Category Archives: People

People

Facial Aging, When , Why and How

Facial Aging: Our face ages more rapidly than the rest of our body.  This is because our face is totally exposed to our environment.  Unfortunately,  any changes or alterations on the face are more noticeable, because as a general rule we do not cover up our face with clothing like the rest of our body,

How The Face And It’s Skin Ages

As we transition from infancy to old age a lot of facial aging  changes take place.  One of the most dramatic changes is the shape of the cranium.  The greatest changes occur from infancy to puberty as the face and head mature into an adult form.

The eyes, nose, and mouth expand to fill a relatively greater area of the surface of the cranium; the relative area occupied by the forehead shrinks as the eyes move up into this area; the eyes become proportionately smaller and the forehead slopes back more;  with facial aging the face becomes smaller in respect to the rest of the body; and the chin tends to become larger and more protrusive.

Some of these changes may continue, but less dramatically into adulthood, but other changes begin to occur to mark facial aging and correspond to the decline of the face past the generative years into old age.

Skin and Facial Aging

The majority of visible skin aging occurs in the face, because it is regularly exposed to the sun.  If a person were able to avoid sun exposure their whole life, their face would have few wrinkles and discolorations, even in old age.

Facial aging  in old age – the skin becomes darker, less flexible, rougher, and even more leathery: lines, wrinkles, folds, pouches, and blemishes or discolorations gradually appear and/or becomes more pronounced; muscles and connective tissues change their elasticity; lips lose muscle tone and become thinner and narrower; fatty deposits and bone may be lost produce pouches in the cheeks, bags under the eyes, sagging under the chin or a double chin, opening pores, and other changes in the way of soft tissues conform to the underlying bony structure.

Aging And The Environment

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People

Heat Intolerance Tips For People With Sarcoidosis

Heat Intolerance and Sarcoidosis suffers. No one likes being sick and  sensitive to heat, let alone being diagnosed with something  that may last for years on end with no real cure. Sarcoidosis is a disease just like that.

What Is Sarcoidosis

Officially, it is a collection of inflammatory cells in different parts of your body. These collections are called granulomas and are typically found in your lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, and in patches on your skin. The clusters can also spread to other organs within your body. While treatment is possible, sarcoidosis is a chronic and often lifelong disease.

Side Effects  of Sarcoidosis

Some common symptoms of sarcoidosis include a persistent dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Another important side effect that develops is heat intolerance, or the inability to handle higher temperatures. People experiencing this combination often have “attacks” when they become overheated, and their fatigue can magnify. This increased sensitivity can cause many issues for patients, including major lifestyle changes in order to accommodate the symptoms of their disease.

 Managing Heat Intolerance

As frustrating as it can be, the sarcoidosis and heat intolerance combination doesn’t have to be the key turning the lock to a prison. There are ways of preventing attacks and managing the side effects, which puts you back in control of your life.

The first step in this is finding out what your triggers are. Is there a certain temperature that you just can’t tolerate, or is there a gradual increase in your symptoms after a point on the thermostat? Once you know where that line is, you can start working around it.

When it comes to planning activities, you can try to schedule them earlier in the morning or later at night. Missing events completely all the time will have you feeling lonely and left out, but if you are at least able to make a portion of them, it’s a step in the right direction.

During times when you are outside, you can try things like dressing in lighter colors. Dark colors will absorb more heat and end up making you miserable. Instead, try investing in lightweight shirts that are pale in color. You can always accessorize with brighter jewelry, hair, and shoes to keep your wardrobe looking fresh.

Another tip is to attempt to stay in the shade as much as possible when you’re outdoors. This allows you to enjoy nice weather without the sun beating down on you. You should also make sure you stay hydrated, and take frequent breaks to reassess your situation. Head for safety before things get out of control.

A final tip is to use cooling wraps or cooling garments like the one shown here.

Sarcoidosis Information

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People, Therapeutic Garments-Wraps

Sarcoidosis Information

Sarcoidosis Information:  Sarcoidosis is a disease of the lungs that commonly affects both men and women who are between the ages of 20 to 40 years old.  It is not known why  women seem to develop the disease more often than men though. Since there is no cure for the disease, it is important that those who have the highest risk of developing sarcoidosis understand what the cause, symptoms, and methods of treatment are.

https://youtu.be/59r1W-Qe-0w?t=39

Sarcoidosis Information

Cause

Doctors think that it may develop from the inhalation of foreign particles into the lungs. The body  covers the particles with a coating to protect the person from being injured by them. Over time, the coated particles grow in size and multiply, so a person ends up having blocked air passages.

Symptoms

The blocked air flow and distortion of the lungs from this disease causes a person to have a persistent cough and difficulty breathing. They may also develop a red rash on their skin, red eyes, and blurred vision. And if the sarcoidosis goes untreated, it can spread to the rest of the body, which can lead to an enlarged liver, kidney stones, and impairment of the nervous system response.

Treatment Options

The first step in treatment are medical tests to determine if a person has the disease. The test generally consist of   x-rays, a lung biopsy, or testing with a bronchoscopy.

There is very little sarcoidosis information on treatment options. Treating this disease is difficult because it seems to develop with little warning, and it disappears just as quickly. So there is no way to prevent its onset.

If a person gets to the doctor in time before it has a chance to spread throughout the body, they can receive steroids and anti-inflammatory medications that reduce the inflammation and swelling in the body though.

The medication  will help improve their breathing and reduce any of the other symptoms that they have.

Sarcoidosis What Is It?

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People

Sarcoidosis What Is It?

Sarcoidosis is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomas.

Bodily Systems Effected By Sarcoidosis

The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph nodes. Less commonly affected are the eyes, liver, heart, and brain.   Any organ, however, can be affected.

Bone, Joints, And Muscles

Sarcoidosis can be involved with the joints, bones and muscles. The pain occurs most frequently in the ankles, followed by the knees, wrists, elbows, and the joints of the toes and fingers.

Joint Pain Relief: Ice/Heat

Signs And Symptoms 

The signs and symptoms of sarcoidosis  depend on the organ involved.   Often there are no, or only mild, symptoms.  When it affects the lungs there may be wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain.

The Cause 

The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown.  Some believe it may be due to an immune reaction to a trigger such as an infection or chemicals in those who are genetically predisposed. Those with affected family members are at greater risk.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is partly based on signs and symptoms, which may be supported by biopsy. The diagnosis should only be made after excluding other possible causes of similar symptoms such as tuberculosis.

 Statistics

The risk of death is between one and seven percent.  There is a less than five percent chance of the disease returning in someone who has had it previously.

sarcoidosis
Bernie Died of Sarcoidosis  Click

In 2015 pulmonary sarcoidosis and interstitial lung disease affected 1.9 million people globally and they resulted in 122,000 deaths.

It is most common in Scandinavians but occurs in all parts of the world.

In the United States risk is greater among black as opposed to white people.

It usually begins between the ages of 20 and 50. It occurs more often in women than men.

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Back Pain Relief, Therapeutic Garments-Wraps

Back Pain Relief Five Pro-Tips

Back Pain Relief: While back pain remains to be a common health issue that humans in any age can face, it is not something you can leave untreated or get away with.

Depending on the intensity and longevity, you can choose whether to go for remedies or consult a physician. Usually the pain is due to sprained muscles, wrong posture of sitting and sleeping, and prolonged arrangement of the body in a single position. Lower-Upper-Middle Back Pain Relief

Back Pain Relief  Tips

1)  You are never gone to get back pain relief if your posture is bad. Right posture is the secret behind your bones and muscles’ health. Doctor Mary Ann Wilmarth, a Board certified specialist of Orthopedic Physical therapy says, “Little things add up. You can increase the pressure on your back by 50% simply by leaning over the sink incorrectly to brush your teeth.”  Yes, it’s that easy to harm your back.

2)  Limit bed rest if you want back pain relief.  Going on a bed rest to cure back pain is good when it gives you results in two days. After two days, bed rest itself becomes the cause of increased strain. Studies also advise that people who stay active are less likely to develop back pain than those who aren’t.

3) Improve flexibility of your body as it keeps you from getting bodily pains. You can do this by engaging yourself in activities like meditation, deep breathing, yoga etc.

4) Strengthen your core. Abdominal muscles are the core of your back and back pain; try strengthening them. The best you can do is to go for exercises to make the muscles stronger.

5) Exercising gets you out of routine postures and puts the body in a neutral state. Simple exercises like partial crunches and wall sits can be very useful to cure back pain.

6) Heating and icing are the easiest and most effective home remedies for back pain. Back pain can be cured using both these techniques, but most doctors recommend using ice for 48 hours from when back pain starts, particularly in case of injuries.

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Benefits Of Having A Pet, People, Pets

Dog Back Pain You Need To Know What’s Causing The Pain

Dog Back Pain

Dog back pain is something that many dogs will have to deal with at some point in their lives. If your dog is having a hard time doing regular, everyday things, such as bending down to eat or hop up on the couch, it could be that your dog is suffering from back pain.

Dogs are not great at telling us what is wrong with them.  In an article written by Sam Bourne he  list  some of the main causes for dog back pain.

  • Slipped Disc
  • Muscle Spasm
  • Genetics
  • Enlarged Prostate
  • Meninges  Disorders
  • Cancer

1.SLIPPED DISC

You might be able to tell if your dog has a slipped disc if they start carrying their back in an arched, or rigid, position.

2. MUSCLE SPASM FROM OVEREXERTION

If you have an older dog,  overexertion could cause a back flare up. Chances are  it’s just a sign of aging.

3. GENETICS

Certain breeds of dogs are predisposed to having chronic back pain, such as:

  • Dachshunds,
  • Shih Tzus,
  • Pekingese, and
  • Lhasa Apsos.

4. ENLARGED PROSTATE

If your dog has back pain and they are also having difficulty with bowel movements, chances are they have an enlarged prostate, which could be putting pressure on the spinal cord, resulting in a significant amount of pain.

5. DISORDERS OF THE MENINGES

The meninges are the membranes that cover the brain and spine. An infection, or inflammation, of these membranes can cause soreness and stiffness along your dog’s spine.

6. CANCER

Likely the most frightening cause on the list, back pain could be caused by cancer, when a tumor is found growing on the vertebrae, nerve roots, or the soft tissues around the spine.

Dogs With Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD)

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People

Smoking Is Bad / Exercise Is Good

How Smoking Affects Your Exercise

Smoking  reduces the amount of oxygen available in your body.When you exercise you need oxygen in your muscles. The more you exercise, the faster the oxygen is used up. Cigarettes contain carbon monoxide, which reduces the amount of oxygen available in your body as it binds to the haemoglobin in your red blood cells, preventing oxygen from getting to your muscles.

Benefits of Exercise For Smokers

“When you exercise, that improves your cardiovascular function and your HDL cholesterol, and generally, it’s just good for you,” says Dr. Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at UC San Francisco. “So if you smoke and exercise, you’re going to be better off than if you smoke and don’t exercise.” Exercise is medicine.

Doing some exercise while you’re still smoking can show you just how much the habit has affected you. As you cut down on your smoking, you should see an improvement in your ability to exercise. Having this kind of physical record can be a great motivator to help you quit.

Quitting is one of the most stressful things you can do but it means you’re actually removing one of your methods of coping with stress. Studies have shown that people smoke more when they are stressed. Exercise releases endorphins that help reduce your stress levels.

Cigarettes are seen as an appetite suppressant, people often put on weight when they’re quitting. By taking part in some regular exercise, you can help combat this side effect to quitting

How Exercise Can Help You Quit

Exercise is a great distraction from most day-to-day annoyances – the habit to light up being just one of them. Exercising while you are trying to quit can reduce the feelings of withdrawal.

Effect On Your Lungs

Smoking decreases your lung capacity, which can cause a smaller volume of oxygen to reach the bloodstream, resulting in less oxygen getting to the blood. Smoking is in fact the single biggest cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a term covering for a number of conditions like emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

What is COPD?

COPD is a progressive lung disease that affects the airways in your lungs. COPD makes breathing more difficult and can significantly reduce your ability to do activities. Without treatment, your lungs will eventually only be able to do a fraction of what they used to. Thankfully, COPD symptoms can be treated.

Centenarians Of Other Countries

Why Quit 

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People

Aging And The Environment

How The Environment Effects Our Aging

Environment-Aging: External environmental factors such as the sun, pollution, water, smoking, air conditioning, and central heating all play a major role in our over-all aging and well-being.

Research has shown that here are linkages between what goes on in the environment and its effect on the senior population. The United States is rapidly becoming a country of the aged. In 2006, the first of the nation’s baby boomers turned 60, and by 2030, the aging population will double to more than 70 million.

As our country ages, it is imperative that we examine the impact pollution is having on the world. Environmental protection, which focuses on the health of the ecosystem and the people within it, is necessary.

Environment-Aging: Pollution

Pollutants such as pesticides, and acid rain, have made their way into our food supply. Acid rain can be absorbed by both plants and animals. When we eat these plants and or animals, the toxins inside our foods can affect us. Brain damage, kidney problems, and Alzheimer’s diseases has been linked to eating toxic animals and plants.

  • Pesticides may also produce a rise in blood cholesterol, an increase in the metabolic rate, and interference with the lymphatic system.
  •  Every system in our body can be affected by pesticides.
  • Pesticides are also vitamin antagonists, and are cancer inciting.

Environment-Aging: Sun

The principal environmental factor is the level of exposure to the sun’s rays that we experience throughout our lives. Unprotected exposure to the sun can lead to the skin becoming dehydrated, the collagen within the connective tissues breaking down rapidly, and the appearance of wrinkles.

Environment-Aging: Polluted Water

Acid rain, pollution, and oil spills does not help our water supply.

Given that we are made up of 70 percent water, what we drink has a significant effect on how well our body’s age.  For our bodies to function at their optimum, we require six to eight glasses of clean water daily. Water is suppose to helps flush toxins from the body, not put toxins in.

When there is a build up on toxins in the body, dark circles under the eyes may appear, this is an indication that the kidneys are having a hard time eliminating the toxins from the body.

Smoking

Scientific findings show that smoking, whether active or passive, can age you just as rapidly as exposure to the sun. Smoking depletes the body of vitamin C a much-needed nutrient for anti-aging.

Air Conditioning And Central Heating

The air conditioning and central heating found in most offices and homes tend to dry our skin out. If you spend a lot of time in an air conditioned or central heating environment, make sure your regularly moisturize your skin and get plenty of fresh air, to counter balance the effect of an indoor climate.

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People

Centenarians of Other Countries vs US

Centenarians of Other Countries

Can we learn from centenarians of other countries? The short answer is yes.

Soviet Centenarians

By changing our life styles, we may add to the possibility of an increased lie span. The evidence of this increase is overwhelming when comparing the life style of the U.S. with a tiny segment of people living in Russia. In the United States today the average age of the senior population is around 75 for both male and female.

In the Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan and in the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union, an estimated 4,500 to 5,000 people are over 100. Nearly 50 out of every 100,000 people in that part of the world live to celebrate their 100th birthday and many do not stop at 100. By comparison, only three in 100,000 reach 100 in the USA, and very few go much beyond.

Pakistani Hunzas Centenarians

The Soviet centenarians are not alone. Two other societies are also blessed by the miracle of long vigorous life. The Pakistani Hunzas live high in the sky in the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas. The true number of centenarians in the Hunzan society is not known. However, there is one well-substantiated fact about the Hunzas. According to the UNESCO, (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) they are the only totally cancer free people in the world.

The Vilcabambans Centenarians

The Vilcabanbans of the Ecuasorian Andes live thousands of miles from the Pakistani Hunzas and the Soviet Georgians, yet they too seem to share the secret of long life. Their population is small only 819. At last count at least nine of their number exceeded 100 years of age. Their ages were certain, since detailed birth records, kept in the local church, provided proof.

Why Centenarians Of Other Countries Live Longer Than Americans?

The diets of all the long-lived people are well stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains, which provide a balanced complement of necessary vitamins and minerals as adding needed fiber to the diet.

Additionally,  intestinal diseases ranging from hemorrhoids to cancer occur much less frequently  in thes regions, than they do in the US.  Possible because of the high fiber content of their diet.

Vigorous, physically demanding work is a way of life. They begin their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop.

All these long-lived people come from mountainous regions. They carry out their chores at elevations of 5000 to 12,000 feet above sea level where the is free of  pollution.

It is clear that diet, insulation from pressures and pollution, clean mountain air, daily hard physical work, and good genes, are a contributing factor to long life.

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Life Style And Aging

Life Style And Longevity

Life style is one of the  many factors affecting our longevity, and it may not be possible for us to implement them all. However, this may not be necessary because we are all unique with very different chemical, physiological, social, etc. Elements that make each one of us unique. What works for one person may not work for another, and vice versa. However, there are three basic principles that apply to us all; balanced nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

Healthy Life

According to a 2005 study, published in the April 25th edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, led by Matthew J. Reeves who is the lead researcher and epidemiologist at the Michigan State University, only 3 percent of Americans lead a healthy lifestyle.

Over 150,000 Americans participated in the study. The study revealed that only 23.3% of Americans eat the minimum recommended amount of five daily servings of fruit and vegetables, 76% do not smoke, 40.1% maintain a healthy weight, and 22.2% exercise for at least 30 minutes, five times a week. Healthy Life Styles Studies

A new study published January 5, 2016, reveals that very little has changed in the last 11 years: 

In theory, we know that lifestyle choices have an impact on our health, in practice; we find it difficult to change unhealthy habits.

Unhealthy Life Style

An unhealthy lifestyle means more illness and more expense to treat illnesses. This means a bigger burden on an already challenged healthcare system. Poor health also means more time lost at work, less quality recreational time, and even a shorter lifespan.

One Way to begin a healthier lifestyle is to start with the following simple behavior changes:

  1. Do not smoke.
  2. Exercise thirty minutes or more five days per week.
  3. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.
  4. Drink eight cups of water daily.
  5. Maintain a healthy weight.
  6. Take a multivitamin daily.
  7. Get six to eight hours of sleep.

Summary

Knowing the basic principles that are mandatory for well being and longevity is half the battle. Now, we have to internalize these basic principles into our daily lives.

Basically we have to start a behavior modification process. The results will speak for themselves, just as they will if we neglect the basic principles presented in this article.

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