Online Diagnosis for the Baby Boomer Generation

Ever heard the expression “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” Well, pardon the comparison, but for America’s Baby Boomers, computer technology, social networking sites, Groupon and email are all the rage with today’s Internet savvy Boomer generation. As the health care industry is naturally progressing, it makes sense that the Internet is playing a large role in this evolution. When you combine the need for health care with a computer confident demographic, you now have set the perfect scene for online diagnosis and treatment all in one place. 

 

Statically Baby Boomers are taking the Web by storm. There are currently more than 16 million seniors engaging in social sites including MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. Last year, the oldest known Twitter user 104-year-old Ivy Bean gained a huge following across the world and remained active with her tweets until her death in July. She serves as just one example of the collective change in the way older generations perceive technology.

So how does this apply to health care?

Think about the last time you went to a doctor. You may have had a quick exam but the majority of the time you spent during the face-to-face visit was probably spent discussing medical history or perhaps certain symptoms. The diagnosis for many non-life threatening conditions, such as erectile dysfunction or hair loss therapy, is made largely through the patient’s discussion of symptoms. Imagine not having to leave your home to get the same level of healthcare? You cut down on gas costs, office visit fees and time spent in the waiting room. For many, especially those who may no longer be able to drive or have mobility limitations, this solution is ideal.

Currently developers are working on products that will allow doctor’s access to live information from the patient, including vitals like heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. Software which permits doctors and patients to “meet” via webcam is already being used today.

So why isn’t everyone ready to welcome this type of health care with open arms? Unfortunately, like nearly every industry, there are some companies who have compromised patient safety simply to turn a profit. Perhaps the most commonly recognized example of this is the online Viagra market. Unsolicited email after email seems to fill the average email junk folder and everywhere we look there are offers for “enhancing” this or “lengthening” that.

In men 65 years old and older, 15-25% experience erectile dysfunction and many will go to great lengths to remedy the condition. The medical world has acknowledged the fact that throughout a man’s life, he may easily be one of the 75% of men who experience ED at some point in their lives.

So here’s where online diagnosis factors in. Websites who offer prescription medication without an online medical assessment are illegally abusing the system of online health care.  Those who also offer “generics,” soft tabs and quick dissolve versions of Viagra are dangerous non-FDA approved counterfeits.

But imagine if the Web was free of these sinister “rogue” pharmacies? If you were experiencing a condition that didn’t require a psychical hands-on exam wouldn’t you be more comfortable seeking medical help from the comfort of your own home? What if your hair was beginning to thin? A doctor would not need to examine your scalp to see that you are experiencing male pattern hair loss. These are just two of the conditions that the Baby Boomer generation can greatly benefit from receiving an online diagnosis. In addition, those vowing to quit smoking in the New Year may also benefit from the availability of online medical consultations to receive the prescription medications needed to help make the process of quitting an easier one.

In the next few years does it seem probable that all face-to-face doctors’ visits will be deemed unnecessary? Of course not, but the Baby Boomer population may be the first generation to experience the benefits of online diagnosis as technology continues to evolve.

Emily Murray is a journalism school graduate and the communications specialist for KwikMed.com, which utilizes physicians licensed to prescribe online to safely bring online diagnosis and prescribing to patients across the country.

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Emotional Eating: 3 healthy ways to satisfy your craving

Emotional eating is a problem that many people face when trying to lose weight. Eating because of your emotions and not because you are hungry is one of the fastest ways to gain back any weight that you many have lost. It is also the best way to prevent you from losing any weight. Psychologically, you are sabotaging yourself without even knowing it. Emotional eating could occur for a number of reasons. There are people who eat because they don’t think they’ll ever look the way they want to. This is not true. There are always new exercises to try and ways to become the best you. You may emotionally eat because you are bored, angry, anxious, or lonely. Realize that these are not good reasons to start eating. The following are three tips to help you weed away from emotional eating and get you on the right track to losing weight.

1. Water can do wonders. Quench your hunger with a tall glass of cold water. Water is a great, calorie free substitute to any food that you may eat. Make it a regular thing to always have water around. Carry a water bottle. Anytime you feel the need to eat, take a sip of water. It is likely to stop you from going and getting something to eat.

2. Write down your emotions. Keep a journal of how you feel every time you feel the need to eat when you’re not actually hungry. Examine why you think you eat too much. Once you understand why you eat too much, you will be able to find ways to stop the unneeded eating. You will start to find a pattern in the reasons why you start to eat. Recognize that your habits can change. Attack the problem. Find a better solution than breaking out the food and eating.

3. Find a healthy alternative. If you find it too hard to fight the craving of eating, find one healthy food, of your choice that you will go to when you feel the need to eat. Choose a food that is low in calorie and high in nutrients like a grapefruit, avocado, or celery to eat when you really need it. Portion this small snack. Have a small plastic bag prepared with a very small serving of your chosen food. This will prevent you from overeating even the healthy food.

These three tips may seem like easy tasks but may actually take some time to get used to. You have to be willing to stop emotional eating to end it. Take control of your eating and get ready to feel better about yourself with every little bit of progress that you make.

This post has been provided by Nicolas D'Alleva. Nicolas is the president and CEO of Specialty Answering Service, a company providing answering services to medical practices and businesses in the health field.

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Acoustic Neuroma Gamma Knife Surgery

The human body is a complex system, and is subject to more malfunctions and diseases than one could possibly imagine. Some health problems are a mere annoyance, while others can be deadly. Some come on slow, while others make their symptoms felt as soon as the condition manifests. The health issue we will discuss today is acoustic neuroma:

What is Acoustic Neuroma?

Acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor of the vestibular nerve that starts in the base of the skull and slowly expands into the skull cavity. They appear in the inner ear, and in most patients the symptoms appear progressively. Symptoms include slow, progressive destruction of hearing in the affected ear, a sense of imbalance and altered gait, vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. While the tumor does not always grow in all patients, if it does grow, it can lead to increased pressure on the cranium, leading to severe headaches. Growth can also put pressure on the brainstem, which can affect many different nerves. Due to their proximity, facial nerves may also be affected, which can result in weakness of the face, decreased movement of facial muscles, sensory impairment, numbness of the face, and loss of taste.

How Can Acoustic Neuroma be Treated?

As of now, microsurgery is the only way of physically removing an acoustic neuroma. However, Gamma Knife surgery has proven to be a safe and effective way of neutralizing acoustic neuromas. The Gamma Knife method uses gamma radiation to kill the tumor, so no incision is needed for this type of procedure. There may be some discomfort during the procedure due to the patient’s need to wear a special headset; however, there is no invasive surgery performed and no recovery period. Unlike microsurgery, acoustic neuroma radiosurgery does not physically remove the tumor. Instead, it enables the doctor to control, halt, and in some cases even reverse the growth of the tumor. The results are comparable to that of Gamma Knife trigeminal neuralgia treatments – the tumor is controlled and rendered harmless without the need for cutting open the patient and surgically removing it.

If you have never heard of radiosurgery before, then consult with your doctor about it. However, keep in mind that many general practitioners are not trained in radiosurgery and therefore may not have enough information to give you a proper recommendation. You should consult with a Gamma Knife specialist before you make a final decision as to whether or not to try out radiosurgery.

Erick D. Smith is a blogger from San Diego, California who writes about Gamma Knife surgery. If you're suffering from an acoustic neuroma then you might also want to look into acoustic neuroma radiosurgery.

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Following a Basic Skin Care Routine

You can go on and on about beauty products, cosmetics and make up kits. But it is necessary that you do not get carried away by the artificial products and end up ignoring the bare essentials. You need to find out what suits your skin best before using cosmetic products that are available in the market. Using a product that is completely unsuitable can have an adverse impact on your skin. This can aggravate to the extent of causing skin allergies and rashes. 

Image Courtesy: inventables.com

• Adequate Sleep: It is necessary that you get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep can result in developing eye bags, can cause your eyes to redden, can make your skin look tired and dull apart from making you look really droopy. Ideally, you should try and get a minimum of eight hours of sleep.

• A Proper Diet: It is necessary that you incorporate the right things in your diet. Avoid taking in junk food and other stuff that is rich in simple carbohydrates, processed foods, soda, sugar and trans-fat. You can enrich your diet by increasing the amount of vegetables rich in anti-oxidants, healthy fats, lean proteins and fruits.

• A Proper Exercise Regimen: A proper and regular exercise regimen goes a long way in de-stressing you. It increases blood circulation and helps to cure a number of diseases, especially the ones that are an offshoot of obesity. It definitely helps to tone up a flabby body and also reduces cellulite.

• A Simple but Effective Skin Care Routine: There is no need to opt for expensive skin treatments from time to time. On the contrary, you can ensure that your skin remains healthy and glowing by using a mild cleanser, antioxidants and sunscreen and also a retinoid product.

If you intend to buy cosmetics in Ireland, you can browse various websites to procure information on the leading brands.

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Facial Moles Removal – How to get rid of moles naturally ?

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When you feel that you no longer can tolerate moles on your face, no matter if they give you no trouble at all except negatively influencing your appearance, you have to go for the facial moles removal. Many people live with moles on different parts of the body. When the size or location of moles comes in question and become a source of concern for us, we have different means to take care of them. It is not a big problem. As long as the moles are of benign nature, we have many simple options wide open before us. Facial moles removal can become an easy task if we know how to deal with them.

Though not very common, but there is a possibility that some moles that grow on our body can become a source of great embarrassment for us. Not all the moles that grow on our body are innocuous, and not all the moles that grow are harmful. Some moles come with the potential to develop into cancer. They can grow on any part of the body including the face or any other apparent part of the body. Facial moles removal in such a case has to be done only by a qualified dermatologist. We cannot, and should not, play with moles of malignant nature. Once a mole is diagnosed for having the potential to develop into cancer, we find no options other than surgery to have it removed, and removed as soon as possible.

Facial moles removal in case of benign moles should never be the surgery; this is what many think. Surgical procedure has the risk of leaving scars behind. Therefore, it is not recommended especially if a benign mole has to be removed from any visible part of the body. If you want facial mole removal by a professional, you have the laser treatment or laser mole removal. Laser mole removal does not usually leave scars behind but it costs you good money.

If you happen to find a good cream for facial moles removal, you have the possibility to try it as long as you are sure of its safety approach. Not all creams prove safe when applied to remove a mole.

If you have patience, you should try first the home remedies that would cost you nothing, they are painless, effective, and usually do not cause any skin damage in form of scars or burns. They work slowly but safely. A little online study can take you to the many home remedies that are benefiting many people.

Jim is the author of a Mole removal website, where he explains different mole removal techniques. You can also find more info on Laser Mole removal procedure.

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The role of a healthy diet in weight loss

What one must know when losing weight is how to do it the healthiest possible way. Losing weight is not all about restricting your diet to have a thinner body. It’s not also about starving yourself to death in a hope to shed off those excess fats. When starving becomes your weight loss strategy, you might be digging your own grave. 

When you have to go on diet to lose weight, it doesn’t mean that you have to limit every possible food that you can think about nor having to skip meals just to achieve your goal. It is important to know that you have options and one of which is to keep yourself fit through a healthy diet.

Following a healthy diet plan could contribute a lot in any form of weight loss programs. It ensures that you are receiving the daily nutrients that your body needs in order to function well.

Healthy diet plans need not to be difficult to prepare. The key to achieving this is to stick to the following principles: Less fat, salt, and sugar in the diet, consuming a lot of fiber rich foods, and a consistent small meal, several times every day.

Keeping a low amount of fat, salt, and sugar in your diet means you are on the right track. Most foods with high amounts of fats, sugar, and salt are believed to have a lot of calories in them. If you want to lose weight effectively, then you must wisely choose the foods you want to include in your diet.

Fiber rich foods such as leafy vegetables and whole grains are an effective way to trick your digestive system that you have had enough food because of the bulk that they provide on your digestive tract. Fiber also sweeps off bad cholesterol and toxins that often sticks unto the digestive lining. This cholesterol build up does not only become a reason to gain weight but will also put you at risk of many different diseases.

A regular meal schedule is the oldest trick of the trade in all weight loss programs. By having a consistent time to eat, you will avoid binge eating and unnecessary food cravings.

So when you want to lose weight, remember to do it correctly by having a healthy diet which means eating a balanced meal consisting of a diverse choice of foods that contain essential vitamins and minerals which keeps our body strong and healthy.

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Fastest way to lose weight while in the office

Office work does not allow time for mobility. You spend very limited amount of time flexing your muscles from the head down to your feet. Unless you are the boss, your work station is limited hence your movement becomes limited to your designated area. Unless your job requires movement within the building, you also are limited to a distance that does not allow steps to get to the other parts of the office or building.

Image Courtesy: bestwaystoloseweight.biz

More often, the most exercised (in terms of movement or activity) part of your body is your fingers. This is true to those who are computer-dependent in the performance of their work. When your muscles are restricted in movements, you develop muscle stress or hardening. At the end of the day, office workers feel so much muscle tightening, particularly in the shoulder area. With this kind of lifestyle, fat deposits become inevitable thereby the potential dangers of obesity among office workers become more and more pronounced.

While there is difficulty in losing weight in the workplace, it is not impossible to do so. There are several ways on how you can shed out your unwanted flabs. The following are the fastest way to lose weight while in the office.

First, watch out your diet. While small frequent intake is recommended, eating junk foods and soda will only compound and store more fats particularly in the stomach area. You tend to retain more water when you take chips that are salty. Instead of junk foods, eat crackers or carrot and/or celery sticks. Instead of soda, you can drink lots of water or fresh fruit juices.

Second, make it a habit to rotate your head from right to left and vice versa. Likewise, move your shoulders in rotating manner – moving it forward for several counts then backwards for the same counts. While working do some leg raise, bending and arms stretching. This should allow better blood circulation given the limited space in your work area. There are other forms of stretching and body exercises given time limitations too.

Third, more frequent walking to different points or areas of the office like the toilet, cafeteria, or any other place you think will help you take more steps to exercise your muscles is a must. This will prevent stiffening of the muscles. This will also aid you burn fats.

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