Women’s health

Eczema. 15 million people in the United States suffer from eczema also known as atopic dermatitis. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the situation becomes worse, the prevalence of atopic eczema is constantly increasing and affects 9 to 30% of the U.S. population. In young children and infants eczema has become particularly common.
Eczema can occur anywhere on the body causing an itchy, cracked, red, scaly rash. Most commonly it occurs around joints as well as on the hands, feet, face and the back of the knees, the neck, elbows and wrists. The reaction of medicines and cosmetics causes infection most often.
The feature of eczema is occurring in those individuals who suffer asthma or hay fever. Weather conditions influence on infection very much. Cold, dry weather may worsen the situation; humid, warm weather may improve it.
Adults less suffer from eczema. They may get only itchy form called nummular eczema, which tends to be scaly, coin-shaped spots on the arms and legs.

What causes eczema?

In fact, the exact cause of eczema is unknown. On different people it influences in different ways. Some may suffer “flare-ups” of the itchy rash in response to certain substances or conditions. For others, weather conditions, feeling too hot or too cold, coming into contact with rough or coarse materials may cause the skin to become itchy. Stress may worse the condition.
Exposure to certain household products like soap or detergent, or coming into contact with animal dander may cause an outbreak. People with a family history of other allergies or asthma also suffers from eczema.
Eczema can’t be spread from person to person, it is not contagious.

Types of eczema and some advice how to treat

Eczema can occur in several forms:
- Scalp eczema. This type of eczema is common in children. To prevent spreading of disease the scales or crusts must be softened with applications of fresh lard or oil. This should be repeated twice a day. Tie a handkerchief on the head for a few hours, than remove the crusts with a coarse comb. After drying the surface, some simple oil or fat may be applied.
? Face eczema is also common among children. It may be necessary to wear a linen or cotton mask when reaction is severe. The mask should cover ears if the ears are too affected and sterilize the surface of the ears with a solution of peroxide of hydrogen. If the eyelids are affected you should consult a doctor. In this case you should take special care in removing and softening the crusts with a bland oil followed by a light application of benzoated lard. When the lips are affected, you can avert it by bland oil frequent application, cold cream or equal parts of benzoin, alcohol and glycerin.
- Eczema of the anus is a very serious disease. Before treatment you should consult a doctor. Anus eczema may be treated with carbolic, calamine or hydrocyanic solution.
- Eczema of the male genitals. It is required consulting a doctor. You should clean carefully, apply the hygroscopic powder and use suspensory bandage. Penis inflammation is usually milder than the scrotum. If you have an acute form, stay resting in bed and use the application of hot boric acid water for 60 to 90 seconds.

How to prevent eczema?

You can avoid eczema outbreaks by following these simple tips:
- moisturize your skin frequently
- if you are subject to influencing weather conditions, avoid sudden changes in temperature or humidity
- try to avoid sweating or overheating
- reduce stress
- don’t use scratchy materials, such as wool
- avoid harsh soaps, detergents and solvents
- you should be aware of any food that may cause an outbreak and exclude it from your ration

Acne is one of the simple inflammatory skin disease, which affects the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). In most cases acne develops in puberty because of the surge of testosterone, the most causative factor in acne. In the United States its comparatively simple disease affects from 5 to 15% of the population.
There are four forms of acne. They are the followings:
- whiteheads
- pimples
- cysts
- blackheads

What causes acne?

The main reasons, which cause acne, are the follows:

- Unhygienic living habits such as excessive consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol or tobacco can easily cause acne
- Acne is caused when sebaceous or oil glands come to life around puberty. When male hormones which are produced in the adrenal glands of both boys and girls stimulate these glands, acne are resulting as a side effect.
- Bacteria which live in everyone’s skin but generally mind their own business, feast on this oil, multiply, and cause the surrounding tissues to become inflamed.
- Chronic constipation and wrong eating habits can cause acne.

Acne treatment

Unfortunately, there is no cure which can prevent acne. But there are a wide variety of treatments designed to keep acne under control. Acne is caused by several different factors, therefore you can find many diverse acne treatments. Each acne treatment aims one or several of these factors.
It is not so easy to cure acne. Taking into account the number of ways in which it can be cured, acne treatment can become a big theory in itself. There are a lot of preventing things. Some of them are as follows:
1. Acne treatments using Bacteria killing – it means killing the bacteria that are caused by the blocked follicles, reducing the secretion of oils from the glands, normalizing the follicle cell lifecycle, and exfoliating the skin.
2. Treatment by Zinc – You should take it in therapeutic doses of 55 mg three times a day. Zinc is available in tablet and in capsule form.
3. Home treatment. Cucumber is the best tonic for the skin of the face. Apply over the face, eyes, and neck for fifteen to twenty minutes.
4. Niacin and Vitamin A are successfully used to treat acne. Vitamin therapy should comprise the intake of about 100 mg niacin, three times daily, and 49,500 IU (international units) of vitamin A, three times daily. Vitamin E dose of 400 mg, should be taken once daily. This therapy should be continued for about a month.
5. Another effective home remedy for pimples and blackheads is a teaspoon of coriander juice, mixed with a pinch of turmeric powder.

Prevention tips

The most common things that can aggravate your acne are: cleansing your skin too much, squeezing, picking, or popping zits. Excessive cleansing, particularly with the overzealous use of abrasive facial scrubs can irritate your skin, and worsen inflammation.
Squeezing and picking acne spots may increase inflammation and can cause further disruption of the acne oil sac. This can contribute to leakage of the sac’s contents much deeper into the skin and therefore increase more inflammation.

Tags: Skin+health, Acne, Women’s+health

You can’t exaggerate the importance of keeping your skin healthy. It is the main defense against disease and infection. In fact, skin is the largest organ in the body, which protects your internal organs from injuries. One of the main skin functions is regulating body temperature and preventing excess fluid loss. Another item is helping  your body remove excess water and salt.
Nobody is insured from skin conditions. Young and old, men and women – anyone can be affected. There are plenty of skin disorders. Acne, psoriasis and eczema are just a few common examples.
Nowadays there are a lot of simple methods how to keep your skin healthy. Consequently, you can find many options available to treat skin conditions, if it is necessary.

Tags: Skin+health, Women’s+health

There’s not much you can do about the skin type you’re born with. But by taking care of it properly, you can control and maintain texture and radiance from your 20s right through to your 50s and over.
The key to healthy skin lies beyond which soap you use. It depends on what you eat, whether you exercise, how much stress you are under and even the kind of environment in which you live and work. 

What type of skin do you have?

To create perfect skin you have to treat each individual cell within it perfectly. You need to know if the cell needs more water, less oil – or just leaving alone to calm down and stop getting hot and bothered. The only way you’re going to do this is to know your skin type.
There are five basic skin care types: oily, combination, sensitive, dry and sun-damaged. Your skin type is determined by how much or how little oil your skin produces. Genes, diet, stress level, medication and even your skincare regimen all determine how much oil your skin produces.
For starters, skin types change with age, so oily skin in your teens doesn’t mean oily skin in your twenties, thirties or forties. Skin types can also change with the seasons, as temperatures affect the levels of oil and water in the skin; they can change with your diet, and even according to the time of the month.
Let’s see on these types:
Type 1: Oily.  Oily skin has a coarse texture. Usually oily areas tend to shine. Oily skin results from overactive oil glands; the oil helps retain dead skin cells in the hair follicles. Pores tend to be larger. The dead skin cells may darken with exposure to the air, forming blackheads. Often, individuals with oily skin have a tendency to develop acne in their teen and middle years, and overgrown oil glands, or sebaceous hyperplasia, in the middle and late years.
Type 2: Combination/normal.  Normal skin has an equal balance of water and oil, making it naturally well moisturized. The pores are medium-sized. When you pull the skin away from the bony structure, it springs back to normal position. Lines and wrinkles are appropriate for age. Combination skin is a mixture of dry and oily areas of differing degrees. Usually the T-zone – the forehead, nose and chin – is prone to oiliness, whereas the cheeks and neck tend to be dry. More people have combination skin than severely dry or oily skin. Ideally you would need to treat these two areas separately.
Type 3: Sensitive. Sensitive skin tends to be thin, delicate with fine pores. It flushes easily, is prone to broken capillaries, is frequently allergic.
Type 4: Dry.  Dry skin has a rough texture and may become flaky. There are no shiny areas; in fact, the skin looks dull. Pores tend to be smaller because less oil is produced. Without adequate moisture, dry skin can easily become chapped. As dry skin ages, it’s more likely than other types to become wrinkly.
Type 5: Aging or sun-damaged This skin also feels tight with visible wrinkles, slack skin tone, especially around the cheeks and jawline, with leathery texture and broken capillaries.

How to help your skin look healthy?

Good skin care can help delay the natural aging process and prevent many skin problems. These simple skin-care habits will help you protect your skin to keep it healthy and glowing for years to come.
The best way to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. Ultraviolet light — the invisible but intense rays of the sun — damages your skin, causing deep wrinkles, dry, rough skin, liver spots, and more serious disorders, such as noncancerous and cancerous skin tumors.
Don’t smoke – smoking can accelerate the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles
Wash your skin gently – cleaning is an essential part of caring for your skin. Use warm water and limit bath time. Avoid strong soaps – they can leave your skin dry. Avoid irritating additives. If your skin is sensitive, avoid products containing perfumes or dyes; hese can irritate your skin and may trigger an allergic response. Carefully remove your eye makeup and after washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on the skin.

Women from past generations did not know how to properly take care of themselves for many reasons. The most prevalent reason that women did not know how to take care of themselves was simply a lack of medical research and general knowledge about female health at the time. However, contemporary women’s health research has resulted in women being much more aware of how to take care of their bodies. Contemporary Women’s Health and Exercise has always been a popular activity amongst women, but nowadays women are flocking to the gym more and more often to sculpt their bodies and keep their moods enlightened.
Contemporary women’s health means that women have the option of joining private gyms just for women, which makes the sometimes uncomfortable process of getting in shape more tolerable, since everyone is there for the same reason. Gyms offer a variety of options for getting in shape, and the great thing about contemporary women’s health when it comes to exercise is that there are lots of different workout classes that allow women to express their sexuality too. For example, there are some dance classes that use a stripper pole, which is a great and creative way to tone the legs and the upper body. As for contemporary women’s health and nutrition now, more than ever before, women are becoming more aware of how to take care of their bodies since cholesterol and being overweight is an increasing problem amongst many females. Whereas before women often indulged in starchy foods, there have been more diets out on the market that use the glycemic index, which allows a woman to eat things like chocolate, but also to keep her carbohydrate intake in check.
Also, the increase in organic food markets has also gotten women thinking about eating healthier, since these all-natural foods look more appealing (especially in the case of fruits and vegetables). The idea of eating food that has not been chemically altered in any way would appeal to anyone, and to have it taste just as good and be healthy is of course an added bonus. Knowing the facts women need to keep in regular contact with their doctors about what is best for their lifestyles, and they should also sometime read medical journals to see the latest updates on any health matters that they might have questions about.