Health Blog

A healthy body and a sound mind

Determine Your Type of Asthma

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Of all the allergies, asthma is perhaps the most common and most inconvenient. It comes in many forms and treatments vary for each type. As such, it is important that you know exactly what kind of asthma you have before you undergo any kind of treatment. Of course, the wisest course would be to consult your doctor. Yet here are some things that you can consider even before you pay your doctor a visit. This information will also be helpful in determining exactly what kind of asthma you have.

In the broadest sense, asthma can be classified into either intermittent asthma or persistent asthma. Other more specific categories would be allergic asthma (caused by external stimuli), intrinsic asthma (not due to allergies), exercise-induced asthma, occupational asthma (triggered at work), and cough-variant asthma (persistent cough). Knowing what triggers your asthma attacks will help greatly in determining your type of asthma. From there, you can work on how to treat and prevent attacks.

Though asthma has been classified into different categories, determining what kind of asthma you have is far from simple. In order to avoid any kind of attack, here are some general tips that can help. Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Furthermore, ensure that your house is clean and free of dust and other possible allergens. As it is January and you probably spend a lot of time indoors, do keep the atmosphere inside as health friendly possible. Use humidifiers if you need to. Make sure there is enough fresh air coming in and have adequate ventilation.

Originally posted on August 7, 2010 @ 12:40 pm

Aloe and Its Healing Properties

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Aloe has long been touted as one of Nature’s best for treating different kinds of conditions. From making hair thicker and more beautiful to cleansing our bodies, Aloe’s effects have been testified to by many people. For the benefit of those who are not very familiar with Aloe, it is a green plant with spiky leaves.

Different parts of the plant have different uses. When used for medicinal or health purposes, Aloe comes in different forms. The most common forms of Aloe is the gel (obtained from stripping away the outer covering), the juice (consists of pulped juice), and the bitter principle (bitter yellow liquid from the rind).

Perhaps one of the main uses of Aloe is to deal with digestive problems. It is said to help treat colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. Most of the time, Aloe juice is used for these problems. The juice is also used to treat ulcers. More so, studies have shown that Aloe juice, when taken orally has a good effect on asthma sufferers as long as they are not taking any corticosteroids. For external use, the gel can be used to soothe burns, wounds, allergies, sunburn, psoriasis, acne, and inflammation.

You can grow Aloe right in your backyard and make use of the gel immediately. For the juice and bitter principle, you may find it easier to visit your local health store. You should also consult your doctor to determine if there is no conflict with other treatments that you may be undergoing.

Originally posted on July 8, 2010 @ 10:39 am