Tag: Medication

Insomnia – The Most Prevalent Form of Sleep Disorder

Insomnia, a most common sleep disorder, affects about one third of the American population and is classified two different ways. It can be classified by how long it lasts. Transient insomnia lasts for only a few days, short term lasts for a few weeks and chronic lasts for more then three weeks. The other way insomnia is classified is by its source. The main two classifications of this sleep disorder by source are primary and secondary.

Transient insomnia is experienced by most people at some time throughout their lives. It can be caused by stress such as worrying about the first day school or an illness in the family. Sometimes this sleep disorder occurs due to a disruption of their circadian cycle, which is a persons natural sleep cycle, caused by jet lag or a shift change at work. Transient insomnia goes away one the stress issue has passed. Short term insomnia is often caused by similar stressors as transient insomnia. If the sufferer of this sleep disorder cannot break the cycle of poor sleep, it often develops into chronic insomnia.

Primary insomnia develops without any obvious cause. Sometimes it starts as early as infancy.
Often it is the result of high metabolic rates or an overactive nervous system.

Secondary insomnia is the direct result of another cause. This sleep disorder can come from illness, medication, drugs or alcohol. Addressing the underlying cause of secondary insomnia often gives the sufferer relief. For example, if arthritis pain keeps you from sleeping, then treating the arthritis is the best way to cope with the sleep disorder.

Insomnia is not a single disorder. It is a general symptom and could have many potential causes. In order to qualify as a sleep disorder, insomnia has to meet three specific requirements. First, the person has to experience poor sleep in general, or have a problem falling or staying asleep. Second, if given the proper sleep environment and an adequate opportunity to sleep, the problem still occurs. Third, the result of the poor sleep causes some type of impairment while awake. Examples of an impairment are; fatigue, body aches and pains, inability to concentrate, mood changes, lack of energy, poor concentration, or developing an unnatural amount of worry about sleep.

Often insomnia is treated with medication, such as sleeping pills. These can be prescription medication or bought over the counter.

However, there are several other methods of treatment for this sleep disorder. Behavioral treatments include meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, visualization, biofeedback, sleep hygiene, cognitive behavioral therapy and reconditioning sleep restriction. These methods are often very successful.

Some sufferers of this sleep disorder choose holistic, or alternative, treatment. This method involves the use of herbal supplements which are not usually FDA approved. Others seek acupuncture as a way to relieve their insomnia. Passive body heating, which is the use of hot baths, is another method used.

Understanding this sleep disorder is the first step to breaking the cycle of insomnia.

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.

What You Can do to Lower Your Cholesterol

Experts say that people who are over 20 years of age should pay more attention to their cholesterol level and advise them to do everything they can to lower their levels of bad cholesterol. Despite the so many claims that you can lower your cholesterol level through low cholesterol diet plans, lifestyle changes, and monitored medication, more and more people who suffer from this condition still fail to lower their cholesterol level.

Although it is sometimes hard to stick with the needed requirements to be able to lower your cholesterol levels, it is still possible to get the result that you want by following these easy ways to lower to cholesterol:

1. Make sure you know where you stand by getting your levels checked regularly. Visiting your doctor and getting your cholesterol levels checked regularly is very important to achieving optimum health for good. Since high cholesterol is related to cardiovascular disease, make sure that you know your numbers so you can rearrange your diet and change lifestyle habits as well. Knowing your cholesterol level will also help you decide what kind of diet plan you should follow and if you need medication and treatment already. Knowing your starting point will also help you monitor your progress toward healthy cholesterol levels. If you know your exact cholesterol status then you can also do something to combat it by learning to quit cigarette smoking and excessive eating of high cholesterol foods.

2. Understanding the basics and learning everything you can about the condition. If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol levels, the first thing to do is to understand the situation fully and acquire more information about the condition. By conducting your own personal research on the condition will also make you knowledgeable about initial lifestyle changes you can do to lessen the problem and you will also have an idea what other treatments options available. Knowing everything about cholesterol, its types, kinds, and health risks will also make you understand that the case is not really hopeless if you are in the right track.

Finding and getting more information about the condition will also make you realize that there are so many things that you can do. You can get more information from a registered dietician, local centers for nutrition, local hospital or public health department, and from a consultation with your attending physician or health care provider.

3. Watch your weight and get rid of extra pounds if needed. Monitoring your weight is one of the best ways to combat high levels of cholesterol. If you think you are overweight for your age and height, then you should be contemplating on slimming down to be able to decrease your high cholesterol level. Since being overweight disrupts a persons normal metabolism of dietary fat, experts say that people who weight more than they should shout start planning on a healthy lifestyle and diet to lose weight safely.

But, before having a drastic change in your diet and lifestyle, make sure that you visit your doctor first to access your overall health. Doing this may prevent further damage especially if you have to undergo certain medications.

4. Get physical, do regular physical activities and exercises more often. The wonders of exercise are indeed very essential in lowering high cholesterol levels. Doing regular physical activities can also help raise the good cholesterol levels and lose weight as well. Theres really no need for high-intensity workouts, regular brisk walking or jogging can help the body boost HDL cholesterol and also beneficial for the heart.

5. Make a commitment and stick to that commitment. The best way to lower cholesterol levels is to be able to develop the discipline to stick to your goal. You can also lower your cholesterol level by acquainting yourself what are the good and the bad fat and its sources, by discovering the wonders of fiber in cutting down cholesterol, by taking in good multivitamins, by freeing yourself from lots of stress, and by exploring and considering treatment options when all else fails.

Knowing the Right Acne Medication for You

Most often than not, the physique becomes the innermost reflection of people, their lifestyles and their personalities. Everybodyeven those who are evidently endowed with almost flawless skin and perfect bodystill wants more that is why they continue to search for products that would maintain and enhance their physical wellness.

But sometimes, it is quite unavoidable to encounter problems when it comes to achieving physical beauty. One of the most common problems people have to deal with is having various skin disorders or skin diseases.

Peopleregardless of their gender, age, and nationalityexperience different kinds of skin disorders. But among the so many skin diseases, majority of them agree that acne is indeed one of the hardest to get rid off.

Ccombating Acne

People who have skin diseasesespecially those who are suffering greatly from a skin disorder like acneendlessly search for products to cure their skin imperfections. And with the growing popularity of different acne medication, more and more people often resort to these products and treatments without consulting a dermatologist or a physician. More often that not, the result is more devastating than their current uncomfortable situation.

In order to avoid mistakes in choosing medications and treatments to acne, people should first gain information about the general cause of acne, its types, and the products appropriate for each kind.

For people who suffer from this skin disorder, it is very important to learn the current and future physiological and psychological effects of acne apart from focusing too much on the aesthetic aspect. It is also equally important for the acne patient to get support and advice from family members and relatives in combating this skin disease because getting improper acne medication may lead to a worst physiological shape in the future.

Basically, the use of any acne medication will depend on the kind of acne the person has developed. Most studies show that acne cases depend on the life stages of a personinfantile acne, juvenile or teenager acne, and adult acne.

Knowing the type of acne the person has is quite significant in determining the kind of acne medication required. This is a very significant factor because this is where the calculation of dosage and span of time the acne medication depends.

In giving any acne medication, it is also quite important to take note of the type of acne the patient has, his or her age, the prevalence of acne organism present, and the overall well-being of the individual. These pieces of information will determine the kind of acne medication to be given in order to avoid possible allergic reactions due to the antibiotics.

Recommended Acne Medication

Since antibiotics have been known as effective solution for moderate to severe and persistent acne, doctors and dermatologists continue to administer the use of it for years now. Through the years, medical research, and developments also proven that antibiotics can be more effective when taken orally.

Today, acne medication is usually administered through oral antibiotic medication or medicine taken by mouth usually prescribed by a physician or a dermatologist.

Of all the existing oral antibiotics for acne out there, oral tetracycline remains one of the most widely used. Tetracycline medication starts from 500 to 1000 milligrams a day. When developments occur, lesser dosage is given until the bacteria that caused the disease have been suppressed. Oral erythromycin on the other hand serves as an alternative to tetracycline safe for the consumption of pregnant women and very young children.

Other acne medications that are derived from tetracycline include oral minocycline and oral doxycycline these are both believed to be more effective than tetracycline itself but are dangerous to pregnant women and kids. Physicians also consider oral corticosteroids and isotretinoin as effective acne medication. Topical acne medication or treatments through surgery are also other options to treat acne.