything the same. (I know I just reverse the sentence but read it again and you’ll catch on if you didn’t the first time.)

Your body is a wonderfully efficient machine. Everything from your head to your toes adapt to your environment, your activities and your lifestyle. Your exercise regimen is no different. Here is the scenario. Your Story... You began the new year with a new found dedication to running. After all, you need to drop those extra pounds. So you go for a 45 minute run 5 days a week and weight train in the gym 2 times a week. In January and February the pounds fell off. You consistently left 2 even 4 lbs some weeks, chocking on your dust as you laughed your way all the way to the clothing store. But here we are in April and the scale hasn’t moved since the beginning of March. What happened? Your Body’s Story… When you began your program, your body worked hard to keep up with the new intensity and duration of your exercise regimen. As a result it burned energy (calories/fat) to keep up. Then one day as it accompanied you out the door and began picking up speed, then it said to it’s self. Oh I’ve done this plenty of times before. In fact I am good. I am so good at this now that instead of burning 200 calories on this run, I can do the same run and only burn 150 calories. So it runs with you and indeed it proved that it could do the same activity and burn less calories doing it. Your body has succeeded in doing what it does best...become efficient.

Ah ha! Eureka! Now you know. So what to do about it. Throw your body a surprise party and call it Cross training. Cross training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines. The term cross training refers to a training routine that involves several different forms of exercise, and/or exercise intensity levels.Get up tomorrow and instead of running for 45 minutes, jump on the bike and take a spin. Instead of doing 45 minutes of a moderate intensity run. Kick it up a notch and do 20 minutes of intense interval training (fartlek run will do as well) Providing different challenges in a workout forces the body to move out of its comfort zone and the body must work harder to complete the activity… Resulting in more calorie burn. More eating the dust off from the bottom of your shoes as you leave those pound behind. But that’s not the only benefit of cross training. If sports are your passion cross training can actually help you prevent injury and overuse syndrome For most sports enthusiasts, cross-training is a beneficial training method for maintaining a high level of overall fitness and that’s not all Cross Training:

• Reduces exercise boredom
• Allows you to be flexible about you training needs and plans (if the pool is
• closed, you can go for a run instead).
• Produces a higher level of all around conditioning
• Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups
• Reduces the risk of injury
• Work some muscles while others rest and recover
• Can continue to train while injured
• Improves your skill, agility and balance

So be cross…trained that is to have a well rounded fitness regimen.

Choosing the Best Treadmill, Among Treadmills by: Rajesh Karavadia

Getting enough daily exercise helps in maintaining a physically fit body. You can do your exercise workouts in your own home or in fitness gyms. If you’re getting tired of you’re old routine exercises, one great alternative to do is complicated running or walking exercises using a treadmill.

Treadmills can be quite expensive, true, but this is usually the case when you buy treadmills with luxurious features. There are also cheap treadmills that you can purchase if you’re on a tight budget. Treadmills are becoming more and more popular for many years now. The treadmill is a well-known effective device that burns calories.

Choosing the ‘best’ treadmill, if there really is one, can be a very challenging task. Different treadmills have different interactions with a person’s body. And there are many treadmill models out in the market.

Before shopping for a treadmill, it would be better if you get to use different models of treadmills. And a good place to start is the gym, or you can also try your friend’s treadmill. Getting a hands-on experience with two or more treadmill models will help you in assessing which treadmill model will work for you best. Take note of the one that you’re comfortable with, and one that is easy for your use.

Another important thing to do is to ask for opinions from people having treadmills of their own. A very good example is a fitness gym owner. You can also ask gym instructors, a friend or a colleague, and even family members that have experienced using treadmills.

Once you’ve decided to purchase, list down first the treadmill features that you like. Some treadmill features may include heart-rate monitors, displays that show the amount of burnt calories, step counters, and the treadmill’s ability to change the incline or speed.

Usually, features determine the price. The more luxurious the features are, the more expensive it is. But if you’re just a starter, you can go for basic models of treadmill which are more affordable.

Another important consideration is the noise. If you don’t want to be bothered with the noise coming from treadmills, check for the treadmill’s noise level. Cheaper treadmills have very loud motors. But the noise can be resolved easily if you put the treadmill near the television set. If you’re not doing anything, watch a TV show while exercising or you can listen to the radio. This can also kill the boredom when you’re doing your exercises. Using treadmill exercise videos will also take your attention away from the treadmill’s noise, and you get to perform your exercise the right way.

Choose a treadmill with a long-term performance and one that is easily maintained. There are services which offer consumer assistance and it is wise if you take part in these services and use it to your advantage. Treadmills with a long-term performance level go a long way and a good investment as well. Maintenance of the treadmill is equally important. Over time, some parts of the treadmill will wear out and will need to be replaced. Make sure that the treadmill’s parts are available at least within your locality.

Compatibility with the treadmill is the biggest consideration when buying the best treadmill of your choice. If you enjoy doing your daily exercise with your treadmill, then you have found the best treadmill that you’ve been looking for.

Nutritional Supplements as Gifts Exercise Some Caution by: Mitamins Team

You’ve discovered the benefits of nutritional supplements and vitamins, and you want to share your newfound discovery with everyone. As a result, you decide that the perfect present for your best friend is a supply of some of your favorite nutritional supplements(http://www.mitamins.com).

But wait!

Before you place your order, it’s imperative that you keep a few things in mind when considering purchasing vitamins or nutritional supplements for someone who has not specifically requested them of you:

1. Nutritional Supplements are a Form of Holistic Medicine

Would you go out and purchase a bottle of a certain brand of aspirin for your colleague just because you happen to like it? Probably not. The same holds true for nutritional supplements. Though they can be purchased over-the-counter and without prescriptions, they still have the potential to affect one individual differently than they affect another. Therefore, what’s right for you isn’t necessarily going to be right for (or welcomed by) your neighbor.

2. Nutritional Supplements Are… Well… Personal

Imagine someone handing you a roll of toilet paper and a tube of athletes footcream for your birthday. Ouch! Such items are meant to be personal, and many people feel the same way about nutritional supplements and vitamins(http://www.mitamins.com). They are as uncomfortable receiving vitamin C tablets as they would be if you unceremoniously handed them a beribboned bottle of dandruff shampoo. Unless you know the intended recipient very, very, very well, purchasing vitamins or nutritional supplements may seem an odd, awkward, embarrassing, undesirable, or even rude gesture.

3. Nutritional Supplements Can Interfere with Medications

You just know it… your best friend would love the vitamins and herbs(http://conditionsinfo.mitamins.com) you’re taking. So you buy her a big bottle and present it to her during your next gabfest luncheon. Unfortunately, what neither of you realise is that one of the key ingredients actually interferes with another medication she’s been prescribed by her family physician (and that you knew nothing about.) Just because you think you know what’s best for someone, don’t assume that you know it all. Some people can encounter severe complications from taking pharmaceutical drugs and nutritional supplements simultaneously.

4. Nutritional Supplements Are Not, Alas, for Everyone

You may be totally, 100%, undeniable to nutritional supplements after realising their powers and abilities. But that optimism doesn’t hold true for everyone, even those with whom you’re closest. Many individuals are fearful of products with which they are unfamiliar, even the most basic multi-vitamins! Therefore, you’ll simply be wasting your money and time if you buy nutritional supplements for someone with the expectation that everyone is as open-minded to natural health as you.

ONE FINAL NOTE: Still determined to give certain nutritional supplements to a buddy? Then please ask him or her first for permission. That way, you can be on the same page, and although the gift won’t be a total surprise, youll at least know that it will be used as intended and not discarded or allowed to disintegrate in the back of a drawer.

Role of Zinc and Copper in Effective Thyroid Function by: Mitamins Team

A hammer and nails; peanut butter and jelly; Laurel and Hardy. There are some things that just go together and work together as a team. The same is true with vitamins in the body. Copper and zinc are two such supplements that work together as a pair. Both play an important role in maintaining a healthy thyroid gland and preventing thyroid disease and other problems. Both copper and zinc have separate roles in providing thyroid support, yet the excess of one mineral leads to the deficiency of another. The proper balance of both copper and zinc are needed to prevent thyroid disease and maintain the right amount of thyroid hormones in the body.

Just as peanut butter and jelly both bring something different to the perfect PB&J sandwich, so do copper and zinc have individual roles in preventing thyroid problems and maintaining thyroid health.

Thyroid Support and Copper

Copper plays an important role in thyroid metabolism, especially in hormone production and absorption. Copper stimulates the production of the thyroxine hormone (T4), and prevents over-absorption of T4 in the blood cells by controlling the body’s calcium levels (Calcium is required for the stabilization of cell membranes and reduces cell permeability).

Besides this, copper is also required for the synthesis of phospholipids, (a class of fats) that are found in the myelin sheaths that insulates nerves to protect them. Phospholipids are required for the stimulation of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). Therefore correct levels are needed to prevent thyroid problems, and can be used in the treatment of thyroid disease.

Thyroid Support and Zinc

Just as copper is important for thyroid function, zinc too is needed to prevent thyroid problems. Zinc is involved in the process that converts inactive hormone T4 into active hormone T3. An excess of inactive thyroid hormones in the body can lead to an under active thyroid gland. An Italian study showed that patients suffering with hypothyroidism gained improved thyroid function by supplementing their diet with extra zinc.

It appears that adequate levels of both copper and zinc help in improving thyroid health, and even in the treatment of thyroid diseases. So what happens if one or other of the minerals is deficient in the body?

Zinc and Copper deficiencies in Thyroid Diseases

In our perfect PB&J sandwich, the right balance of peanut butter and jelly is needed. Too much jelly and the sandwich becomes soggy; too much peanut butter and the sandwich sticks to the roof of your mouth. In the same way, too much copper in the body leads to reduced thyroid functioning and also halts the function of zinc.

The correct ratio of Zinc to Copper is 5:1 for females and 10:1 for males.

The two major thyroid diseases caused due to unbalanced levels of copper and zinc are:

Hyperthyroidism

Copper and zinc work together in the body as important antioxidants. Deficiency of zinc causes a deficiency of the antioxidant enzyme Superoxide dismutase (SOD), and leads to oxidative stress and antioxidative response in the patients of hyperthyroidism. Deficiency of copper also causes hyperthyroidism because the thyroid gland produces excessive hormone when the body is copper deficient.

Hypothyroidism

Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #23 by: Tami Close

How AWESOME are you? I can’t hear you. Jump up and down and wiggle your little (it is little, you know) hiney and shout “I am AWESOME, I am AWESOME, I am AWESOME, I am AWESOME, I am AWESOME. Now, I’ll ask again. How AWESOME are you? TOTALLY AWESOME….I heard you this time….WOW!!!

Our intention is to create this high vibrational energy each and every moment. A quote from Nelson Mandela illustrates this in showing you that you are an AWESOME child of God. I look at this quote each and every day when I do my energy circles. I encourage you to print this and tape it somewhere so that you see it everyday. Moving from fear into joy is a process, and there are activities that we can do each day to guide us in the right direction—our connection to God.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that
We are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I
To be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about
Shrinking so that other people
Won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest
The Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us,
It’s in everyone and as we let our light shine
We unconsciously give other people
Permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear.
Our presence automatically liberates others.”

For today, don’t shrink. Don’t hide. Stand tall in who you are. Walk with confidence. Chest out, abs in…no rounded shoulders. Don’t forget to shake that hiney as you walk. I know, it’s kind of hard to shake and walk at the same time. Hey, I’m 50 years old and if I can do it, you can too. Let your light shine. You are brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous!!

I am so proud to know you and am very glad you were born. What are you going to do today to show your light?

Love and hugs

Health care

Health care, or healthcare, refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, pharmaceutical, dental, clinical laboratory sciences (in vitro diagnostics), nursing, and allied health professions. Health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations”.^[1]

Before the term health care became popular, English-speakers referred to medicine or to the health sector and spoke of the treatment and prevention of illness and disease.

• A health care provider or health professional is an organization or person who delivers proper health care in a systematic way professionally to any individual in need of health care services. A health care provider could be government, the health care industry, a health care equipment company, an institution such as a hospital or medical laboratory, physicians, dentists, support staff, nurses, therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, chiropractors, and optometrists.

• Emergency medicine is a speciality of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses and injuries that require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a wide array of pathology and undertake acute interventions to stabilize the patient. These professionals practice in hospital emergency departments, in the prehospital setting via emergency medical service and other locations where initial medical treatment of illness takes place. Just as clinicians operate by immediacy rules under large emergency systems, emergency practioniers aim to diagnose emergent conditions and stabilize the patient for definitive care.

• Chronic care management encompasses the oversight and education activities conducted by professionals to help patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, multiple sclerosis and sleep apnea learn to understand their condition and live successfully with it. This term is equivalent to disease management (health) for chronic conditions. The work involves motivating patients to persist in necessary therapies and interventions and helping them to achieve an ongoing, reasonable quality of life.

• Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often lead to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported staggering numbers of patients harmed and killed by medical errors. Recognizing that healthcare errors impact 1 in every 10 patients around the world, the World Health Organization calls patient safety an endemic concern.^[2] Indeed, patient safety has emerged as a distinct healthcare discipline supported by an immature yet developing scientific framework. There is a significant transdisciplinary body of theoretical and research literature that informs the science of patient safety.^[3] The resulting patient safety knowledge continually informs improvement efforts such as: applying lessons learned from business and industry, adopting innovative technologies, educating providers and consumers, enhancing error reporting systems, and developing new economic incentives. This patient safety page provides an evidence-based and peer-reviewed forum to learn about contemporary error and adverse event knowledge.

Tricks You Can Try Getting Baby To Sleep by: Opal Victoria

It is very difficult to manage an infant especially when you are a first-time mother. You don’t understand how to tackle all the daily tasks associated with your baby- you are baffled while bathing him, caring him, feeding him. But the trickiest part is to make your kid sleep. You are all jaded when the time comes to get him sleep. The first and foremost way to make him sleep is to get him adapt himself to good sleeping habits. It is difficult for the infants to adapt themselves to an ambiance that is so different from his mother’s peaceful womb. It takes time to get habituated with this world. When he finally does, he sleeps comfortably and also gives you comfort.

There are different opinions about how to make the baby sleep. However there is no single highly effective tip to do that. But you must try out several ways to see what suits your baby best. You have to make your baby transition between his sleep and his wakefulness. If he finds this himself, he will fall asleep without aids from you. He is creating a timetable of falling asleep. The tips given below can help you to determine the best way possible to make your baby to feel transition. However, the best way out there is to rely on your intuitions.

Fathering down is a wonderful way. Fathering down is referred to the one when dad is around just before he is going to bed. Let dad cradle his child. The child’s head should rest on dad’s neck. While nurturing the baby thus, the father must talk to him in a soothing tone. Since the male voice pitch is deeper than the female’s, dad’s voice would be best for the kid to soothe him to fall asleep.

An option that has come up recently is ‘driving down’. It instructs to put the kid in his car seat and driving round for a short time, till he dozes off. But this method is inconvenient, spending the petrol. But if your baby doesn’t adapt to any other methods, you can try this one. It is observed that this is a very effective tip.

Even if these methods call for success, you are unable or rather are reluctant to drive around each night just to make your baby sleep. But you can go for them as these techniques basically make the baby learn the feel of dozing off. Once the baby gets habituated, you can get out of these drastic methods. You can later on replace driving car with rocking the baby in bassinet. The basic thing is to make the baby apprehend to transition into sleep. So you need to be a bit patient because you can’t expect your child to learn that all of a sudden.

A Dad's Thoughts On Dad's day by: Lee Wise

(21 Reasons I Love Being A Dad) © Lee Wise All rights reserved

What you will read in the next five to eight minutes will not qualify as one of the top ten professionally written articles of the year: guaranteed.

But you will read this, guaranteed: thoughts created on Father's Day from a guy who loves being a dad.

21 REASONS I LOVE BEING A DAD... AND AN OLDER ONE AT THAT

I love the privilege of seeking to inspire, encourage and help my children.

I love loving their mother.

I love the home movies I experience. The live ones. The in house "reality shows" if you please. Kids raggin' on each other, telling mom and dad stories one more time, hugs at the door, serious discussions begun spontaneously, phone calls to say "Hi, I love you," and small hands pressed on a glass door to see the wonder of all wonders: the neighbor's black cat.

I love happy birthday songs: songs sung in love and received the same way -- in love.

I love watching my kids with their kids.

I love the smiles of children and grandchildren.

I love good memories, family pictures on the walls, and cards from "Father's Days past."

I love the journey of growing with my children.

I love helping when I can and hurting when I can't. No, I don't enjoy the pain. It's the honor of trying to help because "I'm a dad" that I enjoy.

I love the privilege of praying for my children. I have the distinct honor of joining the heart of God with the needs, desires and dreams of my children.

I love being able to say, "Forgive me" when needed.

I love hearing "Mammaw" sing songs to her grandchildren.

I love being called "Pap."

I love sharing the lives of the kids with their mother.

I love watching the joy in the eyes of my wife as she talks on the phone with her children. (A *very* frequent event in our home I might add!)

I love giving the grandkids back to my kids just about the moment I think I'm going under (or moments thereafter!).

I love hearing the laughter of family in the other room.

I love being a friend as well as being a dad.

I love being a father-in-law.

I love memories of my dad loving me.

I love being challenged by my wife's love for each child, grandchild, and son-in-law.

DID I MENTION...

I love being a dad?!

Yours for a day filled with beautiful moments in time,

Lee

Basic sciences

• Anatomy is the study of the physical structure of organisms. In contrast to macroscopic or gross anatomy, cytology and histology are concerned with microscopic structures.
• Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry taking place in living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components.
• Biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields in the broadest sense. A knowledge of biostatistics is essential in the planning, evaluation, and interpretation of medical research. It is also fundamental to epidemiology and evidence-based medicine.
• Cytology is the microscopic study of individual cells.
• Embryology is the study of the early development of organisms.
• Epidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, and includes, but is not limited to, the study of epidemics.
• Genetics is the study of genes, and their role in biological inheritance.
• Histology is the study of the structures of biological tissues by light microscopy, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry.
• Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes the innate and adaptive immune system in humans, for example.
• Medical physics is the study of the applications of physics principles in medicine.
• Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
• Neuroscience includes those disciplines of science that are related to the study of the nervous system. A main focus of neuroscience is the biology and physiology of the human brain and spinal cord.
• Nutrition science (theoretical focus) and dietetics (practical focus) is the study of the relationship of food and drink to health and disease, especially in determining an optimal diet. Medical nutrition therapy is done by dietitians and is prescribed for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, weight and eating disorders, allergies, malnutrition, and neoplastic diseases.
• Pathology as a science is the study of disease—the causes, course, progression and resolution thereof.
• Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their actions.
• Physiology is the study of the normal functioning of the body and the underlying regulatory mechanisms.
• Toxicology is the study of hazardous effects of drugs and poisons.

Clinical skills

A complete medical evaluation includes a medical history, a systems enquiry, a physical examination, appropriate laboratory or imaging studies, analysis of data and medical decision making to obtain diagnoses, and a treatment plan.^[15]

The components of the medical history are:

• Chief complaint (cc): the reason for the current medical visit. These are the 'symptoms.' They are in the patient's own words and are recorded along with the duration of each one. Also called 'presenting complaint.'
• History of present illness / complaint (HPI): the chronological order of events of symptoms and further clarification of each symptom.
• Current activity: occupation, hobbies, what the patient actually does.
• Medications (Rx): what drugs the patient takes including prescribed, over-the-counter, and home remedies, as well as alternative and herbal medicines/herbal remedies. Allergies are also recorded.
• Past medical history (PMH/PMHx): concurrent medical problems, past hospitalizations and operations, injuries, past infectious diseases and/or vaccinations, history of known allergies.
• Social history (SH): birthplace, residences, marital history, social and economic status, habits (including diet, medications, tobacco, alcohol).
• Family history (FH): listing of diseases in the family that may impact the patient. A family tree is sometimes used.

• Review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry: a set of additional questions to ask which may be missed on HPI: a general enquiry (have you noticed any weight loss, change in sleep quality, fevers, lumps and bumps? etc), followed by questions on the body's main organ systems (heart, lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, etc).

The physical examination is the examination of the patient looking for signs of disease ('Symptoms' are what the patient volunteers, 'Signs' are what the healthcare provider detects by examination). The healthcare provider uses the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and sometimes smell (taste has been made redundant by the availability of modern lab tests). Four chief methods are used: inspection, palpation (feel), percussion (tap to determine resonance characteristics), and auscultation (listen); smelling may be useful (e.g. infection, uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis). The clinical examination involves study of:

• Vital signs including height, weight, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, hemoglobin oxygen saturation
• General appearance of the patient and specific indicators of disease (nutritional status, presence of jaundice, pallor or clubbing)
• Skin
• Head, eye, ear, nose, and throat (HEENT)
• Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels)
• Respiratory (large airways and lungs)
• Abdomen and rectum
• Genitalia (and pregnancy if the patient is or could be pregnant)
• Musculoskeletal (including spine and extremities)
• Neurological (consciousness, awareness, brain, vision, cranial nerves, spinal cord and peripheral nerves)
• Psychiatric (orientation, mental state, evidence of abnormal perception or thought)

Laboratory and imaging studies results may be obtained, if necessary.

The medical decision-making (MDM) process involves analysis and synthesis of all the above data to come up with a list of possible diagnoses (the differential diagnoses), along with an idea of what needs to be done to obtain a definitive diagnosis that would explain the patient's problem.

The treatment plan may include ordering additional laboratory tests and studies, starting therapy, referral to a specialist, or watchful observation. Follow-up may be advised.

This process is used by primary care providers as well as specialists. It may take only a few minutes if the problem is simple and straightforward. On the other hand, it may take weeks in a patient who has been hospitalized with bizarre symptoms or multi-system problems, with involvement by several specialists.

On subsequent visits, the process may be repeated in an abbreviated manner to obtain any new history, symptoms, physical findings, and lab or imaging results or specialist consultations.

[edit] Branches

Working together as an interdisciplinary team, many highly-trained health professionals besides medical practitioners are involved in the delivery of modern health care. Examples include: nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, (pharmacy, pharmacists), (physiotherapy,physiotherapists), respiratory therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians and bioengineers.

The scope and sciences underpinning human medicine overlap many other fields. Dentistry, while a separate discipline from medicine, is considered a medical field.

A patient admitted to hospital is usually under the care of a specific team based on their main presenting problem, e.g. the Cardiology team, who then may interact with other specialties, e.g. surgical, radiology, to help diagnose or treat the main problem or any subsequent complications / developments.

Physicians have many specializations and subspecializations into certain branches of medicine, which are listed below. There are variations from country to country regarding which specialties certain subspecialties are in.

The main branches of medicine used in Wikipedia are:

• Basic sciences of medicine; this is what every physician is educated in, and some return to in biomedical research.
• Medical specialties
• interdisciplinary fields, where different medical specialties are mixed to function in certain occasions.

How To Get Your Children To Bed On Time Without Any Fuss by: Steve Hill

Many parents find trying to get their child to bed at night to be one big struggle. The child may play up, whinge and even cry. When in bed, the child may then repeatedly keep getting out of bed and coming downstairs. This article gives advice on how to successfully get your child into bed at night, without all of this fuss.

Some children even though they know that they are tired, do not want to miss out on any of the action or excitement. They want to spend as much time with mom and dad as possible. They can even see the fact that they have to go to bed before their parents as unjust and even cruel. These types of children will want to disrupt and even avoid going to bed at all cost.

I myself have two young children and have been through this experience myself. My daughter especially needs her sleep and can be very moody in the mornings, if she has not had a particular amount of hours of it. As a parent it can become very frustrating as well as upsetting when you see your child crying because they do not want to go to bed. Comments like, please dad just one more program on the television, were far too regular, and at times I felt like backing down.

I have now learnt via reading many books on parenting, how to best deal with this situation. Each child now has a set time when they have to be in bed by. This is a time that they have both agreed to!

They get changed into their pyjamas around half an hour before this time, and then can either spend that period of time playing with their toys or watching the television. If they want to play, we ensure that the games are relaxing ones and not too energetic.

If there is a program that is on later than their agreed bedtimes, I agree to video it for them, this way they know that they are not missing out etc.

I have agreed that I will read them a story at bedtime. This is something they both love and helps them to wind down and relax. They are also given a drink to go to bed with, therefore there is no need for them to keep coming downstairs. This drink is always a juice and should not be fizzy.

I have explained to each child the importance of sleep and that it should be something to enjoy and not to see as some sort of punishment. I have even gone as far as saying that I would love to go to bed at the time that they do, unfortunately their mother does not allow it.

I have tried to make their bedrooms their own little palace. A place that they want to spend time, a place which they find fun, relaxing and comfortable.

My son likes to hear music and therefore we play a tape of his favourite songs in his room. The volume is set quite low and this certainly helps him to get to sleep quite quickly.

These tips have helped to make our childrens bedtimes a pleasant experience, where it once was quite fraught. The children themselves are now into a routine, a routine they are happy with. I hope this advice proves useful to you as well. Good luck.

The patient-physician relationship

The relationship between patient and carer, be they physician or nurse, is a pivotal aspect of medical practice.

The ideal taught in medical school sees the core aspect as the physician learning the patient's symptoms, concerns and values. The physician examines the patient, interprets the symptoms, and formulates a diagnosis to explain the symptoms and their cause to the patient and then proposes a treatment. The job of a physician is similar to a human biologist: that is, to know the human frame and situation in terms of normality. Once the physician knows what is normal and can measure the patient against those norms, he or she can then determine the particular departure from the normal and the degree of departure. This is called the diagnosis.

The four great corner stones of diagnostic medicine are anatomy (structure: what is there), physiology (how the structure/s work), pathology (what goes wrong with the anatomy and physiology) and psychology (mind and behavior). In addition, the physician should consider the patient in their 'well' context rather than simply as a walking medical condition. This means the socio-political context of the patient (family, work, stress, beliefs) should be assessed as it often offers vital clues to the patient's condition and further management.

A patient typically presents a set of complaints (the symptoms) to the physician, who then obtains further information about the patient's symptoms, previous state of health, living conditions, and so forth. The physician then makes a review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry, which is a set of ordered questions about each major body system in order: general (such as weight loss), endocrine, cardio-respiratory, etc. Next comes the actual physical examination and often laboratory tests; the findings are recorded, leading to a list of possible diagnoses. These will be investigated in order of probability.

The next task is to enlist the patient's agreement to a management plan, which will include treatment as well as plans for follow-up. Importantly, during this process the healthcare provider educates the patient about the causes, progression, outcomes, and possible treatments of his ailments, as well as often providing advice for maintaining health. This teaching relationship is the basis of calling the physician doctor^{[dubious – discuss]}, which originally meant "teacher" in Latin. The patient-physician relationship is additionally complicated by the patient's suffering (patient derives from the Latin patior, "suffer") and limited ability to relieve it on his/her own. The physician's expertise comes from his knowledge of what is healthy and normal contrasted with knowledge and experience of other people who have suffered similar symptoms (unhealthy and abnormal), and the proven ability to relieve it with medicines (pharmacology) or other therapies about which the patient may initially have little knowledge.

The physician-patient relationship can be analyzed from the perspective of ethical concerns, in terms of how well the goals of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice are achieved. Many other values and ethical issues can be added to these. In different societies, periods, and cultures, different values may be assigned different priorities. For example, in the last 30 years medical care in the Western World has increasingly emphasized patient autonomy in decision making.

The relationship and process can also be analyzed in terms of social power relationships (e.g., by Michel Foucault), or economic transactions. Physicians have been accorded gradually higher status and respect over the last century, and they have been entrusted with control of access to prescription medicines as a public health measure. This represents a concentration of power and carries both advantages and disadvantages to particular kinds of patients with particular kinds of conditions. A further twist has occurred in the last 25 years as costs of medical care have risen, and a third party (an insurance company or government agency) now often insists upon a share of decision-making power for a variety of reasons, reducing freedom of choice of healthcare providers and patients in many ways.

The quality of the patient-physician relationship is important to both parties. The better the relationship in terms of mutual respect, knowledge, trust, shared values and perspectives about disease and life, and time available, the better will be the amount and quality of information about the patient's disease transferred in both directions, enhancing accuracy of diagnosis and increasing the patient's knowledge about the disease. Where such a relationship is poor the physician's ability to make a full assessment is compromised and the patient is more likely to distrust the diagnosis and proposed treatment. In these circumstances and also in cases where there is genuine divergence of medical opinions, a second opinion from another physician may be sought or the patient may choose to go to another doctor.

In some settings, e.g. the hospital ward, the patient-physician relationship is much more complex, and many other people are involved when somebody is ill: relatives, neighbors, rescue specialists, nurses, technical personnel, social workers and others.

In non-Western societies, the physician/patient relationship may be couched in different terms. The illness may be seen as a violation of the spiritual realm and the cure will be seen likewise as having to take place in the spiritual realm. Violation of some spiritual rule can result in illness; persons distant to the patient may have caused illness by manoeuvres in the spiritual realm, by cursing or causing another practitioner / shaman / healer to place the curse. Powerful faith in these factors can result in serious illness or cure. Spirits can be part of a culture's usual pantheon, ancestor spirits or arbitrary new spirit forces arising independently or as derived from an existing object in the real world: such as an animist spirit coming from a totem animal, mountain or other thing. As in the scientific West, the practitioner is assumed to have special knowledge or power, and is paid by the patient in some form.

Use Meditation As A Form Of Stress Relief by: Steve Hill

Do you feel that you are constantly under stress? Are you looking into ways of how you can reduce your stress levels? If you have answered yes to both of these questions, you are not alone. The world is seemingly becoming faster, more demanding and more pressurised. In this article I write about how meditation can help you to relax and become a happier person.

Stress affects people in different ways. I personally feel very tired and lethargic during these periods and start to worry about things, like a future event. This can easily lead me into a period of depression, which in the past I have found it very difficult to come out of.

Other people suffer from panic attack attacks, become very shaky and nervous, feel sick in the stomach, become sad and can begin to think in a very negative way.

Most of the conditions I have described above are actually a mental and not so much of a physical problem. This is why I believe meditation to be an excellent form of stress relief or stress management.

Meditation helps us to control our emotions, to think in a more relaxed and positive way and certainly helps us to think more clearly.

Positive effects of meditation:

It reduces your heart rate

It relaxes your breathing and can even make it slower

It can lower blood pressure

It can increase your self-esteem by making you think in a more positive way

Helps you to think in a more logical and clear way

Helps you to reduce stress

Types of meditation:

Walking meditation

Mandala meditation

Yoga meditation

Sitting meditation

Prayer meditation

Visualisation meditation

I personally prefer the sitting meditation. I try to make time around three of four times a day when I will sit down to meditate. Originally I had a lack of belief about what I was doing and about if it would work. I found it difficult at this stage to get myself into the zone. With practice and realising that I needed this to work for me, I managed to get enough concentration and focus to see the full benefits.

A lot of the people in my circle of friends think that I am a bit mad. They can not believe that I actually just sit there and think. Meditation has had such a positive effect on my life and continues to do so, therefore my friends can mock as much as they like. I actually believe that some of them should try it themselves but they always laugh at the suggestion.

This is something I now do on a daily basis and it works. Give it a go with belief and I am sure it will benefit you to.

Steve Hill

Helping Your Children Deal With Stress by: Steve Hill

Many children suffer from various forms of stress and in this article I give advice on how parents can help their child during these periods. Their stress can cause them to have nightmares and to lose their self-confidence. I hope you find this article interesting and beneficial.

Children who have nightmares

There are many reasons why children can start to have nightmares. I have two children, both of whom at various stages of their lives wake up crying and upset.

My young son started to have nightmares after watching the film Lord Of The Rings. He really enjoyed watching the film and wanted to watch it on a regular basis and would even re-inact the battles. The film itself is quite long and he would normally be watching it by himself as his mother and I would be busy doing other things.

I thought about why he may have started to have these type of dreams and believed it was due to this film. I then made a point of watching it with him and kept on reassuring him that the people have not actually died and that they were only acting. I even made a point of laughing at some of the more gruesome scenes and by making comments like, as if that would ever happen. This and by also only allowing him to watch the film once a week, helped to stop this period of nightmares.

Children can also develop nightmares after an illness. This can happen after having a period away from school. They may start to worry that they may have fallen behind with their work, or that they may not be able to get back into their crowd of friends. They may also fear that their best friend may have found a new best friend.

In this situation I would advise that when the child is better and before he returns to school that you re-introduce them to the work that they were studying before the illness. You can even ask the teacher to supply some of the work that the child has missed, to help them to catch up. I myself always phone up the parents of my childrens friends and invite their child round for a meal, and to play, the evening before my child is set to return to school.

Therefore when my children are ill, I always say to them not to worry about the work they may miss or about their friends as they know now how I operate etc.

Children who stress

My daughter at one point started to stress because she was not in any of the top groups in the different subjects she was taking at school. She felt like she was a failure and that we would not be proud of her. I advised her that we knew she was giving it her all at school and that as long as she continued to try her best that we would always be proud of her. After all not every child can be in these top sets.

I reminded her that she was in the netball and athletics teams and tried to make her see the positive way of thinking.

She now knows that even when she believes she is unable to perform a certain task that she should still have a go at it. When she makes an error there will always be somebody their to explain where she went wrong, which she can then learn from for the next time.

As parents it is important that we do not criticise our children too often. This can lead to them fearing failure and can lead to them not even attempting to try certain tasks.

Keep them motivated by making homework fun. Praise the child as often as possible, when they complete something well, this builds up their self-esteem. Instead of shouting at the child when they are naughty, try to talk to them as if they were an adult.

In conclusion I always try to treat my own children in a fair and relaxed manner. I want them to know that I am proud of them even if they do not achieve one hundred percent at school. If they have nightmares, I want to work out why this might be and to break whatever cycle is happening. I attempt to work out what each child is worrying about and then try to help them to find a solution.

Symptoms Of Phobia by: Steve Hil

Once the fear has been triggered the physical reaction can lead to a cycle of distress. The body responds to any naturally stressful situation by tensing up. This helps the person perform better. However if the reaction is misinterpreted and excessive this can lead to unnecessarily high levels of tension.

Although a sufferer may realise that the muscular pain and breathing difficulties they are experiencing are merely a response to stress if the bodily reaction is extreme enough it may give rise to a fear of the symptoms of phobia: a fear of the fear. Anticipation of this discomfort, the fear of chest pain or hyperventilation can produce the stress that triggers these symptoms.

Some of the physical symptoms of phobia include:

shaking/trembling

sweating excessively

nausea

dizziness

hyperventilation

chest pain

freezing

As fear levels increase, the mental processes intensify and distort. A phobic person will overestimate the danger they are in and underestimate their ability to cope. For example someone with a fear of driving will overestimate the dangers of road travel while underestimating their own driving ability. In this way they may lose all sense of perspective. They expect disaster to be the only outcome. This is called catastrophising.

Some of the common mental processes associated with phobia include:

catastrophising

ignoring the positive

exaggerating

over generalizing

looking for disaster

thinking in all or nothing terms.

As for psychological treatment, among the most effective are CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and CGBT (Cognitive Group Behavioural Therapy). In supportive environments, social phobics can learn to address their fears and can steadily overcome them.

With the help of a therapist, they can develop strategies for coping and find a more constructive way of viewing their fears. The advantage of group therapy is that they can meet and interact with fellow sufferers, which will help them to realise that they are not facing their problems alone.

Considerations in Distance Education for the Medical Assistant Instructor by: Dr. Mark Stout

Medical Assistant distance education is emerging to meet the demands of a new generation of students in the twenty first century. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School distance education program for medical assistant presents a good model for this integration of technology with medical assistant education. Distance education, particularly in its most recent form, online education, is being integrated into even the most cautious and conservative of educational institutions. Yet the impact of these alternative forms of teaching and learning on students, faculty, and institutions has yet to be broadly or deeply studied. New models such as that at St. Augustine Medical Assistant School are immerging. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School is available at: www.medicalassistant.us

Distance education is not new, and can be traced as far back as the first century. The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christian churches, instructing them from a distance (even when he was under 'house arrest' in Rome). This was probably the first type of 'correspondence course', which was the only method of learning at a distance until the advent of the telephone. Today, distance education and in particular online medical assistant instruction calls upon an impressive range of technologies to enable medical assistant instructor and the medical assistant student who are separated by distance to communicate with each other either in real time (synchronous) or delayed time (asynchronous). Currently and asynchronous model used at St. Augustine Medical Assistant School to instruct medical assistant students. This has proven to be a very effective model however the medical assistant program is currently investigating the benefits of synchronous online medical assistant instruction and the benefits it may have for the medical assistant student.

Medical Assistant distance learning epitomizes the move away from institute based learning to a more direct, student centered approach. As a concept, distance learning has existed for over a century, notably in the form of paper based correspondence courses including the less formal correspondence education for medical assistants. Now however, distance education is depending increasingly upon technology for its success and technological innovations ensure that distance learning for the medical assistant continues to evolve and grow as a valid and potent force in all forms of education for the medical assistant.

The task of the medical assistant distance educator is therefore to obviate these problems as much as possible by mixing and matching techniques, creating and maintaining a stimulating environment, and offering opportunities for medical assistant students to communicate with each other and with the medical assistant teaching staff on a regular basis. The medical assistant educators will also need to change their traditional role as well. Many remote medical assistant students need a great deal of social support, and medical assistant distance educators may find themselves spending more time offering one-to-one tutorials and less time lecturing. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School at www.MedicalAssistant.us is leading today’s technology in medical assistant education.

When designing medical assistant educational systems and materials for medical assistant distance in delivery the medical assistant teacher must consider not only learning outcomes, but also centered requirements and technical constraints for the medical assistant. Also to be considered are the needs, characteristics, and individual differences of both the students, the teachers and future medical assistants.

Medical assistant distance education for the medical assistant then, should not be viewed as a means of reducing costs, but as an opportunity to raise standards. It is also about providing quality medical assistant learning opportunities for those who, for one reason or another, have previously been excluded from this basic human right. Medical Assistant distance education will quickly become the norm and not the exception for the twenty first century medical assistant. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School distance education program for medical assistant presents a good model for this integration of technology with medical assistant education. The St. Augustine Medical Assistant model can be reviewed at: www.medicalassistant.us.