Tag: allergic reaction

What to Know about Stress and Anxiety Medication

Many people believe that they need to take medication in order to alleviate the amount of stress and anxiety in their lives. This may or may not be true in your case.

To Take or Not to Take Medication
Remember that you always have a choice between taking medication or not to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety youre presently suffering from. There are natural ways of combating stress and anxiety but they of course take a longer time to become affective. Medications on the other hand can produce faster results but at the same time, expose you to higher risks. You may have an allergic reaction to the medication or it has several side effects that hadnt yet been discovered. Lastly, you risk becoming addicted or overly dependent on the medication which is another illness as itself.

The Types of Medication
Most medication prescribed for people suffering from stress and anxiety are of the oral variety: pills, tablets and capsules. These medications naturally have varying weights and whether or not you have to take a 500mg pill is entirely based on the severity of your situation.

What to Remember When Taking Medication for Stress and Anxiety
Consult your physician first, preferably one who has access to your medical records. See if he gives you the go ahead to take medication for your condition.

Read and follow the instructions carefully and completely. Do not take the role of a pharmacist and become innovative with the dosage. Theres a logical reason behind the prescription given to you and it is more often than not for your own good.

Never purchase or change medication without securing your physicians approval first. If that is impossible, have the FDA or Food and Drug Authority verify if the contents of the pill is not harmful in any way to the human body and are truly effective.

If youre not satisfied with your present medication, you can always browse online for a medication that you think will perform better. Ask for recommendations from trusted friends and relatives.

Do not be impatient when its your first time to try a particular medication or your first time at all to try any medication for stress and anxiety. These things take time so do show a little more patience.

What about Therapy
If the painkillers and all the colorful pills arent causing things to turn out for the better, you may wish to consider other alternatives to resolve your present situation.

Could it be Something Else?
Did you simply assume that you were suffering from stress and anxiety? It could be something more serious and if so, that may be why the medications arent enough to make the headaches go away.

Maybe Youre Meant for the Natural Way
Its possible. Some bodies just respond better to natural healing ingredients. The simple act of walking, for instance, is a relaxing and enlivening activity that could be your best chance to get rid of unwanted stress and anxiety.

Consider Going Out
Its not like running away from your problems. Rather, youre just taking some time off to put more things into perspective. Book a flight or ride to a place where only few people know who you are and where you can live in relative comfort. Stay until youre feeling relaxed and ready to take on the world once more.

Step by Step Acne Skin Care

Acne prone skin is something that you have to carefully treat as the slightest mistake can cause an irritation or an allergic reaction that can exacerbate the condition rather than cure it.

Contrary to popular myth, acne is not caused by just dirt and grime on the skin. One can be the most hygienic but you can still develop acne. Perhaps one of the reasons why acne is so hard to combat is the fact that it is caused by a lot of factors that all contribute to its development.

Acne actually starts off with unwanted oils on the skin that tend to clog the pores. These excess oils are produced by the bodys hormones. This is one of the reasons why there are people whose skin are not pimple-prone. The oil on the skin is the initial factor that contributes in the development of acne. Another factor is the shape of the pore, which restricts the flow of oil in the skin. When the pores are abnormally shaped, it tends to encase the oil all the more inside, leading to build up and eventually to acne eruptions.

Dead skin cells that line up the pores and the dirt in the skin also interact with the oil causing clogging, which exacerbates the condition. Another factor is the presence of the bacteria propionibacterium acnes, which actually thrives in an oily environment.

Although it was mentioned that acne is not necessarily caused by unhygienic ways, this is not a reason to clean the face. A clean face will of course lessen the risk of further eruptions. For most people, a gentle water soluble cleanser is recommended especially for people who have ultra sensitive skin that can be irritated by the smallest of things.

Another advantage of a water soluble cleanser is the fact that no trace will be kept after washing. Some soaps tend to remain on the face and will only clog the pores, thereby leading to skin eruptions.

The next step to taking care of the skin is to remove the excess oils. This can be achieved by using facial masks at night and rice papers during the day. One must be careful though as some chemicals and products may irritate the skin. Before you use anything on your skin, it is best that you consult your dermatologist.

Another step towards acne free skin is exfoliation. This is done to remove the dead skin cells in the pore lining as these contribute in the clogging. Another function that exfoliation provides is skin renewal, wherein the old skin will be replaced by a new one. Products that contain 1% to 2% beta hydroxy acid (BHA) or 8% alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) are often recommended by dermatologists.

As a rule of thumb, BHA is actually more effective than AHA especially in penetrating through the pores. However, there are some people who are either allergic to BHA or have too sensitive skins for the chemical, so AHA is the next in line that doctors recommend.

Disinfecting the skin and killing off the bacteria in the pores is another crucial step in acne skin care. Although there are a lot of products in the market, most if not all contain the ingredient Benzoyl Peroxide, which is proven to be the most effective in fighting the bacteria.

Hair Loss Caused By Lichen Planus

There are several factors that can result in hair loss. One common disease is a disorder known as lichen planus. This particular disease is not in itself a direct cause but it is an important trigger and often causes complications with the scalp and can lead to this problem.

Lichen planus is more of a skin disorder that also affects other areas of the body. Thus, it can not only affect the skin and body, but also the scalp. When the scalp is affected, hair loss is experienced. Licen phanus is usually considered to be an allergic reaction and is often associated with a poor immune system. Some believe that lichen planus is triggered from excessive stress. Stress weakens the bodys immune system and render it susceptible to infection and other health symptoms such as hair loss. The chances of getting another lichen planus attack rise with the first affliction, even with treatment and prevention measures.

Lichen planus is most identifiable by the changes in the skin that occur. There will be itching in certain areas of the skin, as well as skin lesions that will appear in a variety of places. The skin lesions will have a variety of attributes related to their shape, size and color, all which will help you in identifying the disorder. There may also be nail abnormalities, such as ridges in the nails that begin to appear. The skin lesions will then begin to move into the mouth area and cause your mouth to feel dry. From here, lichen planus will begin to show on the scalp area and hair will be lost from the irritation from the scalp area.

Once you notice these symptoms, do not wait too long to treat the lichen planus. In most cases, the symptoms are not severe enough and will simply go away over time. However, there is also the possibility of the symptoms become full blown and it will be more difficult to treat at that point in time.

For treatment, you can take prescribed medications. Antihistamines are useful in helping to treat lichen planus. Vitamin A in the form of ointments and creams are also considered to be effective. It can be expected that this disorder will disappear after a few months or after a longer amount of time. Also, ensure a healthy diet and lifestyle to boost your immune system.

If you notice both the above mentioned symptoms and also experience hair loss at the same time, then it is possible that you can be having lichen planus. To be absolutely sure, it is best to seek a professional diagnosis. Lichen planus can cause much discomfort to you as it affects your physical appearance. Understanding what the symptoms of lichen planus are and knowing what to do will help you repair your skin and treat yourself from hair loss.

Diagnosing Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a known disease of the small intestine. With celiac disease, the intestine experiences an immunological or allergic reaction. The small intestine does not absorb the nutrients of the food digested. This leads to nutritional, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Diagnosing celiac disease early is very important to prevent any critical illness.

Celiac disease is common in European countries, particularly in Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Austria. In Finland, the prevalence may be as high as one in every 100 persons. While in North America, its prevalence is one in every 3000 people. Worldwide, its occurrence would be one in every 250 people.

Its exact cause is unknown but it is often inherited. If someone in the immediate family has it, chances are 5 percent to 15 percent that the member of the family may have it as well. It can occur at any age, although problems dont appear until gluten is introduced into the diet.

There are also times, for unclear reasons, that the disease appear or was experienced after some form of trauma. It can happen or emerge after an infection, a physical injury, the stress of pregnancy, severe stress or surgery.

There are no typical signs and symptoms of celiac disease and there are even patients that have no symptoms. They only show the symptoms after inducing or introducing gluten into their diet. There are cases that celiac disease is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. The symptoms are often confused with other conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, or nervous conditions.

Blood tests are conducted such as anti-tissue translutaminase and anti-endomysial antibodies. Blood tests are used to find the elevated antibody levels. These elevated levels are a sign of celiac disease, since the persons immune system recognizes gluten as a foreign substance and increases the number of antibodies to fight it.

After confirming or getting elevated antibody levels in the blood tests, the doctor or attending physician perform intestinal tissue checks. This is to microscopically examine a small portion of intestinal tissue to check for damage to the villi.

A thin, flexible tube is inserted through the mouth, esophagus and stomach and into the small intestine to take a small tissue sample. The tiny, hairlike projections from the small intestine that absorb vitamins, minerals and other nutrients will provide the necessary information if the villi is damaged.

Also, patients with celiac disease show other clues. Patients may have the presence of a blistering, itchy skin rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis. An estimated 10 percent of patients with celiac disease also have this skin disorder. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a skin disease that can be found on the extremities, buttocks, neck, trunk, and scalp.

After undergoing medical examinations, a trial of a gluten-free diet can confirm the diagnosis. But before undergoing the gluten-free diet, medical evaluation is required. Undergoing the diet may have an impact on the results of the blood test and biopsies. They may appear normal and without any complications even if the patient is positive with celiac disease.

Dennis Lee, M.D, the author of the article Celiac Disease(Gluten Enteropathy) states that it is necessary to firmly establish the diagnosis of celiac disease before commencing to gluten free diet for three main reasons:

(1) to identify the gluten-free diet should be followed which is a life-long and tedious commitment;

(2) to avoid patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to unnecessarily commit to life-long gluten restriction; and

(3) a gluten free diet can lower the blood antibody levels and allow the small intestine to lose the typical appearance of celiac disease, complicating subsequent efforts at making a firm diagnosis of celiac disease.