Tag Archives: chemicals

Children's Health

Eye problems and injuries in Adolescents

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Every year more than one million people get eye injuries, out of which ninety percent are preventable if safety eyewear is used. One hundred and twenty five thousand eye injury cases are caused by household products.

It is a good habit to wash hands regularly, especially after handling household chemicals. When using detergents and hazardous solvents, the handler must wear chemical safety goggles. Also, no children must be around while handling chemicals. While spraying, the nozzle must be turned away from the face. Fertilizers, pesticides and paints must be stored away from reach. While doing household activities proper protective gears such as goggles, gloves, boots and helmet should be worn, if required. The house must be illuminated adequately to avoid accidents in the dark. Stairs should also be illuminated and the rails must also be installed. The instructions for opening the tops of bottles must be read carefully to avoid them from popping and injuring other people. Children and adolescents should read instructions before handling operating equipment before playing games. All power equipment must be installed with guards. While playing outside, the eyes must be protected by UV protective goggles and it is a bad idea to look at the sun directly.

Precautions should not only be taken indoors, but outdoors too. This is because; more than forty thousand people get eye injuries outdoors. Ninety nine percent of the injuries are caused while playing sports. So it is necessary for the youngsters to wear protective eyewear while playing sports or when involved in outdoor recreational activities. A special helmet is designed with wire shield or polycarbonate face mask which is not only safe, but comfortable, too. Protective eyewear should also be worn while performing experiments in science lab. Fireworks must only be handled by adults.

Because of increasing use of computers, more and more youngsters are getting eye strains. The symptoms of eye strain caused by computer are red & watery eyes, focusing problems, aching & tired eyelids, eye muscle spasm, backache and headache. In such an environment, eye exercise must be done regularly. The eyes must be made to focus on distant objects and should be rotated from side to side. It is extremely important to give ample rest to the eyes. Glasses with UV shield must be worn when looking at the computer screen. Eye strain can be avoided by increasing the distance from the monitor.

Eye hazards are also caused when cosmetics are used improperly by contact lens wearers. Some of the adverse reactions are injury, eye irritation, allergy, dryness, infection, and lens deposition. That is the reason why adolescents must be made aware of the risk they will face when opting for contact lens. Girls should understand that they should buy hypoallergenic cosmetics and especially the non-scented variety, manufactured by big brand names. Cosmetics should not be shared with anything else. The applicator brushes must be washed regularly and old mascara must be disposed and not refilled. Eye shadows which are glittery, pearlized, frosted or iridescent contain ground tinsel or oyster shell, which should be always avoided. Eyeliner should not be applied in the inner lid edge. Loose powder should be avoided. Cream should not be applied near the eyes. The wearer should wash hands while handling contact lens. No crying, washing of face or bathing should be done with the contact lens on.

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Alternative Health, Wellness Programs

Acupuncture and Drug Abuse

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Acupuncture is a bright light on the road to recovery for many drug addicts and alcoholics. As an addict is recovering, the physical and psychological urge to get another fix or get another drink can be overwhelming. If the addict can get past that feeling, there is more hope for another successful day on the road to recovery. Currently there are a number of chemicals to help reduce that feeling, such as the nicotine patches to help people stop smoking. However, a major advantage of using acupuncture is that it uses no chemicals in the treatment, can be used for a number of different addictions, and is quite inexpensive compared to a number of other treatments.

Let’s take a look into a clinic that uses acupuncture to treat recovering addicts. Before the clinic used acupuncture, it was somewhat loud and not a pleasant place to be. The treatment room holds dozens of clients at the same time, each sitting in a chair. Each person sits with five long needles dangling from each ear. Depending on the person, a few also have some acupuncture needles in their hands, arms, or feet. When the time comes to remove the needles, some are removed by one of the acupuncture practitioners, or an assistant, or some clients remove their own needles at the appropriate time. Needles are left in the patient for an average of about forty-five minutes. The chairs are arranged so that the clients can see and talk to each other if they wish. This helps when they share experiences, and helps if some of the new clients are nervous about the use of acupuncture. The room, though it holds a number of often troubled patients, is generally quite calm and peaceful.

What advantage is there in using acupuncture for a recovering addict? Most of the addicts describe a release of that feeling that insists they must find a fix or must find a drink. The patient describes it as the feeling when you get home after a long day and take off your shoes. The effect of the treatment lasts for about a day, and so newly recovering addicts are scheduled for daily treatments. People such as dry alcoholics can come by on a periodic basis, or when they feel they need another acupuncture treatment. Many dry alcoholics are fine as long as their daily life is not stressful, but if a family problem arises at home or at work, the familiar feeling becomes strong once again. At those times an acupuncture clinic is a great help, for it affects an actual physical change in the person.

Many detox clinics that use acupuncture in its regimen incorporate it into an overall program, where the acupuncture treatments are the first steps that a patient takes. A typical clinic will schedule a new patient for daily acupuncture sessions, and at each session take a sample to ensure the patient has not used drugs during the past day. After 10 “clean” days, the patient is considered in sufficient shape to start additional therapy, such as a twelve step program. Acupuncture treatments continue during this time. If a patient has a relapse, the patient just starts all over again with the ten day acupuncture treatment.

Using acupuncture in recovery programs has definite advantages, both economically and in support of physical and mental health for the recovering addicts. It is just another example where the use of acupuncture incorporates healing in all areas: physical, mental, and emotional.

Dental Health

Teeth Whitening Products: Pros and Cons

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Choosing teeth whitening product amidst the different teeth whitening products available in the market today can be very confusing. And some of the teeth whitening products are not giving your desired result.

If you ask the experts, they will tell you that the best method of teeth whitening is still through your dentist. Not only is it the best, it is also the most effective and the quickest to have whiter teeth.

But then, not all people can afford the fees that come with each treatment. Another thing that hinders them from going to dentists is fear. It seems that as early as childhood, dentists are one of the most feared personalities that people do not want to encounter. This fear continues on in the adult years.

Although dentists do not advise people to choose teeth whitening products, they all agree in saying that these products are effective in some degree. According to studies, teeth whitening products, if used regularly and consistently can result in whiter teeth that can outlast any dentist-assisted procedure.

Another additional plus that teeth whitening products have is that they contain the same ingredients that are being used in professional whitening. Two of the active ingredients needed for whitening teeth are hydrogen peroxide and carbamide. These two are also the ingredients that are present in some of the products that are sold in groceries and drug stores.

The only advantage that teeth whitening products have over professional whitening is that they tend to be very cheap. Everyone who will tumble upon them can simply afford to add them to the list of their basic things.

Most of these products can be bought for $30 or less. Compare this to the $100 or more that you need to pay to the dentist. It will not surprise you why people prefer them over the high fees.

Still, teeth whitening products are found out to have some disadvantages. Some of these are:

1. Suitability.

Teeth whitening products cater to all. But then different people have different needs. What others found effective may not work for others. This is one of the problems that people will encounter with these products.

There are those that have sensitive teeth and gums. The reaction to the products will depend upon the suitability of the products to the persons using them. An option would be to try different products until you find the one that is suitable to you.

2. Strong chemicals used.

You will not know what your reaction to the product until you have tried it out. Since you do not know how sensitive your teeth are, you will also not know what might happen when you start using the product.

Better consult with your dentist first before choosing a certain product.

3. Tray may not fit.

The tray put in your teeth is not exactly fitted after you. So there is a tendency that it may either be too large or too small.

When it is too large, the formula may not work well. On the other hand, if it is too small, it may cause gum bleeding and side effects that will cause bigger problems.

Be sure that the teeth whitening precuts you choose is suited for you. If none of them works, then maybe professional teeth whitening will.

Dental Health

Preparing for a Laser Teeth Whitening Procedure

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Tooth whitening is a method where many people take when they noticed that their teeth have been stained. Tooth discoloration is due to smoking, chemicals or food stained by medications and aging.

Now with the latest technology, tooth whitening can be done easily and in some instances teeth may be whitened beyond its natural teeth color. Laser teeth whitening procedure is able to fix certain forms of yellow, brown and spotted tooth staining and suitable on people of all ages. This is a good choice in restoring the brightness and bringing the smile alive.

In New York, laser teeth whitening is done in clinics using genuine laser system from Opus 10 and LaserSmile. Red light is generated when laser tooth whitening is done.

Here are some benefits of laser teeth whitening:

1.It is much faster and gentlest whitening system than ordinary or non-laser system. Laser teeth whitening takes only 16 minutes of gel-to-teeth contact time compared to 60 minutes for non-laser system.
2.In laser system you don’t need to wear the tray overnight while in other whitening system it requires the whitening gel to be worn overnight.
3.Less post-procedure sensitivity and faster treatment time because laser tooth whitening system has more efficient laser energy due to precise wavelengths.

There are some things that should take into consideration before undergoing a laser teeth whitening procedure.

It is not recommended for alcohol users or smokers to undergo bleaching. It should be avoided before the teeth undergo bleaching process. Smoking is the cause of damage to gums and tissue on teeth and may trounce the effect of whitening. The top customer for laser teeth whitening is those who have teeth discolored caused by aging, coffee or tobacco.

Porcelain restorations and extensive composite. Pre-existing restoration such as crowns, veneers, bonding, bridges and fillings are not appropriate for bleaching; instead it will be replaced in match with the color to your newly whitened shade.

Former existing sensitive and translucent teeth. More than half of those who undergo laser teeth whitening will experience the pain of sensitive teeth for 1-4 days. But the pain will just ease when bleaching is almost done. Some of translucent teeth may appear darker after bleaching.

Restoration of Amalgam in front teeth and exposed yellow in gingival third. It is required to have a protected prognosis for tooth whitening and also replacement of amalgam is needed to avoid the greening effect.

Unrealistic expectation or noncompliance. The level of teeth whiteness from one person to another differs. Also the result of color shade change relies on each individual’s reaction to the whitening agent. Some people may or may not react in this condition.

Kinds of Tooth Whitening

1.In-office tooth whitening It just takes an hour for the laser teeth whitening to be completed. And also it ensures that proper check up is done before the treatment so that proper precaution such as damming gum line is done before application of whitening gel.
2.Take home tooth whitening the use of this take home whitening kit differs from its overnight application to a twice-a-day treatment.

In New York, laser teeth whitening are now popular because it is recommended by the FDA, ADA and CE. People enjoy the good result of laser teeth whitening and it is much safer than other whitening system. Always remember that there are some things that should be consider for a much safer and successful laser teeth whitening.