How to treat Dandruff

Dandruff are dry shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp. As skin cells die a small amount of flaking is normal however, some people  experience an unusually large amount of flaking which can also be accompanied by redness and irritation.

Most cases of dandruff can be easily treated with specialized shampoos. There is, however, no true cure.

Dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost half of the population at the post-pubertal age and of any gender and ethnicity. It often causes itching. It has been well established that keratinocytes play a key role in the expression and generation of immunological reactions during dandruff formation.

A very common fungus called malassezia may contribute to dandruff. This fungus lives on the scalp of most healthy adults without causing any problems. One theory is that the immune system of people with dandruff may overreact to that fungus.

Dandruff may get worse when you're stressed. Cold, dry winters can trigger dandruff or make it worse.

Dandruff has been shown to be the result of three required factors:

Skin oil commonly referred to as sebum or sebaceous secretions
The metabolic by-products of skin micro-organisms (most specifically Malassezia yeasts)
Individual susceptibility

Treatment:

Ingredients in shampoos are used to control dandruff.

Zinc pyrithione - it heals the scalp by normalizing the epithelial keratinization or sebum production or both. Studies have shown a significant reduction in the number of yeasts after use of ZPT, which is an antifungal and antibacterial agent.

Steroids - The parakeratotic properties of topical corticosteroids depend on the structure of the agent, the vehicle and the skin onto which it is used. Corticosteroids work via their anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative effects.

Selenium sulfide - it controls dandruff via its anti Malassezia effect rather than by its antiproliferative effect, although it has an effect in reducing cell turnover.

Coal Tar - is a keratoplastic causing the skin to shed dead cells from the top layer and slow skin cell growth.

Imidazole antifungal agents - Imidazole topical antifungals such as ketoconazole act by blocking the biosynthesis of ergosterol, the primary sterol derivative of the fungal cell membrane. Changes in membrane permeability caused by ergosterol depletion are incompatible with fungal growth and survival.

Hydroxypyridones -  instead they interfere with the active transport of essential macromolecule precursor, cell membrane integrity and the respiratory process of cells. Ciclopirox is widely used as an anti-dandruff agent in most preparations.

Neem - has anti-fungal properties that can be effective in treating dandruff.

Black Pepper - Yes black pepper, it contains the dandruff fighting minerals zinc and selenium. In Indian traditional Ayurveda, powdered black pepper has been used to treat dandruff.

Egg oil - In Indian,Japanese, Unani (Roghan Baiza Murgh),and Chinese traditional medicine, egg oil was traditionally used as a treatment for dandruff, but there is no clinical evidence indicate efficacy for this purpose.

Listerine -  Yup the common Listerine use as mouthwash can treat dry and itchy scalp. Listerine kills fungus and yeast that cause the itching and redness of the scalp.

Acne

Our skin has tiny holes (pores) that when blocked by dirt, dead skin, or oil it may form a bacteria that may develop a pimple or zit. If the skin is affected repeatedly it is called acne. Acne is one of the most common skin problems that may affect us.

Acne that appears on the face can impact self-esteem and, over time, may cause permanent scarring. Fortunately, there are effective treatments for this condition that reduce both the number of pimples you get and the chance for scarring to occur.

An overabundance of oil, a pore clogged by dead skin cells, and bacteria all contribute to the development of pimples. A zit appears when the bacteria grows in the clogged pore and the oil is unable to escape.

Acne can be found anywhere on your body. It most commonly develops on the face, back, neck, chest, and shoulders. If you have acne, you will typically notice pimples that are white or black in appearance. Both blackheads and whiteheads are known as comedones. Blackheads open at the surface of the skin giving them a black appearance. Whiteheads are closed just under the surface of the skin, giving them a white appearance. While whiteheads and blackheads are the most common types of acne, other lesions can occur.

Here are ways to treat and prevent pimples at-Home:

   1) Clean your skin daily with a mild soap to remove excess oil and dirt
   2) Shampoo your hair regularly and keeping it out of your face
   3) Do not squeeze or pick your pimples, as this spreads the bacteria and excess oil
   4) Avoiding hats or tight headbands
   5) Avoiding touching your face
   6) Use makeup that is water-based or labeled as “noncomedogenic” (not pore-clogging)

Medication, most of these medications contain ingredients that can help kill bacteria or dry the skin. These active ingredients include:

    benzoyl peroxide: present in many acne creams and gels, used for drying out existing pimples and preventing new ones
    sulfur: a natural ingredient with a distinctive smell that is found in lotions, cleansers, and masks
    resorcinol: a less common ingredient that is used to remove dead skin cells
    salicylic acid: often contained in soaps and acne washes

Doctors can prescribe medications that may help reduce your symptoms and prevent scarring. Your doctor may give you oral or topical antibiotics. These kill the bacteria that cause pimples. Typically, antibiotics are only used for a short amount of time so that your body doesn’t build up a resistance.

Back Pain Tips

Like any other human being from time to time I have to deal with annoying back pains. Sometimes it is manageable sometimes it feels like a grinding pain that won't let me get up in bed.

Here are some tips on how to manage the pain:

1.) Exercise - keep it simple just plain walking or mild jogging will do. Never perform a strenuous activity like weight lifting. Remember to move in moderation, avoid motion that caused the pain.

2.) Remember to maintain Good Posture - The pain may have started after a long workout at the gym or after a long hours of work, but the strain that caused it has probably been building for years because of bad posture.

3.) Improve Flexibility by stretching

Too much tension and tightness can cause back pain. Stretching will help loosen up tight muscles.

I have posted here 3 Easy Stretches to Prevent Back Pain

4.) Apply Ice and Heat - Heating pads and cold packs can comfort tender trunks. Most doctors recommend using ice for the first 48 hours after an acute injury particularly if there is swelling and then switching to heat.

5.) Sleep the Right Way - The amount of rest you get is important, and so is the position you get it in. Sleeping in a bad position or on a mattress without support can cause back pain.

Some pointers(webmd):

* Back sleepers should put pillows under their knees.
* Side sleepers should place pillows between their knees to keep their spine in a neutral position.
* Stomach sleeping causes the neck and head to twist and can put undue stress on the back.

6.) Quit Smoking - smoking hurt both your lungs and back. American Journal of Medicine found that current and former smokers are more likely to have back pain when compared with people who have never smoked.

Nicotine causes the small blood vessels to constrict and decreases the delivery of blood to the soft tissue

Moderate drinking may be risky with hepatitis C

NEW YORK Reuters Kerry Grens - For people with the chronic liver infection hepatitis C, heavy drinking is an obvious no-no, but a new study links even modest alcohol consumption with an increased risk of death - and not just from liver disease.

"What this study shows is... truly, even what might be considered a moderate and safe amount of alcohol use in people without hepatitis C is dangerous to your health if you have hepatitis C," said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, a hepatitis C researcher at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the study.

The findings support what liver specialists typically recommend - that people with hepatitis C should limit their alcohol use, said Dr. Zobair Younossi, the study's lead author and chair of medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA.

"Patients with hepatitis C should not really drink," he said.

But the reality is that people with hepatitis C have higher rates of alcohol use than people without the liver disease, said Proeschold-Bell, who studies interventions to reduce drinking among people with the disease.

Doctors have known that excessive drinking can exacerbate liver disease caused by hepatitis C, but there's some debate about whether less frequent drinking would have a similar effect.

Younossi and his colleagues looked to a large national survey on health and lifestyle that tracked people for several years.

They compared 8,767 people without hepatitis C to 218 people with the disease.

Hepatitis C is a virus spread through blood. Some 3.2 million people in the U.S. have a chronic hepatitis C infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease can cause serious liver damage, and while some people are treated with medications, others will go on to require a liver transplant.

The survey tracked the participants for 13 to 14 years. During that period, 19 percent of those with hepatitis C and 11 percent of those without the infection died.

Younossi's team found that people with hepatitis C who drank excessively - three or more drinks a day - were five times more likely to die than heavy drinkers who were not infected.

That result was not surprising, "We've known heavy drinking is particularly bad if you have hepatitis C," Proeschold-Bell told Reuters Health.

But people infected with hepatitis C who had up to two drinks a day were also twice as likely to die during the study than those with similar drinking habits who were not infected.

For the purposes of the study, a drink was equivalent to 10 grams of alcohol, which is roughly the amount in four ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or one ounce of hard liquor.

Younossi said the increased risk of death from liver disease is driving the numbers.

"What is incredibly striking is liver-related death in patients with hepatitis C who even drink moderately," said Younossi.

For instance, the risk of liver-related death among people with hepatitis C who averaged two or fewer drinks a day was 74 times that of similar people without hepatitis C.

Those moderate drinkers with the virus were also nearly three times more likely to die of "all causes," the researchers report in the medical journal Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

"A drink a day is not OK," Younossi told Reuters Health. "Even a moderate amount of alcohol use in the setting of hepatitis C can increase the risk of death and liver-related mortality specifically."

Proeschold-Bell said there is a great opportunity for intervening with people's alcohol use given that they are already interacting with the medical system if they have a chronic hepatitis C infection.

"This is potentially very powerful, because if the person with hepatitis C is already going in for medical care, they have some relationship with that clinic. They have some degree of trust, so (perhaps) you can provide alcohol treatment right then and there," she said.

Younossi said there's some evidence that if heavy drinkers without hepatitis C abstain from alcohol, their liver disease can improve.

He said he suspects the same might be true for patients with the infection, but that future studies will have to confirm that hunch.

Newly Deciphered Egyptian text Described Jesus

A newly deciphered Egyptian text, dating back almost 1,200 years, tells part of the crucifixion story of Jesus.

The ancient text tells of Pontius Pilate, the judge who authorized Jesus' crucifixion, having dinner with Jesus before his crucifixion and offering to sacrifice his own son in the place of Jesus. It also explains why Judas used a kiss, specifically, to betray Jesus — because Jesus had the ability to change shape, according to the text  — and it puts the day of the arrest of Jesus on Tuesday evening rather than Thursday evening, something that contravenes the Easter timeline.

Pontius Pilate has dinner with Jesus

While apocryphal stories about Pilate are known from ancient times, van den Broek wrote in an email to LiveScience that he has never seen this one before, with Pilate offering to sacrifice his own son in the place of Jesus.

"Without further ado, Pilate prepared a table and he ate with Jesus on the fifth day of the week. And Jesus blessed Pilate and his whole house," reads part of the text in translation. Pilate later tells Jesus, "well then, behold, the night has come, rise and withdraw, and when the morning comes and they accuse me because of you, I shall give them the only son I have so that they can kill him in your place."

In the text, Jesus comforts him, saying, "Oh Pilate, you have been deemed worthy of a great grace because you have shown a good disposition to me." Jesus also showed Pilate that he can escape if he chose to. "Pilate, then, looked at Jesus and, behold, he became incorporeal: He did not see him for a long time ..." the text read.

Pilate and his wife both have visions that night that show an eagle (representing Jesus) being killed.

In the Coptic and Ethiopian churches, Pilate is regarded as a saint, which explains the sympathetic portrayal in the text, van den Broek writes.

The reason for Judas using a kiss

In the canonical bible the apostle Judas betrays Jesus in exchange for money by using a kiss to identify him leading to Jesus' arrest. This apocryphal tale explains that the reason Judas used a kiss, specifically, is because Jesus had the ability to change shape.

"Then the Jews said to Judas: How shall we arrest him [Jesus], for he does not have a single shape but his appearance changes. Sometimes he is ruddy, sometimes he is white, sometimes he is red, sometimes he is wheat coloured, sometimes he is pallid like ascetics, sometimes he is a youth, sometimes an old man ..." This leads Judas to suggest using a kiss as a means to identify him. If Judas had given the arresters a description of Jesus he could have changed shape. By kissing Jesus Judas tells the people exactly who he is.

This understanding of Judas' kiss goes way back. "This explanation of Judas' kiss is first found in Origen [a theologian who lived A.D. 185-254]," van den Broek writes. In his work, Contra Celsum the ancient writerOrigen, stated that "to those who saw him [Jesus] he did not appear alike to all."

view the complete story here: http://news.yahoo.com/shape-shifting-jesus-described-ancient-egyptian-text-114210117.html

Kim Kardashian’s Bloody Facelift

Kim Kardashian underwent a vampire facelift on Sunday's episode of her show "Kourtney and Kim Take Miami."

It is the same procedure that the Oscar attendees received via a gift certificate in their swag bags last month.

Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel described the procedure:

"What you do is you take out from a person's arm about two teaspoons full of blood - a standard blood draw, like you would get when you go to the doctor and add some chemicals, spin it down, and separate it a certain way, and you end up with some fluid that can be injected into the face,"

"It's similar to, if you ever scraped your knee, that kind of yellowy stuff that you see oozing out of you - it's like that. So then you inject this back in into the area where there are wrinkles. The thought is that the natural body products that you inject in are going to stimulate your body to produce more collagen, provide some volume in itself, perhaps it contains stem cells that are gonna help, the goal is to get a much better appearance using your own body's blood."

The Vampire Facelift is the trademarked name for a non-surgical cosmetic procedure involving the reinjection of a gel-like substance—platelet rich fibrin matrix (PRFM)—derived from a patient’s own blood back into multiple areas of the skin of their face in an effort to treat wrinkles and “rejuvenate” the face.

There are no scientific publications that describe the Vampire Facelift procedure or examine its efficacy. There are, however, three publications that report that PRP may be useful as a facial filler.

Cost: $1,000

check out their website if you have a thousand bucks to burn www.vampirefacelift.com

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) also called glucose/fructose syrup comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness.

In the United States, consumer foods and products typically use HFCS as a sweetener. It has become very common in processed foods and beverages in the U.S., including breads, cereals, crackers, salad dressings, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups, and condiments.

It also used to sweeten just about all of the regular soda in the US.

HFCS consists of 24% water, and the rest sugars.

Is high-fructose corn syrup bad for you?

HFCS is identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is 50 percent fructose. Metabolic studies suggest our bodies break down and use HFCS and sucrose the same way. However, after HFCS began to be widely introduced into the food supply, obesity rates skyrocketed.

Other health concerns raised about HFCS, which allege contribution to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Critics of the extensive use of HFCS in food sweetening argue that the highly processed substance is more harmful to humans than regular sugar, contributing to weight gain by affecting normal appetite functions.

The use of food grade hydrochloric acid in the processing of corn syrup has given rise to the unconfirmed speculations that HFCS itself is a source of inorganic mercury a known neurotoxin. The food industry does no longer use conventional chemical hydrolysis for the manufacture of HFCSs but instead a multi-step bioprocess with bacterial enzymes is applied.

Barry Popkin, Ph.D., a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that "They (HFCS, natural sugars) all have the same caloric effects as sugar". "I don’t care whether something contains concentrated fruit juice, brown sugar, honey or HFCS. The only better sweetener option is ‘none of the above."