The Health Blog

As soon as you feel the first symptoms of a migraine attack, drink a caffeinated beverage. While caffeine has been thought to trigger a migraine, once it starts the caffeine will actually help by opening up constricted blood vessels. Make sure you drink plenty water for the duration of the headache. Even mild dehydration can worsen headache symptoms.
A warm shower or bath may help at the onset of the symptoms. If you are not able to take a shower, try putting a cool compress on your head. Sit quietly in a darkened room. This will help ease light or noise sensitivity as well as nausea. A face massage can ease the headache pain and stimulate blood circulation. A warm foot soak is also good for blood circulation.

Some herbal remedies are known to prevent or ease a migraine headache. Dried herbs can be used to make teas or tinctures. Herbal extracts are potent and need to be diluted before use. Capsules come in many herbal combinations and are readily available at most natural or health food stores.

Rest and ice applied early after the injury help to decrease swelling and pain.

1. Ice helps to decrease swelling by constricting blood vessels, by decreasing fluid accumulation, and by cooling and numbing the area.

• Apply ice for 20 minutes an hour every hour while awake, for the first 24 hours. Ice should not be applied directly to the injury.
• To avoid potential cold injury to the site, wrap the ice in a cloth or use a commercial ice pack. A bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth makes a good ice pack.

2. Protect the area from further injury. Stay away from athletic or other possibly injurious activities until after the eye has healed.

Infection with the avian flu virus, popularly known as the “bird flu” virus has raised major concerns in health sectors because of its increasing incidence, especially in most Asian countries.

Humans who contract bird flu (H5N1) experience typical flu-like symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, eye infections, pneumonia, and severe respiratory distress.

The course of the disease is very aggressive and quickly progressive. Statistics say that half of the patients who contracted bird flu from direct contact with infected birds in Asian countries have died.

Seeing these symptoms promptly is very important for correct and early management of this disease. Prompt medical treatment is of utmost important. In some cases, medical facilities are not within the reach of the patient. While waiting for a medical treatment, you can do these recommended self-care techniques to relieve viral flu symptoms:

Photo courtesy of Medline Plus

A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, particularly in a medical emergency. In any emergency you have to be ready with your first aid kit. Many injuries are not life threatening and do not require immediate medical attention. Knowing how to treat minor injuries can make a difference in an emergency. Consider taking a first aid class, but simply having the following things can help you stop bleeding, prevent infection and assist in decontamination.

Your moist and warm feet, socks, and shoes can be a perfect environment for bacteria to multiply, causing foot odor known medically as bromhidrosis. Thousands of sweat glands on the soles of the feet produce perspiration composed of water, sodium chloride, fat, minerals, and various acids that are the end products of your body’s metabolism. In the presence of certain bacteria (namely those found in dark, damp shoes), these sweaty secretions break down, generating foot odor.

Foot odor is preventable by simple home remedies:

1. Wash away the bacteria. Use a deodorant soap which can wash away the bacteria causing the breakdown of sweaty secretions which generates odor. Daily washing your feet, enough to remove the offending bacteria is recommended.

2. Soak your feet with salt solution. This is advisable to extra-sweaty feet. Add half a cup of ordinary table salt to a quart of water and soak your feet in the solution for 15 minutes. After soaking, don’t rinse your feet; just dry them thoroughly. Salt has a drying effect on the skin.

Scuba divers are prone to get jellyfish stings. Jellyfishes are aquatic animals that can cause a “sting” when they come into direct contact with humans or other animals. The stingers, which are called nematocysts, are usually located at the ends of the tentacles and contain poisons that can be toxic to humans.

Symptoms of jellyfish stings include skin reactions such as skin eruptions, which appear as a painful, raised, red rash that itches, and usually at the area of skin that came into direct contact with the jellyfish. Rarely, Rsevere jellyfish stings can cause weakness, headaches, vomiting, muscle spasms, fevers and chills, and difficulty with breathing, and even shock.

What to do when you are or see a victim of jellyfish stings?

1. If you are the rescuer, protect yourself from contact with the jellyfish or jellyfish tentacles. Consider protective clothing and gloves. Remove the victim from the water.

Important reminders before attempting to stop the bleeding:

1. Wash your hands well with soap and water, if available.

2. Put on medical gloves, if available, before applying direct pressure to the wound. If gloves are not available, use many layers of clean cloth, plastic bags, or the cleanest material available between your hands and the wound.

3. Have the injured person hold direct pressure on the wound, if possible, and elevate the injured area.

4. Use your bare hands to apply direct pressure only as a last resort.

Here are some additional tips to prevent acne vulgaris which include herbal remedies:

1. Wash your face with lukewarm water and mild soap twice a day.

2. Wash fresh methi leaves (fenu greek leaves) and grind it to make a paste. Apply it on face and wash it off with lukewarm water after 10 minutes.

3. Grind juicy tender neem leaves with turmeric to a consistency of paste. Apply this paste on acne and pimples. Wash this off after it dries.

Sunburn results from too much sun or sun-equivalent exposure. Anyone who visits a beach, goes fishing, works in the yard, or simply is out in the sun can get sunburn. Improper tanning bed use is also a source of sunburn. Although seldom fatal (sun poisoning), sunburn can be disabling and cause quite a bit of discomfort.

What can you do to prevent sunburn?
- Simply get out of the sun, cover exposed skin, get out of the tanning bed, and use a sunblock lotion.

What to do when you get sunburned?
- Apply cool compresses with equal parts of milk and water may suffice. You may also use cold compresses with Burow solution. You can buy this at a drugstore. Dissolve 1 packet in 1 pint of water. Soak gauze or a soft clean cloth in it. Gently wring out the cloth and apply to the sunburned area for 15-20 minutes. Change or refresh the cloth and solution every 2-3 hours.

- Use aloe-based lotions. There are many commercially available types. Ask the pharmacist at your local drugstore.

- Cool (not ice cold) baths may help. Avoid bath salts, oils, and perfumes because these may produce sensitivity reactions. Avoid scrubbing the skin or shaving the skin. Use soft towels to gently dry yourself. Don’t rub. Use a light, fragrance-free skin moisturizer.

Do you suffer from recurring vaginal or male yeast infection? below is a home remedy or yeast infection treatment for men and women.

But first, what causes yeast infection? It is caused by a fungus named Candida Albicans. Yeast is a tiny organism that lives in small numbers on the skin and in the vagina. When the acidic balance in the vagina is lowered, the yeast grows and causes a vaginal infection.

Yeast infection symptoms are not serious but are very unpleasant. They include a thick white discharge from the vagina. Burning during urination, vaginal itching, irritation, redness and swelling. Irritation, soreness and white spots on the penis.

One of the main causes of recurring yeast infection is sexual activity. If a woman with yeast infection has unprotected sex, her partner can contract the infection. Since alot of men do not even know they are infected as they do not show any visible symptoms right away. The woman can treat her infection only to contract it again from her partner. Thus the recurring yeast infection can go on until the male notices symptoms.