Category: Medical

  • Medical, Sugar

    Beat The Sugar Habit

    World Health Organization (WHO) recommends you to limit your daily dose of sugar to fewer than 10 percent of physical calories, which equals a maximum of 10 teaspoons per day for the average adult. However, many people consume a lot more sugar than the recommendation. Sugar occurs naturally in some food and drinks, but it is also an additive in certain food and drinks. Sugar can be found in many foods, even in savory ones. Chances are, every part of your daily diet has some kind of sugar in it. From fruits, iced coffee, cupcakes, marinara sauce, to other food and drink, sugar is everywhere.

    Sugar can create short-term energy in your body and Studies have shown that sugar is as addictive as cocaine. Sugar brings the release of dopamine, which many people enjoy. You keep wanting for more because your brain sees sugar as a reward. The signs of sugar addiction are the consumption of a large amount of sugary food or drinks. You may eat frequently, eat out of boredom, or become hyper and crash out. Sugar addiction can also lead to binge eating, emotional eating, and anxiety. 

    Health Impact

    Sugar is a type of simple carbohydrate. Many types of food have sugar in it. Healthful products such as dairy products, fruit, and vegetables naturally contain sugars. However, those sugars are not bad, and you need to eat those products since they contain a range of other nutrients that are good for your health. The sugar that you need to pay attention to is added sugar, which can be found in processed foods, including cereals, soft drinks, and cakes. Added sugar, or free sugar, provides no nutritional value. Added sugar is an empty calorie, and they are not a good source of energy since your body digests them quickly. Consuming too much may cause health problems over time. Here are some medical problems that added sugar brings:

    • Increase your risk of cancer
    • Cause weight gain
    • Increase your risk of heart and kidney disease
    • Play a role in acne development
    • You are more likely to develop diabetes
    • Rot your teeth
    • Worsen joint pain
    • Make your skin age faster
    • Linked to depression
    • Drain your energy
    • Lead to fatty liver.

    Tips to Reduce Sugar Levels

    You need to keep tabs on how much sugar you’re swallowing. Cutting down on sugar can be hard, but there are simple tips you can follow to make it easier. 

    • Cut back on table sugar, including white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, molasses, and honey. Try to reduce the usual amount of sugar you add by half on things you eat or drink regularly like coffee, tea, or pancake. 
    • Eat fresh fruit when you have a sudden need for sugar. Swap out your chocolate bars with apples, strawberries, watermelons, or any fruit that you like to satisfy your sugar cravings.
    • Stop eating soda because they contain a high percentage of added sugar. Water is your best choice, but if you want something sweet, you can have fruit juice or smoothies.
    • Substitute sugar with unsweetened applesauce in recipes. Enhance food with spices, such as ginger, nutmeg, allspice, or cinnamon, instead of sugar. You can also use extracts such as almond or vanilla.
    • Added sugar appears in many surprising products. Always read the ingredient list of a product before adding anything to your shopping cart. Remember that sugar has many names and even food that is not typically sweet may have sugar in it. Choose products with the lowest percentage of added sugar.
    • Limit your added sugar intake. Of course, it is hard to stop eating products with added sugar completely. You may satisfy your sweet tooth by having a donut at least once a week. But you need to watch out if you tend to eat more later on. You may want to avoid sugar as much as possible if you cannot control your sugar cravings. 

  • Medical, Stress

    Stress Upsets Me

    Between work, family, relationships, and other commitments, it is hard not to get stressed once in a while. Stress is the way your body reacts to certain situations. It is subjective, meaning something stressful for you may not be stressful for someone else. It affects your physical and mental health as well as your behavior. When you are stressed, your body produces chemicals and hormones, your heart rate increases, your brain works faster, and you have a sudden rush of energy. 

    Although it is impossible to live completely without stress, you can learn to manage it. Managing stress can be complicated because there are several different types of stress, so to be able to manage stress, it is important to know each type.

    Acute Stress

    It is the most common type of stress. It’s the reaction of your body to upcoming challenge, event, or demand. In small doses, it can be thrilling and exciting. In fact, it might actually be healthy for you since these stressful situations can train your brain to develop the best response to future situations. For example, riding on a roller coaster or a fast run down a challenging ski slope. However, too much can be exhausting, such as a constant argument with a family member or an automobile accident. The most common symptoms of acute stress are:

    • Emotional distress, such as anger, anxiety, or irritability
    • Tension headache, back pain, and jaw pain
    • Constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, acid stomach
    • Rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, dizziness, cold hands, chest pain, shortness of breath.

    Episodic Acute Stress

    Some people suffer from acute stress frequently, something always seems to go wrong in their lives and they always seem to be having a crisis. When acute stress occurs frequently, it is known as episodic acute stress. People with episodic acute stress are often short-tempered, irritable, and anxious. People who tend to be pessimistic and see the negative side of everything may also have episodic acute stress. It may be hard for people with episodic acute stress to change their lifestyle as they accept stress as a part of their lives. The symptoms of this type of stress may include persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, and heart disease.

    Chronic Stress

    Chronic stress happens when acute stress is not resolved and lasts for a long period of time. This type of stress does not go away. It can be caused by a dysfunctional family, work, poverty, or an unhappy relationship. Chronic stress can be very damaging to your health since it can contribute to several serious diseases such as heart disease, lung disease, and cancer.

    Of course, it is impossible to get rid of stress, but you can learn to manage it. Managing stress is important to stay healthy. Learning how to manage it takes practice, but you need to do it or your mental and physical health may suffer. Here are some ways to cope with stress:

    • Find support by talking to other people because it can get your problems off your chest.
    • Eat healthily, exercise more and get an adequate amount of sleep.
    • Do not isolate yourself after a stressful event, connect socially.
    • Take a break from what is causing the stress and plan some downtime.
    • Avoid drugs and alcohol. 
    • Relax your muscles by enjoying a massage or taking a hot bath.
    • Take a few deep breaths to take the pressure off you.
    • Go easy on yourself. Accept that you cannot control everything in your life and that you cannot do everything perfectly no matter how hard you try.
    • Make time for your hobbies and try to do something every day that will make you feel good.

    If you do all the things mentioned above, you may be able to eliminate your stress and live a healthier life both mentally and physically.

  • Deafness, Medical

    My Child Is Deaf

    Hearing is important for a child’s ability to develop communication skills, language, and social skills as they grow. You may find out your children has hearing loss when the child was born or later in childhood. In the past, hearing loss in children frequently went undetected until the child was about two years old when he or she was not talking yet. But with technology, a newborn hearing screening is now possible, and children with hearing loss can be identified at much younger ages. It is really important to get the right treatment as early as possible because when you understand more about your child’s condition, you can get the help your child needs so they can learn, play, and keep up with other kids. 

    There are numerous possible causes of a child with hearing loss, including:

    • Otitis media is an inflammation in the middle ear, which is commonly associated with fluid buildup. This often happens in children because the tubes that connect the middle ear to the nose are not fully formed and fluids build up behind the eardrum. The fluid may or may not be infected. Even if it’s not infected, the fluid can affect hearing if it stays there for a short time. However, if it stays for a long time, it can lead to permanent hearing loss.
    • Problems at birth can happen and lead to newborn hearing problems. This cause is also known as congenital hearing loss. Most of the time it’s genetic, such as autosomal recessive hearing loss, genetic syndromes, and autosomal dominant hearing loss. There are also non-genetic factors such as birth complications, premature birth, a brain disorder, a nervous system disorder, the use of ototoxic medication by the mother during pregnancy, infection, maternal diabetes, and drug or alcohol abuse by the mother during pregnancy. 
    • Illness or injury occurs after birth and young children can get illnesses that result in hearing loss, including meningitis, measles, mumps, whooping cough, Meniere’s diseases, or otosclerosis. A serious head injury, very loud noises, ototoxic medications, and exposure to secondhand smoke can also cause children’s hearing loss.

    If your child wasn’t diagnosed with hearing loss at birth, you’d likely be the first person to notice. Some early signs include no reaction to loud noises, no response to your voice, and your child makes simples sounds that taper off. A child with otitis media may also:

    • Have unexplained irritability
    • Pull or scratch the ears
    • Have little energy
    • Misunderstand directions
    • Watch the TV louder than usual
    • Have fever
    • Have ear pain
    • Listlessness

    It is best to talk to your child’s doctor as soon as possible if you notice any of these symptoms. When the problems get diagnosed and treated early as with all treatment it depends on the cause and how much your child cannot hear. For otitis media, the most common treatments are watchful waiting, medications, and ear tubes. For other reasons, children can get treated with hearing aids, speech therapy, assistive listening devices, and implants. Ask a hearing specialist about what might be right for your children.

    When your child has hearing loss, it is best to seek support so your child can be taught how to communicate through speech, sign language, or both. As your child grows, their education program will likely need to be adjusted. 

  • Egg Freezing, Medical

    Egg Freezing in a Foreign Country

    Egg freezing is becoming even more popular today than it was a couple of years ago. The procedure is mostly used by women who are going to undergo chemotherapy or similar treatment, as well as women that have a disease that seriously affects their fertility, such as lupus or ovarian disease. More recently, women who do not want to get pregnant now, but want to ensure they can get pregnant at a later date are also considering this procedure. These women may not be ready to start a family or have yet to meet someone they want to have a family with.

    With the rising popularity of medical tourism and a reduction in the cost of air travel, women who want to undergo egg freezing can have this done in other parts of the world. Also, people are now more globally connected than ever before, and they can compare clinics from all around the globe, especially since medical tourism companies, such as MyMediTravel, are providing access to thousands of hospitals around the world. Although the exact number of people traveling abroad for fertility treatment is still unknown, the number is definitely increasing. 

    There are various reasons why more people are considering their options for egg freezing in a foreign country. These reasons include significantly lower costs, getting treatment at a top-rated private clinic or hospitals, more options for egg and sperm donation, and combining the procedure with a holiday. In addition, many countries are also offering short waiting times with higher success rates and safety, which makes egg freezing abroad even more attractive.

    However, it is important to remember that different countries have different legislation and rules. A mix of cultural norms, religion, traditions, ethics, principles, and political goals can shape the legislation of a country, which means no countries are the same when it comes to healthcare and egg freezing. It is important to do your research before you go to another country for this procedure. Important things that you need to consider are:

    • Native language and if English is widely spoken. If you do not understand the native language and English is not widely spoken, you need to find out if an interpreter and translation services are available
    • Cost of treatment and potential for cost savings
    • Flight, hotel, and overall travel cost
    • Local fertility laws
    • International patient flow
    • The success rate of egg freezing procedures
    • Government and private sector investment in fertility infrastructure
    • International accreditation, quality assurance, and transparency.

    The following are some of the more popular countries for egg freezing:

    India

    Thanks to its low cost, high age limit, and numerous internationally accredited fertility medical centers, India has become one of the top places where people undergo egg freezing. The medical facilities in this country offer modern equipment. The country also provides a medical visa that allows tourists seeking medical treatment to stay for a longer period of time. Since egg freezing is carried out in a series of steps that may take a long time, patients can benefit from the medical visa. Some of the most popular medical centers are SevenHills Hospital, BLK Super Specialty Hospital, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, and Primus Super Specialty Hospital.

    Spain

    Spain is known for its less-restricting laws, which makes it a popular IVF destination. The overall cost is comparatively lower than in other European countries. The treatment is regulated by the Assisted Reproduction Technology, and there are currently no restrictions by law on age for egg freezing. Centro Medico Manzanera, IMED – Elche, and Hospital Quiron Teknon are some of the highest-rated medical centers for egg freezing in Spain.

    United Kingdom

    Women travel to the United Kingdom for egg freezing and usually consider its quality rather than cost. The United Kingdom is known as an egg freezing research authority that has accessible and free information provided by the Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority (HFEA). It is important to remember that within the country, eggs are only allowed to be stored for up to ten years and will be destroyed after. The most popular medical centers in the United Kingdom for egg freezing are Kingsbridge Private Hospital, King’s College Hospital, and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.