Are you near sighted? Or maybe you have trouble reading a book right in front of your face. Sure, you can reach for those glasses and all will come into focus.

, you're back to square one when you take them off. This is no solution. It's more like a temporary fix. Some individuals are just getting sick and tired of reaching for those glasses every time they need to look at something. Fortunately these days there are other options. Have you ever heard of lasik eye surgery? This is a procedure gaining popularity as time moves on. Many of us want the vision dilemma fixed permanently, and this is what lasik eye surgery offers. Have you ever had 20/20? Well, these days you can achieve that perfect vision, and do it without the burden of eyeglasses.

Contact Lenses Have Their Own Problems

Do you wear contact lenses? Boy, were these all the rage in the 80's. Everyone wanted to ditch there prescription eyewear and conform to a more attractive solution to vision impairment. The contact lense not only allowed users to see clearly, but it also granted peripheral vision, which was not possible with old-school glasses. Now, the only downside was having these darn things sitting in your eyes all day. Have you tried contact lenses? They are not as comfortable as advertised. Big surprise! In addition, they are a redundant maintenance. Each morning and night you have to take them out, clean them with saline, and then store them in a container. It's time to ditch this hassle and look into lasik eye surgery. This new-age procedure is done for a reasonable price. You can acquire that 20/20 vision we all dream of. And the best part is it's permanent. There's no fumbling with contact lenses every morning or worrying about your glasses. With lasik eye surgery comes an actual solution to your vision affliction.

Hop On The Internet To Learn More

To learn more about lasik eye surgery, and the going rates in your area, you can hop on the Internet. Read testimonials from others who've received lasik eye surgery and love the results. Lasik eye surgery has been around long enough now so that it is a very safe procedure. Virtually anything you wish to know regarding this innovative procedure can be found online for free. So stop wasting your time with the old-school temporary fixes, and get with the program. Hey, if my 82 year old grandmother can have 20/20 vision, then so can you.

Technorati Tags: Appearance, contact lenses, lasik eye surgery, Medical, nearsighted

As I said in an earlier post, my wife, our daughter, and I each have allergies.

Our symptoms to our allergic reactions are similar to a cold or flu. Other people who might be allergic to shell fish or peanuts or bees, can have violent, even life-hreatening allergic reactions.  Their faces swell up,  they break out in hives, their throat might swell up and close off their air supply--potentially life-threatening reactions. These people probably have been told by a doctor about their allergies and are careful to avoid their problem causing stimulus.

Some allergic reactions fade over time

One problem that complicates this allergic reaction situation is that people's allergies change over their lifetime. You might be allergic to shell fish when you're a kid, but as you grow older, that allergy diminishes and you might acquire another allergy to something different! It makes dealing with allergies very difficult.

The Need To Consult A Specialist

The only way to really pinpoint the cause of what's making you feel lousy is to go to a specialist and take some tests to find out what you're allergic to so you'll know what to avoid and how to treat your allergic reaction. A dermatologist or an ears nose and throat specialist could perform the tests. Or log on to the Internet to find out more about the subject.

My Wife's Amazing Story

But I want to tell you this anecdote to make my point: my wife has some severe allergies--dairy products, red meat and others. But this is the most bizarre one. She was really suffering from something new several years ago. It was in November. The weather was getting colder, and she had what she thought it was the flu. She has Meunire's disease which is an inner ear disorder that is affected by her allergies and her Meunire's symtoms were acting up. So she went to her doctor and he thought her recent symptoms was an allergic reaction to something new. So she took some tests--relatively simple ones administered in the doctor's office. It took about a week for the lab results to get back, and she went back find out the results. Turns out she was allergic to cockroaches. Cockroaches! But she hadn't even seen a cockroach in years, so how could it be?

Well, she works for a big ad agency in Chicago in a downtown high rise. Cockroaches are just about anywhere there's food, and there were several restaurants in the building. Cockroaches infiltrated the building, got into the ventilation shafts, died, their bodies decayed and turned into dust. When the heating system cranked up in November, the cockroach dust became airborne and everybody in the building inhaled it! Is that disgusting or what?! I'm not making that up, I swear! So the doctor gave her some medication for her allergic reaction to cockroach dust and the problem was solved.

My point is she never would have know what was causing her allergic reaction unless she had seen her doctor and had the tests done. You might think you're allergic to pet dander when it's actually dust mites or something else. To relieve your allergic reactions, you must first know what's causing them.

Technorati Tags: allergic reaction, Allergies, Health, Medical, medication, meunires's disease

With the rising costs associated with health care and prescription drugs, people are looking to alternative sources for medications, including those purchased over the counter.

are looking at Canadian pharmacies to purchase their medications online and have them mailed directly to their homes at a lesser cost. People that have no prescription drug coverage or who can’t even afford the expensive co-pays, like senior citizens, look to Canadian pharmacies to get the medications they need. As we all know, many chronic diseases require treatment with prescription medications that must be taken on a regular basis. If we can’t afford to pay for these medications, our health suffers, which can lead to more appointments with health care providers, more tests, and more emergency room visits. All this because people can’t afford to get the medications they need to treat their health conditions.

Prescription drugs and over the counter medications can both be quite costly, as well as other supplies needed to treat various medical conditions, all of which can be purchased through Canadian pharmacies. Take a number of health conditions for example, like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease. Many of these people don’t have health insurance and therefore cannot get their medications at affordable prices. Many of their prescription medications are too expensive without insurance, and they may not qualify for any type of prescription assistance program, so what do they do. People in this situation do one of two things; either they pay the expensive costs of their medicines, or not pay other bills to pay for their medicines. This is not a good place to find yourself. Canadian pharmacies could just be the answer for these people.

U.S. Drug Companies' Reasoning

The position of U.S. drug companies on this subject, who oppose allowing U.S. citizens to purchase medications from Canadian pharmacies a lower cost, is based on the fact that the U.S. pharmacetical companies provide many of the world's new miracle drugs. The drug companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Research & Development to bring a new drug to market. Even after spending this money, some of them never are never actually introduced because they dont work or have serious side effects that could pose legal liability problems, or other reasons. So in order to re-coup these costs they secure patents for these new drugs that do make it to the market.These patents last for 17 years and give the drug companies legal protection from their competition, which essentially are foriegn drug companies.The U.S. drug companies charge a premium price for their new products until  their patents expire. When the patent expires, the price drops because competitive companies can then duplicate the formula, and the patent-protected price advantage disdappears.

Our Health Care System Poses A Competitive Problem For U.S. Drug Companies

This  problem is further complicated by the fact that the U.S. does not have socialized or subsidized medicine like a lot of other countries (Canada, and most of Western Europ[ean countries). So private-sector pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. must compete with companies overseas and above the border who have subsidized medical services and products. It's not a level playing field. The best way to understand this dilemma is to put yourself in the shoes of a U.S. pharmaceutical company. You spend a billion dollars on R&D to develop a new hypertension drug for the market. You need to charge a price that for seventeen years will generate the revenues to enable you to re-coup your investment cost. Then you find out that some company overseas has re-engineered your formula and is selling the same drug for 10% of your price. You did all the work and invested a billion dollars to develop the drug, then some other company essentially steals your formula.You can see that this situation is pretty complicated, and unfortunately the political arena here in the U.S. doesn't lend itself to long complicated discussions on political issues like high drug prices. Any health care program we develop in the next eight years should deal with this problem. Because if the U.S. drug companies can't re-coup their R&D costs and can't make a profit, the result is they'll get out of the business. So who will develop the wonder drugs of the future?

How To Get In Touch With Canadian Pharmacies

Since I don't have a solution for this dilemma, let's just push on and continue our discussion on Canadian Pharmacies. So which Canadian pharmacy should you trust to get your medications and supplies to you quickly and easily? There are a number of Canadian pharmacies to choose from, and most of them are highly reputable and have just about anything you would need. Be sure to shop around and compare prices. There is quite a difference in prices from one Canadian pharmacy to the other, and you surely don’t want to pay any more than you have to. Canadian pharmacies like www.jandrugs.com have a very user friendly site layout, which makes it easy to find your medications and order online. For a directory of Canadian pharmacies as well as answers to any questions you may have, visit www.seniormag.com/canadianpharmacy/index.htm to get started.

Technorati Tags: Canadian pharmacies, Health, Medical, medications, U.S. Drug companies

Anxiety and depression are by far the two most common mental illnesses diagnosed in the United States, and probably the world, although there haven’t been studies done to confirm it. 

They both can be debilitating in their effects, and are very difficult disorders to live with.  Unfortunately, most people with anxiety and depression do just that; live with it.  Most studies done on the diseases show that more than 75% of people who are clinically depressed go without treatment, as well as over 90% of people with anxiety disorders.

This is especially disturbing, since both anxiety and depression are the most treatable forms of mental illnesses there are.  There are a variety of medications that are available today to treat both anxiety and depression, and there are a lot of helpful resources out there that can help find the road to recovery from your symptoms.

Anxiety And Depression Related

The two diseases are not fully understood, but are definitely related in some key ways.  People suffering from anxiety disorders are many times more likely to also suffer from depression than someone without an anxiety condition.  The same is true with people suffering from depression, in that they are more likely to also have an anxiety disorder.  It is not surprising then that many of the anxiety and depression treatments are similar or even exactly the same.

Medication Treatments Work But Are Risky

Traditionally, anxiety disorders have been treated with the use of sedatives.  The first and most famous sedative used to treat anxiety is alcohol.  Due to its toxic effects and highly addictive nature, barbiturates quickly replaced alcohol as a treatment for anxiety after their introduction to the medical world in 1912.  Of course, it was soon realized that barbiturates suffer from many of the same drawbacks as alcohol, and today benzodiazapines have all but completely replaced barbiturates in anxiety treatment.

While benzodiazapines are effective in treating anxiety, they too are highly addictive chemicals, and can actually make the symptoms of depression worse.  So if you are worried about addiction, or are suffering from both anxiety and depression, you should avoid using sedatives of any kind to treat your symptoms.

There are likewise some drugs that are good for treating certain forms of depression, but will actually worsen an anxiety disorder.  Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors, such as Wellbutrin, have been shown effective in the treatment of depression, but are not recommended if you also suffer from anxiety.

Consider Natural Remedies And Therapy As An Alternative

The SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptape inhibitors, are medications that are effective in treating both anxiety and depression.  Support groups, therapy, counseling, exercise, and a healthy diet, are all non-pharmaceutical ways of treating both disorders.  If you suspect that you suffer from anxiety and depression, or either one, you should see a doctor.  Both disorders are highly treatable, but will likely only get worse without taking steps to recover.

Technorati Tags: Anxiety, depression, Medical, medication, Natural Remedies, Therapy, treatment

Losing your hair can be a devastating experience.  A full, healthy head of hair is a sign of youth and if yours begins

to thin it can be the first sign that you are maturing.  For some people they view it as a sign of older age setting in and the effects are not only cosmetic but psychological as well.

Hair loss can be stopped.  If you are looking for a cure for hair loss you’ll need to decide on which technique is best for you and your particular situation.
Natural Cure

One cause of hair loss is a poor diet.  Therefore it would seem obvious that the cure for hair loss in this case is to adjust the diet.  If a person is not eating healthy every part of their body will be impacted, including the hair.

There are some vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy hair and if you eat foods that are rich in them, you’ll have the most natural cure for hair loss.

Some of those important elements are Vitamin C, all the B Vitamins and essential fatty acids.  Although these can all be taken in a supplement form, the body absorbs them better if they are consumed through food.

Changing your diet to incorporate these elements can have an impact on your thinning hair.  As you adapt to these dietary changes you can also include more water in your diet.  Water is important in the growth and maintenance of healthy hair and drinking a full eight glasses of water each day is also a good cure for hair loss.

Start With A Physician

There are many prescribed medications that claim to be a cure for hair loss. Some are taken internally in the form of a pill or capsule.  Many are creams or lotions that are applied to the scalp to stimulate hair growth.

It’s important to consult with a physician who understands that biology of hair loss.  He or she will first need to determine what the underlying cause of the hair loss is.  From there, they can effectively prescribe a treatment for it.

Of course if you’ve ever watched television late in the evening you’ve been subjected to infomercials that advertise a cure for hair loss.  They show models with before and after pictures.  The results seem outstanding and it’s easy to want to call immediately to start the treatment as soon as possible.

Although many of these products might work as promised, not all do.  Your best course of action is to consult with a medical professional and find the cause of the hair loss.  Once you do this you’ll be on the right path to finding a cure.

Technorati Tags: cure hair loss, fatty acids, Hair Loss, Medical, self image, vitamin B, vitamin C, youthful appearance

But one thing is for sure: If you are overweight and out of shape or if you have a family history of diabetes, you should have your blood sugar checked at least once a year. Because if you are developing Type-2  diabetes, you'll need to do something about it. It is a nasty disease and over time can cause many hardships for you, not the least of which is a shortened lifespan. Here's some basic background information on the subject.

Basic Information

A blood sugar level or blood glucose level measures how well a person's body is processing the sugar that is taken in through the diet. Test results can be obtained by a simple finger stick with a glucometer or with a traditional laboratory venipuncture. There are different tests that can determine blood sugar levels at various stages, such as a fasting, random, 2-hour glucose tolerance test, and glycated hemoglobin test. All of these tests measure blood sugar levels with a simple procedure, but the results can differentiate between normal, pre-diabetes, and type 1 or type 2 diabetes. There may also be other signs and symptoms present that are indicative of a blood sugar level being too low or too high.

What Do Blood Sugar Levels Signify?

Most of the time blood is tested is drawn randomly, unless the primary care provider has specifically requested a patient to fast before having the test done. A random test does not take into consideration the last time a person ate a meal or a snack. According to www.mayoclinic.com, a normal random reading should be less than 100 mg/dL; pre-diabetes is suggested if the level is greater than 100 mg/dL but less than 199 mg/dL. A level above 200 mg/dL or higher is indicative of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. A fasting blood sugar level is drawn after an eight hour period with no food or beverages with sugar or calories. This test is usually drawn first thing in the morning, and is considered normal if the level is below 70 mg/dL. If diabetes is suspected after preliminary tests, then a 2-hour glucose tolerance test is ordered. Fasting is also required for this test to get accurate results. Patients first drink a sugary liquid and then have their blood drawn two hours later. A normal reading is less than 140 mg/dL, pre-diabetes is suggested if level is between 140-199 mg/dL, and type 1 or type 2 if level is 200 mg/dL or higher. The glycated hemoglobin or hemoglobin A1C test is used not to diagnose diabetes, but to manage ongoing treatment. It measures the average blood sugar level for the previous three month period, and indicates how well diabetes has been managed during that time.

It is recommended that everyone have their blood sugar level checked from time to time to make sure that glucose is within the normal range. Low and high blood sugar levels are usually accompanied by symptoms that are related to how low or high glucose is in the bloodstream. Once diabetes is diagnosed, patients are instructed to check their blood sugar levels often for proper management of their disease, cut out refined sugar from the diet, get adequate exercise on a regular basis, and follow their prescribed plan of care for the best results. These are jusat some of the things recommended for people trying to deal with Type-2 diabetes. In subsequent posts, we'll have more suggestions for you to follow.

Healthy Weight Loss Tips: Get member support, nutritionists' advice, the doctor's tips, results!

Technorati Tags: blood sugar, Diabetes, Diet, Exercise, High Blood Pressure, Medical, regular checkups, treatment

In fact, I can remember as a boy we played indoors at grade school in the winter in a large basement room whose ceiling was lined with hot water pipes used for radiator heat. During recess and lunch breaks we would play a version of hockey except we kicked a volley ball around. More often that not, it seemed, the ball would hit one of the pipes, all of which were wrapped with asbestos and secured with a thin cloth. The impact would send a cloud of dust to the floor and invariably into the air we breathed. We didn't know it then, but we were endangering our lives by breathing this poisonous pollutant. Thankfully, I'm still alive and kicking, but I don't know if any of my classmates have contracted a deadly asbestos-related disease from those indoor games.

Symptoms Can Take Years To Develop

Asbestos exposure can lead to medical issues and asbestos related disease years down the road. There are some types of asbestos related disease that may not manifest for twenty to forty years after a person has been exposed. Therefore, awareness and diagnosis of the problem is both critical and difficult.

These ailments come in many shapes and sizes, and are caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. This exposure occurs in homes, workplaces and schools that were constructed using materials containing asbestos.  Asbestos was a very common building material in the 20th century, prior to our knowledge of its harmful effects on our health, and was found in materials ranging from roofing to siding to insulation.

People Exposed To Asbestos Are AT Risk

People are exposed to asbestos and thus at risk for becoming ill when they breathe in air containing asbestos fibers. Once inside the body, asbestos fibers can move around, although one of the more commonly damaged areas is the lungs.

Asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer are both labeled as being an asbestos related disease. Asbestosis is irritation and inflammation of the lungs caused by scarring due to asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is a cancer that occurs around the lungs, ribs and abdominal organs.

Persons At Risk Should Not Smoke

Treatment can include standard cancer treatments, vaccinations and infection treatment where appropriate, and use of oxygen for breathing issues. Those who have or who are at risk for asbestos related disease and smoke are strongly encouraged to seek help with smoking cessation.

Exposure to asbestos is not a guarantee that someone will experience medical difficulties. However, those who have been exposed should be aware of the risks and obtain regular medical evaluation, especially since asbestos related disease can take decades to occur.

Legal Recourse An Option For Victims

Many cases are the result of exposures that occurred in unsafe workplaces. In other instances, individuals were exposed because of building construction using materials that contained asbestos occurring in or near residential areas. Because of this, there are many lawsuits involving asbestos exposure and many lawyers and legal firms who focus on restitution for those suffering from asbestos related disease. In addition, many areas known to have had high risk for asbestos exposure have programs in place, both private and non-profit, which offer screening for asbestos related disease and support for individuals and family members dealing with health issues.

If there is reason to believe that asbestos is present in a building, whether it be a commercial building, workplace, or residential home, experts should be contacted to inspect the property and recommend appropriate courses of action.

Technorati Tags: asbestos-diseases, Health, Legal Recourse, Medical, Mesothelioma, treatment

I'm allergic to some types of pet dander and pollen,she sees a specialist on a regular basis because her allergies are more complex and serious. Since she's the expert in the family, she's writing today's post.

Be Vigilant
My daughter’s preschool teacher sent home a memo the first week of school to let all of the parents know that one of the children in the class has a severe allergy to peanuts. We were supposed to keep this in mind for when it was our turn to provide the class treats each week. I had never had to deal with a food allergy in my family, so this was completely new to me. Two years later, I discovered I was allergic to cheese!  When it was my snack week, I went crazy trying to find something that would not cause this child to have an allergic reaction. I am shocked at how many products without peanuts have warnings that they may have come into contact with peanuts at some point. However, I ended up picking out some treats that didn’t adversely affect the child and everything was fine.

Our Family's Allergies

We have a few allergies in my family that I am always keeping in the back of my mind. I am allergic to penicillin, which has become much milder as I’ve gotten older.  Of course, that doesn’t affect me on a daily basis. I'm also allergic to certain foods, particularly dairy products, which I only recently developed. My husband is allergic to cats. I had two cats when I first met him and he neglected to tell me this. Once we were married, he couldn’t hide his allergic reaction anymore. I found him sneezing hysterically one day when I returned home from work. Oddly enough, he loves cats, he just gets a stuffy allergic reaction to them. We’ve kept the cats as family members, I simply spend more time ensuring that there isn’t as much cat hair around to irritate his allergies. My daughter is allergic to bees. It didn’t take long, after one stung her as a baby, to determine that she was having an allergic reaction to the sting. She developed a rash within minutes and started to swell. As scary as it was, we have been dealing with it for 4 years now and know how to properly handle the situation if and when it arises.

What Causes Allergies?

There are so many things in the world that cause an allergic reaction in so many different people and countries, it makes it difficult to narrow down the causes. The only way to know for sure is to see a specialist like I do, who can conduct tests that will tell you exactly what your allergies are.My doctor is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Trouble is, allergies come and go. You might be allergic to dairy products, but a year or two later your symptoms to them dissipate. Whether it is an allergy to an animal or to a food, everyone experiences their allergic reaction in different ways. You can’t always cater to every type of allergic reaction or allergy that may cross your path, but sometimes, you need to be aware of them. If you do have school age children, you should know if there are some kids that may have an allergic reaction to certain foods. If you’re having overnight guests, you may want to find out if they are allergic to your pets. If you are aware of allergies ahead of time, you may be able to avoid quite a bit of inconvenience for yourself and others. Plus, it may be appreciated much more than you could ever realize.

Technorati Tags: allergic reaction, allergiies, bee allergy, food allergies, Medical, peanut allergy, penicillin allergy, pet allergies