Extreme heat: Stay hydrated to avoid heat exhaustion, stroke during hot summer months

Doctors and health experts are warning people about the signs of overexposure to the Sun. Be sure to stay safe as a possible heat wave looms and is expected to bake a large part of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states this week with the heat index rising to as high as 101 degrees.

You need to take steps to hydrate an avoid direct exposure to the sun as much as possible.

Any outdoor activities should be done when the Sun is not at its strongest, generally between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Children or Pets should not be left in a car for even a single minute under these conditions and anyone who sees a pet left in a car should not hesitate to call 911.

Here is the American Red Cross safety tips that you can follow as the temperatures soar:

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol.
• Avoid extreme temperature changes.
• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
• Slow down, stay indoors and avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day.
• Postpone outdoor games and activities.
• Use a buddy system when working in excessive heat. Take frequent breaks if working outdoors.
• Check on family, friends and neighbors who do not have air conditioning, who spend much of their time alone or who are more likely to be affected by the heat.
• Check on animals frequently to ensure that they are not suffering from the heat. Make sure they have plenty of shade and cool water.
• If someone doesn’t have air conditioning, they should choose places to go to for relief from the heat during the warmest part of the day (schools, libraries, theaters, malls).

Brazilian Wax Pimples

After waxing the common side effect is pimples. You will notice whiteheads, large, and little pimples on the skin you have treated. Here are some tips to minimize pimple breakouts after waxing:

1. Remove the dead skin cells on your skin by exfoliating it with a cloth and warm water before waxing.

2. Make sure that everything are clean, the hands of person who will perform the wax should be washed thoroughly.

3. After waxing do not touch the skin even it's irresistibly soft. Having the hair follicle remove your skin is more susceptible to infection.

4. Avoid saunas and whirlpool with any type of waxing for the next two days.

5. Avoid doing anything that is going to make you sweat a lot.

6. If you get a pimple do not pop it, it will only spread the bacteria. Treat it with tea tree oil and acne medication.

Leg Stretches After Running

Experts recommend stretching after you are done with your workout since your muscles are already warm and your joints are lubricated.

Hamstrings Stretch:

Just Lie on your back with your legs extended and your back straight. Keep your hips level and your lower back down on the floor. Bend your right knee towards your chest, keeping your left leg extended on the floor.Slowly straighten your right knee, grabbing the back of your leg with both hands. Pull your leg towards your gently while keeping both hips on the floor. Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on opposite side. To reduce the intensity of this stretch, bend the knee of the stretching leg.

Quadriceps Stretch:

Stand tall, holding onto a chair or wall for balance if necessary. Keep your feet hip-width apart, your back straight and your feet parallel. Reach back and grab your left foot in your left hand, keeping your thighs lined up next to each other and left leg in line with the hip (not pulled back behind you).Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on opposite side.


Calf Stretch:

Stand facing a wall, about 12 inches away from it. Extend your arms in front of your shoulders to place your hands flat on the wall, keeping the elbows bent. Keeping both feet flat, step or slide your left foot (pictured) back, lengthening your left leg and straightening your arms. You should feel the stretch in the calf of the back (straight) leg. The more your lower your heel to the floor, and the farther you slide your straight leg behind you, the deeper you will feel this stretch. Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Switch sides.

Iliotibial (IT) Band Stretch:
 

With the left side of your body next to a wall, stand tall with your hand on the wall and your body an arm&quots length away from the wall. Cross your right leg (leg farthest from the wall) in front of your left leg (leg closest to the wall) and place your opposite hand on your hip, shoulders relaxed, feet flat on the floor. Breathe slowly and steadily as you push your left hip toward the wall, bending your left elbow. Keep the foot closest to the wall flat on the floor, both legs straight, and your back straight (no leaning forward or back). Hold the stretch for 10-30 seconds. Switch sides.

check here for more leg stretches

Research finds concussions common in teens

A new study has found that one out of five adolescents has probably suffered a traumatic brain injury. It also link a history of traumatic brain injury and poorer grades, underage drinking and use of illicit drugs.

62% of students in grades seven through 12 in Ontario, Canada anonymously completed a computerized questionnaire administered during the school day, which gauged their drug and alcohol consumption patterns and a wide range of health-related behaviors. Among the questions, students were asked if they had ever been knocked unconscious for five minutes or more or had been kept overnight in a hospital following a blow to the head. The survey also asked students to indicate if such an incident had occurred in the last year.

The results, published Tuesday as a "research letter" in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. (JAMA), were startling. A total of 20.2% of respondents reported that at some point in their average 15 years of life, they had either been hospitalized overnight after a blow to the head or had been knocked unconscious for more than five minutes. And 5.6%--more than 1 in 20 students--said they had suffered such an injury within the last year.

Concussions are often diagnosed after blows to the head far milder than those causing loss of consciousness or hospitalization. So this study probably yields a very conservative estimate of brain injury among children. Though it's not known how widespread traumatic brain injuries are among American kids, almost half a million children under 15 are brought to hospital emergency departments each year in the United States to assess signs of such an injury.

For as many as 15% of patients with traumatic brain injury, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, concentration difficulties and mood changes may persist for more than a few days or weeks. But the Canadian researchers found evidence suggesting that a history of such injuries may also suppress academic performance and increase likelihood of drug or alcohol use.

Among students who reported receiving poor grades in school, the likelihood of having a history of traumatic brain injury was almost four times greater than among those who received high grades. Those who reported the most frequent use of alcohol were about twice as likely to have a history of traumatic brain injury as were those who could recall no such history. And those who reported a severe blow to the head in the last year were seven times more likely to report such alcohol use than were those with no history of traumatic brain injury. Frequent cannabis use was more than four times more common among those with a recent history of traumatic brain injury than among those who had never been concussed.

That relationship between traumatic brain injury and poor grades and alcohol and cannabis use "needs further investigation," the researchers wrote. Such findings do not reveal whether a history of concussion puts children at higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse and poor grades, or whether children already at risk for those outcomes might be more prone to head injury.

source: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-concussions-teens-20130625,0,4331205.story

How to Cure Snoring

There are tons of products, procedures, drugs, and surgeries that promises to treat snoring. But a simeple changes can help stop it.

• Try a different sleeping position, like sleeping on your side. This may help decrease snoring.
• Do not drink alcohol or take medicines that make you drowsy within three hours of bedtime.
• If you're overweight, lose the extra weight.
• Exercise. Exercise can strengthen and tone muscles, including those in the neck.
• Wear a dental device like a mouth guard, that helps keep your airway open while you sleep.
• Use a humidifier if the air in your home is too dry.
• Try to eliminate allergens in the bedroom such as pets, regularly washing your sheets in hot water to remove dust mites, and removing any mold.

Common causes of snoring:

• Age. As we age our throats becomes narrower, and the muscle tone in our throat decreases.
• Males have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to snore.
• Nasal and sinus problems. Blocked airways make inhalation difficult and create a vacuum in the throat, leading to snoring.
• Overweight, the fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring.
• Alcohol, smoking, and medications. Alcohol intake, smoking, and certain medications can increase muscle relaxation leading to more snoring.
• Sleep posture. Sleeping flat on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway.

15 minutes walk helps control diabetes

A study released by Diabetes Care said that a short 15-minute walk at moderate speed and 30 minutes after eating results to a significant control over the high blood sugar of older people and could prevent older people developing type-2 diabetes.

Dr. Loretta DiPietro of the Department of Exercise Science (George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services) said that blood sugar spikes after meals and for young and fit people insulin helps drive that sugar, glucose, into muscle cells and the liver where it's stored for energy. But for old people that system becomes less efficient and if there are too much glucose in the blood it can lead to type 2 diabetes and ardiovascular diseases. So resting after eating is the worst thing one can do.

source: NBC News Health

Weight Loss may lessen Psoriasis

pic from wikipedia

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease that affects the skin. It causes skin redness and irritation. People with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

It is a lifelong condition and there is currently no cure, but various treatments can help to control the symptoms.

New study shows that losing weight may help reduce symptoms of psoriasis. They studied  a group of obese people with psoriasis over 120 days. Half of them had a low-calorie diet. Those who had a low-calorie diet that lost 30 or more pounds had less skin irritation and reported improvement in their overall quality of life.

The study said the link between obesity and psoriasis may be explained in part by a common denominator is inflammation. Obesity is associated with inflammation, and psoriasis, once thought to affect only the skin, is now known to be a reflection of systemic and chronic immune-related inflammation.

You can check the Journal Here: JAMA Dermatology