Doctors Notes | Understanding Diseases and Health

Why Eczema Is Common In Children

March 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Eczema is a common problem in children. There are two main reasons for the disease affecting children more than adults. The first reason is that the eczema is a hereditary disease. The disease can be transmitted from a affected person to their future generations. Though the disease is not contagious, the fact that it can be passed on from one generation to another through the genes w ill explain why a young child is more commonly affected than older people.

There is also another reason for the younger age group people being affected by this disease more than the older people. This is because of the fact that the child has very less immunity when compared to the older people. As a child is young, it can commonly be suppressed due to various reasons and so the disease is exacerbated in the patient.

These are the two main reasons for the disease being common in children. Another reason for the child to suffer from eczema is that various allergens can also lead to the disease. Since kids are much more prone to allergies, they may suffer from the disease to a large extent. Avoiding these allergens will help to prevent the disease from occurring. This is especially true for the kids who have already been identified to be suffering from this problem. This is because even a small duration of exposure to the material that is allergic will cause the person to suffer a great deal. Even proper medications cannot be given to a small child because of the risk of side effects. So, it is important to prevent the disease from occurring rather than treating it after it has occurred.

Filed Under: Diseases, Doctors Notes Tagged With: Conditions and Diseases, Eczema, Health

Is Food Medicine?

November 16, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Can eating a red fruit on a daily basis actually keep a physician away? Research shows that eating the wrong types of food can contribute to all kinds of terrible health conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and obesity. So, why wouldn’t eating better food act as a kind of medicine in and of itself?

That’s the philosophy of some of the leading food manufacturers in America. Corporations like Nestle are looking for ways to market to people who want to blend health with medicine. To that end, Nestle has formed the Nestle Institute of Health Science and the Nestle Science S.A. The goal of these departments will be to focus on finding ways to treat various health issues.

It’s too early to tell what type of products Nestle will develop or what type of benefits, if any, the food might have. Some also wonder whether this move is worth the risk. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been working to investigate unsubstantiated claims from companies selling miracle foods.

Some companies are able to make bold health claims because their products fall under natural categories. Items such as vitamins and herbs can use labels touting health benefits, as long as they include a disclaimer that says the FDA has not approved of the claims. Depending on the exact situation, though, the FDA is able to sue manufacturers for false advertising.

As a case in point, the FDA recently brought a lawsuit against the couple who own and sell POM Wonderful. The pomegranate juice claims to help with a variety of conditions, including erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Other products to face lawsuits have claimed to treat Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other serious medical conditions.

If Nestle wants to succeed as selling its food as medicine, it should prepare to go through the same steps as any other pharmaceutical company. Just because the packaging is fruit instead of a capsule doesn’t change the role of a medication.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health Care, Nutrition Tagged With: Alzheimer's disease, Food, Food and Drug Administration, Health, Health science, Nestlé, POM Wonderful, United States

The importance of nutrients

November 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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The importance of nutrition is so much that it is the most important thing that you should consider. God health is a product of good nutrition. Your eating patterns will determine your lifespan, your health future, and how physically fit your re. If you are falling ill always, you can blame it on a variety of factors.

The nutrients that are required by your body are proteins, carbohydrates, fat, and water. All these are essential nutrients that your body needs always. If your diet is well balanced with all these nutrients then you have a diet that is rich in nutrition.

Carbohydrates are energy giving substances. When they are taken into the body, they are broken down and stored in the liver. They are easy to digest as well. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your body.

Proteins on the other hand are more of building blocks. They build bodily tissues. They are the chief agents of growth and repair. They aid in creation of new muscles, and growth of other parts of the body. Proteins make people grow. Children, who have a lack of protein in their diet, grow up shorter than the ones that had higher protein levels in their diet.

Fats are also essential for your body. Fats can build your immune system, and help you fight against diseases. They also are a source of energy, and can act as a complement to carbohydrates. They assist in absorbing calcium into the body. Without which, absorbing calcium would have been a problem for the body. And the bones of the body rely so much on calcium.

Water is a regulator of your body. It regulates the body’s temperature. It flushes out the toxins from the body, and ensures that your blood stream is without any infections.

So all these nutrients are essential in the sphere of nutrition. If your diet has all of these things, then you are on the way to good nutrition.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Nutrition Tagged With: Calcium, Carbohydrate, diet, Essential nutrient, Health, Nutrient, Nutrition, Protein

Can weight loss be achieved with diet?

October 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Weight loss can be indeed achieved with a diet that is well balanced and full of nutrition. Losing weight through diet is a gradual process, and not a short-term one. You should never do crash diets, unless if you feel it can do no harm to your body. Crash diets are restrictive, and can prove to be counterproductive if you overdo it. It can cause ulcer problems, and might even lead to muscle atrophy.

Before understanding how it works, you have to work with your doctor to identify what nutrition you need. If you’re already obese, then you can’t have a chart of an athlete. You might want it, but not now. And also you can’t have a drastic reduction in food. If you do so, the rebound effect might take its toll on you. In other words instead of eating les, you might end up eating more.

Once you set up a diet chart, try to follow it zeal and fervor. Let I dictate you and dominate you. Your willpower is crucial. If you a person who is with a lot of willpower, then a diet char t can easily work wonders for you. Diet charts re like roadways. You know exactly where you are going. Unlike other types of diet approaches to lose weight, diet charts give you a nutrition itinerary for the coming week.

Include your diet with regular exercise. Exercise should indeed be regular. Once in a while exercising does not help. Even if you thought if you were tired, and would like to put off your exercise to tomorrow, then you have lost the battle. If you can do something today, in whatever situation you are in, then you can do anything any day. At the same time, if you can’t do something today, even if you were able to, then you will not be able to achieve anything anyway.

So be active and play your obesity into submission.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health Care, Nutrition Tagged With: Articles, diet, Health, Nutrition, Physical exercise, Shopping, Support Groups, Weight loss

Keep An Eye On Eye Sight

September 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Going to the eye doctors every year is something that most people do not miss out on when it comes to their children. The problem is though, that many adults are not taking the time to make sure that they are getting eye exams every year. While it is true that such exams are crucial for children, they are even more important for adults. It is the adults driving the cars and working jobs that could be life threatening if something simple goes wrong.

Eye sight changes can happen quickly, but generally, it is a slow process. In fact, your change in eye sight could happen so slow, that you do not even notice a difference. Sitting there now, you might think that your eye sight is fine because things look just how you remember them. However, many people find that upon their trip to the eye doctor, that they actually were not seeing things as clearly as they once thought. This surprises many people.

Do not allow a lack of insurance coverage stop you from setting an appointment either. There are a lot of eye care centers that are now offering extremely affordable prices for their exams. Some will even give the exam for free with the purchase of contacts or a pair of glasses. Basically, what you cannot afford is to skip out on an appointment to the eye doctor.

Feel free to shop around for the eye care centers that can give you the best rate on the exam and for contacts or glasses, just in case you end up needing them. For those that already have glasses, do not be fooled. Even with steady use of your corrective lenses, your vision could have changed. Your eye sight might just be worse than you think.

Take action and set up your appointment now. The sooner you get your eyes examined, the sooner you will be able to see the world for the beauty that it really is.

Filed Under: Child Health, Doctors Notes, Health, Health Insurance Tagged With: Health, Insurance, Ophthalmology, Optometry, Visual perception

Should You Switch to Using E Cigarettes?

September 16, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

If you want to quit smoking and have found it to be quite a struggle in your life, you should definitely look into switching to an electronic cigarette to give you an advantage in kicking the habit. Also known as an E cigarette or E cig, they provide a lot of advantages for an individual when compared side by side with using normal tobacco cigarettes.

One of the best things about E cigarettes is that they only contain a fraction of the nicotine that is found in regular cigarettes. They also don’t have the other 2000 harmful chemicals in them, which is a huge health benefit! With the E cigarette, over time, a smoker can adjust and lower the level of nicotine they take in and use different filters that can help them to gradually reduce their nicotine dependence and quit smoking for good!

Another great advantage with E cigarettes is that you are able to use them in non-smoking places and areas where you normally wouldn’t be able to smoke regular cigarettes. You will be able to freely enjoy them in restaurants and bars without bothering others around you or worrying about the effects of your second hand smoke on them either. Also, electronic cigarettes don’t emit the strong, awful odor that regular tobacco cigarettes do. Therefore you won’t be making your clothes, curtains, or upholstery have that awful tobacco stench as well.

Additionally, the E cigarette even looks, tastes and feels just like a regular cigarette. However, instead of producing smoke, it’s a vapor that the user inhales. Also, It gives a dose of nicotine that is a whole lot safer and better for you than smoking a regular cigarette does. So, go get yourself an E cigarette today and start down the path to quit smoking and having a longer, healthier and much happier life!

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health Care, Sanitation Tagged With: Electronic cigarette, Health, Tobacco smoking

Tweaking One Habit Can Change Your Whole Life

August 18, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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When you buy cheap fast food like burgers and processed chicken sandwiches, you are ingesting far more sodium, fat, additives, and calories than a homemade version of the same item. “Healthier” options like salads start in the $6 range at the cheapest fast food locations, and often have additives that you aren’t aware of that make it much less figure friendly than you probably realize. If you eat at a restaurant, there is a much more liberal application of oils and fats and the salad dressings are much more fatty than the average brands carried in the grocery stores. You’re spending 2-3 times more money and ingesting 2-3 times more calories than doing it yourself.

To make things easy, buy fresh or frozen chicken breasts on sale. Prepare them with marinades or rubs in flavors that you like. You can make them take on an Asian flair or give them bold Latin flavors. Think about what dishes you like in restaurants and you can find easy recipes to get the same flavors at home. Grill up several days’ worth of chicken and then the night before, slice them and add them to a salad mix from the store. Add nuts, cheese, dried fruit or anything else you enjoy. Keep salad dressing and crisp components separate until you are ready to eat. Fill up on the lean protein and extra greens. You will be full for far fewer calories and will save a bundle.

If you’ve been looking to tighten your waist line or your budget, it can be overwhelming trying to think of all the many things you “should” be doing differently. For a softer, easier approach that will give you clear and consistent improvement, just try changing one thing: your lunch break. If you eat out at restaurants or other food service vendors, you are spending a lot more money than you probably realize. Spending $10 a day on lunch, five days per week can add up to as much as $230 dollars per month. With a little bit of planning, you can eat better food for far less money.
When you buy cheap fast food like burgers and processed chicken sandwiches, you are ingesting far more sodium, fat, additives, and calories than a homemade version of the same item. “Healthier” options like salads start in the $6 range at the cheapest fast food locations, and often have additives that you aren’t aware of that make it much less figure friendly than you probably realize. If you eat at a restaurant, there is a much more liberal application of oils and fats and the salad dressings are much more fatty than the average brands carried in the grocery stores. You’re spending 2-3 times more money and ingesting 2-3 times more calories than doing it yourself.
To make things easy, buy fresh or frozen chicken breasts on sale. Prepare them with marinades or rubs in flavors that you like. You can make them take on an Asian flair or give them bold Latin flavors. Think about what dishes you like in restaurants and you can find easy recipes to get the same flavors at home. Grill up several days’ worth of chicken and then the night before, slice them and add them to a salad mix from the store. Add nuts, cheese, dried fruit or anything else you enjoy. Keep salad dressing and crisp components separate until you are ready to eat. Fill up on the lean protein and extra greens. You will be full for far fewer calories and will save a bundle.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health, Health Care, Nutrition Tagged With: Cooking, Fast food, Home, Salad

Kitchen Safety is Not Only About Cuts and Burns

August 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Cold food must always be stored in a refrigerator with an air temperature no higher 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and food must be no warmer than 41 degrees. Produce does well in the lower 40’s but seafood should be kept in the lower 30’s. Your food temperature in the freezer should be below 0 degrees Fahrenheit unless it is being thawed for consumption. When thawing frozen food, the refrigerator (at 41 degrees or lower) is ideal, but can take time. If the food must be thawed more quickly, the item can be placed in a water bath that maintains both a constant stream of running water through it and a temperature below 70 degrees. If the temperature gets too high, ice may be added to the bath to bring down the temperature. Be sure that any item or surface that comes in contact with raw meat does not come in contact with any other food item, including cooked meat.

When cooking food, meats and proteins in particular, it is extremely important to heat food to a proper temperature and have it consumed very soon afterwards. As the temperature drops, it becomes dangerous, as food that is between 70 degrees and 120 degrees is a perfect breeding ground for illness inducing bacteria. 165 degrees Fahrenheit is a good guideline to stick to when checking the temperature on your meat, as that is a temp that will ensure the protein is safe to eat. Certain meats can be served at lower temperatures but if you won’t remember them all, then 165 degrees is the guideline to use. For those cooks who prefer that their meat is not overdone, remember that steaks, seafood, and roasts are safe at 145 degrees. Eggs, ground beef, and pork cuts can be served at 160 degrees, while poultry like chicken must always be served at 165 degrees, no exceptions.

Many do not realize that eating tainted food can be life threatening. Unless you’ve worked in the food industry, you may never have been taught what is and isn’t safe in the kitchen. A little know how can save you.
Cold food must always be stored in a refrigerator with an air temperature no higher 38 degrees Fahrenheit, and food must be no warmer than 41 degrees. Produce does well in the lower 40’s but seafood should be kept in the lower 30’s. Your food temperature in the freezer should be below 0 degrees Fahrenheit unless it is being thawed for consumption. When thawing frozen food, the refrigerator (at 41 degrees or lower) is ideal, but can take time. If the food must be thawed more quickly, the item can be placed in a water bath that maintains both a constant stream of running water through it and a temperature below 70 degrees. If the temperature gets too high, ice may be added to the bath to bring down the temperature. Be sure that any item or surface that comes in contact with raw meat does not come in contact with any other food item, including cooked meat.
When cooking food, meats and proteins in particular, it is extremely important to heat food to a proper temperature and have it consumed very soon afterwards. As the temperature drops, it becomes dangerous, as food that is between 70 degrees and 120 degrees is a perfect breeding ground for illness inducing bacteria. 165 degrees Fahrenheit is a good guideline to stick to when checking the temperature on your meat, as that is a temp that will ensure the protein is safe to eat. Certain meats can be served at lower temperatures but if you won’t remember them all, then 165 degrees is the guideline to use. For those cooks who prefer that their meat is not overdone, remember that steaks, seafood, and roasts are safe at 145 degrees. Eggs, ground beef, and pork cuts can be served at 160 degrees, while poultry like chicken must always be served at 165 degrees, no exceptions.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health, Health Care, Sanitation Tagged With: Beef mince, Cook, Pork, Temperature

Adult Acne Can Be Treatable

August 13, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

: Image by Samuel Hansen via Flickr

Gentle, sensitive skin care is likely to be more helpful than harsh treatments. Choose a gentle cleanser, exfoliant, light toner, and a moisturizer that doesn’t clog pores. Many opt to not use moisturizer, thinking that they are starving the acne by drying it out but actually, your skin will compensate by creating more oils, and when mixed with dead skin cells and microscopic debris, pores are clogged and pimples are created. If adding pimple medications like spot treatments, salicylic acid and benzoil peroxide products are fine, but should not be overly used. Make sure that your skin is regularly and gently exfoliated to remove pore clogging particles. Retinoids are a great option as well. They exfoliate the skin aiding in the reduction of both pimples and line that have formed. It’s a great option for adults needing help with both issues. Always use non-comedogenic sunscreen when retinoids are a part of your routine, as it makes you more susceptible to sun damage and irritation.

Keep your hands off your face as much as possible. Touching your face very gently with very clean hands can help make huge progress in clearing up your skin. Many breakouts are spread when people try to rupture their blemishes in an attempt to get rid of them.

All make up and skin care products should examined thoroughly. Familiarize yourself with comedogenic (pore clogging) ingredients so you will always be able to spot them and do not trust a label just because it advertises that it’s good for your skin. Many such products still contain ingredients that are acnegenic (or hospitable to acne). Petroleum products are the biggest problem, with mineral oil and petrolatum being used in many products, especially in products geared for mature customers.

For adults who deal with acne, it’s embarrassing and frustrating dealing with a situation that you thought you would be done with by adulthood. Battling pimples and wrinkles at the same time is not what most of us had in mind when we considered what being a grown up would be like. Changes in your routine or using new products may help.
Gentle, sensitive skin care is likely to be more helpful than harsh treatments. Choose a gentle cleanser, exfoliant, light toner, and a moisturizer that doesn’t clog pores. Many opt to not use moisturizer, thinking that they are starving the acne by drying it out but actually, your skin will compensate by creating more oils, and when mixed with dead skin cells and microscopic debris, pores are clogged and pimples are created. If adding pimple medications like spot treatments, salicylic acid and benzoil peroxide products are fine, but should not be overly used. Make sure that your skin is regularly and gently exfoliated to remove pore clogging particles. Retinoids are a great option as well. They exfoliate the skin aiding in the reduction of both pimples and line that have formed. It’s a great option for adults needing help with both issues. Always use non-comedogenic sunscreen when retinoids are a part of your routine, as it makes you more susceptible to sun damage and irritation.
Keep your hands off your face as much as possible. Touching your face very gently with very clean hands can help make huge progress in clearing up your skin. Many breakouts are spread when people try to rupture their blemishes in an attempt to get rid of them.
All make up and skin care products should examined thoroughly. Familiarize yourself with comedogenic (pore clogging) ingredients so you will always be able to spot them and do not trust a label just because it advertises that it’s good for your skin. Many such products still contain ingredients that are acnegenic (or hospitable to acne). Petroleum products are the biggest problem, with mineral oil and petrolatum being used in many products, especially in products geared for mature customers.

Filed Under: Doctors Notes, Health Care, Sanitation Tagged With: Acne vulgaris, Beauty, Pimple, Skin Care

Easy Habits That May Minimize Teenage Acne

August 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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While we now know that chocolate and other foods are likely not culprits in causing blemishes, there are many habits that could improve the odds of clearing up skin. Incorporating basic skin care into your routine, including using oil-free moisturizer, and exfoliating your skin gently and regularly is essential. Women who wear makeup should never sleep in it. Use a clean cotton pillowcase that you wash frequently. Wash your hair frequently enough so that you don’t transfer oils from your hands or pillow. Wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face and do not try to pop your pimples. When dirty hands and nails open a sore with bacteria and then spread it around the face, many more blemishes will naturally come up. Also, while eating certain foods, especially greasy ones that are deep fried like French fries, probably will not cause a break out, the oil from your fries very well could. Take care when eating that you don’t inadvertently touch your face with greasy fingers or get the French fries on your face at all. If you work in a place where a lot of fried food is produced, airborne oil can be a concern. Consider gently but thoroughly cleaning your skin right before and right after work and again, it would be wise to avoid touching your skin at all while at work.

Makeup and skincare can be full of many ingredients that can aggravate skin. Make sure you avoid mineral oil and petrolatum, as well as unnecessary fragrance or perfumes. While strong, sweet smelling lotions are nice to smell, they are terrible for your pores. Consider using only non-comedogenic lotions for your whole body so there is no concern for cross contamination. Spending the time, energy, and money to keep only pure products on your face is wasted if you accidentally get irritating hand lotion on your face.

Adolescence and its trials are many and varied. Mood swings, social pressures, stress about education, hormones, exhaustion, and feelings of inadequacy bombard pretty much every teen. Adding acne to the mix makes things all the more difficult and embarrassing.
While we now know that chocolate and other foods are likely not culprits in causing blemishes, there are many habits that could improve the odds of clearing up skin. Incorporating basic skin care into your routine, including using oil-free moisturizer, and exfoliating your skin gently and regularly is essential. Women who wear makeup should never sleep in it. Use a clean cotton pillowcase that you wash frequently. Wash your hair frequently enough so that you don’t transfer oils from your hands or pillow. Wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face and do not try to pop your pimples. When dirty hands and nails open a sore with bacteria and then spread it around the face, many more blemishes will naturally come up. Also, while eating certain foods, especially greasy ones that are deep fried like French fries, probably will not cause a break out, the oil from your fries very well could. Take care when eating that you don’t inadvertently touch your face with greasy fingers or get the French fries on your face at all. If you work in a place where a lot of fried food is produced, airborne oil can be a concern. Consider gently but thoroughly cleaning your skin right before and right after work and again, it would be wise to avoid touching your skin at all while at work.
Makeup and skincare can be full of many ingredients that can aggravate skin. Make sure you avoid mineral oil and petrolatum, as well as unnecessary fragrance or perfumes. While strong, sweet smelling lotions are nice to smell, they are terrible for your pores. Consider using only non-comedogenic lotions for your whole body so there is no concern for cross contamination. Spending the time, energy, and money to keep only pure products on your face is wasted if you accidentally get irritating hand lotion on your face.

Filed Under: Child Health, Doctors Notes, Health Care, Nutrition Tagged With: Acne vulgaris, Beauty, Skin Care