The Charlotte

Archive for February, 2010

Your hair represents you health. Loosing you hair is worrying enough, but sometimes it’s related to other health problems. Hair loss can be caused due to physical situations like hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, surgery, medications or thyroid disease in particular.

Hair loss is very common in U.S. American Academy of Dermatology’s Data says, nearly half of all adults will experience hair thinning by age 40 in U.S.A. But thyroid patients may have hair loss earlier and quickly than usual.

Thyroid diseases can be broadly divided into the following categories:

1: Hyperthyroidism – Overproduction of thyroid hormone
2: Hypothyroidism – Underproduction of thyroid hormone
3″ Benign (noncancerous) thyroid disease and Thyroid cancer

When it comes to hair loss thyroid problem, a rapid hair loss is experienced due to underproductions or over productions of the thyroid hormone and it is also one of the main identifying symptoms.

Where thyroid gland is located?

It is located in the base of the neck on both side of the larynx (voice box) lower part.

Steps to take for hair loss with thyroid condition

Get Evaluated

If you are dealing with a thyroid problem and hair loss, a good idea would be to get evaluated by dermatologist. They might do some tests to find out the other causes of hair loss such as infection etc. other then the thyroid problem.

Is it you Thyroid Drug?

Make sure the hair loss is not because of your medications, if you are on medications like levothyroxine (i.e., Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid, Levothroid) and still losing hair, then it’s time to take action. The side effects to these drugs could be prolonged or excessive hair loss. Consulting a doctor on this would be good.

Depression in older adults is relatively common.  Yet, the causes and symptoms in this population tend to be misunderstood and too often overlooked.  Medication interactions, life circumstances, and simple aging can make depression hard to recognize.  Even though depression is never normal, older people tend to suffer from the condition in disproportionately high amounts and are a segment of the population least likely to get treatment. 

More than seven million elderly adults suffer from depression.  But, these huge numbers are in stark contrast to the fact that only about ten percent of these individuals ever receive treatment for the disorder.[1]  As a matter of fact, about five million older adults have what is called subsyndromal depression which is depression that is so “mild” as to not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression.  Subsyndromal depression is common in the elderly, and may indicate an increased risk of developing major depression.[2]  Recognizing and treating depression in older adults becomes especially important as the “Baby Boomer” generation ages and places unheard of pressures on healthcare in this country. 

Depression is not “just part of getting old”

On average, from one to five percent of older people may suffer from depression.  However, those numbers drastically increase to a whopping 13.5 percent for individuals who reside in a home or institutional healthcare setting.[3]  These numbers appear to indicate that older individuals needing more care may suffer from depression either because of the lack of control they feel they have over their own lives or because of existing medical conditions. 

Depression occurs for a number of reasons.  Like the rest of the population, senior citizens may experience depression for many of the same reasons.  However, seniors also have a host of other issues that complicate things. 

Size Matters – The Global Pharmaceutical Market 

Pressure from the payers in developed markets with publicly funded healthcare plans to curb drug spending growth, patent expiries, the entry of lower-cost alternatives and declining growth rates in developed markets are major challenges the global pharmaceutical market faces. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry’s research and development programs have to adjust to the broad availability of low-cost generic options in many chronic therapy areas. Higher growth will occur in therapy areas with significant unmet clinical need, high-cost burden of disease, and innovative science that can bring new treatment options to patients.

IMS Health, an international consulting firm servicing the pharmaceutical industry, reports that the market reached a size of US7 billion in 2009. Whilst emerging markets are expected to grow at a 14 – 17 percent rate, developed markets will only grow by 3 – 6 percent. The U.S. will remain the single largest market, with 3 – 6 percent growth expected annually in the next five years and reaching US0 – US0 billion in 2014.

 China is not only assessed to become the world’s third-largest market in 2011, it also fuels the gross output of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which has been growing at a pace faster than the average rate of the entire pharmaceutical industry. In 2008, the size of the TCM market was about US billion and the yields totaled 1.2 million tons. By November 2009, the cumulative sales value of the TCM industry increased by 23 percent and amounted to RMB 222.166 billion, approximately US billion.

Diabetics should look after their feet ( Alternative Medicine )

It is confirmed that the health of diabetic patient’s feet is very important and any injury or bruise, the size of a spot may cause problems right down to the bone and cause gangrene, so diabetics should take care of their feet from shoes to socks and nails to heels. Experts stated at a press conference that for diabetics the most vulnerable organ is their feet. The feet are the organs which are most exposed so when the flow of blood slows at the feet they start to lose sensitivity. An expert claims that even a little bruise might leave the feet more vulnerable to future injuries so diabetics should protect their feet:

”Your feet should be washed every night with warm water, be dried thoroughly and moisturised. After sports and walking, the underside of the feet should be checked with a mirror to ensure there are no bruises. Socks musn’t be too big or too small, musn’t be scrunched up or torn. Shoes should be made from soft leather, with smooth inside and not pointed or tapered at the front. Toe nails should be cut short. Nails should be cut straight across, not rounded.” ( Alternative Medicine )

Experts warn that if diabetic people don’t take these warnings seriously and don’t follow these guidelines they may lose their feet or legs, “treatment is too difficult and lengthy. If injuries don’t heal properly, even a little bruise the size of a spot can reach the bone and become gangrene and can cause loss of toes or whole feet.”

Alternative Medicine

Find More Alternative Medicine Articles

Guided meditation – for beginners.

To begin with this guided meditation you will need to find a quite space where you can relax and not be disturbed for around half an hour. Now to dont worry, if you can follow a guided meditation even for a few minutes then you are doing well.

So please remember practice makes perfect and the more you meditate the more you will be able to focus on the task at hand, which is to be able to focus on one thing without any external influences or thoughts entering the mind this is deep healing meditative practice

This guided meditation is exactly what is needed to reach this goal. I do recommend using a program or video guided meditation series, or even better go to your local temple and meditate with the monks there. They will be more than happy to mentor and teach you how to meditate. You see monks have great compassion and understanding due to wisdom gained through meditation. OK thank you for being here and congratulations for starting a wonderful journey.

Before you start with your guided meditation please read the whole guided meditation first and then go through the practice.

Now let us start with our guided meditation on the breathe.

Lets begin by very simply concentrating on the task at hand and just be aware of where you are. Think to your self this is my time now and I am going to spend this time thinking about nothing else that is going on in my life, good or bad.

When dealing with acne skin care, most of the medical professionals commonly suggest that people affected with acne must practice certain acne skin care methods that will help improve the condition of their skin.

Acne, as you may already know, is a very severe skin disorder that affects thousands of people from all over the world. It not only affects the surface of the skin but also the inner layers of the skin. Acne usually occurs on the face, neck, chest and back, and it starts during the adolescence period.

During the past several years, a good number of acne experts and skin care professionals have conducted many studies on how to prevent the formation of acne. And fortunately, these skin care specialists have come out with certain acne skin care tips that can be of great help for fighting acne. I have selected the three simpler yet most powerful acne skin care tips that you can follow in order to have a healthier skin. These are mentioned below:

Acne Skin Care Tip # 1: You Should Always Clean Your Skin Very Gently

First of all, personal hygiene is very necessary for fighting acne. So as what most experts usually suggest, you should gently clean your skin with a mild cleanser at least twice a day. This simple acne skin care step is deemed important for fighting acne since washing your face or the other affected areas will wipe away the acne-causing bacteria found on the skin. Also note that although you are sometimes told to scrub your face, scrubbing is not a good acne skin care move since it will just trigger the development of acne, worsening the condition. In addition to this acne skin care step, it is worth noting that astringents are not always suggested unless the skin is very oily. And, they must only be applied on the oily spots.