Whether you are writing, cleaning, cooking, getting ready for work or scratching your head to meet a deadline, you are constantly using your hands. However, unfortunately, these hands are the most ignored when it comes to beauty and maintenance. How many times do you notice that your nails are cracked and out of shape but you postpone to caress them? That is the bottom line , these nails are treated to be dead tissues , dead and therefore they don’t need to be maintained; this mindset needs to be changed!

Take a look at your fingernails. Are they strong and healthy-looking? Or do you see ridges, or areas of unusual color or shape? The condition of your nails may offer clues to your general health. Illness can cause changes in your nails that your doctor can use to develop diagnose.

Ayurveda behind nails

The nails reflect the quality of tissue production in the body as nails are considered to be the waste product of bones (asthi dhatu) Healthy nails are pink, smooth and evenly shaped.

The root cause of nail disorders like splitting and flaky nails, white spots, vertical ridges or discoloration of the nail bed is an improper diet. Vata type nails are irregular in shape, pale, rough and brittle and bitten. A person with Pitta as the predominant dosha has oval, soft, strong and flexible nails while Kapha type nails are square, thick, large and very white.

Split and cracked nails

Many women are plagued by fingernails that split and crack. What’s causing this? Like body shape, skin tone, and hair texture, our nails’ ability to grow is largely hereditary — so if your mom had weak nails, you’re likely to have them, too. That said, there are things you can do to avoid much of the splitting:

Protect your nails from water. Keep your hands out of H2O, since water can actually dry out nails, causing them to split. Be sure to wear gloves when doing dishes or cleaning.

Apply hand cream religiously. Look for a rich formula, which will seal moisture into nails, making them stronger and more flexible.

Health tips

Fragile nails, split nails, discolored nails and infectious nails are some signs of unhealthy nails which are encountered on account of bad habits like keeping the nails unclean from the bed, not changing the nail polish regularly, poor diet and water intake and biting them rigorously. The chances of these manifestations increase if you use your nails for purposes not defined for them like digging, scratching and the like. Some tips for developing and maintaining healthy nails are as follows:

• Add shine to your nails by massaging coconut oil or warm Castor oil on to them.
• If you do not like nail polish then apply dry soap to your nail and buff or use lemon peel for a similar result.
• Dip a cotton-tipped swab in hydrogen peroxide to clean under the nails and whiten them.
• Before giving yourself a manicure dip your nails in a cup of warm water with one tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Put your fingertips in half a lemon and twist your finger back and forth to clean the cuticles and nails
• If you wear nail polish on a regular basis then, take them off for a day or two every week, in order to let your nails breath.

• Apply speed-dry nail polish when time is of the essence.
• Drink lots of water. Keep your body hydrated everyday to maintain healthy nails.
• Fortify your diet with FDA approved vitamins or supplements. Your fingernails count on you to be responsible with your health and your diet. Unless instructed otherwise by your physician, increase your daily doses of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, folic acid, protein, Vitamin B12, and zinc.
• Touch up your manicure on a daily basis to prevent chips and cracks.

Nail polish tips:

• Finish with a clear topcoat to add gloss and sheen.
• Start with a base coat to strengthen and protect the nails.
• Store nail polish in the refrigerator to maintain a smooth consistency.
• Try not to store nail polish in a room that becomes cold. The nail polish bottles may break without warning, leaving you with a big mess.

Tags: yoga, eczema, therapeutic, herbs, native remedies

Perhaps the greatest punishment for man would be to make him bed ridden. Dependency more than the sickness makes the patient mentally weak. This deteriorates his condition more than the illness itself. Imagine your plight if you would have to wait for someone’s help to change your position, getup, drink water and even using the bathroom. Many diseases today cause this kind of a dependency. What worsens the condition of these patients is that they are prone to a more brutal situation…they are susceptible to form bed sores! These are ugly looking sores which are infectious holes which run deep till the bones and other visceral organs surrounded by redness and soreness.

Why are bed sores formed?

Many people shift in their chair during meetings, fiddle with the radio when driving, turn a dozen times in their sleep. Every day, without thinking, they make hundreds of subtle postural adjustments that help stave off problems arising from inactivity. But for people immobilized by paralysis, injury or illness, those problems — including bedsores — are a constant threat.

Bedsores, more accurately called pressure sores or pressure ulcers, are areas of damaged skin and tissue that develop when sustained pressure — usually from a bed or wheelchair — cuts off circulation to vulnerable parts of your body, especially the skin on your buttocks, hips and heels. Without adequate blood flow, the affected tissue dies.

Although people living with paralysis are especially at risk, anyone who is bedridden, uses a wheelchair or is unable to change positions without help can develop bedsores. They’re especially common in areas that aren’t well padded with muscle or fat and that lie just over a bone, such as your spine, tailbone (coccyx), shoulder blades, hips, heels and elbows. Because your skin and the underlying tissues are trapped between bone and a surface such as a wheelchair or bed, blood flow is restricted. This deprives tissue of oxygen and other nutrients, and irreversible damage and tissue death can occur.

Other causes of pressure sores include:

§ Friction. Frequent shifts in position are the key to preventing pressure sores. Yet the friction that occurs when you simply turn from side to side can damage your skin, making it more susceptible to pressure sores.

§ Shear. This occurs when your skin moves in one direction, and the underlying bone moves in another. Sliding down in a bed or chair or raising the head of your bed more than 30 degrees is especially likely to cause shearing, which stretches and tears cell walls and tiny blood vessels. Especially affected are areas such as your tailbone where skin is already thin and fragile.

The patient may not even realize the development

Many a times the paralyzed patient has a poor nervous system and is unable to sense of discomfort or pain which signal the development of bed sores. This may make the identification of initial stages of the bed sore difficult. However if the care taker is aware enough the initial stages may be caught. For this purpose, the following stages in the development of bed sores are discussed:

§ Stage I. Initially, a pressure sore appears as a persistent area of red skin that may itch or hurt and feel warm and spongy or firm to the touch. Stage I wounds are superficial and go away shortly after the pressure is relieved.

§ Stage II. At this point, some skin loss has already occurred — either in the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, in the dermis, the skin’s deeper layer, or in both. The wound is now an open sore that looks like a blister or an abrasion, and the surrounding tissues may show red or purple discoloration. If treated promptly, stage II sores usually heal fairly quickly.

§ Stage III. By the time a pressure ulcer reaches this stage, the damage has extended to the tissue below the skin, creating a deep, crater-like wound.

§ Stage IV. In the most serious and advanced stage, a large-scale loss of skin occurs, along with damage to muscle, bone, and even supporting structures such as tendons and joints. Stage IV wounds are extremely difficult to heal and can lead to lethal infections.

Treatment for bed sores:

Specific treatment of a bed sore is determined by your physician and based on the severity of the condition. Treatment may be more difficult once the skin is broken, and may include the following:

• removing pressure on the affected area

• protecting the wound with medicated gauze or other special dressings

• keeping the wound clean

• transplanting healthy skin to the wound area

• medication (i.e., antibiotics to treat infections)

Tags: acupuncture, chinese, blood pressure, remedies, natural

Headaches are quite common and are perhaps the first among the reactions elicited by the body in response to fever, stress, strain, nervousness, weakness and even certain infections. Infact some individuals experience it so often that they learn to live with it. However not all headaches are like, some are mitigated by house hold remedies but there are others which are stubborn enough to remain unchanged in intensity. These may suggest a chronic illness …migraine. If a patient experiences three or more headaches in a month, there are chances that he is suffering from migraine.

What is migraine

This is a condition where the blood vessels and the nerves in a specific part of the head are constricted abnormally to almost squeeze themselves up to give rise to a throbbing pain in that section of the head. This is accompanied by symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Some individuals may also experience warning signals before the pain begins in the head. These are typically in form of flashes of light or sudden darkness in front of the eyes. These signals which warn the patient of the symptoms of migraine occurring typically minutes before the headache are termed as aura. Numbness or tingling sensations may be persistent throughout the migraine attack.

Causes of migraine

A lot of people get migraines — about 11 out of 100. The headaches tend to start between the ages of 10 and 46 and may run in families. Migraines occur more often in women than men. Pregnancy may reduce the number of migraines attacks. At least 60 percent of women with a history of migraines have fewer such headaches during the last two trimesters of pregnancy.

Until the 1980s, scientists believed that migraines were due to changes in blood vessels within the brain. Today, most believe the attack actually begins in the brain itself, and involves various nerve pathways and chemicals in the brain.

A migraine attack can be triggered by stress, food, environmental changes, or some other factor. However, the exact chain of events remains unclear.

Migraine attacks may be triggered by:

• Allergic reactions
• Bright lights, loud noises, and certain odors or perfumes
• Physical or emotional stress
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Smoking or exposure to smoke
• Skipping meals
• Alcohol
• Menstrual cycle fluctuations, birth control pills
• Tension headaches
• Foods containing tyramine (red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, chicken livers, figs, and some beans), monosodium glutamate (MSG), or nitrates (like bacon, hot dogs, and salami)
• Other foods such as chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, avocado, banana, citrus, onions, dairy products, and fermented or pickled foods

Natural cure with Fever few

• What is Fever few

Fever few ( Tanacetum parthenium ), a member of the sunflower family, has been used for centuries in European folk medicine as a remedy for headaches, arthritis, and fevers. The term fever few is adapted from the Latin word febrifugia or “fever reducer.” Fever few products usually consist of dried fever few leaves, but all parts of the plant that grow above ground may also be used for medicinal purposes

• Can migraine be treated naturally

Fever few gained popularity in the 1980s as an alternative to conventional medications for migraine headaches. A survey of 270 migraine sufferers in Great Britain revealed that more than 70% of individuals felt substantially better