Health Living Tips

This is NOT medical advice! You should ALWAYS consult your physician before taking or changing your prescribed treatments and medications.

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. The doctor will, of course, prescribe medicine, you will go and buy the medicines and then you take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession operates nowadays a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

Probably, if anyone were to suggest herbs to be used as medication, you would think that person was a quack and didn’t know what they were talking about. But currently, studies are being conducted to see if there is actually any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine. Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine. This would include herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

With the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten. For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine is considered a lost art. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider, and study, the possible uses of natural medicine.

Before I continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. You would be well advised to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

There are numerous organizations studying the effects and advocacy of natural medicine among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As the studies are performed and the reports compiled, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate and safe.

There exists today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult an expert in reference to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In the case of minor ailments, your expert will probably advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for them. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment should not necessarily be given only when you’re sick. Natural medicine itself strives to make each patient practice good health habits including good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatments.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine whether it is a massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or some other form of natural medical treatment.

It’s strange but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of ages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging.

So staying in tune with studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

Did you know that over 180,000 people search for information on acne everyday, out of which 77,000 want to know more about acne medicine ? And that there are over 22 million sites talking about acne, and acne medicine, treatment and products ? This tells me a few things. One, there are many people out there suffering from acne, and they are interested in knowing what kind of acne medicine is available to help them cure their problem. Equally, there are millions of available acne treatments and products out there. Obviously, no one acne medicine is suitable for any one person then.

First, a quick review on what acne is. It is what the layperson calls “pimples” or “zits”. There are different forms of acne, and all can occur at the same time, though one stage does not necessarily progress to the next. There are comedones, or blackheads and whiteheads, as they are usually called. Then there are acne spots caused by bacteria, leading to inflammation, resulting in a red possibly painful swelling called a papule. If the papule does not subside spontaneously, a pustule may form. This heals by discharging pus. A severe enough reaction may cause a lot of deep damage, leaving behind scars.

Acne medicine has different purposes. There is acne medicine to prevent acne. There is medicine to prevent infection of the acne. And there is medicine to prevent scarring from the acne. Finally, there is medicine to minimise the effects of acne scarring, should scars form.

Acne medicine can be divided into those that are applied to the skin - called topical acne medicine, and those that are taken orally - called systemic medicine.

Topical treatments come in the form of creams and lotions. There are two main types of topical acne medicine . The keratolytics , which act by peeling off the top horny outer layer of the skin, so helping to dislodge the comedones ( blackheads and whiteheads), and the antiseptics, which attempt to get rid of harmful bacterial action. Examples of keratolytic acne medicine include benzyl peroxide, Retin A, and sulphur. Examples of antispetic acne medicine include iodine ( eg Betadine), chlorhexidine, zinc salts, which are frequently incorporated into acne creams and lotions, azelaic acid.

One of the main problems with topical acne medicine is that they can be rather harsh. They can cause skin irritation and inflammation. Some, like retin A cannot be used during pregnancy. Sulphur containing acne medicines can be extremely smelly, like rotton eggs !

I can still remember the days when acne used to rule my life. I was so desperate for a cure I must have tried every over-the-counter acne medicine there was available. And there were plenty. That was the time when nobody thought acne was a serious problem. Everyone got it. Nobody had died from it. So it never occured to me that maybe I would need help.

It started with a few small spots. So I tried the standard sulphur-based acne medicine. I would apply it just over the offending spots and wait patiently till they went away. But they gradually got worse, with the number of red spots extending to different areas of my face. Soon it covered large areas of my face. I followed the instructions for how to use the acne medicine. I would cover my face with it faithfully every night, and went to bed smelling of sulphur. Even my pillows would smell of it. But I would hope and pray the medicine would do its wonderful work, and my acne would be gone. I always awoke the next day disappointed. I would wash my face, apply on a fresh layer of acne medicine and go about my day. I finally gave up when someone pointed out to me they always knew when I was coming, because the smell of the acne medicine announced my arrival !

I decided to try the benzyl peroxide-based acne medicine next. At least these did not smell of sulphur. The instructions seemed easy enough to follow. Just apply the acne medicine twice a day after washing the face and the acne would be gone within three to five days. It was again with great hope that I applied the new acne medicine. The first night, nothing happened. By the second night, my face was beginning to get a little itchy. By the third night, the side effects of the acne medicine were causing me to have a rather dry and red face. By the fourth night, my poor face was positively uncomfortable. By the fifth night, I gave up. The acne was still there. This acne medicine had not worked either.

Things just got from bad to worse. The small little red spots progressed to big spots. Big spots joined with other spots to form entire continents. There was hardly a clear space on my face. My confidence dipped to an all-time low. Acne ruled my life. It was the first thing I saw when I awoke, and the last thing I saw when I went to bed. Well meaning friends and relatives constantly commented on it and had lots of advice of what type of acne medicine would work best. I had tried everything.

Generally topical acne medicines work well for those with mild acne. A good number can be simply bought over-the-counter without the need of a doctor’s prescription. And for many, this may be the only treatment required for acne.

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession goes on nowadays a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack but a few natural herbs can help relieve stress

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine,may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

One of the ways to combat acne is to gain every bit of knowledge about it, and this article is going to offer you all about the types of acne available ranging from the least worrying to the one that requires your immediate attention.

Let’s begin with the acne that needs the least attention.

Acne Vulgaris

Vulgaris means “common”, not “repulsive”. Thus the following states the acne mild enough for you to treat at home.

Whiteheads are also known as pimples, zits or spots. This is the classic image of acne, small round pus-and-oil filled globes sticking out on your forehead or anywhere else on the face. Your pores are clogged with bacteria from dead skin cells, dirt, oil, sweat, old makeup, and grease. You need not worry much about whiteheads, but you have to clean the affected area after it bursts.

Blackheads are what you get when your pores have only gotten partly clogged. Instead of a bright white pimple, you get a smaller, less noticeable blackhead. You can treat them with some products you can buy at the store but do not squeeze or pop them.

Baby acne only happens to newborn or young babies and is a common condition. It appears to be like a smaller version of adult whiteheads. One of the safest treatments you can treat baby acne, is ionic colloidal silver.

Medium Acne

Pustules, also more commonly known as “blind pimples” are one of the most aggravating types of acne. You can see and feel a pimple occurring on your skin. The skin becomes sore, raised to a 3 millimeter lump, and can be red or pale pink.

You may feel like popping them, but that might make things worse. You have to let them heal in their own time. If they pop, they are open for infection, so you have to apply antibacterial ointment on it.

Adult Acne

The most common belief is that only teenagers have acne but the thing is, acne can happen when you have reached full adulthood and it is normally brought about by stress and hormones at any age. It is mostly because stress hormones could cause existing comedones and impactions to break down, and then be inflamed which in turn develop to red nodules and postules.

Body Acne

Most people have outbreaks of acne on the face and are not aware of what body acne is and how it is different from the regular types of acne. Acne is considered as being body acne if it occurs on the back, chest, shoulders, and even the buttocks. The following are some details of body acne.

Back Acne

Back acne is no different from zits on the face, only they sometimes appear to be more cystic and vulgar.

Genital Acne

Genital acne is the same kind of acne you get on any other part of your body, only it grows on your genitals. This can be either annoying for some people or downright painful for others. They appear to be like whiteheads or blackheads on your genitals.

Severe Acne

These forms of acne need a doctor or dermatologist for proper treatment and care.

There are mainly four different types of severe acne, which are: acne conglobata, acne fulminans, gram negative folliculitis, and nodulocystic acne.

The first, acne conglobata, is a very rare, chronic and the most severe type of acne and it is characterized by the following conditions: deep abscesses, inflammation, severe damage to the skin, scarring and blackheads. It usually feels like you have boils all over you. It normally only hits males between the ages18-30 years old.

Acne fulminans is different from acne conglobata in that it is a sudden onset highly destructive inflammation. It is characterized by symptoms of severe and often ulcerating acne, fever, inflammation and aching of joints, especially in and around the hips and knees.

Corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications are the most regular form of treatment for acne fulminans. However the outbreaks are apt to reoccur and the patient may in fact end up developing acne that needs long-term treatment with isotretinoin.

Nodulocystic acne or Cystic Acne is also one of the most severe forms of acne, and it is usually characterized by cysts. These cysts may appear singly, or they may be spread out all over the face, neck, scalp, back, chest and shoulders.

Treatment for this type of acne typically involves an insistent form of treatment, which may consist of isotretinoin and antibiotics. This form of acne is also characterized by large pus filled sores on the face or other parts of the body. These sores are usually painful and, if not treated, can lead to scarring and a pitting of the skin.

If you suffer from some of the larger cysts, ones that do not respond to medications, you may require drainage and surgical excision by a medical professional.

Gram-negative folliculitis is the type of acne which is caused by a bacterial infection that can result from long-term antibiotic treatment. In gram-negative folliculitis, the bacteria are likely to be resistant to many different types of antibiotics. Anyone with this severe type of acne should ensure that they have the proper care of a dermatologist.

The ultimate aim of this article is make you realize that whatever acne you may be suffering from has a name thus a solution to it. If you are suffering from severe acne, it is best to see a doctor or dermatologist where you will be treated properly for your acne.