Bulicio

Archive for March, 2010

Home health programs offer a great alternative that saves money and encourages independence. Many different types of people use home health services, from infants to elderly. Home health is basically an extension of care that allows a person to be independent fro the confines of a hospital or other care center.

These Medical home health programs are designed to assist a person who needs medical care but does not necessarily need to be confined to a hospital or other care facility.

A person who needs expert care can get it at a lower cost then if they were to stay in the hospital or use treatment centers. The services offer through home health vary from wound care to intravenous medications to assistance with bathing. Part of the goal of home health is to help a person become self sufficient again and no longer need the care of any medical professional.

Medical care home health programs offer a range of services that are done in the comfort of the patients own home. Home health programs are usually supervised by a doctor, but nurses and aides carry out the majority of the care.

Home health program also offers education. The home health personnel usually try to educate someone in the patients home or a friend or family member on how to care for the patient so that the patient is no longer in need of the home health services. This is usually done when the care will be needed for an extended period of time.

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“Do I treat my back pain with an ice pack or heating pad?”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had patients come to physical therapy for back pain therapy and ask that exact question. They want to know which is more effective, or, should they be using both. If both ice and heat are needed, then how often and for how long should they be used? In this article, I am going to answer these questions for you.

Though heat and/or ice have never been scientifically proven to eliminate pain when used alone, I believe they offer benefits in the treatment of back pain. Personally, I think the use of heat/ice is good for the fact that they can provide temporary relief of back pain. This allows you to exercise and move around in less pain, which ultimately increases the rate at which you are able to recover.

Ice, when used shortly after an initial injury or flare up (within the first 48 hours), is effective in limiting the amount of inflammation or swelling at the site of an injury. This is important because inflammation and swelling cause pain and stiffness. They can also limit range of motion in a muscle or joint and make it difficult for you to stay active after an injury.

When using ice as a form of back pain therapy, only use it for 15-20 minutes, but never longer. You can cause further damage to the tissues, including frostbite, by icing for too long. Once you remove the ice pack, allow the area to warm up for at least an hour before re-applying.

Heat can also be very beneficial for back pain therapy; however, it is not recommended to use heat after an initial injury (within 48 hours). Applying heat within that 48 hour window can increase swelling and inflammation because heat increases circulation.

The increased circulation heat provides is a fantastic benefit after the first 48 hours. By increasing blood flow into and out of the injured area, the heat helps to “flush” the swelling out of that area. Additionally, heat helps to relax muscles, which generally allows one to move easier and with less pain.

Again, application is for 15-20 minutes at a time with ample (at least 1 hour) time for your back to rest between application. Be careful when applying heat so that you don’t burn yourself by leaving it on too long or getting the heat source too hot. Also, never fall asleep with heat on your back.

Remember, heat and ice both have some positive benefits for helping back pain, especially when you understand the correct way to use them as a back pain therapy treatment. The unfortunate part about hot and cold therapy is that the results can often be temporary as they do not address the underlying cause of the pain, which is the problem with using them alone

Life expectancy for Americans is continuing to increase according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past decade, Americans have lived 1.4 years longer, with an average age at death of 77.9 in 2007 compared to 76.5 in 1997.

Research also indicates that Americans are not only living longer, but their extended lifespans include more active years in better health and sound financial security.

Life expectancy for both American men and women has improved, though the existing gap between life expectancy for the two genders is closing. Twenty years ago, the average woman could expect to live eight years longer than a man. In 2007, that difference was five years, with the average life expectancy for a woman at 80.4 years and for a man at 75.3 years.

Longer life expectancies will result in an increased aging population. It is estimated that by 2030, the number of Americans aged 65+ will be roughly 71 million, nearly double the current levels. These older citizens will make up 20 percent of the total population of the U.S., and some states with higher concentrations of seniors could have more than 25 percent of their population over age 65.

Longer life spans also mean increased healthcare costs. Healthcare costs for an American 65+ are estimated to be three to five times greater than younger people. The increased aging population projected for 2030 is expected to generate 25 percent in healthcare costs and spending.

Even with the longer life improvement and increased healthcare spending over the last decade, U.S. life expectancy still lags behind other developed countries. The World Health Organization reports that 14 countries have better life expectancies than the U.S. Japan had the longest life expectancy rate, with an average of 83 years; followed by Australia and Italy at 82 years; and France, Israel, Singapore and Spain at 81 years.

Some ethnic groups within the U.S. live longer on average than others. African-American men die younger than Caucasians, though the life expectancy for black men has recently increased to 70 years.

Overall, nearly half the deaths in the U.S. are attributed to heart disease and cancer, which annually account for about 48 percent of all deaths.

A study looking at nuts nutrition facts conducted by a team of Spanish researchers found that eating a handful of nuts (3 whole walnuts, 7 or 8 whole hazelnuts or almonds) had more health benefits than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean style diet.

But before you go reaching for the nuts, adding this number of calories to a typical Western isn’t what the research had in mind, and in fact would tend to lead to weight gain and increased disease risk.

The American Heart Association estimates that 50 million U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome and this greatly increases our risk of heart disease.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of factors that include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low good cholesterol and high blood sugar.

Earlier studies have suggested that the Mediterranean style diet may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, and the team of Spanish researchers wanted to test the effectiveness of this type of diet plan verses a low fat diet.

Mediterranean style diets are rich in fruits, vegetables and fish. They don’t include lots of red meat or dairy products.

Study lead author Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain says that eating nuts gives you a full feeling, while also improving the fat burning abilities of the body.

Salas-Salvado and another co-author are unpaid advisers to nut industry groups, though their work was reviewed and accepted by a peer-reviewed journal.

The team points out that nuts are also rich in anti inflammatory substances and antioxidants, as well as being good sources of unsaturated fat – a healthier fat that lowers triglycerides and improves levels of good cholesterol.

The research involved over 1,200 Spanish subjects aged 55 to 80 who had no prior history of heart disease, though some did have risk factors for the condition.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three diets – a low fat diet (the control diet), a Mediterranean style diet with supplemented more than 4 tablespoons of olive oil a day, or a Mediterranean style diet that also included a handful of nuts each day.

When the study began about 61% of participants had metabolic syndrome, spread evenly across the three diet groups.

At the end of the year long study, the nut eaters didn’t lose weight, but a majority of them did reduce their belly fat while also improving their blood pressure and cholesterol numbers.

The rate of metabolic syndrome improvement was 13.7% in the nut-eating group. Of the olive oil group, 6.7% had improved enough to no longer be classified as having metabolic syndrome; while in the low fat group there was little difference (less than 2%) in the percentage of those with metabolic syndrome from the beginning of the study.

“What’s most surprising is they found substantial metabolic benefits in the absence of calorie reduction or weight loss,” said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Your best bet if you’re concerned about metabolic syndrome, or heart disease, is to talk with your own doctor or nutritionist about the benefits of adopting a Mediterranean style diet.

Making small changes like reducing how much red meat you eat, cutting out some of the saturated fats, limiting the junk food and upping the amount of fruits, veggies and fish are solid first steps. Taken alongside the nuts nutrition facts the study discovered, and add a few nuts each day, and you could be keeping your body, and your heart, healthy for years to come.

You have made the decision to buy a boat. First of all here is a definition of the word boat. It is a hole in the lake that you put money in. Actually if you keep the size down it isn’t that bad. A 14 foot aluminum boat, trailer and small motor will last a long time. If you have a place to store it when not in use it won’t cost a lot for upkeep and last an even longer time.

A 14 foot aluminum boat is a great fishing boat on small lakes but it has limited value beyond that. If the children or grandchildren want to use it as a diving platform it doesn’t work. The reason is the boat is too hard to get in and out of and the hard sides are a risk for someone to jump out of. The risk of course is they slip and hit their head on the side.

Inflatable boats offer another option for water fun. They store and transport easily and if you take care of them they will last for years. I live on a lake so my boat is their older cousin but I pull my children and grandchildren around on an inflatable donut. Talk about abuse, the donut is pulled through the water as fast as it is safe and has lasted for years. The inflatable donut isn’t as strong as an inflatable boat but even so we have had no complaints.

Just be careful where you store it. I had an inflatable toy and stored it in a shed that had mice and the next year I found the mice needed it for material for their nest.

While running a resort in northern Minnesota, I observed inflatable boats used not only for fishing but as a raft for kids of all ages to dive off. They would anchor the inflatable boat, have a ladder and enjoy it for hours. The interesting thing is many of the inflatable’s older cousins stayed at the dock most of the week their owners were there. The problem was the owner bought the boat years ago and felt they needed to take it along. However, after they got there the actual use was limited.

Several years ago I was using a sail boat in Cancun and wound up in the drink. The resort life guard had an inflatable boat with a small gas engine on it. It was a lot easier climbing into the inflatable boat than a hard sided boat would have been. The only problem was he then couldn’t get the engine started so I had to be rescued again. But what are vacations for?

Think about the gain in physical fitness your loved ones get with an inflatable boat. We spend thousands of dollars in health club dues yet seldom go there. The reason is it just isn’t that much fun working out. An inflatable boat means that while on vacation your loved ones will burn energy and gain some physical fitness diving off the boat, swimming around it, climbing back on and rowing it back to shore. When they get home they might be more apt to keep up some form of physical fitness.

Regardless of where you live in Missouri, if you don’t have a job that offers a health benefits package, or if you don’t work at all, you’re most likely going to have trouble finding affordable health insurance in Missouri. The exceptions, of course, are those individuals who are married and have spouses with excellent health benefits packages, or those individuals wealthy enough to purchase individual health insurance policies.

Some Missouri residents have trouble obtaining affordable health insurance in Missouri for various other reasons. Some people find their health insurance policies involuntarily cancelled, while others are being charged more than 300% of the standard health care premiums. These residents also probably need help obtaining affordable health insurance in Missouri.

Missouri offers a special program to Missouri residents who are in these kinds of situations. The program is called the Missouri Health Insurance Pool (MHIP), and it’s governed by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield programs of Missouri and of Kansas City. The MHIP isn’t an insurance company; it’s an insurance program for Missouri residents that offers four kinds of comprehensive and major medical health coverage.

You’re eligible for the MHIP if you don’t receive or aren’t eligible for any other health care coverage; haven’t already received the maximum $1 million dollars in coverage from the MHIP; and haven’t been turned down by other health insurance companies due to alcohol or drug abuse. For more information, visit Missouri’s Department of Insurance Web site.

The MHIP works as a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and in order to get the most from the program, members should stay within the PPO when getting health care. The MHIP offers prescription drug and managed care coverage. Although there is a “pre-existing condition” exclusion, there are ways to get that exclusion waived. Other kinds of coverage, as well as costs, depend on which of the four kinds of comprehensive and major medical health coverage in which you’re enrolled.