“People ignore arthritis both as public and personal health problems because it doesn’t kill you,” says Capt. Charles G. Helmick, M.D., a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. “But what they don’t realize is that, as people work and live longer, arthritis can affect their quality of life and lead to limitations in activities and work and eventually disability.”

link to long descriptionArthritis limits everyday activities for 8 million Americans, according to statistics compiled by the CDC. Each year, arthritis results in 750,000 hospitalizations and 36 million outpatient visits. In 1997, medical care for arthritis cost over 51 billion. The disease affects people of all ages. Nearly two-thirds of those with arthritis are younger than 65. Arthritis may affect people of all racial and ethnic groups. It is more common among women and older Americans.

Arthritis symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, inflammation, and limited movement of joints. When a joint is inflamed, it may be swollen, tender, red, or warm to the touch. In a healthy joint, the ends of the bones are covered by cartilage, a spongy material that allows almost frictionless motion between bones. In fact, Birbara says the amount of heat produced when bones normally meet is less than when two pieces of ice are rubbed together. The joints are enclosed in a capsule and lined with tissue called the synovium. This lining releases a slippery, lubricating fluid that helps the joint move smoothly and easily. Muscles and tendons support the joint and help it move. With arthritis, the cartilage may be damaged or worn away by degenerative processes or by inflammation, making movement painful and difficult. If left undiagnosed and untreated, arthritis may progress to cause irreversible damage to the joints.

Some rheumatic diseases are systemic, meaning they can affect the whole body. Diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus SLE can cause arthritis as well as damage to virtually any bodily organ or system, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, skin, and brain, and may result in debilitating, and often life-threatening, complications.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, the most common form of the disease–osteoarthritis OA–affects about 21 million people in the United States. Also called “degenerative joint disease,” OA is caused by the breakdown of cartilage and bones from the wear and tear of life, resulting in pain and stiffness. OA usually affects weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips, but an inherited form commonly affects the hands and spine. Pain and stiffness are the earliest symptoms in OA, which affects both men and women and usually occurs after age 45. Other risk factors include joint trauma, obesity, and repetitive joint use. In most cases, OA can be detected by X-rays. Treatments include medications, education, physical activity or exercise, heat or cold, joint protection, pacing activities, weight loss if overweight, self-care skills, and sometimes surgery.

Shirley has the second most common type–rheumatoid arthritis RA–an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the synovium and can lead to damage of both cartilage and the adjacent bone. RA may affect any joint but most commonly starts with inflammation in the hands and feet.

While the cause remains elusive, doctors suspect that genetic factors are important in RA. Recent studies have begun to tease out those specific genetic characteristics that make a person susceptible to developing RA. However, the inherited trait alone does not appear to fully account for the development of the illness. Researchers think this trait, along with some other unknown factor–probably in the environment–triggers the disease.

But RA can be difficult to diagnose early because it may begin gradually with subtle symptoms that usually wax and wane. According to the Arthritis Foundation, this form of arthritis affects more than 2 million people in the United States and is more common in women than men. Ironically, even when the disease appears to be relatively inactive–as measured by the patient’s pain, swelling, and stiffness–joint deterioration is likely to be progressing.

In early disease, most of the disability that patients experience is due to inflammation. In later disease, however, it is the loss of joint integrity that creates disability. This often necessitates surgical joint reconstruction or replacement procedures. Treatments for RA also include medications, exercise, rest, joint protection, and self-care skills.
Managing Arthritis and Rheumatic Conditions

For years, the pain and inflammation of arthritis have been treated using medications, local steroid injections, and joint replacement–all with varying success. Seldom did the therapies make the pain go away completely or for very long, nor did they affect the underlying joint damage.

Today’s researchers are working to improve diagnostic tools and develop treatments to forestall joint erosion. Even people whose joints are already damaged by arthritis can benefit from the knowledge generated by today’s research. Patients should consult with their doctors to determine which treatments are the most appropriate for their conditions.

Most arthritis medications fall into three categories those that relieve pain; those that reduce inflammation or the body process that causes swelling, warmth, and redness; and those that slow the disease process and limit further damage to the joints–so-called disease-modifying agents.

Pain relievers such as Tylenol acetaminophen and NSAIDs such as Motrin ibuprofen are used to reduce the pain caused by many rheumatic conditions. NSAIDs have the added benefit of decreasing the inflammation associated with arthritis. But a common side effect of NSAIDs is stomach irritation, which can often be reduced by changing the dosage or medication. Even acetaminophen has risks when taken in large doses, Kweder says.

Before safety concerns about Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra emerged in December 2004, these newer COX-2 NSAIDs were used primarily to reduce gastrointestinal side effects and offered an additional option for treatment.

Depending on the type of arthritis, a person may use a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug DMARD. This category includes several unrelated medications that are intended to slow or stop disease progress and prevent disability and discomfort. DMARDs include Rheumatrex methotrexate, Azulfidine sulfasalazine, and Arava leflunomide.

Someone diagnosed with RA today is likely to be prescribed a DMARD fairly early in the course of the disease, as doctors have found that starting these drugs early can help prevent irreparable joint damage that might otherwise occur.

Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, cortisone, methylprednisolone, and hydrocortisone, are used to treat many rheumatic conditions because they decrease inflammation and suppress the immune system. The dosage of these medications will vary depending on the diagnosis and the patient. Corticosteroids can be given by mouth or by direct injection into a joint or tendon sheath.

For Shirley, any minor relief he experienced over the 25 years was due to injections of corticosteroid preparations into his joints. The injections would relieve his pain, stiffness, and swelling temporarily. Unfortunately, corticosteroids given orally and for prolonged periods and at higher doses may carry side effects such as brittle bones, cataracts, elevated blood sugar, and an increased susceptibility to infections throughout the body.

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There&8217;s more to a vitamin supplement than meets the eye&8212;and sometimes
more than meets the label. Fillers, binders, lubricants, and the like do not haveto be listed and often aren&8217;t.

But if you&8217;d like to know what you&8217;re swallowing, the following list should help.

Diluents or fillers These are inert materials added to the tablets
to increase their bulk, in order to make them a practical size for com-
pression. Dicalcium phosphate, which is an excellent source of calcium
and phosphorus, is used in better brands. It is derived from purified
mineral rocks. It is a white powder. Sorbitol and cellulose plant fiber
are used occasionally.

Binders These substances give cohesive qualities to the powdered
materials; otherwise, the binders or granulators are the materials that hold the ingredients of the tablet together. Cellulose and ethyl cellulose are used most often. Cellulose is the main constituent of plant fiber. Occasionally, lecithin and sorbitol are used. Another binder that can be used, but that you should be aware of&8212;and look out for&8212;is

Acacia gum arabic&8212;a vegetable gum that has been declared GRAS Generally Recognized As Safe by the FDA Food and Drug Administration but which can cause mild to severe asthma attacks and rashes in asthmatics, pregnant women, and anyone prone to allergies.

Lubricants Slick substances, added to a tablet to keep it from sticking to
the machines that punch it out. Calcium stearate and silica are commonly
used. Calcium stearate is derived from natural vegetable oils. Silica is a natural white powder. Magnesium stearate can also be used.

Disintegrators Substances such as gum arabic, algin, and alginate are added
to the tablet to facilitate its breakup or disintegration after ingestion.

Colors They make the tablet more aesthetic or elegant in appear-
ance. Colors derived from natural sources, like chlorophyll, are best.

Flavors and sweeteners Used only in chewable tablets, the sweeteners are
usually fructose fruit sugar, malt dextrins, sorbitol, or maltose.

Coating material These substances are used to protect the tablet from
moisture. They also mask unpleasant flavor or odor and make the tablet eas-
ier to swallow. Zein is one of the substances. It is natural, derived from corn protein, and a clear film-coating agent. Brazil wax, which is a natural product derived from palm trees, is also frequently used.

Drying agents These substances prevent water-absorbing hydroscopic
materials from picking up moisture during processing. Silica gel is the mostcommon drying agent.

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Stress can stem from both positive and negative experiences in our lives. Positive stressors, or eustress, are situations that are perceived to be happy or good, such as weddings, childbirth or big family holidays. Negative stressors, or distress, are situations that are traumatizing or unhappy, such as the death of a loved one or an accident.

Pregnancy can be considered both a positive and negative stressor, being a time of great joy and adjustment for the expectant mother as she and her partner welcome the new addition to their family. Apart from the actual physical stress the woman’s body is subjected to during the nine months of pregnancy, the pressures of daily life are also there to put additional stress on her. Some women have to juggle the demands of their job, chores, and families along with being pregnant. In some cases, pregnant women face unhealthy situations as the break-up of their marriage, physical or emotional abuse, open infidelity or simply disinterested and uninvolved partners who prefer staying out to staying home and supporting their pregnant partners, and they experience constant stress throughout the nine month period or beyond. Extreme situations can also leave the unborn baby vulnerable to the stress the mother feels, such as malnutrition or exposure to toxins because of an unhealthy or unsanitary living conditions.

Stress can have adverse effects on the unborn child, and can sometimes be the cause of birth defects, miscarriages, pre-term delivery, or result in the death of both mother and child. Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, can be too much for the bodies of both the mother and child to handle, may possibly cause high blood pressure problems. In the mother, this may increase her risk for preeclampsia, or any number of other conditions that may complicate her pregnancy. In the unborn child, the effects can range from a lifetime of high blood pressure or other physical, mental or developmental defects.

Whatever is going on in a woman’s life during her pregnancy, the most important thing she should remember is that she must take care of her body and safeguard the life of her child. Whether the situation is positive or negative, how she deals with the stress is entirely in her hands.

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Tips On Weight Loss 1-
Eat more slowly. Because it takes some time for the body to send a message to the brain telling it that it has taken in enough food, you will probably have eaten too much before the brain gets the message. By eating more slowly, you will be reducing this effect, and this alone could well lead to weight loss, as you take in less food. By drinking water in between your bites of food, you can slow yourself down.

Tips On Weight Loss 2-
Maintain a forward thinking attitude, and be gentle with yourself. Even if something happens to temporarily derail your efforts, like a one off party or significant family event, this does not mean that you can’t get right back on track and start making progress again. Many people experience the odd setback, and dealing with these positively is a sign of character.

Tips On Weight Loss 3-
Do your food shopping when you are full. This sounds like an artificial piece of advice, but it is perfectly genuine. When you are not hungry, you will be far less tempted to fill the basket with a lot of high calorie items you don’t really need. Don’t make the mistake of going shopping when you are seriously hungry it is almost guaranteed that you will buy something unnecessary and fattening!

Tips On Weight Loss 4-
Train your body to slim while you sleep. This sounds like a utopian dream, but it is totally feasible if you put in the work to train your body. Provided you are doing the right aerobic exercises, you can also instigate a program of anaerobic exercise, such as weights or resistance training, which will strengthen and tone up your muscles. These muscles will need more fuel, and will burn extra calories. It will not take long to begin seeing the benefit.

Among the many tips on weight loss that you can find in many different place, these are some of the most useful and powerful. Click the links below to discover some important weight loss resources.

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So you dropped a contact lens, what’s the big deal? Contact lenses are made of clear transparent material that are invisible to an observer when placed on the eye. They are normally worn by the person to correct for blurred vision. How do you think a person who has blurred vision feels when he or she has to search for a nearly-invisible, very small object without the optical aid that he or she normally uses for close range vision? That’s right. It sucks!

If you see your friend crawling on the carpet with his or her face just about a foot above the floor, chances are, that person lost a contact lens! For all you contact lenses wearers out there, does this sound familiar?

If you’ve had it up to your neck with your contact lenses, how about going for a more permanent solution? If there was a way for you to stop wearing your contact lenses, or any other eyewear for that matter, while still having clear vision, would you do it? Is that a YES?

Did you just say yes? YES! You see, my friend, there is this eye procedure called LASIK surgerythat can help you get rid of your contact lenses permanently. LASIK surgery was the most common eye procedure performed in the United States last year, and the reason it has become so popular is because it can fix some vision problems like myopia and astigmatism permanently. With your vision problems gone, you won’t have to look for your contact lenses ever again! Good riddance!

LASIK surgery has produced very good results, that it is definitely worth learning more about it.

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One of the most common ongoing problems with oral hygiene is people refusing or forgetting to bush their teeth on a daily basis. This eventually leads to plaque and other bacteria build up in the mouth which can cause cavities and an unpleasant odor in the mouth which can lower a person’s self esteem by making them more self conscious of themselves and lead to other physical and mental problems.

Cavities are an annoyance but must be avoided if given the possible chance. Hundreds of years ago the connection between poor oral hygiene and cavities may have not been considered common knowledge or even have been discovered but in today’s world where maintaining a healthy body is now important people understand that not brushing your teeth can lead to cavities. Cavities can cause pain in your mouth causing intense pain from any physical contact such as hard foods to your tongue to temperature changes like cold and hot water. Cavities also cause an unpleasant odor which can be noticed by other people within the vicinity.

When other people begin to notice another person’s poor oral hygiene it may have negative affects toward that person such as making them more self conscious about their blacked teeth from the cavities and unpleasant odor that they brought along with them to the social event which can lead to many social problems and missed opportunities. Maintaining a healthy mouth can lead to many positive effects in one’s life.

Another common problem that people have is the misalignment of their teeth. However this problem can be solved by the use of braces. Unlike plastic surgery or other methods of physically changing your appearance of one’s self it is usually done at the whim of their choice. Though physically changing your appearance is usually looked down upon, changing how your teeth looks is more accepted as a medical correction to a deformity.

Teeth weren’t meant to come out crooked or spaced out and therefore are accepted easily by the society when braces or even drastic measures such as surgery is used to correct the alignment of one’s teeth. One reason why this is accepted is that a healthy mouth leads to a healthy life as it is important in society as a person usually needs their mouth to talk to communicate, show emotions, and affections. It won’t be as easy if they keep their mouth shut tight. It is also important in one’s diet where they will need their healthy maintained teeth to properly chew to be able to swallow many of their favorite solid foods.

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Although the experiment cant explain the exact phenomenon that leads to the development of autism in people, the results suggest that autistic people present abnormalities in a region of the brain called hippocampus. When researchers deleted the PTEN gene in the hippocampus of mice, the results were remarkable. The mice with the PTEN gene deleted quickly began to follow the behavioral patterns generated by autism in humans. The abnormal mice showed clear signs of impairment at the levels of social interactions, rapidly losing their interest in other mice. The mice with the PTEN gene deleted suffered a pronounced decrease of their sensorial perceptions and quickly showed signs of poor adaptation to unknown environments and new situations.

From a physiological point of view, the abnormal mice had very thick nerve cells and presented dysfunctions of myelin, the substance that surrounds the bodys neurons, enabling the transmission of nervous impulses. These anatomical abnormalities characteristic to the mice with the PTEN gene deleted are a huge step forward in understanding the occurrence of autism in humans. Nevertheless, now that medical scientists have been able to simulate the symptoms of autism in mice, new medical treatments can be tested in an attempt to reverse the neurological damage caused by the disorder.

The medical scientists who conducted the experiment were able to reveal many similarities between the behaviors of mice with the PTEN gene deleted and the behaviors of people with autism. The abnormal mice involved in the experiment showed a lot more interest in various objects rather than in other mice. They also became passive, and withdrawn, avoiding any form of interaction with other mice. They began to show signs of poor adaptability, failing to integrate into new environments. Also, the mice with the deleted gene became stressed when confronted with new situations, unlike normal mice, which didnt experience difficulties in adapting to unknown scenarios. The major difference, however, was that unlike autistic people, the abnormal mice didnt show any signs of repetitive behaviors or insistence on sameness.

The overall results of the experiment reveal a strong connection between the PTEN gene and abnormal behavioral patterns. However, medical scientists arent yet able to tell if dysfunctions of this particular gene are also responsible for causing autism in humans.

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Studies have shown that people eating a diet high in protein typically burn more fat than those eating a low-protein diet. One reason this occurs is because of the thermic effect. The thermic effect is the energy our body uses to consume and process food. Calories are burned during the process. Since protein requires more energy to digest, more calories are burned in the process and less fat is stored in the body. On the other hand, carbohydrates and dietary fat are much easier to digest, but they are quickly turned to body fat and few calories are burned.

A Day’s Work for Protein and Weight Loss

One day may consist of many meals or only a few. Consider this – the thermic effect is at its peak about an hour after you eat. Therefore, it’s important how you take in your calories throughout the day. If you eat three large meals and a snack or two in one day, your body works extra hard about an hour after each meal to process the food. The problem is your body will become extremely fatigued while trying to process large meals. This causes you to be less active and to burn fewer calories.

One way to get your body moving in the digestion process is to eat five to six small meals per day. Eating small meals will enable your body to digest and burn calories without burning you out. The meals will be easier to digest, and by adding more protein, you’ll be burning calories more often throughout the day! This is why protein and weight loss go hand in hand.

Sources of Protein

There are many sources of protein, from food to vitamin supplements. You shouldn’t eat only protein because your body needs many other sources of good nutrition as well. You can, however, add more protein to your diet and eat a healthy balance of all necessary foods. Adding more protein increases your metabolism so your body can more easily burn all calories.

Some of the richest sources of protein include meat, chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, and cheese. There are also plant proteins, which are found in beans soy beans included, nuts and seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, and lentils.

There are also other sources of protein such as Herbalife products, vitamin supplements, and protein-rich shakes for meal replacement. Some examples include Shapeworks, La Bamba Herbalife or La Bamba Diet, and other Herbal Life products. These nutritional supplements and others offer an easy source of protein without having to eat so many meals throughout the day.

As you can see, protein can contribute tremendously to your dieting efforts. Use the guide above about protein and weight loss to start living healthier today!

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“A lung disease characterised by 1, variable and reversible airway obstruction; 2, airway inflammation; and 3, bronchial hyper-responsiveness.”

Asthma is a disease where bronchial tubes are sensitive to irritants, which cause them to inflame and produce difficult breathing. The inflammation can cause,

contraction of muscles around the air passages,
swelling of the airway lining due to airway inflammation, and,
excessive mucus in the airways.

Asthma occurs in most western countries and is the leading chronic illness of children.

Asthma, in some cases, cannot be cured, but for most patients it can be controlled so that they have only minimal and infrequent symptoms and they can live an active life.

If you have asthma, managing it is an important part of your life. Controlling your asthma means staying away from things that bother your airways and taking medicines or natural remedies as directed by your doctor.

When a person experiences a worsening of their asthma symptoms, it is called an asthma episode or, in severe cases, an asthma attack. During an asthma attack, smooth muscles around the bronchial tubes contract, making the airway openings narrower so less air can flow through. Inflammation increases and the airways become more swollen and narrow. Cells in the airways also make more mucus than usual, which narrows the airways further. The changes to the airways cause the symptoms of asthma.

Asthma attacks are not all the same-some are worse than others. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not enough oxygen gets to vital organs. This condition is a medical emergency. People can die from severe asthma attacks. A person suffering from an asthma attack has a sensation similar to drowning.

Learning the warning signs or asthma symptoms can often alert a sufferer in time to take preventive action, such as medication or natural remedies.

Asthma attacks can occur over a long period of time. Although there are times when acute episodes strike asthmatics, most asthma sufferers say that there are long periods during which they suffer few, if any, asthma symptoms.

Here are some asthma symptoms

Coughing. Coughing in people with asthma is often worse at night or early in the morning, making it hard for them to sleep. This may be the only symptom a child with asthma has.
Wheezing. Wheezing is a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe.
A tight feeling in the chest. This can feel like someone is squeezing or sitting on your chest.
Shortness of breath. Asthma sufferers often say they can’t catch their breath, or they feel breathless or out of breath.
Narrowing of the air passages in the lungs and hence increased resistance to airflow.
Significant reversibility with steroid drugs
Symptom-free periods
Frequent occurrence of allergy
Inflammation of the air passages
Bronchial hyper-responsiveness to non-specific stimuli such as cold air, air pollution, pollen, dust, or other irritants
Asthma symptoms brought on by exercises
Coughing or wheezing brought on by prolonged crying or laughing

Not all people have these symptoms, and symptoms may vary from one asthma attack to another. Some symptoms are mild and some are life threatening.

Symptoms also differ in how often they occur. Some people with asthma only have symptoms once every few months, others have symptoms every week, and still other people have symptoms every day.

Learn how to use natural remedies to reduce asthma attacks and to eliminate many of the asthma symptoms

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