Low Blood Pressure

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin

Low Blood Pressure

There are a lot of different effects that blood pressure can have on a body.  Most think about hypertension otherwise known as high blood pressure.  However having low blood pressure can cause problems as well.  Hypotension can be serious and it should be taken care of immediately.  Having low blood pressure can affect the bran and could as a result cause more problems that can not be fixed or even fatal.

The most known reason for having hypotension is having decreased blood volume that is known as hypovolemia.  There are many reasons why this is a problem that can occur in this way.  Most of them have to do with problem with the nervous system in the brain.  There are other causes that will include some medicines that can have hypovolemia as a side effect.  Because low blood pressure has these affects and is a result of problems with such an important part of the body, it makes hypotension even more serious than having high blood pressure.

One type of problem related to hypotension that should be considered is orthostatic hypotension.  This is also known as postural hypotension and is one of the more common forms of low blood pressure.  It can occur because of a change in the body’s position.  An example would be standing up from a sitting or lying down position can briefly lower the blood flow in the body.  Because of this, you can become dizzy, and can be noticed on a regular basis by many.  Another more serious type of the syndrome can be brought on by medications of the physical and the psychiatric topic.

There is another form of hypotension that is less common than orthostatic hypotension. It is known as postprandial hypotension and will occur 30-75 minutes after you have eaten.  Digestion of food can send a large dose of the blood to the digestive system and due to this the autonomic nervous system must compensate to increase the body’s heart rate and find make more blood pump.  Orthostatic hypotension can affect the autonomic nervous system, making it even weaker than it already is.  It is also a sign of a failing autonomic nervous system maybe because of age or something else completely.

Hypotension is just as severe as hypertension. Even though the two may sound the same, their affects on the body are very different. However they are both cause for concern and should be checked out immediately especially since having low blood pressure could affect the brain and this is the most important part of the body.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

 

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Cervical Cancer

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin

Cervical Cancer

The lower narrow portion of the woman’s uterus is called the cervix. This opening to the passageway is called the cervical canal. During a menstrual period the blood flows from the uterus through the canal and into the vagina. Producing mucus that helps sperm move from the vagina to the uterus, the cervix remains tightly closed. Knowing the exact function and location of the cervix will aid a lot as we discuss cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the formation of abnormal cells on the lining of the cervix. Normally as cells grow they divide, the old cells die, and new cells replace them. When the normal process by which cells divide goes wrong, masses of tissue known as tumors begin to grow. Benign tumors are not life threatening and normally can easily be removed permanently. They usually stay in one location and do not normally spread to other parts of the body. However, some tumors are malignant; these are the ones that are a lot more serious as they have the possibility of spreading and growing at alarming rates if not caught early. They are life threatening and can be removed but sometimes grow again. When these malignant tumors occur, they are known as cancer.

Risk factors that can contribute to the possibility of developing cervical cancer are infections. The main infection that causes cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus,

These are common viruses that are extremely contagious. It is estimated that most adults have at one time in their lives been infected with HPV because of coming into sexual contact with another person with the virus. It can cause changes to the cervix that will eventually turn into cancer, warts, or other uncomfortable and unpleasant problems. A weakened immune system will have the same affect n the cervix or women who have had many partners have a higher level of risk than those who have not. Sometimes normal aging is a factor, usually occurring in women over age 40.

Cancer that spreads from its place of origin to another part of the body the new tumor is identical to the original cell and therefore the cancer is the same no matter what part of the body it has spread to. For example: if a woman has cervical cancer that has spread to her breast we would not call this breast cancer but we would say that the cervical cancer cells are located in her breast. It would be treated as cervical cancer and not breast cancer. If a woman has symptoms arising from cervical cancer then she waited much too long. Regular screenings for cervical cancer is imperative as the cells can be prevented from forming into cervical cancer way before symptoms begin. Today the number of cases in the U.S. has been falling thanks to screening and early detection. Doctors recommend that regular PaP smear test are performed to find cervical cancer or abnormal cells that lead to cancer of the cervix. Early detection is the way to preventing this kind of cancer, it is treatable with a high rate of success, so get tested regularly to prevent this from becoming a big problem. It is hard to prevent diseases without living in fear, but as long as you are observant of signs, you will be able to reduce the risk of mortality.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Methods for Treating Back Pain

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin

Methods for Treating Common Back Pain

If your back pain does not require medical attention, i.e. if you feel you over exerted the muscles you can perform a few actions at home to, perhaps relieve your pain. The common treatments include bed rest, pain remedies, cold or hot pads, massage, relax, and so on.

Sometimes when we pull the muscles pain relievers can help reduce the pain. Common over-the-counter meds include ibuprofen, aspirin, or meds with acetaminophen included. You should avoid taking ibuprofen and aspirin combined to treat common back pain. In addition, if you have asthma, allergies, or polyps, leave ibuprofen and aspirin alone.

Cold packs work well, yet if you have conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or related symptoms you should avoid using cold packs. Cold packs can reduce back pain otherwise if you allow the packs to remain on your back long enough to reduce muscle spasms, pain, or inflammation. Leave the cold pack on the area where your pain is for at least twenty minutes.

Later you can apply hot packs to the area. Avoid placing hot packs over areas where scar tissue is present. In addition, if you have poor circulation, avoid placing hot packs in this area as well. Leave the hot packs on your back for at least twenty minutes as well. Do not use heating pads, since experts believe that the pads are unsafe. You can take a hot, steamy bath or shower, or purchase hydrocollators and place it on the area. You can find hydrocollators at pharmacy, or areas where medical equipment, meds, etc, are sold.

If you muscles are tight, you may benefit from a massage. If someone you know is willing to give you a massage, ask him or her to rub the area gently. Otherwise, you may find local massage therapists in your area, which offer affordable treatment. If the massage increases your pain, ask the person to stop. You may need medical treatment. You should avoid massages if you have fallen and injured your back, or if you were recently in an accident. Seek medical help first.

You can also relax the back if your muscles are tense. Relaxation promotes wellness, since the muscles can rest from over-exertion.

To avoid complicating common back pains you should move around at least 20 minutes each day. Throughout the day we sit, lie on the back, stand, walk, etc, which all applies gravity pressure to the spine. We can learn proper sitting strategies to avoid complicating common back pain.

When sitting you can roll a towel up and situate it at the lower back and on your chair. This will provide the lumbar support. If you have, certain conditions however avoid using such support. Conditions such as spine stenosis or spondylolisthesis can become irritated if you use back supports in such a way.

At what time you sit, try to use a chair that has armrests so that you can use the rests to lower your self in position. Avoid placing the legs directly “in front of you,” and do not bend when you lift your self from the chair. Avoid twisting when rising from a seated position as well.

To minimize back pain you should avoid sitting for long hours. Walk around in intervals if you have a job that requires you to sit for long hours. At what time you sit, try to position your knees so that they are somewhat above the hips.

Common back stress can be reduced, yet if you try remedies at home or at work and the remedies fail, you may need to seek medical advice.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Self-Injury

Posted on January 23, 2012 by admin

Self-Injury: How to Stop this Dangerous Practice

Many wonder why anyone would practice self-injury, as it is painful and dangerous. However, with autistic children, self-injury occurs more often than not. There are several theories as to why this practice can be prevalent in autistic children, and there are some methods you can use to help ease this distressing practice.

Because autistic children are unable to communicate through language the way that others can, they often feel frustrated at not being understood or at not getting what they need or want. Thus, autistic children may commit self-injury, by banging their heads or biting themselves (among other tactics), to release some of that frustration that cannot be communicated through words. Also, self-injury is a way of getting attention. An autistic child’s frustration goes hand-in-hand with wanting attention. For instance, by scratching oneself until one bleeds, the autistic child will immediately get someone’s attention, and this person will work to understand what the child wants or needs.

This theory of frustration and attention has been the sole thinking for quite some time. Recently, however, studies have shown that self-injury can have a biochemical component that relieves some of the pain and frustration one feels by releasing endorphins, or “happy hormones,” into one’s system. The endorphins also provide a release for the autistic child, allowing him or her to temporarily forget about his or her frustration and pain. Furthermore, it is believed that if one practices self-injury enough, the endorphins will begin to help mask any pain associated with such behavior, making it an addictive action.

While some professionals say that ignoring the autistic child’s self-injurious behavior is an acceptable method of treating such practice, this can obviously be very difficult. Others have suggested that communication therapy and drugs may help an autistic child by providing him or her with another method of communication. There are drugs that will help stem the addictive behavior of releasing endorphins into the system, and thus help stop such behavior. There are also nutritional solutions available; vitamin B6 and calcium have been said to help many families with an autistic child.

For the family members involved, communication training to learn how to communicate with an autistic child is also extremely important. Because normal adults, and even children and teenagers, are so accustomed to communicating through easily recognizable words or body language, they have to learn that communicating with an autistic child requires a completely different process. By looking for solutions for both the family and the autistic child involved in self-injurious behavior, one may be able to overcome this distressing practice.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Will acupuncture help pregnancy

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

Will acupuncture help pregnancy?

The art of acupuncture is a part of Chinese traditional medicine and it has been round for the past thousand years or more. You will find that it was just recently accepted in the western world, especially the United States. However, the needles will not impregnate you, but it will allow you to let go of all your negativity and your body will begin to open it up. You will find that acupuncture will help both male and females with infertility problems. In fact, many people are turning to acupuncture as a way to help them conceive.

Most of the time, you will find that it’s older women who wish to have a child that tries this. This can be quite successful, especially when used in conjunction with more typical child-bearing-friendly activities such as eating a healthy diet. If you have fallopian tubes blockage or just a hormone imbalance, you will find that acupuncture could be prescribed to you. Along with acupuncture, women can use other TCM methods in order to battle infertility. Men can also benefit from acupuncture. Acupuncture with male infertility will be treated for low sperm count and it is very popular. Acupuncture, in this case, is used along with herbs to treat the energy of the kidneys.

When it comes to acupuncture you will find that your whole body is affected by a little bit of negativity, and that is why infertility will affect the way your whole body reacts. Rather than treating the symptoms of a disease in the body, acupuncture seeks to find the root of the problem and treat that. Acupuncture can also be used to create a healthier body in general—it may not cure you of your infertility problems, but by becoming healthier in general (less stressed, for example), traditional treatments for infertility have a better chance of working. Acupuncture will help even if you are thinking about getting artificially inseminated or using other methods of conceiving because your entire body is in a good place.

After conception, certain types of acupuncture can still be done, and can help relieve back pain, curb cravings, and create a better environment for your fetus. After you have the baby your energy is thrown off, and you will want to go to an acupuncturist so that you can get quickly over postpartum depression and other negative feelings.

Acupuncture happens to be a tool that couples use through out the entire pregnancy (before and after). This is not for everyone, but it is a method that has been studied very carefully and it does have a high success rate. You will want to make sure that you research acupuncture and ask your doctor for any advice about the treatment. You may find that acupuncture could allow you to conceive quickly and you will be able to enjoy having a child.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Pilates Exercises

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

The Top 5 Pilates Exercises to Get You Started!

Breathing:
Although simple – If you breath correctly, you will find it easy to relax and provide adequete oxygene to your muscles. You will notice the difference when you breathe correctly as it will enhance your overall experience. Breathing is a major part of all pilates exercises. You simply breathe in through your nose for a count of five, and out through your mouth for a count of 5, with a shushing sound. Make the breaths into short, rhythmic bursts – in,in,in,in,in and shush,shush,shush,shush,shush. Never rush your breathing and don’t go overboard to the point that you feel light headed and fall over.

Toe Lifts:
This will help you with core balance. Core balance works in harmony with the alignment of your feet supporting your whole body. You will be amazed at how much strength your toes possess to balance your body. This movement strengthens the muscles on the top of your feet and increases the blood flow into your toes. Poor circulation to your feet can lead to stiff muscles and problems that affect the rest of your body.

This is a very simple exercise designed to improve circulation and enhance your awareness of balance.

Start standing with your feet together inlign with your body. Hold your head straight and keep your arms rested at your sides. Start simply by raising your right foot toes slowly up as far as they will go and then back down again. Do this a couple of times alternating feet.

Then lift up the toes of both feet at the same time pressing the metatarsal bones at the base of your toes strongly and evenly into the floor.

** Remember – Do not roll your feet inward or outward while performing the exercise. And do not lean back as you lift **

You should be breathing in as you lift, and breathing out as you lower your toes. Try closing your eyes as you exhale and lower your toes. Keep your eyes closed for five repetitions and you will notice an improvement in your sense of balance.

Finger Flicks:
This exercise improves the circulation in your arms and hands. The increased blood flow into the fingertips helps to flush out toxins and reduce arthritis or stiffness in the joints. It’s also a good forearm workout and is excellent for relieving aching elbows.

Start standing with your feet together inlign with your body. Hold your hands down in front of you below your waist and make loose fists by rolling up your fingers with your thumb on top. In this exercise your arms should always be fully extended as they move in a circular motion into six main positions.

1. Down and in front. Hands facing inwards.

2. Raised to shoulder height and in front. Hands facing inward

3. Stretched straight up. Hands facing inward.

4. Stretched out to the sides. Hands facing upwards.

5. Lowered to 45 degrees. Hands facing down.

6. Lowered to sides. Hands facing inward.

The idea is to strongly flick your fingers open continually throughout all the positions. Do eight flicks while you stand in position 1 and four flicks as you move to position 2. Do eight flicks while standing in position 2 and four flicks as you move into position 3. Continue this pattern.

** Remember – Keep your wrists still and your arms straight **

The Hundred:
This is a classic pilates exercise so named because it takes a count of 100 to complete. This exercise strengthens core abdominal muscles and expands the chest and ribcage.

This is a floor or mat exercise. It involves raising your legs to vertical and waving or pulsing your arms up and down in small motions.

1. Start by lying on the floor with knees bent as if you were doing sit-ups and have your arms resting palm down at your side.

2. Squeeze your abdominal muscles so that your head, neck, and shoulders raise off the floor. Keep your abdominals squeezed tight throughout the whole exercise. Stretch your arms forward toward your toes and start pulsing them up and down a distance of about 15cm. Stay is this position for a count of 20.

3. Slowly lift your legs to a 90 degree angle with your body. Continue the pumping for a further count of 20.

4. Slowly extend your legs straight up to the ceiling and keep pumping for 20 counts.

5. Begin to lower your legs at a 45 degree diagonal to your torso and keep pumping for 20 counts.

6. Keep your legs straight and lower them as close to the ground as possible without lifting your spine off the floor and keep pumping for 20 counts.

7. Lower your head to the floor. Release your arms, bend your knees, and place your feet back on the floor.

Roll-up to Diamond:
This exercise works your abdominals and improves flexibility of your spine. This is a floor or mat exercise and involves rolling up your upper body while extending your arms.

1. Lie with your legs in the diamond position. Keep your back flat on the floor and rest your arms on the floor above your head. The diamond position is when you point your toes and bring your legs into a diamond shape with your knees out to the sides.

2. Lift your arms toward the ceiling and slowly start rolling or peeling your upper body off the floor from your head down.

3. Keep peeling and extend your legs forward while keeping your toes pointed.

4. Stretch your arms and torso forward over your legs creating a C shape with your body. Keep your abdominal muscles tight and hold your arms directly around your ears.

5. Begin to roll back down to the floor pulling your legs back into the diamond position. Your arms should start to point to the ceiling again.

6. Finish in the starting position with your spine flat on the floor, your hands resting above your head and your legs in the diamond position.

** Remember – Keep the movement fluid and constant. Work with your abdominal muscles. Don’t straighten your spine while rolling. If you feel any stress or discomfort, hold on to your thighs until you are stronger. **

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Healthy Foods To Keep You Fit

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

10 Top Healthy Foods To Keep You Fit

Healthy eating and physical fitness go together, but there are no magic foods that cause you to be one hundred percent healthy by just eating the one food. No, you need a variety of foods from each of these food groups each day. It’s also important to watch the portion size so as not to overeat. Make your mealtimes pleasant and relaxed occasions and your healthy foods will work effectively with your healthy emotions to give you a healthy body.

Berries
You may like all types of berries or just one or two favorites, but you can never go wrong by adding a few fresh berries as a quick energy snack or frozen berries made into a luscious smoothie in place of calorie laden desserts. Berries are high in vitamin C across the board, but some are high in other nutrients as well. Choose ripe blueberries for vitamin C and heaps of anti-oxidants for the health of your circulatory system. Gogi berries are less well-known but are wonderfully rich in many of the nutrients your body needs to be nutritionally and physically fit.

Citrus
The foods of the citrus family are widely recognized as a valuable source of vitamin C. Choose fully ripe citrus fruits for the best nutritional value and choose citrus as near to the tree as possible. Tree ripened fruits picked at the peak of perfection and consumed with hours of picking give you the top nutritional rating. Try grapefruit for breakfast. Add a dash of fresh squeezed lime to your salad as a dressing and enjoy slices of orange with coconut in a light honey dressing for dessert.

Vegetables
The variety of vegetables is amazing. For people who are vegetarian or vegan, choosing vegetables to be part of a nutritionally sound diet is a way of life. Your vegetable group provides many of the minerals required in a good diet. For example, you may realize that potassium is necessary for healthy nutrition. Many people claim the benefits of potassium found in a single banana. But did you know, you can also get adequate potassium in your diet by eating a stalk of broccoli? Try a salad of fresh young spinach topped with pine nuts and stirred with lightly cooked penne’. Feta cheese and a light vinaigrette dressing to create the perfect light luncheon meal.

Whole Grains
Like many other of the best foods, choosing only one type of whole grain for your meals doesn’t provide all the variety you need to be nutritionally sound. Often, mixing two or more whole grains together will give you complete proteins. For example, brown rice and wheat kernels with a spicy seasoning are a popular dish in many countries.

Salmon
Salmon is lean fish and nutritionally one of the best fish choices. It is rich in Omega-3 oils that are noted as helping improve the functioning of the brain. Salmon baked whole with just lemon or lime as a seasoning makes a fantastic main dish or a hearty luncheon featured menu item. Salmon is also commonly found in chilled seafood dishes.

Legumes
A legume is the name for a variety of fruits with a single dry seed. Legumes are sometimes called pods. Examples of edible legumes are soybeans, peas, dried beans and peanuts, among others. Legumes are rich in iron and high in fiber, making them excellent nutritional choices. Peanuts are a type of legume that have been used to make hundreds of different products some edible and others with various types of helpful uses.

Nuts and seeds
Nature has packed a lot of goodness into small packages. Most everyone has heard of walnuts and pecans which are very good nutritional products, but did you realize that flax seeds are brain food–containing critical non-meat sources of the Omega-3 oil.

Lean proteins
The keyword here is lean. Americans eat far too much protein compared to the rest of the world. Cut down of portion sizes–three ounces will provide all the needed protein needed for your day.  Also, trim all visible fat from your protein source. Alternatively, use non meat substitutes such as the complete proteins found in vegetable dishes like beans and brown rice.

Tea
Depending on the type of tea you prefer, you can get an energy boost from a cup of green tea, or the calming effect of chamomile tea. Get going with mint teas or start your day with Earl Grey Breakfast Tea. Herbal teas are soothing, tasty and good for you. Non herbal teas will help you to stay alert when you need help to function.

Olive oil
Olive oil is probably the healthiest substance you can use to keep fat in your diet. You can use it on your salad, mix it with a little vinegar to create your own, or fry other foods in the hot oil.  Just make sure that the temperature is not too hot so that the oil is broken down.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Preparing the Party

Posted on January 17, 2012 by admin

Preparing the Party

While it is true that the success of a party depends on many different factors, some of which are independent of you, there are also aspects that you, as the organizer, have complete control over. Logically, these aspects concern the preparation phase, everything you do from the moment you decide to have a party until you welcome the first guest. One of your number one concerns will be that of being ready in time. Let’s see just how difficult or easy that can be.

Though there are party service providers that can do everything for you, many people might prefer to take care of the preparations themselves and use the money thus saved to increase the party budget. That requires, however, good time management.

It all starts with a detailed mental image of the party itself: the number of people you plan to invite, the location, the food and drinks, music, and any entertainment activities you might want to include. Identify the separate steps you need to do and find out how long each of them will take. Also, design a sequence for all these steps. When all this is planned in detail, you’ll know exactly how much time you’ll need for the preparations.

There are basically two possible situations: you know the date of the party, in which case you should start counting back from that day to determine when you should start the preparations; or you know when you are free to start taking care of the arrangements and you set the date according to that.

Whichever situation may apply, you need to give yourself deadlines for each aspect of the party you need to polish off. Be strict with your deadlines and allow two to three days lead time for each in case something goes awry. That way, you’ll not only have an enjoyable party, but also a pleasant preparation.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Giving Yourself A Hard Time

Posted on January 16, 2012 by admin

Are You Giving Yourself A Hard Time?

Are you constantly criticizing yourself for every little time you do wrong, for example saying things to ourselves like….“I should have said this”… “Look I can’t even do this simple thing”… “Everyone thinks I’m stupid” etc, etc.

I put my hand up too, I know I’m guilty of this as well as everyone, I often say things like “I wonder will anybody read this article” or “maybe they will think it stinks” blah, blah, blah.

But when you think of it if you had a best friend and you talked to them like this how long would they stay with you?.. Or would they even want to be around you? But we do this everyday and, when you really think about you’ll never be able to escape from “you” no matter how far you run, so today give yourself a break!!

We often go through our day to day life being constantly stressed out and on edge but when you think about it how much stress is actually coming from the outside and how much are you actually making yourself through negative thinking and letting your imagination run away with you?? So, today treat yourself and give yourself a pep talk

Try out this exercise on yourself when you have some quiet time to yourself. Put your left hand on your heart chakra (this point is in the middle of your chest) and slowly focus on your breathing as you do this, imagine your breath coming in through your hand and into your chest and with every inhalation feel a wave of relaxation entering with it.

And as you breathe out feel the stress going out of your body back out through your hand. When you find yourself starting to relax, start to say some positive affirmations to yourself out loud. Congratulate yourself for all that you’ve done that day and anything positive else you’d like to say.

If you find it a bit awkward to think of things to say to yourself …. mentally step back and think of you as a small child or a friend you really like and imagine what nice things they’d like to hear you say to them and then say these to yourself.

You’ll definitely start to feel a lot better about yourself and probably in the future you’ll catch yourself before you call yourself something nasty or start to pick on yourself

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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Asthma and Acid Reflux

Posted on January 12, 2012 by admin

The Relationship Between Asthma and Acid Reflux

The environment that people live in today’s world is very much different from the environment hundreds of years ago. At present, you can see many places being abused by man, and pollution is just about everywhere.

Perhaps it is due to this polluted environment that many people get sick. Although one may not like it, the possibility of getting sick is sometimes unavoidable.

One of the many conditions that man suffers from is asthma. Asthma is a well-known disease which is characterized by breathing difficulties, with symptoms like wheezy breathlessness, airflow resistance, and occurrence of frequent allergies, stimuli hyper responsiveness, and nocturnal episodes.

Another disease related to asthma is the GERD or the gastro-esophageal reflux disease which is popularly known as acid reflux. You might have an acid reflux if you experience heartburn for more than twice each week. Heartburn is a symptom of acid reflux. The sensation is caused by the stomach acids which burns the walls of the esophagus.

These two diseases are said to be somewhat connected with each other. However, there have been no conclusive studies about this matter. What most doctors know now is that acid reflux worsens asthma. How is this possible?

When acid reflux remains untreated, the disease would simply get worse. The stomach acid will continue to go up until it reaches the mouth. But before it reaches the mouth, the lungs will be affected first.

A research showed that by putting acid into asthmatic people’s gullets it worsens their asthma. And so they reached the conclusion that asthmatic people get GERD more often. They further explained that this was caused by the chest changes due to big pressure every time the person breathes. The high pressure is said to force the stomach liquid to travel the wrong path.

People suffering from asthma should avoid getting acid reflux, but the sad truth is that they are the ones who are most prone to having it.

Studies regarding the connection of the two diseases are still continually being conducted because some pinpointed that if acid reflux is effectively treated, then the asthma should also be better. But they were disappointed by the results.

So if you are diagnosed with asthma, and you think that you also have acid reflux, then it would be better to consult a good doctor. They would help you a lot in addressing your asthmatic problems, as well as your acid reflux. Never take medications without consulting your doctor.

The doctor can give you medicines like the adrenaline and hydrocortisones. These are known asthma-preventers. If you can prevent asthma, then it might be possible to prevent acid reflux as well. Most medicines are better taken by breathing them in because it has fewer side effects to the body. Other drugs also help asthma, but again remember to consult your doctor first.

Asthma changes during a person’s lifetime. Some children outgrow asthma, but later on, it usually grows back. Adults suffering from asthma sometimes are never relieved from it even if they use medication. The aim now is to minimize the airway’s inflammation.

Whether you have acid reflux or asthma, the most important thing to do is to get proper treatment. Don’t wait until such time when the situation gets even worse. The time to act is now, be aware of the disease, and how it can be treated.

Clive Harman lives in Milngavie, a village 7 miles north of Glasgow, Scotland. He has been in the training industry since 1966 helping people, from all walks-of-life, achieve their ambitions, their goals, to have positive attitudes, to enhanced their motivation and reach their true potential. Until his retirement, last year,  he ran his own Training Company for 15 years.  His bookshop is http://www.poundbookshop.com

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