Toxic shock syndrome is a bacterial infection in the body. It was once associated with tampon use and also use of the diaphragm and the contraceptive sponge. The tampons that sparked the controversy are no longer available, but the label remains as a warning inside packages of tampons.

There are actually two types of toxic shock syndrome. The first is the one that is most often associated with tampons. Using a tampon that has too high an absorbency for your menstrual flow can lead to a warm moist environment for bacteria. The bacteria in question are staphylococcus aureus, which is naturally found on the skin.

But, toxic shock syndrome can also be linked to streptococcus bacteria. It enters the body through cuts, abrasions or surgical infections and can lead to toxic shock in the body of the affected person.

Toxic shock syndrome symptoms

If your type of toxic shock results from tampons or birth control, it is the result of an infection by staphylococcus. The first symptom is usually a bout of vomiting. As vomiting can be associated with many other conditions it is important to look for the presence of other symptoms as well.

A fever is also present, along with diarrhea, aches, sore throat and headaches. These are also common symptoms but if there is no indication that you ate something bad or have a cold or flu, there may be another answer. There is also a drop in blood pressure that can result in fainting.

One telltale sign for toxic shock syndrome is a red rash that appears within a day of the other symptoms, resembling sunburn. There will also be redness on the face and in the vaginal areas. Broken blood vessels on the skin are another sign that it is not the flu. The affected person may become confused, tired, thirsty and weak, and may develop pale clammy skin. Their breathing may become rapid and shallow as well.

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome symptoms

Most of the same symptoms are present but at different stages. Once the streptococcus enters the skin through a wound of some kind, blood pressure drops low. Fever and dizziness along with confusion and rapid shallow breathing are present. There is a rash present also.

Examining the area around the wound shows something else. The skin will be red and swollen, indicating an infection. The flesh may actually begin to necrose or die. Filtering organs, the liver and the kidneys may begin to shut down as a result.

Toxic shock is a very serious condition that needs to be taken care of at the first sign of symptoms. Proper treatment can prevent serious consequences.

What is tonsillitis?

Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsillar tissue at the back of the throat. They resemble two pads of tissue tucked in the back where your mouth narrows towards the throat.

Tonsils function in the immune system. They are tasked to produce white blood cells to fight viral and bacterial infections. This leaves them open to becoming overwhelmed and infected themselves.

Symptoms

So how do you know that you have tonsillitis? The throat can become sore. Usually the doctor will diagnose you with strep throat. This is a bacterial sore throat that is caused by streptococcus. Strep throat is contagious so you will be treated with antibiotics so you won’t pass it to others.

A bout of tonsillitis may also be accompanied by a scratchy throat, red tonsils upon examination, enlarged lymph glands in the neck, headache, stiff neck and bad breath. You may also notice a fever and difficulty swallowing because of the enlargement of the tonsils.

As a parent you may not know how to identify enlarged tonsils or even a coating over the tonsils. If your child is too young to talk, they may refuse to eat, drool endlessly and also become fussy more often than normal.

Now, a single sore throat does not signal tonsillitis, but in combination with other symptoms it can alert you that something more is going on in your mouth or that of your child.

Treatment

There is a tier of treatment for tonsillitis. Even though your child is in pain, surgery is not the first option. Before any treatment is done, your doctor will perform a few diagnostic tests. They will take a throat swab.

This can be processed through a rapid strep test to give a doctor a heads up on whether you are likely to have strep. Another swab is sent out to the lab for a full testing with results coming back in about two days. A positive test usually signals a bacterial infection.

A CBC (complete blood count) is done to detect the presence of elevated white blood cell levels. White blood cells are deployed to fight infections and usually occur in conjunction with a fever.

For a strep throat, your doctor will likely order antibiotics to clear up the infection. Remember to take the antibiotics for the full ten days to be sure that the infection is gone.

Surgery is considered after a certain number of strep throat infections have occurred. Here the tonsillar tissue is removed completely, thus removing the cause of the infection. The tonsils are removed sooner if they have swollen to obstruct the airway.

Tonsillitis is a painful condition that mostly affects children. While surgery is not prescribed right away, it is often the end result.

Hormones are raging and so are emotions when teens hit puberty. For them, body image is linked to self-esteem. How their friends see them colors the way that they see themselves, even if it is not a fair assessment.

As parents it is our responsibility to step in and help our teens to see themselves in a more realistic light before they face their friends and their opinions. What this does is lay a foundation to help them not only fight back against peer pressure but also increase their self-esteem.

This is a challenging job for parents, especially in this society. Magazines, television programs and even commercials all show us women with impossibly small waists, no blemishes on their face and guys with six-pack abs and perfect hair. Who can live up to that?

Start with a little bit of logic. Realistically, everyone goes through puberty and faces the same problems like pimples and oily skin. A fashion model, whose livelihood depends on their looks, will have a doctor on retainer or even a make-up artist who can cover up those spots. The average teenager doesn’t have access to that.

Also point out that different parts of the body develop at different rates. During puberty, women get fuller in the hips, for example. Body hair starts to grow. Teach them how to work within those parameters. Dads can teach their sons how to shave. Girls can wear clothing that sits well on their new hips.

One of the worst things you can do is mention diets to kids who are slightly overweight. Instead, teach them how to eat. Stock your home with lean meats, healthy snacks, fruit and veggies so that they learn how to eat and enjoy healthier foods. With an active lifestyle in school and going out with their friends, they will work off any excess weight with food changes.

Exercise as a family. We all can use more activity. It gives you a chance to talk to your teen about their body and other issues that they face. Set goals for the activities that you do so they can improve their endurance and strength.

Giving them goals to shoot for improves their self-esteem. This affects their body image positively as well. In addition to that, you can be a positive role model. Act in a way that reflects what you are teaching them. Don’t complain about how you look. Do something to change it, which shows them that they can too.

Positive self-image in teens is as much about what you say as what you do to demonstrate it.

Tui na massage is a different technique that specializes in removing the obstructions to the flow of energy or qi in the body. This is not different from the basis of most massage. With tui na, the emphasis is on patients who have back pain, sports injuries, trauma to different areas of the body and scar tissue of some kind in their body. Problems with muscles, joints and internal organs are their specialty.

What types of issues are treated with tui na massage? Problems with sore muscles, constipation, low energy levels, headaches, neck pain, sciatica and shoulder problems are among the conditions that have found relief with this technique.

Tui na can be combined with acupuncture if the patient needs a more detailed therapy along the meridian lines. But it is most often used alone. Those who experience it find relief of their pain, more mobile joints and an overall wellbeing as their body is put back into alignment and areas of blocked or stagnant blood are released. Scar tissue between muscles and fascia or bone are manipulated and broken up so that blood flow can be restored.

Preparing for a session

Your massage therapist will ask you for a detailed history of your medical condition. This is needed to help them concentrate on the right areas of your body for maximum results. The actual massage can last anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour per session, depending on your circumstances.

You have the option of wearing loose clothing or removing clothing. The concentration is on the back and neck usually unless you specifically have a problem elsewhere. For bare skin, aromatherapy oils are used to relax your muscles and create a calming mood during the massage.

You shouldn’t feel any discomfort during the procedure. There may be pressure or even a feeling of restored flow as the areas that were once blocked are allowed to channel energy again. Because toxins are being released anew, people may need to spend more time in the bathroom.

Tui na is not like any other massage. It has given rise to more manipulative forms like shiatsu, but it takes a practiced hand to recognize areas of pain and scarring that need to be released.

Like other massage, the point is not to treat the illness but to help the body to heal itself by identifying the point of the problem and releasing energy. If you suffer from trauma in the body, tui na massage may be what you need for restored health.

The special state of the preemie

Babies that are born before 37 weeks are considered premature. Obviously, the earlier they are born, the more problems they will experience in the body. Every effort is made to keep the baby in utero until the last possible second, but sometimes that is not possible.

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the hospital is made up of dedicated nurses and doctors who want your baby to thrive. They are prepared for the many common illnesses that may befall a premature baby.

Also, doctors would not release your baby unless they thought that he was okay to live away from the monitored life in the ward. You may feel a bit shaky because you won’t have all of those doctors around 24/7, but they will make sure you have all that you need.

Ask questions

Take the time to write down and ask all the questions you may have about bringing your baby home. Even if it seems mundane, ask anyway. You want to be comfortable and confident in your ability to care for your preemie.

Learn how to perform special tasks. Even if baby needs extra oxygen or certain medications administered, the doctor may still believe that they are strong enough to go home. They will in turn teach you how to care for any special equipment and how to safely administer medication in a sterile manner.

Check your insurance

Insurance is important but not for the reason you think. Yes, you need it to pay for hospital bills, but in the case of a preemie, check to see if home health care is a part of your plan. You may need a professional nurse to help you with day-to-day care and managing equipment for your baby. They can also make sure that you are taking care of baby properly when they aren’t there.

Get complete discharge instructions

Before you take baby home, make sure that you understand all of the instructions that the doctors and nurses are giving you. If you need to, create a schedule board to know when certain activities have to be done so things are straight in your head. Remember, the doctors are only a phone call away if you have problems.

Last but not least, germ-proof your home as much as possible. Baby is still fragile and keeping the air clean is important. Anyone with a cold needs to stay away to protect baby’s immune system until it matures.

Are you the parent of a preemie? Bringing baby home can be scary, but being prepared can alleviate much of the stress.

Premature babies may have a variety of health problems to deal with. Life on the outside can be hard for them for a while until their bodies catch up to where their development should have been when they were born. Parents would like to avoid that scenario if they could.

Risk factors you can avoid

Wouldn’t you do whatever you could to ensure your baby’s future health? There are risk factors for delivering a premature baby that are within our control to avoid.

* Smoking – Smoking has been linked to a lot of conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis and several respiratory issues. The smoke is filled with toxins that are harmful to not only your body but also that of a developing fetus.

* Alcohol use – Babies born to mothers who drink are at risk not only for premature birth and birth defects but also fetal alcohol syndrome. This affects the neural development of the fetus. What the mother drinks has the potential to cross the placenta and enter the baby’s system.

* High blood pressure – Doctors may advise that you get your blood pressure under control before trying to conceive. Certain medications are not compatible with pregnancy, besides the fact that you are at risk for conditions that can complicate pregnancy, resulting in premature birth.

* Poor nutrition – A baby may have a hard time developing correctly if they are not receiving the proper nutrition from their mother. Not eating can lead to weight loss, which is dangerous for your unborn child. Eat well and often to provide yourself and the baby with nutrients it needs for full-term growth.

* Lack of prenatal care – Some conditions that are not avoidable can be detected with proper care. If you don’t have insurance, health departments provide prenatal care for little to no cost and your baby will get the same good care.

Risks you may not be able to avoid

* Family history – Certain illnesses or conditions may predispose you to early delivery or complications that may result in an early delivery to save baby’s life.

* Multiple births – If you are having multiples, there is a higher chance of delivering early. The earlier these babies are delivered, the more risk they have for lasting health issues.

* Infections – If you discover that you have an infection (especially in the vaginal area) while you are pregnant, seek medical advice. Some infections can compromise baby’s health and need to be treated during pregnancy.

* Age – For the most part this can be controlled, but there is the occasional slip. Older mothers have increased risk for developmental problems and premature birth.

Know the risk factors for premature delivery to reduce them in the life of your unborn child.

What Are Probiotics?

They are bacteria, but the good kind. They live in the body in the digestive tract, namely the intestines. The intestines play a large role in your health. It is here that food is broken down even further and absorbed through the walls of the intestines to be carried to other parts of the body. It is also here that that undigested red meat they talk about in the news makes its home.

When the intestines aren’t functioning well, the rest of your body will show it. This can mean lackluster hair, brittle nails, and sallow skin. Toxins in the body can come to rest in the intestines and also the liver, a filtering organ. Free radicals are one of these types of toxins that can lead to organ damage and illnesses such as cancer and the like.

Probiotics come from mostly dairy foods like yogurt and fermented soy and grains. You may have heard about bifidus regularis on yogurt commercials, or lactobacillus. They are found as live cultures in dairy and do all sorts of neat and positive things.

For one, probiotics help you digest your food better. Better digestion means a cleaner colon that is devoid of the toxins that can make us sick and look years older. Without diarrhea or constipation, you feel a lot better and less bloated as you go about your day. Probiotics also help manufacture some of the vitamins that we need each day for cellular health: vitamin K (potassium) and the B vitamins – specifically B12.

Benefits of Probiotics

So what can probiotics do to help you look younger? They can boost your immune system. This means you fight disease better. When none of those nasty bad bacteria and viruses can get in, your body can make the most of the antioxidants found in your food to fight aging: clear up your skin, strengthen your nails and nourish hair follicles.

These same bacteria can also help the liver. Naturally, the liver cleanses the blood, removing harmful toxins. When the liver gets overloaded by environmental toxins, stress and poor lifestyle choices, it shows on the skin (liver spots, moles, acne and the like). Probiotics help the liver to do its job more efficiently and clear your skin.

When your body can absorb and use all the nutrients from food, you gain energy. Also, you are less hungry as they can help fight cravings for sugar and fat. That can aid in weight-loss programs.

Probiotic bacteria live in the body in the intestinal tract. They can be overwhelmed by bad bacteria if we are not careful. Ingest as many probiotics as you can to tip the balance of the scale in your favor.

It Is Never Too Early

Some girls begin as early as ten years old with their first period. It is not as uncommon as you might think. If you started that early, chances are your daughter will experience much the same thing.

The average age is around twelve or thirteen, but preparing her will begin earlier than that. She may have heard some of her friends talk about getting their periods and how they are looking forward to it. She may be excited too or a little scared at what it actually entails.

Use her attitude as a gauge for deciding when to begin the discussion. Begin with the basics. Discuss why menstruation occurs. It is the body’s way of preparing for a child. In earlier times, women had children younger than they do now.

Talk about ovulation. This is the time when an egg is released from the ovaries and travels down to the uterus. If it doesn’t implant, it sheds and that is the bleeding that occurs during menstruation. The bleeding usually lasts for three to five days and can go from light to heavy to light again.

Discuss what she will feel in her body during that time. Mostly she will feel cramps as the lining sheds. They can be quite painful especially if you aren’t used to them. Her breasts may get tender and she may experience mood swings.

This is not to scare her but to inform her so she won’t wonder what is going on. Bloating can make her clothing not fit well, but let her know that it is only temporary. Pain relievers help with the cramping and the breast tenderness.

Now that she knows the process and how she will feel, she needs to know how to take care of herself. Discuss options for her period – sanitary napkins and tampons. It used to be a myth that girls couldn’t use tampons unless they have had sex. This is untrue of course.

Tampons are usually preferred by young girls because they are less messy and bulky. Talk about the different absorbencies and also how to put them in. sanitary napkins can be worn at night or on lighter flow days. She can make the choice from what is on the market and comfortable for her.

This is a special time of her life. Teach her what is going on with her body and how to embrace it. It is better that she hears it from you so that she has no misunderstandings.

Doctors suggest that you take vitamins on a daily basis when not pregnant and for men and women. Why? We don’t always get the nutrients that we need through our food. In fact, if you are busy and don’t have time to cook, you may be getting even less of those important nutrients each day.

Vitamins provide necessary minerals and other compounds that the body needs for cellular function and to keep you healthy. There are some compounds that are hard to get in quantity in food, so vitamins ensure that you get the daily recommended allowance.

When the body goes through the changes of pregnancy, you now have two lives you are nourishing. What the baby needs to survive and grow will be taken from the food that the mother eats. Also, her nutrition is coming from there too. If nutrition is lacking, the baby will take it from the mother’s stores. When it can’t be found, it can lead to developmental issues in the unborn child.

Prenatal vitamins contain increased levels of certain vitamins and minerals that the body needs most during pregnancy. This includes folic acid, vitamin B and iron. Iron keeps the bones strong and that is important at all stages of a woman’s life.

Why is folic acid important? It helps with neural development, meaning the brain and spinal cord. It is suggested that women begin taking prenatal vitamins before they even conceive. If they are planning to start trying, increased folic acid levels in the body can head off some birth defects in future children.

Lack of proper folic acid amounts have been linked to incidence of spina bifida in babies. It is important for survival of the fetus that the brain and spinal cord fully develop.

Prenatal vitamins are a supplement to nutrition and an important one. Just because you are taking them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch your nutritional intake. To enhance the value of the vitamins, eat a healthy diet consisting of whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables. This not only helps you keep baby weight under control, it also helps you to deal better with the changes in your body that pregnancy will bring.

Talk to your doctor about the right type of prenatal vitamin with the compounds that you need. Also know that taking them is not a definite guarantee that baby will not have issues, but it is a safeguard. There is still genetics and other environmental factors to take into account, but you can only do something about the factors that you can control.

What happens with sinusitis? There is pressure in the head due to swollen sinuses. Something has caused them to become inflamed and they respond by getting larger. If you’ve ever looked into someone’s nose who has bad sinusitis, there is no clear way for air to exit. Even sniffing can increase the pressure and lead to a headache.

The only option is to breathe through your mouth. This may be okay during the day, but at night it can lead to a dry mouth and a sore throat.

If sinusitis continues, it can lead to infection in the nasal passages. That usually results in thick green or yellowish mucus that signifies that there is something more going on. Until that discharge runs clear again, you have a full-blown infection and the sinus pressure and headache will get worse.

Treatment

You can try over-the-counter medicines but most people find that they come with a high price – and it’s not the cost at the register. There are formulas for cold and flu where sinusitis is a symptom. While you may get some relief of your sinuses, you also feel groggy or experience other side effects.

Give yourself a break and try natural remedies before medication. Your doctor may even suggest some for you if you want to go that route.

* Nature’s antibiotics – The first course of treatment for an infection is an antibiotic (if the problem is bacterial). This reduces the bacterial count but can also have side effects like interacting with birth control pills and leading to yeast infections. One option is bromelain. It is an enzyme from pineapples that has been found useful in fighting bacterial sinus infections. Calming the infection relieves the pressure and the headache.

* Vitamin C – Vitamin C is great for the immune system. Taking your daily recommended dose (either through supplements or eating foods filled with it) can help you fight off an infection that can lead to sinusitis and headaches before it gets that far.

* Apples – It is true that an apple or two a day keeps the doctor and the sinus infection away. One component of apples, quercetin, has been shown to inhibit the inflammatory response in the body. So, eat your fruit and boost your immunity.

* Zinc – It has been used for cold prevention and can be effective with sinusitis. Zinc is like vitamin C in that it boosts immunity. As the weather turns cold, start taking it so that it has time to work before sinusitis ever hits.

Sinus headaches are a result of sinusitis. Reduce the inflammation with the natural suggestions above and you can alleviate the headache pain.