Herbal Health
Herbal Remedies Blog
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ENDOMETRIOSIS: A BRIEF LOOK AT MENSTRUAL CRAMP REMEDIES
Lydia Pinkham brought a measure of respectability to over-the-counter menstrual remedies in the 1920s with a tonic designed to help sufferers of monthly ills. Although the tonic was often a staple of medicine chests, like iodine and aspirin, there is some doubt as to whether it was of any real medicinal value, other than providing a psychological boost. This formula preceded the more effective up-to-date menstrual cramp remedies, like ibuprofen.
Before such modem prostaglandin inhibitors were developed, it was not unusual to hear of women who became addicted to laudanum—a tincture of opium—to relieve their pain. Others tried nonmedical treatments like hot sweat baths with massage, hoping to perspire out the disease. The rundown, or “salt glow,” following the bath was concentrated in the abdominal area to stimulate blood Bow to the area. “Galvanism,” a less fearsome cousin of shock treatment, applied electrical current to the area to reduce pain. Along with the staple family recipes for healing that were handed down generation to generation, liniments, douches, decoctions, poultices, and brews were available from doctors, mail-order catalogs, pharmacies, and quacks.
Modern pharmacology can manufacture drugs from synthetics, plants, minerals, whatever, but turn-of-the-century cures relied on plants. Although few women nowadays partake of hemlock tea (made from the leaves and inner bark) to “tone the uterus,” there is a renewed and growing interest among women with endometriosis in drug-free therapies that are as young as TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, a form of biofeedback and stress control) and as old as acupuncture. Some of these therapies require the ministrations of experts on an individual basis; others, like dietary changes and stress management, can be, in general, incorporated into the daily lives of most sufferers of the disease.
Are these therapies effective? Let’s examine them, starring with the 5.000-year-old practice of acupuncture.
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Women's Health Women’s Health
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SKIN CARE: HAIR AND NAIL DISORDERS
Both hair and nails are derived from the epidermis, and both consist of the same dead tissue—the protein, keratin. Because of their derivation from the epidermis it is not surprising that diseases affecting the skin may affect the hair and nails as well. In addition, there are a number of disorders which are peculiar to the hair (including the scalp) and nails.
The claims made for cosmetic creams, milks and lotions bear little or no relation to their actual effect. When it comes to misleading the public, however, the cosmetic manufacturers pale in comparison with those involved in the business of ‘treating’ hair disorders. It is so lucrative a business that they do not hesitate to risk prosecution. A fine is a drop in the ocean compared with their profits, and if forced to close down they merely open up again under another name. Legally there is nothing to prevent anyone at all from setting up a ‘hair clinic’ or becoming a hair specialist’ or trichologist’. Whatever their title, their methods are similar. A few hairs are taken from the scalp and examined by the practitioner, who wears a white coat; scientific apparatus and coloured lights are usually evident in front of the client. This plays an important part fin setting the scene. A form is then filled out, making it all respectable and lastly, of course, a diagnosis is made, the aim being to Induce the client to embark on a course of ‘treatment’, the results of which are ‘guaranteed’. As a rule these courses involve a series of about 12 ‘treatments’
costing between $300 and $400 (payable in advance) plus various products which are sold to the client to be used at home. The tragedy is that we have allowed the public to remain so misinformed that they accept the claims made by these people. This is also partly due to the fact that the most common scalp problems have no satisfactory medical cure. The sporadic successes achieved by these businesses have two simple explanations: firstly, hair growth is cyclical, and periodically large amounts may be lost, frequently to be replaced again; secondly, spontaneous natural resolution is common for many scalp and hair disorders. Some people will always exploit basic human desires, and the desire to appear attractive to others is especially vulnerable to exploitation. Hair, unfortunately, has lost most of its biological functions and has assumed a significant aesthetic and sexual role. The psychological importance of hair is often not fully appreciated until either lost or occurs in excess.
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Skin Care Skin Care
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FAD DIETS: IMPLICATIONS
Weight loss diets abound, all with the promise of eagerly sought results. If any formularised eating plan is to be used, those working in fat loss need to:
1. Look to scientific research for the basis of claims, and ensure the eating plan is not actually a danger to health.
2. Sort through the claims and promises for the actual strategies required.
3. Assess if it requires anything special to make it work, including pills, potions or machdnes.
4. Assess its consistency with recommended food selection guides and the use of locally available foods.
5. Assess the promised rate of weight loss.
6. Assess the energy level and macronutrient composition and compare this with national recommendations.
7. Ensure that it is nutritionally adequate in micronutrients, and not reliant on supplements.
8. Assess the cost of the plan, particularly for long-term implementation.
9. Ensure that it is sustainable, incorporating commonsense food selection and regular, appropriately chosen physical activity.
10. Refer to an appropriately qualified health professional if unsure.
11. Reject any diet promoting a specific food or drink as a fat ‘burner’.
12. Consider only those eating plans which are likely to be adhered to for extended periods without alterations to physical nutrient profiles.
13. Be aware that liquid meal replacement diets without an accompanying activity program should only ever be used for the very obese and with appropriate professional supervision.
14. Discourage dieting in favour of healthy eating plans.
15. Keep in mind that diets of less than 1200kcals per day should not be used except under strict professional supervision and only in cases of extreme and life-threatening obesity.
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Weight Loss Weight Loss
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HEAVY, PROLONGED MENSTRUAL PERIODS
Women with no previous gynaecological problems, and no reason to think they have fibroids, polyps, a pelvic infection or endometriosis, are in a quandary. Are these bleeding episodes a cause for concern? Or are they a normal response to changing levels of sex hormones, perhaps associated with menopause-related changes, or to something else? Most women experience irregular menstrual periods for between two and seven years prior to menopause, although the range is a few months to eleven years. This can be a stressful time because of concerns about the cause of the bleeding.
Doctors classify excessive heavy bleeding (menorrhagia) as the repeated loss of more than 80 ml of menstrual blood in each menstrual cycle. If this volume is lost consistently during menstruation, women can become anaemic, lethargic and prone to sickness. While this is a concern for health reasons, the social impact is often more worrying still, with the added burden of possibly creating financial difficulties. Some women find they need to plan their activities carefully to minimise the embarrassment of bleeding accidents, or they may take time off work coping with the problem or trying to find out the underlying cause. Kath’s experience of heavy bleeding coincided with a very hot summer. After a couple of bleeding accidents when she ‘flooded’ on her way to, or at, work she took the precaution of wearing dark-coloured clothing that would disguise any such episode, as well as using tampons and sanitary pads of increased absorbency. A number of colleagues unwittingly added to her embarrassment by making disparaging comments about the inappropriateness of her clothing given the sweltering heat. Initially Kath tried to shrug the comments off and joked about getting dressed before the lights came on. But one day she decided enough was enough and, when quizzed about her clothing, she simply said, ‘I’m having a hellish time with my periods at the moment and, believe me, I’ll be celebrating when I can wear white again.’
In normal day to day living, measuring how much blood is lost in a menstrual bleed is virtually impossible. When careful studies are conducted, however, women are found to lose about 35 ml of blood (less than a quarter of a cup) in a cycle on average. Clearly, the 80 ml marker of menorrhagia is set quite high.
The diagnosis of excessive heavy bleeding is usually based on a joint assessment by women and their doctors. Factors taken into account include the number and degree of saturation of pads and/or tampons, the duration of bleeding, and the presence or absence of clots and flooding. This assessment is subjective and various research studies suggest that women may think they are losing more or less blood than is revealed by a careful analysis of sanitary products. In one study, for example, while 59% of women with concerns about menorrhagia were losing more than 60 ml of blood in most cycles, another 20% had average losses of less than 35 ml. Younger women in particular seem to be more likely to regard moderate blood loss as heavy. Reassurance about bleeding patterns, if this is appropriate, or information about how to better organise and cope with tampon and pad use can result in management of the problem without drugs or surgery.
A specific cause for heavy bleeding may never be found, although there is usually much speculation about possible reasons. Fibroids are thought to be the culprit in about a quarter of cases, while in others polyps, endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, abnormalities of the body’s blood-dotting mechanism, chronic liver or kidney disease, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, and side-effects from hormone therapies and intra-uterine contraceptive devices are implicated. Where possible, likely causes should be avoided, removed or treated.
Where there is no explanation for recurrent heavy blood loss, doctors usually describe the bleeding as ‘dysfunctional’. Drug therapies or removal (resection) of the endometrium are the usual strategies in trying to correct the problem. If these approaches do not work, a hysterectomy may be the last resort.
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Women's Health Women’s Health
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HOW MUCH SLEEP?
How much sleep is enough? This question is not easy to answer, and is very subjective. Some mink they need at least seven hours, some say ten. In fact this varies from person to person and also with age. It has been shown that babies sleep nearly all day. As they get older, they need less and less sleep. It is well known that the older we are, the less sleep we need. One of the common complaints of the elderly is that they cannot sleep. They hate to be awake and alone at night. They take sleeping pills, as they feel distressed when they cannot sleep.
Sleep is something we have no control over. We cannot close our eyes and give the magic word sleep, as sleep may not follow. In studies of how people fall asleep, it is observed that we are not folly awake one second and asleep the next. We all go through a very brief hypnotic state, which is called the Transitional Hypnotic State or THS.
How much sleep is required to restore, to repair, to recuperate, so that the next day we feel refreshed and satisfied? We will explore this question in two parts:
* Sleep deprivation and how much sleep is enough
* Psychological influence of how much sleep is enough
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Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid Anti Depressants