Daily Healthy Blog

Look around. Despite what hunters and fishermen might tell you so you feel better about eating what they catch, every bird, animal and fish reacts to injury in a way suggesting they feel pain. You can see them flinch when wounded. It’s that same unpleasant sensation we get when the skin is cut, bones are broken or we catch an infection. We grab hold of the damaged bit of our body and “know” we have to do something about it. So pain is a message. The nerves in the affected part of the body react to the injury and send an electrical/chemical warning up to the brain. This is effectively an instantaneous process, alerting the conscious mind. For humans, we take this as a warning to get treatment. There’s just one problem. Even when we have reported to the nearest emergency room and paid for a doctor to treat us, the pain continues. This is inconvenient. There should be a switch to turn it off. But the pain can persist for weeks, months or, even, years depending on the nature of the injury we pick up. This is leading modern doctors to see pain as being a separate condition worth treating in its own right. In the better hospitals, you will now see pain clinics or departments specializing in pain management. Once you have received the best possible treatment for the underlying cause of the pain, you then see a specialist to get the maximum relief from the pain.

So, to help you understand the best way to treat pain, we start with a few definitions. If the injury, disease or disorder is only going to affect you for a short time, the pain is called acute. As you respond to the treatment for the underlying physical cause, the pain will slowly fade. This is very important psychologically. Once you have confirmation the injury will heal and you will make a complete recovery, you remain optimistic and positive. If a doctor tells you physical therapy will speed up rehabilitation, you will work through the pain to get the results. This is not the case when the pain is chronic. “Chronus” is the Greek word for time. It is not a reference to the severity of the pain, but to the fact you will feel it for months or years. This is demoralizing. Many people are tempted to give up when they recognize there’s not going to be a quick “cure”. So a major part of the treatment for chronic pain is counseling and support to encourage people to stay more positive and work toward getting the best possible quality of life.

Tramadol is often given in high dosages for a few days to relieve more severe acute pain. This gives the maximum relief and sets you on the road to recovery. But if the pain is chronic, current best practice is not to rely on painkillers unless necessary. Becoming dependent on painkillers is a high price to pay. Cognitive behavioral therapy is better at teaching people how to cope with pain and find a good life within the new physical limitations. Tramadol may still be given if pain flares, but no painkiller should be used on a routine basis.

Posted in Guest Post

Go back in time a mere hundred years and the idea of sexual equality would have been considered a joke in rather bad taste. For centuries, men around the world have been the dominant gender with all the more powerful roles in society. There were odd signs of change. Women were given the vote and allowed to own their own property but, when it came to life in general, they were there to be married off and have children. Coming into the current century, we have seen a major debate with feminism forcing the claim to more equal treatment. This is not been a complete success. Women continue to be paid less than men for the same work and they are denied access to many of the more powerful jobs. More interestingly, we have entered a time of so-called political correctness where it’s no longer considered appropriate to discuss some issues. This has been creating problems because, in many ways, women are not the same as men but research into these differences has become more controversial. You only have to mention the question whether there are biological differences producing different levels of intelligence to start a war.

Nevertheless, there has been some research into whether women and men have the same responses to pain. This is a difficult area because the reaction to pain is highly subjective. What some people may consider trivial is the worst agony for others. The problem is there’s no such thing as a standard unit of pain you can inject into people and then measure their reaction. You can only devise standard questionnaires and interview large numbers of people, hoping patterns will emerge. Why should this research be accepted? The answer lies in the statistics. If you look at the claims made on health insurance plans and at the number of prescriptions written, there’s a dramatic difference between the genders. Women consult doctors about pain fair more often than men. They consume more prescription drugs than men. They are more frequently referred to hospitals and clinics for treatment. This is a major planning issue for federal government. It needs to know how many doctors are needed per head of population and how many more hospitals are going to be required as the population grows (and ages). Give the length of time it takes to train doctors and health care professionals, you need to plan years ahead.

Why are women more prepared to admit pain? There are a number of possible explanations, the most likely being cultural. It’s socially acceptable for women to appear weak. Men, however, are expected to accept pain and get on with life. Since the basic biology is the same between the sexes, physical explanations are more difficult to offer. The way the nervous system works is identical in men and women. Indeed, it’s because of this that Ultram works equally well in both sexes. The drug has the same effect on the neurotransmitters and prevents the brain from being aware of anything less than severe pain. Were this not the case, the pharmaceutical industry would have been investing heavily in an Ultram for women. It would be the biggest market on the planet.

Posted in Guest Post

Acid reflux is the synonym often used to describe gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), a health condition that is characterized by excessive acid reflux that damages the esophagus. This health problem is known to affect people regardless of their age, but the most vulnerable groups are pregnant women, smokers and people who tend to eat right before bedtime.

The most common symptoms of this condition include heartburn; discomfort in the esophagus; chest pain; cough; hoarseness and problems with swallowing. These symptoms usually take place after a person has consumed a large meal or some alcohol, or after smoking a cigarette.

Acid reflux problems are known to be influenced by problems with the esophagus sphincter. In some cases it can be caused by excessive production of acid in the stomach. Lower amounts of acid produced can also cause GER symptoms because in such a situation the esophageal sphincter won’t open and allow food to get into the stomach, causing irritation to the esophagus itself.

Some health conditions can influence the development of GERD: hiatus hernia, zollinger-elison syndrome, hypercalcemia, scleroderma and systemic sclerosis.

Most people tend to believe that acid reflux problems are strongly influenced by alcohol, tea and coffee consumption. And while these substances can really aggravate the problem for people who already have GERD, they alone cannot influence the development of this condition in a healthy person. When comparing risk factors, smoking strongly increases the change of developing this disease when compared to tea, coffee and alcohol. Still, if you already have signs of GERD you should be very cautious when choosing foods and beverages to take. Physicians recommend avoiding alcohol intake and reducing the amounts of tea and coffee that you drink in order to prevent further development of the problem.

Different studies have confirmed that smoking is the major factor causing the development of GERD. Smokers who have more than 20 years of smoking experience have a 70% higher risk of suffering from acid reflux problems as compared to their non-smoking peers. And those who already have acid reflux issues are more likely to use drugs like Nexium after they start smoking.

But smoking is not the only factor that raises the risk of experiencing GERD symptoms. Large amounts of salt consumed on a regular basis where found to be as much of a risk for GERD as smoking. During clinical trials researchers observed that those who consumed large amounts of salt over a long period of time had a 70% higher risk of suffering from acid reflux disease.

A person suffering from GERD can diagnose the disease on their own, because the symptoms are easily observed. If you start experiencing the symptoms of acid reflux disease on a regular basis, it is best to visit your doctor and go through a series of tests to confirm the diagnosis. It’s not recommended to start taking drugs such as Nexium for treating GERD before you consult with your doctor and get a prescription. Certain lifestyle changes may also be required to get rid of acid reflux problems, and it is especially important for long time smokers.

As the say, the best way to treat the disease is to prevent it, and GERD is not an exception. By eating less salty food and avoiding nicotine consumption you will lower your chances of experiencing acid reflux problems in the future.

Posted in Guest Post