How to prevent psoriasis is something that lays heavily on the mind of all psoriasis sufferers. While there is no real way to prevent psoriasis, there are many ways to help lower the chances of an outbreak. There are foods you can avoid and health lifestyle choices that will aid in relieving psoriasis and help with psoriasis treatments. By working even a few of these tips for preventing psoriasis into your everyday life you will be able to better understand and manage the disorder.
-Talk to Your Doctor
If you have or think you have psoriasis, the first step is to ask your doctor about it. They will be able to give you a proper diagnosis from an expert, usually just buy looking though sometimes a biopsy is taken. This will give you a chance to discuss the skin problems and treatments with a professional. Be sure to talk to your doctor about any and all medications you are taking. Lithium, Propranalol or other beta-blockers, and Cardioquin, Quinidex, or other medications for heart arrhythmia can psoriasis worse. Your doctor may be able to offer you alternatives.
You may also want to talk to your doctor about your levels of stress. Stress can cause outbreaks pretty easily since it takes such a huge toll on your body. They may suggest medications or therapy if your stress is way above normal or simply stress management techniques.
-Try Using a Humidifier and Keeping Skin Healthy
Keeping your skin moist and healthy is very important in preventing psoriasis flare-ups. Using a humidifier is a great idea. Avoiding cold, dry environments also helps in this department since cold has been shown to be bad for psoriasis. If you have a cut do not pick it. Cutting nails often will help with this. On top of that, be sure to keep your skin healthy and moisturized using only calming and mild cleaners. If you are using a topical treatment, be sure it gets all of the way to your scalp instead of just into your hair. Using lotion is also a great idea. Thick and oily lotions are best for psoriasis. In fact, if you do have an outbreak, lotion can be great for removing scales. Simply apply lotion and cover with take or plastic wrap to hold the moisture in.
-Foods and Psoriasis
Foods that cure psoriasis? Maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, but diet is known to play a huge role in helping treat psoriasis. Along with the fact that general health and weight are important in managing psoriasis, many foods have been found to aid in psoriasis preventation.
Choose foods high in folic acid and fiber. Folic acid is found in dark green leafy vegetables and whole grains. Many doctors will also suggest taking supplements. Folic acid is important for skin health. Fiber on the other hand is great for keeping the body clean of toxins which helps prevent attacks. Fish, other than shellfish, are great foods to look at when thinking about how to cure psoriasis. Full of omega-3 fatty acids, fish, flax seed, and sesame seeds are a wonderful food for sufferers of psoriasis.
When looking at diet, it is important to look at both what you should and should not eat. Red meat, eggs, and dairy have been known to trigger outbreaks in many individuals. Alcohol, coffee, vegetable oil, and many spices can also cause attacks. When it comes to these foods it is important to look at your body closely to figure out what is and isn't okay to eat.
No one may know for sure how to prevent psoriasis, but there are many ways to prevent outbreaks. Talking to your doctor, keeping your skin and body healthy, and watching your diet can dramatically reduce psoriasis. Use these tips for preventing outbreaks every chance you get for best results and don't let psoriasis get the best of you!
Description: Learn how to prevent psoriasis in three easy steps. Simple changes you can make in your life right now to manage your psoriasis.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Although proper dental care is important for everyone, diabetics need to pay a little more attention to their oral hygiene routine than non-diabetics do. This is because individuals with diabetes are more likely to have problems with their gums and teeth, as well as suffer more serious consequences. Good dental care is therefore an important part of the process of successfully managing diabetes.
Gum disease occurs when bacteria in the mouth forms into a sticky substance called plaque, which sits on the surface of the teeth. If it's not removed by proper brushing, then over time plaque will cause inflammation of the gums - a condition called gingivitis. Symptoms of gingivitis include red, swollen gums and bleeding when brushing teeth. If left untreated, periodontitis, a more extreme type of gingivitis, will follow, causing teeth to become loose and eventually fall out.
One of the side-effects of diabetes is that infection is able to spread easily through the body. It's therefore important that diabetics try to keep their blood glucose levels under control in order to try to reduce the risk of infection spreading and thus avoid developing gum disease. Unfortunately, however, when the body has to fight infection, blood glucose levels can increase, which can in turn affect food intake resulting in adverse effects on a sufferer's well-being.
Oral thrush can also be a problem for diabetics. This condition is caused by an overgrowth of the fungus Candida and results in painful lesions in the mouth. If an individual's diabetes is not well controlled, his or her saliva may contain a lot of sugar, thereby creating the perfect environment for the growth of this fungus.
Steps for good dental care include the following:
Visit a dentist every six months. This will help identify any infection that may have developed or be in the early stages of developing and enable it to be treated. It will also help to prevent any dental problems escalating. Routine dental checks are important for diabetics because bacteria entering the bloodstream may increase the speed at which cholesterol clogs the arteries, an important issue for someone with diabetes as excess build-up of cholesterol in the bloodstream is a symptom of the condition.
Use a good quality toothbrush. It should have soft nylon bristles with rounded tips. A dentist will be able to recommend the best type.
Use a toothpaste containing fluoride, which will help to keep teeth strong. An anti-bacterial mouthwash may also be beneficial. Again, a dentist will be able to recommend a suitable one.
Diabetics should always ensure that any dentist they visit knows about their condition. As high blood sugar levels may affect the time it takes for gums and teeth to heal after treatment, a dentist may prescribe antibiotics to help avoid infection.
There is no need for a diabetic to change his or her dental hygiene routine significantly. Following a healthy eating plan and taking regular exercise are the best ways to help to keep blood glucose levels under control, which will also help to keep gums and teeth healthy.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Professional teeth whitening can be a very effective way of improving one's smile and appearance in general. Those who want to have a whiter smile than what they get from everyday tooth brushing and regular cleanings by the dentist should consider professional teeth whitening. The commonly practiced methods include chair side bleaching, internal bleaching, and custom tray bleaching. These procedures supervised by one's dentist are much more effective and safe than over-the-counter teeth whitening methods.
The surfaces of teeth can become stained because of food and drinks, smoking, or even disease and aging. If you are not satisfied with the whiteness of your teeth from merely brushing them twice daily and getting cleanings regularly at the dentist's office, you can opt for a professional teeth whitening procedure.
Teeth whitening is quite a popular dental procedure; professional teeth whitening can be accomplished in thirty-minute to one-hour bleaching sessions at a dental office. The first thing to do is to consult with a licensed dentist, who can give you a thorough oral exam and let you know what whitening procedure will be most effective in your case. Yellowish teeth can probably be bleached well, while brownish or grayish teeth are not as easy to whiten. If your front teeth have bonding or tooth-colored fillings in them, bleaching them is not recommended because teeth whitening does not work on these materials, and they will only stand out because the resulting color of the teeth may be uneven.
If your goal is to optimize the attractiveness of your smile, your dentist may want to fix teeth that are particularly crooked or damaged before proceeding with professional teeth whitening.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Most people think brushing is an effective teeth whitening method. The truth is, no matter how hard or how often you brush, you cannot simply get rid of the discoloration on your teeth. Having discolored teeth may make you seem that you do not care about your oral hygiene. Teeth discoloration may actually be caused by a number of things besides poor hygiene. Coffee and tea, two widely popular beverages, are known to leave residues that stain the teeth. Red wine can cause yellowing of the teeth. Smoking is habit that is sure to discolor your teeth. Some medications, like tetracyclines, can also stain your pearly whites. Trauma, diseases, dental materials, genetics and the environment are possible culprits. But usually, teeth discoloration is just a part of growing old. Your teeth naturally become discolored as you age.
Fortunately, there are many teeth whitening methods. There are methods that may be applied at home that usually involve the use of dental trays and whitening gels. However, these are not nearly as effective as professional in-office teeth whitening. Using home whitening kits are also risky. You could suffer from chemical burns or from irritation of your mouth's soft tissues and your gums if you do not use these kits correctly. Home whitening kits may also reduce your teeth's enamel.
The best whitening methods are applied in a dentist's office. They are safer and are found to be far more effective than home whitening kits. Below are the top three in-office teeth whitening methods:
Do you enjoy eating late at night? Some people do most of their eating after 6:00 P.M. - whether it be nighttime snacking while watching late night T.V. or a chilly bowl of ice cream enjoyed at midnight. Unfortunately, nocturnal snacking could earn you some extra time in a dental chair. A new study shows that nighttime eating is associated with tooth loss.
Eating Late at Night and Loss of Teeth: Is There an Association?
In a study published in the journal Eating Behaviors, researchers looked at the eating habits of 2,217 middle-aged men and women. Men and women who ate twenty-five percent or more of their calories after dinner were classified as nighttime eaters. Some people in this group not only ate before bedtime, but woke up to eat a late night snack. What did this study show? Nighttime eating was associated with a higher overall risk for tooth loss.
The higher risk of loss of teeth seen in the men and women in this study didn't vary based on the type of food they ate - and researchers took into account other factors that could have altered the results such as age, smoking, and their overall diet. It seems that nocturnal eating, in and of itself, is a risk factor for tooth loss.
Why Does Nighttime Eating Increase the Risk of Tooth Loss?
Professor Damien Walmsley, a consultant for the British Dental Association, believes the culprit is the lower saliva flow that occurs during the evening hours. Saliva not only has natural anti-bacterial properties, but also neutralizes the enamel