Foot Care for the Diabetic

Posted by admin | Desease News, Health Food, Health News | Thursday 22 July 2010 5:20 am

Proper foot care is very important for people who are diabetic. People spend a great amount of time on their feet. Knowledge of proper foot care can save the diabetic individual from many future complications that can arise from foot care neglect, such as open wounds, infection, and loss of toe nails, poor circulation, peripheral neuropathy, septicemia and gangrene.

Diabetes causes poor circulation, which in turn causes the diabetic individual a loss of sensation. The feet are the farthest away from the heart and are therefore the most susceptible to complications from injury.

Using common sense and taking some simple precautions will go a long way to promoting healthy feet. Here is a list of some of some healthy tips for diabetics regarding their foot care.

- Water should be tested with the person’s hand, and should be tepid not hot. Due to peripheral neuropathy, it is possible to use water that is too hot and can cause injury to the tissue.

- Use soap that is gentle on the skin, such as Ivory or Dove. Antibacterial soaps can be harsh on the skin, cause allergic reactions in some people.

- Instead of clipping the toe nails, use an emery board. Clipping the toe nails can lead to breaking the skin or ingrown toe nails.

- See a podiatrist on a regular basis, at least monthly. The podiatrist can clip the toe nails and determine if there are any areas of concern.

- Wear foot coverings at all times. Going barefoot can lead to unexpected injury from foreign objects as well as bacterial infection. Sandals that are open toed should be avoided. Always try to cover the entire foot. Use slippers while in the home.

Be sure to have comfortable shoes. Choose shoes that are a half size bigger and wide enough to accommodate cotton socks. Leather shoes are better than vinyl man made materials. The type of activity that someone engages in usually dictates the type of shoes to be worn. Comfort should be their priority. A diabetic may choose not to wear socks with their tennis shoes while engaging in an activity. If they are wearing shoes made of vinyl or leather, their feet will sweat profusely. Sweat from feet, especially in a slightly anaerobic environment (without oxygen) can become acidic, rather than alkaline. The acid sweat can irritate the skin and excoriate areas where there are sores beginning to form.

- Always use cotton socks. Cotton absorbs sweat more than any other material. Avoid nylon socks if possible.

- Avoid shoes that have high heels. High heels will push the toes forward and can easily cause ingrown toe nails and loss of feeling.

- Try to elevate the feet during the day. Schedule daily rest periods. When elevating the feet, try to keep the feet higher than the heart. This position allows blood to flow easier and enhances circulation.

- Avoid perfumed lotions on the feet. If dryness is a problem, use alcohol and perfumed free lotions. Be sure to thoroughly massage all of lotion into the foot, or dry off excess lotion.

- Dry feet thoroughly after each washing and air out feet if possible during the day.

- Avoid standing for long periods of time. Blood has a tendency to pool in the foot and ankle area, making it harder to circulate back to the heart.

- Avoid activities that can cause injury to the foot, such as soccer and football. If those games cannot be avoided, then choose good foot protection.

Using proper foot care sense with good hygiene can make living with diabetes easier and prevent unnecessary complications that could affect the quality of ones life.

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Diagnosing Ovarian Cysts Is Crucial To Your Health

Posted by admin | Desease News | Friday 2 July 2010 1:16 pm

The need to diagnose cysts in the ovary is the most important part of its treatment as it is almost impossible to find a cure id the proper diagnosis is not carried out. And their diagnosis could be difficult if the warning signals have been ignored.

The principal problem lies in the fact that women suffering from cysts could have few or even no symptoms at all. However, we would like to tell you that there are usually little pointers which should alert you to the presence of cysts in your body. The condition may also be diagnosed in different ways. For this latter, you will have to know about the various ways of diagnosis so that you can yourself asses your condition.

Why Diagnose

You need to ensure that you opt for the most effective treatment and to make this possible, you have to diagnose the cyst. And also, it is only through diagnosis that a patient can decide on the treatment to be perused in the future. If diagnosis of thecyst is not made timely, and proper treatment started, complications could arise even though generally, ovarian cysts do not cause much problems.

What many women do is try out medicines on themselves and opt for home remedies for treating the cysts without getting diagnosed properly. This is dangerous because there is no standard treatment process that is practiced by medical science for various kinds of cysts and inadequate treatment based on inept diagnosis could lead toproblems. Therefore, the proper diagnosis is of the essence when treating this condition.

Self-Diagnosis

Diagnosing cysts in the ovary medically becomes much easier when the patient is mindful of the ovarian cyst symptoms in then beginning stages. Actually, many women visit medical practitioners because they feel that there are possibilities of cysts having formed within them, after having taken stock of their condition through a process of self-diagnosis. Such cases of self-diagnosis can be carried out based on some symptoms that commonly occur among people who are victims of ovarian cysts.

Some commonly seen symptoms are

1) Irregularity in menstruation: Those who suffer from ovarian cysts often have menstruation cycles that are not regular. Sometimes the periods get deferred by months and sometimes there is either too much blood or very little of it.

2) Pelvic Pain: For no reason the pelvic region may pain constantly: this is another symptom.

3) Infertility: If a woman is infertile, this may be a symptom of cyst in the ovary. Many women carrying the cyst may become temporarily infertile. There may also be miscarriages.

4) Body Structure Change: Cysts in the body affect hormones and this leads to side effects such as obesity. In many women there are rapid changes too.

5) Hoarseness in Voice and Facial Hair: Some hormones may lead to this when there are cysts in the ovary.

6) Affecting The Bladder: The cysts may pressurize the bladder and this may lead to regular urination and even the desire for it.

7) Other Symptoms: Pain while having sex, nausea, vomiting, tenderness in the breast, cramps, acne, pain, weakness and dizziness are some other symptoms.

Sometimes, self diagnosis of the cysts is not possible as they are not accompanied by any symptoms whatsoever. In such instances, diagnosis is done accidentally. It takes place usually during a routine examination using ultrasound or a pelvic test of the person. But final diagnosis can only be confirmed once the diagnostic and the scientific tests have been carried out. Then again, the symptoms may not be the same for everyone so anything that is not normal in terms of your gynecological situation should be checked always.

What to do once the diagnosis is done

After ovarian cysts have been diagnosed, the treatments have to be started immediately. However in many cases, the cyst will improve without any medical intervention. But in many cases, extensive medical help is required.

Conventional medication is of course, always an option but this type of medication does not necessarily succeed in properly tackling the condition. This happens because conventional medication is not equipped to tackle all forms of ovarian cysts. They cannot totally eradicate the reason why the cyst gets formed, and so you will continue to be troubled by it because it will not be defeated completely. It is essential therefore that, once diagnosed, you try out alternative treatment forms to get a cure fast.

The holistic approach has been very successfully in curing ovarian cysts. Once the cyst has been diagnosed, you will need to consult a holistic practitioner who will then tell you what the real causes are. The practitioner is able to go deep into the subject and know the nature and the characteristics of the formation. This done, he can then suggest the correct treatment. Being multidimensional, the holistic approach can effectively remove thecyst and prevents any recurrence too.

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