What Are The Options In Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Because there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment is directed at controlling your symptoms and helping you feel better.

There are some medications that will slow the degree of joint damage you will experience.

There are several types of drugs used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Some are relatively easy to tolerate, while others have serious side effects that you should be aware of.

Doctors usually start with the medications that are easiest to tolerate first.

Here are some good treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.

Steroid medications, such as prednisone or prednisolone, are helpful in that they reduce the pain and inflammation of the joints and can reduce the rate of joint damage. 

Unfortunately, they have side effects, such as osteoporosis, diabetes, and weight gain. 

Steroids are especially good when you have flares of the disease and are not meant to take chronically.

NSAID medication. These include medications like ibuprofen and naproxen (unless you get one prescribed by the doctor). 

They are not without side effects, however, and these include liver damage, kidney damage, and irritation of the stomach, heart problems, and tinnitus.

Anti-Rheumatic drugs. These medications can actually lessen the damage done by the autoantibodies so that the joints aren’t permanently damaged. 

Medications in this class include Plaquenil, Azulfidine, methotrexate, and leflunomide. 

Because they can affect your immune system, they can cause side effect including suppression of your bone marrow, lung infections, and liver problems.

Biologic medications. These represent a new class of medications that act on the immune system so that there are less inflammation and less joint damage. 

They can cause an increase in infections because they affect the immune system. Choices of biologic medications include adalimumab, abatacept, certolizumab, rituximab, and infliximab.

Physical therapy. You may wish to see a physical therapist who can help you learn various exercises that will keep your joints more flexible. 

They may also help you learn how to do things around the house that don’t involve using your hands. 

Devices may be prescribed for you that will help you do things without stressing the joints too much.

Surgery can be done that can repair the damage to your joints. This includes things like joint replacement in which the damaged joints are removed and a prosthetic joint is put in its place. 

Tendons can also be repaired. In the worst case scenario, the surgeon can fuse the joints together so they don’t rub against one another.

How To Prevent Stroke?

There are different ways to prevent a stroke depending on the type of stroke you are trying to prevent.

There are some things you can do that prevent a certain type of stroke but that has the potential to worsen another type of stroke.

The following are some things you can do to prevent a stroke:

Maintain a normal blood pressure 

This holds true for all kinds of stroke. If your blood pressure is too high, it contributes to arterial spasm and increases the risk of thrombotic stroke.

If the blood pressure is too high, it can push the blood clot in the heart from the heart valve into the circulatory system of the brain, resulting in an embolic stroke.

In a completely different way, high blood pressure can cause hemorrhagic strokes. 

If there is a weakness in the walls of any part of the brain’s circulatory system, high blood pressure can cause that weak area to open up, resulting in the kind of bleeding you see in a hemorrhagic stroke.

According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure is the number one controllable risk factor for stroke.

Family history and obesity factor in developing high blood pressure and women who take birth control pills or have reached menopause are at higher risk.

A healthy lifestyle helps but for many, medications are required.

Maintain normal cholesterol

Cholesterol is what makes up part of the plaques that contribute to getting a thrombotic stroke.

If you maintain a good level of cholesterol, the plaques don’t build up so much and the chance that a blood clot can form in the arteries is much less.

You can keep a good cholesterol level by eating food that is low in cholesterol or by taking medications designed to lower the cholesterol level.

High levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol raise the risk of heart disease and stroke; high levels of "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol lower it.

Studies show women's cholesterol is higher than men's from age 45 on and that low levels of HDL cholesterol seem to be a stronger risk factor for women.

Stop smoking

Smoking has the potential to raise your blood pressure, increasing the risk of all kinds of strokes.

Smoking also contributes to plaque formation in the walls of the blood vessels so that the risk of thrombotic stroke increases.

The longer you smoke, the greater is the risk of developing all kinds of heart disease, including that of thrombotic stroke.

Take a baby aspirin

Baby aspirin is a commonly used medication used to prevent the recurrence of a heart attack in a patient who has already had a heart attack.

Aspirin is a platelet inhibitor, which means that it blocks platelets from sticking together and forming a blood clot. This same phenomenon can work in the prevention of both thrombotic strokes and embolic strokes.

If the platelets cannot form a blood clot, it will prevent a blood clot from forming on a heart valve so that it can’t travel to an area of the brain, leading to an embolic stroke.

In the same way, when platelets are blocked from forming a clot inside a narrowed area of the blood vessels leading to the brain, this thwarts the onset of a thrombotic stroke.

Diet and Exercise

Thirty minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can help prevent heart and blood vessel disease and control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as lower blood pressure.

People with excess body fat, especially around the waist are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke. Eat healthy foods low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

Diabetes

Diabetes is associated with high blood pressure and interferes with the ability to break down clots, increasing the risk of ischemic stroke. Lifestyle modifications and medications can help.

Living a healthy lifestyle so that the blood pressure is reduced, smoking is not a problem, and cholesterol is kept within normal levels will go a long way toward reducing the incidence of all kinds of strokes.

If you are concerned about stroke, or any type of heart disease it is a great idea to see your doctor and get a full physical and relevant screenings to be sure that there is not more that you can do to ensure you remain in optimal health.

Your friends and family will suggest that you go see a doctor so that you can avoid the horrors of a stroke. You will want to get annual physicals and regular checkups to see if you are at risk for a stroke or heart disease.

With the high cholesterol, you will be at risk for a stroke and you will need to be kept under strict control to help prevent this disease from taking effects on you.

Other risk factors include family history, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity, heavy alcohol consumption, and being overweight.

Talk to your doctor. Find out your risks and take action.

For more information check it here: How To Reduce The Dangers Of Stroke?

What Is The Natural Way Of Colon Cleansing?

Herbs are used to detoxify the body from waste and toxins.

Herbal medicines including dietary fibers were not fully recognized for their medical significance until recently when various studies have been conducted to understand the benefits derived from herbs.

Herbs, especially those with dietary fibers, are excellent in reducing total blood cholesterol — cutting the risk of coronary heart disease. 

Aside from that, dietary fibers also help in alleviating numerous bowel disorders.

There are two categories of dietary fibers — soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fibers may be dissolved in water.

Insoluble fibers do not dissolve. Both of these fibers help in regulating bowel movements.

Psyllium is a natural, water-soluble, gel-reducing fiber that is extracted from the husks of blond psyllium seeds. 

It is also a member of a class of soluble fibers referred to as mucilages.

These mucilages are used as a thickening and stabilizing agents in most salad dressings, lotions, soap, and creams.

Likewisem psyllium is used to fight a variety of digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, diverticular disease and colitis.

It is utilized by most colon cleansing programs as a means of preventing colon cancer.

The reason for this, most of the diet of people today is made up of meat products, fats, and sugar that are often low in fiber content.

These foods tend to slow down intestinal transit time resulting in irregular bowel movements.

Moreover, these types of foods usually take two days to transit the intestines, often resulting in constipation.

An irregular bowel movement allows for bacterial putrefaction and exposes you to carcinogenic substances within the colon.

Dietary fibers help in stool bulking as well as in softening stools.

A stool that is larger, softer and bulkier moves through the intestine more easily and more quickly since less exertion is required.

This type of bowel movement is ideal for the intestinal wall since very little force has to be applied.

Likewise, hemorrhoids and development of diverticular disease and varicose veins are prevented.

The bulking effect of dietary fibers also rids the colon of toxic substances since it acts like a sponge soaking up toxic substances attached to the walls of the intestines.

This spongy action of dietary fibers is also ideal for those trying to lose some weight as it decreases hunger.

Dietary fibers are also useful in cases of diarrhea since they slow down a too rapid transfer time.

It stabilizes bowel movements and often times are used to control alternating cases of diarrhea and constipation.

They also encourage the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacteria that are very helpful in regulating bowel movement.

There is only one problem with these fibers.

They have the tendency to slow down the stomach’s emptying of food into the small intestine and increase blood glucose instead.

On the positive side, fibers are also found to stimulate pancreatic enzymes that can be beneficial in the management of diabetes.

Please consult your doctor for advice before making any dietary changes.

10 Tips To Deal With Allergy

Dealing with allergy?

Check these 10 tips to help you deal with them.


1. It is better not to eat any kinds of nuts even if you are aware of the specific type of nut you are allergic to.
Determine carefully the content of what you are buying because nuts are not only present in some food products but are also used as ingredients in shampoos, soaps, and lotions.


2. Stress, tension and anxiety can also trigger allergies.
Try to determine the causes and deal with it by relaxation, meditation, reflection and other kinds of coping technique.  Drink milk before sleeping at night it can greatly contribute to a good rest thus decreases your potential to be stressed out.


3. Always be ready because allergic reactions may occur anytime and anywhere.
Imagine different situations in advance about having an allergy and how you can handle it if you are away from your home.  This will help you prepare and think for your safety first than panic and not do anything at all.


4. If your children have food allergies, teach them not to accept any food given by their friends, classmates or anyone without your confirmation.
Let them know what they are allergic to and the symptoms they will manifest in order for them to seek help from adults or their school clinic when it occur.


5. Avoid all kinds of milk and dairy products if you have a milk allergy.
Make sure to have an alternative nutrition or substitute milk nutrients by eating calcium-rich foods and Vitamin D.  Consider eating more spinach and broccoli or talk to a dietitian to provide you with a more planned diet.


6. Supplement yourself with vitamin C. Vitamin C functions as a natural anti-allergy.
A recommended intake of 1000 mg of vitamin C taken two times a day can be a natural treatment for the relief of your allergies and asthma.  It should be taken from fresh citrus fruits not canned juice or processed foods.


7. Taking a bath before going to sleep at night is recommended for those who have allergies with pollen.
It is difficult to avoid pollen but reducing your exposure can be attainable.  Stay inside especially on hot, dry and windy days.  Always close your windows and doors with your air conditioner on.


8. A carpeted floor is not recommended for those with dust allergies.
It will trigger sneezing and itchiness continuously.  Otherwise, purchase a vacuum cleaner to clean it more often.  Bed covers should also be changed often to keep from setting in.  Leaving your footwear outside your room is also a good idea to prevent more dust.


9. It is best not to share your bedroom with your pets especially if you have allergies.
Place them in a separate room to avoid inhaling their hair and dead skin cells.  Sometimes others who have a different type of allergy may develop an allergic reaction to pets more often to those who share a bed with their pets.


10. Wear gloves and mask when dusting or cleaning your house to prevent inhalation of dust.
Keep your stuffed toys or place them in a sealed plastic wrap.  Always wash floor rags to prevent the growth of molds. Make sure to vacuum or clean under your bed and always use a damp cloth to wipe the dust off.

What Are Some Tips In Dealing With Back Pain?

If you suffer from back pain and are looking for ways to deal with it, this article will give you information, tips and tricks, on how you can do just that. 

Read through and see which ones will fit your particular circumstances, so that you can begin to deal with the pain.

Believe it or not, sleep is actually an essential part of healing from back injuries. 

Your body does most of its repair work at night when you are relaxed and sleeping and can dedicate all of your energy to healing. 

If you are experiencing chronic back pain, then good sleep is as important as good medicine.

If you suffer from issues with the cartilage in your spine, you can avoid pain by avoiding sitting for long periods of time. 

Sitting compresses the disks in your spine, because it causes your abdomen to press backwards. 

You can also try reclining or using a lumbar cushion if you must sit and take frequent breaks to stand up.

Try not to stand for long periods of time. Doing this can cause a back injury because of all the strain that you are putting your body through. 

If you have a job that causes you to be on your feet all day, make sure to sit on your breaks, and when you get home you rest for a little.

Stretches and flexibility exercises can go a long way in preventing and even getting rid of back pain. 

If these stretches are done properly and according to guided direction you will see the results. 

Yoga is a good idea for certain situations, and especially for preventative measures. Talk to your doctor, and do all that you can for prevention of back pain.

Many people confuse resting and relaxation with each other. Resting is necessary to help prevent back pain, but too much rest can actually hinder it. 

Once you rest, you must begin to relax or else you are not fully benefiting from your time of rest. 

Relaxing is realizing your position and allowing your body to surrender to relaxation.

Just like with any other type of illness, regular checkups with your doctor can go a long way in preventing back pain and various back problems. 

Your doctor is trained to keep an eye out for such complications and symptoms, and he or she can do a lot of things for you.

Keeping your back, pain free, is usually a couple of fairly simple techniques. If you are hurting in a certain spot try massaging the muscle group around that particular area. 

Do a few stretches and apply a heating pad. Some people also find it helpful to use a vibrating chair like the ones at the mall.

As you can see, there are many different causes for back pain and just as many different ideas as to what will help. 

This article gave you ideas on how you can deal with your particular issues. Always remember to see your doctor first, before trying any of the above ideas.

What Is The Best Cure For Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a very common digestive disorder yet hard to get diagnosed accurately at once.  

This is because the digestive track is a very complex part of the body, unbelievably compressed inside the stomach.  

The small intestine alone measures an approximate 21 feet long, making it hard to imagine how it added bulk to the body trunk. 

Imagine how the body mechanism works hard 24 hours, seven days a week in every food processing taking place in the digestive system?  

If an automobile needs overhauling out of wear and tear, the counterpart of that in human body functioning is getting sick and being given the right medicine. 

Talking specifically of IBS, once diagnosed, options to have relief vary.  IBS is a very tricky condition especially if it is associated as a symptom of another disease.

Generally, IBS is buried in every stomach dysfunction considered chronic and broad in nature with no exact cause but diagnosed based on the patterns developed in a patient.

Although there are some lists of medicines for specifically for IBS, there is no exact cure other than management of symptoms. 

There are categories of medicines for other broad IBS linked discomforts to alleviate the symptoms follows:

1. Laxatives – to ease bowel movements and promote fecal softening

2. Corticosteroids and Inhibitors – a medication for Crohn’s Disease as linked to IBS and for ulcerative colitis

3. Anti-diarrheal Medicines and Oral rehydration solutions – aids in suppressing the attacks of diarrhea and its effect of robbing the body of the necessary fluids.  

The combination of both drugs will work to control the embarrassing and consequential dehydration if the diarrhea worsens.

4. Antacids – helps ease stomach pain due to excessive acid production the stomach to those who are suffering from hyperacidity.

Among these medications, choose one that suits you best. But check first what your doctor recommends that would be right for you.

Taking medicines to relieve IBS helps temporarily until one gets nauseated enough to look for permanent cure.  

Instead of getting imprisoned by medicine dependency, changing into having healthy lifestyle may pave way to a good start. 

Shifting to a healthy diet by eliminating synthetic and allergy-causing foods is one of the best preventive measures in giving the stomach some rest. 

These solutions may sound universal, but basically people never know the abuses done to the body until it is signaling “red alert” thru body discomforts. 

Like a machine, food digestion is one the body’s basic and important task.  It is all about what the body is taking.

Therefore, managing IBS is all about having quality food intake to prevent getting into stomach trouble.  

What Are The Available Treatments For Acid Reflux?

In a normal digestive process, the partially digested food is being forwarded by muscular movements from the stomach to the intestines. 

However, for some people, the stomach contents travel back to the esophagus from the stomach. This condition is known as acid reflux.

Common symptoms of this disease include heartburn, difficulty in swallowing, regurgitation, chest pains, dental erosion, hoarseness, asthma, dyspepsia, vomiting, and many others.

If not properly treated, acid reflux can last for several months. But drug treatment can play an essential part in the treatment process of a patient.

The most common medications used in dealing with acid reflux include the following:

Antacids. These drugs are used to neutralize the acids in the digestive tract and are primarily taken in for relief of mild symptoms, such as occasional episodes of indigestion and heartburn. 

They also act to incite the defensive mechanisms of our stomach by building up the secretion of mucous and bicarbonate. Most antacids can be bought over the counter even without a medical prescription. 

Moreover, these drugs are one of the first to be recommended by professionals to lessen the pain brought about by heartburn or mild symptoms. 

The three basic ingredients of antacids are magnesium, calcium, and aluminum.

Acid suppressants such as histamine blockers are also commonly used. Histamine blockers obstruct the production of stomach acids by alienating the actions of histamine. 

Histamine is a chemical in the body that promotes the production and secretion of acids in the stomach. 

Anti-histamines are available even without prescription and offers relief of symptoms in most of the patients with frequent acid reflux. Patients have to wait for 30 to 90 minutes for these drugs to take effect. 

But their effect also lasts six to 24 hours. In cases of severe symptoms, a patient may have to take two dosages a day. 

In some researches, histamine blockers have shown to improve asthmatic symptoms in those who endure from both acid reflux and asthma. 

However, in a study dated 2001, it was suggested that histamine blockers occasionally impart complete relief of symptoms for dyspepsia and heartburn.

Proton pump inhibitors are also employed as a medication. They act to trim down the production of stomach acids by reacting with the cells found in the stomach wall which produce and release acids into the stomach. 

However, researches have revealed that the use of proton pump inhibitors poses some concerns. Side effects, although uncommon, include diarrhea, headache, itching, and nausea. Moreover, these drugs should also be stayed away from by pregnant and breast-feeding mothers.

Another medication that is generally handled is the use of agents which protect the mucus lining in the gastrointestinal region. This kind of drug acts by attaching to an ulcer crater so that it will be guarded from damage caused by digestive acids. 

It is advisable for people undergoing maintenance therapy with mild or moderate acid reflux conditions. Likewise, it has minor side effects, including constipation.

Anti-spasm drugs are also utilized to prevent acid and even non-acid reflux. A gamma-amino acid butyric acid agonist, an anti-spasm drug is generally used to abate the spasms in the muscles. 

Unlike most medicines used for acid reflux, it can also lessen non-acid refluxes and amplify the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter, a muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach and prevents backing up of stomach contents.

Relieve Your Pain With A Better Arthritis Diet

People who suffer from arthritis are always looking for ways to relieve their pain.  One way to ease or even prevent it is through an arthritis diet. 

There are some arthritis diets that some people will swear by, but have never been proven to make a difference.  There are some diets that make a definite difference according to health experts.

First, we’ll take a look at some arthritis diets where there’s little or no evidence that they actually make a difference.  

One of the most common arthritis diets is to eliminate potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and most peppers. 

While the diet won’t do any harm, it hasn’t been proven to affect arthritis at all.  

Another arthritis diet seeks to reduce the acids in one’s body eliminating sugar, coffee, red meat, most grains, nuts, and citrus fruits.  It’s intended to be followed for just one month. 

People may feel better because they lose weight which reduces the stress on their joints, but again there is no evidence to support this.  It also excludes many sources of vitamin C which is essential in fighting arthritis. 

Drinking green tea has been shown to reduce the effects of rheumatoid arthritis in mice, but there are no conclusive results on human studies yet.  

Shark cartilage is supposed to relieve arthritis.  Animal and lab studies show promise, but there are no human studies to support this yet. 

Now let’s take a look at some arthritis diets that have been shown to work.  Switching fats can reduce inflammation.  

Eating fats found in red meat and poultry have actually been shown to increase inflammation. 

Switching to cold water fish can help reduce the inflammation.  Using corn, safflower, and sunflower oils also helps. 

Another arthritis diet is the ASU (avocado-soybean unsaponifiable).  It has been shown to relieve osteoarthritis, stimulate cartilage repair, and lessen a patient’s need to NSAIDs to control pain. 

Ginger has been shown to ease pain and inflammation as well as protect the stomach from gastrointestinal effects from taking NSAIDs.

Glucosamine is a supplement that relieves pain in some patients with osteoarthritis.  It helps the body rebuild cartilage, but can take up to two months to see the effects.  

If you are allergic to shellfish, check with your doctor before taking this as it is derived from crab, lobster, or shrimp shells. 

Before taking any supplements talk with your doctor as some can interfere with or worsen side effects from your medications.     

Of course, the best arthritis diet is a good old-fashioned well balanced diet.  Eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables, and go easy on fats and cholesterol. 

A heart healthy diet is especially important to patients with rheumatoid arthritis as studies have shown a link between this disease and heart failure.  Vitamin C is good for repairing body tissue. 

Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, build bone mass, and prevents bone loss.  Calcium helps strengthen your bones. 

If you are on medication, ask your doctor if he/she recommends taking vitamins.  Some medications can create vitamin or mineral deficiencies.  

When choosing your arthritis diet, be sure to talk with your physician as different types of arthritis have different needs.