Prevent heartburn. Here’s how…

Before anything else, let’s be clear first: what is a heartburn?

Heartburn is a feeling of burning, warmth, heat, or pain that often starts in the upper abdomen just beneath the lower breastbone (sternum). This discomfort may spread in waves upward into your throat, and you may have a sour taste in your mouth. Heartburn is sometimes called indigestion, acid regurgitation, sour stomach, or pyrosis. *Source

How do you prevent the symptoms of heartburn? The following changes to your lifestyle can help:

• Change of eating habits.

- eat several small meals instead of two or three large meals
- wait 2 to 3 hours before you lie down after a meal
- late night snacks should be avoided
- chocolate, mint, and alcohol can make heartburn worse
- Spicy foods, foods that have a lot of acid (like tomatoes and oranges), and coffee can make heartburn symptoms worse in some people. If your symptoms are worse after you eat a certain food, you may want to stop eating that food to see if your symptoms get better.

• Do not smoke or chew tobacco.

• If you get heartburn at night, raise the head of your bed 6 in. (15 cm) to 8 in. (20 cm) by putting the frame on blocks or placing a foam wedge under the head of your mattress. (Adding extra pillows does not work.)

• Do not wear tight clothing around your middle.

• Lose weight if you need to. Losing just 5 to 10 pounds can help.

Tags: How to prevent symptoms of heartburn, What is Heartburn

Is Tylenol safe?

According to medical studies, yes, it’s very safe. Tylenol® is the recommended painkiller by most doctors. Be it for menstrual cramps, headaches, or arthritis pain, and even for your children’s pain.

To feel safe taking Tylenol, you should…

Know the proper dosages.

For children, ask your pediatrician to determine a dose based on your child’s current weight. Adults without liver disease may take up to 2 extra-strength tablets (2 x 500 mg) every 6 hours or up to 2 regular-strength tablets (2 x 325 mg) every 4 hours. If you have liver disease, always talk with your doctor before taking any medication for the first time.

Avoid combination pills.

If you are taking other pain medications, ask your doctor if you are adding on too much acetaminophen on top of your regular dose.

Lock up all meds and keep it out of reach of children.

If you have small children, it’s essential to keep all drugs out of reach and in child-proof containers. Also, see that depressed persons don’t have access to 8 or more pills at a time because that’s the total number of high-dose Tylenols allowed in a day. More than that consumed at one time in a suicide attempt can sometimes prove fatal.

Tags: Tylenol

Ways to treat snoring

Snoring is a perennial problem for most people. I must admit, I snore. Especially when I am extremely tired, mentally and physically. It is not an actual medical problem but it can be embarrassing in some situations.

There are ways to treat snoring and it simply involves a change in your lifestyle. Here are some:

• For overweight people, lose some pounds.
• Quit smoking.
• Like what I do, sleep on your side and not on your back.
• Alcohol intake is also a factor in snoring. Limit your use of alcohol and medicines such as sedatives before you go to bed.
• Stuffy nose makes snoring worse. If you can, use nose strips, decongestants, or nasal sprays to help you breathe properly.
• There is a device that you can put in your mouth to help you breathe easier. Use it if it’s really necessary.

Stop snoring. Start changing your daily activities now.

Tags: Snoring, Ways to treat snoring

Are eggs bad for you?

Some say, yes. Turns out that eating one egg a day is not bad at all!

People are constantly wary of eggs because of being linked to heart disease. Instead of worrying about eggs, risks of stress (especially chronic stress), physical inactivity, and poor overall diet choices (like diets high in junk foods and low in fruits and vegetables) are actually the ones that can ultimately lead to a heart disease.

Health shortcuts that work

There are health shortcuts that work. Let’s start with your daily cardiovascular activity.

The ideal cardio activity is for you to do it 30 minutes most days of the week. This near-daily regimen can help lower LDL or the bad cholesterol, raise the good ones (HDL) and improve your cardio health, reducing the risk for diabetes and heart disease in the process.

But if you can’t do it…

The next best thing to do is to take three 10-minute walks each day. These short bursts have real health benefits. If the intensity is identical to that of a 30-minute workout, you’ll burn the same number of calories and get the same heart-health benefits. This one is actually the ideal one for women like me who does not have the luxury of time most days.

Here are a few ideas on how you can achieve the next best thing:

• Devote 10 minutes of your lunch hour to a brisk walk.
• Climb a few flights of stairs several times a day instead of using the elevator.
• Offer to take a friend’s (energetic) dog for a walk.

The first one will work for me the best.

Come on, take care of your cardio health. Starting today!

Tags: Health shortcuts that work

Comfort and convenience for the eyes

Softlens Daily Disposable Lens

I have poor eyesight. I’ve been wearing prescription glasses since I was in my teens. When I was already in college, I started wearing contact lenses. I only stopped because my eyes would get irritated so easily. I dismissed it at first but it got worse over time. I looked like I was crying all the time. Bloodshot eyes. Until I discovered disposable lenses. It is the best option for me. My eyes get tired easily. I work in front of the computer all day long. I really looked for the one that will give my eyes the most comfort. I found it and have never been more thankful for it…

Bausch & Lomb disposable contact lenses is the one. I’ve been using their Softlens for years now. I love how it is literally so soft and so thin, like you are not wearing any contact lens at all. I love the comfort it brings my eyes. Plus, no more worries about irritation! The Softlens daily disposable contact lens is designed for sensitive eyes like mine. It has this slow-release moisture formula that works with natural tears for all-day long moisture. I’ve experienced dry eyes before Bausch & Lomb Softlens.

Also, did you know that Softlens is created with High Definition Optics? There are lenses where you see halos around, right? You can totally eliminate that with Softlens daily disposable lenses. And the ultimate goodness of a daily disposable lenses? No need to clean and store it! I hate cleaning lenses because I tear it most of the time. Now, there’s no need for me to worry about tearing my lenses.

To know more about Bausch & Lomb’s Softlens daily disposable contact lenses, go to www.Soflens.com and take advantage of their free trial for you to experience the comfort and convenience I just talked about.

Everything in moderation

There’s a report that socializing and moderate drinking is good for you. Having a supportive social network enhances the health benefits of having a few drinks. Japanese men were studied and they have been found that moderate to light alcohol consumption, coupled with high levels of social support, were linked to lower rates of heart disease and stroke.

Hormones and lung cancer

There is a new potential danger for women taking hormones for menopause symptoms: the pills may make lung cancer more deadly!

Research shows that women who had lung cancer and were taking a combination of estrogen and progestin pills were more than twice as likely to die from the disease as women who weren’t taking hormones.

Doctors have advised to limit hormone use as much as possible. The study does not suggest that women on hormones are more likely to develop lung cancer. (AP)

Women beware: New study related to breast cancer

Study says that drug combos may raise risk of breast cancer. Read on…

Researchers say that breast cancer survivors risk having their disease come back if they use certain antidepressants while also taking the cancer prevention drug tamoxifen.

Doctors say that some depression medicines such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft, can make tamoxifen less effective. They don’t know how much of a problem this is. But one new study finds that it might double a woman’s risk of having her cancer return.

Not all antidepressants interfere with tamoxifen, so women should talk with their doctors about which ones are safest. This is the result of the study by Medco Health Solutions Inc. that was released at a cancer conference in Florida. (AP)

Tags: Drug combos may raise risk of breast cancer

Cup of tea

Did you know that drinking very hot tea may cause throat cancer? A study by Iranian researchers states that people should let steaming drinks at least cool even a bit before consuming them. There were previous studies done that linked tobacco and alcohol with cancer of the esophagus. But this recent study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that scalding beverages may also somehow pave the way for such tumors.

Which is really sad because I love my drinks scalding hot. I often have a cup of tea in the afternoon and after dinner. Now I know I have to cool it down a bit lest I suffer in the future.