TOOTH WHITENING

Tooth whitening, also known as teeth whitening or bleaching is the process of bleaching natural staining of the teeth. The desire to own a beautiful white smile has made these treatments one of the most popular cosmetic treatments. Teeth become stained over time due to the exposure to tobacco, coffee's, tea's, soda's and other staining products. Teeth also lose whiteness due to age. As people get older the mineral structure in their teeth change and the enamel becomes more porous.

There are two common methods of tooth whitening.

• In office whitening is usually performed by a dentist and utilizes a chair- side blue LED lamp. The dentist applies a high concentration of the oxidizing agent for about an hour. The results are very noticeable, but usually fade a little within a few days.
• At home treatment include the same whitening gels and the use of a tray. The peroxide is applied to the tray and placed in the mouth covering the teeth for 30 minutes to an hour. There is no set amount of time for people to use this treatment. Some people will require more or less treatment depending on the level of stain.

The length of time to whiten the tooth is affected by many factors. Natural discoloration of the tooth is always treatable. However, some stains can take longer to whiten.

The results of tooth whitening can last for several months. But the the whiteness will fade faster with consumption of staining products. It is recommended that people continue to treat their teeth in order to maintain their desired whiteness.

The procedures utilize oxidation agents such as carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide penetrates the enamel and eventually whitens the dentin layer of the tooth. Typically carbamide peroxide is used. The concentration can range from 12% to 35%. The carbamide peroxide breaks down in the mouth to form hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as well. 12% hydrogen peroxide compares to 35% carbamide peroxide.

Some side affects can be noticed. Gum and teeth sensitivity can result due to the use of the whitening gels. Sensitivity is usually temporary and is not permanent. If irritation persists, it is recommended that people use the treatment less frequently or a lower concentration of the gel is recommended.

Tooth whitening treatment is not recommended to all people. The peroxide will not whiten false teeth, or any other restorative materials. Women who are pregnant or lactating, people with allergies to peroxide and people with open mouth sores or cuts should not use the whitening treatments.

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Overall, tooth whitening products are safe. They are available over the counter, at the dentist or online. As long as consumers take the proper precautions, they can expect to see a new whiter smile with these treatments.

Site Refference
http://www.articlehealthandfitness.com/articledetail.php?artid=9878&catid=400&title=Tooth-Whitening

BLOOD PRESSURE

What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries.
Blood pressure results from two forces. One is created by the heart as it pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The other is the force of the arteries as they resist the blood flow.

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What is high blood pressure?
High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension means high pressure (tension) in the arteries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to all the tissues and organs of the body. High blood pressure does not mean excessive emotional tension, although emotional tension and stress can temporarily increase blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80; blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called "pre-hypertension", and a blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high.

Cause
Although no specific medical cause can be determined in essential hypertension, it often has several contributing factors. These include

1. obesity,[7]


2. salt sensitivity


3. renin homeostasis insulin resistance


4. genetics


5. and age.
   
   

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What is low blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs of life, which also include heart beat, rate of breathing, and temperature. Blood pressure is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries and is regulated by the response by the arteries to the flow of blood.

Cause
Conditions that reduce the volume of blood, reduce cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart), and medications are frequent causes of low blood pressure.

1. Dehydration


2. Moderate or severe bleeding


3. Severe inflammation of organs inside the body
   

Causes of low blood pressure due to heart disease

1. Weakened heart muscle
2. Pericarditis
3. Pulmonary embolism
4. A slow heart rate (bradycardia)
5. An abnormally fast heart rate (tachycardia)

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What do blood pressure numbers indicate?

• The higher (systolic) number represents the pressure while the heart contracts to pump blood to the body.


• The lower (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.

The systolic pressure is always stated first. For example: 118/76 (118 over 76); systolic = 118, diastolic = 76. Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) is considered optimal for adults. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated (high).

Categories for Blood Pressure Levels in Adults (in mmHg, or millimeters of mercury)

Category Systolic (top number) Diastolic(bottom number)

Normal Less than 120 And Less than 80
Prehypertension 120–139 Or 80–89
High blood pressure
Stage 1 140–159 Or 90–99
Stage 2 160 or higher Or 100 or higher

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Blood Pressure Monitoring
Checking your blood pressure is a simple matter and it is a standard check that will be carried out by your doctor whenever you attend for a routine medical examination. Today, however, there is also an extensive range of relatively inexpensive blood pressure monitors available for home use so that you can now manage your own health with ease in the comfort of your own home.

A blood pressure monitors comes in one of two forms

• an aneroid (manual) monitor


• a digital monitor.

Inflation of digital blood pressure monitors, which come in both arm and wrist models, can be either manual or automatic and deflation is invariably automatic. Units also have very clear readouts and many will keep a record of your readings over time by storing them in the unit's memory. Some will also print out your readings for you and yet others can be attached to a computer so that your readings can be downloaded and analyzed easily with a blood pressure analysis program which comes with the unit.

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Site Refference
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4473
http://thebloodpressurecenter.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/

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KAWASAKI DISEASE

What is KAWASAKI DISEASE?

Kawasaki disease is an illness that involves the skin, mouth, and lymph nodes, and most often affects kids under age 5. It was first described in 1967 by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki in Japan .Kawasaki disease is predominantly a disease of young children, with 80% of patients younger than 5 years of age. The disease affects boys more than girls. Approximately 2000-4000 cases are identified in the United States each year

The cause is unknown, but if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with Kawasaki disease can fully recover within a few days. Untreated, it can lead to serious complications that can affect the heart.

Conjunctival Injection	Strawbery Tounge	swollen lymph nodes

Symptoms

Kawasaki disease often begins with a high and persistent fever that is not very responsive to normal doses of paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen. The fever may persist steadily for up to two weeks and is normally accompanied by irritability. Affected children develop red eyes, red mucous membranes in the mouth, red cracked lips, a "strawberry tongue" ,iritis ,keratic precipitates (detectable by an ophthalmologist but usually too small to be seen by the unaided eye), and swollen lymph nodes. Skin rashes occur early in the disease, and peeling of the skin in the genital area, hands, and feet (especially around the nails and on the palms and soles) may occur in later phases. Some of these symptoms may come and go during the course of the illness. If left untreated, the symptoms will eventually relent, but coronary artery aneurysms will not improve, resulting in a significant risk of death or disability due to myocardial infarction (heart attack). If treated in a timely fashion, this risk can be mostly avoided and the course of illness cut short.[citation needed]

• High-grade fever (greater than 39 °C or 102 °F; often as high
  as 40 °C or 104 °F) that normally lasts for more than 5 days
  if left untreated.
• Red eyes (conjunctivitis) without pus or drainage, also known as
  "conjunctival injection"
• Bright red, chapped, or cracked lips
• Red mucous membranes in the mouth
• Strawberry tongue, white coating on the tongue or prominent red bumps
  (papillae) on the back of the tongue
• Red palms of the hands and the soles of the feet
• Rash which may take many forms, but not vesicular (blister-like),
  on the trunk
• Swollen lymph nodes (frequently only one lymph node is swollen), particularly
  in the neck area
• Joint pain (arthralgia) and swelling, frequently symmetrical
• Irritability
• Tachycardia (rapid heart beat)
• Peeling (desquamation) palms and soles (later in the illness); peeling
  may begin around the nails
• Beau's lines (transverse grooves on nails)

During the second phase, which usually begins within 2 weeks of when the fever started, the skin on the hands and feet may begin to peel in large pieces. The child also may experience joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain. If your child shows any of these symptoms, call your doctor.

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Diagnosis

No single test can detect Kawasaki disease, so doctors usually diagnose it by evaluating the symptoms and ruling out other conditions.

Most kids diagnosed with Kawasaki disease will have a fever lasting 5 or more days and at least four of these symptoms:

• redness in both eyes
• changes around the lips, tongue, or mouth
• changes in the fingers and toes, such as swelling, discoloration, or peeling
• a rash in the trunk or genital area
• a large swollen lymph node in the neck
• red, swollen palms of hands and soles of feet

If Kawasaki disease is suspected, the doctor may order tests to monitor heart function (such as an echocardiogram) and might take blood and urine samples to rule out other conditions, such as scarlet fever, measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, or an allergic drug reaction.

Treatement

Treatment should begin as soon as possible, ideally within 10 days of when the fever begins. Usually, a child is treated with intravenous doses of gamma globulin (purified antibodies), an ingredient of blood that helps the body fight infection. The child also might be given a high dose of aspirin to reduce the risk of heart problems.

Site Refference

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/kawasaki.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_syndrome
http://women.sanook.com/health/healthcare/sick_43038.php

DANDRUFF

What is Dandruff?

Dandruff is a common chronic scalp condition, which is marked by itching and flaking of the skin on your scalp. Although dandruff isn't contagious and is rarely serious, it can be embarrassing and sometimes difficult to treat.

As it is normal for skin cells to die and flake off, a small amount of flaking is normal and in fact quite common. Some people, however, either chronically or as a result of certain triggers, experience an unusually large amount of flaking, which can also be accompanied by redness and irritation. Most cases of dandruff can be easily treated with specialized shampoos.

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Symptoms

For most teens and adults, dandruff symptoms are easy to spot: white, oily looking flakes of dead skin that dot your hair and shoulders and an itchy, scaling scalp.
A type of dandruff called cradle cap also can affect babies. This disorder, which causes a scaling, crusty scalp, is most common in newborns, but it can occur anytime during infancy. Although it can be alarming for parents, cradle cap isn't dangerous and usually clears up on its own by the time a baby is a year old.

When to see a doctor Most cases of dandruff don't require a doctor's care. But if you're still scratching your head after several weeks of experimenting with over-the-counter (OTC) dandruff shampoos or if your scalp becomes red or swollen, see your doctor or dermatologist. You may have seborrheic dermatitis or another condition that resembles dandruff. Most often, your doctor can diagnose the problem simply by looking at your hair and scalp.

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Causes

The epidermal layer continually replaces itself, cells are pushed outward where they eventually die and flake off. In most people, these flakes of skin are too small to be visible. However, certain conditions cause cell turnover to be unusually rapid, especially in the scalp. For people with dandruff, skin cells may mature and be shed in 2 - 7 days, as opposed to around a month in people without dandruff. The result is that dead skin cells are shed in large, oily clumps, which appear as white or grayish patches on the scalp, skin and clothes.

• Dry skin. Simple dry skin — the kind you get during winter when the air is cold and rooms are overheated — is the most common cause of itchy, flaking skin. Flakes from dry skin are generally smaller and less oily than those from other causes of dandruff.
  
• Irritated, oily skin (seborrheic dermatitis). This condition, a frequent cause of dandruff, is marked by red, greasy skin covered with flaky white or yellow scales. Seborrheic dermatitis affects not only your scalp but also other areas rich in oil glands, such as your eyebrows, the sides of your nose and the backs of your ears, your breastbone, your groin area, and sometimes your armpits.
  
• Not shampooing often enough. If you don't regularly wash your hair, oils and skin cells from your scalp can build up, causing dandruff.
  
• Psoriasis. This skin disorder causes an accumulation of dead skin cells that form thick silvery scales. Psoriasis commonly occurs on your knees, elbows and trunk, but it can also affect your scalp.
  
• Eczema. If you have eczema on your scalp, it's possible you could develop dandruff.
  
• Sensitivity to hair care products (contact dermatitis). Sometimes sensitivities to certain hair care products or hair dyes can cause a red, itchy, scaling scalp. Shampooing too often or using too many styling products also may irritate your scalp, causing dandruff.
  
• A yeast-like fungus (malassezia). Malassezia lives on the scalps of most healthy adults without causing problems. But sometimes it grows out of control, feeding on the oils secreted by your hair follicles. This can irritate the skin on your scalp and cause more skin cells to grow. The extra skin cells die and fall off, clumping together with oil from your hair and scalp, making them appear white, flaky and visible in your hair or on your clothes.
  

Exactly what causes an overgrowth of malassezia isn't known, although having too much oil on your scalp; changes in your hormones; stress; illness; neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease; a suppressed immune system; not shampooing often enough; and extra sensitivity to the malassezia fungus may contribute to the development of dandruff.

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Treatement

Shampoos use a combination of ingredients to control dandruff. Salicylic acid (used in Sebulex) and coal-tar (used in Tegrin) remove dead skin cells from the scalp and decrease the rate at which these cells are created. Zinc pyrithione (used in Head and Shoulders) kills pityrospora. Selenium sulfide (used in Selsun Blue) achieves the results of both salicylic acid and zinc pyrithione.

Simply increasing usage with normal shampooing will remove flakes.However, elimination of the fungus results in dramatic improvement. Regular shampooing with an anti-fungal product can reduce recurrence.

Soothing preparations may contain Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), and coal tar based products.

The most common antifungal agents used are Zinc pyrithione, Selenium sulfide and Ketoconazole Other products used include Tea tree oil and Piroctone olamine (Octopirox).

Anti-fungal/anti-dandruff shampoos containing ketoconazole have been shown to be more effective than zinc pyrithione. Although one study has reported selenium sulfide as being the most effective of the tested shampoos at treating dandruff, a later comparative study concluded that ketoconazole was the most effective antifungal agent.

• Zinc pyrithione shampoos (such as Selsun Salon, Head & Shoulders). These contain the antibacterial and antifungal agent zinc pyrithione, which can reduce the fungus on your scalp that can cause dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.
  
• Tar-based shampoos (such as Neutrogena T/Gel). Coal tar, a byproduct of the coal manufacturing process, helps conditions such as dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis by slowing how quickly skin cells on your scalp die and flake off.
  
• Shampoos containing salicylic acid (such as Ionil T). These "scalp scrubs" help eliminate scale, but they may leave your scalp dry, leading to more flaking. Using a conditioner after shampooing can help relieve dryness.
  
• Selenium sulfide shampoos (such as Selsun Blue). These shampoos slow your skin cells from dying and may also reduce malassezia. Because they can discolor blond, gray or chemically colored hair, be sure to use them only as directed and to rinse well after shampooing. Ketoconazole shampoos (such as Nizoral). Ketoconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent that may work when other shampoos fail. It's available over-the-counter as well as by prescription.

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Site Refference

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dandruff/DS00456/DSECTION=symptoms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandruff

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DIABETES

What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes.

With the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.

In the OGTT test, a person's blood glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, the person tested has pre-diabetes. If the two-hour blood glucose level is at 200 mg/dl or higher, the person tested has diabetes.

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Major Types of Diabetes

Type 1
diabetesResults from the body's failure to produce insulin, the hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.

Type 2
diabetes Results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Most Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes
Immediately after pregnancy, 5% to 10% of women with gestational diabetes are found to have diabetes, usually, type 2.

Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. There are 57 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 23.6 million with diabetes.

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How is diabetes treated?
The goal of diabetes treatment is to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible--not too high (called hyperglycemia) or too low (called hypoglycemia).

The first step is to have a healthy diet and to exercise. This may mean you’ll need to change your diet and exercise habits. You’ll also have to watch your weight, or even lose weight, to keep your blood sugar level as normal as possible. Your doctor will talk to you about the kinds of food you should eat and how much exercise you’ll need every week.

Regularly checking your blood sugar is a key to helping you control it. Blood sugar checks can help you see how food, exercise and insulin or medicine affects your level. Checking your blood sugar also allows you and your doctor to change your treatment plan if needed.

Sometimes diet and exercise alone can’t keep your blood sugar at a normal level. Then your doctor will talk to you about other treatments, such as medicine or insulin.

Call your doctor if: You start feeling very thirsty and are urinating more often than usual. You are nauseous or vomit more than once. You lose a significant amount of weight. You start breathing deeper and faster. Your breath smells like nail polish remover. You start to tremble, feel weak and drowsy, and then feel confused or dizzy, or your vision becomes blurred. You feel uncoordinated. You have a sore, blister or wound (especially on your feet) that won't heal.

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Why do I need to monitor my blood sugar level?
Monitoring your blood sugar (also called glucose) level can help you take better care of your diabetes. Checking your blood sugar will help you learn how food, activity levels, stress, medicine and insulin change your blood sugar level. This information will help you stay healthy and prevent or delay diabetic complications such as blindness and kidney failure. This handout will give you some tips on monitoring your blood sugar level.

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How do I measure my blood sugar level?

Follow your doctor's advice and the instructions that come with your glucose meter. In general, you will follow the steps below. Different glucose meters work differently, so be sure to check with your doctor for advice specifically for you.

1. Wash your hands and dry them well before doing the test.
2. Use an alcohol pad to clean the area that you're going to prick. With many glucose meters, you get a drop of blood from your fingertip. However, with some meters, you can also use your forearm, thigh or the fleshy part of your hand. Ask your doctor what area you should use with your meter.
3. Prick yourself with a sterile lancet to get a drop of blood. (If you prick your fingertip, it may be easier and less painful to prick it on one side, not on the pad.)
4. Place the drop of blood on the test strip.
5. Follow the instructions for inserting the test strip into the glucose meter.
6. The meter will give you a number for your blood sugar level.