If you are looking for fitness personal trainers on the net, you will come across many many health and fitness websites extolling the virtues of why you should hire a personal trainer to achieve your fitness and health goals didn’t you? If you are reading this article of which you are doing now, you are probably surprised to find why a fitness personal trainer like me is telling you why you don’t need one. You will probably think that I am crazy. Perhaps I am. Well, read on and you may discover that I am not as crazy as you think after all.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated the commitment that entails once you hire a personal trainer. Anyway, you have been working out for many years without any commitment to anyone, even to yourself and that is why, you only workout as and when you are pleased. Well, you do concede that the results you get are never satisfactory and of course you are frustrated with your results. But what the heck, you prefer to waste time, waste gym membership fees and enjoy getting frustrated. You are entitled to your liberty.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you hated someone to push and encourage you so that you can achieve your health and fitness goals much faster. Your idea of going to the gym is to socialize and to chat up girls. So why should you subject yourself to a regimen planned by a personal trainer who can sculpt your body to be more attractive and desirable to the girls you wanted to chat up? Your beer belly will do just fine. Girls just love big beer bellies you justify to yourself. So who needs a flat tummy with those ugly six pack abs? You certainly don’t.

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in the precept of “no pain no gain.” So if you exercise using the wrong form and techniques resulting in painful or even worse, permanent injuries, well, that is pain isn’t it? So therefore with pain, there will be gains. Hmmm, such profound reasoning that even the great philosopher Confucius will be confused if he is still alive eh?

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you pay your income taxes. So without someone to guide and train you scientifically, you will not lose much body and visceral fat, so you will still have that high blood pressure, that potential stroke and heart attack, so that you will eventually land in a government subsidized hospital and so that some of the taxes which you have paid will be utilized by yourself. That is great clever thinking eh? You are glad that even without a PHD in business studies, you can figure out how to get a wonderful return of investments from your taxes paid

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you believe in conforming to the society. After all, most people in your country are overweight and not exactly glowing with good health, then why should you be otherwise? You are delighted to be like most people, obese and unhealthy. Hey, you are a good citizen aren’t you?

• You don’t need a fitness personal trainer because you can spy on people who hired personal trainers in your gym. You eavesdrop on their trainers giving instructions and then you secretly work out according to what you have overheard not realizing that each and everyone is different and workout plans are to be tailored to each individual condition factoring in other issues like lifestyle, dietary habits and even the choice of exercises. You prefer to “monkey see, monkey do” and eventually falling painfully off the tree. Or should I say falling off the Empire State Building where the mighty King Kong fell?

• The most compelling reason why you don’t need a fitness personal trainer is because you have downloaded my “Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast” e-books and now you have a personal trainer in your hands. By following the instructions in the books you have transformed your body tremendously and are now the proud owner of an attractive and desirable body not to say you are also glowing with excellent health and fitness. Whoever said that you need to hire fitness personal trainers in order to own a lean mean attractive muscular body that only others can dream of must be crazy, don’t you agree?

So you have decided that you want to be fit and healthy but at a loss as to which exercise program will benefit you best. Before you decide to select or design a beneficial exercise program, there are a few things which you must do.

• Why do you want to exercise?

Define your exercise goals and objectives. Write them down so that this will serve as your constant reminder why you want to embark on an exercise program. It also serves to narrow down your search for the best program because you will know what to look out for. For example, you may want to lose weight steadily or you may to build some muscle tone or you just simply want to get fit. Be definite in what you want to achieve so that you will have a clear direction and will choose the right exercise program to achieve your goals more effectively.

• What do you need to do to get the best exercise benefit

Now that you know what your goals are, decide which method is best for you to achieve your objectives. For example, if you are rehabilitating from some illnesses or surgery, you may need to hire a specialized trainer for your particular condition or if you simply want to lose some weight, do you have sufficient knowledge to lose weight permanently or do you need to do more research, read up some books or just hire a fitness personal trainer?

• Set definite time frame and exercise program

Have a time table drawn up. How many times do you need to exercise a week and for how long to get the best benefits from your exercise program. Ascertain the dates and timing of your exercise program and stick to it. This is crucial because many people without definite plans fail in their quest to get a fit and healthy body.

• Keep an exercise log book

This exercise log book is to keep track of your progress. In the log book, you will keep a record of how far you have jogged or swum or how heavy were the weights you were lifting so that you can improve your performance on your next exercise session. Without proper record keeping, you will be at best guesstimating on your past performances and chances are that you will not improve to get to your goals as planned.

This is the reason why you see people not getting any results even though they work out regularly.

So in order for to get the best benefit from your exercise program, you will need to set your goals and then define them, decide on the methods to get the best benefits and keep a record so that you can get there in record time with your solid exercise program.

By the time you read this, the 2006 World Cup will be well underway, and whether you’re a fan of the beautiful game or not, it can’t have escaped your attention that footballing injuries have been very much on the agenda of late. However, as our lead story explains, the relationship between football and injury risk is far more complicated than the media would have you believe! Meanwhile, another great sporting spectacle, the Tour de France, is just about to begin. But in the latest Sports Performance Bulletin, research indicates that when it comes to strength training, what works for the cycling pros may not help aspiring amateurs and club cyclists, our What The Papers Say section has come up with some fascinating research findings for sportsmen and women.

Footballing injuries – are they really on the rise?

Football is a highly athletic sport with rapid deceleration, acceleration, single stance twists, single stance ballistic movements and aerobatic manoeuvres. This may explain why the overall level of injury to a professional footballer is around 1000 times higher than in industrial occupations generally regarded as high risk! Just 10 days before the start of the tournament, the sporting headlines were full of footballing injury stories. But is the apparently growing incidence of footballing injury a reality or just media hype? Ex-Tottenham Hotspur FC physiotherapist TJ Salih puts the sport under the microscope in order to separate fact from fiction. Among the issues he discusses are: The actual evidence for an apparent rise in footballing injuries;The causes and effects of foot and spine injuries in football;A detailed description of metatarsal injury;The role of footwear, pitch surfaces and season length in footballing injuries. TJ also outlines some important injury prevention strategies, such as warm ups, muscle and joint mobilisation, and proper football, which are adopted by pro-footballers, which are equally applicable to those playing at amateur level.

Strength training for cyclists – is it a help or hindrance?

Strength training is common practice in elite sport; most athletes and their coaches know that improved strength, power or muscular endurance is likely to lead to improved performance in competition. And the consensus is that if it helps those in the upper echelons of the sporting world, it must help the rest of us. However, according to James Marshall, recent evidence suggests that except for those at the very top of their sport, the same may not always be true for cyclists. In particular, James’ article sets out to answer two questions; 1) Is strength training relevant for the beginner cyclist? 2) How does strength training affect performance in elite sprint cycling and road racing? The article starts by discussing the evidence for the benefits or otherwise of strength training for novice cyclists and then comparing this with the benefits for those training and competing at club level. There’s also a detailed description of five postural exercises that are known to be beneficial for those spending extended periods in the saddle. For more advanced level cyclists, James looks at the pros and cons of resistance training, and explains how certain types of resistance training regimes may help increase lactate tolerance via a phenomenon know as ‘peripheral adaptation’. There’s also some fascinating research on ‘explosive leg training’ and a suggested protocol that has been shown to boost 1km and 4km cycling power outputs.

What the papers say -

Compression tights and exercise -

French researchers have compared the effects of compression tights, elastic tights and ordinary shorts on the energy costs of submaximal running. The results are extremely intriguing; not only were there significant differences in performance, but the researchers also put forward possible explanations such as supporting more of the active muscles, aiding muscle pumping action, and increasing muscle co-ordination.

Pre-cooling and sport performance -

Cooling the body before exercise is thought to help athletes by delaying the increase in core temperature that tends to limit performance. Conversely, exercising muscles are thought to work better if they are warmed up beforehand. If you combine these theories, it is reasonable to assume that the best preparation for exercise in warm, humid climates would be to warm the muscles that are going to be used and cool the rest of the body. But new research by Dutch scientists on racing cyclists, simulating the conditions expected in Beijing at the 2008 Olympic games, seems to throw this theory into confusion as although results ahowed heart rate, temperature and sweat rates were lower after pre cooling, heat balance and gross efficacy or exercise were not greatly effected.

Tennis and shoulder disease -

Tennis is demanding on the shoulder, especially when performing dynamic, repeated overhead shots. But do these extreme demands place the shoulder at long-term risk? Argentinean researchers have conducted research which supports this theory.

The right choice in medical weight scales is crucial to doctors and hospitals. Whether digital or mechanical, such scales are crucial to the health care industry. Healthcare personnel constantly monitor the weight of their patients in order to determine the condition of their health and also to judge the effectiveness of their treatment and end of disease.

When precise measurements are required in medical treatments, doctors depend on weighing scales that are specially designed for particular uses. The market is full of different suppliers of medical scales. So there is wide choice for doctors, nurses and patients.

The latest buzz in this market is of digital technology which has thrown open new forms and features of medical scale technology. For example, it has helped develop sophisticated ‘medical bed scale’ systems which allows measurement and monitoring of a patient’s weight a she lies down, under the surveillance of nurses and doctors Such digital scales have become vital to dialysis and intensive care units. Digital technology has also reached the home frontier with the digital Personal Scales that measure body fat and weight.

Medical weight scales are designed around the needs and utility of the patients and invalids. Apart from the digital bed scales there are wheel chair scales, hand rail scales, and chair scales. These specially designed scales ensure safe, precise and convenient weighing for persons who require support. They also have other high- tech capabilities for more detailed analysis over a period of time.

The arrival of digital scales has not dimmed the popularity of the traditional mechanical medical scales. The traditional column mechanical scale, also called as physician’s scale, is still the most popular medical scale in existence. They are still accurate and cheap and have a timeless, utilitarian appeal.

Bathroom mechanical scales are also available for discrete, personal monitoring of body weight. These scales are affordable, precise, consistent and versatile

Monitoring body weight is relevant for a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is the cause of a number of life threatening conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea and osteoarthritis. Obesity is closely associated with type-2 diabetes, which leads to heart and, liver disease, and stroke. Obese people are highly prone to heart disease, which is the number one killer in America. Obesity also increases the risk for cancer, which is the second biggest killer.

Shedding a few pounds by a systematic weight loss program of diet and exercise can considerably lower the risk of all these diseases. There lies the importance of the personal weight scale to guide you on a weight loss program to become a healthy person.

Everyone wants to save money, and the good news is that purchasing medicine online is both easy and affordable. This is because online pharmacies have a much lower overhead expenses.. The US Pharmacopeia (USP) has joined forces with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) together with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has established quality control standards for all medications dispensed by pharmacies throughout United States. Their intention is to prevent consumers from receiving poor quality and/or harmful medicines from online pharmacies.

US Pharmacopeia (USP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Association of Boards of Pharmacy offer these ten tips to consumers who are thinking of buying health products online:

1. Do not purchase from an illegal website. This means putting yourself at risk. The danger of you being able to purchase contaminated or counterfeit product is there, aside from the fact that you may also be given the wrong product, an incorrect dose or worse yet, you could not receive any product at all since most illegal web sites do not maintain longevity.

2. Purchasing an unsafe or inappropriate medication may put you at risk or cause serious health consequences.

3. Obtain prescriptions from your doctor before purchasing drugs online. Moreover, it is not a good idea to purchase a prescription drug online without seeing first your doctor even if you fill out a health-probing questionnaire. The questionnaire does not provide sufficient information that would enable a doctor to determine if that drug is safe for you to use, if another treatment is more appropriate, or if you have an underlying medical condition which could be negatively affected by the drug you are about to purchase.

4. Always try to consult a doctor before using any medication for the first time. This way you can thwart any negative side-effects that the medicine might cause you.

5. Avoid sites that offer to prescribe a prescription drug for the first time without a physical exam, sell a prescription drug without a prescription, or sell drugs that are not approved by Food and Drug Administration. Taking drugs without any physical check up can be harmful to your health and may even cause death.

6. Do not buy from a web site that does not have any access to a registered pharmacist that can answer questions.

7. Avoid sites that don’t contain information about the owner of the site and do not provide a street address and phone number to contact should problems arise.

8. If possible, refrain from purchasing from foreign web sites because generally it is illegal to import drugs from these sites and the risks you are facing are much greater. You could actually be held personally liable for importing this drug.

9. Be very careful in dealing with sites that claim that they have found a new cure for a certain serious disorder and offer quick cure-alls for a wide range of ailments. Likewise, stay away from sites that include undocumented case histories claiming remarkable results.

10. Beware of sites that make use of impressive sounding medical terminology to disguise their lack of research or those that claim that the government, the medical profession, or research scientists have conspired to suppress a products in spite of the effectiveness of the product to cure serious diseases. And if you want to be sure that you are purchasing from a licensed online pharmacy you may check out the site with the VIPPS and see whether it is a licensed pharmacy with good standing.

If your organization is a payer, a provider or a medical management firm and you're looking to find a medical peer review that can be done fast by a specialist with the same credentials as the claim that you want reviewed, use an independent review organization to perform this procedure…it's fast, cost effective and easy. Independent review organizations recruit, credential and maintain a full panel of medical specialist and sub-specialists just for this purpose, and you can quickly access and purchase their services to get fast turnaround time at low cost.

Using an IRO is fast and efficient because they're set up to quickly perform for you. They can take in a case, assign it to a like specialist and provide you with a decision very rapidly—sometimes the same day that you request it, and certainly within three to seven business days.

If your organization is looking for specialists to review cases instead of building your own panel of medical specialists, consider using an IRO. It’s already invested in the infrastructure necessary to provide fast quality medical decision making to support your process.

About AllMed Healthcare Management
Founded in 1995, AllMed is a URAC-accredited Independent Review Organization (IRO) serving insurance payers, providers, TPAs and claims managers nationwide. Reviews are conducted by board-certified physicians in active practice. AllMed's growing customer base for its independent medical review and hospital peer review services includes premier organizations, such as Educator's Mutual Life, IMS Managed Care, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, HealthGuard, several Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Allianz and many other leading healthcare payers. Read the AllMed Medical News Blog and the Independent Review Organization Blog.

At present time four drugs in the United States are approved by the FDA for the treatment and prevention of flu:

* Neuraminidase inhibitors: Oseltamivir (brand name: Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (brand name: Relenza)
* Adamantane derivatives: Amantadine (brand name: Symmetrel) and Rimantadine (brand name: Flumadine)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two drugs to both treat and prevent influenza type A - Amantadine in 1976 and Rimantadine in 1993. In 1999, FDA approved two new antiviral medications to fight the flu: Zanamivir (Relenza), the first neuraminidase inhibitor, and Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), the first of a new class of antiviral drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors. The antiviral drugs approved for influenza in the United States all are prescription drugs.

Influenza antiviral medications are drugs that suppress the ability of influenza viruses to reproduce. When used correctly, they can reduce the duration of symptoms and some complications from influenza virus infection. When used for treatment within the first 2 days of illness, all 4 antiviral medications are similarly effective in reducing by 1 or 2 days the duration of illness caused by influenza A viruses, and make you less contagious to others. Only Oseltamivir and Zanamivir are effective against influenza B viruses, though they do not cure influenza outright.

Oseltamivir and Zanamivir are preferred for treatment in part because influenza viruses are more likely to develop resistance to Amantadine and Rimantadine. The 4 influenza antiviral drugs are effective only against influenza viruses. They will not help reduce symptoms associated with the common cold.

All of the antiviral drugs are different in terms of who can take them, approved uses, approved ages, how they are given, any dosing changes based on age or medical conditions, side effects and costs.

Mechanism of Action

The surfaces of influenza viruses are dotted with neuraminidase proteins. Neuraminidase inhibitors block the enzyme's activity and prevent new virus particles from being released, thereby limiting the spread of infection. Zanamivir is inhaled through a device called a Diskhaler. This inhaler device delivers the medicine to the lungs, where the influenza virus multiplies. Oseltamivir is taken as a pill. Zanamivir and Oseltamivir help prevent influenza A and influenza B viruses from multiplying in the body by interfering with the production and release of virus from cells that line the respiratory tract. This may slow the spread of the infection within the airways and lungs.

Amantadine and Rimantadine: inhibit entry and uncoating of influenza A virus. These drugs block penetration and uncoating of the virus by preventing acidification of the endosome and thus the pH-dependent activation of the fusion activity of the virus hemagglutinin by interfering with the function of the M2 protein of Influenza A virus. Both agents are active against some influenza A virus strains (H1N1, H2N2, H3N2), but are inactive against influenza B (influenza B does not possess a M2 protein).

Medical Uses

To treat flu: Symmetrel (Amantadine), Flumadine (Rimantadine), Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), Relenza (Zanamivir).

To prevent flu: Symmetrel (Amantadine), Flumadine (Rimantadine), Tamiflu (Oseltamivir). Zanamivir is not currently approved for preventive use.

Used against influenza type A: Symmetrel (Amantadine), Flumadine (Rimantadine), Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), Relenza (Zanamivir).

Used against influenza type B: Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), Relenza (Zanamivir).

Dosage forms

* Amantadine and Rimantadine are taken orally in pill form.
* Tamiflu, the first neuraminidase inhibitor in pill form. It is also available as liquid suspension for children.
* Zanamivir is administered by inhalation. Zanamivir can be inhaled using a device known as a Diskhaler.

Age

* Zanamivir is used for people age 7 and older.
* Oseltamivir is used to treat flu in people age 1 and older; to prevent flu in adults and children age 13 and older.
* Amantadine is used in adults and in children older than age 1.
* Rimantadine is used to prevent and treat type A influenza in adults and children age 1 and older.

Possible Side Effects

Side effects differ widely for each antiviral medication. The neuraminidase inhibitors generally cause fewer side effects than the older flu drugs.

Amantadine: The most common side effects associated with Amantadine relate to the nervous and gastrointestinal systems. Elderly people are especially sensitive to the effects of Amantadine. Amantadine may cause light-headedness, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, nervousness, insomnia, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. Elderly patients often have reduced renal function and are better treated with Rimantadine, which is 75% metabolized by the liver.

Rimantadine: CNS effects like light-headedness, dizziness, headache, difficulty concentrating, nervousness, insomnia, loss of balance, and seizures. Side effects occur less often with Rimantadine than Amantadine.

Zanamivir: Some people who have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and use Zanamivir may experience reduced lung function and have difficulty breathing. Other side effects usually do not need medical attention, and may go away as your body adjusts to the medicine.

Oseltamivir: The most frequent side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. These symptoms are mostly mild to moderate and generally occurred within the first two days of administration of the drug.

None of these drugs is recommended for use during pregnancy or nursing. These drugs have not been evaluated in pregnant women.

Cost

Both drugs Amantadine and Rimantadine are available as generic. Oseltamivir and Zanamivir are new medications and are available only as brand name drugs. Therefore, of the four antiviral flu medications, Zanamivir and Oseltamivir are the most expensive.

Conclusions

Amantadine and Rimantadine are of limited use today due to side effects and the rapid appearance of resistant virus that can be spread to close contacts. Furthermore, Amantadine is associated with several drug interactions (with antihistamines or other medications that stimulate the central nervous system) that may increase the risk of side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, and seizures. Also they are only effective against influenza A, a less dangerous form of flu than influenza B.

Which types of organizations use an IRO to provide independent medical reviews or peer reviews? Many companies can benefit from this type of service.

Foremost are health plans and health insurance carriers that require an IRO in order to make sure that they adjudicate claims in a properly.

Second are third party administrators (TPAs) that administer benefits and claims for health plan payers.

Third are reinsurers or stop-loss carriers. Stop-loss carriers use independent review organizations as a way to assure that they are getting a second objective and unbiased opinion for their most expensive and complex medical claims that they are called to provide coverage for.

Fourth are large self-insured corporations that pay their own health care benefits. They are increasingly turning to IROs in order to help with their claims decision making.

Fifth are managed-care organizations that are providing preauthorization point of care determinations for their patients.

Sixth are utilization review companies. They use IROs to preauthorize complex, special and costly treatments.

Utilization management companies and business units inside larger firms also use IROs. Medical management companies use IROs routinely to outsource their claims decision making and preauthorization of treatments. Union trusts also turn to Independent Review Organizations to make sure benefits are properly administrated for their union populations.

All of these organizations work in the health care space to provide either payment services or preauthorization of treatments. There are other types of insurers that also use independent review organizations in order to administer claims. Disability insurance carriers, their TPAs and medical management firms also use IROs as well as workers compensation carriers, their TPAs and medical management firms. Property and casualty firms that are paying out medical claims also turn to independent review organizations to review claims. Fraud units working inside larger health plans and special investigative units use independent review organizations to look at the medical necessity of treatments and validate or to root out potential provider fraud.

As you can see, many different types of organizations in different markets turn to IROs as a critical source to decide, adjudicate and authorize health care claims. IROs today are an accepted best practice by the largest and the smallest organizations that participate in managing care for patients today.

Should you take medication or get into therapy to treat your depression? Antidepressants are often the first treatment offered to people who are depressed. Managed care and health insurance companies prefer this approach because antidepressants are viewed as less expensive than psychotherapy. Numerous studies demonstrate that the use of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and antidepressant medication are equally effective in treating depression; and, that combining psychotherapy with the use of medication is more effective than using medication alone. Importantly, because of the inclusion of medication and its side effects, the relapse rate is higher among depressives treated with combined treatment than those treated solely with psychotherapy.

Remember: The providers of your health care tend to use the tools for which they are trained: After all, if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything like a nail.

Therefore, most primary care physicians prescribe antidepressant medications before they refer for counseling or psychotherapy. They have their prescription pads handy - but they don't have much time available or training logged in talking with their patients about psychological issues. Like the rest of us, doctors tend to use the tools they have available and for which they were trained.

However, both antidepressants and psychotherapy are effective treatments for depression and a combination of the two is often more effective than either alone. Of course, at any particular time, one treatment is likely to be more effective than another for a particular patient. We still cannot accurately predict with great precision which treatment will be more effective for one person rather than another.

If you are depressed, remember that you can be treated by a psychologist, psychiatric social worker, psychiatrist or mental health counselor. The practitioner you are seeing may have only certain tools available to him or her or may be skilled in only using certain ones. Their recommendations for your treatment may have far more to do with THEIR TRAINING rather than YOUR PROBLEM.

Don't forget that there are a variety of treatments which are effective to treat your depression and that, regardless of which treatment your doctor or therapist offers first, if it doesn't work, ask about the alternatives.

Imagine, if you will, that you are walking alone at night in an unfamiliar neighborhood. You think you hear footsteps behind you so you walk a little faster. Suddenly someone steps out from behind a bush. You turn around but someone is behind you as well. They are both bigger than you and you are scared to death. Possibly you are mugged or raped. Maybe you escape harm, but you've still had a harrowing experience. You could end up suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) if you have an experience like this or have exposure to any real or a perceived life-threatening trauma where you responded with intense fear.

PTSD is a medically recognized anxiety disorder that occurs in normal individuals under extremely stressful situations. Symptoms may appear immediately and then disappear after several months. At other times symptoms may take up to 6 months to emerge and may never completely go away. Half of those who meet the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD will still suffer from symptoms a year after diagnosis and 1/3 will still have weekly symptoms ten years after the trauma.

CRITERIA FOR PTSD

* Exposure to a traumatic event marked by intense fear, helplessness or horror

* Symptoms from each of the three symptom clusters:

* Intrusive recollections (evoke panic, fear, dread, nightmares, grief, despair, daytime fantasies, etc.)

* Avoidant/numbing symptoms (avoidance of trauma related stimuli, trouble leaving the house, cannot tolerate strong emotions, etc.)

* Hyperarousal symptoms (symptoms resemble panic attacks, generalized anxiety, insomnia, irritability, startle response, hypervigilance that may come across as paranoia)

You may also use the mnemonic "DREAMS"

D = DETACHMENT

R = REEXPERIENCING THE EVENT

E = EVENT HAD EMOTIONAL EFFECTS

A = AVOIDANCE

M = MONTH IN DURATION

S = SYMPATHETIC, HYPERACTIVITY OR HYPERVIGILANCE

STATISTICS

Certain populations are more at risk than others. Here are just a few examples:

* 2% in post-partum women

* 18% in professional fire fighters

* 34% in adolescent survivors of car accidents

* 48% in female rape victims

* 67% in prisoners of war

Up to 80% of patients with PTSD will have a comorbid psychological or psychiatric disorder. The most common diseases that occur with PTSD are:

* major depression

* substance abuse

* dysthymia

* bipolar disorder

* generalized anxiety disorder

* panic disorder

* phobias

* dissociative disorders

TREATMENTS

Medications

Typical first line treatment is with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft or Lescol. Trazadone and nefazadone (Serzone) are being re-studied since the have SSRI properties and they also reduce or suppress REM sleep, thus reducing or eliminating nightmares. Tricyclic antidepressants and MAOI's have been tried but there is no proven efficacy for these types of medications.

Benzodiazepines were once the first line of treatment but the efficacy has not been proven in controlled studies. They can also cause dependency problems for people who must deal with substance abuse issues. These types of medications also come with a variety of discontinuation problems.

Psychotherapy

Once medications relieve the most distressing symptoms a patient can then concentrate on psychotherapy. A key element to success here is beginning the initial medication treatment within two weeks of the trauma. Then the goal of therapy, breaking the pattern of self-defeat by reexamining the traumatic event and the patient responses to it, can begin. Education about the disease and recognition of cues or situations that trigger symptoms are invaluable. Complete education and healing consists of:

* Exposure

Exposure to the event via imagery allows you to reexperience the event in a safe, controlled environment where your reactions can be monitored.

* Examining

Examining feelings such as anger, shame, guilt, etc. allows you to work on resolving these feelings.

* New Coping Skills

New coping skills teach you how to handle reminders, reactions and feelings without becoming overwhelmed or emotionally numb. This can help foster your relationships with others. Some of the techniques used are:

* Relaxation (i.e. breathing techniques, visualization)

* Biofeedback

* Cognitive restructuring

* Managing Anger

* Preparing for stress reactions

* Addressing urges to use alcohol or drugs

* Communications and relating effectively with people

Group treatment has also proven to be quite helpful for PTSD sufferers. This type of setting allows you to share with others who are more empathetic to your feelings. Being able to share instills more confidence and helps you to trust again. After being allowed to share your trauma you are freer to engage proactively in current relationships.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

This is a relatively new treatment that combines elements of exposure therapy, cognitive behavior therapy and then uses techniques (eye movements, hand taps, sounds, etc.), which creates an alteration of attention back and forth across the person's midline. Fourteen controlled studies have been done on EMDR. The last five done on trauma patients (abuse, rape, accident victims, etc.) have found that 84-90% of the individuals suffered no PTSD after only three sessions. In a study for combat veterans, 77% showed no PTSD symptoms after twelve sessions. Like all therapy the progress rate depends on the individual and the type of trauma. To administer EMDR, therapists must undergo special training.

Anxious? I was anxious for years and didn’t even know it. I mean, I knew I was a nervous wreck when confronted by just about anything that moved, but I never had a label for these feelings back then. It was just the way I was and that’s all I knew at the time. Thank goodness I eventually found out what my problem was. Only when we know what a problem is can we even begin to work for a solution. However, there is not one anxiety disorder treatment that fixes all as we are all different with varying levels of the condition. However, there is definitely an anxiety disorder treatment out there that will release the sufferer from the bondage of this awful state of mind.

Without any question of doubt, anxiety disorders can be crippling, disabling, and extremely debilitating mental conditions. A severe anxiety disorder can even make a simple task, like leaving the house, seem like an overwhelming and undefeatable feat. If you are someone that suffers with an anxiety disorder, you’ll understand what I’m writing. Just normal everyday stresses can seem like major catastrophes, and even simple social gathering may trigger an outbreak of nervous sweating. My mother always used to say I’d pole volt over mouse poop when most folks would simply step on or around it. Oh how I use to major in minor things! I’m just glad it doesn’t have to be like that anymore.

If gone untreated, server anxiety will only get worse over time, never better. This is why you should seek some kind of anxiety disorder treatment as soon as you’re able to. It’s horrible to suffer in this way, but it doesn’t have to be like this with the numerous anxiety disorder treatment options available today

Fact: Anxiety disorder has been recognized as one of the most common mental health conditions around in modern times, and what makes it so bad is that most folks are in denial. They don’t believe they have anything wrong with them. Many think they just need to work a little on their self confidence and learn how to interact with others a bit better. Actually, what usually happens is the anxious one often treats their anxiety by withdrawing from as much human to human interaction as they possibly can. The result of this is usually an increased fear of people, places, and things and the condition gets worse over time, never better.

The best advice around is to simply seek some kind of anxiety disorder treatment. Unfortunately, many doctors simply treat their patients with sedatives. Now, although this works in the short term, it is definitely not a long term solution as medication for anxiety can be very addictive. After discovering I was suffering from acute anxiety, I told my GP, that I was not interested in benzodiazepines for the reasons mentioned above. In fact, studies have indicated that long term use of benzodiazepines will actually make the anxiety condition worse over prolonged usage.

For me personally, the most promising anxiety disorder treatments fall under what is known as the SSRI family of drugs. SSRI’s are no miracle cure, but they are much preferred over sedatives as they aren’t anywhere near as addictive. I personally use SSRI’s in conjunction with talk therapy (which is a fantastic head healer), and regular exercise. Just 20 minutes of physical workout a day seems to make me feel just amazing. It’s funny how exercise seems to creep in to almost every aspect of personal wellbeing.

So there we have it. SSRI’s, talking about how I feel to a trained professional, and a little physical exertion everyday has resulted in a whole new me. My attitude and outlook upon life has taken an amazing turn for the better, and it’s all thanks to my personal anxiety disorder treatment and those that helped me to get it going.

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by a persistent fear of any kind of social interactions and the feeling of intense embarrassment or humiliation, apparently without reason. The patients of this disorder are always anxious of being judged poorly by others and as a result start avoiding social interaction completely. Whenever such people face any situation where interaction with others cannot be avoided, they suffer extreme anxiety and nervousness. In chronic cases such people start showing extreme symptoms even when they anticipate a social situation. This anxiety is manifested in external physical symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, trembling, flushing or blushing.

Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate the normal social anxiety that every individual feels to some extent from this chronic condition. Everyone has some degree of social anxiety in them, yet when such anxiety becomes so overriding that the person starts avoiding all social interactions as a result of his anxiety and the physical symptoms cause him distress beyond natural parameters, it is clear that it is a result of this disorder. Most often, close family members or friends can recognize this, since they have a better perspective of the patient’s suffering.

Social anxiety disorder can be classified into three different types. First is a performance-oriented social anxiety disorder that affects a person only when he is performing in front of an audience, as when giving public speeches, or presentations.

The second type of this disorder is a general social anxiety disorder where a person is unnaturally anxious in various social situations like parties, meetings and interviews.

The third and most chronic type is avoidant personality disorder, which is more common in males than females and starts usually at a very young age. Such people are able to make very few friends and often opt not to get married. These people avoid all opportunities for social interactions and live with a constant fear of being ridiculed and judged by all around them.

The price of whiskey has stayed pretty much the same for the last 10 years in the United Kingdom. Every year the duty on cigarettes goes up by 10-20 pence because of the Government's policy of taxing smokers out of smoking. The incumbent Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, likes to drink whiskey but he doesn't smoke. You could argue that this is why whiskey is 'missed' from the rises (but other spirits are not) whereas cigarette duty is increased every year - but the policy simply isn't working.

As a former smoker, I recall saying I would give up smoking once they reached £1 per pack. (Yes it was a very long time ago!) I also recall the same mantra at £2, £3, £4 and £4.50 but still I never quit. I finally quit when they reached £5 but it wasn't because of the price. The reason I chose to quit smoking was because I wanted to be around for my newborn daughter if she needed me as she was growing up. That's right, I quit smoking for her should she need me, not so I could watch her grow up. I thought it made more sense – after all she needs someone to provide food, clothing, love and affection and guidance for her. I already have all that. But what is significant about me choosing to quit for her and not for me you ask?

It comes back to Gordon's duty on cigarettes again. I could take the 10-20 pence rises every year. They were niggling but over the course of a year it was only £55 or just over a pound a week. It is more irritating than off-putting to spend £1 extra per week. What's more, if you are addicted to a drug like nicotine, a quid a week is not an incentive for you to quit getting your fix.

Think of that the other way round and it makes perfect sense. If the Government offered smokers £1 a week to quit smoking, would anybody actually take them up on the offer? No of course not. And that is the key to understanding the motivation of the Government's tax policy on cigarettes.

We have all heard the "soothing yet authoritative" words of the chancellor saying that he will raise the duty on cigarettes by x many pence in order to continue the policy of dissuading smokers from smoking.

Whilst this is an effective way of preventing children from taking up smoking – cigarettes are unaffordable to the – it is not an effective method of getting adult smokers to quit. Adult smokers have adequate disposable income, children rarely do.

The problem is, most people don't think. For 2003/4, the British Government took over £8,0930,000,000 in tobacco taxation through duties and tax but only spent £71,000,000 on smoking cessation and public smoking education programs.

On the one hand, they are saying we should stop and expect us to believe that through their funding of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and Group Therapy sessions through the NHS. They are reluctant to use Zyban with NRT as a combined treatment because it is both more effective and more expensive.

The last thing the Government wants its highly taxed smokers to do is quit smoking. They provide over 1% of the Government's revenues every year (excluding other VAT and income tax receipts that smokers pay anyway) and then have the courtesy to be mostly dead by the age when pension time comes up.

What's more, the final months of a smoker's life are no more expensive than other non-smokers. Sure they draw on the health service, but many of them just drop dead as a result of stroke or heart attack. The ones that get cancer are usually diagnosed so late they die within the year. The only relatively expensive smokers are the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseased ones – the ones with emphysema and the like because they need oxygen for the remainder of their years.

Any non-smoker reading this may be crying foul right now. Not so I say. Non-smokers tend to die lingering deaths eating up resources of the NHS as do smokers but non-smokers have generally had a fair few years of pension and then nursing home care so that argument doesn't wash and what's more, the smokers paid extra anyway through higher taxes on their cigarettes.

Smokers are the best kinds of citizens for Government because they pay over the odds throughout their lives and then die so quickly they will never get anything back from the system. That is why I believe the Government doesn't really want you to quit smoking.

Nicotine is a major threat to your health, along with other substances in tobacco smoke and ingredients in tar and gases associated with smoking. And it doesn’t matter what they say about low-tar, low-nicotine and ‘safe’ cigarettes. They are all detrimental to your health. ‘There is no such thing as a safe cigarette’, America’s Surgeon General Julius B Richmond said. The main thing is to stop smoking altogether, although if giving up gradually helps you accomplish this aim, then fine, that’s the way to go.

To Help You Stop Smoking Altogether or Significantly Cut Your Intake

* Natural cures to help you stop smoking include: calamus (chew the root to destroy desire for nicotine); chamomile (take three to six times a day to help you relax).

* Smoke only half of each cigarette and make a promise to yourself to leave the other half untouched for a definite period.

* Each day, postpone your first cigarette by half an hour or so until there’s no time left in the day to light up!

* Have a charity box where you donate a dollar for each cigarette you smoke.

* Don’t stock up on cigarettes. Buy just one packet at a time and wait until it is finished before buying more.

* Try chewing gum instead of smoking.

* Buy something nice for yourself for every day or week you go without cigarettes.

* Learn relaxation techniques. This is especially recommended for anyone who smokes to relieve tension.

* Take saunas and steam baths to help detoxify the body.

Giving up cigarettes is a frightening thought for many smokers. Non-smokers, who have never picked up the habit, find this hard to understand. Quitting smoking takes a courage, conviction, and untold amounts of family patience and support. Smokers may quit many times before they quit for good. Relapses should not be seen as failures.

The following methods are the most effective ways of quitting:

At once (cold turkey)

Going cold turkey means stop smoking completely on a certain date. This is the method that works best. Most ex-smokers, especially those who were addicted to nicotine, quit smoking this way. You should try this method first. Go on to other methods only when this doesn't work.

Gradually

This can be done either by the postponing or the reducing method. Either way, you should start smoking fewer cigarettes 7-14 days before quit date. On your quit day, you shouldn't be smoking at all.

The postponing method means that every day, you delay the time you smoke your first cigarettes a little later until you can go through the whole day without smoking. You can also delay lightning up by a few minutes, each time you have an urge to smoke until you can do without cigarettes completely.

The reducing method may mean smoking fewer cigarettes each day until you are no longer smoking at all. Use a tally sheet to help you decide which cigarettes to cut out first (i.e. those you can do without). The reducing method can also mean smoking less of each cigarette every time you light up, for example only finishing half or a quarter before putting it out.

Nicotine replacement therapy

The use of a nicotine patch can help lessen withdrawal symptoms experienced when you quit cold turkey. The nicotine in the patch passes through the skin into your body to help reduce your urge to smoke. This allows you to concentrate on dealing with the other aspects of smoking.

Nicotine replacement therapy is also available in other forms like gum, nasal, spray, lozenge, and inhaler. The overall dose they provide is typically only one-third to half of that from cigarettes. This, coupled with the absence of toxic tar and harmful gasses of cigarettes smoke, gives the reassuring safety profile.

Nicotine patch and gum are now available without prescription, making them more accessible to smokers who need help. Nicotine inhaler is available only on prescription, so ask your doctor for advice. Depending on your particular circumstances, your doctor may suggest nicotine chewing gum or a nicotine patch to help you stop smoking.

As conclusion, Kicking the smoking habit isn't easy, due to the addictive nature of nicotine, but it can be done. Once you make the decision to stop, set a particular day to quit. Mark it on your calendar and tell your family and friends so they can offer their support.

Next, make a list of reasons why you want to quit. Whatever your reasons, this list will provide motivation as you work on getting accustomed to life without cigarettes. When the day arrives, throw away all your cigarettes, lighters, and ashtrays and take things one day at a time.

Try to prepare yourself mentally and physically. The first ten days you may feel tired, irritable, and develop headaches or a cough. You may also have problems concentrating as your body goes through nicotine withdrawal.

These symptoms usually only last about two weeks. To help alleviate them, drink plenty of water and exercise to flush the nicotine out of your system. Get plenty of rest and avoid drinks with caffeine and alcohol. Try to keep a busy schedule, and at the end of the day, reward yourself. Quit smoking now!

Good health is the secret of happy life. Good health can be defined as the state of being vigorous and free from bodily or mental disease. It is the most precious possession of a man. If a man losses his health, he loose the charms of happy living. Ask the man who has lost his health. He will tell you the value of good health. Health is real wealth of man.

‘Sound mind in sound body’ is an old saying. Healthy mind can be found only in healthy bodies. Sickly men have sickly minds. Their attitude toward life is gloomy. On the other hand, if the man has good health, his outlook to life is also healthy. He can work for long hours without feeling tired. If a student has good health, his memory is good and his mind is sharp.

Good health cannot be had on demand. There are certain things which are essential for good health. Nutritious food comes first. We should take only that food which is nutritious value. Fresh air is also important for good health. People living in the open air usually enjoy good health. Exercise plays a great role in making a man healthy and fit. Balancing one’s hour of sleep and rest also contribute to good health.

There are certain things which are bad for health. We should guard ourselves against them. Smoking is injurious to health. Eating too much spoils ones digestive system. If a man is irregular in his habits, he is likely to lose his health. Lack of energy also results ill-health. So, one must stay fit to lead a happy and healthy life.

Many people experience headaches from time to time. But there are people who experience them more often, and the pain is more excruciating than what most people feel.

A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head. Sometimes the pain seems to come from the upper back or at the neck. Most headaches are due to tension, migraine or a combination of the two.

There are three types of headaches: primary headaches, secondary headaches, and neuralgias. Pimary headaches include migraine, tension,, cluster and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. Meanwhile, under secondary headaches that are attributed to the following included head and/or neck trauma, cranial or cervical vascular disorder, non-vascular intracranial disorder, infection, disorder of cranium, neck, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, teeth, mouth or other facial or cranial structure, and psychiatric disorders. The last type includes cranial neuralgias, central and primary facial pain and other headaches.

There are several treatment options for these headaches. The first is abortive treatment, which is used to reduce headaches once they start. This includes medications like ergotamine, triptans and the newest class of abortives. The second is prophylactic treatment that is meant only to prevent headaches from occurring. This includes calcium channel blockers, serotonin antagonists and beta-blockers. Aside from these two, other headache treatments include over-the-counter pain medications, prescription medications and lifestyle changes.

Headaches may seem very mild for some people, that is why all they need is a pain reliever. But if you are one of those who experience more pain from these headaches, you should consult your physician at once to determine the type of headache from which you suffer. Series of tests will be conducted in order to arrive at the best treatment that will work for your type of headache.

Many people call high blood pressure or hypertension a silent killer. This is because you can have it for years without knowing it. In fact, according to studies, there are about 50 million Americans who have high blood pressure, but 30% of them do not know that they have it.

Ignorance of your own blood pressure can be 0. Some people are be very healthy one day, but only half of their body can move due to stroke caused by high blood pressure the next day.

High blood pressure has no symptoms. But if you feel a dull ache in the back of your head when you wake up one morning, or you have few more nosebleeds than normal, you could have a high blood pressure. Headaches, nosebleeds, and dizziness are also common warning signs and symptoms of high blood pressure, but these do not occur until high blood pressure has reached a more advanced stage. However, many people even with the highest blood pressure readings do not feel any of these symptoms.

There are other signs and symptoms that are associated with high blood pressure. Generally, these are caused by other conditions that can lead to high blood pressure. The signs and symptoms include muscle cramps, excessive perspiration, frequent urination, weakness, and rapid or irregular heartbeat or often called palpitations. In rare cases, blood pressure rises quickly which results in malignant or accelerated hypertension. So you should be on the look out for these symptoms and call a physician immediately if you experience drowsiness, confusion, headache, nausea and loss of vision.

Since high blood pressure has no particular signs and symptoms, it is important for anyone with risk factors to have their blood pressure checked regularly and to make appropriate lifestyle changes. If you have family histories of hypertension or if you are overweight, you better check your blood pressure regularly to prevent serious health problems.

Enzyme Plus

All living things contain enzymes, which are manufactured in the cells. Enzymes are complex protein molecules that regulate bodily processes and biochemical reactions. It is involved in energy production, cell growth, and digestion, in addition to maintaining the body’s immune, endocrine, hormonal, and nervous functions, among others.

There are a whole lot of different kinds of enzymes. While some act as antioxidants and neutralize free radicals, there are also some enzymes that actually produce free radicals and even build up plaque in the walls of the artery.

Enzymes

There are various enzymes that can supposedly bring about certain health benefits. Each enzyme, though, carries with it a different function, and therefore, a different benefit.

Bromelain

Bromelain is an enzyme extracted from pineapple and is used to help people suffering from arthritis, rheumatism and muscular-skeletal injury, due to its anti-inflammation properties. It can also help with and may actually be more effective than medications in relieving pain from joints.

Protease

Protease is another enzyme, which has the ability to slow down metastasis. In addition, it is also known to be able to reduce tumors, while at the same time alleviating the pain experienced because of cancer.

Lipase & Amylase

Lipase and Amylase are enzymes, which have been recognized as being able to decrease plaques in the arteries, making it effective in helping with heart disease and atherosclerosis. While Lipase’ function in the body is to digest fat, Amylase helps digest carbohydrates.

Enzyme Plus

Enzymes are needed for digestion. But over time, the body’s production of enzymes can be deficient. Because of the fatty, oily, and processed foods we eat, which are generally lacking in nutrition, it requires more enzymes to digest and thus forces the pancreas and immune system to work overtime replacing those lost enzymes, thereby robbing the body of energy production and enzymes.

Enzyme deficiency in the body supposedly leads to gastrointestinal disease, digestive disturbances, and periodic gas & bloating, among others. Hence, this is where the Enzyme Plus supplements come in.

Enzyme Plus supplements support digestion and prevent the buildup of toxins and wastes in the colon or intestines. It contains digestive food enzymes such as betaine HCL, pepsin, pancreatin, ox bile, bromelain, amylase, trypsin, lipase, protease, superoxide dismutase, and papain.

Health Benefits

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance is one of the manifestations of the deficiency of the lactase enzyme, which digests milk. As the years pass, people sometimes produce a much lesser amount of lactase in the body, leading to its deficiency. The use of Enzyme Plus and other enzyme supplements can definitely be of great value to people who are lactose intolerant, because it supplements the lack of lactase enzyme in the body. Others Enzymes have also been recognized in being able to help older people have more energy and a sense of well-being, on top of having better nutrient assimilation. At present, though, there are not enough clinical data yet as to whether taking in enzyme supplements can actually treat diseases.

James, 10, is taken to a dentist. The dentist diagnoses a cavity that needs to be filled. "Now, young man," asks the dentist, "what type of filling would you like to have?" "Cookies, please," replies the kid.

Family dentists continue a tradition that is hundreds of years old. Though in every respect, they function like other dentists, a close-knit social networking and their role in preventive medicine makes them different from other dentists. They advise people on the most effective methods to keep teeth and gums healthy in spite of many stresses. Family dentistry services include periodic teeth and gum care checkups, cleaning, one-on-one patient education and breath treatment. However, they also do restorative treatment and treat gums and teeth for problems related to headaches and the jaw. They perform extractions and are qualified to treat children and emergencies. Family dentists strive to fully understand the patient's needs and concerns, and draw their treatment plan after consulting with the patient.

According to www.austin.doctoroogle.com, there are nearly 200 family dentists in Austin, Texas. The website lists them with rating scores as well as their addresses, phone numbers, patient reviews and other useful information. Sift through some of these listings. Choose your family dentist based on proximity to your home (you will not want to drive an extremely long distance every six months), reputability as rated by past patients, and price. Costs will usually run about the same across the industry, but some dentists offer value-added services. The price, of course, then goes up a little.