Monday 26 May 2008

Menstrual Cramp Explained

Menstrual Cramp Explained

Many women get to a point in their lives when they just think that their own bodies are rebelling against them. Which women will suffer with severe menstrual cramps and those who will not remains a mystery. If you have endometriosis, or PCOS (which affects around 10 percent of women) you may get these worse than other women. A few women are lucky and their pains hardly bother them whilst other can barely get out of bed.


The problem is getting a menstrual cramp relief remedy that you can guarantee will work every month. One of the most common types of comes in the form of a pill and many women swear by it. The pain relief pill devised purely for this complaint and marketed heavily is Pamprin. Some women prefer to accept the pain every cycle rather than take any form of pain relief but are they doing themselves any good with this attitude?



Think about how many days you lose each year to painful cramps that you do not have to endure? To make matters worse, the cramps are only part of the problem if you are one of those individuals who also has to put up with nausea and a constant bloated feeling. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I would need to find a reliable menstrual cramp relief remedy to get rid of those pains each cycle. Sometimes it is ok, but at other times I truly feel like someone has squeezed my midsection with a large vice, and I just can't get free.


There are times when nothing seems to give me any relief but someone suggested I try a heat pad on my stomach which worked quite well although sometimes it works better against my back. This can be a good alternative to pain relief pills if you find they are ineffective or you just prefer not to take them. Whilst these ideas may be ok for some women, others that have regular painful menstrual cramps each month may need to do something more permanent. The problem really arises when time has to be taken form work; no employer likes this every month.


If this has happened to you, you should make an appointment to talk to your doctor about finding menstrual cramp relief. Many women find that the birth control pill is an answer and the doctor may even suggest this remedy if they know you are not currently taking it. Obviously this would be a stupid option if you are trying for a baby but there will be other remedies you doctor can prescribe to help the cramp you feel each cycle. You can get relief from those awful cramps if you try enough different remedies because it is only a matter of time.


Menstrual Cramp Explained

Saturday 10 May 2008

Migraine Symptoms

Migraine Symptoms

Migraine is a kind of very painful headache which often commences in early childhood to teenage years and sometimes runs in families. They usually affect one side of the head and sufferers say they can be affected anywhere from four hours to those that last for two days or more if left untreated. Even when the headache has finally left the victim is still left exhausted and unable to perform properly for some time.


The frequency of occurrences can vary and one can suffer from it once or several times in a month or only one in a year. Some migraine symptoms seem to be consistent with most victims; those of a feeling like those associated with cold or influenza and a problem with bright lights. Migraine attacks only seem to affect people within a certain age range, just before puberty and stop by the time the person has reached about 40; almost no cases are recorded after the age of 50.


Whilst family groups are known to share attacks, so far there has been a problem finding a genetic trait that links certain family members to migraines; whilst genetic factors may be involved, this link has yet to be proved. There seems to be a common connection amongst sufferers where blood vessels and nerve endings near the brain, swell. There are three women to each man that suffer with this condition; one in every 4 women will be a victim of it, whilst only 1 in 12 men will suffer with it at some point in their life.



One of the signs - migraine with aura, is characterized by an unusual sensation (aura) that is in occurrence 10 to 30 minutes prior to the head pain. There are many indications this may happen which will vary between sufferers which can be one or more of the following:


  • Nausea is very common
  • Problems with vision
  • Sense of smell and taste is affected
  • Difficulty with verbal skills


other symptoms exist but these appear to be the most common. Migraine sufferers who do not have any warning are said to have attack without aura but still suffer extreme pain; this also includes nausea which can be aggravated by movement, noise and light which is the reason most sufferers lie quietly on a bed in a darkened room.


Whilst the exact reason why some people suffer with migraine still eludes medical science, the theory that the narrowing of blood vessels to the brain is the closest they have come to discovering a migraines cause. It might be that it is the expansion of the blood vessels afterwards that causes the headache; however, all suffers say the attack knocks them out and they are unable to carry out even the most simple of daily tasks. There are many factors that can trigger an attack ranging from:


  • Weather
  • Certain foods
  • Height
  • Drinks containing caffeine
  • Strong intense sunlight
  • Irregular or missed meals
  • Stress caused by personal problems


Monitoring and recording the triggers in a diary can help avoid future attacks so it is something that all sufferers must learn to carry out.



Migraine Symptoms

Friday 2 May 2008

Genital Warts

There is serious concern amongst sexual health experts about the rise in cases of genital warts; affecting the genitalia of both sexes they can even infect the anus. Unusually, this can also be transmitted via the mouth although this strain of human papilloma virus is primarily caught through sexual intercourse with an infected person. This is one particular instance where using a condom will not always prevent the genital warts; women can be infected and be unaware of the situation for a long time making them easy to transmit to others.


Just to compound the problem, there is no reason why once infected a person is infected, they do not have to show signs straight away and the virus may not activate for months, even longer. Tracking down the carrier is problematic and of no use because it will be carried by every new person infected. The strain that causes ano-genital warts is called HPV6 (human papilloma virus 6) but this is only one of over different types of HPV virus. Unfortunately women can be unwilling and unknowing carriers of warts as they are often hidden in the vagina and probably won't be discovered until she has visited her doctor for a routine examination of her cervix.



The problem is made worse by the environment that genital warts use to multiply, damp and moist areas; and this is exactly what they find in and around a woman's genitals, plus some discharge may be present. One of the safest methods of wart removal is the application of very cold liquid nitrogen by a doctor or dermatologist; however it often takes a few applications before the skin and its tissue are destroyed. Using liquid nitrogen is a painless process but cannot be used on certain areas of the body which is why it is for the doctor or dermatologist to decide.


Two further options are available to doctors, the traditional cauterizing the wart or the more modern but equally efficient laser process. Each treatment is dependent on where the infected area is but removal is no guarantee they will not return at some pint in the future. Imiquimod liquid is used topically to treat genital warts (and anal) as it helps the body's immune system to fight the virus and to get rid of them but it does not kill the virus and new infections can still appear when imiquimod is being used.


Before using imiquimod it is a good idea to consult with the doctor first because there are instances where it cannot be used as a treatment, including when a woman is pregnant; this liquid cannot be applied inside the vagina or on the genitals nor on inflamed areas of skin. Like all medications, imiquimod has side effects and if these are experienced it should be stopped immediately but this is worth discussing with your doctor prior to using it. Any information presented here is done to give an overview of the subject of genital warts and is not a substitute for professional medical advice which should be sought if the condition in this article relates to you.

Diabetes Disorder

Diabetes Disorder

Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism caused as a result of the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Our bodies use glucose, a form of sugar which our digestive system has broken down from the food we eat, which is then transported around the body via the bloodstream. When a person has diabetes, this glucose has a problem being distributed around the body in the blood. If this glucose remains in the blood and is not absorbed in to the body as it needs to, abnormally high levels of blood glucose or high blood sugar levels as it is also known as, occur.


There are two main types of the condition; both are discussed briefly in this article. Young people (sometimes older) are liable to contract type 1 diabetes which occurs when the body stops producing insulin; daily injections of insulin are needed if the diabetic patient does not want to die. The body uses insulin to ensure the glucose can be used by the body which in turn converts into energy. Adult onset diabetes affects older people as the name suggests but differs from type one; this is caused when the insulin is either not being produced in sufficient quantities or there is a problem in its use, however a careful diet plan can usually treat the condition.



Our body needs energy which it obtains from food that it converts into sugar like bread, potatoes, rice and pasta etc. Prolonged periods of high blood glucose levels can lead to problems like heart disease, kidney complaints, blindness and even limb amputations. The importance of managing your diabetes condition cannot be underestimated and with a disciplined approached these serious conditions can be improved; some of the possible conditions will be halted completely whilst others will be delayed. Care of your condition relies on you maintaining certain aspects and any prescribed medication must be taken routinely; but this means sticking to your medication, watching your blood sugar, cholesterol and to stop smoking!


In addition, weight and blood pressure will need to be routinely monitored and kept stable. The bad news about this is diabetes a life long condition; in the United States there are reports of it affecting over two and a half percent of the population. Studies suggest that it is not the whole story as experts believe there are as many people again that have the disease that have not yet been diagnosed; over 600,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. It is believed that as many as 320,000 diabetics die each year in America whilst only 34,000 of those actually die directly from the condition itself.





Diabetes Disorder