Tag: Shock

Acupuncture and Extreme Cases

What are some extreme cases where acupuncture is useful? Let us talk about a few particularly interesting ones. The first is using acupuncture on a person in a coma. Many times people in comas only receive minimal care. When my father was in a long term care hospital, I often walked by two rooms where the occupants were in comas, one I knew had been that way for at least several months. After treating any conditions that the doctors were aware of, there was little else to do for these patients. The one that was there for months never had any visitors as far as I could see, and the hospital was maintaining him until at some time he might come out of his coma. The practice of acupuncture can help a person in a coma in the following ways: clear the physical senses, calm the spirit, clear the brain, strengthen the heart, and eliminate phlegm. Without getting too specific, these areas are regulated by different organs of the body and the energy from those organs, and insertion of needles at correct points will redirect that energy.

Depending on the patient, sometimes the needles might be twirled gently. Western medicine distinguishes comatose patients based on their originating symptom (brain tumor, car accident, etc), but the practice of acupuncture groups the patients by their set of common symptoms. The use of acupuncture for these patients will improve their overall well being, and in some cases the patients revive after a time, though it is not possible medically to determine why they revive.

A second use of acupuncture is for someone that is prone to simple fainting. As a caution, a physician should determine if the cause is serious heart trouble. If not, there are standard acupuncture regimes which will regulate energy to allow the blood to freely recirculate through the entire body, including the head. It is also interesting to note that a number of times this physical symptom can be accompanied by a social problem such as overwork, or an emotional problem such as internally rebelling from a situation that the patient wanted to be released from. Acupuncture can restore harmony to both the physical and emotional components of the patient.

Another application of acupuncture is for patients in emergency situations. It would be best to have an actual acupuncture practitioner at the scene, but anyone can use these simple techniques. If someone has lost consciousness, apply a strong pressure with your fingernail in the groove between the nose and mouth, about one third of the way down from the nose. This is a simple acupuncture point that may well awaken the patient. Chest-related emergencies can be helped with the acupuncture point on the underside of the forearm, between the two tendons, and about two thumb widths back from the last wrist crease. This may help for people experiencing palpitations, hiccups, stomach pain, and lung problems. Press firmly.

These just list a few unusual applications where acupuncture would be useful. There are also acupuncture regimens for people that have gone into shock, a drowning victim that is now breathing but still unconscious, acupuncture support for patients with broken limbs, etc. I hope this has expanded your view on many additional uses for acupuncture.

Obesity And Heart Failure-Strong Link To Each Other

Being overweight is not only bad for your image, it’s bad for your health, too. That probably doesn’t come as a shock to you, but there are some things that may surprise you about obesity and heart failure. While the correlation between heart failure and high blood pressure, diabetes, or coronary heart disease has long been understood, it’s only recently that researchers are discovering the strong link to obesity.

One thing researchers found is that any increase in weight seems to correlate to an increased risk of heart failure. Some people think that only the morbidly obese are at risk, but that is not the case. Being as little as ten pounds overweight may have an impact on your likelihood of experiencing heart failure. It also seems that the more overweight you are, the greater the risk.

In one study, participants who were obese were three times more likely to suffer heart failure than those who were overweight, but those who were overweight were more likely to suffer than those who maintained an ideal weight.

The results of this and other studies show a clear link between obesity and heart failure. One of the causes appears to be LVH (left ventricular hypertrophy), which is a fancy way of saying that the walls of the heart get too thick to work properly. Another cause that may lead to heart failure in the obese is metabolic syndrome X, a condition that has a negative effect on lipids.

NOTE: You should always talk to your doctor about any health concerns you have including obesity and heart disease.

At first, this situation causes a dilemma. Which one should you treat first, the LVH and metabolic syndrome X, or the obesity? There are treatments that are effective in battling the first two conditions, and they may help to take care of the immediate threat of heart failure. However, treating the obesity decreases the overall risk, though it can take a bit longer to see results. The answer is that all conditions should be treated at the same time. In other words, if you have LVH or metabolic syndrome X, and are obese, then you should get the first two conditions treated and start losing weight as well.

You will have to discuss your treatment options with your doctor, but there are several things you can start doing right away to lose weight.

When it comes right down to it, there is only one way that anybody can lose weight. They have to burn more calories than their body stores. Two-pronged approach is the best way to go. Decrease the number of calories you take in by watching what you eat, and burn more calories by exercising. Again, always talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise routine.

The main thing to remember is that if you are overweight, then you are increasing your risk of many diseases. Obesity and heart failure need to be taken seriously, so it’s important that you take action.

Toothache Home Remedies That Work

A toothache hits! The first thing is a dentist is called and an appointment made. Unless there is something more serious such as an abscess, appointments are not usually instantly available. So while the sufferer waits and endures what some people have called ‘one of the most painful pains known to man’, the sufferer immediately begins to hunt down a variety of toothache home remedies that will work and ease their pain!

Which of the toothache home remedies that will work for each individual is dependent on what exactly is the problem with the tooth. Problems can result from infections, blows to the mouth, decay or even food lodged between teeth or within cavities of teeth.

If the problem is that there is food or debris stuck within the teeth and it is causing pain, then a gentle swilling out of the mouth is usually effective. What can also help is the gentle brushing of the teeth to dislodge the food.

Toothache home remedies for a blow to the mouth, which usually result in a swelling or even a tooth falling out, are best treated by icing the area. In effect you treat the damaged area as you would do any other bruised area of the body. Applying ice will help reduce the swelling and will even numb the nerves around the area and bring pain relief.

Another proven toothache home remedy is rinsing the mouth with salty water. This works by cleansing the mouth and keeping any open cavities within the tooth clean, so helping to prevent painful infections. Warm water, as opposed to cold water, should always be used so there is no painful shock to any exposed nerves.

One of the least known toothache home remedies involves keeping the head upright. If you think back and analyze, a lot of toothaches will begin during the night when the sufferer is laying down asleep. This is because in this position, pressure builds in the head and causes pain in the tooth. So often times, simply propping yourself up in bed will bring some relief.

Further more, something as apparently unrelated as massaging the hand with an ice cube can bring a degree of pain relief for a toothache. Between the thumb and the forefinger, in the groove of the bone just below the V shape, an ice cube rubbed gently over this area can be immensely beneficial to anyone who is enduring a toothache.

Pretty much then, making use of these home remedies for toothaches will depend on what has caused the pain. The good thing is that all of these remedies are fairly straight forward to implement and are proven to bring relief.

Surgical Procedures for Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are not really dangerous because normally it gets out of the body through urination. Then again there are cases when kidney stones develop to something bigger than expected so they stay in the body. When this happens then it is time to visit your doctor so that you can go through necessary tests and figure out the next best steps to be taken. Usually a patient with kidney stones may just be advised to stay home and drink lots of water so that eventually the kidney stones are flushed out. Sometimes though that is not enough and so after careful thought surgery may be considered as it is needed.

There are many things to consider before someone with kidney stones should consider surgery. Here are some of the things to observe and take note of. If you are experiencing these things then you seriously have to start thinking about surgery. If the kidney stones seem to be stuck over quite a long period of time and is starting to cause the person pain. Also, when the kidney stones blocks the normal flow of urine and causes a urinary tract infection to persist. On very bad occasion, ignored kidney stones that are getting bigger may eventually cause kidney tissue damage which is evident in bleeding.

For over 20 years open surgery was the only way to go when it comes to removing kidney stones. As in any open surgery, recovery period takes a long period of time as in around four to six weeks which is really bad news. This is the reason why people tend to just self-medicate thinking it will wade out.

However things can just get worse if you leave things at that but who can blame those people? Going under the knife is not something that is easy to undergo. The good news is that these days, due to advancement in technology, many surgery choices for the removal of kidney stones no longer require open surgery and can even be performed in an outpatient setting.

Here a number of procedures are discussed. The most common surgery choice is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy or ESWL. There are a number of ESWL devices available but basically they all work the same way. Shock waves are created outside the body and then it penetrates the skin and tissues to make its way through the kidney stones that will eventually be broken down into small pieces.

Now for more kidney stones in more complicated areas or states, there are other procedures to choose from. For larger stones or kidney stones that are hard to locate, there is the percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This requires a bit of going under the knife since a surgeon has to make a tiny incision at the back to create a tunnel directly to the kidney. What is good about this procedure is that it can remove fragments of kidney stones directly. For stones located in the mid and lower ureter, Ureteroscopy might be needed. No incision is required for this procedure.

The surgeon simply passes a small fiberoptic instrument called a ureteroscope until it reaches the ureter. Upon locating the kidney stone, it is removed with a cage-like device or breaks it with a special instrument that produces shock wave. This particular procedure, however, is rarely used to day because of the high risks involved.