Do you have Cystic Fibrosis and what do you use to expel mucus from lungs?

July 2nd, 2009
UnbiasedHealthReporter asked:


Do you have Cystic Fibrosis and what do you use to expel mucus from lungs?

I have nephew 2 years old nephew just recently diagnosed with CF. doctor will not prescribe Pulmozyme saying that he is too young. What other choices we have besides chest therapies. We are using the VEST but the mucus is not being expelled.

Cystic Fibrosis

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Is it good to use steam rooms and saunas when you have Cystic Fibrosis?

July 2nd, 2009
Elianna asked:


I joined a health club that has these steam rooms and saunas and I have Cystic Fibrosis, I was just wondering if they’re good to use with my condition and for how long at a time? I’m 15

Hedge Fund Software

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Causes, Prevention and Treatment of Food Allergies

July 2nd, 2009

Food allergies are a reaction by the immune system’s eosinophils, which are proteins that are activated in a histamine reaction. They are reacting to any foreign proteins, in other words they recognize particular food as foreign bodies to combat against. Certain vaccines are still egg-based such as the Influenza vaccines and the Yellow Fever vaccine. One theory is that these egg based vaccines and the fact that they work based on soliciting a response from the body is just a theory and not based in evidence. Another theory is that a young infant’s immune system is not ready to handle food proteins and so starts to attack them.

One prevention according to the American Academy of Pediatrics is to breastfeed for at least 4 months in an attempt to prevent atopic dermatitis, cow milk allergy, and wheezing in early childhood. Some pediatrician try to prevent allergies by asking moms to introduce new foods one at a time and only after 6 months of age, especially in infants with siblings or parents with food allergies. These infants with a family history of food allergies are deemed as being high-risk for food allergies.

The best way to treat food allergies is to do your best to avoid eating the food that you have been determined to be allergic to. This is not always possible as sometimes food is hidden in items that you would not otherwise guess would have the food item. This is why reading food labels is so important. In avoiding food allergens it is imperative that food preparations procedures also be scrutinized to be sure that cross contaminating is not occurring. This can happen when the same utensils are used in different foods.

At home is not the only time to avoid what foods you are allergic to, you also need to be diligent in school situation, party situations, in social gatherings, family dinners and when eating out at restaurants or at other people’s homes. It is important to inform the host/hostess of your food allergies before the dinner party, or other social gathering where food will be prepared. Call ahead to restaurants and inform the manager or chef that you will be dining there and have food allergies.

An emergency treatment kit should be carried on the person of anyone with food allergies especially if they have ever had a severe reaction to the food. These kits contain an auto injector of epinephrine which is a medication used to treat allergic reactions. The auto injector is called an Epipen or Twinject. If a severe reaction has occurred it is possible that two doses may be required.

There are no allergy desensitization or allergy “shots” available for individuals with food allergies. There are desensitization or allergy “shots” for other allergens like outdoor and indoor allergens.

Emergency care is needed immediately for anyone having a severe allergic reaction.

There are studies being conducted to manufacture genetic engineered vaccines that may be available for individuals with food allergies in about ten years.

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Can a 504 Plan Help your Child with Food Allergies in School?

July 2nd, 2009

If you have a child with food allergies in school, do you need a 504 plan that addresses your child’s physical needs when it comes to treatment of a reaction? A 504 plan is based on sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which requires schools to provide students a free public education, regardless of any type of disability. The disability could be mental, physical or even emotional and certainly food allergies and possible reactions could fall within this realm.

The 504 plan itself is created to protect the interests of your child should he or she has an allergic reaction to something they ate or were exposed to in school. This plan is created with the input of the parents, principal, teacher, school nurse and any other school administrator who needs to be involved.

Can a 504 Plan Really Help your Child in School?

When a child has a food allergy severe enough to necessitate life-saving skills should a reaction occur, a 504 plan is an excellent thing to have in place. When the child, parent, teacher and other school staff know about the allergy in addition to knowing how to administer life-saving epinephrine, the child is much safer.

The 504 plan provides a foundation as well for parents and children to discuss their food allergies as well as their responsibilities in avoiding the culprit in question as well as what to do should a reaction occur. In addition, it can spell out what exactly the child can do for themselves in certain situations as well as what the teacher or other school official is expected to do. Clear roles are defined and delineated.

Not Every Child Can Have a 504 Plan

Not every child with a food allergy can have a 504 protection plan in place. Medical proof must show that the allergy can greatly hinder a child’s health and activities in order to be considered. The school district must evaluate each child requesting a 504 plan on a case by case basis. The seriousness of the food allergy as well as the child’s ability to treatment him or herself is studied.

Young children with limited reading ability or capability to act for themselves will likely have 504 plan approvals with the school. However, if an older child, who understands their food allergy, knows how to avoid triggers and can adequately handle themselves in self-administering medicine if needed may not require an official 504 plan and one may not be approved for them at any rate.

There are arguments for and against 504 plans for your child in school and each side has valid points. The best suggestion for you would be to talk with your child’s doctor and understand the severity of the food allergy. If a reaction could be life threatening at any time, the obvious answer would be to start on a 504 plan immediately. However, if the symptoms are more troublesome than anything and could easily be remedied with a trip to the nurse’s office for an anti-histamine or other medication, then perhaps the hassle of getting a 504 plan approved by the school district is not worth it.

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Books and Other Resources For Individuals With Food Allergies

July 2nd, 2009

Sometimes we need to find information about how to deal with a problem or issue such as handling a child with food allergies, or shopping for a family member with food allergies, or how to cook meals when you have a family member with food allergies. There are many situations and questions that arise when you are dealing with food allergies that it is nice to have a place to go to where you can find books, Websites and other resources that you can turn to and find the answers you need when you need them. This article is such as place to turn to. Feel free to print this article so that you can have it handy as a resource when you need it.

Books About Food Allergies:

Hidden Food Allergies: The Essential Guide to Uncovering Hidden Food by James Braly, Patrick Holford

This book was published in 2006 and is written by Britain’s top nutrition expert and a leading medical authority on nutrition. Readers can find all kinds of useful information about food allergies in the pages of this book including how to prevent and solve childhood allergies and new and exciting findings on the relationship between food allergies, food addiction, and alcoholism. Also discussed are the latest breakthroughs in allergy testing, how to follow elimination diets and reintroduce foods safely.

Other books on food allergies are:

How to Manage Your Child’s Life-Threatening Food Allergies by Linda Marienhoff Coss

Food Allergies: Enjoying Life with a Severe Food Allergy by Tanya Wright

Food Allergies: How to Tell if You Have Them, What to Do About Them If You Do by Neil S. Orenstein, Sarah L. Bingham

Food Allergies: Up-To-Date Tips from the World’s Foremost Nutrition Experts by Celide Barnes Koerner, Anne Munoz-Furlong

The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook: Two Hundred Gourmet & Homestyle Recipes by Cybele Pascal

Websites About Food Allergies:

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing about a clearer understanding of the issues surrounding food allergies and providing helpful resources according to the site. They can be located at www.foodallergy.org/

You can read about the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, and treatment on medicinenet.com/food_allergy/article.htm

A good site for finding out about dealing with kids and food allergies is kidswithfoodallergies.org/

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has a brochure called Tips to remember – Food allergies that are available for free

http://www.aaaai.org

And the International Food Information Council Foundation has a brochure called Understanding Food Allergy, which is also free and available at

http://www.ific.org/publications/brochures/allergybroch.cfm

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology also has a 15-minute video and brochure that describes how true food allergy differs from food intolerance, and is available for a cost of $25.00

http://www.aaaai.org

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Diverticulitis

July 2nd, 2009

Diverticulitis is a serious disease which is both painful and dangerous. Once diverticula, which are small sacs, grow on colon walls, they will not heal. Inflammation and rupture of these sacs may occur and cause serious and life threatening infections. Preventative measure can be taken to ensure digestive health and the prevention of diverticulitis. Doctors are unsure about what causes diverticulitis. It is believed that a low fiber diet may pay a role. Without fiber to add bulk to the stool, the colon has to work harder than normal to push the stool forward. The pressure from this action may cause pouches to form in weak areas along the colon.

As a person gets older, pressure within the colon causes bulging pockets of tissue, or sacs, that push out from the colon walls. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is called a diverticulum. More than one bulging sac is referred to as diverticula. Diverticula can occur throughout the colon, but most are common near the end of the left colon. This is referred to as the sigmoid colon. The condition of having these diverticula in the colon is called diverticulosis

Diverticulitis occurs when bacteria get trapped in the pouches. This leads to infection or inflammation. No screening is available at this time for diverticulitis. Starting at age 40, a procedure called a flexible sigmoidoscopy may be recommended every 3 to 5 years or a colonoscopy every 10 years as a screening exam for cancers of the colon and rectum. Both flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy involve using a flexible tube with a lighted viewing instrument to see inside the large intestine. These exams are often able to reveal diverticula if they are present. Treatment after recovery from an attack of diverticulitis is aimed at preventing another attack.

More serious complications include diverticulitis, abscess in the pelvis, colon obstruction, and bacterial peritonitis, plus bleeding in the colon. A diverticulum can become infected with bacteria and ruptures, causing diverticulitis. Fever, tenderness, and pain of the lower left abdomen are common symptoms. Constipation or diarrhea may also occur. A collection of pus can develop around the inflamed diverticulum, which leads to the formation of an abscess, usually in the pelvis. On rare occasions, the inflamed diverticula can erode into the urinary bladder, which causes a bladder infection and passing of gas during urination. Inflammation of the colon may also lead to bowel obstruction. On rare occasions, a diverticulum ruptures freely into the abdominal cavity causing life threatening infection caused peritonitis.

No screening is available at this time for diverticulitis. Starting at age 40, a procedure called a flexible sigmoidoscopy may be recommended every 3 to 5 years or a colonoscopy every 10 years as a screening exam for cancers of the colon and rectum. Both flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy involve using a flexible tube with a lighted viewing instrument to see inside the large intestine. These exams are often able to reveal diverticula if they are present. Treatment after recovery from an attack of diverticulitis is aimed at preventing another attack. This treatment may include getting plenty of fluids daily, gradually increasing the amount of fiber in the diet through fruits, vegetables, wheat bran, and the regular use of a fiber supplement. It is also highly recommended that regular doctor visits are conducted to monitor the condition.

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Diet and Diverticulitis

July 2nd, 2009

Diverticulitis occurs when pockets in the wall of the intestine, called diverticula, become inflamed or infected. Sufferers of diverticulitis can find relief by following a diverticulitis diet. A low reside diet is recommended during the flare up periods of diverticulitis to decrease the volume of bowel so the infection may heal. An intake of less than 10 grams of fiber per day is generally considered a low residue diverticulitis diet. Treatment of diverticulitis depends on the severity of the symptoms and how often the attacks occur. Mild cases of diverticulitis may be treated with diet, rest, and antibiotics. Severe cases may eventually require surgery to remove the diseased portion of the colon.

A diet designed for diverticulitis patients should also focus on drinking plenty of water every day in order to enable the fiber to work its magic. Fiber works by absorbing water and increasing the soft and bulky waste in the colon. If the body does not get enough liquid to replace what is absorbed, fiber has the opposite result and leads to constipation. Until recently, many doctors suggested avoiding foods with small seeds such as tomatoes or strawberries because they believed tat particles could lodge in the diverticula and cause inflammation. Foods such as nuts, popcorn hulls, and sunflower, pumpkin, cucumbers, strawberries, and raspberries, including poppy seeds, are generally considered harmless.

The treatment needed for diverticulitis depends on how bad the symptoms are and whether an infection exists. In general there are a small percentage of people whose condition will move from diverticulosis to diverticulitis. This disease is generally seen in almost half of all Americans over the age of 60, but it is diagnosed to a lesser degree to many who are in their 40’s. The problem seems to increase with age as the weak areas of the colon continue to balloon out and result in pockets. Ballooning is caused by pressure such as exertion when a person is constipated by lack of fiber in their diet or because of certain medications. It has also been attributed to some gallbladder surgeries that have positioned the gall duct to drip directly into the intestines after the gallbladder has been removed.

It is very possible to minimize the effects of the diverticulitis in those who have already developed the condition. Choosing to convert to a diet which is aimed to control diverticulitis later in life can have significant health benefits. The recommended amount of fiber everyone needs to maintain a healthy colon is generally between 20 and 35 grams of fiber every day. Adding foods like baked beans, brown rice, bran, oats, pears, and squash can easily provide the necessary fiber for anyone. There are also many supplemental products that can be ingested which offer a valuable amount of fiber that is part of a diverticulitis diet treatment. For patients who already have developed colon problems, there are also foods that should be restricted from the typical diet in order to avoid problems. This disease can be managed in many ways, diet being one of the easiest.

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Diagnosis of Diverticulitis

July 2nd, 2009

Diverticulitis is an infection or inflammation of the pouches in the digestive tract, most commonly affecting the sigmoid colon, which is part of the large intestine. It typically affects people over the age of 40, but it is not uncommon for a younger person to experience diverticulitis. Complications of diverticulitis could affect nearby organs and emergency surgery is sometimes required if the intestine has ruptured. The most common symptom of diverticulitis is abdominal pain. The most common sign is tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. If infection is the cause, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation may occur as well. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the infections and complications.

Most people who suffer from diverticulosis do not have any discomfort or symptoms, however, symptoms may include mild cramps, bloating, and constipation. Other diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcers cause similar problems. These symptoms are not indicative of diverticulosis. The differential diagnosis of diverticulosis includes colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. It also includes a number of urological and gynecological processes. Bleeding from the rectum is also common. Patients are commonly studied with a CT scan, but also barium enema and colonoscopy tests.

A patient with diverticulosis may have few, if any, symptoms. When a diverticulum becomes infected and ruptures, the condition is called diverticulitis. A patient suffering from diverticulitis experiences abdominal pain and tenderness, often accompanied by fever. Bleeding which originates from a diverticulum is called diverticulitis bleeding. Diverticular disease is common in the Western areas of the world, but is extremely rare in areas such as Asia and Africa. Diverticular disease increases with age and is uncommon before the age of forty. Most patients with diverticulitis develop bleeding, infection, constipation, abdominal cramps, and occasionally, colon obstruction.

More serious complications include diverticulitis, abscess in the pelvis, colon obstruction, and bacterial peritonitis, plus bleeding in the colon. A diverticulum can become infected with bacteria and ruptures, causing diverticulitis. Fever, tenderness, and pain of the lower left abdomen are common symptoms. Constipation or diarrhea may also occur. A collection of pus can develop around the inflamed diverticulum, which leads to the formation of an abscess, usually in the pelvis. On rare occasions, the inflamed diverticula can erode into the urinary bladder, which causes a bladder infection and passing of gas during urination. Inflammation of the colon may also lead to bowel obstruction. On rare occasions, a diverticulum ruptures freely into the abdominal cavity causing life threatening infection caused peritonitis.

No screening is available at this time for diverticulitis. Starting at age 40, a procedure called a flexible sigmoidoscopy may be recommended every 3 to 5 years or a colonoscopy every 10 years as a screening exam for cancers of the colon and rectum. Both flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy involve using a flexible tube with a lighted viewing instrument to see inside the large intestine. These exams are often able to reveal diverticula if they are present. Treatment after recovery from an attack of diverticulitis is aimed at preventing another attack. This treatment may include getting plenty of fluids daily, gradually increasing the amount of fiber in the diet through fruits, vegetables, wheat bran, and the regular use of a fiber supplement. It is also highly recommended that regular doctor visits are conducted to monitor the condition.

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Looking for natural back pain relief?

July 1st, 2009
Deborah W asked:


I have been looking for a natural treatment for my lower back pain. The pain is sometimes unbearable, but at others it only aches. I have been doing yoga and pilates, but I still have back pain. The chiropractor helps, but it hurts so much to get an adjustment that i don’t know which is worse. Any suggestions? I’d like to be free of the $75 that the chiropractor charges.

Lose The Back Pain System

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Are you allergic to animals, and, if so, have you passed that on to your kids?

June 28th, 2009
skahhh asked:


I am allergic to cats. In particular I am allergic to siamese cats, that have been known to close off my airway to breath. My daughter has an exotic cat, a playful cat, that she keeps indoors. At present she has been identified with ****** cancer and had treatments including chemo, radiation and clinical trials. She now has nodules on her lungs and inflamed lymph nodes in her lungs shown by CatScan and PetScan. I have heard of indoor cats being linked to either multiple sclerosis or cystic fibrosis, I think. I think this may be related to her cat. Her mom does not apparently have this type of allergy. My daughter had to have her tonsils out when she was little because she could not breathe. I know that some of her genes come from me. How can I get her to take this seriously and not concentrate on dying from something that may be caused by allergies to her cat that she is not sensitive enough to?

Hemorrhoid Symptoms

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