Breathing Problems

Did you know that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in Independence? It kills more than 120,000 Americans each year—that’s one death every four minutes—and causes serious, long-term disability. While more than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with COPD, doctors believe another 12 million don’t even know they have it. Learn to recognize the signs of COPD now so you’re not in the dark.

COPD is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. It usually worsens over time. In people who have COPD, the tubes that carry air in and out of your lung narrow, making it hard to get air in and out. It can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus (a slimy substance), wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other symptoms.

Airways and air sacs in healthy lungs are elastic—they bounce back to their original shape after being stretched or filled with air, just the way a new rubber band or balloon does. In COPD, the airways and air sacs are damaged, so that they no longer bounce back to their original shape, a condition called emphysema. Or the airways become thicker than normal, with increased mucus production causing bronchitis.

Most people who have COPD are at least 40 years old when symptoms begin. But people younger than 40 can also develop the disease. Unfortunately, most people who are at risk have never even heard of it and, in many cases, don’t even realize that the condition has a name.

“The lung has a lot of reserve, and it takes a fair amount of damage before it produces symptoms,” explains Dr. Gail G. Weinmann, deputy director of the Division of Lung Diseases at NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “People are probably making adjustments to their lifestyles to accommodate without even realizing it. They often attribute the first symptoms to things like aging, gaining weight or being out of shape. And because of this, they don’t even recognize the symptoms.”

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD in the United States, but long-term exposure to other lung irritants—such as chemical fumes or heavy dust—can contribute to COPD as well. Smokers and ex-smokers account for most cases of COPD.

The best way to prevent COPD is not to smoke. If work requires exposure to heavy dust, wear protective gear. Try to steer clear of secondhand smoke and other lung irritants that can contribute to COPD.

COPD has no cure. However, treatments and lifestyle changes can help you feel better, stay more active and slow the progress of the disease. That’s why it’s important to recognize COPD if you have it. Then you can take steps to reduce the complications and progression of the disease.

If you think you might have or are at risk for COPD, see your health care provider and ask for a simple breathing test called spirometry. To­gether, you can come up with a plan to manage COPD and improve your quality of life. Again, prevention always comes before treatment. Stay healthy and breathe better.

Five Reasons Little White Bumps Are On Your Face and How to Get Rid Of Them

by Naweko San-Joyz

Are you making these mistakes each time you spot a little white little bump on your face? Fixing those little white bumps starts with a small dose of education and ends with a big dose of prevention. After understanding the five reasons below, your little bumps should give way to clearer skin.

Reason #1: You have no clue what those little white bumps are anyway.

Little white bumps, or milia, are keratin-filled cysts, or simply little globs of protein under the skin. There are generally two types of milia. Primary milia may result from oil glands that have not fully or properly developed. Secondary milia result from trauma to the skin.

Reason #2: You think all little white bumps are acne, and treat them that way.

Just because you have little white bumps on your face does not necessarily mean that you have acne. Milia, are little balls of protein beneath the skin that do not have a pore, or hole in the skin through which to escape.

Comedones or whiteheads are excess fats and wastes that are trapped in a hair follicle and so they clog up the pore. In short, milia are proteins trapped within the skin, while comedones are fats and skin debris trapped within the pore.

Exfoliating the skin, or removing the dead skin cells from your skin with an abrasive product or chemical, is beneficial. But brutally scrubbing your face with soaps and chemicals too frequently may actually create milia. To avoid this, remember that gentle exfoliation helps prevent excess dead skin cell build-up that could clog your pores and cause whiteheads, not milia.

This gentle exfoliation helps make eventual removal of the milia easier because the skin layer around the milia becomes thinner, with frequent, yet gentle exfoliation. In short, Exfoliate your skin to prevent milia, not to cure them.

Reason # 3 You have no idea what causes those little white bumps anyway.

When you were a baby, you were probably covered with milia that disappear after a few days. Or, you may have inherited milia from your parents.

On the other hand, you may develop milia after excessive exposure to the sun. The reasons for developing milia after sun exposure are debatable. According to some studies, the active ingredients sunscreens like Parsol 1789 may cause sun allergies and later lead to a milia breakout. Other studies blame the sun itself for “damaging” the skin can thus causing little white bumps.

Some people experience milia around the mouth. This could be the result of fluoride irritation from toothpaste.

Reason # 4: No one ever told you how to prevent milia.

The best way to prevent milia is to avoid treating your skin with excessively harsh chemicals and to limit sun exposure.

To reduce creating milia around the eyes, use eye creams with the least amount of ingredients possible to avoid irritating the delicately thin eye area. Also, gently touch the eyes and avoid rubbing the eyes vigorously so as not to damage the skin.

When brushing you teeth, try to keep the pasty foam from staying around your mouth too long. This limits possible fluoride irritation to the skin.

Use a sunscreen with the least amount of ingredients. Extraneous ingredients like fragrances may irritate your skin. Additionally, purchase sunscreens that offer physical sun blockage that contain active ingredients like titanium oxide or zinc oxide.

Reason #5: You still want to know what you can do right now to get rid of milia.

The key to getting rid of milia is realizing that they have no escape route, those little bumps are trapped under the skin. So, to get them out, you’ll need to have a professional like a dermatologist or aesthetician extract them. You can extract the milia yourself, but this involves risks.

Precautions You need to ensure that you milia are not symptoms of some underlying disease or illness. Also, if you extract the milia yourself, you may have trouble completely pulling out the cysts, as the removable process may prove too painful.

Otherwise, if you are confident with your health and courage, you can cleanse your hands and face. Then wet a cloth with warm water and apply it to your face for a few minutes. Gently apply a sterile needle to the center of the little white bump to create a tiny opening in the skin.

Wrap your thumbs in a clean tissue and, using your thumbs, proceed to gently squeeze the contents of the little white bump out. Finally, cleanse the area of the extracted little white bump with an astringent.

Now, you have no reason to walk around with little white bumps on your face. If you still think you do, please consider the possibility that you’re just telling yourself little white bumpy lies.

Prevent and Control Acne

by John H. Moore

Do you have acne?

Acne may be the scourge of adolescent years, but it can follow people into middle age and beyond.

Acne is really a catchall term for a variety of symptoms such as pimples, whiteheads, and blackheads. It's a condition where the pores of skin become clogged and the person gets inflamed and non-inflamed lesions.

So what's the cause of all the clogging?

Heredity - at least for the most part. Acne is genetic - it tends to run in families, and it is an inherited defect of your pores. If both your parents had acne, three out of four of your brothers and sisters will get it too.

Stress, sun exposure, seasonal changes, and climate can all cause an acne attack. Certain types of makeup and taking birth control pills can also cause a breakout.

Here are some simple things you can do to keep acne at bay...

Change Your Make-up
In adult women, make-up is the major factor in acne outbreaks, especially oil based products. It's the oil that causes the problem. The oil is usually a derivative of fatty acids that are more potent than your own fatty acids. Use a non-oil-based make-up if you are prone to acne.

Read the labels
Cosmetic products that contain lanolins, isopropyl myristate, sodium lauryl sulphate, laureth-4 and D & C red dyes should be avoided. Like oil, these ingredients are too rich for the skin.

Wash Properly
Wash your make-up off thoroughly every night. Use a mild soap twice a day and make sure you rinse the soap entirely off your face. Rinse six or seven times with fresh water.

Use Less Make-up
Whatever make-up you use, try to cut down on the amount you put on.

Leave Well Alone
Don't squeeze pimples or whiteheads. A pimple is an inflammation, and you could add to the inflammation by squeezing it, which could lead to an infection. A pimple will always go away in one to four weeks if you leave them alone.

Know When to Squeeze
Most pimples are best left alone, but there is one kind that you can squeeze to help get rid of it. If the pimple has a little central yellow pus head in it, then a gentle squeeze will make it pop open very nicely. Once the pus pops out, the pimple will heal more quickly.

Attack Blackheads
You can also get rid of blackheads by squeezing them. A blackhead is a very blocked pore, and a gentle squeeze will help rectify this.

Give Dry Skin Extra Care
Dry skin can be sensitive to some over the counter skin treatments, so please use these treatments with care. Start with the lower strength products first, and then increase the concentration slowly.

Stay Out of the Sun
Acne medications may cause adverse reactions to the sun, so minimize you exposure until you know what the reactions going to be. If you're avoiding medications because of their often terrible side effects, then getting 10 to 20 minutes of sun exposure on your acne can be an excellent thing to do.

Use One Treatment at a Time
Don't mix treatments. Use only one at a time because treatments may cause adverse reactions if mixed together.

Stop the Spread of Acne
Apply acne medication about half an inch around the affected area to help keep the acne from spreading. Acne moves across the face from the nose to the ear, so you need to treat beyond the inflamed area. Most people make the mistake of treating only the pimples and not the outlying areas of skin. This is wrong.

If you are an acne sufferer, then I trust this information will be very helpful to you. Thanks for reading my article.