How to Remove Whiteheads

Like blackheads, whiteheads too are formed in the skin where skin cells clog and close a hair follicle. It's small and appears on the outer layer of the skin like a raised white bump. In medical terms it is known as a closed comedone.

Though they don't look as ugly as blackheads but if they set in the skin deep, they can create problem to you. All such things as black heads and white heads spoil the texture of your skin by showing it non smooth and lustrous. You need to look after the skin to prevent it from getting whiteheads and if you already have them then you need to workout to remove them. They usually appear on the sides of the nose, cheekbones and where the skin is fine.

How to remove whiteheads: first thing you should do to your skin is drinking lots of water, which removes the toxins from the skin and keeps whiteheads at bay.

• Wash off your face with mild cleansers and use mild scrubbers on your skin at least thrice a week. If you apply scrubbers on the skin after taking mild steam in the skin, they go off sooner as it softens the skin and opens up the pores. But always apply skin toner after cleaning the skin to close the pores. You can even rub an ice cube on the skin wrapped in a cotton cloth to block the pored after steaming.
• Use creams and gels, which contain alpha Hydroxyl fruit acids. They help in unclogging the pores to remove the whiteheads.
• Never squeeze or forcibly remove the whiteheads otherwise you will get a scar or skin infection. Take professional help if the problem cannot be tackled by you.
• Apply homemade scrubbers made by fruit peels. Dry orange peels in the sun and make a powder of them by grinding them. Add rosewater and milk cream to this powder and apply on the skin. Wash it off while rubbing it in the wrong direction when it's half dried. It will make the skin clear, smooth and will remove the whiteheads.
• Rubbing lemon peel on the skin helps in reducing whiteheads.
• Use medicated soaps and cleansers on the skin and apply oil free moisturizers.
• Drink fresh fruit juices and drink a glass of warm water with some lemon juice into it first thing in the morning. It helps in detoxifying the skin.
• Soak almonds in the water overnight, in the morning grind them and make a paste. Add honey to it and massage it on the face for few minutes. Leave it on the skin for 5-10 minutes and then rinse off with lukewarm water. It cleans away the white heads to some extent.

Try all such methods to keep away the white heads from the skin still if the problem persist then seek medical or professional help of a dermatologist.

BELL'S PALSY

Bell’s palsy is a paralysis of the facial muscles that control movement and expression. Each year, about 40,000 Americans develop the condition, most are over 40, although the disorder can occur at any age.


 

Paralysis, which occurs on one side of the face, is usually temporary. The symptoms include an inability to close one eye plus weakness and lack of muscle tone on the affected side. The face may feel as if it is twisted and speaking and eating may become difficult. In some cases, one side of the mouth droops and the senses of taste and hearing are impaired. The eye may also become abnormally dry.

Bells palsy usually develops rapidly, often coming on overnight but some patients recall a warning pain behind the ear for a few hours to a few days before the onset. The paralysis is thought to be caused by a swelling of the facial nerve that runs from the brain to the face. As the nerve swells, it becomes compressed within the surrounding bony enclosure.

The underlying cause is unknown, but because Bell’s palsy often follows an earache, cold or other viral infection. Some doctors believe that a virus may be involved. Injuries to the head and pregnancy have also been implicated.

In 80 to 90 percent of cases, Bell’s palsy is a temporary condition. If paralysis begins to reverse by the end of the second week, the prognosis for a full recovery is good.

Diagnostic Studies and Procedures

Most occurances can be diagnosed by the characteristic symptoms and their rapid onset. If there is any doubt, a doctor will order X-rays and perhaps a CT scan or MRI of the skull to rule out a tumor, fracture or bone  erosion. Blood tests can help detect a possible underlying infection.

If facial paralysis persists, nerve conduction tests or electromyography (EMG) may be ordered to assest the extent of nerve activity and damage.

Medical Treatments

Treatment for this condition is some what controversial, because most cases resolve themselves without therapy, some doctors advise a wait-and-see policy. Others advocate prompt medical intervention in the hope of shortening the course of the paralysis.

If improvement fails to occur within two weeks, treatment is advisable. There are two approaches: The most common entails taking corticosteroid drugs such as prednisone to reduce nerve swelling and inflammation. Typically, the drug is given in high doses for five days and then tapered off and stopped over the next five days.

Sometimes surgery is performed to widen the bony canal that surrounds the facial nerve, but this operation is done only as a last resort.

Alternative Therapies

Alternative therapies for Bell’s palsy are even more controversial than those of conventional medicine, because their efficacy is doubtful. Those that are sometimes suggested include:

Acupunture. Stimulation of meridians controlling nerves in the head and face is said to reduce swelling and reverse paralysis, provided the nerve has not been permanently damaged.

Aromatherapy. Facial massage using aromatic oils can prevent muscle spasms and may speed recovery.

Herbal Medicine. Traditional Chinese herbalists recommend the Pueraria combination, which is made up of kudzu root (Nature's Wonderland Kudzu Root Herbal Supplement Capsules, 575 mg, 60-Count Bottles (Pack of 3), ma-huang (Up Your Gas, Ma Huang Free, 60 tab ( Multi-Pack), ginger, jujube (Jujube Extract 250 mg 120 Caps), fruit, cinnamon, peony root (Peony Root Tincture Liquid Herbal Extract 2 oz Organic) and licorice (Licorice Root 100 caps) for acute numbness of facial nerves and a combination of cinnamon, atractylodes (Atractylodes Slices - Atractylodes macrocephala, 1 lb,(Starwest Botanicals and aconite for chronic disorder of these nerves.

Self-Treatment

Self-care is directed to preventing long-term eye damage and alleviating symptoms while awaiting recovery, because you probably will not be able to blink or close your eye, it should be protected with an eye patch, especially while sleeping. Artificial tears  (Tears Naturale Free Lubricant Eye Drops, 60 Single-Use Vials) or medicated eyedrops help to alleviate eye dryness.

Special facial exercise and self-massage can prevent long-term contracture and damage to the facial muscles. A physical therapist can prescribe exercises to do at home.

Wearing a splint helps to prevent drooping of the lower part of the face. A doctor or physical therapist can supply an appropriate one, or you can fashion your own from a long strip of cotton or linen.

Chewing and swallowing may be difficult, so avoid foods that can cause choking. In fact, you may want to switch to a liquid diet until the paralysis disappears.

 Other Causes of Facial Paralysis.

Infection, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Lyme disease, shingles, stroke or a tumor are among the many other causes of facial paralysis. Spasms of the facial muscles, called hemifacial spasm, can cause symptoms similar to those of Bell’s palsy. In rare cases, woman develop a condition called facial hemiatrophy of Romberg, which entails loss of fatty tissue just under the skin. This disorder progresses slowly, resulting in facial atrophy and distortion.

Why Is Quitting Smoking So Hard?

There are a variety of reasons why quitting smoking is so hard. These reasons can be broken into medical reasons, psychological reasons and practical reasons. In one way or the other these reasons may overlap. However in order to understand a variety of reasons why people fail to stop smoking it is worthwhile to categorize them in this manner.
Due to these reasons many people spend almost their whole life attempting to quit smoking but still finding it extremely hard. A simple grasp of some of these reasons may in itself change the entire game plan turning failures into surprising successes.


Medical Reasons
Medical reasons that explain the difficulty of quitting smoking are embedded in the biological work of nicotine in tobacco. by way of background what causes tobacco to be addictive is the interaction between nicotine and a smoker's brain. Nicotine alters the brain receptors leading to total dependency. Any attempt to stop smoking will lead to severe withdrawal symptoms a form of protest from the brain using your body. Nicotine addiction is therefore the strongest and most important reason why quitting tobacco smoking is so hard. The backlash can be so severe that many people become so gripped with fear to ever try again condemning themselves to a life of cigarettes.

Psychological Reasons
There is yet another side of the story to the difficult associated with stopping cigarettes. Some people are gripped with the fear of the unknown. This makes it difficult to quit. Often this is also fed by the general knowledge that quitting is hard making a lot of people failures whilst they still have cigarettes on their mouths. This means the battle has to be worn in the brain if one is to quit for good.

Doctors often advise that quitting smoking is also a matter of the willingness to do so. Just deciding to quit without the needed accompanying will-power will go so far. The individual making a decision to quit will need to be fully mentally prepared for what follows. This is why counseling and quit smoking programs produce better results in patients than those who go alone.

Practical Reasons
Practical reasons why stopping smoking is hard are found in the practical steps one needs in order to succeed. For example, most people decide to quit smoking yet they continue hanging out with people who smoke. They expose themselves to what are known as triggers. they easily find themselves triggered into smoking relapse.

Other practical reasons include the methods people choose to help them stop smoking. people who quit cold turkey almost always fail compared to people who use medications such as nicotine replacement products. All these are a matter of choice. What is it that you choose as your way to stop smoking. Of all the three reasons the most difficult to deal with is the medical reasons followed by the psychological reasons.