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Posts Tagged ‘Physician’

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11 Simple & Effective ways to Super-Boost your Immunity

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on October 5, 2012 at 9:39 am

11 Simple Effective ways to Super-Boost your Immunity

What is immunity?

The immune system protects the body from possibly harmful substances by recognizing and responding to antigens. Antigens are substances (usually proteins) on the surface of cells, viruses, fungi, or bacteria. Nonliving substances such as toxins, chemicals, drugs, and foreign particles (such as a splinter) can also be antigens. The immune system recognizes and destroys substances that contain antigens.

Your own body’s cells have proteins that are antigens. These include a group of antigens called HLA antigens. Your immune system learns to see these antigens as normal and usually does not react against them.

So, how can you Super-Boost your Immunity?

1. Sleep for no more than 8 hours and no less than 6 hours.

2. Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily, totaling 64 ounce.

3. Take over-the-counter vitamin C pill daily especially during the change of season.

4. Deep breathing: Enhances the vitality of the internal organs and detoxifies the blood.

5. Exercise regularly at least 3-4 times a week with a minimum of 20 min of aerobic activity.

6. Meditation: Relaxes the mind and muscles, improves oxygen uptake, improves bone marrow functions and overall improves immunity.

7. Kill the stress: Stress is the most common cause for reduced immunity.  Try to stay more happy, calm and relaxed.  Avoid getting angry.  Whenever stressed, take a moment and say to yourself 3 times “Relax…… Relax…….. Relax…..”.

8. Listen to calming music.

9. Stretch your body.  Avoid sitting or standing for long hours.  Make sure you take a break every 30-45 minutes to stretch your body.

10.  Do your best and leave the rest.  We cannot control many things in her life.  So stop controlling the outcomes.  Make sure you perform your best with good thoughts and actions.  That is the most important thing in life.

11. Eat healthy: Fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains and fish gives you abundant antioxidants, proteins  minerals and vitamins necessary to skyrocket the immune system.

Follow these 11 simple and effective ways to approach your immunity for a week and see the big difference in yourself.  You will feel much stronger in your mind and body.

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Kidney Stones: What You Need to Know

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on August 16, 2012 at 8:00 am

 

Did you know severe pain in your back or side that won’t go away could be a kidney stone?

What is a kidney stone?

A kidney stone is a hard mass that forms in the kidney out of substances in the urine. Kidney stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl. Some stones are even as big as golf balls. Most kidney stones pass out of the body with urine. But sometimes a stone will not pass by itself and needs a doctor’s care.

Who gets kidney stones?

You are more likely to get a kidney stone if

  • you are Caucasian
  • you are male
  • you are 40 or older
  • you have had a kidney stone before

How do I know if I have a kidney stone?

Kidney stones often do not cause any symptoms and pass through the body without being noticed. But sometimes stones can cause great pain.

You should call your doctor if you have

  • extreme pain in your back or side that will not go away
  • blood in your urine
  • fever and chills
  • vomiting
  • urine that smells bad or looks cloudy
  • a burning feeling when you urinate

What can my doctor do about a problem stone?

Your doctor may use a machine that sends shock waves to the stone and breaks it into smaller pieces. The small pieces will then pass through your urinary system with your urine.

Sometimes a stone is removed through “tunnel surgery.” The surgeon makes a small cut in the back and creates a narrow tunnel into the kidney. The surgeon then locates and removes the stone using a special instrument.

If the stone is in the ureter-the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder-the doctor may use a ureteroscope. This slender instrument is inserted into the urethra-the short tube that carries urine out of the bladder when you urinate-through the bladder, then into the ureter. The doctor will catch the stone with a small cage in the uteroscope and pull it out. Or the doctor may shatter the stone with a device inserted through the ureteroscope.

What can I do to prevent kidney stones?

Drink lots of water. Water helps to flush away the substances that form stones in the kidneys. If you have had a kidney stone before, you’re likely to have others. Talk with your doctor about other ways to avoid more stones.

 

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20 DAYS TOWARDS HAPPINESS AND HEALTH: DAY 10

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on July 2, 2012 at 9:23 am

10. EAT A HEALTHY BREAKFAST

 

Fact: Researchers from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 3,000 people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of 6 years, found that eating breakfast every day was a weight control strategy for 78% of the people in the registry.

Eggs, juice, milk, wheat bread, whole grain cereal and oatmeal are the best choices for a healthy breakfast. According to research, skipping meals, especially breakfast, can actually make weight control more difficult. Breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to stave off hunger. Several studies suggest that people tend to accumulate more body fat when they eat fewer, larger meals than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller, more frequent meals. You do not have to have the same thing everyday. Change creates spice in life.

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20 DAYS TOWARDS HAPPINESS AND HEALTH: DAY 8

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 30, 2012 at 8:00 am

8. EAT YOGURT

 

Fact: An average 8-oz. serving of yogurt has 8 to 10 grams of protein and up to 35 percent of the recommended daily intake of Calcium.

 

The benefits of yogurt have been underestimated by most people. Yogurt has millions of healthy bacteria which are helpful for colon health. Colon is a very important organ to detoxify our body. These bacteria work in conjunction with each other to make sure we digest the food right and eliminate the toxins.

Eating yogurt 2-3 times a day with meals or as snacks will promote healing. It is a rich source of calcium, protein and vitamin d. It improves bone and muscle strength, improves immunity and improves joint functions.

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20 DAYS TOWARDS HAPPINESS AND HEALTH: DAY 4

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 26, 2012 at 8:00 am

4. LISTEN TO CALMING MUSIC

 

Fact: Music greatly modifies our mental disposition.

Music has a big role on our mind and body. Different tones and vibrations relate to different parts and glands of our body. Relaxing music triggers our auditory-neuro-hormonal pathway and promotes relaxation and sense of well being. When we are relaxed, we think positive. Thinking positive in turn leads to good thoughts and ultimately good actions. Music can become a source of energy. By listening to favorite music, a person can feel a bigger moral strength and a stronger wish to commence or continue a desired activity. Beautiful music decorates life, makes people kinder and develops positive spiritual qualities.

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Measuring Success in Current Healthcare Times: Very Important

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 14, 2012 at 8:00 am

An implicit goal of an improved Healthcare structure is to create an improved system of care for patients. So in addition to measuring patient-level outcomes, it will be important to measure whether the system itself is improving in ways that are believed to result in better patient care and better outcomes in the future. Some of the questions to be answered and measures to be developed include:

Are we strengthening primary care?

• Do more patients report that they have a primary care physician or team?

• Do more patients report that they can find a primary care team easily?

• Are patients able to communicate with their primary care team more readily?

• Do more primary care physicians report “joy in work” and being “fairly paid?”

• Has access to specialists, as reported by patients and primary care physicians, improved?

• Is primary care becoming more patient-centered?

• Do more patients report that they are getting exactly the care they need, exactly when and as they need it?

• Do more patients report that they fully understand their care, understand what they need to do to stay healthy, and that the care fully reflects their preferences?

Are decisions about payment and other issues more oriented toward patients’ interests than providers’ interests?

• Do patients report that their providers coordinate services effectively?

• Is care of patients with chronic illness becoming more efficient?

• Have expenditures for specific patients and conditions met the target levels?

• Has the percentage of care managed without face-to-face contact and in single visits increased?

• Have hospitalizations been reduced?

• Has there been a decrease in the frequency of procedures that had been performed previously at a rate above the national average?

• Has the rate of test repetition decreased?

• Have patients reported any greater problems in accessing care?

Are outcomes for chronically ill patients improving?

• Have blood pressure levels improved?

• Have Hemoglobin A1c levels improved?

• Do patients experience fewer limitations affecting their quality of life?

Are data being used for management and continuous improvement?

• How many quality/outcome/cost measures are available?

• How promptly are the measures available?

• Does the managing board of the provider review the measures regularly?

• Is the CEO compensation/performance plan tied to the measures?

Ref: nrhi.org

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Patient Burnout: Watch out before it gets too late

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 11, 2012 at 8:00 am

“Good Morning Dr Aggarwal. I am back again”, said Mr C with an innocent smile on his face. “Yeah, long time no see”, I said, just to humor the situation. “What brings you back again so soon?”, I asked. “I continue to get the fatigue and pains all over”, he said. This is after we have ruled out most of the organic disorders including thyroid issues, sleep apnea, electrolyte imbalances,lyme disease vitamin deficiencies and many others. I saw him strongly and said,”seems like you are stressed or depressed, are you?’. The wife immediately jumps from her chair and said, ‘He is always thinking about something. He does not sleep well because of that. All day long, he just sits and thinks”.

This is a very common situation in Primary care office. Patients are afraid to admit their true symptoms and continue feeling that they have something major going on. It is very hard to treat patients with such attitudes, which unfortunately are the majority of our patient population. People do not want to digest the fact that they could be stressed or depressed. It is still a taboo for many to be labelled as depressed being. Struggle to find what is wrong leads to ‘Patient Burnout’.

We all have heard of doctors being overwhelmed with their work because of long hours, stress related to performance and administrative hassles leading to ‘Burnout’.  But I feel, what goes un-noticed most of the time is patient burnout.

Burnout leads to patients being frustrated even more. They keep visiting multiple doctors to get the answers they want which does not exist. Adding frustrations and elaborate testing leads to ‘Patient Burnout’. Not that it is something that is easily fixable, but definitely needs more attention.

Factors leading to Patient Burnout

  • Repeated visits to Healthcare providers
  • Multiple tests
  • No clinical evidence of any particular disease after extensive testing
  • Difficult family situation
  • Difficult work situation
  • Retired
  • Living alone

Signs

  • Fatigue
  • Stress
  • Pains
  • Headache
  • Stomach upset

It gets overwhelming for physicians to keep doing a zillion dollar workup and find no strong evidence of any particular disease at the end. The fix to the problem is not easy. But one thing that providers can do it to engage the patients in a dialogue. Have them analyze what exactly is going on in their psychosocial arena that could be contributing to this. Encouraging patients to get into healthy habits including diet control, exercising, yoga and meditation are some of the magical things that they can teach the patients. Getting to the bottom of the problem is must.

Tips

  • Have patient summarize their thoughts on the problem
  • Have them identify their psychological makeup
  • Reassure them
  • Encourage them
  • Recommend Lifestyle Modifications
  • See them periodically to assess their progress
  • Provide self-education and stress management  materials
  • Offer support

Identifying and Managing certain psychological issues are  challenges for most  physicians. But a streamlined thought process to catch these problems help patients avoid the burnout.

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Hypnotherapy: Achieve Ultimate Mind Power !

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 10, 2012 at 8:00 am

Healing Hypnotherapy Helps with

Weight reduction
Smoking Cessation
Anxiety
Depression
Stress
Chronic Pains
Migraines
Fibromyalgia
Reflex Sympathetic dystrophy
Neuropathy
Confidence Building
Public speaking
Sleep disorders
Sports performance
Memory improvement
Poor relationships
Cancer effects
Emotional Problems
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Hot flashes

Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation to connect to subconscious mind. Subconscious mind is the hidden iceberg under the water. We normally do not use most part of the brain and the powers keep hidden. Hypnotherapy is the way to identify those hidden powers that you can use for your own benefit.

There are many myths linked with Hypnosis. The most frequently mentioned myth is that someone can control your mind and make you behave and do whatever the hypnotist wants you to do. It is completely wrong. On the contrary, you are in complete control. It is a state of Hyper awareness. ALL HYPNOSIS IS SELF HYPNOSIS. No one can control your mind. Hypnotherapy is a way to show you the right direction and make you aware of the hidden mind power that can be used for self-healing.

Hypnotherapy or medical hypnosis is a way to identify and treat the deep-rooted problems which cannot be seen from the surface above. As we can only see the roots by digging, we can only see the problem by going deep in the mind, which can only be achieved with Hypnotherapy. Since the subconscious mind is a deeper-seated, more instinctive force than the conscious mind, this is the part which has to change for the individual’s behavior and physical state to alter.

We go in a hypnotic stage multiple times without even knowing it, e.g., while driving car and while watching TV.
Hypnotherapy is a wonder tool to harness the Mind Power to use it for the desired results. It is a way to unlock the doors of success and peace in life. The World of healing can help you get the right key for yourself to unlock those doors to extreme Mind Power. The wonders of Life are hidden. Explore those wonders and get healed.

http://www.theworldofhealing.com/#!hypnotherapy

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US Healthcare System: Needs Resuscitation

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 9, 2012 at 8:00 am

The Problem Today

  • Defensive Medicine: Providers always overdoing to avoid malpractice law suits.
  • High Malpractice costs
  • Tough regulations
  • Reducing reimbursements
  • Increasing patient populations
  • Primary Care physicians taking all the burden and not getting paid well on top
  • Reducing enrollments in Medical Schools
  • Insurance-company restrictions resulting in less autonomy over how patients are cared for
  • Red-tapism

Doctors are being over-controlled and micro-managed  by the current regulatory systems. By training, doctors are innovators and independent thinkers. Taking away their thought process is making them into robots who just keep clicking computers to get their ends meet without any interest.

If government had to do something,

  • Why does it  not open more medical schools?
  • Why does it not make it easy for foreign trained doctors to come to US and practice medicine?
  • Why do they not cut the overwhelming malpractice costs?
  • Why do they not incentivze primary care services?
  • Why cannot they increase taxes on cigarettes, sodas and chips which are killing the Americans?
  • Why cannot they let physicians be independent and let them practice medicine rather than practicing computers?
  • Why can they not prosecute drug dealers who are contaminating the system?
  • Why do people get support from tax payers money when they can actually work but they choose not to?

It is a pain to practice such medicine in United States which boasts of being a Number 1 economy in the world. America has very poor ranking on overall health indexes as compared to other developed nations in the world. The only good part I see in Healthcare reform is the mandatory Health insurance which makes it fair for everyone. The concept of ACO and PCMH are great, but the overall goals are still very hard to achieve even with these models if the defensive medicine and malpractice costs are not taken care of. So, my appeal from all the healthcare providers and the government  is to change the Healthcare System for better rather than for worse. Make it easy for providers to practice medicine. Do not let those 1/3rd current physicians leave medicine, which they are thinking because of strict government regulations.

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‘Doctors do not Sign Up for Sainthood’

In Health, Healthcare, Medicine on June 7, 2012 at 8:00 am

Each society in this world has many ‘Bad Fish’ which make it all dirty looking. We just blame the whole water to be dirty instead of getting rid of the bad fish. ‘Doctors don’t sign up for sainthood.’ But the general public seems to knows better about doctors. When people make derogatory comments on the medical profession and healthcare, they only highlight the presence of unacceptably high numbers among them some who deserve such criticism.

To err is human and problems exists in all professions. But since medicine concerns a person’s health, drawbacks and failures of doctors are over-projected. Doctors may be hindered by: hospital owners who make heavy investments and encourage them to ensure maximum revenue; inefficient staff in laboratories and radiological centers; pharmacies which dispense incorrect, spurious or stale medicines; pathological and radiological centers which corrupt them with lures of incentives for referring patients to them; and the failure of patients or their attendants to follow their advice.

While we should take note of all these points before passing a judgment on doctors, we have a right to expect them to abide by the solemn oath they take before they enter the medical profession.

Corruption and malpractice are common in all professions. I don’t understand why a particular profession should come under the scanner. I agree though that present-day doctors do not have the same degree of dedication as old-timers. When education becomes a business to make money, we cannot expect to have true saints.

When doctors get attached to money, the noble quality of their work suffers. So does the effect of their medicine and treatment. History has seen a number of doctors who worked purely to alleviate the sufferings of the sick, not to accumulate wealth. They were concerned about our health rather than their wealth.

We should have a social responsibility to get together to fight the wrong-doings wherever it may be. Sometimes you have to play part of a doctor to cure these social diseases. But do not blame all doctors to be making money by corrupting the system. Most of them just want to help you and make a living as everybody else.

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