Knowing More About Ethmoid Sinus Disease

The function of the ethmoid sinuses is the same as the paranasal sinuses. With the cilia and mucus that are being secreted by the mucosal lining, this can help filter the air that goes through the nasal passages. Since the ethmoid sinuses are directly exposed to incoming air, they are the ones that are most susceptible to various pathogens and other problems. Ethmoid sinus disease is often common to most people with poor hygiene.

Inflammation of the ethmoid sinuses can be due to constant irritation in the mucus lining. Some of the symptoms include inflammation and swelling in the sinus wall thus causing blockage in the nasal cavities. Due to this, the normal draining of the mucus becomes disturbed and this causes mucus buildup within the sinus cavities. If left untreated, this can be a breeding ground for virus, bacteria and fungi.

Ethmoid sinus disease is a common incident that can be triggered by various factors like foreign particles, environmental allergens, trauma, microbial infection, tumors and nasal polyps. This condition is also known as ethmoiditis and is considered as an acute problem with duration of 8 to 10 days. Other notable signs include pain in the lower part of the forehead, headache in the temple area, sore throat, nasal congestion and fever. Ethmoid sinus disease is often accompanied with pain in the corner of the eyes and behind the nose bridge.

Most of the time, ethmoid sinus infection also refers to sinusitis cases. This condition is not very serious and can be easily treated. If the infection is not treated, this may spread into the adjoining areas and infect other sinuses. In severe cases, this may cause an infection in the eye socket which may cause the eyelids to droop and become swollen, along with fever. If such condition occurs, immediate medical attention should be given to prevent meningitis, blindness and any other complications.

Some people are more susceptible to ethmoid sinus disease compared to others. For them, precautionary measures and personal hygiene are crucial and should be taken into consideration to reduce the risk. People with compromised immune systems and those with chronic conditions should opt for annual flu vaccination in order to prevent the occurrence of ethmoid sinusitis. For existing ethmoid sinus disease that cannot be treated with regular medical therapy, surgery might be recommended. Maintaining a well balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle can help prevent the occurrence of sinusitis and other related conditions.

Diminish Your Risk Of Getting The Flu

It's the holiday season and along with all the merrymaking we also have to be on guard against a bug that can not only put a monkey wrench in all our fun but make us extremely ill. That bug would be influenza. However, there are people who never get the flu, or get it so mildly it brings only a few sniffles and tiredness. Why? Their immune system has been primed to fight the flu. Here's what you need to know about the flu and how to pump up your immune system to beat it!

Prevent The Flu from Gripping You

Not so much today, but for years in the past, influenza was referred to commonly as "the grip". It comes from the French word for the illness "grippe" and that's really what it feels like too - something that has you in its "grip" for several days from which you struggle to free yourself. It is a highly contagious viral upper respiratory infection that makes your entire body ache with fever, cough, and nausea. Not pleasant, I know.

The flu virus enters the body through the eyes, nose, or mouth in several ways - touching contaminated objects like doorknobs, countertops, or anything, really, that someone with the virus has touched, sneezed or coughed on. If you don't wash your hands after touching things, you will transmit the bug to yourself whenever you touch your face. Did you know that adults, on average, touch their face over 18 times a day and children much more? Lots of opportunities to give yourself the flu virus if you don't wash your hands enough! In addition, someone who has the virus and is coughing, or sneezing near you can transmit germs into the air you breathe. Once inside, it settles into your lungs and the illness sets in.

The elderly, very young children, and people with certain other health conditions are at the highest risk from serious consequences of the flu, mainly because their immune systems are not as strong as others. School age children are generally the largest carrier group of the flu virus as they come in contact with a great number of people in school and other activities. Every year in the U.S., between 5% and 20% of the population gets the flu, about 200,000 suffer complications from it, and another 23,600 actually succumb to it.

Boost Your Immune System to Beat The Flu

Like my patients, you may already know the "you should" of generally staying healthy - getting the most nutritious foods/supplements, exercising regularly, drinking enough fluids, getting enough sleep and trying to minimize stress. During flu season, though, it's crucial to arm yourself against getting sick by ramping up these measures. Here's why:

Nutrition: Therapeutic amounts of antioxidants, Vitamin C, A, E, zinc and Vitamin D3 really help boost the immune system. Supplementation of at least 500-1,000 mg a day of Vitamin C, 3,000 of A as beta carotene, 400 mg of E, and 100 mg of zinc. Studies show that people do not get enough Vitamin D3. In winter months, when the sun is not as strong, it is even more important to supplement D3. People who take D3, 1-2,000 IU a day (although can safely go to 5,000 IU a day), have very low-to-no incidents of flu or colds, or they get much milder forms. One study revealed D3 to prevent flu better than vaccines or antivirals. A Japanese study found it to ward off flu and asthma attacks.

Exercise: During the winter months, we all tend to slack off with regular exercise. However, the flu season is the most important time to keep exercising. Raising your heart rate and sweating on a regular basis helps keep your immune system healthy. Doing rebounding on a mini-trampoline also helps flush out your lymph system and keep viruses from gaining a stronghold.

Rest: Sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night is one of the best hedges against getting sick. When you're tired, your immune system gets weak and cannot repair itself properly.

Fluids: It's always important to drink enough water, but even more so during flu season. Dehydration weakens your immune system and makes your kidneys and liver fight harder to get rid of toxins, viruses and bacteria you come in contact with.

Hygiene: Hand washing is the most simple and effective way to keep from getting the flu. This is especially true if you are out in public using restrooms, shopping or mingling in crowds, frequenting restaurants, attending holiday parties, etc. Also carry a small bottle of nasal saline spray that you can squirt in your nostrils and blow out after being in public. This flushes out any flu viruses you may breathe in while in public.

Vaccine: Flu vaccines are readily available in almost every big drugstore chain nationwide as well as your private doctor's office. Statistics show they do prevent the flu from occurring, or a much milder form of it, but some people may not tolerate them.

Flu Symptom Relievers: If you do get the flu, you can go to your doctor, or an urgent care walk-in clinic, and get a dose of Tamiflu. Over-the-counter analgesics like ibuprofen, or more natural white willow bark, can be used for muscle aches. OTC preparations like Thera-Flu can relieve symptoms and help you sleep. Antihistamines, like Benadryl, dry up runny noses and eyes. Cough syrups with a mucus-thinning agent helps break up lung congestion. Taken at the early onset of symptoms, homeopathic "Os" or "Oscillo" (short for oscillicoccinum) helps shorten and weaken symptoms.

No one wants to get the flu, especially during the holidays. It's no fun, makes you feel lousy and, worse, can be very dangerous. If you follow the immune system boosting advice offered above, it will go a long way in arming you against getting the flu, or any other viral or bacterial infection, this flu season. Happy, Healthy Holidays!

Four Secrets On How To Control Your Crohn's Disease During The Holidays

The holidays can be hard on a person with Crohn's Disease like me. I've found over the years that the best way to prevent flare-ups is to maintain (the best I can), some sense of normalcy and moderation in my life during this period. How you do this you may ask? What has worked best for me is, closely monitoring four different things in my life...watching how I eat, making sure to get enough sleep, keeping up on my medication and controlling my stress the best I know how.

First, it is absolutely necessary that you control not only the kinds of foods you eat, as well as the quantities of food you take in. Naturally, it is important to stay away from the main foods or drinks guaranteed to cause problems in Crohn's sufferers, big holiday favorites like nuts, popcorn, beer/alcohol, etc. But just as important as steering clear of the wrong kinds of foods, is to remember to avoid eating too much food. I've found that overeating causes a host of problems in me (just like eating the wrong foods does), with symptoms like nausea, bloating, gas, cramps and diarrhea. None of these things are very pleasant to deal with when you are trying to have fun with friends and relatives during this very joyous time of the year. Need I mention the importance of moderation again?

I'm sure that many of you have experienced a set back or relapse in your Crohn's as I have, if you miss a lot of sleep. If you do the best you can to maintain a steady routine of sleep, you'll have a lot less grief with your Crohn's condition.

The third point I made in controlling your Crohn's during the holidays is making sure you maintain a steady routine in taking my medication. Forgetting, or refusing to bother to take your medicines will obviously have detrimental results for you over the holidays. So be sure not to skip the medications.

Lastly, but absolutely not the least important of the four ways to control your Crohn's Disease over the holidays, is how effective you are at controlling your stress. In many ways, this is the hardest of the four to control. With the holidays comes stress, which is an absolute certainty, for sure. This stress can be derived from a multitude of things.

Issues like worry over money, or fear and dread over having to associate with friends and relatives that you really don't like that much. Whenever you have to be out at the malls fighting the crowds it usually is stressful. You can even become stressful over having to watch what you eat or drink at parties. I have felt self-conscious having to admit to people that I have Crohn's Disease and felt guilty about having to turn down the food and drink that everybody else is enjoying and this causes me stress.

The only thing I can advise that has helped me defeat stress is by planning ahead, trying not to put myself in stressful situations in the first place. First off, I avoid going out to the malls altogether (if I can) by doing most of my shopping online. More often than not you can get bettor deals online in the first place and you avoid lots of traffic. If you are going to a party where you know there will be foods you can't eat, eat in advance or bring foods you can eat to the party. Thirdly, to control stress, I make sure to maintain regular visits to the gym. Exercise I've found is singularly the most effective way to control my stress. By the way, while you are exercising and alleviating stress, you can burn up some of those holiday calories in the process. If you aren't already on a regular exercise program, I would seriously consider doing it. Even if you're Crohn's symptoms are more severe and are limited in what you can do, try and do what you can. You will be amazed at the effects just a little exercise will have on your Crohn's condition. In regards to dealing with stress over difficult relatives and friends... well good luck, do the best you can.

Gallbladder Disease and Gallstones

One among key health risks which could result from being overweight is the development of gall stones and / or gall bladder disease.

Approximately more than 20 million Us residents currently have gall stones. 20 percent of adult men have got gallstones by the time they turn seventy-five years, whereas they can develop in almost 25 per cent of adult females.

Oily diet plans in addition to excessive cholesterol levels are the main causes of the development of gallstones and gallbladder condition.

Precisely what are gallstones and gall bladder disorder?

The gall bladder is a organ which is found underneath your liver within the right side of your belly. It keeps the bile developed inside the liver, which generally aids digestion. Circumstances that hinder a circulation of bile out from your gallbladder trigger gallbladder disorder.

Gallstones are smaller, rigid pellets that may develop in the gall bladder. Gallstones might go from a couple of mm - quite a few cm. Many gall stones are usually created from cholesterol.