Treating Dandruff

Caused by the excessive shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp, dandruff can cause self esteem and social problems. As the skin continuously replaces itself, cells push outward, die, and flake away. The skin of the scalp is the same as the skin on the rest of the body, and its skin cells mature and shed about every thirty days. In people with dandruff, skin cells mature and shed every two to seven days, creating large amounts of flaking on the scalp. While mild dandruff can be a nuisance, severe dandruff can be a symptom of a more serious skin problem such as fungal infections, psoriasis, and seborrhoeic dermatitis.
Shampooing more frequently with a mild shampoo to decrease cell buildup and oil will treat mild cases of dandruff. More stubborn cases of dandruff require medicated shampoos to rid the scalp of greasy scales and buildup. Speak with your doctor if you suspect that you may have seborrhoeic dermatitis. If you merely have a bad case of dandruff, you can try an over-the-counter product, such as:
Selsin and Exsel shampoos contain selenium sulfide.
Pert Plus, Head & Shoulders, and generic dandruff shampoos contain pyrithione zinc.
Tegrin and Neutrogena T/Gel contain coal tar preparations.
Sebulex contains salicylic acid and sulfur.
If one brand of shampoo initially loses its effectiveness, you may need to switch brands and try another. Your doctor can also prescribe a medicated shampoo, such as ketoconazole, to help control heavy dandruff. The most effective antifungal, ketoconazole should only be used in cases of severe scaling and flaking.
If you suffer with dandruff, most manufacturers recommend that you use a medicated shampoo daily, allowing the product to lather and sit on the scalp for at least five minutes. Since shampoo and soap residue can exacerbate skin conditions, make sure to rinse thoroughly. Allow your hair to hair dry since using heated blow dryers can cause dryscalp problems. Always brush your hair firmly to carry oils from your scalp to the ends of your hair, but never dig the scalp when combing.
Avoid harsh chemicals and hair dyes if you have severe dandruff, since they tend to dry out the scalp. Improve your nutrition and eat a balanced diet containing fruits, vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Take vitamins and supplements formulated specifically for healthy hair and scalp.
If your scalp develops redness, scabbing, or swelling, with patches of oozing fluid, stop using all dandruff products and see your doctor as soon as possible. Such signs can be symptoms of psoriasis or ringworm.

Preventing Obesity

obesity is a national epidemic and is costing our healthcare system millions of dollars in preventable illnesses. You can help yourself and your family lead healthier, more productive lives if you understand the causes of obesity and what can be done to avoid it.
Obesity, like other eating disorders, has many causes and components to it. Some of the better-known causes include:
Genes and Heredity. Obesity tends to run in families where genetics and environmental factors combine to increase the likelihood of overeating. If your parents are sedentary, you are more likely to be as well.
Societal Pressures and Environmental Factors. Our cultural exposure, especially in the U.S., has increasingly been overwhelmed with food. Whether through advertisements for fast food or diet treatments, we are constantly bombarded with images of food. Our environment is increasingly sedative, with few opportunities for physical activity. You need to increase the opportunities available for you and your children to be active to avoid obesity in yourself and in your children.
Physical Causes. There are some physical conditions that can interfere with the body's way of moderating calorie consumption. Damage to the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite, can cause obesity. Other diseases may increase the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, which is known to increase the appetite. Hypothyroidism, a condition where the body's metabolism slows way down, is one of the significant causes of obesity in adults and children.
There are also medications that can cause obesity. Some steroids and migraine medications are known to cause weight gain by increasing the amount of fluid the body holds. Antidepressants and other stress treatments can cause increased weight gain.
Though there may be underlying physical or psychological conditions that make obesity worse, the fact of the matter is if you eat a diet of high calories/ high fat and get very little exercise you will gain weight. If you are overeating because of poor body image and depression, you need to address the underlying mental issues that are contributing to overeating.
Overcoming eating disorders is not easy and will require the help of trained professionals. A healthy body image and healthy mindset about weight are keys to avoiding eating disorders. By staying away from the scale and enjoying food because of its healthy taste and the way it strengthens your body you can begin to view your body in a different and healthy way.

Lazy Eye-prevent It

Amblyopia is more commonly known as Lazy Eye. Lazy Eye or Amblyopia is an eye condition characterized by reduced vision, which cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses.




Amblyopia is not caused by any eye disease. In this condition, the brain does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the Amblyopic Eye. Amblyopic almost always affects only one eye but in some instances may manifest itself with reduced vision in both eyes. The majority of Lazy Eye sufferers are young children. Amblyopia tends to occur most often during the first years of life when eye sight is still developing.

Both eyes must receive clear images during the critical early developmental period of eyesight (birth to six year). Anything that interferes with clear vision in either eye during this critical time can result in Amblyopia. The most common causes of Amblyopia are as follows:

constant Atrabismus (constant turn of one eye)

Anisometropia (different vision/prescriptions in each eye)

blockage of an eye due to trauma

lid droop

Amblyopia is a neurological condition brought on by any one or more of the above causes. The brain will start to suppress or block the weak eye and this inhibition process can result in a permanent decrease in the vision in that eye that can not be corrected with glasses, lenses, or lasik surgery. Much of the time parents and children can be completely unaware of this condition, thus allowing the condition to continue to progress causing irreversible damage to occur.

Taking care of Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the deadly diseases prominent in men due to the various factors like:

Age
Testosterone
Heredity
Improper diet
Most of the prostate cancer patients are found over the age of 50 and the risk ascends with the old age. Though the exact causes of prostate cancer are not known however, the discussed factors have been the contributed factors which grow and spread through out. The prostate gland develops the abnormal, uncontrolled growth of cells that causes tumour. The gland develops into walnut size which lies under the reproductive system deep under the pelvis.

Prostate is located in front of the rectum and underneath the urinary bladder surrounding the urethra. It contains cells that produce the seminal fluid which supports and nurtures sperm cells in semen. The cancerous cells start in outer part of the prostate and gradually grow. Some men’s can live without even knowing the condition that they are developing prostate cancer. Early prostate cancer is constraint to prostate gland while with the going time it spreads to other vital parts like bones, lymph nodes and other organs.

Prevalent symptoms

The symptoms of prostate cancer appears with the age and time as early diagnose would not often show symptoms. The following are the symptoms:

Frequent urination during night
Pain or inflammation during passing of urine
Inability or difficulty in urination
Blood in urine or semen
Pain in lower back, hip and thighs
Painful ejaculation
Treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer can be treated today with number of techniques available as these therapies can be performed both internally and externally to remove cancerous cells. Some of these therapies are:

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is an extensive way of treating prostate gland as this technique has two ways of treatment one is through external radiation therapy and the other is Brachytherapy.

External radiation therapy is used externally in which beams are injected towards the tumour and it usually takes five to six days to recover. This therapy is painless but often results in side effects such as hair loss, skin soreness, nausea and loss of appetite.

In Brachytherapy (internal therapy) some radioactive pellets are implanted through surgery using thin needles.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is basically used in the later stage when cancer has spread beyond the prostate. It uses some chemicals which kill the cancerous cells and time taken by this therapy is less than a day.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is another affective way to treat prostate cancer as in this technique the physician takes ultrasound and probe is instilled into the rectum so that diagnose can be viewed on the monitor. Then the probes are inserted into the prostate using small incisions between rectum and scrotum. With the help of probes liquid nitrogen is delivered to the prostate which freezes the tissue killing the cancerous cells.

Prostate removal

In this measure of treatment prostate is removed which is called as prostatectomy. This measure is one of the curative ways to cease prostate cancer yet it has been reported some side effects.

Prostate removal is being done in two ways as one way is removing prostate through incision in the abdomen. In the other method which is called perineal prostatectomy the prostate is removed via an incision between the scrotum and anus.

TURP

Transurethral resection of the prostate is a procedure which separates the portion of prostate using an instrument that is instilled through the urethra. The cancerous cells are removed from the prostate by passing electricity through the end of special instrument.

Tips against Diplopia

The leading cause of Diplopia or Double Vision is Convergence Insufficiency.




Diplopia occurs when the eyes are not aimed at the same target. The slight eye turn found in Diplopia the patient in many instances will report seeing everything twice, “Double Vision”. Convergence Insufficiency is an eye muscle condition in which the eyes do not cross or converge when looking upon an object at close range, thus causing difficulty seeing things close up. Convergence Insufficiency is the leading cause of eyestrain, blurry vision, Diplopia (Double Vision), and/or headaches. Consult with a doctor for more information regarding Diplopia and/or Convergence Insufficiency as well as diagnosis and treatment options.

EYE Health Tips-1(CATARACT)

A Cataract is a clouding of the eyes natural lens. The eye’s lens focuses light in order to produce clear images for the brain can interpret the images.




The lens is held within a sealed bag or capsule inside of the eye just behind the iris. As cells become old and die, they become trapped within the capsule or lens covering. As time passes and more and more cells die and become trapped the dead cells accumulate causing the lens to cloud. This clouding known as Cataracts causes images to look blurred or fuzzy. For most people, Cataracts are a natural result of aging; however certain other eye conditions can speed up the accumulation of dead cells upon the eye lens.

If you are suffering from the blurred or limited vision caused by Cataracts there have been many advancements to the Cataract Surgery that can provide much hope. After the Cataract is removed, an intraocular lens is required to replace the focusing power of the natural lens. The intraocular lens implant provides clearest vision at a single focal distance, whether the distance is far or near. As a result, patients that have undergone Cataract Surgery will require the use of glasses to see near or far distances clearly depending on the focal distance of the intraocular lens. The need for glasses can be reduced with Monovision. With Monovision, one intraocular lens is focused for near vision and the other for distances. Over time, the brain becomes accustom to interpreting the clearest vision depending on distance. Monovision can therefore eliminate the need for glasses. Cataract Surgeries are now being performed using only very small incisions that do not require stitches. Consult with your doctor on the various surgical solutions to the eye condition known as Cataracts.