Refractive error (myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism etc.) of eye is a common medical problem of eyes and by the time you are 40 years of age or around 40 years, the problems of refractive error of eyes increases. It is important you take care of your eyes appropriately and treat your eye problems. If you have eye problem and your doctor advised you to undergo surgery (such as lasik eye surgery) it is important to know if lasik will be good for you and it is a normal thing to have doubt and try to understand it, as lasik eye surgery is comparatively new and uses latest technology in compare to conventional eye surgeries.

At present there is tremendous advancement in use of technology (such as use of IntraLase laser and “wavefront technology”), especially in lasik eye surgery and due to use of latest technology; many patients can undergo eye lasik eye surgery without complication, the patients who were considered unfit few years back.

Use of latest technology such as use of “wavefront technology” to map the cornea before Lasik eye surgery, which reduce the side effects and complications in Lasik eye surgery. Currently most patients with refractive error can undergo lasik eye surgery unless there is specific medical conditions in the patients such as glaucoma (pressure inside eye is raised), severe hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, compromised immunity (such as AIDS) etc. Even the here mentioned medical conditions are not absolute contraindications to lasik eye surgery. Bring the medical condition under control (such as blood sugar within normal limit for diabetics, blood pressure under control for hypertensive etc.) and you can undergo lasik eye surgery.

The risk of complication (intra-operative or during operation and post operative complications) are high if the systemic disease (such as glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension) is not under control. General health is also important and your general health should be sound to have eventless surgical procedure.

Have clear idea about the procedure and possible complications and risk factors related to lasik eye surgery and decide, if you want to use lasik eye surgery.

DISCLAIMER: THE STORY(s) DEPICTED ON THIS SITE AND THE PERSON(s) DEPICTED IN THE STORY ARE NOT REAL. RATHER, THIS FICTIONAL STORY IS BASED ON THE RESULTS THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THESE PRODUCTS HAVE ACHIEVED. THE RESULTS PORTRAYED IN THE STORY AND IN THE COMMENTS ARE ILLUSTRATIVE, AND MAY NOT BE THE RESULTS THAT YOU ACHIEVE WITH THESE PRODUCTS. THIS PAGE RECEIVES COMPENSATION FOR CLICKS ON OR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS FEATURED ON THIS SITE.

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Some patients describe chronic fatigue syndrome as feeling like an "unrelenting flu."

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Some patients describe chronic fatigue syndrome as feeling like an "unrelenting flu."

Nearly three decades have passed since the debate began about a series of symptoms that have come to be known as chronic fatigue syndrome. It's cause is still unknown, but over the years, researchers have identified various brain, immune system and energy metabolism irregularities involved. Some patients describe the syndrome as feeling like an "unrelenting, unremitting flu."

Doctors say some treatments can help. Arthur Barsky, a psychiatrist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School, says patients need to change how they experience symptoms â€" typically pain, insomnia and anxiety. When patients adopt a more positive attitude, Barsky points out, it often translates into greater confidence and more energy.

A study published this year in The Lancet found that a form of talk therapy, as well as exercise, offered relief for some patients. Researchers from the United Kingdom looked at cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT.

 

In the study, over 600 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were assigned to different treatments. All of them received medical care for symptoms like pain, insomnia or anxiety.

One group got counseled about how to pace activities. Another took part in an exercise program. And a third received the cognitive behavioral talk therapy. The therapy and the exercise group improved the most, reporting less fatigue, insomnia and anxiety.

Barsky says his patients do best when cognitive behavior therapy is also combined with gradually increased exercise. "People need to begin to push themselves in the face of their fatigue, because if you don't, you become deconditioned and you get caught in a cycle which ... makes fatigue worse," says Barsky.

But he cautions against overdoing it. People should start with mild, gentle exercise like clearing the table, doing the dishes, or taking the dog for a short walk. Then, slowly build up to longer and more frequent walks, he says.

Lucinda Bateman is a doctor at the Fatigue Consultation Clinic in Salt Lake City who specializes in chronic fatigue syndrome.

She's skeptical about the Lancet study, pointing out that patients improved only moderately, and not much more than those who were counseled about pacing themselves. Bateman suggests her patients pace themselves, and try to do only as many activities as they can manage.

She says some patients get caught in a "push and crash" cycle. When symptoms abate and they feel better, they may go all out, exercising, doing errands and socializing. But soon that level of activity often comes to a crashing end and patients can relapse dramatically, even becoming bedridden for several days or longer.

Bateman takes also issue with CBT's implication that chronic fatigue syndrome is psychosomatic. We still don't know what exactly causes the syndrome. And, like most professionals who treat patients, Bateman eagerly awaits the day when science can finally pinpoint its cause.

With additional reporting from Joanne Silberner

Refractive error (myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism etc.) of eye is a common medical problem of eyes and by the time you are 40 years of age or around 40 years, the problems of refractive error of eyes increases. It is important you take care of your eyes appropriately and treat your eye problems. If you have eye problem and your doctor advised you to undergo surgery (such as lasik eye surgery) it is important to know if lasik will be good for you and it is a normal thing to have doubt and try to understand it, as lasik eye surgery is comparatively new and uses latest technology in compare to conventional eye surgeries.

At present there is tremendous advancement in use of technology (such as use of IntraLase laser and “wavefront technology”), especially in lasik eye surgery and due to use of latest technology; many patients can undergo eye lasik eye surgery without complication, the patients who were considered unfit few years back.

Use of latest technology such as use of “wavefront technology” to map the cornea before Lasik eye surgery, which reduce the side effects and complications in Lasik eye surgery. Currently most patients with refractive error can undergo lasik eye surgery unless there is specific medical conditions in the patients such as glaucoma (pressure inside eye is raised), severe hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, compromised immunity (such as AIDS) etc. Even the here mentioned medical conditions are not absolute contraindications to lasik eye surgery. Bring the medical condition under control (such as blood sugar within normal limit for diabetics, blood pressure under control for hypertensive etc.) and you can undergo lasik eye surgery.

The risk of complication (intra-operative or during operation and post operative complications) are high if the systemic disease (such as glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension) is not under control. General health is also important and your general health should be sound to have eventless surgical procedure.

Have clear idea about the procedure and possible complications and risk factors related to lasik eye surgery and decide, if you want to use lasik eye surgery.

DISCLAIMER: THE STORY(s) DEPICTED ON THIS SITE AND THE PERSON(s) DEPICTED IN THE STORY ARE NOT REAL. RATHER, THIS FICTIONAL STORY IS BASED ON THE RESULTS THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THESE PRODUCTS HAVE ACHIEVED. THE RESULTS PORTRAYED IN THE STORY AND IN THE COMMENTS ARE ILLUSTRATIVE, AND MAY NOT BE THE RESULTS THAT YOU ACHIEVE WITH THESE PRODUCTS. THIS PAGE RECEIVES COMPENSATION FOR CLICKS ON OR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS FEATURED ON THIS SITE.

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Stroke so small they're never noticed may add up.

Lisa F. Young/iStockphoto.com

Stroke so small they're never noticed may add up.

Old people who don't have signs of cardiovascular disease still may have suffered microscopic strokes that don't show up on conventional tests. The small strokes may impair their ability to walk, balance and function just the same.

Scientists examined the brains of 418 priests and nuns after they died. The researchers found that one-third of the brains that had seemed normal using conventional tests while the people were alive actually had damage to tiny blood vessels. The damage was so slight it was impossible to see without a microscope.

The people whose brains had these tiny signs of hardened arteries and stroke were most likely to have had shuffling gait and other movement problems while they were still alive.

This means that problems with walking, rigidity, tremors, and other movement issues that are often considered a normal part of aging may not be normal at all. Many old people considered healthy may actually have considerable damage to the tissue and blood vessels in their brains.

 

"There's a limit to what you can see in brain imaging using current technologies," says neurologist Aron Buchman, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and lead author of the study. "These are not people who had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. These are people who had mild motor findings that otherwise would be written off as normal aging."

Though that may sound like yet another grim prognosis associated with aging, Buchman says it opens the possibility that what seems like an inevitable result of old age could be treated or prevented.

"Loss of mobility, mobility disability, slowing of gait is something that's ubiquitous in older people," Buchman told Shots. But this study didn't show that the brain damage caused the movement problems, because it only compared the state of the people's brains at death with examinations of their health while still alive. "I wish that we had something like carbon-14 dating like they have at archeological sites, so we can figure out when problems arise in the brain," he added.

One way to figure that out may be to use conventional brain imaging techniques like MRI over time, then compare the changes over time with the state of the person's brain at death. But that work has yet to be done.

Buchman praised the priests and nuns who volunteered for the research, which was part of the Religious Orders Study. "They came in for tests for 15 years, and then they donate their brains at death. They deserve our special thanks."

The results were published online in the journal Stroke.

Many people wonder if there are any natural solutions available to treat and overcome Candida yeast infection. Typically, the only remedy required for a yeast overgrowth is a good probiotic, however, natural anti-fungals and low-glycemic diets can help as well.

Besides taking probiotic and antifungal supplements,  it may be also beneficial for you to decide to change your dietary habits. Instead of indulging in way too many snacks, treats and breads, try to consider giving up sugar, sodas and foods containing gluten. Most experts recommend to replace them with fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and high-quality animal protein.

Candida, also known as yeast overgrowth, is a condition that can be caused by many factors, including antibiotics, stress, hormonal imbalances, steroids, and diets high in carbohydrates. As a result, sufferers often end up feeling sick, with a myriad of debilitating symptoms that require thorough cleanse regimen. It is recommended that you first check with your doctor before starting any treatment to see if they have any recommendations for you.

These types of diet modifications will definitely help transform your inner terrain, especially since Candida albicans (the yeast causing the problems) thrives on sugar and the acidity it causes, and that’s exactly what it won’t be getting.

Usually, it takes time and consistency to rebalance, but there are several other things that can help. Specifically, anti-fungals can be an important part of your treatment. These drugs actively eliminate the cells of Candida and can be prescribed by your doctor.

Although you do have a lot of options, it is understandable if you are still a little confused about what you’re supposed to do. If you’re worried about potential side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, know that recent research has brought attention to a number of promising natural alternatives that you may want to check out. These include raw garlic, caprylic acid, and oil of oregano, among others.

The bottom line â€" dealing with Candida and yeast over-growths can be hard, however, as we’ve just discussed there are many things that can alleviate your symptoms. Candida treatment can seem overwhelming at first. If you really need some help, don’t be afraid to ask a health care practitioner what they think you should do.

DISCLAIMER: THE STORY(s) DEPICTED ON THIS SITE AND THE PERSON(s) DEPICTED IN THE STORY ARE NOT REAL. RATHER, THIS FICTIONAL STORY IS BASED ON THE RESULTS THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE USED THESE PRODUCTS HAVE ACHIEVED. THE RESULTS PORTRAYED IN THE STORY AND IN THE COMMENTS ARE ILLUSTRATIVE, AND MAY NOT BE THE RESULTS THAT YOU ACHIEVE WITH THESE PRODUCTS. THIS PAGE RECEIVES COMPENSATION FOR CLICKS ON OR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS FEATURED ON THIS SITE.

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Potatoes have gotten a lot of bad press as major contributors to obesity and diabetes. But Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, aims to rehabilitate the humble tuber. When he had overweight people eat potatoes daily for a month, their blood pressure dropped, and they didn't gain weight.

That's far different than the current line on potatoes. In June, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported that potatoes were a key culprit in weight gain, more so than red meat or sugary drinks. That study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

But Vinson thinks the Harvard unfairly lumped together fries with healthier baked and steamed potatoes. He thinks that beneficial antioxidants in potatoes are destroyed by frying, that that the microwaved potatoes his test subjects consumed should still retain contain those good vitamins and polyphenols.

 

His study was small, with just 18 subjects eating 6 to 8 microwaved potatoes twice daily for one month, then going potato-free. After eating potatoes for a month, their diastolic blood pressure dropped an average of 4 millimeters of mercury, or 4.3 percent.

Vinson had his subjects eat fancy purple potatoes because they have higher levels of compounds like clorogenic acid. Vinson had done earlier research on beneficial compounds in coffee, and was surprised to find that chlorogenic acid, a major bioactive compound in coffee, was abundant in potatoes, too. That sparked this study. He hopes to repeat it with regular potatoes.

"The big question in my mind is whether white potatoes would work," Vinson told Shots. He hasn't found earlier research on potatoes of any color and blood pressure. "How come somebody didn't do this before?" the chemist wonders. "You ask yourself this question in science."

Potatoes of all hues contain vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and iron. In the old days sailors ate potatoes to stave off scurvy, and potatoes remain a major source of nutrition for millions of people around the world.

But potatoes also have been blamed for expanding American waistlines. For instance, Walter Willett, an epidemiologist at Harvard who was one of the authors of the New England Journal of Medicine article, puts potatoes in the "really unhealthy" category on his Healthy Eating Pyramid, along with red meat, soft drinks, and chips. (All Things Considered host Michele Norris recently interviewed Willett on potatoes and healthy foods.)

So potato fans have a choice: Experiment with Vinson's "potatoes can be good for you" theory, and start nibbling microwaved tubers. Or stick with the mainstream view espoused by Willett, and presume that there's no such thing as a healthful spud.

Vinson's findings, which haven't been published yet, were presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver. Funding for the work came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's State Cooperative Potato Research Program.

Enlarge NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Two women check their cell phones as they hawk their wares on a bridge over the Artibonite river, whose waters are believed to be the source of Haiti's 2010 cholera outbreak.

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Two women check their cell phones as they hawk their wares on a bridge over the Artibonite river, whose waters are believed to be the source of Haiti's 2010 cholera outbreak.

The year 2010 was a very bad one for Haiti. It started with an earthquake that killed over 300,000 people, mostly in the crowded capital of Port-au-Prince. After that, cholera originating in a U.N. camp broke out in a northern province and eventually spread to the city.

But public health researchers learned something useful from the tragedy: Cell phones can help stem an unfolding epidemic and funnel aid to the needy.

Shortly after the quake, Linus Bengtsson at Sweden's Karolinska Institute helped put together a team to capitalize on Haiti's cell phone system. "When people start to move around, as they often do after a natural disaster, it's very difficult to know where to deliver supplies," Bengtsson says.

 

But about a third of Haiti's population have cell phones. So Bengtsson and colleagues collaborated with the cell phone company Digicell to track calls by the SIM cards in the phones.

The phone owners remained anonymous, but their whereabouts showed that some 600,000 fled Port-au-Prince within three weeks of the quake. That relieved pressure on aid groups in the city, but not for long. Soon, the phone maps showed that most of those refugees returned because there was no food in the countryside.

While the quake experience was more a proof of principle for disaster relief, the team actually got results when they applied their tracking system to the cholera epidemic months later. The researchers describe their experiment in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Team member Richard Garfield of Columbia University says they tracked people leaving the epicenter of the epidemic, near the city of St. Marc. They wanted to alert medics to go where infected people might carry the disease. It worked, Garfield says.

"The second wave of cases did appear exactly in the areas where most of the population was moving to...out of the cholera zone," Garfield says.

In addition to trying to point health teams where the epidemic would spread, the cell phone trackers also sent health advice to Haitians via text or voice mailâ€"things like, wash your hands frequently, get oral rehydration if you get sick, and continue to breast feed infected babies.

People who track infectious diseases say the technique should work for other outbreaks. "I think it's incredibly beneficial," says Andrew Tatem, who studies malaria at the University of Florida. "I think we're seeing a glimpse into the future of gathering information for disaster management."