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At some point in our lives, we will experience some sort of chronic pain that we positively hate and wish to go away. But as much as we seek pain relief immediately and despise the discomfort, the truth is that pain is useful to our survival as it alerts us to problems within our body. Pain also prevents a person from further injuring themselves and so it can be very useful. But, while useful, we all seek pain relief from time to time because-well, it hurts!

Oral Pain Relief

Now when most people think of pain relief, the first thing that comes to mind is aspirin or some other form of oral medication. In fact, we have been conditioned to believe that “you take something for the pain” and this usually involves a pill of some kind. For severe or chronic pain, opiates are most often prescribed. Morphine and heroine are two common opiates, and you will generally see cancer patients given these pain medicines as pain relief of last resort. Opiates are considered highly addictive and generally reserved for terminally ill patients.

Anti-depressants once were prescribed solely to treat depression and other mental illnesses. However, recent research has concluded that anti-depressants do relieve certain types of physical pain and are often used in pain relief applications to help a patient sleep.

Anti-seizure medications are prescribed to deal with sharp or acute pain caused by malfunctioning or damaged nerves. They most often deaden or numb the nerves themselves so pain signals do not reach the brain.

Less severe forms of oral pain relief generally come in the form of aspirin or ibuprofen. Ibuprofen are specifically designed to reduce inflammation and are therefore recommended for things like muscle aches while aspirin are more useful on headaches and fever reduction.

Pain Relief From Injections

One of the more severe but useful types of pain relief come in the form of injections. Cortisone treatments are common in athletes and involve an injection directly into the muscle or nerve causing the pain. This sort of pain relief is very effective, but it cannot be done on regular intervals due to tissue damage. Therefore, it is only recommended for temporary relief of acute pain.

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Dentists also use this form of pain relief when they inject your mouth with Novocain-or, a local anesthetic. These injections will numb your nerves so that they are no longer sending signals to the brain. The inflammation or source of the pain will remain, but your body won’t feel anything until the local wears off.

Nerve Block Pain Relief

This type of pain relief is related to injections but deals with specific nerve blocks within the body. Called a ganglion or plexus, a nerve block will affect a group of nerves relating to a specific organ or part of the body. The doctor provides an injection of a specific nerve blocker in order to temporarily relieve pain to that organ or part of the body. It is different than a local anesthetic in that it has been specifically designed to affect one type of nerve so it is specialized pain relief and tends to be more expensive than standard cortisone shots or Novocain.

Physical Therapy as Pain Relief

Physical therapy is often viewed as a means to rebuild damaged muscles and nerves after a trauma. However, physical therapy is also used as a natural form of pain relief. Whirlpool therapy, deep muscle massage, and ultrasound are all forms of physical therapy used in natural pain relief treatments.

Electrical Stimulation Pain Relief

Known as TENS, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is an alternative to more traditional pain relief treatments. Without using any needles or medicine, pain is relieved when tiny electrical impulses are applied to the skin. The electrical current then stimulates nerve fibers in other parts of the skin and has the affect of relieving pain. The effects are only short term but TENS has proven itself as a legitimate means of pain relief and is a standard component of many physical therapy programs.

Acupuncture Pain Relief

While not widely recognized by the medical community as a legitimate form of pain relief, this Oriental treatment has been around for centuries and is considered by its adherents as a very effective pain management tool. Acupuncture specialists use lots of thin, small needles on various pressure points of the body. The pressure points in which a practitioner applies the needles will depend on the source of the pain. Although not a proven form of pain relief, acupuncture does remain one natural alternative to more traditional and accepted forms of pain management.

Surgery

In very severe cases and when other forms of pain relief have failed, surgery may be the last best chance to end chronic pain. In most cases, a surgeon will go in and actually severe nerve connections so that pain receptors in the brain no longer receive signals. Again, this is a method of last resort because as we stated earlier-pain can be useful and necessary to our survival. Doctors don’t like completely severing nerve endings as they will no longer be able to alert your body to problems-but when other forms of pain management fail, surgery may be the only viable alternative.

Topical Pain Relief

Finally, there are also topical ointments, creams, and liquids that can be directly applied to an affected area for temporary pain relief. Topical pain relief has the advantage of being quicker to reduce pain than oral medicines without being as invasive as the injections. While topical pain relief is not recommended for relief of chronic pain, it is highly effective with short term alleviation of minor aches and pains.

Pain relief is something we all must concern ourselves with from time to time. There are a wide array of medical and natural pain relief options available to you, and the one you choose will depend on the nature of the pain and your own comfort level with the treatment. For relief of minor, short-term pain, oral medication is most preferred, but topical pain relief options are growing in popularity and should be considered as a viable option in most cases.

For a topical and natural pain relief product, try ReliefMD to help manage and prevent any of your everyday aches and pains.

Food allergies may be merely annoying, or they may be life-threatening. About 30,000 Americans rush to emergency rooms every year to receive treatment for serious allergic reactions to foods.  For about 150-200 people, these reactions are fatal. People with food allergies must be careful about what they eat. They also worry about “hidden” allergens that might sneak into their food.

 

What exactly is a food allergy? It’s a specific type of adverse food reaction that involves the immune system.  The body produces an allergic antibody to a food. Then, the next time that food is eaten, the antibody binds with the food and causes an allergic response.

 

Signs and symptoms may develop within minutes or within an hour after eating the offending food.  Here are some of the most common:

• itching, skin rash, hives

• swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat or other body part

• nasal congestion, wheezing, or difficulty breathing

• abdominal pain  with diarrhea, nausea, and/or vomiting

• lightheadedness or dizziness

 

These symptoms can become dangerous if any of these responses occur:

• swelling of the throat or air passages that makes it difficult to breathe

• anaphylactic shock (involving a severe drop in blood pressure)

• rapid, irregular pulse

• loss of consciousness

 

How can people with common allergies protect themselves? It helps a lot to read packaging labels carefully.  The FDA requires food manufacturers to list the presence of the most common food allergens on their labels.  These are the 8 foods included in the labeling requirements: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as almonds, cashew, and walnuts), fish (such as bass, cod, and flounder), shellfish (such as crab, lobster, and shrimp), soy, and wheat.  If the product contains one of these foods or a protein from one, it must be listed.

 

Any domestic or imported food  regulated by the FDA must supply information such as “contains eggs” on the label. This requirement also includes any of these allergens found in flavorings, colorings, or other additives in that product. If a food may  accidentally come in contact with one of these allergens during the growing, harvesting, or manufacturing process (for example, if peanuts are processed in the same plant), the manufacturer is not required to mention this on the label, but many do list the possibility of trace amounts of a common allergen.   Errors of omission do occur, but, when government inspectors notice that a product contains an unlisted allergen, there is a recall of the product.

 

The government’s labeling requirements do not protect everyone with a food allergy.  The 8 most common offenders listed above account for 90% of all food allergies.  However, more than 160 different foods are known to cause allergic reactions.

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Here are some interesting and useful facts to know about food allergies:

• Food allergies reflect patterns of consumption.  In Japan, rice is a common allergen.  In Europe, mustard and celery are.

• Food allergy occurs in 6 – 8% of children 4 years old or younger.  In adults, the figure is 3.7%

• Allergies to peanuts and tree nuts are the leading causes of fatal and near-fatal reactions.

• Accidental exposure to allergens occur in about 50% of people with food allergies.

• The most common food allergies in adults are to seafood, peanuts, and tree nuts.

• The most common foods allergies in children are to eggs, milk, and peanuts.

• Adults usually keep their food allergies for their entire lives, but children sometimes outgrow theirs.

• The highly allergic person can become sick from eating even a very tiny amount of a food allergen, for  example, a small piece of a peanut kernel.

• Some allergic food reactions occur only after exercise.

• A positive test for IgE antibodies to a particular food does not necessarily mean that the person will  experience an allergic symptom after eating that food.  In fact, there’s less than a 50% chance that the person actually has that food allergy.

 

Food allergies are different from food intolerance.  Some food ingredients that can make a person sick because of intolerance are histamine, lactose, food additives (such as MSG and sulfites), and  gluten.

 

A health care provider should be consulted for help in diagnosing and treating food allergies. The websites of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have a wealth of information on these topics on diagnosis and treatment of food allergies, but, ultimately, the allergic person’s best source of information is his/her own doctor, who can take a medical history, do an exam, do allergy tests, and consider the patient’s other medical problems before treating the allergy.

 

If you are a person with a history of dangerous allergic reactions, two possibly life-saving recommendations are the following:  1) wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace that states the food allergy you have and possible severe reaction(s) to it; and 2) consult your doctor about the advisability of carrying an auto-injector device containing epinephrine (adrenaline) that you could administer to yourself if necessary.  (You will need a doctor’s prescription for this.)

 

FoodSafety.gov also recommends signing up for allergy alerts by email.  These can let you know about food recalls because of unlisted allergens on product labels.  You can also subscribe to an allergy alert newsfeed.

 

May 9 – 15 was designated Food Allergy Awareness Week.  But, for allergic people and those that cook for them and care for them, awareness must be ongoing every week and every day of the year.

FoodSafety.gov  “Allergens”
http://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/allergens/index.html

FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)  “Food Allergies: Reducing the Risks”
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm182842.htm

MayoClinic.com  “Food Allergies: Watch food labels for these top 8 allergens”
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergies/aa00057

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  “Food Allergy: What is Food Allergy?”
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/whatIsIt.aspx

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases “Food Allergy: Food Allergy or Food Intolerance?” 
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/foodIntolerance.aspx

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases “Food Allergy: Diagnosis”
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/diagnosis.aspx

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases “Food Allergy: Treatment”
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/Pages/treatment.aspx

The New York Times  “Doubt Is Cast on Many Reports of Food Allergies” 
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/health/research/12allergies.html

FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)  “Food Allergies: Reducing the Risks”
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm182842.htm

MayoClinic.com  “Food Allergies: Watch food labels for these top 8 allergens”
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergies/aa00057

 

Various weight management programs are now sprouting in any kind of sources, be it online or offline. This is to the advantage of those who are looking for various options on how to maintain the weight they currently have or to lose pounds and then deal on it permanently. But like a good, a person must choose among them and identify the best of the weight management programs that may come on their way. This task will not be easy because looking at them in the outset, they may contain the same composition and aimed at the same purpose. But naturally, there are hair line tips which one can use to choose the outstanding one among them.

Weight management programs do not necessarily promise overnight results. In fact, most of them, as their name implies, delve on how to manage the weight they have now. This doesn’t automatically mean to lose weight. They vary in their methods and styles but often, they are aimed at the same goal. To help you pick the best, here are considerations which you have to bear in mind.

-          .  Like a good student, you need to study and most of all research on the programs before you. Evaluate the contents of the programs by taking one by one the recommended diets on it. Most of all, a good weight management program sticks to one cardinal rule- to eat well. Most of the diets usually recommend steaks, bacon, eggs, cheese, and poultry. But refined sugar, milk, white rice, and flour should be avoided. A common and popular diet that promotes this is the Atkins Diet. But common among these diets is the principle of eating more fruits and vegetables rich in fibre and antioxidants.

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-          .  It must be noted that weight management programs do not revolve around eating the appropriate foods. Instead, they are holistic in nature which means that they would also involve activities that can keep fats burning as a compliment to the diet you are following. Weight management programs may also include routine exercises or common but effective methods like walking, strolling and drinking more glasses of water. Thus, eating the right kinds of foods is not an assurance that you will be shedding off fats. It must be coupled with hardwork and patience.

-          . There are weight management programs that are actually recommended by experts themselves. Relying on the suggestion of your personal doctor can be a good way to end up with the best especially when you know the reputation of the doctor. Testimonies of close friends and the like will also give you a hint as to how weight management programs really work.

Do not depend on the world wide web to give you the weight management programs you are looking for since they can come in other sources too like health magazines and other reading materials. State agencies that are tasked to observe and entertain health problems are also great sources for you to solicit suggestions on weight management programs. 

For most of us, it is quite daunting to think about . The statistics reveal that majority of teenagers have been involved in at least some type of drug use even prior to their high school education. The younger the child is when they begin testing and experimenting with drugs, the higher the chance is that they become addicted and end up in some type of drug rehab facility.

Parents should be the front line in any move to combat drug addiction among teens and they can do so much to prevent their teen’s involvement in any type of harmful drug. But this does not happen in most of the cases. Parents are considered to be the most important people in a child’s life and they look up to them as role models. If parents abuse drugs, teens are likely to abuse drugs, too. If they become irresponsible there is a great probability that their teen will be like them also.

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The teenage years are inclined to be a period of great emotional turmoil as it is the transition from childhood to adulthood. As they undergo this crucial stage in their lives, a lot of issues such as peer pressure, search for identity, romantic and family relationships as well as school performance beset them. It becomes a common option for teenagers to resort to drug abuse to get rid of such issues. Teen drug abuse has actually become a prevalent phenomenon. Statistics reveal that majority of deaths in individuals in the 15-24 age bracket are attributed to alcohol or drug abuse. Likewise, criminal acts committed by teens can be accounted for by as well.

Parents should be on the lookout for physical signs like red eyes, nagging cough, irregularities in eating and sleeping habits. They should be suspicious when their teens start to have a change in their behavior and attitudes.  Deteriorating school performance, becoming irritable and aloof to family members are also warning signs. They tend to suffer from anxiety or panic attacks, chronic bronchitis and chest colds, paranoia, hypothermia, muscle tension and many more. Teen drug abuse can ruin personal and family relations and can be a harrowing problem to parents.

It is essential that drug abuse by a teenager be prevented by providing emotional security, guidance and education by the family. It is also wise to seek advice and assistance from professionals who are equipped with the needed expertise to provide guidance counsel and treatment to your teen.

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