The Importance of Dust Masks
Friday, May 29, 2009
If your job takes you to places where the air quality may be compromised, or if you undertake a project at home that exposes you to possible air contaminants, safety should be your number one priority. Humans take over 20,000 breaths a day on average, and air is something we can’t go without for more than a few minutes. Since avoiding harmful air may be impossible if you have to be in certain environments, steps must be taken to make breathing as safe as possible. A good dust mask could mean the difference between healthy breathing and permanent physical damage.
Exposure to dusts and other harmful materials in the air can lead to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD includes two major respiratory illnesses: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis inflames the lung’s airways. When the body produces mucus to fight back, the airways become blocked and breathing becomes difficult. Emphysema destroys lung tissue and causes air pockets to form in the lungs. The lungs lose their ability to stretch during the inhale/exhale process, and as air becomes trapped in the lungs, you struggle to catch your breath. It’s clear that brief exposure to dangerous substances can result in a lifetime of labored breathing and respiratory problems. Investing in a high-quality dust mask could help you breathe easy for many years, even if you must work in environments where the air quality is poor.
When shopping for dust masks, look for the NIOSH approval rating. These ratings start with an N, R, or P for non-oil resistant, oil resistant, and oil-proof filter, respectively. An N mask will not protect you in the presence of oil mist while a P mask will usually last for 40 hours in the presence of oil aerosols. The NIOSH rating also includes a numeric value. The number tells you the filter efficiency of the mask based on its ability to block particles with a 0.3 micron diameter. The number is the percentage of effectiveness, so an N95 mask, for example, is non-oil resistant and is 95% effective.
The evidence is clear: exposure to contaminated air can cause irreparable lung damage. Sometimes the dangers are not apparent. A recent study revealed that workers at a crab processing plant were at risk for respiratory illnesses due to exposure to certain crab proteins while crushing shells, boiling, and separating crab legs and claws. So err on the side of caution: the use of a dust mask now could preserve your healthy lungs in the future.
posted by Healthy Life @ 3:58 AM,
10 Paths to Conquer Asthma
Friday, May 22, 2009
Asthma is a condition where due to certain stimuli a person experiences narrowing of air passages and difficulty in breathing. Treatment for asthma should be done under the guidance of a doctor and should be planned carefully. The key lies in recognizing the causes and managing the condition such that you are in control of the situation.
Treatments include:
1. Preventive action where you avoid situations that triggers off symptoms.
2. Practice meditation and breathing exercises to strengthen the air passages and lungs.
3. Exercise regularly to keep fit and to strengthen your heart as well as lungs.
4. Use air conditioning this will reduce your exposure to air born pollen and other triggers.
5. Keep your environment free of dust mites, pet dander, fur and feathers by regularly vacuuming and decontaminating your mattresses, pillows, sofas, throws, carpets, as well as curtains and covers.
6. Use inhalers which are of three types: aerosol inhalers; breath-actuated inhalers; and dry powder inhalers. These contain medication in aerosol form to provide immediate relief.
7. Drugs like short acting beta agonist namely salbutamol and terbutaline are first prescribed. The alternative medications are long acting beta2 agnostics like salmeterol or formoterol or antimuscarinics like ipratropium or oxitropium. In layman terms asthma medication is of two kinds anti-inflammatory medicines and bronchodilators. Common medicines are Albuterol, Altrovent, Pulmocort Respules.
8. Combination therapies where a steroid along with long acting medication are prescribed. Alternately, a combination of antimuscarinic and short acting beta 2 agnostic is used.
9. Use of special equipments like a peak flow meter which will warn you of an impeding attack and an inhaler spacer which will ensure efficient disbursement of medication.
10. Allergen Immunotherapy where the patient is desensitized to asthma causing allergens like smoke, weed, grass, pollen, dust, mold and so on. Similarly the patient is tested for food allergies that trigger off attacks and treated for them.
Research indicates that the best option for patients is to maintain a dairy and record when and why attacks occur. This will give a clear understanding of triggers. Then the next step is to create an asthma management plan with the help of your doctor. To strengthen the mind and spirit patients are often asked to join therapy groups that talk about fears, problems faced by asthmatics, personal experiences, and work together at breathing exercises and other regimens to strengthen their bodies.
posted by Healthy Life @ 3:57 AM,
How Bird Flu Kills
Friday, May 15, 2009
The bird flu virus is supposed to be really affecting the birds only. However, because of the nature of flu viruses that can be able to mutate and transfer from one species to the other. The bird flu virus that has been killing birds has now been affecting humans as well.
The good news is that bird flu virus has only killed few humans as of the moment. That’s why health officials are working overtime to prevent bird flu from becoming an outbreak. How the virus works on humans is still a complete wonder. There are still more and more studies undertaken to fully understand this virus.
What is known however is that there are 15 types of avian flu virus that affects birds. That’s why birds also have running noses as well, only theirs is a running beak (corny). The current outbreak of bird flu is caused by the H5N1 strain. This strain is very contagious and can cause rapid fatalities. This strain, unlike the others, can be transmitted to humans, which makes it deadlier.
Remember the SARS scare we experienced years back? Compared to Bird Flu, SARS is just an ordinary cold. Their symptoms are similar but the virus that causes them is completely different. SARS is also less contagious because the person infected can just be isolated.
There could be low pathogenic virus or high pathogenic virus that can affect birds. The low pathogenic virus can affect birds in minor ways only. Ruffled feathers and reduced egg production are some. Highly pathogenic virus cause severe diseases such as respiratory diseases. In domestic birds, when the symptoms appear, they die the same day.
Other symptoms of the bird flu on birds are: loss of appetite, nervousness like chicken little, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, and depression. Yes, birds do get depressed and they might end up being suicidal, drinking your Prozac.
Just as in the birds, the highly pathogenic forms are the ones that greatly affect the humans as well. These highly pathogenic forms are what cause deaths in humans as well.
The incubation period of the bird flu on humans is still not yet known clearly. The ill effects might develop one to five days from exposure to the virus.
Sometimes, the only indication that a person has been infected is an eye infection or conjunctivitis. However, having conjunctivitis, you might only think that it’s ordinary sore eyes.
Then other symptoms that are common to flu are also developed. That’s why it really is hard to know that the person has been affected by the virus. Other symptoms include, cough, fever, and sore throat.
It will then develop to life threatening complications that include viral pneumonia, and respiratory failure and distress.
That’s why health officials and scientist are scrambling for ways to just make ways to prevent outbreaks. Because they would not want a person to have misconceptions that he or she only has ordinary flu, but is the already life-threatening bird flu.
posted by Healthy Life @ 3:57 AM,
About Emu Oil
Friday, May 1, 2009
About Emu Oil - Emu oil is non-greasy and would not clog pores, it makes a good skin moisturizer and softener. Research has shown emu oil can thicken the skin, which reduces the appearance of aging. If you suffer from arthritis or have a nagging skin condition, Emu Oil may be just what you need. Headily stated that after conducting massage treatments using the emu oil on her abdomen, the texture of the skin changed and elasticity was renewed. Topical application of emu oil can deliver these nutrients deep into the skin to support healthy cell growth. Is an excellent emulsifier - it can be blended with products that will not feel oily on the skin. A study looking at factors that stimulate and inhibit skin and hair growth using emu oil and corn oil. While all parts of the emu are used (meat, nails, feathers, skin and oil), it is not cruelty-free. Clinical Studies have shown that two major properties of Emu Oil are its ability to penetrate the skin and its anti-inflammatory properties. Because it penetrates the skin so deeply and quickly, Emu Oil helps to deliver fast respite from leg cramps, muscle aches, pains and pulls. produces and manufactures emu oil products for skin care products and increases skin layer thickness by up to 50 per cent as well as decreasing wrinkles and age spots.
Anti-inflammatory - Research has shown that Emu oil has superior penetrating properties and it is now a registered anti-inflammatory in its own right. There is much anecdotal material available on the anti-inflammatory abilities of emu oil. shown to be an anti-inflammatory agent, a pain reducer, and an active ingredient carrier, Emu Oil also has the potential to lower cholesterol. Properly rendered emu oil is penetrating, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, healing, moisturizing, and non-comedogenic. To determine the acute anti-inflammatory effects of topically applied emu oil. As a medical application, emu oil is pain relieving, anti-inflammatory, burn and wound healing and has even been shown to grow hair. A gentle, low temperature refining process is used resulting in a superior, premium quality, natural emu oil with high anti-inflammatory biological activity. The potency of the anti-inflammatory effect from Emu Oil is similar to ibuprofen without the negative side-affects. On the other hand, a more recent study compared the anti-inflammatory ability of emu oil with several other oils, including olive and flaxseed. For several years specialists have been interested in emu oil%u2019s anti-inflammatory and transdermal properties.
Pain Relief - The results indicated that emu oil may substantially reduce the pain caused by arthritis. The indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines, use emu oil for its healing and restorative effects, particularly with regard to joint pain. After intensive training sessions, using emu oil on his knees helps alleviate pain and stiffness. - Emu oil contains high levels of linoleic acid, known to relieve arthritic pain. - Emu oil promotes faster healing for burn victims with reduced pain and scarring. Used on burns, sunburns and scrapes, emu oil can reduce pain and blistering and is even thought to reduce scarring. The most promising use of emu oil is in pain management. Linoleic acid (an Omega-6), the second most abundant fatty acid in emu oil, has been shown to ease muscle and joint pain. emu oil hot rub for pain relief - the original and the best For the temporary relief of muscular and arthritic pain. There seems to be a lot of research taking place on the following: Emu oil: wound healing, antibacterial, hair loss, muscle pain. Enjoy natural pain relief with emu oil. A commercial market for meat, hides, feathers, and emu oil is developing. This means that more and more people are using the emu for its meat than just having the emus to use for its oil. On-farm sales: pure emu oil, handmade soap and lip balm made with emu oil, emu meat, ground steaks and roasts. Besides the oil, the EMU also produces a red, low cholesterol and low fat meat as well as a world class leather. Most vegetarians will use emu oil because 97% of the bird is utilized (meat, hide, carcass, organs, feathers, fat). Try and choose an emu oil product that has other ingredients that can help your pain condition as this will give you more relief. There are many companies with product experience that are using emu oil in their product line. In modern times, emu oil enthusiasts have recommended the product for a variety of uses, both externally and internally. So impressed was I with this product that I became fascinated and started researching the extraordinary healing properties of emu oil. Perhaps the bottom line on emu oil is that large clinical trials are lacking in this product. Retail and wholesale emu oil product distributors. With standardisation, emu oil from diverse sources can be prepared with optimal activity, enabling consumer confidence in the product. Retail, wholesale product, bulk and distributor emu oil sales. top arthritis ingredients in one proven product, including glucosamine, chondroitin, capsacin, tea tree oil, emu oil and much more
Research - The earliest research studies in emu oil come from Australia, and Australia continues to export emu oil to this day. Over a decade of clinical research into the effectiveness of emu oil has validated years of anecdotal evidence in support of emu oils efficacy. Such significant successes have prompted more government research to discover and isolate the active components in Emu oil. Veterinary Applications Though much more research needs to be done, the veterinary uses for emu oil appear to extensive.
Massage - When there is something as good as Emu oil or Massage the word should get out and spread like wild fire. The combination of Emu oil used with Massage compliments each other and the good affects of both are increased. "Since I have been doing massage, emu oil has become a major part of my practice. I do both massage and adjustments and the emu oil is used virtually from head to toe. People with chronic shoulder and knee problems get help from the adjusting, but the emu oil really does the final trick during the massage. Significant reduction in sports related muscle strains post-exercise emu oil massage. Gently massage a single drop of emu oil around the opening of the piercing (entrance and exit) with clean finger. When used as a post-exercise oil massage, emu oil brought about significant reduction in sports-related muscle strains.
Use as an acid - When linoleic acid is combined with gammolenic acid (also found in emu oil), it forms prostaglandins, which are found most notably in human breastmilk. First, the fatty acid profile of emu oil is very similar to that of humans. The monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid, (an Omega-3) is the major fatty acid in emu oil. The fatty acid esters contained in Emu Oil provide the benefit of increased blood flow, accelerating the healing process. And the ratios of fats in emu oil are critical to the normalization of the healing process. Also, emu oil should not be used on scarification or branding as emu oil hastens the healing process and inhibits scabbing. And the rations of fats in emu oil are critical to the normalization of the healing process. So, the healing process occurs from the dermis and emu oil has an impact on healing at the dermal level. Topical application of Emu Oil enhances the healing process due to its powerful hyper-oxygenating properties. Their natural refining process produces superior, consistent quality emu oil.
Side Effects - There are no known adverse side effects to using emu oil. Known as the "wonder from down under," the oil of the emu possesses very special properties. Many people are discovering the benefits of natural Emu Oil, known and used by the aborigines for thousands of years. Notably, emu oil has no known side effects.
Type Of Emu Oil - Two of these oils are tea tree oil and emu oil. Essential oils can be combined, and emu oil is an excellent carrier of essential oils, including tea tree oil. It has all the value of neem, tea tree and emu oil combined. Contains emu oil, tea tree oil and peppermint.
Cosmetic - Emu oil is 100% fully refined, pure, all natural, odorless, creamy, edible emu oil that is used by cosmetic, pharmaceutical, alternative medicine companies. Our emu oil is pure and cosmetic grade. This article is about emu oil and it's medical and cosmetic benefits. Well, it turns out emu oil is probably the best cosmetic ingredient in the world. Craig-Schmidt noted that the properties of the emu oil made it quite suitable to be used by the cosmetic industry.
posted by Healthy Life @ 3:56 AM,