On the day of your LASIK procedure, it is natural to experience both excitement and nervousness. Patients who feel most at ease on that day are those who have asked questions, read about the LASIK procedure, and perhaps talked with former patients. Understanding LASIK and trusting your surgeon are important to helping you feel confident, calm, and prepared on the day of your procedure. You won't be able to drive immediately after the procedure, so it is recommended that you have someone drive you to the surgery center and pick you up when you're ready to leave.
How should I prepare for the day of my surgery?
Make an effort to arrive at the center rested and relaxed. You should plan to spend up to three hours at the laser center, although this amount of time varies from center to center. Wear comfortable clothing the day of your surgery. Do not wear makeup, skin moisturizer, perfume, or cologne, since LASIK requires clean, sterile conditions. Earrings should not be worn.
How the LASIK procedure performed?
LASIK is performed while the patient is awake. However, if you are experiencing anxiety, the surgeon may give you a mild oral sedative. Many surgeons talk to the patient throughout the procedure, so the individual knows what is happening and what to expect next.
What happens before the surgery?
Before the surgery begins, your face will be cleaned with a disinfectant, and you will be asked to wear a surgical cap. You will be given an antibiotic eye-drop and possibly an anti-inflammatory eye-drop. These may sting for a few seconds.
What happens during the procedure?
Once in the laser suite, you will be positioned comfortably on your back, under the excimer laser. Your surgeon will give you anesthetic eye-drops to numb the surface of your eyes. Your eyelashes will be taped out of the way, and an eyelid speculum will be placed between your eyelids, to keep you from blinking. The speculum sometimes causes mild pressure or discomfort to your eyelids at first, but with the numbing drops, these sensations dissipate.
The surgeon will make small reference marks on your cornea with water-soluble ink. These marks will serve as positional guides when it is time to realign the corneal flap. A suction ring is then placed on your eye to hold it in position to maintain pressure within the eye. Keeping the eye pressurized is essential for the keratectomy, or flap-making process, which comes next. Your vision will dim during this step.
Next the surgeon will create the corneal flap, using the microkeratome, the small instrument with a blade that passes over the eyeball. The extremely thin flap is made from the outermost 25 percent of the cornea. (The average cornea is only about the thickness of a credit card.) This flap-making process takes about thirty seconds. When the microkeratome is making the flap, you may feel slight pressure and the instrument will block out light as it passes over your pupil.
Next, the surgeon will ask you to fix your vision on a target light - usually red, green, or yellow. Then, the surgeon will gently lift back the hinged flap. At this point your vision will become blurry.
The surgeon will now perform the laser procedure. This usually takes twenty to ninety seconds. You will not feel any pain as the laser sculpts the cornea by vaporizing small amounts of tissue. This process is called photoablation. You will also hear a clicking or buzzing sound with each pulse of the laser. The surgeon is reshaping your cornea.
During the laser procedure, individuals have different responses to staring at the fixation light. Some patients report that the fixation light becomes a blur. Others report that it seems to momentarily disappear. If this happens and your eye starts to wander, the surgeon will stop the laser. You will be coached to look again at the target light so the laser procedure can resume.
Once the process of reshaping your corneal tissue is complete, the excimer laser will be turned off. Using a sterile saline solution, the surgeon will flush the treated surface of the eye to ensure that any debris is washed away. The surgeon then carefully replaces the corneal flap to its original position, using the ink marks as guides.
It takes about one to five minutes for the eye to create a natural vacuum to hold down the flap. The cornea has the unique ability to seal itself back into place. No sutures are necessary. Your eyes will be dried with a sterile cloth, and the eyelid speculum will be removed. You will now be able to blink normally. At this point, you will be asked to sit with your eyes closed for about thirty minutes. Then your physician will examine your eyes one more time to ensure that the corneal flap is properly positioned.
Patients who have undergone LASIK experience some discomfort, which may last six to eight hours. Patients describe this as a sensation of having sand or a dirty contact lens in their eye. Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, or similar over-the-counter pain medications can help. By the following day, this sensation is usually gone.
Immediately after surgery, expect your vision to be somewhat blurred, similar to looking through a glass of water or wearing a dirty contact lens. However, upon awakening later in the day or the next morning, you should experience improved vision. Most patients report dramatic improvement within twenty-four hours.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Tablet Treatments for Acne – What are Your Choices?
There are two basic types of tablet treatment, prescribed by your doctor for acne, the first being one of a range of antibiotics and the second a hormonal treatment. Which is prescribed will depend, largely on the specific type of acne you are suffering from, along with consideration of your previous medical history and the success of acne treatment to date.
Antibiotics are by far the most common oral treatment for acne, and usually supplemented by a topical treatment, which may contain the same antibiotic preparation as is being given in tablet form. This is thought to be important in order to ensure that the acne causing bacteria do not become resistant to, two types of antibiotic. Erythromycin is a common antibiotic used in treating acne, and is usually the first one used. Sometimes the specific type of bacteria causing your acne maybe resistant to this treatment, and may require a different course of action. As is always the case with antibiotics, it is important to follow the instructions of the prescribing doctor, in order to maximise effectiveness, while minimising any side effects or adverse risks.
The second type of tablet treatment is a hormonal treatment called Dianette, which contains a drug called co-cyprindiol. This drug is designed to help decrease the excess oiliness of the skin, which as we know is a key contributor in the acne formation process. It is critical that a female taking this drug does not become pregnant, as the active ingredient can cause damage to the unborn child. This particular tablet contains oestrogen which acts as a contraceptive, and is used as such, when a combined acne treatment and contraceptive is requested.
There are a number of other acne treatments in tablet form, some of which are only prescribed under the supervision of a dermatologist. You should never take any form of oral medication for acne or any other illness, unless under the strict supervision of a medical expert. This is very true of some of the more powerful acne drugs, which can have very strong side effects.
Antibiotics are by far the most common oral treatment for acne, and usually supplemented by a topical treatment, which may contain the same antibiotic preparation as is being given in tablet form. This is thought to be important in order to ensure that the acne causing bacteria do not become resistant to, two types of antibiotic. Erythromycin is a common antibiotic used in treating acne, and is usually the first one used. Sometimes the specific type of bacteria causing your acne maybe resistant to this treatment, and may require a different course of action. As is always the case with antibiotics, it is important to follow the instructions of the prescribing doctor, in order to maximise effectiveness, while minimising any side effects or adverse risks.
The second type of tablet treatment is a hormonal treatment called Dianette, which contains a drug called co-cyprindiol. This drug is designed to help decrease the excess oiliness of the skin, which as we know is a key contributor in the acne formation process. It is critical that a female taking this drug does not become pregnant, as the active ingredient can cause damage to the unborn child. This particular tablet contains oestrogen which acts as a contraceptive, and is used as such, when a combined acne treatment and contraceptive is requested.
There are a number of other acne treatments in tablet form, some of which are only prescribed under the supervision of a dermatologist. You should never take any form of oral medication for acne or any other illness, unless under the strict supervision of a medical expert. This is very true of some of the more powerful acne drugs, which can have very strong side effects.
How To Help Fight Stress With Healthy Eating
Whenever we get too busy or stressed, we all tend to make poor food choices that will actually increase stress and cause other problems. To get the most of your healthy eating and avoid stress, follow these simple tips.
Always eat breakfast - Even though you may think you aren't hungry, you need to eat something. Skipping breakfast makes it harder to maintain the proper blood and sugar levels during the day, so you should always eat something.
Carry a snack - Keeping some protein rich snacks in your car, office, or pocket book will help you avoid blood sugar level dips, the accompanying mood swings, and the fatigue. Trail mix, granola bars, and energy bars all have the nutrients you need.
Healthy munchies - If you like to munch when you're stressed out, you can replace chips or other non healthy foods with carrot sticks, celery sticks, or even sunflower seeds.
Bring your lunch - Although a lot of people prefer to eat fast food for lunch, you can save a lot of money and actually eat healthier if you take a few minutes and pack a lunch at home. Even if you only do this a few times a week, you'll see a much better improvement over eating out.
Stock your home - As important as it is to get the bad food out of your house, it's even more important to get the good food in! The best way to do this is to plan a menu of healthy meals at snacks at the beginning of the week, list the ingedients you need, then go shop for it. This way, you'll know what you want when you need it and you won't have to stress over what to eat.
This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.
Article Copyright By Author. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Always eat breakfast - Even though you may think you aren't hungry, you need to eat something. Skipping breakfast makes it harder to maintain the proper blood and sugar levels during the day, so you should always eat something.
Carry a snack - Keeping some protein rich snacks in your car, office, or pocket book will help you avoid blood sugar level dips, the accompanying mood swings, and the fatigue. Trail mix, granola bars, and energy bars all have the nutrients you need.
Healthy munchies - If you like to munch when you're stressed out, you can replace chips or other non healthy foods with carrot sticks, celery sticks, or even sunflower seeds.
Bring your lunch - Although a lot of people prefer to eat fast food for lunch, you can save a lot of money and actually eat healthier if you take a few minutes and pack a lunch at home. Even if you only do this a few times a week, you'll see a much better improvement over eating out.
Stock your home - As important as it is to get the bad food out of your house, it's even more important to get the good food in! The best way to do this is to plan a menu of healthy meals at snacks at the beginning of the week, list the ingedients you need, then go shop for it. This way, you'll know what you want when you need it and you won't have to stress over what to eat.
This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.
Article Copyright By Author. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Sleep Maximization
Do you wake up feeling tired and run down, before you even start your day? Do you have trouble sleeping soundly? Would you like to sleep less and use the extra time doing other things?
If any of these describe you, you're in luck. I've recently learned about some specific things you can do to make your sleep much more energizing for the time invested.
And in that spirit, I'm going to get right to the heart of the matter and spell out some of the most important steps you can take to increase the amount of energy you can get from your sleep.
One of the most important things to know is that the best sleep is the deepest sleep. The deeper you sleep, the more your mind and body recuperates and the more energy you get.
There are a couple of factors that determine how deeply you sleep.
Get Plenty of Exercise
As most of us know, one of those factors is how hard you've worked during the day. If you've put in a full day's labor and really worked your muscles good, you will generally fall asleep easily and reach a deep level of sleep. This is because the body has a definite need to recuperate and gets right to it.
Most people today don't do nearly enough physical work to activate this natural phenomenon. Our only alternative is to take time to follow an exercise program. Of course, there are many other benefits to this besides just getting better sleep.
The general recommendations here are:
Get at least 15-20 minutes of exercise every day if possible.
Make sure to exercise hard enough to increase your heart rate by 25% of your resting rate.
Exercise early in the day, and if possible, right after waking up in the morning.
Combine both strength training and cardiovascular training.
Get Out Into The Sun
One of the surprising facts that I learned is that the more sunlight you get during the day helps to promote deeper, more restful sleep. And the flip side of this is that the darker it is where you're trying to sleep, the better too. The body's natural rhythm is based on several cycles. There's the daily cycle of bright days and dark nights as well as monthly cycles and so on.
When you're exposed to sunlight, there is a chemical in the brain that is inhibited. Melatonin is a chemical produced by the brain, and makes you drowsy and ready to sleep. The main thing to remember with this is that the more light you take in through your eyes, the less of this chemical you have in your system. And so, to have the most energy during the day, get out into the sunlight.
When we spend most of our time indoors, we get very little light. Any photographer will tell you that the ambient light levels indoors are pitifully small compared to full sunlight. And when we don't get enough full sunlight, our bodies don't really know if it is day or night, and our sleep cycles are disturbed.
Drink Plenty of Water
Here's something else that we've all been told is good for us. Drinking lots of water (not colas, coffees, teas, or alcohol) will improve your blood-flow, making it easier for your body to repair itself from the daily wear and tear of life. All of your physical systems work better when you're blood is flowing right.
Eat Light
Again, something we should be doing for other reasons. If you go to bed with food still in your digestive system, your blood is engaged in distributing the nutrients of the food to the rest of your body and has a hard time doing double duty to help in the daily repair work. Also, when your body is healthier, all systems and processes work better, including the daily recuperation of sleep.
Lower Your Stress Levels
I'm sure you're surprised by this one, heh? When you go to bed with worries and problems on your mind, you have a hard time relaxing enough to get to sleep. There are many different things you can do to help here, but one of the best may be a short period of meditation before bedtime. Resolve to put off the problems of the day (or of your life) until tomorrow. By getting a quality night's sleep, you'll have more energy and more brainpower to find a solution.
Set a Regular Sleep Schedule
Although our modern cultures play havoc with our schedules, requiring us to get up and out of the house at different times each day, if we are to get the most we can from our sleep, it's important to always start our days at about the same time. The main reason for this is simply because our bodies work by regular cycles, and if those cycles are disturbed, our systems don't work as efficiently. The time we get up in the morning is more important to this cycle than the time we go to sleep at night, but both will affect the quality of sleep that we get.
One thing that most of us do which kills the regularity of our sleep cycle is sleeping later on the weekends than we do during the work week. Of course, that was to try to increase our energy levels, and now that we know how to get the most energy from our sleep, this will no longer be necessary.
How To Sleep Shorter Nights
Before you can start decreasing the amount of time you spend sleeping each night, it's important to increase the quality of sleep by implementing the above suggestions. Once you start getting better sleep, you can then adjust the amount of sleep you get each night.
Another piece of information that you'll need to know is that during the time we spend sleeping, we go through a number of sleep cycles. We drift from light sleep to deep sleep and back again over and over. Most of us experience about 6 to 10 of these sleep cycles, which last about 20 to 40 minutes in length.
Ideally, you want to wake up at the end of one of these cycles, when you are in a light sleep, not a deep sleep. This makes it easier to wake up, and helps you to feel more energetic to start your day. The simplest way to find out what works best for you is simply to experiment with different bedtimes, and seeing how much energy you have after waking up the next day.
For More Information
If you'd like to learn more about how to get the most you can from sleep, visit http://www.keystopower.com/Link/PowerfulSleep.php.
If any of these describe you, you're in luck. I've recently learned about some specific things you can do to make your sleep much more energizing for the time invested.
And in that spirit, I'm going to get right to the heart of the matter and spell out some of the most important steps you can take to increase the amount of energy you can get from your sleep.
One of the most important things to know is that the best sleep is the deepest sleep. The deeper you sleep, the more your mind and body recuperates and the more energy you get.
There are a couple of factors that determine how deeply you sleep.
Get Plenty of Exercise
As most of us know, one of those factors is how hard you've worked during the day. If you've put in a full day's labor and really worked your muscles good, you will generally fall asleep easily and reach a deep level of sleep. This is because the body has a definite need to recuperate and gets right to it.
Most people today don't do nearly enough physical work to activate this natural phenomenon. Our only alternative is to take time to follow an exercise program. Of course, there are many other benefits to this besides just getting better sleep.
The general recommendations here are:
Get at least 15-20 minutes of exercise every day if possible.
Make sure to exercise hard enough to increase your heart rate by 25% of your resting rate.
Exercise early in the day, and if possible, right after waking up in the morning.
Combine both strength training and cardiovascular training.
Get Out Into The Sun
One of the surprising facts that I learned is that the more sunlight you get during the day helps to promote deeper, more restful sleep. And the flip side of this is that the darker it is where you're trying to sleep, the better too. The body's natural rhythm is based on several cycles. There's the daily cycle of bright days and dark nights as well as monthly cycles and so on.
When you're exposed to sunlight, there is a chemical in the brain that is inhibited. Melatonin is a chemical produced by the brain, and makes you drowsy and ready to sleep. The main thing to remember with this is that the more light you take in through your eyes, the less of this chemical you have in your system. And so, to have the most energy during the day, get out into the sunlight.
When we spend most of our time indoors, we get very little light. Any photographer will tell you that the ambient light levels indoors are pitifully small compared to full sunlight. And when we don't get enough full sunlight, our bodies don't really know if it is day or night, and our sleep cycles are disturbed.
Drink Plenty of Water
Here's something else that we've all been told is good for us. Drinking lots of water (not colas, coffees, teas, or alcohol) will improve your blood-flow, making it easier for your body to repair itself from the daily wear and tear of life. All of your physical systems work better when you're blood is flowing right.
Eat Light
Again, something we should be doing for other reasons. If you go to bed with food still in your digestive system, your blood is engaged in distributing the nutrients of the food to the rest of your body and has a hard time doing double duty to help in the daily repair work. Also, when your body is healthier, all systems and processes work better, including the daily recuperation of sleep.
Lower Your Stress Levels
I'm sure you're surprised by this one, heh? When you go to bed with worries and problems on your mind, you have a hard time relaxing enough to get to sleep. There are many different things you can do to help here, but one of the best may be a short period of meditation before bedtime. Resolve to put off the problems of the day (or of your life) until tomorrow. By getting a quality night's sleep, you'll have more energy and more brainpower to find a solution.
Set a Regular Sleep Schedule
Although our modern cultures play havoc with our schedules, requiring us to get up and out of the house at different times each day, if we are to get the most we can from our sleep, it's important to always start our days at about the same time. The main reason for this is simply because our bodies work by regular cycles, and if those cycles are disturbed, our systems don't work as efficiently. The time we get up in the morning is more important to this cycle than the time we go to sleep at night, but both will affect the quality of sleep that we get.
One thing that most of us do which kills the regularity of our sleep cycle is sleeping later on the weekends than we do during the work week. Of course, that was to try to increase our energy levels, and now that we know how to get the most energy from our sleep, this will no longer be necessary.
How To Sleep Shorter Nights
Before you can start decreasing the amount of time you spend sleeping each night, it's important to increase the quality of sleep by implementing the above suggestions. Once you start getting better sleep, you can then adjust the amount of sleep you get each night.
Another piece of information that you'll need to know is that during the time we spend sleeping, we go through a number of sleep cycles. We drift from light sleep to deep sleep and back again over and over. Most of us experience about 6 to 10 of these sleep cycles, which last about 20 to 40 minutes in length.
Ideally, you want to wake up at the end of one of these cycles, when you are in a light sleep, not a deep sleep. This makes it easier to wake up, and helps you to feel more energetic to start your day. The simplest way to find out what works best for you is simply to experiment with different bedtimes, and seeing how much energy you have after waking up the next day.
For More Information
If you'd like to learn more about how to get the most you can from sleep, visit http://www.keystopower.com/Link/PowerfulSleep.php.
Dangers Of Smoking
Almost everybody knows that smoking is bad for the health. Images of blackened lungs line school hallways and hospital waiting rooms, but despite this people continue to take up smoking. This may have to do with the pervasive romantic image of smoking -- an image that has nothing in common with reality.
There are many ways to take tobacco. You can chew it, inhale it through the nose, and smoke it in the form of cigars or cigarettes. No matter how it's taken it is dangerous, but because smoking is the most popular way to consume tobacco it has also received the greatest attention from the medical field and the media.
When a smoker inhales a puff of cigarette smoke the large surface area of the lungs allows nicotine to pass into the blood stream almost immediately. It is this nicotine "hit" that smokers crave, but there is a lot more to smoke than just nicotine. In fact, there are more than 4000 chemical substances that make up cigarette smoke and many of them are toxic.
Cigarette smoke is composed of 43 carcinogenic substances and more than 400 other toxins that can also be found in wood varnish, nail polish remover, and rat poison. All of these substances accumulate in the body and can cause serious problems to the heart and lungs.
Cancer is the most common disease associated with smoking. Smoking is the cause of 90% of lung cancer cases and is related to 30% of all cancer fatalities. Other smoking-related cancers include cancers of the mouth, pancreas, urinary bladder, kidney, stomach, esophagus, and larynx.
Besides cancer, smoking is also related to several other diseases of the lungs. Emphysema and bronchitis can be fatal and 75% of all deaths from these diseases are linked to smoking.
Smokers have shorter lives than non-smokers. On average, smoking takes 15 years off your life span. This can be explained by the high rate of exposure to toxic substances which are found in cigarette smoke.
Smokers also put others at risk. The dangers of breathing in second-hand smoke are well known. Smokers harm their loved ones by exposing them to the smoke they exhale. All sorts of health problems are related to breathing in second-hand smoke. Children are especially susceptible to the dangers of second-hand smoke because their internal organs are still developing. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more vulnerable to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.
Smoking can also be dangerous for unborn children. Mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, bleeding and nausea, and babies of smoking mothers have reduced birth weights or may be premature. These babies are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome and may also have lifelong health complications due to chest infections and asthma.
It is never too late to give up smoking, even those who have smoked for 20 years or more can realize tremendous health benefits from giving up the habit.
There are many ways to take tobacco. You can chew it, inhale it through the nose, and smoke it in the form of cigars or cigarettes. No matter how it's taken it is dangerous, but because smoking is the most popular way to consume tobacco it has also received the greatest attention from the medical field and the media.
When a smoker inhales a puff of cigarette smoke the large surface area of the lungs allows nicotine to pass into the blood stream almost immediately. It is this nicotine "hit" that smokers crave, but there is a lot more to smoke than just nicotine. In fact, there are more than 4000 chemical substances that make up cigarette smoke and many of them are toxic.
Cigarette smoke is composed of 43 carcinogenic substances and more than 400 other toxins that can also be found in wood varnish, nail polish remover, and rat poison. All of these substances accumulate in the body and can cause serious problems to the heart and lungs.
Cancer is the most common disease associated with smoking. Smoking is the cause of 90% of lung cancer cases and is related to 30% of all cancer fatalities. Other smoking-related cancers include cancers of the mouth, pancreas, urinary bladder, kidney, stomach, esophagus, and larynx.
Besides cancer, smoking is also related to several other diseases of the lungs. Emphysema and bronchitis can be fatal and 75% of all deaths from these diseases are linked to smoking.
Smokers have shorter lives than non-smokers. On average, smoking takes 15 years off your life span. This can be explained by the high rate of exposure to toxic substances which are found in cigarette smoke.
Smokers also put others at risk. The dangers of breathing in second-hand smoke are well known. Smokers harm their loved ones by exposing them to the smoke they exhale. All sorts of health problems are related to breathing in second-hand smoke. Children are especially susceptible to the dangers of second-hand smoke because their internal organs are still developing. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more vulnerable to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.
Smoking can also be dangerous for unborn children. Mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, bleeding and nausea, and babies of smoking mothers have reduced birth weights or may be premature. These babies are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome and may also have lifelong health complications due to chest infections and asthma.
It is never too late to give up smoking, even those who have smoked for 20 years or more can realize tremendous health benefits from giving up the habit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)