!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!((Here's How You Can Keep Youthful No Matter Your Age))!!!!!!!!

Author: Gen Wright

The science of hormonal health has become big business in the last decade and there is good reason for this. Hormones are the chemical messengers that carry instructions to our body's systems and control things like whether we store extra energy as body fat or burn it up for energy in our muscle cells. They also govern the rate we age and if we get sick or stay well and healthy.
Our hormonal or 'metabolic fitness' is of huge importance to our short-term and long-term health and wellness. If there are unfavorable shifts in our hormonal levels it can cause us to age at a premature and accelerated rate.
Changes in our hormonal balance can also lead us down the path to disease as they trigger other changes that can hospitalize or even kill. Millions of people are travelling this road and will suffer from all sorts of modern killers like heart disease, cancer and diabetes along with dozens of other nasty conditions.
The degenerative process known as aging that gives us wrinkles in our skin, grey hairs and failing eyesight also means changes to the inside our body. They show themselves as dwindling strength, muscle and bone loss, increased body fat levels and reduced energy levels and are all caused by dwindling hormone levels.
If the process is allowed to continue unabated we slow down, become less energetic and lose the desire to be physically active which spins the aging wheel even faster. What we need to reverse this process is to stimulate the 'growth and repair' hormones that are abundant when we are young.
There is only one way to stimulate these 'youth' hormones and get our cells rejuvenated and that is when we give our muscular system something to do, as in the 'work' or movement that they designed to do. Our modern day lives have removed everything that even looks like 'work' for our body and especially anything that has us actually putting some physical effort into it.
Without the hormones that keep our cells and tissues repaired, replaced and renewed there is a one way ticket to weakness and frailty. It might take years to get there but be assured you will get there. That weakness and frailty leads to disability and then it is 'hello nursing home'.
To keep strong, vital, robust and energetic your muscles need to be given some work and the perfect way to do this is with strength training exercise 2-3 times each week. The harder you work the more effective it is and the less is needed. Our bodies have been designed for this activity and we have removed it to make our lives 'easy' and 'comfortable'.
But the price for this 'comfort' is high as we get old, weak and sick long before our time. But you know the solution now and you will not need to go down this road. Get yourself along to your local gym and get yourself started on your strength training program and never stop. You can hang on to your youthfulness - it is in your hands.

Article Source: http://articleclick.com/Article/Here-s-How-You-Can-Keep-Youthful-No-Matter-Your-Age/1561157

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!((Hair Regrowth Treatment - Methods Designed For Re-Growing Hair))!!!!!!!!

Author: Hair Loss Guy

Have you been wondering where you can turn for the magic potion which will reinstate your hair, there may not be a magic potion yet but there are lots of options, which i've listed below for an efficient hair regrowth treatment.
Non-prescription Treatments:
First of all there are many over-the-counter treatments that are very good and can reverse the loss of hair, many of these simple remedies are DHT blockers which have been clinically proven to be effective in study after study. There are some good products like Provillus and Nism biofactors, that have shown to replace and halt the balding in many people. If you have noticed a loss of hair it is better to begin sooner instead of later before the problem gets worse several products are comparatively cheap and most you can order on line from reputable companies that stand behind there product.
Prescription drugs:
There are many medications which are helpful when it comes to restoring and reversing lost hair, many of these drugs are applied straight to the scalp while some are injected and some are taken internally. There are a variety of different prescription medications that can be prescribed which may be the correct answer to help you grow your hair back.
Minigrafts and Micrografts:
Minigrafts and micrografts will also be choices for you as well when you are searching for a great hair re-growth treatment to start growing your hair back. A surgeon whose specialty is grafting hair from the base of the neckline towards the effected area generally does graphs. This procedure can take a while to do or it can be done in one procedure with respect to the nature of your hair loss, it is typically very expensive to transplant hair and isn't certain to be 100% effective it's cost is generally out of reach for most hair loss suffers.
Hair Transplants:
Hair loss transplants will also be used to assist with the re-growth of hair as well. Actually, this is the most common type of hair regrowth treatment available for individuals losing their hair. Hair is taken from the rear of your scalp where you are still growing hair and it is put into the areas where you are having a hard time growing your hair. They can be painful, but many times you'll find that they are successful.
Listed are just a few of the hair regrowth treatments currently available, it is usually recommended to start with the over-the-counter hair regrowth treatments first then take a look at medications and so forth. Usually however an individual won't have to go to the expensive grafts and transplants whatsoever since the natural products will most likely achieve success if started early.
Article Source: http://www.articleclick.com/Article/Hair-Regrowth-Treatment-Methods-Designed-For-Re-Growing-Hair/1550555

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!((Diabetes Symptoms and Perfect Natural Home Treatment for Diabetes))!!!!!!!!!!

Author: Dr. Sarkozy mikal

Diabetes mellitus is a widespread disease in the United States. It is estimated that over 16 million Americans are already caught with diabetes, and 5.4 million diabetics are not aware of the existing disease.
Diabetes prevalence has increased steadily in the last half of this century and will continue rising among U.S. population
It is believed to be one of the main criterions for deaths in United States, every year. This diabetes in order hub projects on the necessary steps and precautions to control and eradicate diabetes, completely.
http://www.herbalcureindia.com/products/diabetes.htm
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder where in human body does not produce or correctly uses insulin, a hormone that is required to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy.
A diabetic feels hungry and thirsty most of the time, does not put on weight, and gets tired easily, both physically and spiritually.He looks pale, and may go through from anaemia, constipation, intense itching around the genital organs, palpitations, and general weakness. He feels drowsy and has a lower sex urge than a normal person.
Diabetes has been described as a wealth disease, primarily caused by overeating and consequent obesity. Not only is the overeat of sugar and refined carbohydrates harmful, but an excessive intake of proteins and fats, which are distorted into sugar if taken in excess, may also result in diabetes.
Treatment for Diabetes
As symptoms of diabetes tend to show up a great deal later than the condition occurs in your body, it is advisable to have your blood sugar levels diagnosed periodically.
Even if there are natural remedies that have been developed for the treatment for diabetes, insulin injections and implantable insulin pumps are the most required out ones. Type 1 diabetes can be treated with exercise, insulin and a unbiased diet.
Type 2 diabetes is first treated with weight reduction, a diabetic diet and exercise. Weight reduction and exercising increases the body’s sympathy to insulin, thus controlling blood sugar elevations.
Home Remedy for Diabetes
1. Having fenugreek seeds water is one of the most successful remedy for treating diabetes. Saturate 90 -100 seeds in 250 liters of water. Keep them all night. In the morning mash the seeds and strain them. Drink this water everyday.
2. Bittermelon or bitter gourd is also beneficial in curing diabetes. A person suffering from diabetes can have half cup juice frequently. Another method would be to fry the bittermelon and add salt and other condiments.
3. Take some honey and combine equal amounts of turmeric powder and dried gooseberry powder to it. Have this mixture regularly. Another method would be to mix equal amounts of gooseberry juice and fresh turmeric juice. Intake this mixed juice on an empty stomach daily.
4. Mango leaves also fight diabetes. Take about 3-4 mango tree leaves and boil them in water. Have this water when warm.
5. For people who have higher sugar level, chew 3-4 leaves of jamun (Syszygium cumini) in the morning and evening. One can also mash 3-4 leaves of jamun tree in half cup of water and drink it.
6. Dip 60 grams of fresh ripe fruit in 300 ml of boiling water and cover it. After about half an hour, mash the jamun and strain it. Drink this juice three times a day.
7. Mix 3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder to a liter of water. Heat this water for 20 minutes. Strain this combination and have the water when warm.
Article Source: http://www.articleclick.com/Article/Diabetes-Symptoms-and-Perfect-Natural-Home-Treatment-for-Diabetes/1539057

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!!!!!!!!!!!((Dealing With Depressed Wife? Here Are Three Crucial Things You Must Do When Dealing With Depressed Wife))!!!!!

Author: John Frazier

Dealing with depressed wife is probably the most difficult thing a husband can do. Mainly because the wife is usually the centerpiece of the family unit. While the husband can lead the family the wife is usally the one handling all the details of the family's day to day activities. So it doesn't take long for the husband to get overwhelmed when dealing with depressed wife.
You must figure out a way to get it all done though so here are three ways to cope and keep your sanity when your wife is depressed:
1. Learn about depression. There are many forums you can find online with a search where there are other people just like you going through the same things. You can read about things that they have found that has helped them, and the reactions that have occurred in order for you to avoid doing other things that may not be so good. It will then not be so scary for you because you will understand what your wife is going through. You will learn little bits of tips and advice on dealing with depressed wife.
2. Learn to be more patient and supportive. It will probably be a long haul. Your wife won't want to go for help. And even if they eventually do go for help, don't expect them to go away right away. During the whole period show your support the best that you can. Just casual statements, "Like, I'll never leave you" can be very helpful. When she feels your love and support, she will want to try harder both for you and herself.
3. Never try to help with statements like, "Cheer Up", "It's all in your head", or "Don't worry, things will be better tomorrow". These remarks will make your wife feel more alone than she feels now. She knows that it's all in her head. The idea that tomorrow will be better doesn't make it any easier on today. And she is unable to cheer up because of the chemicals in her brain, if she could cheer up she would.
When you realize that you have a depressed wife you cannot sit back and do nothing. Depression is too dangerous a disease to leave it alone and hope for the best. Following the three guidelines above will help you get through the tough times of dealing with depressed wife.
To quickly advance your education about depression Click the links below and learn more about dealing with depressed wife.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/dealing-with-depressed-wife-here-are-three-crucial-things-you-must-do-when-dealing-with-depressed-wife-3742803.html

About the AuthorCLICK HERE now to get your hands on information that will help you cope with your depressed wife.CLICK HERE to visit www.DepressionTreatmentsBlog.com and learn how to help your wife today.

Gout Diet Advice - Curing your Gout...Gout Diet Advice

Gout Diet Advice - Curing your Gout...Gout Diet Advice

Author: Connie Lewis

So the familiar cry is "I have gout what can I eat?" can I eat eggs if I have gout, or cantaloupes or pork? It is so easy to get tied up in your small number of favorite foods and forget to look at the bigger picture.
Finding gout diet advice is the number one thing on your mind while you are going through the attack however as the pain slowly disappears and you grasp that you will need to make some changes in your life then you begin to sense that perhaps you will not suffer one more attacks or perhaps the next will not be so bad and you will be able to tolerate the pain.
In fact if you will not vary your lifestyle your gout will become worse and worse and you might well end up in hospital with it. The uric acid crystals that have developed in the region of your joints, principally your big toe joint, will not go away on their own. If you continue eating the identical things that brought about your gout then you will carry on going through the pain.
Curing your gout once you've found some gout diet advice is not simply a matter of altering your eating routine for a few days. Ok so what kind of changes to your lifestyle do you need to effect in order to bring a change to the severity of your gout attacks?
One of the principal things that you can do it to maintain a record of what you eat. Carry a tiny notebook around with you and write down what you eat. This will let you glimpse precisely what you are eating with where you can make improvements to your eating habits, by following some good gout diet advice.
Try to steer clear of foods which have high degrees of purines since this causes the body to form uric acid, if this subsequently crystallizes then gout can be caused. For that reason one of the first things to restrict out of your diet regime are foods that are full of uric acid.
After two weeks keeping a record of your food intake, use it for an additional two more weeks but this time highlight wherever you have been able to cut down on the bad foods. Focus on one thing at a time, after you have cut one thing down, go onto something else. Subsequently in a while you should notice a fall in your gout problems. As well increase your water consumption at the same time.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/gout-diet-advice-curing-your-goutgout-diet-advice-3564513.html

About the AuthorThe important next step is knowing what is causing your gout...Visit Causes of Gout for more information. If you're not sure which foods you should stop eating...Visit Gout Causing Foods for a list of the 12 most common foods that cause gout.

!!!!!((Proposed Rate Hikes to Health Care Reform))!!!!!

Proposed Rate Hikes to Health Care Reform

Author: Health Insurance

Health insurers across the country are planning to raise premiums for some of their customers in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports, and they are in part blaming President Obama's health care reform package for the rate hikes.On the surface, at least, the news boosts Republicans' arguments against the Democrats' reforms ahead of this year's midterm elections. But the White House and other supporters of the reform package say they are skeptical of the health insurance companies' rationale.Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked regulators to approve premium increases of between one percent and nine percent to pay for the bill's early benefits, the Journal reports. The rate increases would largely apply to individual plans (9 percent of Americans have individual plans) and those offered for small businesses (about 20 percent of Americans get coverage from small employers).The early benefits cited by insurers for the rate increase include allowing children up to 26 years old to stay on their parents' health care plans, eliminating co-payments for preventive care and prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. These benefits apply to all plans, not just individual and small business policies.The insurers are also reportedly asking for further rate increases they are not tying to the health care overhaul that they say are needed to cover rising medical costs. Some customers could see their premiums increase by more than 20 percent.Nancy-Ann DeParle, the director of the White House Office of Health Reform, told the Journal that insurers were using the new health reforms as an excuse to raise rates."I would have real deep concerns that the kinds of rate increases that you're quoting... are justified," she said. "We believe consumers will see through this."Health Care for America Now, a coalition group in support of the health care overhaul, slammed the insurance industry and pointed to insurers' history as evidence that its latest claims were misleading. For instance, WellPoint's Anthem subsidiary had to reduce its proposed rate hike in California earlier this year after it tried to justify increases as high as 39 percent with erroneous numbers."The health insurance industry is doing the same thing it has always done, raising premiums to achieve excessive profits and outrageous salaries for their CEOs," HCAN executive director Ethan Rome said in a statement.The complaints haven't stopped Republicans from jumping on the opportunity to criticize the Democrats' policies. Senate Republicans are highlighting the Journal's report while pointing to past comments from Mr. Obama and other Democrats, who promised that premiums would not increase as a result of the reforms.In Kentucky, Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul slammed health care reforms in his first general election ad.The health care overhaul has proven to be a harder sell to the American people than Democrats anticipated, prompting at least a handful of Democrats up for re-election to campaign on their vote against the reforms. Moderate Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), for instance, says in an ad that she voted against the bill because "it wasn't right for South Dakota."

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/proposed-rate-hikes-to-health-care-reform-3235217.html

About the AuthorNorth Carolina health insuranceTennessee health insurance

!!!!!((A Prescription For the Health Care Crisis))!!!!!

With all the shouting going on about America's health care crisis, many are probably finding it difficult to concentrate, much less understand the cause of the problems confronting us. I find myself dismayed at the tone of the discussion (though I understand it---people are scared) as well as bemused that anyone would presume themselves sufficiently qualified to know how to best improve our health care system simply because they've encountered it, when people who've spent entire careers studying it (and I don't mean politicians) aren't sure what to do themselves.

Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that if he had an hour to save the world he'd spend 55 minutes defining the problem and only 5 minutes solving it. Our health care system is far more complex than most who are offering solutions admit or recognize, and unless we focus most of our efforts on defining its problems and thoroughly understanding their causes, any changes we make are just likely to make them worse as they are better.

Though I've worked in the American health care system as a physician since 1992 and have seven year's worth of experience as an administrative director of primary care, I don't consider myself qualified to thoroughly evaluate the viability of most of the suggestions I've heard for improving our health care system. I do think, however, I can at least contribute to the discussion by describing some of its troubles, taking reasonable guesses at their causes, and outlining some general principles that should be applied in attempting to solve them.

THE PROBLEM OF COST

No one disputes that health care spending in the U.S. has been rising dramatically. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), health care spending is projected to reach $8,160 per person per year by the end of 2009 compared to the $356 per person per year it was in 1970. This increase occurred roughly 2.4% faster than the increase in GDP over the same period. Though GDP varies from year-to-year and is therefore an imperfect way to assess a rise in health care costs in comparison to other expenditures from one year to the next, we can still conclude from this data that over the last 40 years the percentage of our national income (personal, business, and governmental) we've spent on health care has been rising.

Despite what most assume, this may or may not be bad. It all depends on two things: the reasons why spending on health care has been increasing relative to our GDP and how much value we've been getting for each dollar we spend.

WHY HAS HEALTH CARE BECOME SO COSTLY?

This is a harder question to answer than many would believe. The rise in the cost of health care (on average 8.1% per year from 1970 to 2009, calculated from the data above) has exceeded the rise in inflation (4.4% on average over that same period), so we can't attribute the increased cost to inflation alone. Health care expenditures are known to be closely associated with a country's GDP (the wealthier the nation, the more it spends on health care), yet even in this the United States remains an outlier (figure 3).

Is it because of spending on health care for people over the age of 75 (five times what we spend on people between the ages of 25 and 34)? In a word, no. Studies show this demographic trend explains only a small percentage of health expenditure growth.

Is it because of monstrous profits the health insurance companies are raking in? Probably not. It's admittedly difficult to know for certain as not all insurance companies are publicly traded and therefore have balance sheets available for public review. But Aetna, one of the largest publicly traded health insurance companies in North America, reported a 2009 second quarter profit of $346.7 million, which, if projected out, predicts a yearly profit of around $1.3 billion from the approximately 19 million people they insure. If we assume their profit margin is average for their industry (even if untrue, it's unlikely to be orders of magnitude different from the average), the total profit for all private health insurance companies in America, which insured 202 million people (2nd bullet point) in 2007, would come to approximately $13 billion per year. Total health care expenditures in 2007 were $2.2 trillion (see Table 1, page 3), which yields a private health care industry profit approximately 0.6% of total health care costs (though this analysis mixes data from different years, it can perhaps be permitted as the numbers aren't likely different by any order of magnitude).

Is it because of health care fraud? Estimates of losses due to fraud range as high as 10% of all health care expenditures, but it's hard to find hard data to back this up. Though some percentage of fraud almost certainly goes undetected, perhaps the best way to estimate how much money is lost due to fraud is by looking at how much the government actually recovers. In 2006, this was $2.2 billion, only 0.1% of $2.1 trillion (see Table 1, page 3) in total health care expenditures for that year.

Is it due to pharmaceutical costs? In 2006, total expenditures on prescription drugs was approximately $216 billion (see Table 2, page 4). Though this amounted to 10% of the $2.1 trillion (see Table 1, page 3) in total health care expenditures for that year and must therefore be considered significant, it still remains only a small percentage of total health care costs.

Is it from administrative costs? In 1999, total administrative costs were estimated to be $294 billion, a full 25% of the $1.2 trillion (Table 1) in total health care expenditures that year. This was a significant percentage in 1999 and it's hard to imagine it's shrunk to any significant degree since then.

In the end, though, what probably has contributed the greatest amount to the increase in health care spending in the U.S. are two things:

1. Technological innovation.

2. Overutilization of health care resources by both patients and health care providers themselves.

Technological innovation. Data that proves increasing health care costs are due mostly to technological innovation is surprisingly difficult to obtain, but estimates of the contribution to the rise in health care costs due to technological innovation range anywhere from 40% to 65% (Table 2, page 8). Though we mostly only have empirical data for this, several examples illustrate the principle. Heart attacks used to be treated with aspirin and prayer. Now they're treated with drugs to control shock, pulmonary edema, and arrhythmias as well as thrombolytic therapy, cardiac catheterization with angioplasty or stenting, and coronary artery bypass grafting. You don't have to be an economist to figure out which scenario ends up being more expensive. We may learn to perform these same procedures more cheaply over time (the same way we've figured out how to make computers cheaper) but as the cost per procedure decreases, the total amount spent on each procedure goes up because the number of procedures performed goes up. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is 25% less than the price of an open cholecystectomy, but the rates of both have increased by 60%. As technological advances become more widely available they become more widely used, and one thing we're great at doing in the United States is making technology available.

Overutilization of health care resources by both patients and health care providers themselves. We can easily define overutilization as the unnecessary consumption of health care resources. What's not so easy is recognizing it. Every year from October through February the majority of patients who come into the Urgent Care Clinic at my hospital are, in my view, doing so unnecessarily. What are they coming in for? Colds. I can offer support, reassurance that nothing is seriously wrong, and advice about over-the-counter remedies---but none of these things will make them better faster (though I often am able to reduce their level of concern). Further, patients have a hard time believing the key to arriving at a correct diagnosis lies in history gathering and careful physical examination rather than technologically-based testing (not that the latter isn't important---just less so than most patients believe). Just how much patient-driven overutilization costs the health care system is hard to pin down as we have mostly only anecdotal evidence as above.

Further, doctors often disagree among themselves about what constitutes unnecessary health care consumption. In his excellent article, "The Cost Conundrum," Atul Gawande argues that regional variation in overutilization of health care resources by doctors best accounts for the regional variation in Medicare spending per person. He goes on to argue that if doctors could be motivated to rein in their overutilization in high-cost areas of the country, it would save Medicare enough money to keep it solvent for 50 years.

A reasonable approach. To get that to happen, however, we need to understand why doctors are overutilizing health care resources in the first place:

1. Judgment varies in cases where the medical literature is vague or unhelpful. When faced with diagnostic dilemmas or diseases for which standard treatments haven't been established, a variation in practice invariably occurs. If a primary care doctor suspects her patient has an ulcer, does she treat herself empirically or refer to a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy? If certain "red flag" symptoms are present, most doctors would refer. If not, some would and some wouldn't depending on their training and the intangible exercise of judgment.

2. Inexperience or poor judgment. More experienced physicians tend to rely on histories and physicals more than less experienced physicians and consequently order fewer and less expensive tests. Studies suggest primary care physicians spend less money on tests and procedures than their sub-specialty colleagues but obtain similar and sometimes even better outcomes.

3. Fear of being sued. This is especially common in Emergency Room settings, but extends to almost every area of medicine.

4. Patients tend to demand more testing rather than less. As noted above. And physicians often have difficulty refusing patient requests for many reasons (eg, wanting to please them, fear of missing a diagnosis and being sued, etc).

5. In many settings, overutilization makes doctors more money. There exists no reliable incentive for doctors to limit their spending unless their pay is capitated or they're receiving a straight salary.

Gawande's article implies there exists some level of utilization of health care resources that's optimal: use too little and you get mistakes and missed diagnoses; use too much and excess money gets spent without improving outcomes, paradoxically sometimes resulting in outcomes that are actually worse (likely as a result of complications from all the extra testing and treatments).

How then can we get doctors to employ uniformly good judgment to order the right number of tests and treatments for each patient---the "sweet spot"---in order to yield the best outcomes with the lowest risk of complications? Not easily. There is, fortunately or unfortunately, an art to good health care resource utilization. Some doctors are more gifted at it than others. Some are more diligent about keeping current. Some care more about their patients. An explosion of studies of medical tests and treatments has occurred in the last several decades to help guide doctors in choosing the most effective, safest, and even cheapest ways to practice medicine, but the diffusion of this evidence-based medicine is a tricky business. Just because beta blockers, for example, have been shown to improve survival after heart attacks doesn't mean every physician knows it or provides them. Data clearly show many don't. How information spreads from the medical literature into medical practice is a subject worthy of an entire post unto itself. Getting it to happen uniformly has proven extremely difficult.

In summary, then, most of the increase in spending on health care seems to have come from technological innovation coupled with its overuse by doctors working in systems that motivate them to practice more medicine rather than better medicine, as well as patients who demand the former thinking it yields the latter.

But even if we could snap our fingers and magically eliminate all overutilization today, health care in the U.S. would still remain among the most expensive in the world, requiring us to ask next---

WHAT VALUE ARE WE GETTING FOR THE DOLLARS WE SPEND?

According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled The Burden of Health Care Costs for Working Families---Implications for Reform, growth in health care spending "can be defined as affordable as long as the rising percentage of income devoted to health care does not reduce standards of living. When absolute increases in income cannot keep up with absolute increases in health care spending, health care growth can be paid for only by sacrificing consumption of goods and services not related to health care." When would this ever be an acceptable state of affairs? Only when the incremental cost of health care buys equal or greater incremental value. If, for example, you were told that in the near future you'd be spending 60% of your income on health care but that as a result you'd enjoy, say, a 30% chance of living to the age of 250, perhaps you'd judge that 60% a small price to pay.

This, it seems to me, is what the debate on health care spending really needs to be about. Certainly we should work on ways to eliminate overutilization. But the real question isn't what absolute amount of money is too much to spend on health care. The real question is what are we getting for the money we spend and is it worth what we have to give up?

People alarmed by the notion that as health care costs increase policymakers may decide to ration health care don't realize that we're already rationing at least some of it. It just doesn't appear as if we are because we're rationing it on a first-come-first-serve basis---leaving it at least partially up to chance rather than to policy, which we're uncomfortable defining and enforcing. Thus we don't realize the reason our 90 year-old father in Illinois can't have the liver he needs is because a 14 year-old girl in Alaska got in line first (or maybe our father was in line first and gets it while the 14 year-old girl doesn't). Given that most of us remain uncomfortable with the notion of rationing health care based on criteria like age or utility to society, as technological innovation continues to drive up health care spending, we very well may at some point have to make critical judgments about which medical innovations are worth our entire society sacrificing access to other goods and services (unless we're so foolish as to repeat the critical mistake of believing we can keep borrowing money forever without ever having to pay it back).

So what value are we getting? It varies. The risk of dying from a heart attack has declined by 66% since 1950 as a result of technological innovation. Because cardiovascular disease ranks as the number one cause of death in the U.S. this would seem to rank high on the scale of value as it benefits a huge proportion of the population in an important way. As a result of advances in pharmacology, we can now treat depression, anxiety, and even psychosis far better than anyone could have imagined even as recently as the mid-1980's (when Prozac was first released). Clearly, then, some increases in health care costs have yielded enormous value we wouldn't want to give up.

But how do we decide whether we're getting good value from new innovations? Scientific studies must prove the innovation (whether a new test or treatment) actually provides clinically significant benefit (Aricept is a good example of a drug that works but doesn't provide great clinical benefit---demented patients score higher on tests of cognitive ability while on it but probably aren't significantly more functional or significantly better able to remember their children compared to when they're not). But comparative effectiveness studies are extremely costly, take a long time to complete, and can never be perfectly applied to every individual patient, all of which means some health care provider always has to apply good medical judgment to every patient problem.

Who's best positioned to judge the value to society of the benefit of an innovation---that is, to decide if an innovation's benefit justifies its cost? I would argue the group that ultimately pays for it: the American public. How the public's views could be reconciled and then effectively communicated to policy makers efficiently enough to affect actual policy, however, lies far beyond the scope of this post (and perhaps anyone's imagination).

THE PROBLEM OF ACCESS

A significant proportion of the population is uninsured or underinsured, limiting or eliminating their access to health care. As a result, this group finds the path of least (and cheapest) resistance---emergency rooms---which has significantly impaired the ability of our nation's ER physicians to actually render timely emergency care. In addition, surveys suggest a looming primary care physician shortage relative to the demand for their services. In my view, this imbalance between supply and demand explains most of the poor customer service patients face in our system every day: long wait times for doctors' appointments, long wait times in doctors' offices once their appointment day arrives, then short times spent with doctors inside exam rooms, followed by difficulty reaching their doctors in between office visits, and finally delays in getting test results. This imbalance would likely only partially be alleviated by less health care overutilization by patients.

GUIDELINES FOR SOLUTIONS

As Freaknomics authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner state, "If morality represents how people would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work." Capitalism is based on the principle of enlightened self-interest, a system that creates incentives to yield behavior that benefits both suppliers and consumers and thus society as a whole. But when incentives get out of whack, people begin to behave in ways that continue to benefit them often at the expense of others or even at their own expense down the road. Whatever changes we make to our health care system (and there's always more than one way to skin a cat), we must be sure to align incentives so that the behavior that results in each part of the system contributes to its sustainability rather than its ruin.

Here then is a summary of what I consider the best recommendations I've come across to address the problems I've outlined above:

1. Change the way insurance companies think about doing business. Insurance companies have the same goal as all other businesses: maximize profits. And if a health insurance company is publicly traded and in your 401k portfolio, you want them to maximize profits, too. Unfortunately, the best way for them to do this is to deny their services to the very customers who pay for them. It's harder for them to spread risk (the function of any insurance company) relative to say, a car insurance company, because far more people make health insurance claims than car insurance claims. It would seem, therefore, from a consumer perspective, the private health insurance model is fundamentally flawed. We need to create a disincentive for health insurance companies to deny claims (or, conversely, an extra incentive for them to pay them). Allowing and encouraging aross-state insurance competition would at least partially engage free market forces to drive down insurance premiums as well as open up new markets to local insurance companies, benefiting both insurance consumers and providers. With their customers now armed with the all-important power to go elsewhere, health insurance companies might come to view the quality with which they actually provide service to their customers (ie, the paying out of claims) as a way to retain and grow their business. For this to work, monopolies or near-monopolies must be disbanded or at the very least discouraged. Even if it does work, however, government will probably still have to tighten regulation of the health insurance industry to ensure some of the heinous abuses that are going on now stop (for example, insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to stratify consumers into sub-groups based on age and increase premiums based on an older group's higher average risk of illness because healthy older consumers then end up being penalized for their age rather than their behaviors). Karl Denninger suggests some intriguing ideas in a post on his blog about requiring insurance companies to offer identical rates to businesses and individuals as well as creating a mandatory "open enrollment" period in which participants could only opt in or out of a plan on a yearly basis. This would prevent individuals from only buying insurance when they got sick, eliminating the adverse selection problem that's driven insurance companies to deny payment for pre-existing conditions. I would add that, however reimbursement rates to health care providers are determined in the future (again, an entire post unto itself), all health insurance plans, whether private or public, must reimburse health care providers by an equal percentage to eliminate the existence of "good" and "bad" insurance that's currently responsible for motivating hospitals and doctors to limit or even deny service to the poor and which may be responsible for the same thing occurring to the elderly in the future (Medicare reimburses only slightly better than Medicaid). Finally, regarding the idea of a "public option" insurance plan open to all, I worry that if it's significantly cheaper than private options while providing near-equal benefits the entire country will rush to it en masse, driving private insurance companies out of business and forcing us all to subsidize one another's health care with higher taxes and fewer choices; yet at the same time if the cost to the consumer of a "public option" remains comparable to private options, the very people it's meant to help won't be able to afford it.

2. Motivate the population to engage in healthier lifestyles that have been proven to prevent disease. Prevention of disease probably saves money, though some have argued that living longer increases the likelihood of developing diseases that wouldn't have otherwise occurred, leading to the overall consumption of more health care dollars (though even if that's true, those extra years of life would be judged by most valuable enough to justify the extra cost. After all, the whole purpose of health care is to improve the quality and quantity of life, not save society money. Let's not put the cart before the horse). However, the idea of preventing a potentially bad outcome sometime in the future is only weakly motivating psychologically, explaining why so many people have so much trouble getting themselves to exercise, eat right, lose weight, stop smoking, etc. The idea of financially rewarding desirable behavior and/or financially punishing undesirable behavior is highly controversial. Though I worry this kind of strategy risks the enacting of policies that may impinge on basic freedoms if taken too far, I'm not against thinking creatively about how we could leverage stronger motivational forces to help people achieve health goals they themselves want to achieve. After all, most obese people want to lose weight. Most smokers want to quit. They might be more successful if they could find more powerful motivation.

3. Decrease overutilization of health care resources by doctors. I'm in agreement with Gawande that finding ways to get doctors to stop overutilizing health care resources is a worthy goal that will significantly rein in costs, that it will require a willingness to experiment, and that it will take time. Further, I agree that focusing only on who pays for our health care (whether the public or private sectors) will fail to address the issue adequately. But how exactly can we motivate doctors, whose pens are responsible for most of the money spent on health care in this country, to focus on what's truly best for their patients? The idea that external bodies---whether insurance companies or government panels---could be used to set standards of care doctors must follow in order to control costs strikes me as ludicrous. Such bodies have neither the training nor overriding concern for patients' welfare to be trusted to make those judgments. Why else do we have doctors if not to employ their expertise to apply nuanced approaches to complex situations? As long as they work in a system free of incentives that compete with their duty to their patients, they remain in the best position to make decisions about what tests and treatments are worth a given patient's consideration, as long as they're careful to avoid overconfident paternalism (refusing to obtain a head CT for a headache might be overconfidently paternalistic; refusing to offer chemotherapy for a cold isn't). So perhaps we should eliminate any financial incentive doctors have to care about anything but their patients' welfare, meaning doctors' salaries should be disconnected from the number of surgeries they perform and the number of tests they order, and should instead be set by market forces. This model already exists in academic health care centers and hasn't seemed to promote shoddy care when doctors feel they're being paid fairly. Doctors need to earn a good living to compensate for the years of training and massive amounts of debt they amass, but no financial incentive for practicing more medicine should be allowed to attach itself to that good living.

4. Decrease overutilization of health care resources by patients. This, it seems to me, requires at least three interventions:

* Making available the right resources for the right problems (so that patients aren't going to the ER for colds, for example, but rather to their primary care physicians). This would require hitting the "sweet spot" with respect to the number of primary care physicians, best at front-line gatekeeping, not of health care spending as in the old HMO model, but of triage and treatment. It would also require a recalculating of reimbursement levels for primary care services relative to specialty services to encourage more medical students to go into primary care (the reverse of the alarming trend we've been seeing for the last decade).

* A massive effort to increase the health literacy of the general public to improve its ability to triage its own complaints (so patients don't actually go anywhere for colds or demand MRIs of their backs when their trusted physicians tells them it's just a strain). This might be best accomplished through a series of educational programs (though given that no one in the private sector has an incentive to fund such programs, it might actually be one of the few things the government should---we'd just need to study and compare different educational programs and methods to see which, if any, reduce unnecessary patient utilization without worsening outcomes and result in more health care savings than they cost).

* Redesigning insurance plans to make patients in some way more financially liable for their health care choices. We can't have people going bankrupt due to illness, nor do we want people to underutilize health care resources (avoiding the ER when they have chest pain, for example), but neither can we continue to support a system in which patients are actually motivated to overutilize resources, as the current "pre-pay for everything" model does.

CONCLUSION

Given the enormous complexity of the health care system, no single post could possibly address every problem that needs to be fixed. Significant issues not raised in this article include the challenges associated with rising drug costs, direct-to-consumer marketing of drugs, end-of-life care, sky-rocketing malpractice insurance costs, the lack of cost transparency that enables hospitals to paradoxically charge the uninsured more than the insured for the same care, extending health care insurance coverage to those who still don't have it, improving administrative efficiency to reduce costs, the implementation of electronic medical records to reduce medical error, the financial burden of businesses being required to provide their employees with health insurance, and tort reform. All are profoundly interdependent, standing together like the proverbial house of cards. To attend to any one is to affect them all, which is why rushing through health care reform without careful contemplation risks unintended and potentially devastating consequences. Change does need to come, but if we don't allow ourselves time to think through the problems clearly and cleverly and to implement solutions in a measured fashion, we risk bringing down that house of cards rather than cementing it.

Please visit Dr. Lickerman's blog at http://happinessinthisworld.com to read other articles about achieving health and happiness. He can be reached at alickerman@gmail.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Lickerman

!!!!!((Fact Sheets Home Health Care ))!!!!!

Fact Sheets Home Health Care

Author: Paloma Home Health Agency

Home health care helps seniors live independently for as long as possible, given the limits of their medical condition. It covers a wide range of services and can often delay the need for long-term nursing home care. More specifically, home health care may include occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and even skilled nursing. It may involve helping the elderly with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Or it may include assistance with cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping jobs, and monitoring one's daily regimen of prescription and over-the-counter medications. At this point, it is important to understand the difference between home health care and home care services. Although they sound the same (and home health care may include some home care services), home health care is more medically oriented. While home care typically includes chore and housecleaning services, home health care usually involves helping seniors recover from an illness or injury. That is why the people who provide home health care are often licensed practical nurses, therapists, or home health aides. Most work for home health agencies, hospitals, or public health departments that are licensed by the state. How Do I Make Sure That Home Health Care Is Quality Care?As with any important purchase, it is always a good idea to talk with friends, neighbors, and your local area agency on aging to learn more about the home health care agencies in your community. In looking for a home health care agency, the following 20 questions can be used to help guide your search: How long has the agency been serving this community? Does the agency have any printed brochures describing the services it offers and how much they cost? If so, get one. Is the agency an approved Medicare provider? Is the quality of care certified by a national accrediting body such as the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations? Does the agency have a current license to practice (if required in the state where you live)? Does the agency offer seniors a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” that describes the rights and responsibilities of both the agency and the senior being cared for? Does the agency write a plan of care for the patient (with input from the patient, his or her doctor and family), and update the plan as necessary? Does the care plan outline the patient’s course of treatment, describing the specific tasks to be performed by each caregiver? How closely do supervisors oversee care to ensure quality? Will agency caregivers keep family members informed about the kind of care their loved one is getting? Are agency staff members available around the clock, seven days a week, if necessary? Does the agency have a nursing supervisor available to provide on-call assistance 24 hours a day? How does the agency ensure patient confidentiality? How are agency caregivers hired and trained? What is the procedure for resolving problems when they occur, and who can I call with questions or complaints? How does the agency handle billing? Is there a sliding fee schedule based on ability to pay, and is financial assistance available to pay for services? Will the agency provide a list of references for its caregivers? Who does the agency call if the home health care worker cannot come when scheduled? What type of employee screening is done? When purchasing home health care directly from an individual provider (instead of through an agency), it is even more important to screen the person thoroughly. This should include an interview with the home health caregiver to make sure that he or she is qualified for the job. You should request references. Also, prepare for the interview by making a list if any special needs the senior might have. For example, you would want to note whether the elderly patient needs help getting into or out of a wheelchair. Clearly, if this is the case, the home health caregiver must be able to provide that assistance. The screening process will go easier if you have a better idea of what you are looking for first.Another thing to remember is that it always helps to look ahead, anticipate changing needs, and have a backup plan for special situations. Since every employee occasionally needs time off (or a vacation), it is unrealistic to assume that one home health care worker will always be around to provide care. Seniors or family members who hire home health workers directly may want to consider interviewing a second part-time or on-call person who can be available when the primary caregiver cannot be. Calling an agency for temporary respite care also may help to solve this problem (see the Respite Care fact sheet for more information about these services). In any event, whether you arrange for home health care through an agency or hire an independent home health care aide on an individual basis, it helps to spend some time preparing for the person who will be doing the work. Ideally, you could spend a day with him or her, before the job formally begins, to discuss what will be involved in the daily routine. If nothing else, tell the home health care provider (both verbally and in writing) the following things that he or she should know about the senior: Illnesses/injuries, and signs of an emergency medical situation Likes and dislikes Medications, and how and when they should be taken Need for dentures, eyeglasses, canes, walkers, etc. Possible behavior problems and how best to deal with them Problems getting around (in or out of a wheelchair, for example, or trouble walking) Special diets or nutritional needs Therapeutic exercises. In addition, you should give the home health care provider more information about: Clothing the senior may need (if/when it gets too hot or too cold) How you can be contacted (and who else should be contacted in an emergency) How to find and use medical supplies and medications When to lock up the apartment/house and where to find the keys Where to find food, cooking utensils, and serving items Where to find cleaning supplies Where to find light bulbs and flash lights, and where the fuse box is located (in case of a power failure) Where to find the washer, dryer, and other household appliances (as well as instructions for how to use them). A WORD OF CAUTION . . .Although most states require that home health care agencies perform criminal background checks on their workers and carefully screen job applicants for these positions, the actual regulations will vary depending on where you live. Therefore, before contacting a home health care agency, you may want to call your local area agency on aging or department of public health to learn what laws apply in your state.HOW CAN I PAY FOR HOME HEALTH CARE?The cost of home health care varies across states and within states. In addition, costs will fluctuate depending on the type of health care professional required. Home care services can be paid for directly by the patient and his or her family members, or through a variety of public and private sources. Sources for home health care funding include Medicare, Medicaid, the Older Americans Act, the Veterans' Administration, and private insurance.Medicare is the largest single payer of home care services. The Medicare program will pay for home health care if all of the following conditions are met: The patient must be homebound and under a doctor’s care; The patient must need skilled nursing care, or occupational, physical, or speech therapy, on at least an intermittent basis (that is, regularly but not continuously) The services provided must be under a doctor’s supervision and performed as part of a home health care plan written specifically for that patient The patient must be eligible for the Medicare program and the services ordered must be “medically reasonable and necessary” The home health care agency providing the services must be certified by the Medicare program. To get help with your Medicare questions, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY/TDD: 1-877-486-2048 for the speech and hearing impaired) or look on the Internet at http://www.medicare.gov.WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT HOME HEALTH CARE?There are several national organizations that can provide additional consumer information about home health care services. These include the following: The National Association for Home Care, which can be reached at 202-547-7424 or by visiting its website at www.nahc.org. The postal address is: 228 7th St., SE; Washington, DC 20003. The Visiting Nurse Associations of America, which can be reached at 617-737-3200 or by visiting its website at http://www.vnaa.org. The postal addresses are: 99 Summer St., Suite 1700; Boston, MA 02110. To find out more about home health care programs where you live, you will want to contact your local aging information and assistance provider or area agency on aging (AAA). The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the Administration on Aging (at 1-800-677-1116 or http://www.eldercare.gov can help connect you to these agencies. Case Study WHEN IS HOME HEALTH CARE APPROPRIATE?Because it is not always clear to the average person when an ailing senior needs home health care and when he or she needs nursing home care, it is usually best to consult a medical professional for advice. The following case study describes one situation in which home health care proved to be the right choice. Francis is 84 years old and recently had a stroke. She was hospitalized briefly and then discharged to continue recovering at home. To enable her to return home, her doctor called a home health care agency, and the agency gave Francis a complete home health care plan for six weeks. Since the doctor ordered the home care for Francis, Medicare paid for it. For the first week after Francis went home, a nurse visited her every day. The nurse met with Francis’s family to discuss her special dietary needs and to arrange for exercise therapy to help Francis regain her strength. Once that was done, the nurse visited Francis twice a week to check on how well she was recovering. The home health care agency also sent a homemaker, a personal care attendant, and a physical therapist to visit Francis several times during the week. The homemaker would do the shopping and cook light meals. The personal care attendant would help Francis bathe, get dressed, and walk. The physical therapist would keep Francis moving and see to it that she got some exercise to aid in her recovery.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/fact-sheets-home-health-care-1540249.html

About the AuthorPaloma Home Health Agency Inc. provides quality service to the elderly, sick, and disabled
Let us meet your everyday needsWe can be reached at 972-346-2013 or http://www.palomahomehealth.com

!!!!!!((Steps to Asking Medical Questions Online))!!!!!!

People now have spoiled to asking for medical advice online since the development of the Internet. This technology is able to help many people get their medical question answered especially for those who have a lack of health insurance.

While others use this technology to help their doctor in finding the reasons for their symptoms, some people also search for solutions to their medical problems. It is free and easy to get answer for your question when browsing the internet.

When you search, you will find a lot of free websites provide much information related to your health. Most of them ask you to register by filling out a short form that requires your user name, password and email address.

Some of the popular sites are designed for other members to answer your questions. You can ask or answer for various subject related to health issues. Just remember that questions on this site are answered by anyone, and answers should be looked into further.

Another way to get your medical questions answered online is by joining a free health forum. You can ask questions through threads that have been started or create your own thread once you get registered.

While most people want their questions to get answered quickly, there is an excellent source of information called WebMD. This advanced site is working based on your input of symptoms.

The site has a great information match on your symptoms. All you have to do is input what may be the cause of your symptoms. You will get the root of quality health care information related to your medical questions online.

Finally, the best place to ask medical questions is Google. You just simply typing your questions into the search box and enter the button. This internet search engine can give you a good list of result.

Or you can search in medical questions free site. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luvly_Margareth

!!!!!!((Understanding Laser Eye Surgery: Benefits and Risks))!!!!!

by: Kathryn Dawson
According to an article published in the New York Times (“As Economy Slows, So Do Laser Eye Surgeries”, April 24, 2008), more than 12 million patients have undertaken laser eye surgery since 1995, the year in which this surgery was approved in the US. The article also revealed that approximately 95% of the patients have achieved satisfactory results with laser eye surgery. With such a huge success rate, vision correction through laser technology is becoming popular across the globe. However, it is important to gain knowledge about laser vision correction methods before one can make an informed decision.

What is Laser Eye Surgery?

Laser eye surgery is a vision correction method that utilizes high frequency laser beams to cure defects in or damage to the eye. It is an effective method to correct visual defects, such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness, abnormal cornea, astigmatism and fluid accumulation. There are two types of laser surgeries used to correct visual impairment:

• LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis)

• PRK (photorefractive keratectomy)

LASIK is a more common form of laser eye surgery than PRK. The major difference between the two variants lies in the way the cornea is exposed to the laser beam. In PRK surgery, a more hands-on technique is used. Here, the top layer of the cornea is handled in such a way so as to expose the inner tissues to the laser beam. However, in LASIK surgery, only a small flap is created in the top layer of the cornea. Once the operation is successful, the flap is folded back again to ensure protection to the eye. The success of laser surgeries is directly proportional to the expertise of the eye surgeon.

Of the two, LASIK is the preferred mode. This is because in PRK, the lens loses its flexibility with the passage of time. This makes the patient dependent on the use of reading glasses after crossing a certain age, generally 40. On the other hand, the only complication with LASIK is in the way the flap is made on the cornea. However, some of the leading optical centers in the UK have devised ways to completely do away with the necessity of creating such a dent; thus removing another cause of possible complications.

Benefits of Laser Eye Surgery

Laser eye surgery offers successful results in a majority of the cases. It is a no pain, bloodless operation. The popularity of this surgery is evident from the following benefits:

• Laser eye surgery eliminates the need to wear lenses or glasses.

• It also reduces the risk associated with the use of contact lenses, such as infection or abrasion. These factors can lead to risk in the post eye surgery scenario.

• The patient can enjoy normal vision the very next day after the laser surgery.

• There is no need to remain hospitalized for days after the surgery.

• A majority of the patients achieve significant improvements to their vision after surgery.

Laser Eye Surgery: Complications

Although laser eye surgery is a simple method for visual correction, there have been certain complications in specific cases. The complications may occur in the form of:

• Moderate haziness of the cornea

• Under or over correction of short-sightedness

• Damage to the cornea due to an accidental event. This can be corrected through another surgery.

• Return of vision defects after treatment

• Abnormal vision due to defects with the flap created to conduct laser surgery.

These complications are rare. In a majority of the laser eye surgeries, patients enjoy corrected vision for their lifetime. Some complications can also occur due to a difference in the way your tissues respond to surgery. Some people are extremely sensitive to an external agent, such as a laser beam, which can complicate the surgery. Consult an eye surgeon before deciding to opt for laser eye surgery. Make sure the refractive eye surgery is taking place under the supervision of an expert eye surgeon or ophthalmologist.

About The Author

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Immaculate about laser eye surgery. Many people turn to refractive eye surgery to eliminate the use of glasses and contact lenses, but choosing the right eye surgeon is one of the most important steps to undertake.

The author invites you to visit: http://www.optegra.com

!!!!!((Long Term Diabetes Complications))!!!!!

Long Term Diabetes Complications
Author: Truworth
The article aims to provide information about complications of diabetes. There are mainly two types of complications found in diabetes they are short and long term. Here we will discuss long term complications of diabetes.Long term complications Diabetic Retinopathy: Diabetes-related eye complications are very common. It is the leading cause of blindness and vision problem now. If left untreated, they lead to the deterioration of vision and ultimately blindness.Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by damage to the small blood vessels of the retina in the back of the eye. The small vessels can be damaged by high blood glucose and high blood pressure. Thus an individual who suffers from hypertension is at a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy than those who have a normal blood pressure. The high blood glucose levels hinder the flow of blood, and thus oxygen, to the cells of retina. This hinders the working of retina and thus leads to improper vision. The early stage of this disease is called non- proliferate diabetic retinopathy, characterized by the development of occasional small blisters caused by enlarged capillaries and small hemorrhages on the surface of the retina. Moderately severe to very severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is also known as pre-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The blurred and distorted vision is because of macular edema.Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is the advanced form of diabetic retinopathy; the new blood vessels break, as they are weak and leak blood into clear gel of the eye, which will lead to floating spots in the eye, blocking vision. The pace of damage is not similar in both the eyes but, both the eyes are affected by this disease. Some times one eye is affected more easily than other. After some period, the swollen and scar nerve tissue of the retina is totally destroyed and pulls up the entire layer of retina and detaches it from the back of the eye. Retinal detachment is the cause behind blindness among diabetics in middle age. A diabetic must go for the regular eye checkup so that the early stages of diabetic retinopathy can be detected and treated in initial stages itself, with less harm to the eyes. Blood sugar levels should also be monitored and maintained to prevent blood vessel damage.TreatmentThere is no pharmaceutical therapy available at present that stops the progression of diabetic retinopathy by treating the underlying process of micro vascular damage. Current treatment options (generally reserved for late stage pre-proliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy and sight-threatening diabetic macular oedema) include two different forms of laser surgery. Laser therapy seals the leaking blood vessels in the macula, slowing the swelling that causes impaired vision. This procedure does not improve blurred vision but it can prevent it from worsening. While laser surgery can usually prevent vision from deteriorating, in most cases it cannot restore vision that has already been lost.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/long-term-diabetes-complications-1894936.html
About the AuthorTruworth is an experienced article writer. He had written around 370 articles on variety of health topical subjects. To find out more about our health assessment program, simply click this http://www.noextrasugar.com/ and know more about our services.

!!!!!((7 Questions you Should Ask your Doctor Before Accepting Any Kind of Medical Treatment))!!!!!!

Medical Advice: 7 Questions you Should Ask your Doctor Before Accepting Any Kind of Medical Treatment

Author: Pierce Scranton

We all want to think our doctors are infallible. We'd like to think our doctors know everything there is to know about treating our particular condition. Yet the truth is, at some point in time the doctor has to learn by doing.



Yes, they go through intensive education and rigorous training, but there is a world of difference between textbook learning and the unpredictability of real-life practice. Even established professionals can go an entire career without treating many conditions firsthand.



This doesn't mean that you should avoid visiting your healthcare practitioner or be fearful about the quality of care you will receive in your time of need.



As I explain in my gripping, fictionalized memoir, Death on the Learning Curve, it's important that you regard your doctor as a friendly advocate for your health and well-being. However, you should never be a passive spectator when treatment, medication, or surgery is proposed.



It's Your Health on the Line & You Need to be Engaged in the Process.



Anytime you experience a health problem, be prepared to actively participate in the decision-making process. You should be ready to ask questions-not to be confrontational, but to become fully informed.



Here's My Top 7 Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Accepting Any Kind of Medical Treatment:



1. How long have you been in practice?



2. What is your experience with this condition?



3. What are my treatment options, and what other options are available that you or my health plan is not offering? If you don't understand your doctor's basic explanation of your condition and treatment, then by all means ask him or her for more information.



4. What are the possible complications of the proposed treatments or surgeries? If there are any complications, how will you correct the problem?



5. Aside from your own partners, whom would you go to for treatment if you had this condition?



6. Are you personally going to perform the surgery? Will others assist and participate in a major way?



7. Can I ask your bookkeeper what my financial responsibility will be? (You need to know in advance.. and don't be afraid to negotiate!)



The above questions may seem basic, but are very important to get a better sense of whether the doctor you have chosen is someone you truly want as your partner in medical treatment.



Inappropriate Questions or Behavior



Notice I did not include the question: how many times have you been sued? We've all heard horror stories, but it is less than useful to ask your doctor how many times he or she has been sued. In today's cultural climate, most doctors have been sued more than once, especially the good ones!



Inappropriate actions and questions, however well intentioned, can actually undermine your treatment. By recognizing in advance when you are coping with the stresses and fears that go hand-in-hand with serious medical diagnoses, you can avoid compromising the crucial doctor-patient relationship.



Your Health's Bottom Line



Medical crises are frightening and patients can often feel overwhelmed. But by taking the responsibility to actively participate in the decision-making process and actually work with your doctor for your own highest good, you can dispel your fears. This will allow you and your doctor to focus on the ultimate goal: returning to wellness.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/medical-advice-7-questions-you-should-ask-your-doctor-before-accepting-any-kind-of-medical-treatment-103555.html

About the AuthorAbout the Author:
Renowned surgeon, Dr. Pierce Scranton, knows that hiding among the sterile scrubs and gleaming instruments of an operating room are split-second life-and-death decisions, deep ethical questions, personality conflicts, and horrors when simple procedures go terribly wrong. To discover why you must be actively engaged in your child's medical treatment process, get Dr. Scranton's latest book, Death on the Learning Curve at:http://snipurl.com/190gj