Q: How much exercise do I need each week? 
Last week I was playing volleyball and sprained my ankle. For me, this is a nightmare. Volleyball season is my favorite time of year, and I wanted to be up and playing as soon as possible. How did I get better? I used the R.I.C.E. method that my school follows for all minor sprains and strains:
Rest: Whether you’ve injured your ankle, wrist, or back, it’s important to rest that area for at least 48 hours after the initial injury. You may need a sling or crutches depending on your situation. You should listen to what your body tells you. If you test out standing on your foot and it feels like it won’t support you, don’t try to walk on it, that could cause further injury.
Ice: In order to reduce pain and swelling, you should ice the area within 48 hours of the injury. Do not use heat, this, in fact, can increase swelling. You can use a bag of crushed ice, an ice pack, or even frozen peas. During the first 48 hours, as often as you can, ice for periods of 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the ice off. Before icing again, let the area restore to normal temperature and color.
Compression: You also can reduce the swelling by wrapping the area in ace bandages or other support bandages. Make sure your wrap isn’t too tight. Your fingers or toes should not tingle and should remain the same temperature.
Elevation: Try to keep your injured area above your heart while resting. It will help reduce swelling as well.
You should see a big improvement in the status of your injury after two days of following the R.I.C.E. method. (I was back in the game three days later.) If you see no change despite following the steps, it is important that you see a doctor. You should return to using an injured joint or muscle only if you are sure it can support the work, and even so, start with just 50% of what you might normally do. Let yourself ease back into the work, and soon enough you’ll be back to full throttle.
Every other person has encountered a problem with dandruff at one point in his or her life. Some dermatologists even claim that dandruff is not a problem in most cases at all because everyone technically has “dandruff”. That is, there is a constant cell turn-over on the skin surface where the old skin cells are replaced with the new. But for some people, this cell turn-over is more obvious. It is a good thing there are simple solutions to this problem:
Shampoo your hair everyday – this is the easiest technique to get rid of dandruff. Ridding your hair of excess oil and flakes through shampooing can help eliminate dandruff. However, it is possible that your current shampoo is causing the problem. In this case, you need to switch to an alternative. It is recommended to use anti-dandruff shampoo that contains zinc pyrithione because it will reduce the selenium sulfide fungus and minimize cell turn-over.
Rotate three brands – your dandruff shampoo might stop working after a while, and you will find yourself combating the dandruff again. Don’t blame the product, though, because your scalp simply has developed a resistance to the shampoo’s ingredients. To prevent this scenario, you need to rotate three different shampoos, each with dissimilar formulations, every month.
Lather twice – the first lather will get rid of the unwanted flakes and oil on your hair. The process will clear up the area before you go for the second lather. It is in the second lathering that the shampoo will really go to work. Try leaving the shampoo on your hair for five minutes before rinsing it off, you will see the difference after several days.
Rinse your hair – Rinsing your hair with conditioner, lemon juice, or creams can be very helpful. Take note that the rinse you choose should be dependent on your hair type. For example, if you have dry hair, using conditioner or cream rinse is better than lemon juice. On the other hand, if you have oily hair, lemon juice might be the better alternative.
Garlic has long been prized as a natural remedy. Garlic contains allicins, which have natural antibiotic properties. It doesn’t just ward off vampires, it can kick out a cold and cure an ear infection! It’s tasty, cheap, and generally safe for home use. Health Eagle has discussed garlic and heart health before, and now we offer you some old fashioned home remedies, as well.
Can garlic cure the common cold? Many researchers are now saying chicken soup will help you survive a cold, and garlic has been fingered as the reason why. An old home remedy for coughs is to crush one clove of fresh garlic into a spoonful of honey or vinegar. Take in the morning, and then again at night. You should be sniffle free in a day or so.
The honey does a good job of masking the taste, but you still shouldn’t try it on an empty stomach. The vinegar will take some of the bite out of garlic. Take your pick – sweet or sour!
Another effective home remedy, supported only by decades of anecdotal evidence, is garlic oil. To make garlic oil, simply put some olive oil in a pan, and crush a few cloves of garlic into it. Gently heat the mixture and cook for a few minutes, then let it cool and steep for several hours. Strain the oil and keep it in the fridge. Garlic oil is used topically on fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot, or as ear drops to cure an earache. It’s pretty potent stuff, so don’t use it on broken skin or if you have eczema!
Eating garlic seems to be helpful as well, so if you do get a scratchy throat or drippy nose, make some garlic bread, a plate of pasta, and feel better soon!
In our modern age, it seems there is a pill for everything. Unfortunately, many times these pills have side effects – and we don’t always save all of the fine print we get from the pharmacist.
Is your dry mouth related to the antibiotics, or a new symptom? Can you drink milk with your statin medication? Can you take your anti-inflammatory with your iron supplement?
What about herbal remedies and vitamins? You can purchase these over the counter, but the FDA doesn’t require them to be labeled the same way prescription medications are. It’s also possible that the ginger you are taking for gout will work against the ulcer medication you’re taking for heartburn.
Fortunately, any information you need is a simple mouse-click away. Most major pharmaceutical companies have websites full of information, and even interactive forms for reporting adverse reactions.
Be an informed consumer, and bookmark this list of links when you need to check out your supplements and medications!
RxList – A large database of prescription medications, it also includes a “pill identifier” button. Click on “Consumer” for information; “Advanced Consumer” will give you the actual chemical structure and other details directed towards professionals.
Vitamin Encyclopedia – This is a commercial site but has loads of information on all things vitamin, including recommended daily allowances, therapeutic doses, and symptoms of overdose. It’s easy to navigate by vitamin or mineral name. The only drawback is each vitamin page contains links to purchase related products at the bottom; be a savvy consumer and do plenty of research before purchasing vitamins and supplements!
Herbal Encyclopedia - Similar to the Vitamin Encyclopedia, and also includes lists of dangerous interactions.
Drugs.com – The most comprehensive and easy to use of all prescription sites. Also contains a drug interaction checker, news, pill identifier, and more.
Headaches are a common health problem in any part of the world. It is likely that every single person will experience a headache at one time or another during the course of his life. But it is important to realize that not all headaches are the same. Some headaches are mild while some are painful enough to make a patient bang her head against a wall.
Anything that stimulates the body’s pain receptors in the neck and head can cause a headache to occur. Some causes include:
Injuries to the neck
Muscle tension
Dental problems
High blood pressure
Eye strain
Disorders in the nose, ears, or throat.
Basically, headaches can be categorized in two groups: primary and secondary. Primary headaches include cluster headaches and migraines. Meanwhile, secondary headaches usually are caused by another disorder, such as injury or infection. Pain is felt when some structures in the head, like the nerves at the head and neck, the muscle and skin, the arteries that leads to the brain, or the sinuses, become inflamed.
Primary Headache
Tension headache – this is noted to be the most common form of headache. It feels like pressure is being pressed around your head. Tension headaches can be caused by both physical and emotional stress associated with lifestyle changes.
Migraine headache – it occurs more frequently in women compared to men. Hormones are observed to play a crucial role in its occurrence. You will feel a throbbing sensation in your head when you have a migraine headache. In addition, it has been associated with the spasms of blood vessels that go to your brain.
Secondary Headache
As was mentioned earlier, a secondary headache is the symptom of another condition. Brain tumors, head injury, spiral injury, meningitis, sinus infection, and other diseases can lead to secondary headaches because the body is sending signals to the brain that something is wrong.
