Jen's Health Blog

The Prime Five Concussion Tests Explained

2011-05-24T08:05:00.001-07:00

The Prime Five Concussion Tests Explained

Immediately once a concussion, it is vital to bear a series of concussion tests to assist you in identifying the extent of brain injury. Issues when a concussion vary from individual to individual. For a ton of folks, the signs and symptoms will resolve among just a few days. For alternative individuals, concussion signs and symptoms may linger for weeks, months and probably years till they absolutely resolve. In 201one, there are various subtle concussion tests which an individual may possibly bear to help understand what harm has occurred.

Neurological Exam

A neurological exam or evaluation takes place within the Emergency Room. Physicians or nurses will do several little tests to seem at your physical and cognitive status. For example, they'll have you walk, bit your finger to the nose, count backwards and also answer some easy calculations.

A standard neurological analysis is given to several people with completely different problems. Whereas it's typically a customary check of your current skills, it might not sensitive enough to find subtle concussion signs and symptoms. If you discover that you just pass this test however have trouble throughout the approaching days or even weeks, speak to the physician and request further concussion take a look at options.

CT Scan

CT scans or "cat" scans are sometimes given during a hospital or clinic. In order to understand what's happening inside of your brain, a special dye can be injected into your blood stream, usually through your arm. Some individuals report a small burning sensation that passes quickly.

When the dye is in your system, a nurse or a tech will set you up within the scanner. They're looking to determine how the blood travels and where it goes to. They will then use that data to find if there's any injury. The test only lasts for regarding fifteen minutes. When the scan is complete a medical professional (like a radiologist) can examine the ultimate results.

Generally, gentle concussions aren't apparent on CT scan. Whereas one could be tempted to assume that if a concussion can not be seen it did not occur, several people with negative CT scans still complain that they are continuing to own signs and symptoms of their concussion.

MRI Scan

MRI scans are done at either hospitals or specialty clinics that house an MRI machine. Similarly to the CT scan, dye is injected into your blood stream. This time, you will be placed into an extended chamber while the machine takes a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) of your brain. It is usually reported that MRI chambers are noisy and will cause claustrophobia.

MRI scans are very sensitive and allow doctors to actually see the extent of your concussion. If there are any changes to the brain, they will seem for your physician to find out. Once the physician sees changes for the brain, they can be able to discuss concussion treatment choices together with you.

Neuropsychological test

A neuropsychologist specializes assessing a person's mental skills and capacities. They are usually found working in hospitals, clinics or non-public practices. A neuropsychological evaluation is an intensive battery of tests which will last for up to eight hours. They are wanting to determine exactly how well you're functioning both cognitively and psychologically. He or she will evaluate your performance, review your results and provide suggestions regarding how to extend your present cognitive standing. They can additionally look at what your performance suggests that in the context of your educational, vocational and personal life.

Neuropsychologists are trained to seek out refined problems in cognitive perform. For example, they may uncover a deficit in attention, processing or coping with multi-tasking situations. Neuropsychologists are often half of a medical or legal team as the results of the testing would possibly impact on the person's ability to return to their prior life.

ImPACT Concussion Testing

ImPACT testing is a specific concussion test given principally to athletes. Trained administrators typically offer this test at the beginning of the sports season and then offer the check again if the person sustains a concussion. If you've got taken the ImPACT check before your concussion, you'll be capable of measuring your current talents against a baseline. A 20 minute computer-primarily based check will raise you concerning concussion signs and symptoms while looking at your memory, attention and speed of processing. Make an try to possess this test before you have experienced a concussion- particularly if you are an athlete.

ImPACT testing keeps records of each and every performance. It can compare you to yourself and additionally against people of your own age. If you've withstood a concussion, the ImPACT check will help you recognize once your concussion signs and symptoms have resolved enough to start out enjoying sports once more.

To summarize, getting the correct concussion test is extraordinarily crucial to both determine the concussion and then to assist arrange the proper concussion treatment when needed.

Get rid of stretch marks

2010-08-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Get rid of stretch marks

Getting rid of stretch marks is a very important matter for every woman when they've just had a baby. Now that you've carefully brought this little girl or boy into the world, it's time to take care of yourself.

1st step: Restore your body to its pre-pregnancy state, so you can start with exercises and dieting. To remove stretch marks, you need more drastic action than exercises or diet, though. You want something that gets rid of those nasty red lines for good.

2nd step: Stretch marks are simply put: scar tissue. To fix them, you just need to speed up the skin turnover. You can do this by using similar ingredients that are found in major facial creams. Things like alpha hydroxy acids can help your skin to really reform much faster.

At normal rates, it takes from two to three months for your skin to get completely refreshed, but you can get it to reform within a month with the right ingredients and right usage of them. You can find the right ingredients in several stretch mark creams. Such as TriLASTIN-SR® or Revitol. TriLASTIN-SR® even claims to get the fastest results in as little as 3 weeks!

These creams are safe and very effective at restoring your skin to its former self.

Keep old job, get new one

2010-08-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

Decision making tips

Statistics show that about 62% of the people working today aren't happy with their current jobs. One of the many reasons is that their talents are wasted because they haven't gotten a proper job for their education. And that’s just one problem.

A little self-improvement advice will help you out with this common problem. You should know how to appreciate your job if you want to succeed in life.

There might be criticism leveled against you that isn’t justified or true. There could be too much backstabbing, you just can't stand. The job may just not be what you expected. You were promised one thing, but it was totally another story. One thing that you should do about backstabbing is always retain your temper at the right level. Don’t try to argue with your co-workers or it could be another reason for firing you.

You have to get to the root of what is causing your unhappiness about where you are and what you’re currently doing. The easiest way is The Three Whys. Ask, “Why am i unhappy?” five times. This will help you determine the root problem what makes you unhappy.

Once you decide that you need a change - that's the moment, when the real fun begins. Just think about finding a new job or change careers completely. There are also some unavoidable problems concerning one's job.

1. You’re outgo exceeds your income. You just need more money.
Either try to reduce outgo, try to get wage increase or get a new job.

2. You have a job, you know everything you do. You can't advance further in your job even if you wanted to.
Talk with your boss about this and see if there's anything you can do. If not, find a new job.

Before resorting to resigning from your job, try to resolve and examine your current problems thoroughly, because it isn't easy to find a new job. And even if you still decide to resign, it would be wise to look up a new job before resigning.

Meditation tips

2010-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Meditation

There are some times in life when you wish you could depend on someone's self improvement advice. Even if they adviced you with good intentions, if something goes wrong, you are always going to blame those people. That is why you should always make your own decisions even though you asked advice from someone.

What is the meditation procedure?

Tip 1: You need to be away from any source of distraction. Such as tv, music or family members. Keep all windows closed to prevent noises from outside. You simply can't analyze your deepest feelings and watch an action movie at the same time.

Tip 2: You need to ask yourself questions that will help you to determine better who you really are. The questions should relate to everyday aspects. Such questions as "What do you like doing?", "What event made you most proud of yourself during your entire life up to this point?", "What is it that you always wanted to do and you never had the time?" and "How important is money in your life?". All these questions will help you determine exactly where you stand and what is it that you want form life. All you have to do is to get the right interpretation of your own replies.

In order to do that, help yourself to a coup of tea or your favorite coffee and take the time to analyze them thoroughly. Mark with a red pen whatever you find pride worthy answers and with a black one the things that do not make you proud.

If you are worried about a certain decision you have made, let all the questions be related to that issue. If you are just confused when asking the questions, think about the most common topics that one has to deal during his or her life.

You will notice that, step by step, the bad things on your list of life will start turning good things. Don't forget to renew the list when most of it has turned into good things! It's the best way to always be aware what your expectations from life are.

With this advice you can easily start getting rid of the bad things in your life, or turnin them into good ones.

7 Tips to get young, healthy and wrinkle-free skin

2010-07-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Read the following tips to get a wrinkle-free and young looking skin!

Tip 1.

Once again, water. Water helps your skin to get hydrated and helps getting flush toxins out of your body.

Tip 2.

Eating the right foods is crucial for having healthy skin. Eating alot of fruits and vegetables are recommended. These kind of foods are rich in antioxidants that help your skin to stay firm. Omega3 is needed as well. You can get it from fish and is beneficial in eliminating wrinkles as well as eating fruits and vegetables is.

Tip 3.

Avoid drinking alcohol. The reason why you should avoid alcohol, is that it dries your skin. Dry skin is one of the biggest reasons for wrinkles.

Things not related to eating to reduce wrinkles:

Tip 4.

Quit smoking. It does not only prevent wrinkles from appearing, but enhances the overall health. Most of the time smoking brings wrinkles around your lips and it also makes your skin yellow.

Tip 5.

As strange as it sounds, sleeping position is also related to wrinkles. Best position to choose to get rid of wrinkles is sleeping on your back. It stretches the frontal skin and that way reduces wrinkles on the face. Also, getting the recommended 8 hour sleep is advisable.

Tip 6.

Don't expose yourself too much for the sun light. If you can't or don't want to be hiding from sun, you should wear sunscreen.

Tip 7.

A combination that is extremely powerful in eliminatin wrinkles is some antioxidant cream that contains vitamin A, C and E. A good source of vitamin A is Retinol which is essential for the skin.

You should start following the above steps to get a young looking wrinkle-free skin!

5 Tips on falling asleep quickly

2010-07-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to fall asleep or your sleep quality is low and you feel very tired in the morning. By following these tips you can get rid of sleeping problems.

Tip 1.

During the day, try to be as active as possible. By saying active, i mean going for a run and doing other things besides sitting on the couch watching television. By using energy during the day, you'll fall asleep easier in the evening.

Tip 2.

Avoid eating before going to bed. Most worst things to eat before sleeping is caffeine and nicotine. Remember that even if alcohol makes you sleepy, it's only light sleep and you wake up easily and the quality of sleep suffers and you'll feel sleepy in the morning even if you slept for a long time.

Tip 3.

Try to clear your mind, think nothing. When thinking all the events happened during the past day, you'll change your sleeping position alot which makes your falling asleep harder. Good way to clear your mind is to write the events of past day down before going to sleep to get them off your mind.

Other good method is trying to imagine a button like this "Imagination ON - OFF" and turn it off in your mind. Every time you notice you're thinking something, try not to and concentrate to look into your eye lids where you see nothing.

Tip 4.

Use calm music. Hearing calm music like some chill out music when going to sleep on a really low volume, makes your mind calm. That way it's much easier to fall asleep.

Tip 5.

Try to get your sleeping environment as dim as possible because exposure to sunlight makes falluing asleep harder.

If none of these tips work for you, you could try to use chemical sleep aids. Altough that is not recommended until you have tried all non-medical ways. Remember to practice these tips for some time before resorting to medical ways of falling asleep.

7 tips to natural teeth whitening

2010-07-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

There are few natural teeth whitening methods you should try out before getting an appointment to a dentist to discuss the topic and get something done.

Tip 1.

Make regular appointments for cleaning your teeth with a dentist. You should get on a schedule of going once or twice a year to a dentist. That way you don't need to worry so much for your dental health.

Tip 2.

Remember to brush your teeth at least one time a day. Do not brush too hard or your teeth and gums might get damaged. Recommended amount is two times a day, once in the morning and the second time in the evening before going to sleep. Use floss aswell.

Tip 3.

If you smoke, try to quit. It is the most common reason for getting the whiteness of your teeth lost. Not only it helps to get whiter teeth but it also improves your overall health, especially the health of lungs.

Tip 4.

Some fruits such as strawberries are excellent teeth whiteners. Strawberries can be rubbed on the teeth or mashed up in a paste and brushed on. Leave on the teeth for five minutes and rinse well.

Tip 5.

Remember to drink lots of water. Rinse your mouth thoroughly after every meal or snack to make sure no food residue is sticking to your teeth. If you've eaten meat, try to get all stuck pieces of meat out with toothpick.

Tip 6.

Quitting soda drinking or any other liquid that contains carbonic acid will help keeping your teeth white and keeping them in a better overall condition.

Tip 7.

Eat chewing gum that contains xylitol after every meal. Xylitol prevents cavities and also can get your teeth white.

Try to stick with these simple tips and it will guarantee you white teeth!

Effective Tips: How To Quit Smoking For A Better Healthy Living

2010-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Quitting the habit of smoking is one of the hardest things to do. The difficulties come from physical addiction and psychological attachment that happens with the whole process of smoking.

Remove the attachment to your everyday doings. Often when people smoke it is at the same times everyday. For example right when wake up or when they have the first coffee of the day, when their favourite tv or radio show is on etc. These are known as 'anchors' and the trick is first to break your attachment to these daily anchors by changing those regulated times you choose to smoke. Other thing you might want to try is making anchors to smoking less enjoyable. Find an awkward, uncomfortable place to smoke or smoke so much at a time you'll feel sick. If these are not strong enough ideas to put you off, try to make up some new ones for yourself! Also you can try to think it this way: "Every cigarette I smoke, will shorten my life by 5 minutes".

Don't quit on a nice day when everything is going just fine. Quit on a hard day when everything don't seem to work out. Quitting on a day when you are happy gives you a false illusion about your will power and as soon as something negative or difficult happens you will reach for the cigarettes again and this is exactly the thing we want to avoid.
Find pictures of damaged lungs and people who are sick with smoking related diseases and stick them where you can see them when you are smoking and maybe even elsewhere. If you have kids, place these pictures next to pictures of your children to make you feel bad about smoking.
One thing that works most of the time very well is adding up the cost of smoking. Then think what you could have done with that big amount on money else than ruin your own health.

4 tips for optimal weight loss

2010-07-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

By following these four simple tips and sticking to them no matter what, you should be seeing results in no time!

1. Never skip breakfast
The most common mistake people make when they are trying to slim down is not having breakfast. Skipping breakfast will make you eat more than usual because your body has been starving from skipping it. The extra calories you will receive in your overeating will be transposed into fat, so you had better think about it for a minute before deciding to skip breakfast the next time.
2. Always eat regularly
Ideally, you should be eating relatively small portions of food throughout the day. When you eat a lot and infrequently, your metabolic rate decreases and this is the main reason for pound gain. In addition, your sugar levels peak and fall abruptly, thus making you feel hungry more often and being more prone to binge eating.
3. Every meal should contain protein
Protein makes you feel full and it doesn't have such a negative effect on your blood sugar as carbs do. Eating moderate amounts of protein and fiber will ensure that you feel full longer. Protein will make your metabolism work nonstop and because of this, more calories are burnt as protein supplies more energy into your body. Also, protein is the building material of muscles.

4. Try to avoid snacking
Common mistake is nibbling on food when you are not hungry. Sometimes, feeling tired or bored is often misinterpreted as hunger. If this is how you feel right after a meal, it is a false alarm and the thing you should do is to drink some water or go for a walk to get your energy levels higher. You should have another meal only 3 to 4 hours after your last meal.

3-step simple weight loss tips to get slim fast and easy

2010-07-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

In this article I am showing you 3 simple and effective ways to lose weight only bydrinking water. It sounds really simple, right? It is amazing how good results little changes like these in your daily routine can give. So without further introduction let me explain the 3 simple and easy steps to get fit!

1. Drink a lot of water. It is recommended that you drink up to 8 glasses of water every day. It seems like a lot of water but give it some time and work it up and you will, in no time, be able to drink 8 glasses of water every day easily. Your body needs a lot of water to function properly. It'll also help you feel better and more healthy. Water will help clean your body and make you feel alot better, so this can work well as your motivator to lose weight.

2. Start each day with a fresh glass of cold water. This will help your body to start working faster. Also, by drinking a glass of water you won't need to eat a large breakfast. Even if you want to lose weight fast, do not skip breakfast, it is very important to fill your body with energy. By eating breakfast you will be able to burn more fat during the day. If you like to have your morning coffee or tea always be sure to drink a glass of water afterward.

3. Before each meal start by drinking a glass of water. This will make you feel full faster and therefore you will not be able to eat as much as you normally would. If you are on a diet you will not have to leave the table feeling satisfied and not hungry.
As you can see it's not hard to implement these simple drinking methods in to your daily life. For many people dieting and weight loss is a hard struggle, when it really do not have to be. Do not make it harder then it really is, and try to learn more methods like these to reach your goals. Most importantly, do not, ever, in no circumstances give up, because that's the most common reason for failure in weight loss.