I know what you’re thinking, but don’t pull out the cayenne just yet. Herpes Zoster and chickenpox have the same “mother virus”
If you’ve had chickenpox, you can expect the virus to just be waiting there inside of you, lingering.
And if the timing and conditions are just right, they will resurface (like stalking exes) and it comes out as the shingles–an extremely uncomfortable, if not, painful rash that breaks out. If you have it, you can make yourself much more comfortable by cutting open a fresh pepper and applying it in the affected area. The Capsicum in the peppers is said to works on the rash and relieves temporary pain. If you don’t feel like rubbing on a hot peppers. then you can buy cream that contain Capsicum.

You get the munchies and decide to grab for a cheeseburger and a giant milk shake. An hour later you get stomach crams and feel bloated enough to inflate a raft. You may just be lactose intolerant. This is a condition that affects three out of four people in different levels of intolerance and my man is one of those people.

To start off, lactose intolerance is totally different from a milk allergy. An allergy to dairy or dairy products is caused by a protein that your system could be allergic to as opposed to being lactose intolerance where the system doesn’t have the enzyme lactase that is used to digest the milk into forms much more suited for bloodstream absorption.
What happens next is that the unbroken down milk travels all the way to the large intestines and gets fermented. That’s where the actual discomfort comes from. Some lactose intolerant people may be able to take in small amount of dairy while some couldn’t take it in at all without experiencing discomfort.
The symptoms which include bloating, gas, nausea and extremely bad breath occur from 30 minutes to a couple of hours from the time that the lactose is taken.
Although this is not an alarming condition, it does put a hold back on the good life and keeps you crawled up in a ball with all the discomfort it comes with.
Lactose isn’t just found in milk and cheese. There are traces found in baked goods, margarine, cereals, salad dressings and other products, so make sure to check the label. There are even drugs that contain lactose that could cause the same effect.
Since milk is the product where we get the majority of our calcium intake, then being lactose intolerant would make a calcium intake a dilemma. Taking calcium tablets or calcium-fortified products may help in maintaining the constant level.
There is no permanent treatment of cure that you can do to get rid of it. All you can do is avoid the products with milk and hidden lactose altogether or you can use lactose pills or drops. You take it before meals and it will give you enough lactase so you can enjoy a lactose-enriched meal without having to worry about the symptoms later on. Maybe your level of intolerance may allow even one glass of milk a day. If it’s like that then you can still enjoy milk products. But even of a sip of milk upsets you already then the pills and drops can help you.
Being lactose intolerant shouldn’t keep you from a healthy life or prevent you from enjoying your favorite foods.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of milk without the side-effects of lactose, you might want to try this following alternatives.

SOY MILK – enjoy the pleasure of drinking milk. It is made from soy flour or soy beans.
YOGURT – it is researched that the bacteria found in the yogurt actually fights against the negative effects lactose have on people.
CALCIUM-FORTIFIED ORANGE JUICE – not just orange juice but anything really fortified to help calcium intake that is hindered by lactose intolerance.

For every cigarette you smoke, you lose 14 minutes of your life. But don’t you know that it also reduces the density and speed of sperm, making it more difficult for conception?
According to the Hemizona Assay by Dr. Loni Burkman, reproductive medicine specialist from the University of Bufffalo, the sperm from nearly two-thirds of the chronic smokers failed a special test that measures the sperm’s ability to fertilize egg. Those men showed a 75% decline in fertilizing capacity compared to non-smokers. Human sperm carry a receipt for nicotine, which means they recognize and respond to nicotine. Heavy smokers overloads the nicotine receptor in human sperm and the testes, declining fertilizing potential.
The study involved 18 men who smoke at least four cigarettes a day for more than two years where sperm function was compared to that of non-smokers whose fertilizing capacity had been confirmed. Almost all smokers whose sperm failed the test had an index of 36 or less, which means a severe loss in fertilizing capacity. Honey! Hand me that nicotine patch!

I’ve been to some walkathon before, and it wasn’t a very nice experience. The problem was we walked for more than 5 miles; but we didn’t really know the purpose of our walk. They did say that it was a drive for some charitable institution; but eventually they couldn’t spell out which one it was.
I thought back then that walks for charity were just gags designed to make people think that they were doing something for somebody; but all efforts given during the walk are just wasted. After that experience, I found hard to believe in walks anymore. Well, that was until I’ve heard of Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. Now that is a walk that I can go an extra mile for. It supports those who are suffering from the disease known as Alzheimer’s, and I’m happy to report that this one is legit. You don’t have to exert much effort since it’s only going to be a 2-3 mile walk; but with high spirits, this will be a walk to remember for everyone. So what are you waiting for? Join in the walk for Alzheimer’s, and help those families affected by the disease.

Estrogen fuels a woman’s competitiveness streak the same way testosterone does in men, scientists say.
A research revealed estrogen fuels a lust for power, with single women and those not on the Pill particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of the hormone.
Levels of estradiol – a form of estrogen – shot up in power motivated women when they won a computer game and plummeted when they lost.
The finding, by US and German researchers, mirrors the role of the sex hormone testosterone in driving feelings of dominance in men.
Inspired by a recent Cambridge University study that showed male financial traders make more money when their testosterone levels are high. Women’s hormone fluctuate in a similar way.
Power-driven women – 49 in all – were pitted against each other on a quick-fire computer game for 10 rounds.
“Following each round, they were told whether they won or lost and they could watch each other’s reaction to winning or losing,” said Stanton, an expert in the psychology of motivation.
Saliva samples taken during and after the contest showed the levels of estradiol in highly motivated women rocketed when they won and stayed high for at least 24 hours. When they lost, levels plunged.
The fluctuations were particularly noticeable in single women and those not on the Pill, the journal Hormones and Behavior reported.
Those who were not powered motivated, if they won, their estrogen went down. If they lost their estrogen went up a little bit.

Did you know that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills 325,000 people a year – or nearly 900 per day?
Did you know that SCA usually occurs without any warning?
Did you know that, If an individual is not treated within 4 to 6 minutes from the onset of SCA, the results can be fatal?
Inside Cardiac Arrest (www.insidecardiacarrest.com), presented by St. Jude Medical, provides information about the risk factors, warning signs, and treatment of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The site offers two videos: Sudden Cardiac Arrest (http://www.insidecardiacarrest.com/video_suddencardiacarrest.aspx) and The Human Heart (http://www.insidecardiacarrest.com/video_humanheart.aspx). In the videos, a real doctor explains SCA and heart anatomy in simple, easy to understand language.
St. Jude Medical is dedicated to bettering the lives of our patients. There you can read the personal accounts of those who have benefited from heart ICD or implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Take the time to learn about programs pertaining to Sudden Cardiac Arrest especially if you are at risk or any member of your family do. This is great help and important knowledge for the people with heart problems.

It’s no picnic if you suffer from seasonal allergies. Runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, and constant sneezing are the basic complaints. But the nasal congestion that results can also keep you awake at night. Allergies can also trigger more serious complications, such as chronic sinusitis and asthma. Yet most allergy sufferers don’t seek help beyond a box of tissues. A lot of people think it’s normal to sniffle and sneeze all day.
Even those who do to to the doctor for their allergies may give up before they find a solution.
A consumer research survey found out that more than 60 percent of patients failed to take allergy medicine as prescribed by their doctors, largely because their symptoms didn’t clear up or they cleared up only temporarily. Indeed, only about 20 percent of patients believe that they can become free of symptoms.
Now, all that is changing because of breakthroughs in both prescription and over-the-counter treatments.
Allergies are the immune system’s hyped-up reaction to normal harmless foreign substances, or allergies. When these touch the lining of the nose, the mucous membranes become inflamed, setting off symptoms. Seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever) follows nature’s calendar. Bit some people have chronic allergic rhinitis; their symptoms occur year-round in response to animal dander, cockroaches, molds, and dust mites.
These allergic account for a lot of misery. Millions of people have seasonal rhinitis.
And many type of allergies are on the rise. In the United States, a 2005 survey by the National Institute of Health found that 54 per cent of the population tested positive to one or more substance (the most common being dust mites, grass, ragweed, and cockroaches), making them more vulnerable to developing full-blown allergies down the road.
Thirty years ago, however, only half that number tested positive.
Why are the numbers going up? Some researchers blame increased in pollution. Others think we’ve become too clean.
According to the so-called hygiene hypothesis, children raised in hyperclean environments develop hair-trigger immune systems that are skewed toward allergies. Interestingly, babies who live in homes with two or more dogs or cats in their first year are less likely to develop allergies. So are those who have lots of older siblings or who attend day care. Presumably, exposure to a variety of foreign substances and microbes “teaches” the immune system hoe to react appropriately. The theory is intriguing right? But the truth, scientists aren’t sure what’s driving the rise.
If you develop symptoms and don’t know what’s triggering them, a doctor can help figure it out, often with skin tests or with blood tests. Many types of doctors treat allergies, but allergists are the most experienced at diagnosis and also the most up-to-date on treatments.

We use eating as a means of handling emotions, be it happiness or sadness. It’s not really our intention to gain weight. Then the others also just to pass time.
Ours is an eating society. We always tend to meet friends over lunch, snacks, or dinner. It’s dangerous because you wouldn’t notice you’ve eaten a lot. Plus the food is often used to reward children. If they have high grade, (we tell kids), let’s eat.
We’re influenced by eating habits of others. In our house, everyone eats in big amounts. The other, peer pressure – whatever your friends are eating, and you as well. However, some people have faster metabolism than others like me, so that we easily burn calories. Other experience the opposite.
Many conveniences are now available, especially for children. There’s TV, Gameboy, Nintendo DS, Wii, cars. Because of these, kids nowadays don’t engage in as much physical activity as before. Even P.E. in school are being cut down.
Bad eating habits are passed to children. These habits are picked up by children as what I have observed. Most of the time, parents who are always busy tend to serve unhealthy, instant food. Their gratification is the high fat, so it’s easy to get full, which is also bad.

Very simply, if you are normally healthy and well, bed rest, a mild pain reliever and lots of fluids are the best treatment. You can take paracetamol (adults can use aspirin) to control fever, muscle aches and pains. Within days, your body will rid itself of the virus. If you do not seem to be improving, see your doctor in case you need treatment for complications from the flu. Avoid alcohol and tobacco smoke as much as possible.
Antibiotics, designed to kill bacteria, cannot fight the virus – these drugs have no role in treating influenza if you are healthy. Your doctor might advice antibiotics if you have developed bacterial complications as a result of having flu. There are now at least four antiviral drugs for influenza which can reduce the length of symptoms by one to two days but the virus tends to develop resistance to these quite expensive drugs. The two most common ones are oral oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and the inhaler, zanamivir (Relenza).

Would you believe that stimulating the nerves with tiny amounts of electricity could help you lose weight? That’s what the research shows about a patients who had electrodes implanted at the junction between the esophagus and the stomach cut their calorie intake by more than 30 per cent in a month.
Patients with a body mass index of around 35 (the target for men is 20.1-25, and for women 18.7-23.8), lost an average of 14 per cent of their excess weight in up to six months.
The weight loss was achieved without any additional dieting or other therapy.
The electrodes have a blocking effect on the vagus nerve, which provides communication between the brain and the digestive system.
Research suggest the nerve is involved in the expansion of the stomach to accommodate food, the release of gastric acids, the emptying of the stomach contents and the sensation of hunger and fullness.
The therapy is based on an early treatment for ulcers,where patients had the nerves near the stomach severed.
A side effect of this treatment was that patients lost weight. But the effect was temporary as the body adapted to it and sought other ways of getting the information to the brain.
With the electrical stimulation, nerves are blocked only intermittently, and the result is that the body does not try to find alternative ways of communicating the brain.
In a trial, 31 patients were given five minutes of the nerve blocking treatment, alternating with five minutes without blocking for 12 hours a day.
Exactly how it has an effect on weight and food intake is still being investigated.