Tag: AIDS

Arthritis and Chronic Joint Symptoms

Arthritis and Chronic Joint Symptoms
Margie Garrison – “The Arthritis Lady”

From the Centers for Disease Control

Are you female, Caucasian, have a lesser education, and
overweight? Then you run the greatest risk of either arthritis
or chronic joint symptoms. Check out the latest statistics from
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

These statistics left me stunned. Just for openers:

Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms affect nearly 70 million
Americans, or about one of every three adults, making it one of
the most prevalent diseases in the United States. As the
population ages, this number will increase dramatically.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United
States. Double that of heart trouble. Triple that of respiratory
trouble. Five times that of diabetes. Over six times more than
that of stroke!

Nationally, medical care for arthritis cost nearly $22 billion
in 1995 (latest figures).

Total costs, including medical care and loss of productivity,
exceeded $82 billion in 1995.

Who has arthritis?

As the CDC reports: “The prevalence of arthritis is high for
all demographic groups, but especially higher among women, older
persons, and those with less education.”

What’s being done?

The CDC reports that in 1998, the “first ever” plan to address
arthritis using a public health approach was released. This plan
was developed by the CDC, the Arthritis Foundation, and the
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, with
input from over 90 organizations. The plan recommended actions
in “Three major areas for individuals and groups interested in
reducing the impact of arthritis.”

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Prevention Research

Communication and Education

Programs, Policies, and Systems

For some reason, this evokes a scene in my mind from the TV
show “Star Trek Voyager” where the holographic Doctor is helping
one of his patients recover from a leg joint injury. The crewman
is in great pain, while the Doctor dispassionately tells the
patient to “live with the pain and do the exercises”. The
crewman, exasperated at this attitude, complains to the Doctor
that he was programmed not to hurt his patients. The holographic
Doctor quickly replies “I was programmed to do no harm. However,
I can inflict as much pain as I wish.”

In the daily media, we are bombarded with stories about AIDS,
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Heart Disease, and
even the latest outbreak of the West Nile Virus. Yet, you hardly
ever hear anything about the greatest threat to our quality of
life … Arthritis!

Let me repeat the findings of the CDC (Centers for Disease
Control).

“Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms affect nearly 70 million
Americans, or about one of every three adults, making it one of
the most prevalent diseases in the United States. As the
population ages, this number will increase dramatically.”

One in Three

God forbid you are a Caucasian woman, with little education,
and are 30 lbs or more overweight (obese).

What can be done?

The CDC recommends: “We can do the effective things that are
not being done enough. Research shows that physical activity
decreases pain, improves function and delays disability. In
addition, research studies suggest that maintaining an ideal
body weight and avoiding joint injuries reduces the risk of
developing arthritis and may decrease disease progression.
Obtaining an early diagnosis so that appropriate management,
including self-management, can be initiated may improve the
quality of life for persons with arthritis. Early diagnosis and
appropriate management of arthritis, including … self-help
courses, weight control, and physical activity can help people
with arthritis function better, stay productive, and lower
health care costs.”

Has your Doctor ever told you to just keep doing your
exercises, keep dieting and keep your weight down, and keep
taking your medications and just try to live with the pain?

What else is your Doctor going to say? Are we crazy? Could it
be that if your Doctor said anything else it would mean
committing financial suicide?

I know most doctors are hard-working and doing their best and
in many cases are achieving astonishing things.

However, the pressure to use drugs and more drugs is
overwhelming. It is not their fault! It is ours!! We go to them
for a magic bullet and expect them to heal us… and with not
having to make any lifestyle changes. Is this fair to the
doctors? Of course not!

”
I Cured My Arthritis You Can Too”

Best of Health,

Margie Garrison – The Arthritis Lady”

C
ureYourArthritis.com

About the author:
I am Margie – “The Arthritis Lady”, author of “I Cured My
Arthritis You Can Too”.

I also publish and distribute a free weekly health newsletter,
“Amazing Secrets To Fantastic Health””, that you can subscribe
to by sending an email to: [email protected]

I have dedicated my life to helping you, help yourself enjoy a
Healthier and Happier Lifestyle.

Best of Health, Margie – “The Arthritis Lady&#

Preventing High Blood Pressure

If you are battling high blood pressure there are many ways to lower it and prevent yourself from developing it again. The best way to start is without medication if you can help it by making some lifestyle changes.

Do you smoke? If so, this can raise your blood pressure. Try to cut back if not quit altogether. There are many aids that can help you quit smoking. Do you drink quite a bit of alcohol? This will also raise your blood pressure so try to cut back to a drink or two a day.

Do you consider yourself physically active on a daily basis? Getting at least thirty minutes of exercise a day has been proven to lower and maintain a healthy blood pressure level. Do ten minute intervals if you cannot set aside thirty minutes all at one time.

Start a healthier diet. Did you know salt increases your blood pressure dramatically? Limit your intake of salt or substitute it for other seasonings. There are so many different seasonings available you should have no trouble finding one you really like.

Add plenty of vegetables and fresh fruits into your diet. This will also help lower and control your blood pressure. Try to stay away from fatty foods as well.

If you are over weight this could have a major impact on your blood pressure. Losing as little as ten pounds can significantly reduce your blood pressure. Once you lose ten pounds you will see how easily you can lose more and you will notice how much better and healthier you feel. Not to mention your blood pressure levels will decrease.

Do you have a stressful job or life? Try to do away with as much stress as you possibly can. If you cannot avoid all the causes of stress in your life find something that helps you relax and de-stress. Meditation might work wonders for you.

There are certain things you cannot avoid that have an effect on high blood pressure. Your race: African Americans are at a higher risk. If you are older than fifty-five you are at risk as well and unfortunately you cannot make yourself younger.

If you have a family history with high blood pressure, you want to start early prevention. Knowing about your family history will help in cases like this. Even if you do not have high blood pressure now you have the risk of eventually developing it, but that doesn’t have to happen. Early prevention can keep your blood pressure down.

Stay away from drugs and painkillers if possible as they can cause high blood pressure. Some prescription medications can cause high blood pressure such as: nasal decongestants, anorexia drugs, steroids, antidepressants, oral contraceptives and cold medicines.

If you are taking any of these and are having problems with your blood pressure levels, be sure your doctor is aware you are taking them.

Having high blood pressure can put you at a higher risk of stroke and heart and kidney disease so preventing this can benefit your health immensely. Talk with your doctor of any questions you might have or concerns. No question is silly and it is never too early to start taking better care of your health starting with your blood pressure.

Hearing Aid For The Deaf

If you have deafness problems, the good news is that you can remedy it with hearing aids. There are different types around so you just have to find out which one is ideal for you.

But what is a hearing aid? It is simply an instrument that amplifies sound. Since hearing loss is different for each individual, it has to be configured manually to detect sound pitches at all levels.

Here, we will talk about 4 types of hearing aids. These are namely the completely in the canal instruments, the in the canal instruments, the in the ear instruments, behind the ear, open fit or over the ear hearing aid and bone anchored hearing aids.

The completely in the canal instrument or CIC is considered to be the best one around because it is so small that no one will notice that you are wearing it. Each one is custom made and this is designed for people who are suffering from mild to moderate hearing loss.

Next is the in the canal instrument or ITC. This is bigger since it has to occupy the entire ear canal. It is very flexible and designed to manage a wide range of hearing needs.

Then there is the in the ear instrument or ITE. This usually fits into the cradle position of the ear and just like the ITC, can handle a wide range of hearing needs. It is a little bigger than the ITC and is also custom made to shape the patients ear.

The behind the ear is placed behind the ear and connected using a plastic ear mold that fits inside the outer ear. This is only used by individuals who have mild to profound hearing loss.

You also have the Open-fit or Over-the-Ear hearing aids. This is a small plastic case that is placed behind the ear with a clear tube running into the ear canal with a mold inside to hold it in place. The new design helps to reduce the occlusion effect which was seen in other models.

Lastly is the bone anchored hearing aid. Similar to a cochlear implant, the patient has to undergo surgery so that the skull can be used as a pathway for sound to travel to the inner ear. If ever the patient has conductive losses, the BAHA bypasses the external auditory canal and middle ear, stimulating the functioning cochlea.

Should anyone who has hearing problems wear a hearing aid? Not for children below seven years of age because the ear is still growing so it will be too costly to make another one just to fit the patients ear. It is also not recommended for safety reasons because the hearing aid is made of hard plastic and this could be damaged when the child is playing and that could also cause injury to the childs ear canal.

There was a time that deaf people had to cup their hand behind the ear to hear what the other person was saying. The ear trumpet soon followed that until hearing aids were invented. The only problem with that was it was too big and this was usually worn on the chest or body. Fortunately, technology has made it smaller so no one will even notice that you are wearing it until they are up close.

Deaf People Can Benefit From Cochlear Implants

Some people suffer from a deafness problem that cannot be corrected. Fortunately, there is a way to make them hear sounds.

This is where cochlear implants come along. This device is surgically planted and instead of amplifying sounds which hearing aids do, it stimulates the functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with an electric field stimulated through an electric impulse.

This implant consists of many small parts. These include a microphone, speech processor and an RF transmitter. Not that many people have undergone this procedure because it is very expensive and there are still other options available before this will be utilized.

But is it worth the money? Most of the patients who have undergone cochlear implant say so because although you get almost near to normal hearing.

A study has shown that adults who have had cochlear implants benefit almost immediately and their hearing improves quite rapidly after the first 6 months of tuning sessions. This is not the same for children because it will take them more time to adjust to the implant.

The device helps them distinguish different types of sound and understand speech without the need to lip read. In fact a surprising number are able to use the telephone.

The only limitation to cochlear implants is that background noise is still present and this will interfere with the persons ability to understand. When this happens, he or she has to rely more on speech or lip reading instead of this listening device.

This is why doctors say that although there are benefits to cochlear implants, to what degree really depends on the patient. These factors depend on auditory memory, exposure to sound before hearing was lost, shorter period of deafness before surgery, the condition of the cochlea and the auditory nerve fibers.

Once the device has been implanted, the patient has to visit the clinic regularly for the first 6 months to adjust the volume and to make sure that everything is working. If a child was the one who underwent the cochlea implant, they will need to develop their listening and speech skills compared to adults.

So what is the price tag for a cochlear implant? The cost could go from $40,000 to $100,000. This depends where it was performed and who was the specialist in charge of the operation. Money should not be an issue anymore given that most third party health insurance health plants now cover a certain percentage for those who need a cochlear implant.

The cochlear implant is the only device to date that can help people who have permanent deafness problems. In fact, research is now ongoing to see if this can also help people with other types of hearing loss.

In the US alone, 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received them. Most of the children who had this were between two to six years of age but the age requirement was lowered in 2000 making it possible for even a one year old to undergo the implant.

There is no doubt that someone who is deaf or is suffering from a permanent deafness problem will benefit from a cochlear implant. You might even call it life-changing given that you are given second chance to hear again the different sounds that life has to offer.