Children's Health

Heat-Related Illnesses in Teens

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Heat related illnesses are caused due to prolonged exposure to heat and also humidity without any reprieve and due to inadequate intake of fluids. Kids and teens adjust to the variations in heat compared to adults who adapt more quickly. However the heat production is high in them when compared to adults but sweat relatively less. Sweating is the natural action of the body and cooling mechanism to counter heat. Kids and teens often ignore these facts and do not hydrate themselves enough while playing, participating in sports and exercises.

Kids and teens with health problems that are chronic or those who are on certain prescription could be more susceptible to heat related problems. Overweight adolescents or those who wear heavy clothing in times of exertion also suffer heat related illnesses. Heat related illnesses are basically classified into three types. They are: Heat cramps, heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

Heat cramps are the mildest of all heat related injuries and constitute aching muscle cramps and also spasms that occur during intense exercising and also after intense exercising and also sweating in high heat. The symptoms of heat cramps include cramps that are painful in the legs. Flushed and moist skin is also symptoms of heat cramps. The symptoms could also include mild fever generally below 102 degree Fahrenheit. Teens suffering from heat cramps should move to a cool place and take adequate rest. Remove any excessive clothing and wear or put cool clothing on skin or cool skin using air conditioner or fan. Sports drinks which are cool and which contains sugars and salts can also be taken. Stretching out cramped muscles slowly and steadily also helps reduce heat cramps.

On the other hand hear exhaustion is more serious and severe compared to heat cramps and occur due to heavy loss of salt and water from the body. Extreme heat conditions, inadequate fluid intake and excessive sweating results in this conditions. Also, heat exhaustion occurs as a result of inability of the body to maintain the body temperature below the normal which can deteriorate further and also result in a heat stroke which is even worse. The symptoms of heat exhaustion are: muscle cramps, moist skin, pale skin, nausea, fever above 102 degree Fahrenheit, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, headache, weakness, anxiety and faint feeling. Teens suffering from heat exhaustion should stay in cool surrounding and take enough rest. Removing excessive clothing, putting on cool clothes and sitting in fan or air conditioning also helps the situation. Intake of cold sports drinks which contains salts and sugars are also advisable. If a teen doesnt show any signs of improvement even after taking all these measures a physician should be consulted immediately.

Heat stroke is the severest condition of all heat related illnesses. In this condition the body gets overwhelmed with excessive heat and the efficiency of the system that regulates body heat goes down considerably which can result in a serious emergency requiring immediate medical care. The symptoms of heat stroke include dry and warm skin, very high fever generally above 104 degree Fahrenheit, increased heart rate, appetite loss, nausea, headache, vomiting, fatigue, agitation, confusion, stupor, seizures, coma and possible death. A teenager experiencing symptoms of heat stroke should stay in a cool place and have adequate rest. Heat stroke is a serious condition and emergency attention should be sought by calling 911. In the meanwhile the affected teenager should be made free of excessive clothing and should be worn with cool clothes and also put cool water on the skin to lower the temperature. Placing ice bags in armpits also helps. Make the teenager drink cool drinks if the teenager is alert.

Heat strokes are very much preventable if certain precautions are taken like drinking adequate water during hot days, avoiding alcoholic and caffeine drinks, wearing light clothes, exercising in cooler time of the day, wearing sunglasses and hat, using umbrella on a hot day, applying sun cream with a spf of at least 15 etc.

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Cosmetic Health

How Lasers Work in Laser Hair Removal

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Laser hair removal works by the process of selective targeting of a specific area of the body and using a specific wavelength to absorb light into that area. It does not work on a hair by hair basis, instead it focuses a wide beam of light that treats many hairs at one time. The wavelength of light absorbed has to be sufficient enough to damage the targeted tissue area while leaving the surrounding area basically untouched. The principle behind this process is called selective photothermolysis.

Lasers are intense beams of monochromatic and coherent light. These light beams are produced by laser devices that contain either minerals or gases. The four main types of lasers are solid state, semiconductor, gas and dye.

An electric current stimulates the gas or mineral properties which excites the atoms. The atoms then emit narrow, cohesive, parallel light beams which are all the same wavelength. The light beams are focused just for a fraction of a second on the dark hair pigment at the matrix of the dermal papilla, which is the small, cone shaped indentation at the base of the hair follicle that the hair bulb fits into. The light beam is absorbed and heats the pigment which vaporizes the dermal papilla. The more intense the light beam the hotter it makes the pigment. This results in the dermal papilla being severely damaged or destroyed.

Most people believe that laser hair removal works best on hair that is in its anagen phase. This means that the hair is actively growing and is attached to the dermal papilla. The theory behind this belief is that if the dark pigment in the hair shaft extends all the way down to the dermal papilla, it will be destroyed and vaporized by the coherent light beam that is focused upon the area. This happens because the light beam will follow the dark pigment all the way down to the derma papilla.

Visible light has wavelengths that range from 390 to 770 nm, or nanometers. Lasers operating in this range allows for successful laser hair removal without causing any damage to the dermal tissue. Lasers with a light source that operates between 700 to 1000 nm targets melanin in the hair shaft effectively. For example, the wavelength of an alexandrite laser is 755 nm, which is red in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, making its target melanin. The stronger, or greater, the wavelength, the deeper it penetrates target selectively absorbing the wavelength.

Laser hair removal uses several varying wavelengths of laser energy. These wavelengths range from near infrared radiation to visible light. The three most commonly used lasers for hair removal are Alexandrite, Pulsed diode array, and NeoDymium Yttrium Aluminum Garnets, Also know as Nd:YAGs. The wavelengths of these lasers are 755nm, 810nm, and 1064nm respectively.

Laser hair removal utilizes a complex system of science and physics which are precisely balanced to work effectively and safely on the human body. As technology continues to advance in laser hair removal, this process continues to grow in popularity.

Mental Health

Finding Out Early On About Alzheimers

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Alzheimers is an extremely debilitating disease. Presently, there are no known cure or treatment for this irreversible threat to a mature person’s mental and personal health. Once a person has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, the duration and course of the disease will vary from five up to twenty years.

Within the course of the disease, the sufferer will go through a whole range of deterioration from slight short term memory loss to the loss of normal bodily functions that cause complications and infections that then turns into death.

While the prospect of Alzheimers disease is truly grim, there continues to be steady breakthroughs from experts that help hope persist that eventually, prevention and cure for Alzheimers may be found. Before that though, there are lot of questions to be answered and the race to find the cure continues.

Despite this, it is important to take note of the early signs of Alzheimers, for friends loved ones and yourself. Taking note of the early signs of Alzheimers will help everyone involved prepare and understand all that is entailed in arranging for care and what to expect as the illness progresses.

It is important to be on the lookout for early signs of Alzheimers if you or someone you care for is nearing the age of 65 or if there is known cases al Alzheimers in the family.
Below are some early signs of Alzheimers to look out for.

Downscale

While memory loss is commonly mentioned as the one of the early signs of Alzheimers, it has been noted that unexplained and sudden weight loss usually occurs within individuals who suffer from Alzheimers. They have found that the weight loss happens way before any actually memory loss begins.

If you or someone you care about begins to lose weight unexpectedly, consult your doctor for probable cause and if there are no reasons found then you should have tests for Alzheimers done.

Forgetfulness

The most common early sign of Alzheimers is the loss of short term memory. More often than not, at the very early stages, this short term memory loss often goes unnoticed so it is important to pay close attention and see if it is normal memory loss or is it an early sign of Alzheimers.

While everyone will forget something once in a while, but Alzheimers sufferer never recall back what has been lost. So pay attention for peculiar incidences of short term memory loss that result in the distress, however much slight, in everyday routine.

Disability

Alzheimers will rob one of the ability to do the things that used to come second nature to them. It is as if the individual with Alzheimers can no longer remember or are familiar with tasks or actions that used to be part of their everyday routine. Watch out for this telltale sale that is quite an indicator included in the early signs of Alzheimers disease.

More Changes

Another early sign of Alzheimers is the increasing problem of communication. Often, people with Alzheimers will have a difficult time communicating because they begin to lose their ability to handle language. They begin to forget simple words and terms and their sentence construction begin to be difficult to understand.

There can also be a change in behavior or mood that is not normal for the person with Alzheimers disease. Over and above moodiness, a person with Alzheimers can switch moods or behavior without reason.

General Health

Inconsiderate Bad Habits

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Some bad habits are just plain inconsiderate. The person does their behaviors without a thought to the person he is affecting. A little attention to the feelings of others would stop many of these bad habits in their tracks.

Many people have inconsiderate bad habits in the kitchen. You will find them drinking from the milk jug or juice carton. They do not consider that someone else might not like to drink after them. They are in the habit of doing it, so they do not think about it.

Someone might have the bad habit of opening two liter bottles of pop and leaving the caps off. This is inconsiderate to the person buying the soda because the soda goes flat. No one will drink it. It is also a bad habit to open carbonated drink cans and drink a few swallows only. Many people will do this and then right away open another.

The refrigerator is a source of trouble in some homes. People have certain bad habits there, too. They might take food out of the refrigerator and leave it on the counter to spoil. They may simply stand in front with the door open, staring as all the cold rushes out.

If you have an older refrigerator, they may have bad habits about not filling ice cube trays, and leaving them in the freezing compartment empty. Some people have bad habits of freeloading. They will clean your refrigerator out of food in no time at all if you do not watch them. They will take food when they have been offered none, and when they are offered some, they will take more.

Sometimes people staying with you, or living with you as roommates, will do some cooking. If they have bad habits and do not clean up their messes, you will not appreciate the food they cook no matter how good it is. After awhile, you will just wish they would stop cooking altogether.

Other bad habits have to do with the bathroom. Sometimes, people hog the bathroom. They will not leave time for anyone else to get in to use it. You may need to go to work the same time as they do. If they do not let you get in to get ready, they will be on time and you will be the one who is late. That is very inconsiderate.

Men have been told forever, it seems that their bad habits of leaving the toilet seat up are inconsiderate. They do not realize that a woman, not expecting the seat to be up, can actually get injured by falling in too hard. It is not a pleasant subject, and it is not a pleasant thing to happen.

Other bad habits involve vehicles. You might be in the habit of leaving your car windows down. If you are accustomed to this, you will be ready to put them up if you know rain is coming. However, if you leave someone else’s windows down, they may not be prepared. Also, it is a bad habit to borrow a car and not put gas in it.

If you think of other people every day, you will be less likely to engage in inconsiderate bad habits. You will find that you are appreciated more if you find ways to control your behaviors and curb your bad habits.

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