Female Care

Everyone likes to dance but not everyone likes to exercise. No matter your age, now you can dance and get a great workout too. If Jazzercise is the only image you can conjure, think again.

A compelling new customer is on the dance floor: you, me and everyone else. Fitness trainers saw “workout boredom” step-out to a 4-beat-bar and join a salsa class. Would you rather do crunches or would you rather spice it up with a saucy salsa beat?

Dance fitness, also known as “beat-based” fitness, is becoming big business in gyms, dance studios, hospital wellness centers and churches.

Here are some of the more popular dance fitness forms:

• Ballroom dancing can bring a sense of grace and elegance to your life, as well as a heart-pumping workout. The long fluid movements, as you glide across a gym floor, will find muscles you have long forgotten. Posture is enhanced as well as balance and flexibility. Continue reading »

When deciding whether to stay home with your children or return to the workforce there are a lot of things to consider. Your income versus expenses, where you can cut costs and if you can do so realistically, and how well you can handle staying at home all day long are just some of the major things to keep in mind.

One important factor that many women overlook, however, is health insurance and the toll private health insurance premiums will take on their budget.

Since most stay at home mothers don’t have the resources to pay cash, if you don’t have adequate health insurance you won’t be able to visit the doctor, go to the emergency room, and you certainly can’t get sick if it requires buying prescription medication. In other words, medical care may not be an option.
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Early pregnancy bleeding is surprisingly common, and it is always worrying. Therefore, care must be taken, as it may be dangerous to the life of the woman. There are many causes which are included in the following:

1. Abnormalities of the cervix, such as erosion (ulceration), polyp (growth) and cancer of the cervix. In these conditions, there is a slight irregular bleeding with no pain. The woman should be referred to a doctor.
2. Abortion – in this, the woman has abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding which may be mild or severe. If this occurs in the first two months of pregnancy and the symptoms are mild, advice the woman to stay in bed until three days after all bleeding has stopped. If bleeding stops, this was probably a threatened abortion and the fetus may go on to term. Advice the woman not to go on journeys nor to do any heavy work, and to avoid sexual intercourse until about the 24th week of pregnancy. If bleeding and abdominal pain get worse, the fetus cannot be saved. This is an inevitable abortion; if possible the woman should be taken to the health centre or hospital. If this is not possible give Ergot two tablets, watch the condition and what is passed from the vagina. If a woman having an abortion develops fever, this is likely to be a septic abortion and is dangerous. She should be taken to the health centre or hospital without delay. Antibiotics or triple sulphia should be started. Continue reading »

When you get a cold, you will most likely be told to take vitamin C. In today’s health news, we hear a lot about vitamin C being the “cure-all” vitamin, and many people want to know if this is true.

Vitamin C is definitely an important part of anyone’s diet. Ingesting a healthy level of vitamin C has been shown to have an impact on the presence of cholesterol in the body. This means that vitamin C can help prevent gall bladder disease and some heart problems. Some studies show that vitamin C can aid in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. Vitamin C can also help you look younger by aiding in collagen repair and formation.
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Vitamin K is commonly known to aid in blood clotting. When the body is injured, vitamin K initiates the process of healing by slowing and stopping the bleeding. For this reason, vitamin K is often given to patients before surgery to prevent excessive bleeding. Although this is the primary function of vitamin K, this vitamin has several more health benefits.

Vitamin K helps the body absorb the beneficial mineral calcium. Recent studies have suggested that vitamin K can help prevent or treat osteoporosis and the loss of bone density. If you have a family history of osteoporosis, it is important to make sure you maintain healthy levels of vitamin K.

There are also recent studies that have suggested that vitamin K also has preventive and treatment benefits for cancer. Several human trials have shown that vitamin K may have anticancer effects.

Vitamin K also prevents the hardening of the arteries, which aids in preventing heart disease and heart failure. Continue reading »

Headaches and migraines can be caused by any number of factors but they all have one thing in common – without an effective cure they can bring your life to a grinding and painful halt. This guide is meant for those who don’t wish to take prescription or over the counter drugs and would rather use natural remedies and healing techniques to cure their headaches.

Care should always be taken when looking at homeopathic or any other alternative remedies to ensure that they won’t interact with medication you are currently taking and, of course, to make sure they have the desired effect. However, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next so experiment to find the best cure for you.
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Regular exercise keeps you healthy, gives you energy and builds strong bones and muscles. However, many pregnant women are afraid that exercising will harm the baby. That fear is unfounded according to medical experts, but there are some guidelines to follow for safety.

Dr. Raul Artal, who heads the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, believes obstetricians should make exercise recommendations a top priority, But, Dr. Artal says there are some precautions you should take to keep you and your baby healthy during prenatal exercise.

Dr. Artal recommends moderate exercise for pregnant women – such as brisk walking, which allows you to carry on a normal conversation – for about a half hour a day. Aerobic and resistance training are OK, but pregnant women should avoid contact sports or activities that carry a high risk of falling or trauma to the abdomen.
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Remember your mother telling you to eat oranges in order to supply your body with much needed Vitamin C? Well, researchers in California have discovered that oranges provide our bodies with other vitamins that help us fight off a variety of health problems.

Oranges are rich in a compound called citrus limonoids, which help to prevent cancers of the breast, colon, lung, mouth, skin and stomach. In laboratory tests animals and human cells both benefited from citrus limonoids in the fight against these cancers.

Chemist Gary D. Manners and a team of scientists at the Agricultural Research Service in northern California are now doing extensive research into the benefits of citrus limonoids to human health. Manners and his team reported findings from research that they have conducted over a number of years. It seems that each time we bite into a slice of orange or drink a glass of orange juice our bodies recognize a limonoid called limonin. It is believed that limonin also reduces cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease and other health problems. Continue reading »

Few, if any countries in the world can match the United States when it comes to looking after the health needs of senior citizens and for individuals with disabilities. Medicare is generous in providing prescription drugs and other forms of health care to the most vulnerable sections of the population (Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, 2007).

Medicare Part D is relatively new, and everyone it seeks to cover, and those who look after the elderly, needs to understand the system, and how to make best use of it. This new coverage aims to bring the newest and best prescription drugs within reach of all senior citizens, and people with disabilities. This coverage extends to everyone with Medicare in any form, and there are benefits for people with limited financial means who do not have Medicare as well. All elderly citizens and those with disabilities stand to benefit from help with accessing prescription drugs under the new Medicare Part D. Continue reading »

Your Baby

Week by week, your baby is changing rapidly. By the end of the second month of pregnancy, your baby will begin to have the appearance of a tiny human being. At this point, your baby is referred to as a fetus. Early on in the second month, your baby’s heart will begin to beat and can be seen during an ultrasound. Your baby is developing eyelids, which will stay shut for some time. During the second month of pregnancy, your baby will begin to develop all of his major organs, including the brain, stomach, and lungs. Toes and fingers are also forming during this time. By the end of the second month, bone cells are beginning to form. Your baby will be about one inch long and will weigh less than one ounce at the end of this month.
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