Archive for July, 2009

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Ovulation – My Infertility Friend

Comments: 0July 17th, 2009 by admin



People often say “timing is everything” and for ovulation and getting pregnant that is very true. Women usually ovulate only one time per month and if ovulation is miscalculated or not happening at all, your chances of getting pregnant are slim to none.

Ovulation can be tricky to calculate, but for many women it happens right around day 14 (Day 1 being the first day of your period). At the end of my blog you will find an ovulation calculator so you can try to get an estimate of when your most fertile days are.

Even though ovulation happens only once per month, most women often have a few days before ovulation and about 24 hours after ovulation when they are able to become pregnant since sperm can live inside the female body for anywhere between 3 to 5 days. This means that if you have unprotected sex three days before you ovulate you may still become pregnant if sperm has traveled to the fallopian tubes. In addition to just calculating ovulation, it is important to make sure that ovulation is actually happening. Without ovulation you cannot get pregnant.

Ovulation kits in the stores can get really expensive and these strips are very inexpensive, easy to use and were very accurate for me. During my estimated ovulation time from about day 10 of my cycle to day 20, I would do an ovulation test to check for ovulation. I used anywhere from 6 to 10 tests per month but it was worth it. Once the test reads for positive ovulation, there is no need to test anymore because you have then ovulated for the month.

I credit the use of ovulation tests as being a major help towards getting pregnant. Some months I would ovulate as early as day 11 and other months I would ovulate as late as day 19 and I never would have known that without the tests. I never really had a very regular cycle anyway but these tests really helped me to figure it out.

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Posted in Alcohol

The Importance of Air Conditioning

Comments: 0July 17th, 2009 by admin



The summers here in Calgary are gorgeous. Blue skies with those little cotton candy clouds, the horizon endless to the east and bordered by the Rocky Mountains to the west, being in Calgary for an Alberta summer is a great experience. The nights out here in the Prairies are actually quite cool, sometimes going right down to around 5 degrees (Celsius obviously, we are after all in Canada). This is actually a good thing because the days are scorching hot, especially when there’s a heat wave.

Like most of the buildings in Downtown Calgary, ours was built in the 1970s. At the time the city was undergoing a boom and office buildings were sprouting up like mushrooms after a rain. Now, maybe there is something to that whole ‘Global Warming’ thing and the city was a lot colder back then, or maybe it was just too expensive at the time, but our building and most, if not all, of the rest of 1970s-era Calgary was built without Air Conditioning. There are a lot of things produced by the 1970s that defy logic, and I’ve given up trying to find the reasoning behind denying your tenants the option to cool off in the summer. What was important in all of this is that in the first summer of its operation Nuvo did not have A/C and we were losing business because of it.

In these days of online booking a good percentage of our guests were making their reservations with us through Expedia, Travelocity and the like and because of this they never really got to take a good look at our hotel before they committed to staying here. As a result we took on a lot of guests who had no idea that they had just booked into a hotel that was not equipped with air conditioning during what turned out to be a near legendary heat wave. I just want to take a second here to point out that when I say ‘near legendary’ I am not making use of hyperbole, the heat wave that hit Alberta in July nearly crippled the agricultural industry. Fun stuff.

Our original plan for dealing with the A/C was to shop around and get the best price possible, then find a quiet week somewhere and install them all. The flaw with this plan was that it depended on us having plenty of time to pick a unit based on its price, aesthetics and efficiency. Unfortunately, we were getting complaints as early as the first week of July and walkouts barely a week later. So, instead of leisurely ordering some units and having them sent over on the slow boat from Korea, we ended up scrambling to acquire enough serviceable units from the local hardware stores. After a week or so of frenzied buying, returning and installing we now have two different styles of A/C units[1, 2] spread out over the different rooms of the hotel and the average temperature level in our rooms has gone from sweltering hot to refrigerator cold.

As it turned out, getting a number of different A/C units actually worked out better than obtaining one uniform style. None of the rooms in Nuvo are exactly alike, the layouts are similar sure, but each room has different furniture and decorations than the next. Having a varied style of A/C appliances doesn’t break that motif, and since the units we eventually obtained are portable we can remove or add them at the behest of our guests. We can also take them out during the other eight months of the year when Calgary becomes a city-sized Popsicle, thus reducing both our carbon footprint and our electricity bill.

P.S. Two days after we installed the A/C the heat wave broke and Calgary got more rain in three days than it did in the last three months. Air Conditioning was no longer an issue.

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Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Marine Carburetors

Comments: 0July 16th, 2009 by admin



The carburetor is that part of an automobile engine that converts liquid fuel into vapor. This is mixed with a certain amount of air that allows combustion in the cylinders. All gasoline vehicles have carburetors including boats and light aircrafts. Most engines have only one carburetor though some modern engines that have bigger engines or more than 4 cylinders use multiple carburetors.

The carburetor influences the speed of the engine. This is possible by controlling the flow of air into the engine. The main function of a carburetor is to ensure that a correct mixture of gasoline and air enters the engine. The carburetor can start the engine cold, make it idle, accelerate, or stop.

There are several kinds of marine carburetors depending on the kind of engine. They can be broadly categorized under 14 groups. These 14 models are mostly used in 2 and 4 barrels and Mercruisers. There are also remanufactured or rebuilt carburetors available for all kinds of engines, including 4-cylinder, 6-cylinder, and 8-cylinder. These are ideal for marine boats that run in both fresh water as well as salt water. The most popular brands of marine carburetors are Holley, Rochester, Carter Weber, and Mercarb. Marine carburetors should ideally adhere to US Coast Guard safety standards.

There are several websites over the Internet that contains information about marine carburetors. Such websites also provide marine carburetor rebuild kits for many boat models. These kits can be ordered online and are usually shipped on the same day with free shipping. Companies also provide professional support by technicians who can take a look at the engine and help to decide the best carburetor kit for rebuilding the carburetor.

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Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Asthma – Bronchodilators – Anti-Inflammatory – Diagnosis

Comments: 0July 15th, 2009 by admin



Asthma

Asthma is a disease of chronic inflammatory airways, which results in reducing or even blocking the flow of air. Its pathophysiology is related to interaction between genetic and environmental factors that manifest as attacks of breathlessness due to swelling of the lining bronchial, the overproduction of mucus in the airways and smooth muscle contraction of the airways, with consequent reduction of its diameter (bronchospasm).

Crises are characterized by various symptoms such as dyspnea, cough and wheezing, especially at night. The narrowing of the airways is usually reversible but in patients with chronic asthma, the inflammation can determine airflow obstruction to airflow. Pathologic features include the presence of inflammatory cells in the airways plasma exudation, edema, muscle hypertrophy, mucus plugs and desquamation of the epithelium. The diagnosis is mainly clinical and treatment consists of educational measures, drugs that improve the airflow in asthma and anti-inflammatory, mainly based on steroids.

Signs and symptoms

Characteristically the disease, symptoms appear cyclically with periods of worsening. Among the main symptoms are: a cough that may or may not be accompanied by some sputum (phlegm), shortness of breath with pain or burning in the chest and a wheezing (wheezing). In most cases there is no sputum or have the type “egg”.

Symptoms can occur at any time of day, but tend to predominate in the morning or evening. Asthma is the leading cause of chronic cough in children and is among the leading causes of chronic cough in adults.

Classification

According to the standards of the crises and tests, asthma can be classified in: Intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, severe persistent asthma.

Intermittent Asthma: symptoms less than once a week; bouts of short duration (light); sporadic nocturnal symptoms (no more than twice a month); pulmonary function tests normal in the period between attacks.

Mild persistent asthma: symptoms at least once a week, but less than once a day; presence of nocturnal symptoms more than twice a month, but less than once a week; pulmonary function tests normal in the period between attacks.

Moderate Persistent Asthma: daily symptoms; crises can affect daily activities and sleep; presence of nocturnal symptoms at least once a week; pulmonary function tests: peak expiratory flow (PEF) or forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV

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Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Diabetes Blood Sugar – Checking and Monitoring Your Lifeline

Comments: 0July 14th, 2009 by admin



Every diabetic knows the importance of blood sugar in relation to diabetes. Controlling diabetes blood sugar plays an important role in preventing the disorder from causing complications that will impair the nerves, eyes, kidney, and blood vessels of the diabetes sufferer.

Hence, upon confirmation of your diabetic condition by way of tests and consultations, you were advised to avail the services of a dietitian who will plan your diet in order to keep the levels in check. Diabetes blood sugar therefore should be constantly monitored and this will involve diabetes blood glucose monitoring checks.

Blood Sugar Monitoring Checks

Keeping a log or chart of your blood sugar is very vital in managing your diabetic condition. Your health care provider may require you to bring such records of information during checkups in order to determine how your body responds to your diabetes medications.

Finding out which part of your health care plan aside from the medications prescribed, will help your doctor, your dietitian and your diabetes educator to implement the necessary changes in treatments.

Here is a list of the information needed in making your diabetes blood sugar chart or logs:

1. A1C
2. Preprandial plasma glucose (checked before a meal)
3. Postprandial plasma glucose ( checked after a meal)
4. Blood pressure
5. Lipids
6. LDL (Low Density Lippoprotein)
7. Triglycerides
8. HDL (Heart Disease Lowering)

The information listed above will of course require the assistance of someone knowledgeable like your diabetes nurse in order to gather the correct information regarding your diabetes blood sugar levels and composition. In time, as you learn to live with your diabetes and its management, you or a member of your family will eventually learn how to monitor it and the relevant information.

Just to give you an idea, below is the basic procedure involved in checking your diabetes blood sugar:

Using a Blood Glucose Meter

This is a compact computerized machine designed and equipped to read your blood glucose or sugar. Through a sample of your blood, your blood glucose level will be shown on the screen in terms of numbers. The doctor or diabetes nurse will teach you how to extract your blood sample and how to use the blood glucose meter.

Log Your Test Results

When writing down your test results, indicate the food, the activity and the medicine that directly affects the results. Compare your results with the previous day’s log to ascertain whether the level is rising or descending.

Immediately refer any noticeable or abrupt changes that transpire especially if the results are considerably out of the normal range. By immediately, you don’t have to wait until your next visit but can be done through phone, since any changes might prove to be critical for your condition.

Urine Checks

In relation to the diabetes blood sugar checks, you may also be required to monitor your urine as they may also contain relevant information regarding your blood sugar. Information about “ketone” presence in the urine will indicate whether your body is making use of fat for fuel instead of glucose. This is indicative that there is still not enough insulin to enable glucose absorption.

Based on the results of your monitoring, your doctor or nurse will advise you when to test your urine for ketones. The life of a diabetic is about managing and controlling which you will have to learn to live with in order to maintain a normal life as a diabetes sufferer.

Checking your diabetes blood sugar and logging the test results are your vital tools for a better life.

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Posted in anemia

Complex Diagnostic Tests and Procedures of Blood Analysis

Comments: 0July 13th, 2009 by admin



The blood as a whole is very complex with different constituents. With the advancement of biotechnology, these constituents have been able to be discovered with very complex diagnostic tests and procedures. What are they?

1. Common blood analysis (RBC count, Hemoglobin level, color index, mean corpuscular Hemoglobin concentration), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), WBC count, platelet count).
2. Hematocrit
3. Coagulation tests (partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time, concentration of fibrinogen in plasma).
4. Bleeding time, clotting time (Lee-white, Burker).
5. Tourniquet test (capillary fragility)
6. Type and crossmatch
7. concentration serums iron-binding capacity (TIBC)
8. serum bilirubin levels, Coombs test.
9. Sickle turbidity, Hemoglobin electrophoresis
10. Determination of specific coagulation factors deficiency
11. Ultrasound investigation of spleen, liver, lymph nodes
12. Radiography
13. Biopsy of red marrow

Laboratory Blood tests

Type and cross-match
Blood typing determines the ABO and Rh blood groups of a blood sample. A cross-match tests for agglutination reactions between donor and recipient blood.

Complete Blood Count
The complete blood count consists of the following red blood cell count, hemoglobin measurement (grams of hemoglobin per 100 ml of blood), hematocrit measurement (% volume of erythrocytes), and white blood cell count.

White Blood cell differential count’
The white blood cell differential count determines the percentage of each type of leucocytes.

White Blood cell differential count

3 days old
• Leucocytes (30-33)x10^9/l
• Basophils 0.5%
• Eosinophils 1-4%
• Neutrophils
1. myelocytes (0)
2. juvenile (0-0.5)%
3. bands (3-5)%
4. segmented (54-62)%
• Lymphocytes 11-25%
• Monocytes 6-10%

5 day Old
• Leucocytes (30-33)x10^9/l
• Basophils 0.5%
• Eosinophils 1-4%
• Neutrophils
1. myelocytes (0)
2. juvenile (0-0.5)%
3. bands (3-5)%
4. segmented (39-42)%
• Lymphocytes (45%)
• Monocytes (6-10)%

3 year Old child
• Leucocytes 8×10^9/L
• Basophils 0.5%
• Eosinophils 3%
• Neutrophils
1. Juvenile 0.5%
2. bands 3%
3. segmented 24%
4. Myelocytes 0
• Lymphocytes 63%
• Monocytes 6%

5 year old child
• Leucocytes (4-9)x10^9
• Basophils 0.5%
• Eosinophils 1-4%
• Neutrophils
1. myelocytes 0
2. juvenile (0-0.5)%
3. bands (3-5)%
4. segmented (3-42)%
• Lymphocytes 45%
• Monocytes (6-10)%

12 year old child
• Leucocytes (4-9)x10^9/l
• Basophils 0.5%
• Eosinophils 1-4%
• Neutrophils
1. myelocytes 0
2. juvenile (0-0.5)%
3. bands (3-5)%
4. segmented (54-62)%
• Lymphocytes (25-33)%
• Monocytes (6-10)%

How did all these values come about? There are still normal indexes for Adult and discrepancies between the Caucasian as well as the blacks have also been discovered. SO complex, isn’t it?

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Posted in anemia

Herbal Solutions For Herpes – Proper Genital Herpes Treatment

Comments: 0July 13th, 2009 by admin



Herpes virus can become dormant or “latent” for a very long time, sometimes years before showing any signs and symptoms. In other words, a person may be infected for a long time before that person knows that the infection is there. Latency period of the virus is the time when the virus is said to be “sleeping” inside the body. During this period of no activity an infected person feels nothing abnormal, without symptoms, without any bothersome feelings. This is the time when the virus is on its very deceiving state. It is very hard to detect herpes virus in its latent stage sometimes failing the most accurate blood tests.

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Posted in anemia

The Contribution of Pilates For Breast Cancer

Comments: 0July 12th, 2009 by admin



Breast cancer leaves lots of women undergoing detachment from their bodies and wary of exercise. Pilates presents a gentle technique to venture back toward physicality and emotional health. You might have heard of Pilates, but what is it precisely? Pilates (“Puh-LAH-tees”) is a mind/body exercise method that enlarges and reinforces the body by means of a series of flowing movements. It is distinctive since lots of the exercises are done supine (lying faceup), prone (lying facedown), or in side-lying positions, which let the body to be centered and the spine to be aligned, putting less stress on the neck and the back.

Pilates has developed significantly since the exercises were formed more than 80 years ago. The original classic style has been adapted in lots of methods as practitioners have grown their own styles of utilizing the exercises. additionally, work-related and physical therapists have taken the methods and employed them to help in the physical rehabilitation of a variety of conditions, including back pain, Parkinson’s disease, and even autism.

Lately, breast cancer survivors have been benefiting from Pilates as well. Survivors confront a lot of physical challenges after undertaking breast cancer surgery and treatment, which are frequently compounded by the emotional stress that results from living with a life-threatening condition. Pilates gives an exercise method that could assist both mind and bodies recover and revitalize gradually.

Pilates is a natural for lymphedema management since the abdominal exercises are united with appropriate breathing methods. These actions improve the pumping of lymph into the thoracic duct and this encourages the homecoming of lymph from the left side of the neck, left arm, trunk and legs. Though medical research definite to Pilates and breast cancer is nonexistent to date, a growing body of research really recommends that exercise could really decrease the risk of breast cancer reappearance as well as improve functionality and quality of life.

Pilates training could be an outstanding method to attain the postural re-education and muscle-balancing essential to recuperate from the side effects of breast cancer treatment. Pilates could assist lessen pain from breast cancer operative processes, reinstate joint mobility and tissue integrity, and assist recover lost power.

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Posted in cancer

Natural Hay Fever Treatment – Four Different Medicines to Match Your Symptoms

Comments: 0July 12th, 2009 by admin



Natural hay fever treatment focuses on raising your immune system. Although your hay fever may have a direct cause, if your immune system is in good shape, your body can work better at curing you.

Hay fever is an allergy, which typically affects the mucous membranes of your head. So you get discharge from your nose and/or your eyes. You can suffer with an itch in your nose, your eyes, your throat or the palate of your mouth. Or you sneeze a lot.

Hay fever is normally seasonal. Grass or certain flower pollen may affect you. Dust and animal fur can also be triggers.

Hay fever treatment is usually with anti-histamines, but this generally tends to make the condition progressively worse over the years.

Is there a more effective treatment, one which is natural?

There are always alternatives to every treatment. Natural and effective hay fever treatment can come in the form of homeopathic medicines.

Homeopathy works by raising your immune system. This means that the condition improves over the ensuring years.

Acute treatment can be carried out at home, by home prescribing. This can be hugely beneficial, even curative if you select the most appropriate medicines for your unique symptoms. But, more often, it is only palliative, rather than curative.

For deep and lasting healing, a professional homeopath may be able to help you better.

However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your hand at sorting yourself out.

Your successful hay fever treatment needs to start out by you becoming very aware of all your symptoms. It’s not difficult to know if your eyes or nose are most affected. But what about the times of the day you are most affected? Or the natural things than tend to improve the condition, even if only slightly?

The following homeopathic medicines may help you.

Aconite is highly successful in treating conditions which come on suddenly, as hay fever tends to. Often they come on after a dry wind has been blowing.

Allium cepa is a useful medicine when the discharge from your nose is the major symptom. It pours like a tap and you tend to stuff tissues up it to stop the flow.

Euphrasia is a great medicine when your eyes are mainly affected. They water, they are red, they itch.

Sabadilla is the main medicine when sneezing is the primary symptoms. You don’t seem to be able to stop. And they come in spasms.

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Posted in Allergy And Sinus

Normal Blood Sugar Levels – Is it Possible For a Diabetic?

Comments: 0July 11th, 2009 by admin



What are the normal blood sugar levels to maintain? The sugar level ranging between 70 mgrms/dl to 100 mgms/dl in fasting for eight hours is diagnosed as normal fasting blood sugar. If the level ranges from 101 to 199, it is identified as a condition of pre-diabetes. The condition of the diabetic is a little pathetic if the level is 200 and exceeding. This higher level is an indication of the patient having acquired a confirmed type 1diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Under such a condition it is not wise to ignore an immediate treatment. By proper treatment the increased blood sugar can be controlled to normal levels.

There are several ways to keep normal blood sugar levels. You have the synthetic medication as well as natural cure. The former includes the adverse side effects while the natural cure is not so. Anyone would not like facing with side effects when taking medication for one disease. As such, it is best suggested that you choose to start natural cure remedies. You have the liberty to try the following with care and confidence.

1. The first thing you have to start now is monitoring your normal blood sugar levels frequently. The readings help you to know your A1C. You can have the correct idea of the insulin secretion in pancreas. This is the most important step in one’s diabetes management.

2. The next thing is your attention to the type of insulin working in your blood. The doctor will check and decide the type by administering just 2 units of Humalin insulin about 40 minutes before you have a meal.

3. Now, you are ready to start your medication by your doctor or self natural cure which is your choice. Anyhow you may have low dosage of medicine prescribed by your doctor to be safe from bad adverse side effects. After lowering the sugar level considerably, you can start your natural medication.

4. The natural cure lies in the principle of taking divided and measured meal. Intake of food to full stomach in one serving is not suggestive. You can have the quantum of food for one day divided for four or five times, certainly not affecting the total calories aimed for one day.

5. Now you have to concentrate on the food items to take. The best food suggested for you as diabetic of any type is with less fat as well as less carbohydrate content. You can have wisely a pre-calculated amount of carbohydrates and fats in your intake so that you have normal blood sugar after eating. You should always be careful to have only those foods to take and others to exclude.

The level of blood sugar predicts the severity of your diabetic condition and the related complications of diabetes of both types. You can keep your normal blood sugar levels to ensure a healthy and prolonged life span by minimizing or completely eliminating your diabetic problems.

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Posted in anemia

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