February 20, 2008

HEALTH ADVANTAGES

They passed out the reenrollment forms for our insurance today at work. My supervisor handed me this bible-sized packet that had huge red bold letters across it that said, “IMPORTANT, NEW INSURANCE INFORMATION, PLEASE READ.” Of course they could not possibly tell us exactly what it is that is new so that we could skip reading everything we already know. Half of my lunch hour later, after going through the different plans they offer, the only on new being the executive health plan that only executives are allowed to join (surprise, surprise), I got to the section on the different types of coverage. There were about four different abbreviations for the four new types of coverage, none of which covered vision. I decided as usual to keep the same coverage that I have had, which is what I do every year. The part at the end about the discounts you get if you keep healthy, or health advantages, actually interested me. Early physicals, wearing your step counter during the day and reporting your steps and quitting smoking were all ways to lower the cost of the insurance. Unfortunately for me, at the end of the pamphlet, it says that employees would not be eligible for the health advantages until the next enrollment period. So, just as I expected, I kept the same plan, reading the packet was useless, and next time, I will do the same thing because I will have forgotten everything I have just read.

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SO TIRED

Once the closet was cleared out I decided to start work on the bedroom closet.  We had been out to shop for bedroom closet organizers and had finally found a couple we really liked.  I wanted to wait to install them, as I had so many projects to get finished on the outside of the house.  Debbie really wanted them to be installed as soon as possible.  She started to measure and mark where she wanted the shelving and racks, and when I took a look at it I didn't quite understand it.  I went to call her, but she was at work and was busy and couldn't be disturbed.  I thought I had enough to do outside, so I set the organizers aside and cut the grass, then did some caulking around the windows and doors.  This took a few hours, then I tried to reach Debbie again.  This time I got her on the phone.  She said to just wait until she got home, then she could go over how she wanted the kits assembled.  I agreed to that.  I had been going non-stop for weeks, and I was tired.  Between the move and the projects at work, there were a lot of late nights.

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ABOUT TO GIVE UP

I have finally just given up and let my husband have his way with installing a new alarm for our house.  They other night when it was really windy, we were disturbed a total of four times when that alarm when off.  Not only did it wake up everyone in the house, it set the dogs to howling and things just turned into a circus.  The monitoring people are taking longer to call now, we noticed, to check to see if everything is okay.  My husband of course asked why they took so long to call us, and they did admit there were a lot of alarms going off.  Some of us are getting disgruntled with using home security because it seems it is not working on their end any better than it’s working on ours.  We found this out after talking with a couple of neighbors, who were having as much trouble as we were with their alarm systems.  They are not even using the same one as we are but, are just as tired of the constant noise in the middle of the night.  Sometimes the alarms goes off when no one is home, and we get calls at work.

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February 19, 2008

ANDROGENIC ALOPECIA

Alopecia or hair loss is a condition that causes the hair follicles to shrink. The most common reason of hair loss in both men and women is androgenic alopecia. It is also the most common cause of African-America hair loss. It is a very common occurrence in them and severity is also quite high. Androgenic alopecia not only causes significant loss of hair, which is quite embarrassing, but it also damages the skin. Due to the thinning of hair the harmful ultra violet rays penetrate the hair and harm the sensitive skin. Alopecia can be inherited both from mother as well as father and the consequences of it are quite alarming. However, androgenic alopecia can be treated. There are many products available in the market that is specially designed to cure alopecia in African American population. These products cater specifically to the needs of the African Americans. There are different kinds of treatment kits available. These kits contain Minoxodil in a little quantity. Along with Minoxodil they also contain a moisturizing lotion for the hair and a moisturizing lotion for the scalp. Along with these they also provide with an instruction manual. These products can prove to be very helpful in treating the problem of hair loss in the African Americans.      

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February 18, 2008

WORRIED ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS

The one thing I was really worried about was the side effects of Lasik.  I began reading about some of them.  I guess most of the time everything is just fine, and that sometimes not enough treatment is done or not enough, but in many cases t can be corrected.  I talked to some friends who have had lasik and they came out fine, each and every one.  I aske Tara which of her friends have had Lasik and she told me that several of her friends had had the procedure.  Even Carol had had it done.  I hadn't heard Carol mentioned since we came back from California.  She was finally getting the divorce decree and she and Sam were history.  In the end, they were married two months and five days.  I think that's a record for Carol, who has been married four times.  Tara said she was kind of serious about Tyler.  Tyler had met up with Carol just days after she married Sam.  Carol said that there was some kind of immediate bonding that they did.  I guess.  I only wanted to know about Carol's lasik treatments.  She had had them done three years ago.  She had had the procedure done when she was living briefly in Hawaii.  Now there would be a place to go for treatment.

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February 15, 2008

TETANUS SHOT

My grandmother was in need for a personal injury attorney in Florida last winter when she was down there at our condo in Fort Lauderdale.  The whole building had been going under construction for a remodeling project, and the pool had just recently been finished.  She was walking out to the pool when she felt a sharp pain in her foot.  She picked her foot up to find that she had stepped on a nail that had not been cleaned up from the construction.  She was taken to the hospital and given a tetanus shot.  She had a pretty bad limp, and a few days later, the wound became infected.  She had to be hospitalized, until the infection got better.  She also decided to talk to a lawyer to see if there was anything she could do.  She decided with the attorney to press charges against the building.  The building decided to settle, and covered her medical expenses and gave her a nice chuck on cash too.  It certainly was not the way she thought she was going to be spending her winter vacation in Florida.  She could not even go down to the beach because she was afraid sand would get in her wounded foot and get it infected again.      

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February 12, 2008

Time to Firm Up

Most of the time when people say they want to get into better health they generally mean that they want to get into better shape.  This of course mostly means that they want to firm up their mid-section or at least do something about the pot belly or flab hanging off there.  Unfortunately, tightening up your waistline is one of the most difficult things anyone that exercises does. 

            To begin, people who put on weight will put it mostly on at their waistline first.  That also means that when they start to lose weight that they lose it from that area of the body last.  And some people just won’t ever fully tighten up their stomach.  They might just have bad genetics or their family’s health history goes against it.  That doesn’t mean that they can’t get into good shape at all though or better their own health. 

            If you are intent on trying at least to work off that gut, the best exercise to do is any kind of cardiovascular training.  Running, jogging, the stairmaster, or even just walking.   Nowadays, most nutrition and exercise experts will say cardio alone isn’t the very best way to trim your stomach, but to combine it with weight training to get the best results.  Yes, you will have to exercise and do it regularly.  But exercising alone will just melt off the flab and those deposits of fat that hang off your sides and back, you can’t forget about them. 

            You also have to change your eating habits.  Give up junk food, fast food, and candy, ice cream and chocolate and all the other things you love.  One day a week you can eat whatever you want since that one day won’t really affect your diet so long as you keep up with your exercise and eating healthy the rest of the time.  I’m talking about eating fruits and vegetables with every meal, eating white meat instead of red, wholegrain bread instead of white, and not touching soda.  Soda is nothing more than sugar water and does nothing for your body.  It’s just wasted calories. 

            Also, be careful how much Gatorade, Powerade, Hi-C, or any fruit drink you consume.  They all contain high fructose corn syrup, which is something many dieters suggest you give up all together since its all just fat that ends up hanging off you.  Some dieters will even drink nothing but water since it contains zero calories.  Still, those kinds of drinks contain potassium and quench your thirst so it’s not like soda.  These drinks actually contribute something to your body’s health. 

            Most importantly of all, you have to keep up this new routine.  Don’t give up.  You might not see results right away or you might not see the results you want right away.  Most people are lucky to lose one pound a week.  Everyone’s heard of someone who eats differently and starts running and they end up losing forty pounds in a single month.  That’s possible, at least for some people, but not for everyone.  Pick the routine that’s right for you. 

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February 5, 2008

SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES

One of the frightful diseases of today is so appalling because it can be cared for but is not. You should always create a health care plan with your physician as soon as you are diagnosed with diabetes. But, even more important is the fact that you should be vigilant in that plan. If you are predisposed to the disease then you should be very active in the creation of your health plan. You need to find out what works for you. This is the only way that you will be able to stick with it. Your diary is the all-important divinity when it comes to talking with your doctor. This diary of the glucose numbers you get, and what you were doing around that time is paramount to having a long and healthy life with diabetes type two. I hope that you don't ignore the disease and think that it will all go away with the medicine. This is a disease that needs constant monitoring. You will have excessive thirst. This will not be like a simple drink. But, will be like you just finished a tall glass of water and then want another one at the next commercial break. You will also have to urinate often regardless of if you actually go get that other glass of water. The disease will also sap your energy. But this is in the early part of the disease. This is also common. Sometime when you are in the early stages of the disease there can be a weight loss or a weight gain. Be sure that you are not attributing this gain or loss to simply eating more or less. This type of gain or loss is when you are holding the foods you eat to the same levels as before. If any of these have been around for a while you should realize that you would need to talk to your doctor and determine if there is a disease that you should be tackling.

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