Tag: Warm Water

What Causes Warts?

Warts of all kinds are annoying and some can even signal danger. It would be nice to prevent them. To have any chance of doing that, you need an idea of what causes warts.

All warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus gets into the skin at a certain point and infects it. The cells in that area grow very rapidly. A wart is formed at that site.

Warm, moist environments are breeding grounds for many varieties of warts. Anyplace that is wet can be a threat. A shower or locker room floor can be a problem in this area, especially if warm water covers the floor. People can pick up HPV in swimming pools, hot tubs, and saunas.

Skin abnormalities give the virus a place to take hold. If you have an irritation or a rough spot on your skin, it can give rise to a wart. If you are a swimmer, you may have plantar warts because of the combination of the moist environment and rough or broken skin from the surfaces of the pool. Plantar warts get worse because pressure from walking on them pushes them into the skin.

You can also contract HPV at the site of a patch of broken skin. This can be a rash or a cut. It can be a hangnail or a fingernail that you have bitten off very closely. It can even happen with a scrape or a scratch.

You can get common warts following excessive handling, such as in a job, of meat or poultry. The same goes for fish. Working with these foods keeps the skin moist over a long period of time.

HPV also causes genital warts. They are considered a sexually transmitted disease. They can be spread through contact with the throat or the mouth occasionally. Usually, they are contracted through exposure to the genitals or the anus.

Once the HPV is in your system, the warts can be carried to any other place on the body. You do this by scratching or touching them. Then, when you touch another body part, the HPV is spread. If the strain you have is genital warts, the infected areas will be on the genital areas.

You may have genital warts for awhile and they may go away. If this happens, be careful. You can still spread genital warts even if you are showing no signs of the infection. Genital warts are highly contagious, so you should take precautions such as using condoms during sex.

The question may arise as to whether a mother can spread genital warts to a baby when it is being delivered. The answer is that she can, but only rarely. The only time this would be a concern is if the doctor suspects that the warts will bleed excessively. At that point, a cesarean section will probably be performed.
There are many ways that warts can be spread. Some of them have to do with the warm, moist environment that fosters their growth. Some have to do with sexual activity. However HPV is actually the only cause of warts.

Protect Yourself From The Flesh Eating Disease

I know that all the rage these days is talk about an impending zombie apocalypse and that is what you may first think of when you hear about flesh eating disease but since there really is no such thing as zombies let’s talk about how you can protect yourself from the flesh eating disease called Necrotizing Fasciitis.

The best way to protect yourself from the flesh eating disease is to keep your hands clean. Wash them in warm water and soap for at least 15-20 seconds when they are visibly soiled and use hand sanitizer to kill the germs you can’t see for other times.

If you cut yourself or get a burn while you are in the kitchen, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem at the time, always clean the area very well and keep it covered. Feel free to use a triple antibiotic ointment and change the bandage frequently or at least daily.

The bandage you use should also be kept dry so go buy yourself some vinyl or latex gloves at your local drug store to use to cover the affected area, if it is on your hands, that is.

Bacteria thrives in warm, moist places so if the bandage gets wet change it immediately.

If you are a relatively healthy individual you have a lower risk of acquiring this possibly deadly infection. Higher risk individuals are those with chronic conditions that deplete the immune system like diabetes, cancer, and lupus.

Alcoholics and drug abusers also have a higher risk of developing this type of infection.

These people should take special precautions from even getting injured because with an immune system that is not functioning like it should sores and burns will not heal quickly in the best of times.

If, a day or two after an injury, you start to notice any of the following symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.

If you notice:

1. Increased redness, swelling and the area of injury is hot to the touch

2. Green drainage from the would

3. Increased or new, severe pain to the area

4. An area near the center of the original injury has turned black. This indicates that tissue death has begun.

Diagnosis is made by your doctor ordering a number of tests such as:

1. Lab culture of the wound

2. CT scan or MRI

3. Blood tests

4. Biopsy of the surrounding skin

Immediate treatment is essential to limiting the damage the toxins released by the bacteria can cause. If left untreated for even just a little while, sometimes only a few hours, extensive damage can occur and complications such as amputation or organ death can quickly follow.

Statistics show that if you do not learn how to protect yourself from the flesh eating disease and you do acquire this deadly infection 1 in 4 will die from it.

All it takes is keeping your hands and any injury you get clean, covered and dry.

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.

Simple And Easy Home Remedies For Boils

Boils have been a plague on us since Biblical times when they were considered a punishment from God for wrong doings. It is not surprising then that they have emerged as a condition that is not only socially unacceptable, but also an unsightly embarrassment for anyone who has the misfortune to suffer with them.

A boil, though very painful, is a relatively harmless condition that will last about ten days and then disappear. Because they are relatively harmless home remedies for boils are often ideal ways to treat them. Boils then are basically an infection in a hair follicle or an oil gland that has been traumatized or become blocked in some way. A boil will develop and grow, turning yellow/white on the head of the boil and red and inflamed around the surrounding and nearby area of the boil itself.

Home remedies for boils often work at drawing the pus from beneath the skin and then the healing of the open sore that is left behind. Though lancing a boil is not recommended, since this will often lead to scaring once the boil heals, methods to draw out the pus from the boil are widely used home remedies for boils.

Cornmeal is a food that can be used as a poultice to draw out the pus in the boil. This is because cornmeal has properties that readily absorb moisture. Mixed up into a paste with warm water and then applied to the boil, wrapped in a clean cloth, is an ideal way to begin bringing the boil to a head.

Believe it or not, keeping the boil wet and warm is another home remedies for boils that has been proven to work well. The cloth needs to be kept wet as opposed to damp and the warmth must be maintained. It might take some organizing to keep the compress at the desired warmth and wetness, but if repeated four or five times during the day for about ten minutes each time, this is a great one to add to the list of home remedies.

In the same way as the cornmeal and wet and warm compress works, there are other food stuffs that will work just as well. Onions and garlic, for instance, have long been famous for their medicinal properties. A chunk of onion applied directly to the boil, or alternatively three or four cloves of garlic, are great ways to draw the boil to a head.

Above all, when the above methods are adopted and the boil begins to drain away, make sure that you do not allow the pus to contaminate the surrounding skin, as this will cause further problems that will need attention.