What is Asthma? Facts and Fiction

Approximately 25 million Americans suffer from asthma, and the number of people with the condition has steadily risen since the 1980s among all age and racial groups, according to statistics compiled by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Every day over 44,000 Americans suffer an asthma attack, and nearly 5,000 people need to visit an emergency room in order to deal with an attack. Unfortunately some people never receive the care they need to overcome an attack, as the condition kills nine people a day in the U.S. The number of individuals asthma kills each year has increased by 50 percent in the last 30 years, with African Americans being three times more likely to die from the condition than other racial groups.

Asthma also takes its toll on the economy, as each year over $18 billion is spent either on treatment or lost due to missed work. Understanding your asthma can help you deal with the disease on a daily basis so you can live a healthy and full life.

What is Asthma?
A lung condition that impede with a person’s ability to breath, asthma stems from a chronic inflammation in the tubes that carry air into the lungs. Asthma can cause serious, recurring episodes of breathlessness and wheezing, known as asthma attacks, which can lead to a shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, and an inability to stop coughing. In extreme cases, an asthma attack cuts off the amount of oxygen the body is receiving, requiring emergency treatment to help reopen airways and restore oxygen levels in the body. While asthma cannot be cured, it can be successfully managed.

What Causes an Attack?
Individuals with asthma experience constantly inflamed airway. Specific triggers can cause this inflammation to become worse and lead to a narrowing of the airways in the lungs. These triggers can also cause the body to simultaneously produce excess mucus that further closes the airways and reduces the amount of oxygen your body receives. When working together, the mucus and inflammation restrict the amount of air your lungs receive, and as too little air gets through, wheezing and breathlessness occur.

Asthma Allergens
A variety of allergens can trigger an asthma attack, including mold, cockroaches, dust mites, tree or flower pollen, and foods such as eggs, fish, or peanuts. Knowing what your asthma triggers are can help you reduce the number of asthma attacks you experience.

Here are some of the more common causes of asthma attacks:

Pets - Allergies to pets, or more specifically pet dander, is a common asthma trigger. The dead skin cells that collect on fur, clothing, and furniture, dander can cause an asthma attack in as little as 15 minutes after being inhaled. Individuals with cat allergies also react negative to the protein found in a cat’s skin, saliva, and urine. This protein can gather in the air and triggers asthma attacks in between 20 to 30 percent of all people with asthma.

Air Pollution - Whether you’re outdoors or in, air pollution can play havoc with your asthma. Smog, cigarette smoke, hairspray, and paint fumes are some of the many non-allergic triggers that can cause an asthma attack. These triggers cause attacks by irritating the airways in the lungs.

Exercise - Despite the many health benefits associated with exercise, physical activity can cause exercised-induced asthma attacks in many people. Fortunately this type of asthma attack can be control so it won’t interfere with your ability to stay fit.

Weather- Changes in weather, such as a drop in temperature, change in humidity, or extremely arid conditions, can lead to a asthma attack.

What Is Male Menopause: Facts, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments

What is Male Menopause?

An increasing number of men are having concerns about a decline in hormones during mid-life, as a result the words “andropause” and “male menopause” are starting to be seen everywhere. It used to be called a “mid-life crisis”. A more accurate label is the term male menopause, for the sometimes distressful and very real condition. Men are relieved that it is no longer called a silly crisis; there are a number of reasons for the decline that occur mid-life.

Image Source: depositphotos.com

Some physicians refer to the problem as testosterone or androgen decline in men as they are aging since there is not a period that is well defined and referred to as menopause.  It is also known as low testosterone. The production of testosterone declines as men begin aging but diabetes and other conditions can cause the decline in the male hormone production.

The decline in testosterone that is experienced, can come with some symptoms including:

• Depression
• Fatigue
• Sexual problems
• Weakness

The difference from female menopause is that the decline in testosterone that men experience happens slowly. In women the production of hormones stops completely. The substance that is needed to produce testosterone is not depleted entirely from the testes, unlike with the ovaries. Men that are healthy could be able to produce sperm well past their eighties.

Image Source: desertsierramedical.com

There may be subtle changes that occur in the testes from the ages of forty-five to fifty years of age, and after the age of seventy some men may experience dramatic changes.

How Is Male Menopause Diagnosed?

There are some things that the doctor will do to diagnose male menopause.

• Question you about symptoms
• A physical exam will be performed
• Rule out medical problems that could contribute to the condition by ordering tests
• Order blood tests. These tests may involve measuring testosterone levels.

Can Male Menopause Be Treated?

Testosterone replacement therapy might provide some relief to the symptoms of low levels of testosterone.

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Decreased libido (loss of interest in sex)
• Morning erections decrease
• Sexual intercourse frequency declines
• Testicular and genital size decreases
• Body fat increases
• Memory loss
• Changes in mood
• Vagueness
• Gynaecomastia (enlarged nipples)

There is the potential for side effects and risks with testosterone replacement therapy just like there is with the therapy for replacing hormones in women. An example would be that prostate cancer could be made worse by the testosterone replacement.

Speak with a doctor to learn more when considering replacement therapy for androgen. There may be lifestyle or other changes recommended by your doctor to aid with the male menopause symptoms. These could include:

• Antidepressant or other medications
• Diet
• Program for exercise

Alternative Male Menopause Treatments

• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Exercise
• Multi-mineral supplement
• Multi-vitamin supplement
• Soy
• Vegetables that contain indole- (brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)
• Ayurvedic herbal remedies
• Grapefruit should be avoided
• Alcohol should be avoided
• Ayurvedic dietary changes

Before you use a complementary or alternative treatment, or make changes or stop any treatment in favor of alternative approaches, you should check with your doctor or another qualified medical professional. In some cases, alternative treatments can pose a danger while in others the preventives or treatments might be useful.
Tammy Mahan has been a nurse for 20 years. In her free time she works as a freelance medical/health writer for Healthline.com.

Joint Pain - Facts, Types and Prevention

Joint Pain facts
Joints build up the connections between the bones and offer assistance in addition to allow you to move. Any damage to the joint may cause very bad joint pain. However joint pain impacts lots of people which make it turning into a much bigger problem every day. And this pain can affect a person's good quality of lifestyle by making every single day working more challenging together with excruciating. Let's take a closer look at different joint pain types and how it can be prevented.

Joint pain types

Arthritis: Arthritis is a form of joint complaint which said to be a critical problem. Arthritis is a group of conditions which involves inflammation of one or more joints particularly in getting old.
Bursitis: Bursitis is the inflammation caused by one or more bursae (Bursae are little sacks in the synovial fluid inside body).
Knee Pain: knee pain is the most common illness among maximum people. The main reason of knee pain includes overusing the knee or unexpectedly hurting it.
Shoulder Pain: The shoulder is among the most mobile joint in the entire body. Shoulder pain is any specific pain in or around the shoulder joint.
Wrist Pain: Wrist Pain is termed as any discomfort, pain, aching, burning, numbness, or tingling in the wrist.
Back Pain: In Back pain, peoples feel tension, stiffness or ache in the back which originates from the nerves, bones muscles, joints or other structures in the spine.
Hip Pain: Hip pain is not always felt directly over the hip. In hip pain individual feel discomfort in or around the hip joint.
Ankle pain: Ankle pain is a common complaint due to ankle sprain which involves discomfort in one or both ankles.
Foot Pain: Foot Pain is often termed as discomfort or sensation in the foot due to overweight, Being on your feet for long periods of time or aging.
Toe Pain: Toe Pain is discomfort or sensation which can be felt anywhere in the foot,
Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis is most common joint pain disease in which individual bone becomes more insubstantial and prone to fracture.

How to Prevent Joint Pain

Arthritis Prevention: You will find numerous ways of preventing arthritis joint pain. Here listed few of them. Do regular exercise and other activity. Exercise will helpful for bones, joints and muscle so it will minimize the chances of arthritis.

Bursitis Prevention: Staying healthy and strong is best way to stay away from Bursitis. Though exercise, Warm up and stretches, maintaining a healthy weight can also be effective in preventing Bursitis.

Knee Pain Prevention: Knee pain is not so easy to prevent but there are a few precautions you can take. Always stay away from any sport which may cause knee injuries, avoid twisting your knee while exercising. Stretch your legs to ease pressure on the knee.

Shoulder Pain Prevention: As we know Shoulder problems are common all because of carrying bag on shoulder during school and college. So do not carry any heavy weight which can cause shoulder pain. Stretch your arms before doing any exercise, massage, take a short break while doing any hard work.

Wrist Pain Prevention: Few basic ways can help you to prevent wrist pain. Maintain bone health consuming acceptable amount of calcium, take frequent break which doing any activities which requires more finger or wrist motions, drink lots of water, Stretch your wrist daily.

Back Pain Prevention: It's much easier to prevent back pain through healthy lifestyle. Stretching, exercising, consuming healthy diet, protecting your back in office through maintaining right siting position at your desk, maintaining healthy sleeping position and protecting your back while weight lifting.

Hip Pain Prevention: To prevent hip pain one has to stay at a healthy weight so that extra strain on hip should be avoided and you stay away from pain. Always do some warm-up before doing any activities. High heels should be escaped.

Ankle pain Prevention: To prevent this provide your Ankle right amount of exercise prior to any sport or any intense workout. It is suggested to always keep your ankle as elastic as possible.

Foot Pain Prevention: To prevent foot pain you have to follow consistent exercise. Its better to wear right shoe if you doing any specific workout or activity. Do not walk without any footwear.

Toe Pain Prevention: To avoid toe pain you have to keep toe reason healthy and clean. Always choose suitable footwear and don’t put too much weight on toe reason.

Osteoporosis Prevention: To prevent Osteoporosis throughout life make sure to take sufficient amounts of calcium intake, vitamin D with regular exercise. Eat foods reach in calcium and Vitamin D better bone health. Moderate your alcohol intake and quit smoking.

Always be on healthy, natural side so you can enjoy your life with full of joy and happiness. Thanks for visiting this post.

Facts About Low Testosterone

About Testosterone

Testosterone is the male hormone that gives men lower voices, facial hair, and sexual interest. Testosterone does been to decline gradually in men after the age of 30, but a sharp decline in testosterone is not normal, and can be a precursor to some more serious illnesses.
It can also be hard to diagnose or for men to even recognize as a problem because the symptoms closely mirror the symptoms of things like depression and high blood pressure.

Symptoms

As previously stated, there are many symptoms of low Testosterone, and they can indicate other things such as depression or high blood pressure. However, if a man is experiencing several of these symptoms together, it is very important that he consult his doctor for further testing:

• Lowered libido – Although a man’s sex drive will decrease as he becomes older, a marked disinterest in sex can be an indicator of low testosterone.
• Lack of energy – Low testosterone has also been linked to lower energy and becoming tired more quickly than normal.
• Depression – Depression is another symptom of low testosterone. A man who has low testosterone is four times more likely to experience depression than a man who has normal levels of testosterone.
• Decreased strength and height – If a man feels like he’s shorter than normal, it may not be in his head. Low testosterone contributes to low bone density, which can cause a man to lose height. It’s also related to muscle strength, so a man with low testosterone may be feeling weaker than normal.

Medications

There are certain medications that can lower a man’s testosterone, or can mimic symptoms of low testosterone. A patient who is experiencing symptoms of low testosterone should consult his physician to be tested and to see if medication is causing the symptoms or if it is actually low testosterone.

Side Effects

The long term lasting side effects of low testosterone are serious. Because testosterone contributes to bone and muscle strength, a man can become injured or even permanently disabled as the result of untreated low testosterone.
This can cause a permanent stooped posture as well. It can cause increased abdominal body fat, and even a decreased sense of well-being that can contribute to life-threatening depression and anxiety.

Treatments

There are some treatments for low testosterone, including gels and testosterone boosters designed to replace the missing hormone in the man’s body.
Some doctors, however, do not feel that this is a viable treatment, especially for men who are older and are losing testosterone anyway. For these men, it may be more practical to treat the symptoms that the low testosterone has caused rather than to actually replace the hormone. This means treating the depression and decreased strength, and keeping an eye on the loss of bone density.
Losing testosterone can make a man feel like he’s not as much of a man as he used to be, but for older men it’s simply a part of life. It can be treated if it’s simply unbearable or if the man is young enough to be severely affected, but some care and thought should be put into the decision. Sometimes it’s enough to treat the symptoms than replace the hormone all together.

Belviq: Facts, Ingredients and Side Effects

Belviq is manufactured by “Arena Pharmaceuticals”. Belviq weight loss drug manufacturer says that Belviq will be made available to U.S. patients within few days, which is nearly year after this weight loss drug approved by federal regulators. So let’s take a closer look and review facts and fiction about this drug.

What is Belviq?

BELVIQ is weight loss drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to use as an assistant to a decrease calorie diet plan and also improved physical exercise for long term excess weight control in adult individuals.

Facts about Belviq

Individual with initial BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more, obsessed , or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition get relief by belviq which reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
BELVIQ is considered to lessen meal intake in addition to promote satiety by selectively turning on serotonin 2C receptors in the human brain. Activation of those receptors enables an individual consumes much less and sense full after consuming less food.

Belviq Marketing and Distribution

Arena Pharmaceuticals permitted promotion together with distribution privileges for BELVIQ to Eisai for North and South America and to Ildong for South Korea.

What are the ingredients in Belviq?

lorcaserin hydrochloride is main active ingredient in belviq. Other inactive ingredient include croscarmellose sodium NF, hydroxypropyl cellulose NF, silicified microcrystalline cellulose, colloidal silicon dioxide NF, polyethylene glycol NF, polyvinyl alcohol USP, talc USP, titanium dioxide USP.

What are the side effects of Belviq?

BELVIQ may cause a slow heartbeat and people without diabetes can affect by following problems.

• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Dry mouth
• Patients with diabetes can experience these Common Adverse Reactions:
• Headache
• Cough
• Hypoglycemia
• fatigue

Belviq Warnings and Precautions

Though BELVIQ is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use, people must take precautions before taking BELVIQ.

• Women who are nursing should not be take BELVIQ.
• Be careful not to use Belviq in case you are allergic to lorcaserin, or
• Not to use Belviq in case of you find yourself pregnant.
• Patients ought not to take BELVIQ along with medications which have been connected with valvular heart problems.
• Since BELVIQ may cause a gradual heart beat , it needs to be utilized with care in patients with a background of bradycardia or even heart block.
• Patients must count blood sugar levels before and throughout treatment with BELVIQ.
• Patients must never ride or even operate heavy equipment until they know how BELVIQ affects them.
• The dosage of 10 mg two times every day must not be exceeded.
• Males who encounter priapism must stop taking it and look for emergency healthcare consideration.

More about Belviq

1. Belviq can be habit developing and needs to be utilized exclusively by the individual for whom it was recommended.
2. Never ever share Belviq with someone else.
3. There could be further medicines that may interact with Belviq. Inform your physician regarding almost all medicines bring and use. This consists of doctor prescribed, non-prescribed, vitamin, and also natural herb products.
4. Belviq in fact available on the market ten several months after its rival “Vivus” launched Qsymia in September. Researcher claim that Qsymia provide more weight reduction when it compared with Belviq.

I think you get good knowledge about Belviq and I will surely provide Belviq Customer Reviews after it will available in market.

Colon Cancer Facts

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the 3rd most common cancer and the 3rd leading cause of cancer death. Colorectal cancer often develops without any symptoms, but the great news is that it can be preventable if caught early, with a screening exam. 

With recommended guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, your doctor can find colon polyps and remove them, before they become cancerous. Colorectal cancer forms in the tissues of the colon, which is the largest part of the intestine.  Rectal cancer forms in the tissues of the rectum, which is the last several inches of the large intestine before the anus.  Either of these cancers is called colorectal cancer.  

Get the facts on the disease, as well as colon cancer screening and prevention with Capital Digestive Care's infographic and please share with your loved ones - especially those 50 or older (45 for African Americans), or those with a family history. More information is available at: 
http://www.capitaldigestivecare.com/free-infographic-colon-cancer-awareness

By: Capital Digestive Care, The founding physicians of digestive care in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area (16 office locations), all CONNECTED, leading to a better understanding of each patient's condition & the most effective plan of care.

What is Menopause: Facts, Causes And Symptoms

Menopause Facts

Menopause marks the end of the reproductive phase of a woman’s life. When a woman ages, her body experiences many changes and a lot of them are triggered by the hormonal changes brought on by menopause the end of the menstrual cycle. While many may regard as a blessing, it is important to understand how it affects the body.

What triggers menopause?

With the arrival of the mid-forties, the ovaries reduce the production of the sex hormones, namely progesterone and estrogen. Apart from impacting a woman’s health and certain physical aspects, these hormones are collectively responsible for

1. Ovulation - the process by which an egg is released by the ovaries into the fallopian tubes.
2. Normal development and function of the uterus
3. Growth of breasts
4. Preparation of the lining of the uterus to accept the fertilized egg.

The most common age for menopause:

Ages between 40 up to 60 are considered normal for the onset of menopause in the Western World. Women typically get their last period at the age of 51 (average estimated). Changes in the menstrual cycle marking the end of the fertility period occurring earlier than 45 years of age is referred to as “early menopause” whereas later than 55 years is considered “late menopause”.

Premature menopause:

It so happens at times that menopause occurs before the age of 40. Such cases are regarded as falling under “premature menopause” and are often the result of autoimmune disorders, genetics or medical procedures such at chemotherapy or removal of ovaries.

Another reason for early menopause is “premature ovarian failure”. For reasons not yet known, this happens when the ovaries halt the production of eggs thus triggering changes in the hormone profile. This is not necessarily a permanent situation though, unlike premature menopause.

Symptoms of menopause:

As per the experts, one year without your period confirms the arrival of menopause. The initial phase when menopause kicks in, known as “peri-menopause”, may persist for 3 to 5 years when estrogen levels start dipping.

You may start experiencing the symptoms well before that one-year period begins. Mentioned below is a list of a few symptoms of menopause.

• Irregular periods – Not every woman faces the same symptoms but this is generally the first sign. Your   period may become irregular or you might end up skipping over them for months at time.
• Hot flashes
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Depression and other mood swings
• Joint or muscle ache
• Altered libido
• Dry or itchy vagina

When the body has to do away with estrogen, it becomes susceptible to a number of health risks including osteoporosis and heart disease. But there is no need to panic- understanding menopause is the key to coping with it.