Health Articles

Recent studies have shown that we are amidst what the media is calling a “Worldwide Epidemic” of autism. Based on official figures of ongoing research, one in every one hundred fifty children that are born, is diagnosed with autism. The diagnosed cases of autism have more than quadrupled since the early 1990’s. The studies have also shown that boys diagnosed with autism, outnumber the girls some four to one. Though these statistics are very alarming, nothing could be more upsetting than to learn that a child of your own has been diagnosed with this debilitating affliction.
The National Autistic Society
When a child is diagnosed with autism, the family needs to openly discuss the situation and pull together. That’s assuming that there are two parents and at least one other child. It is this type of situation that can push an unstable family over the edge. By unstable, I mean a family that has poor communication or considered dysfunctional. The result can be a divorce and family separation, and the parents either blaming themselves or each other. Every family is different, and the point is, whoever is responsible for caring for the autistic child, or that are around or “In” the child’s life, must get educated about autism.

Every member of the family needs to contribute some time. The biggest thing about autism is being able to communicate with the child, which is often hard to do. It is often hard to know if your efforts are even getting through. This is why the family needs to take advantage of natural opportunities for communication exchanges and language development. Possible outcomes could be encouraging interaction and initiation of responses in an expressive mode, like vocal, sign, gestures or use of pictures.

Autism is a very complicated and unpredictable disorder, that takes the dedication and determination of the family unit combined to realize any positive progress or development. Education is the key. There have been a lot of new breakthroughs in the understanding of autism. Having a good, up to date guide book about autism on hand will help the whole family have a better understanding of it.
Monty Carlos

Every year on average, one in four people in the UK suffer from some kind of mental health problem, anxiety and depression being the most common disorders. There has been a tenfold increase in depression since the Second World War the main form of depression is known as clinical depression. So what are the symptoms of clinical depression?

Feeling hopeless and lack of interest in the things you once liked doing – There’s no point in doing anything because nothing’s important anymore. Black and white thinking – “it’s all bad,” or “I knew this would happen, nothing good ever happens to me.”
Feeling Sad and emotional for little or no apparent reason – Feeling sorry for yourself – “I don’t know why I keep crying, I never used to be like this.”

Sleeping problems and feeling tired – Staying too long in the REM stage (the intense dreaming stage) of sleep is a major symptom of clinical depression. When we sleep we ruminate – process unfulfilled thoughts we had during the day. Some of these thoughts come to us in the form of nightmares in the REM sleep stage. If we stay too long in this stage we don’t get enough deep sleep. We wake up in the morning tired as if we haven’t slept much at all – even though we may have had a lot of sleep.
Becoming irritable or easily annoyed – Making ‘mountains out of molehills’ and overdramatising trivial negative issues. Low tolerance of other people, especially at parties or in crowds. Getting angry because someone annoyed us such as being stuck behind a slow driver then over-reacting by beeping the horn constantly.

Trouble concentrating – The mind wanders and you begin thinking about negative things. Dwelling on the negative starts a train of thoughts about past hurts or regrets and you get caught up in its cycle.

Weight gain or weight loss – When someone is depressed others may notice that they have lost or gained weight, according to their metabolism, even though the depressed person may not even be aware of this. Another symptom of depression is lack of appetite hence the weight loss. The other end extreme is to overeat.

Feeling worthless – This is a symptom of depression common in people who have lost a job in the past and still haven’t got over it. Feeling worthless is linked to lack of hope, the clinically depressed person focuses their attention inwards and my blame themselves for being ‘inadequate’.

Lack of interest in sex – The clinically depressed person may not feel worthy of their partner because they feel they aren’t good enough for their partner anymore. If they’ve been dwelling on the hopelessness of their life it could interfere with their sex lives – “nothing interests me anymore – not even sex.”

Suicidal thoughts – More people than you might expect have thoughts of suicide one or even a few times in their lives for a variety of reasons. A clinical depression sufferer who feels that life isn’t worth living may become suicidal.

If you have one or more of the symptoms of clinical depression above it could be possible that it may only a temporary detour on life’s highway. If the symptoms persist however it may be worth seeing your gp or a qualified therapist or both.

One of the problems depression sufferers face is that if they are feeling hopeless and worthless they may not even notice or care about getting help. The onus should then fall on a family member or friend to step in and help.

Recovery from depression can take time but with the right care and support life will become rosier and more purposeful again.
John Blosse is an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Advanced practitioner and therapist. He is a depression, anxiety, weight loss and abundance expert. He lives in Brighton, UK. He provides EFT to local people in Brighton, UK and to clients worldwide by phone.

Yeast infection is a fungal infection which is also called as Candidiasis. Yeast infection is found to be more prominent in the vagina. Yeast infection causes to the formation of certain irritation in the vagina. Yeast infection is also prone to affect the male folk through the means of sexual intercourse. More particularly, males who are not circumcised are prone to catch this infection. It is estimated that majority of women in one way or the other in their lifetime are affected by yeast infection. Yeast infections are mostly found in the vagina of the women but it causes no serious problems.

The cause of yeast infection

The cause of yeast infection is immense and varied but the prime cause is the sexual intercourse which is enjoyed in the ground of unprotected sex. Candida albicans is the prime cause of vaginal yeast infection. Candida is virtually caused due to sexual intercourse which is transmitted from one partner to the other. Unprotected sex often causes yeast infection. Candida along with certain other forms of yeast causes yeast infection which occurs in the vagina, rectum or in the mouth.

Yet another cause of yeast infection is the use of condoms which contains a lubricant known as nonoxynol-9, which kills the HIV virus. Diet is also a cause of yeast infection. There is certain yeast containing food which intensifies the frequency of the yeast infection. Hormones, either natural or simulated also create yeast infection. Yeast infection might also be caused when a person’s immune structure is not balanced and influenced properly.

Besides Candida, cause of yeast infection might also be entitled to antibiotics. Prolonged use of antibiotics for the purpose of treatment of certain diseases leads to yeast infection. Inappropriate means of clothing like tainted and tight underwear may often lead in the formation of yeast infection.

Women undertaking contraceptive pills are prone to get the yeast infection. Moreover, certain injury in the vagina or in the vaginal membrane can to a certain extent cause yeast infection. Yeast infection can develop symptoms like continuous itching, irritation, discomfort and burning sensation in the vagina. A discharge mainly white in color is experienced due to yeast infection. Painful and swelling breasts, anxiety, depression, acne problem are certain other symptoms of yeast infection. It is estimated that regular use antibiotics, birth control pills also causes yeast infection. Yeast infection can be overcome by means of self treatment. Further, proper guidance from doctors is also necessary to be taken when the yeast infection becomes quite acute.
Antibiotics info

Blocked Carotid Artery

Blood and oxygen are carried to the brain through four arteries: the right carotid, left carotid, right vertebral and left vertebral. When the brain does not receive enough oxygen the carotid arteries become blocked; this is the number one cause of strokes, which account for the third-highest number of deaths in the US each year. An estimated 750,000 people suffer from them annually.

Carotid artery disease is a condition that occurs when plaque (a fatty material) builds up within the arteries. The medical term for this is atherosclerosis, or “hardening of the arteries,” and greatly restricts blood flow to the brain. Another cause of strokes is when blood clots form in the arteries, which happens when the plaque build-up eventually cracks. It’s important to be aware of potential indicators of these conditions, as it is possible for a stroke, or ‘mini-stroke,’ to be the first warning sign.

However, most people who have a stroke do not experience a mini-stroke first. Common symptoms include: numbness and/or weakness in the face or body (often just on one side), difficulty moving limbs, trouble speaking, a severe, sudden headache and dizziness.

Doctors usually choose one of two surgeries to treat this disease: carotid endarterectomy, usually for people whose arteries are blocked 50% or more and involves cutting into the neck and removing the plaque. The other procedure is called an angioplasty and is used to widen the carotid arteries, which restores blood flow to the brain.
Medical Articles
Recent studies have shown that heart attack damage can be limited by implemented certain anti-oxidants, notable GSH, or glutathione, a powerful protein that speeds up cell metabolism and contains what some medical professionals are calling miraculous anti-viral properties. Overwhelming evidence has shown that the administering of glutathione offers critical support in not just heart disease and strokes, but chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Montreal physician Dr. Jimmy Gutman is the author of “GSH, Your Body’s Most Powerful Protector, Glutathione,” and says that “in the next five or six years, people are going to be using the word glutathione as commonly as they use the word Vitamin C or antioxidant. Glutathione is virtually involved in dozens of critical cell processes and without it we would succumb to our environment literally within hours.”

According to the latest news, everyone should go get a flu vaccine now and not wait on the swine flu vaccine to be released next month. Latest reports are warning that people who are waiting until next month to get the swine flu vaccine due to long lines and possible shortage.

The fear is people will wait until next month to get the swine flu and end up getting the regular flu. They are also urging all ages to get the vaccine young and old. One reporter stated ” If you want to keep granny safe, you need to get granny a flu shot.”

This is definitely scary times with the swine flu being contributed to deaths daily. As the father of two children, I am especially concerned and want to do everything I can to keep them safe. I have taken them both to get the flu vaccine (regular) and will be waiting in line next month to get the swine flu vaccine for both them and myself.
Common cold virus
I would urge everyone to listen to the media and get the regular flu vaccine, even if we only have to wait one month for the swine flu vaccine. Waiting the few extra days could be the difference in you getting the flu making yourself more vulnerable to the swine flu.

Suffering from nail fungus is not only painful but also embarrassing. You will find it painful wearing close shoes and it is embarrassing to show your nails in public due to its unsightly appearance. Although it is not an alarming health condition, treating nail fungal infections is important to save yourself from embarrassment.

Fungal infection can infect other nails and has the tendency to keep coming back. Dealing with nail fungus infection could be difficult if you do not know what to do. Here are some tips in treating nail fungal infections:

Prevent the fungus from spreading. In treating nail fungal infection, it is important to practice self-care and good foot hygiene to prevent the infection from spreading and getting worse. Warm and wet environment encourage the growth of fungus so you have to avoid shoes made from synthetic materials that encourage sweating. Avoid wearing tight fitting close shoes but instead wear open-toed shoes to allow air circulation.

Medications. There are over the counter antifungal creams and medications to treat fungal infection. Your doctor may recommend oral medications to stop the infection. In treating nail fungal infections, it is important to take the medications under the supervision of your health care provider because oral antifungal medications can cause side effects like liver problems and skin rashes.

Herbal treatment. Different natural oils are also important to stop nail fungus. Herbal or natural treatment has been around for ages because they are effective in treating different health problems without side effects. In this modern age, people are still using herbal treatments.
Nail care tips

A migraine attack can be divided into four phases:

A ‘premonitory’ phase occurs in up to half of people with migraine. You may feel irritable, depressed, tired, have food cravings, or ‘just know’ that a migraine is going to occur. You may have these feelings for hours or even days before the onset of the headache.

The aura phase (if it occurs).

The headache phase.

The resolution phase when the headache gradually fades. During this time you may feel tired, irritable, depressed, and may have difficulty concentrating.

Less common types of migraine

There are various other types of migraine which are uncommon, and some more types which are rare. These include:

Menstrual migraine. The symptoms of each attack are the same as for common migraine or migraine with aura. However, the migraine attacks are associated with periods. There are two types of patterns. Pure menstrual migraine is when migraine occurs only around periods, and not at other times. This occurs in about 1 in 7 women who have migraine. Menstrual-associated migraine is when migraines occur around periods, and also at other times of the month too. About 6 in 10 women who have migraine have this type of pattern. Treatment of each migraine attack is the same as for any other type of migraine. However, there are treatments that may prevent menstrual migraines from occurring. See separate leaflet called ‘Migraine Triggered by Periods’ for more detail.
Menstrual Migraine – Google Books Result
Abdominal migraine. This mainly occurs in children. Instead of headaches, the child has attacks of abdominal (tummy) pain which last several hours. Typically, during each attack there is no headache, or only a mild headache. There may be associated nausea (feeling sick), vomiting or aura symptoms. Commonly, children who have abdominal migraine switch to develop common migraine in their teenage years.

Ocular migraine. This is sometimes called retinal migraine, ophthalmic migraine or eye migraine. It causes temporary loss of all or part of the vision in one eye. This may be with or without a headache. Each attack usually occurs in the same eye. There are no abnormalities in the eye itself and vision returns to normal.

Hemiplegic migraine. This is rare. In addition to a severe headache, symptoms include weakness (like a temporary paralysis) of one side of the body. This may last up to several hours, or even days, before resolving. Therefore, it is sometimes confused with a stroke. You may also have other temporary symptoms of vertigo (severe dizziness), double vision, visual problems, hearing problems and difficulty speaking or swallowing.

Basilar-type migraine. This is rare. The basilar artery is in the back of your head. It used to be thought that this type of migraine originated due to a problem with the basilar artery. It is now thought that this is not the case, but the exact cause is not known. Symptoms typically include headache at the back of the head (rather than one sided as in common migraine). They also tend to include strange aura symptoms such as temporary blindness, double vision, vertigo, ringing in the ears, jerky eye movements, trouble hearing, slurred speech, dizziness. Unlike hemiplegic migraine, basilar-type migraine does not cause weakness. There is an increased risk of having a stroke with this type of migraine.

Do I need any tests?

Usually not. There is no test to confirm migraine. A doctor can be confident that you have migraine if you have the typical symptoms. However, some people with migraine have non-typical headaches. Sometimes tests are done to rule out other causes of headaches. Remember, if you have migraine, you do not have symptoms between attacks. A headache that does not go, or other symptoms that do not go, are not due to migraine.

Tension headaches are sometimes confused with migraine. These are the common headaches that most people have from time too time. Note: if you have migraine, you can also have tension headaches at different times to migraine attacks.

A fish out of water. This how many people who suffer from asthma describe their illness and it is quite an accurate description actually because even though those who suffer from this disease are breathing they feel they cannot satisfy their lung capacity and so they grasp for more air in a desperate struggle to make this horrible sensation go away.

If you have suffer from asthma or you know a loved one who is going through this difficult phase you know that this can be something rather difficult to get through for the entire family not to even mention the person who has the illness but it doesn’t have to be that way.

In some cases those who suffer from chronic asthma are not able to get fast relief because of the fact that they do not know what is causing the illness what is making it even more acute and how they can get rid of the factors that make this respiratory problem go wild.

Those who suffer from summer allergies may be surprised that the very same allergen that triggers their allergies is also involved in several cases where people not only suffer from common allergies but from asthma as well, we are talking about CRC also referred to as Candida overgrowth. Candida is a fungus that can weaken your immune system and can trigger several respiratory allergies including asthma.
Natural Asthma Remedies
The first step in order to treat asthma is to take an electro dermal screening test that will help you determine all the things that you are allergic to. In order to reduce and control asthma attacks it is also recommended to cut out all the dairy products that you may be used to consuming, you will also have to stop eating certain grains such as rice, you will have to stop eating wheat as well as the yeast and any other product that may contain this in gradients because they are known to trigger respiratory allergies in people who suffer from asthma.
Causes and symptoms of alleriges
Once you have taken care of the foods that can worsen your condition it is time to address your environment, if you or someone you know suffers from asthma you will want to keep your house as clean as possible, I’m talking about dust because it is known to trigger respiratory allergies and when it comes to asthma it just makes things worse, the same can be said about polyester and certain fabrics that are usually found in children’s toys, plushes, etc. you might also want to get an air purifier but don’t think that such device can do the job all by itself because even the most expensive air purifier will not 100% protect you from allergens.

Chlamydia: Symptoms And Treatment

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States. More than 450,000 cases were reported in 1995. Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and is a very common sexually transmissible infection (STI). It is often called the ’silent infection’ because most people do not realise they have it. Chlamydia can infect the eyes if they come in contact with genital secretions from an infected person. The bacteria can also be spread to a baby during birth if the mother has the infection, causing problems with the baby’s eyes or a lung infection (pneumonia).

Tips to Overcome Depression

Symptoms

Symptoms of chlamydia normally occur one to three weeks after infection. However, many people who have chlamydia are unaware that they have the infection. Symptoms of chlamydia may be similar in men and women. Symptoms of Chlamydia infection in the eyes generally occur within 10 days of birth. Although your baby will be alert and aware, his eyes will be irritated and red.

Symptoms of chlamydia can lead to occurence of cancer. Symptoms of chlamydia are vague, mainly an unusual vaginal discharge, and 70 percent of women don’t have any at all that is why it’s called a ’silent’ infection. Left untreated, chlamydia can cause infertility, so see your doctor if you’re concerned.

Painful sexual intercourse, burning sensation during urination and fever are also some of its symptoms. Pelvic pain or lower abdominal pain can be an early indicator of pelvic inflammatory disease or PID, one of the leading causes of infertility in women. Pain and swelling in the testicles are uncommon. Pain and inflammation on the testicles are also found in some cases. Both men and women, who received the infection as part of anal sex, are likely to develop rectal pain and bleeding.

Treatment

Chlamydia can easily be treated. Both partners must be treated at the same time. Chlamydia is the leading cause of pneumonia in infants under 6 months of age. Pneumonia infects 5 to 20% of infants whose mothers had chlamydia at the time of birth, more than 30,000 babies a year.

If Chlamydia is left untreated, it can cause health and fertility problems. In 2002, 834,555 chlamydial infections were reported to CDC from 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is actually the result of bacteria being passed from one person to another via sexual contact, and the condition is usually highly preventable by using barrier methods of birth control, especially male or female condoms during any type of intercourse or sexual play.

Mesothelioma is a very tricky disease. It is a type of lung cancer and, as is common with lung cancer, symptoms of the disease can take many years to develop.

Mesothelioma is caused from exposure to asbestos. The disease usually lies undetected for up to 30 years after it first develops. Once symptoms are present the disease has already progressed to the late stage when treatment is very difficult. There is little treatment that can be effective in the later stages of mesothelioma.

Detecting the Disease

Symptoms of mesothelioma can vary from person to person, which adds to the difficulty in detecting the disease. Symptoms also vary depending on the type of mesothelioma. It can be pleural, peritoneal or pericardial. Another issue with detecting the disease is that the symptoms can often be confused with common illnesses like the flu, bronchitis and heart disease.

The best chance of detecting the disease is a careful review of the history of the patient. Discovering previous exposure to asbestos can be the main thing to trigger testing for mesothelioma and finally the detection of the disease. Testing that is currently used is quite expensive. Many times doctors will avoid testing unless they have a specific reason to suspect mesothelioma.

There is research being done to help develop tests for the earlier detection of the disease. These tests would hopefully be able to diagnose the disease early enough for treatment to be effective.

Symptoms of mesothelioma

The most common symptoms of mesothelioma include:

- coughing

- shortness of breath

- chest pain

- weight loss that is unexplained

- sleeping problems

These symptoms can easily be misdiagnosed. Many of them are common symptoms of bronchial illness or even heart disease. During the time that a doctor is investing these possible illnesses, the cancer is given time to grow further. This is a costly mistake. Doctors often do not immediately think that it could be mesothelioma unless they know a patient’s history of asbestos exposure.

Treatment

There are three common courses of treatment. The treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Surgery is the most common option since it allows for removal of the infected area. Lining in the chest and abdomen, part of the lungs or part of the diaphragm may be removed during surgery. Radiation may be used to kill cancer cells that cannot be removed through surgery. Chemotherapy can also be used to kill off cancer cells. No treatment is completely effective since lung cancer be difficult to treat in general as it spreads very quickly in the later stages throughout the body.

Conclusion

Mesothelioma is a very deadly cancer. It is difficult to detect during early stages when cancer is best treated. It is also expensive to diagnose since tests can be costly. Many doctors will look for other illnesses before ever checking for mesothelioma. This is why if you have been exposed to asbestos and are exhibiting symptoms of mesothelioma then you need to inform your doctor about your asbestos exposure. This is the best chance you have of catching the disease and starting treatment that could save your life.