Many individuals suffer from acne, not just adolescents. Acne is caused by normally occurring bacteria, Propionibacterium acnes. This bacterium gets trapped in plugged skin pores or follicles, especially in the face. In an attempt to escape, the bacterium produce enzymes used to break down the sebum (the excretion produced by sebaceous glands) blocking the escape routes. When the enzymes go to work one of the side effects is inflammation in the area.

Light to moderate cases of inflammation show up as pimples and bumps. This type of acne is known as superficial acne. If the inflammation is deeper within the skin and pores, resulting in cysts and nodules, it is called cystic acne.

The excess sebum is actually a byproduct of testosterone production in the body. This is why young adolescent boys going through puberty and other individuals who are taking testosterone enhanced dietary supplements most often exhibit signs of acne. In women, the hormonal changes occurring before the menstrual cycle may also cause sporadic outbreaks.

A second cause of acne can be traced to diet and a lack of essential fatty acids. The body needs a particular quantity of essential fatty acids to remain in balance. The typical Western diet does not provide adequate amounts for most people. In place of essential fatty acids, trans-fats and other non-essential fats are found in large quantities. This fat ratio imbalance tips the scale in favor of excess sebum production leading to outbreaks of acne.

Particular chemicals and drugs may also be a factor in the appearance of acne. Any drug with added hormones or that change the hormonal balance of the body is a possible culprit. Corticosteroids and industrial pollutants may also be a contributing factor.

Overall health is crucial to remaining acne free. This includes a healthy diet, improved colon health, gentle but effective skin care and decreased exposure to chemicals and drugs which can affect the natural hormone levels of the body.

Rachel Dayer runs and operates http://www.mustask.com - a health related e-zine. Visit her site for more health related articles.

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When it comes to lazer hair removal and in particular laser hair removal treatments in New York the choice you have is amazing. New York laser hair removal clinics are renowned for their excellent facilities and services but knowing which New York laser hair removal clinic to choose can be difficult. Listed below are some of the top New York laser hair removal clinics and their features.

The first New York laser hair removal clinic featured is hairlasers. This lazer hair removal clinic has a number of offices located throughout New York including offices in New York City, Manhattan and long island.

Smooth Synergy lazer hair removal clinic in Manhattan offers clients the chance of permanent body hair removal for both men and women and includes a wide choice when it comes to body hair removal. This New York laser hair removal clinic uses the most advanced lazer hair removal technology in a friendly and professional environment. This lazer hair removal clinic uses two different types of lasers for their body hair removal process and ensures that all skin types can be treated.

EpiCenters lazer hair removal clinic in Long Island is another of the New York laser hair removal clinics and this clinic specializes in lazer hair removal for men and women and also offers pulse light training and instruction for those interested in pursuing a career in laser hair removal.

Skin So Smooth lazer hair removal clinic in Great Neck specializes in Cynosure Alexandrite laser treatments and uses only top quality lasers for their lazer hair removal treatments.

There are thousands of people that have hair problems and who search for permanent solutions every day. Lazer hair removal can help so why not check out some of the laser hair removal clinics and the treatments available to see if you can cure your hair problem.

We offer the best laser hair removal source. Check us out on Laser hair removal in New York. All about laser hair removal on LeanderNet - http://www.leandernet.com

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My discovery came to me by accidentally removing an asbestos material in my home. The resulting condition of the whole house after this accident left me with a sore chest, dry and unbearably iching skin and eyes. My wife complained of extreme thirst and my oldest son, age 14, developed severe asthma. This all continued for five to six months. During this time I tried desparately to determine if we were living in an unsafe level of asbestos. The material that I had removed was tested and found to contain 20% crysitile asbestos. Air sampling proved to be unreliable because the area had been ventilated so well. But the furnishings, carpets, walls and all other personal belongings were covered the remnants of the demolition.Everyone wanted to play down the seriousness of the situation, but, to me it was obviously not a healthy environment.

So, I set out to try to logically deduce, with a knowledge of the physical properties of asbestos,when I encountered the substance as I attempted to clean every surface and item in every room of the house.

That was fifteen years ago. During that time, as I learned more about where we all encounter asbestos materials on a daily basis. I made mental notes concerning my and others' reactions to these encounters. Many situations have arisen ranging from sore throats and skin conditions(acne and basil cell skin cancer) to asthma, pneumonia and death. I don't have clinical proof of these claims I've made, except to say if it looks, walks and sounds like a duck it probably is a duck. Many times clinical trials are verified by producing the same results in subsequent testing. Deductive reasoning can also be verified in the same way. If the same results are observed again and again after low level exposure to these remnants then that is proof to me.

Without writing a book, I wouldn't have the space to detail every observation I've made during this period, but I can assure you that no contact with asbestos is without a possible adverse health consequence.

Asbestos is a very lightweight chrystal-like material with highly static electrical properties. It often produces a static discharge like when one is shocked by touching the metal switch plate or door knob in their home. It often leaves a bitter-salty taste in your mouth. It can stay airborne for days at a time. It absorbs moisture and produces a very dry environment (which only makes the static electric situation worse.)

The loose material may be accidentally contacted in a number of building types and situations.

Many buildings built before 1977 have vinyl asbestos floor tile. No one can avoid walking on this, if they enter the building. This is fine if the floor is well maintained. Look out for broken or worn and never waxed tile. This applies to any location in the building, commercial or residential. Closets are very seldom waxed. Items stored there will accumulate certain amounts of this substance.

Anytime an older building is renovated the possibility exists for a number of materials containing asbestos to be encountered. The contractor does't always do the right thing. In many instances it is cheaper to pay the fine if he is caught. So he just tears it out and throws it in the dumpster or hauls it to the dump himself. As a consequence, many newly renovated stores have a certain amount of this dust on the shelves and new merchandise in the store.

There are many more instances of contact for which I don't have the time to detail here, but basically, with the characteristics of the material, knowledge of where you may encounter the substance and many hours of observation (I've been in construction over thirty years), you too can make the same deductive conclutions that I have made.

In subsequent articles I intend to go into detail on the unique physical properties of asbestos and how this promotes detection in your hair and clothes. In future articles I would also like to expand on the many other health effects I've noticed, such as acne, which could benifit many young adults and a number of people who continue with this complexion problem into adulthood.

For more information on this subject see these sites:

www.livingwithasbestos.com

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=25139

Rick Raymond has been a construction electrician for thirty five years. He has been married for thirty three years with three children. Science and trouble shooting have always been a welcome challenge to him.

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This is a short overview of a questionnaire used for substance abuse attitude testing in testing a CREATE (Curriculum Renewal and Evaluation of Addiction Training and Education) effects on Medical Students. My afterthoughts on substance abuse attitude testing are in the end of the article.

The survey overview

Questions 1-8 check the comfort level of a respondent.
Questions 9-38 deal with general attitudes.
Questions 39-51 deal students' attitudes to pregnancy.

In the first part of this substance abuse attitude testing sheet students had to answer to several question concerning the level of comfort when asking patients about various kinds of addictions (smoking, alcohol and drug) and talking about their effects. The second part deals mostly with students' view of illicit substances abuse in their neighborhood and at work as well as their opinions on personal effects of drug abusing.

The first part of this substance abuse attitude test was the most important in the whole survey for it checked the students' attitudes to pregnancy and substances abuse and their tolerance to them. Questions included smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use acceptance.

The sample questions may be found at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mim0978/is327/ai77480932/pg2, but unfortunately there is no place on the Net where the full form of this substance abuse attitude testing sheet is available to download.

Afterthoughts

What were the effects of the survey? Almost none. It seems (as other uses of this questionnaire shows) that short term courses on the effects of drug abuse changes nothing is perception of this problem. Maybe somebody should think of some better way to spend money on drug use prevention? Some long-term courses or mandatory long-term help programs that deal with drug addicts' may be one of the solutions, but it is possible that we have to use some very different approach to changing people's attitude toward substance abuse, the one that will leave short-term courses and leaflets in favor of something else. But what would it be, I honestly don't know.

If you happen to have any idea on this subject, publish it. I've been looking for publications on this subject for a long time, but I was unable to find anything worthy of noticing.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Rehab Resources a website providing information on drug and alcohol rehabilitaiton treatments.

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Katie came as close as is possible to having it all. Great job, loving family, boyfriend, social life? That was until she developed anxiety?

?There were rumours of redundancy in our department. Just rumours. But that was enough to start me off. I became very anxious. Every Monday, I?d head for work, convinced I was about to be told to go. I started worrying about what I?d do if I was made redundant ? and despite years of experience in my field, I convinced myself that I was unemployable, that no other company would consider me. I felt useless?

Katie now recognises that the irrational thoughts were all part of the anxiety.

?Gradually, it was robbing me of all my confidence, first in my professional self, then in me as a person. It?s bizarre but had I been made redundant, I?d have just gotten on with it and I?d have probably been OK. But the stress of my job and the worry over IF my name was on the list, that was enough to trigger the anxiety.?

As her anxiety grew, so her relationships became affected. ?I felt nobody understood what I was going through. Not even my boyfriend. He tried to be supportive but neither he nor my family could really understand. That?s why it?s so important to people with anxiety to talk to somebody who KNOWS what it?s like. It?s only people who?ve lived through it who actually know how awful it is that can help you overcome anxiety!?

Katie?s anxiety led her to start missing work.

?It?s ironic really? but I was never made redundant! Far from it, the company I work for were actually really supportive and agreed to let me have time off. I had days and days of growing increasingly obsessed about my anxiety? and spent hours trawling the internet for a miracle cure.?

Katie found The Linden Method? and although initially skeptical about some of the claims, decided to give it a try.

?When I read the website, at first I couldn?t believe the claims. I mean, I KNEW how bad I felt, knew how awful it was. And here was this man telling me I could be BETTER in a matter of days.

However, the Method just makes common sense. I realised that I wasn?t ill. I hadn?t developed a mental condition. And I wasn?t going mad! My anxiety stemmed from a bad behavioural habit that had gone out of control ? in my case, it was a constant need to prove myself ? both to myself and everybody around me.

Katie has now returned to work full time and is planning on starting a family in the next year or so.

?I went from being this go-getter to hiding away behind my bedroom door! I?d been used to living at a certain level, being this dynamic career girl. I would be responsible for making really vital decisions for the company? but when I became anxious, I couldn?t even decide what to wear! I?d still be hiding now, if it wasn?t for the Linden Method.

Charles Linden, BA (Hons.), runs a private practice specialising in the treatment of anxiety disorders. He teaches his method on a one to one basis through the Linden Centres and presents anxiety management seminars and corporate stress management training sessions. Internationally Charles treats his clients through the ?Linden Method Pack? which is available on-line visit: http://beatanxiety.amazon-4u.com

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We spend 2-3 times as much on our healthcare as most of the countries that now have ?socialized medicine?. Yet, every country with socialized medicine has much better overall health statistics. As a matter fact, we are hovering around 32nd in the world. Even some ?third world? countries are ahead of us.

How can this be? The richest country in the world, spending more than any other country, yet the health is one of the worst! What?s wrong? How have we come to this state of affairs?

There are a variety of reasons. Let?s look at some of these, and look at the alternate answer:

1. There?s a lot of talk about 40-50 million ?uninsured? people in the US. ?Uninsured? doesn?t mean that they aren?t taken care of. No Emergency Room can turn down anyone who comes for ?treatment?. (Although many hospitals try to shift ?poor? people to county or state facilities for profits sake.)

There?s also Medicaid for the very poor. But, that still leaves the great majority of ?uninsured? swinging in the wind. They make just a little too much money to qualify for Medicaid, or the state they live in has run out of money and facilities. (Under the Bush Administration, the cuts in Medicaid have limited this coverage in virtually every state.) A severe medical problem bankrupts many of these families every year.

Who pays for Medicare and Emergency visits? The usual - US taxpayers! So, like it or not, we already have a ?sort of? socialized medicine.

By the way, when did the phrase ?socialized medicine? become a bad phrase? (Was it another ?spin? fostered by ?vested interests??) How often have you heard ?just ask a Canadian about their socialized medicine??

Ask 100 persons from any country(s) that has socialized medicine two questions: ?How do you like it?? and ?Would you like to get rid of it?.

The answers to the first question are often a lot of individual complaining. Yet, the answer to the second question is an overwhelming ?Never?. Could this dichotomy be the reason that so many people in the US ?think? that socialized medicine is bad - those ?bitching? (and very human) answers. Most people ask only the first question, NOT the second. I?ve asked both, and have yet to find a Canadian or a Brit who answers ?yes? to the second question, but many, or most, will find something to complain about.

Isn?t it interesting that all the ?civilized industrial nations? in Europe and elsewhere have some version of socialized medicine? Even in almost bankrupt Russia and Georgia, healthcare is free to all. And, even their health statistics are better than ours. (FYI, they also subsidize any ?bright? student all the way to a ?doctorate? if they are smart enough. College tuition in the US is prohibitively high for mid and low income families - are we wasting a major resource? You bet!)

2. Why is our health care costing so much? Simple - the insurance companies are running it. They make huge profits for this ?service?. Cut out the middleman - the insurance companies, and cut the costs by an impartial estimate between a third and a half!

What other benefits would this have? Doctors would have more time to talk to patients, and spend less time, and office staff filling out forms to get paid. When was the last time your MD spent more than 2 minutes with you?

Let?s not overlook the fact that prevention is always better than catastrophe! All too often, when a poor person winds up in an Emergency Room, the cost of their problem is much more than it would be if that person had had insurance that allowed doctor visits to head off catastrophe with some prevention. This is a major factor favoring socialized medicine.

There?s still another factor in this equation. Malpractice insurance (more profits to insurance companies)! We do need to limit this. Some formulas have to be developed for how much any doctor can be sued for. And, medical boards need to oversee MD?s (and their mistakes) much closer. Doctors do make mistakes! And, the injured have a right to be compensated for such! What do the other countries do about this problem? Has anyone made any study of this?

3. There is another often overlooked problem. We, as a nation, have a terrible diet! We eat ?fast foods? way too often. We eat too few ?healthy foods?, and too many ?high carbohydrate? foods. The statistics show clearly that a poor diet on the part of a mother results in a baby that is not nearly as healthy as it should be.

Take a look at some ?poor? natives of African countries in photographs. Look especially at the wide mouths full of very strong, very even, teeth. Compare this to the US ?standard? of two very prominent front teeth, a high narrow arch to the roof of the mouth, and crowding of the rest of the teeth. Dr Von Hilsheimer of Maitland Florida wrote a book years ago detailing the various ?abnormalities? and ?anomalies? of children of poor diet mothers. There is a definite correlation between these children and increasing allergy and sensitivity in our children

Recently I read a very interesting article about a school that changed the diets of the attending students, and by this simple change only, the entire attitude and moral outlook of the students was changed. It was very simple! They took out all the soda machines, and replaced them with water fountains. They eliminated hamburgers and fries, and similar poor diet foods, and emphasized fruits and veggies. Lo, and behold, the school which had previously been shunned by teachers because of unruly students was completely changed! Students were calm, quiet, and learned more and better than other schools in the area. Acts of violence or vandalism were eliminated. There are several other similar studies which school boards do not pay enough attention to.

As a result of our overall ?poor? diet, we, as a nation, get sick more often than other countries. This adds to the cost of healthcare tremendously in this country.

4. The American Medical Assn, one of the strongest unions in the world, backed up by the huge drug industry (Big Pharma), and the insurance industry have the power and the money to ?buy? enough politicians to prevent any ?reasonable? health plan. Bill and Hilary Clinton found this out in his first year in office. There?s so much money involved, it may be impossible to even get anything done except a ?Band-Aid? on the cancer.

What can we, as individuals, do? Start asking the politicians we elect what their previous votes have been, and what their future votes will be on these questions. Vote for those who will vote for at least a form of socialized medicine. And throw out the other rascals. Our votes are powerful, and we need to use them wisely.

Phil Bate PhD - Retired Orthomolecular Psychologist
Inventor and Patent Pending Holder for
Brain Wave Amplitude Changing via Auditory Training
http://DrBate.com

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Solihull Back Pain Clinic Osteopath reviews sacroiliac joint inflammation and its role in low back pain

Sacroiliac Joint Inflammation

The Sacroiliac joint is a common cause of low back pain and often mistaken for problems in the low back such as sciatica, disc bulges or slipped discs. Radiating pain can travel into the buttock and upper thigh and even affect the testicles on males.

The sacroiliac joint is a pelvic, not low back problem and will appear to affect the lower back. Symptoms can vary from mild to severe and will affect mobility.

What is a Sacroiliac Joint?

The sacroiliac joints are located at the bottom of the back. You have one either side of the spine. The sacroiliac joints help make up the rear part of the pelvic girdle and sit between the sacrum, which is the wedge shaped bone at the bottom of your spine and the pelvic ilium bones.

There are torsional or twisting forces applied to the pelvic girdle when the lower limbs are moved.

These limbs act like long levers and without the sacroiliac joints and the pubic symphysis (at the front of the pelvis) which act like expansion joints and allow movement, the pelvis would be very likely be subject to a fracture.

These joints can often get stuck, or in some cases one half of the pelvis may glide forwards or backwards, which is often described as a twisted pelvis. When this occurs it often irritates the iliolumbar ligament which results in inflammation and pain. This is usually indicated by tenderness around the bony lumps which you can feel if you place your thumbs either side of your lower back.

Inflammation of the sacroiliac joints and associated ligaments are very common, especially following pregnancy where the hormone Relaxin is released resulting in a relaxation of ligaments in preparation for childbirth. In most cases the causes of sacroiliitis are mechanical, however there may be other medical inflammatory conditions present such as Ankylosing Spondylitis which will need attention.

Symptoms Include

Pain usually one sided, located either to the left or right of your low back. The pain may range from an ache to a sharp pain which can restrict movement.

The pain may radiate out into your buttocks and low back and will often radiate into the front of your groin. Occasionally it is responsible for testicular pain in males.

Occasionally there may be referred pain into the lower limb which can be mistaken for sciatica.

Classic symptoms include, difficulty turning over in bed and often this movement wakes you from sleep. Struggling to put on your socks and shoes and throwing your legs in and out of a vehicle when moving in and out of the car.

Stiffness in the low back when standing from sitting or getting out of bed in the morning.

Aching in low back when driving long distances

Treatment for Sacroiliac Joint Inflammation

Ice the area over the sacroiliac joint to reduce pain and inflammation. Use an ice pack wrapped in a damp teatowel and apply for 10 minutes on, 20 minutes off and then a further 10 minutes on. Do this 3 times daily.

Sleep with a pillow between your knees to ease the stress on the pelvis and sleep on your side.

Seek help from someone who understands the sacroiliac joint well. At Solihull Back Pain Clinic we see approximately 5 patients every day with this condition and have experience in diagnosing the causes, which can be many and varied. In order to resolve the complaint it is important to accurately diagnose the problem and have the correct treatment plan available.

Most cases are resolved within 6 treatments at Solihull Back Pain Clinic by our Osteopaths and Physiotherapists

Clinic Director John Alan Williams and his team are available for help and advice by contacting them on http://www.atlaspainrelief.com

By: John Alan Williams http://www.solihullbackpainclinic.co.uk

Solihull Back Pain Clinic Osteopaths are committed to helping and treating low back pain sufferers via informative articles and providing treatments for Solihull and Birmingham back pain patients. This article is simplified and written in terms designed to be understood by the general public. further details can be obtained by viewing our website www.solihullbackpainclinic.co.uk

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