Exercise and your Body

Physical exercise is necessary for good circulation of blood. There are several reason why people do exercise; to increase muscle strength, to prepare for a competition, to enhance look, to increase cardiac reserve, and to relax. The form of exercise varies with your purpose. Too much strenuous exercise is a stress to the body. The form of exercise must be suited to your need and your body has to be ready to the form of exercise you need or you want. Exercise can likewise be classified into isotonic and isometric exercise. The former is exemplified by jogging and the later by weight training. Starting and exercise program should be planned depending on your purpose. The general rule is to start lightly and and increase the intensity gradually over a period of time. For every session there should be a warming period like stretching and slow jogging. At the end of exercise session there should also be a cooling period like stretching and slow paced walking over a period of 15 to 20 minutes. Cooling period prevents sudden shut down of circulation in your muscle and removes much of the carbon dioxide accumulated. This prevents muscle aches and fatigue. Keep on walking slowly until the perspiration stops. This indicates that the carbon dioxide has been removed and your body temperature has cooled down. Bathing immediately after exercise is a taboo among Filipino oldies. It has some basis. Bathing will cool down your body immediately and lessens circulation of blood to your muscles. In the laboratory, heating up the specimen is use to uncoil the DNA molecules, maybe sudden changes in body temperature have the same effect. (We need not ignore the wisdom of the old folks.)
Exercise has an effect on cardiac function. It improves collateral blood vessel. In will also increase muscle mass of the heart. Weight training will increase muscle mass but this will increase resistance to blood flow causing the heart to work a bit harder. This is the reason why people with hypertension are not advised to do weight training. They can only do jogging or distance running or bicycling and they have to start gradually.
Exercise to enhance looks has be be planned. Assessment of the outside appearance of the body is needed before the work out. The general rule is to use lighter weight initially and adding more after several sessions. The area that need to be enhanced has to be identified and the movement in that identified area will be the basis of the workout. To determine this area, identify the muscle movement responsible and add weight to that movement. Enhancing the body form should also include the smaller muscle underneath.
Exercising to increase the power of the muscle needs another form of training. Power lifting will involve increasing the power of the muscle in the back, lower and upper extremities, neck and hands. It also needs coordination. It is a separate discipline. Coaching is necessary for this training.

Skin Care

Skin or integumen covers our body. They protect us from water loss and entry of microorganisms into our body. Taking care of our skin is very important. Skin can make us look older or younger. The best thing for the skin is hygiene. Bathing reduces the population of bacteria in our skin and prevents infection like abscess or boils and keep us smelling good. Soap during bathing has to be left for about five minutes in order to kill the bacteria. Soap is germicidal. There is no need for germicide containing soap. Soap can make our skin dry especially those in the sixties. If the skin is dry due to bathing we can use soap with moisturizer.

Rest is also important for our skin. Six to eight hour rest is needed. Skin in the face will make us look older if the skin is dry. To make us look younger we can massage our face with round movement in the cheek and forehead. Massage it for about ten minutes using mild soap or soap with moisturizers. Do it at night before we rest. Avoid touching our face with unwashed hands.


Skin in the body and extremities also needs care. Do not scratch your skin when itchy and keep your skin dry. Change clothes as often and do not wear unwashed clothes. Avoid applying scents and other chemicals that may cause irritation and allergy. Do not wear tight clothing because the skin will react by producing more pigment. Use light loose clothing while sleeping. Eat plenty of fruits.

Care of digestive system

Digestive system starts from the mouth to the anus.Problem in each segment gives different symptoms. Problem with the esophagus may present as difficulty in swallowing or sometimes a little choking sensation. It is called esophagitis. It is caused by reflux of the acidic content of the stomach. Reflux can be due to coffee, too much food intake, intake of very hot soup, or even lying down when the stomach is full. Further down the esopahgus is the stomach. This secretes acids to help digest proteins in our food. Lesion in the stomach is called gastritis and when it is deeper it is called ulcer. This lesion gives hunger feeling although you have just taken food. To take care of your stomach, the simplest way is not to sleep when your stomach is full. The stomach also needs rest during our sleep. Don't let your stomach work while you are sleeping. Try to sleep with your stomach is full. The following morning you will get a feeling of hunger. Do it every night and it will become more severe. Give your stomach a rest while you sleep. Do not sleep while you are full. Wait for about an hour or two after dinner before going to bed. Ulcer can also occur in the deudenun. Intestines just need clean food in order to be healthy. Diarrheas are manifestation of problems in the intestines. Most of them are due to infectious organism from the food that we take. Other disease like cancer in any level of the digestive system will also manifest differently but usually there is a mass which will produce obstruction or loss of weight or changes in bowel movement. Eat healthy. Eat foods with high fiber content and just enough for your daily energy and body repair need. Increase intake of fruits. Excess food will give you problems like diabetes, hypercholesteronemia, hyperlipedemia and many more. Eat just enough. Share you food to the less fortunate like me (just kidding). Happy living!

Disease Transmission

Diseases can be classified into communicable and non-communicable diseases. Some examples of non-communicable diseases are hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and sroke. Some examples of communicable diaseases are cholera, tuberculosis, hepatitis, diptheria, anthrax an dmany more. Disease agents has to get into the body inorder to cause disease. The portals of entry are damaged skin, through the mouth, airway, urethra, skin pores, mucosa of the eyes and nose. Some can penetrate intact skin like schistosomiasis while other are through the bites of insect vectors like malaria and dengue. To keep ourself healthy we need to guard these portals of entry. Clean skin, clean air, food and water. It is a must that we live in a clean environment. No dust, smoke, damp, or insect breeding places. We are the only person who can clean our own surrounding or we have to pay other people to keep our surrounding clean. We inahale 16 to 20 times per minute and each inhalation carries a risk of infection from airborne microorganism. This is the reason why there are more respiratory tract diseases than diarrheas or urinary tract infections. We only take water or liquids 8 to 12 times a day and food 3 to 5 times a day. The risk increasesa as we increase our expossure to the disease carrying materials like air, food or water. keeping these three (air, food and water) is good enough to keep as ree from diseases carried by them. it is therefore necessary that we have to keep pur surrounding clean at all times. This message is very much applicable in the Philippine setting where there is overpopulation and the climate is conducive to proliferation od bacteria.

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is one of the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.
It is a disease with a very short course but with very drastic course sometimes.
There are four serotypes of dengue. Infection with one does not confer immunity
to the other types. Infection with one type however gives lifetime immunity to
the specific serotype. The disease starts with a fever after about a week
from the bite of infected mosquito. The fever is accompanied by constitutional signs
and symptoms not specific for dengue infection. Signs and symptoms includes fever, abdominal pain,vomiting, retro-orbital pain, malaise. The home management of dengue is high intake of fluids like fruit juice or soft drinks. Oral rehydration fluids for diarrhea can still be used. Dengue and diarrhea are similar in the sense that the effective circulating body fluid is reduced though in dengue the fluid is still inside the body though in the extra vascular area. After a few days a patient can develop bleeding in the form of petechiae, or gum bleeding or epistaxis. Sometimes the bleeding is in the internal organs like the gastro-intetinal tract.
Signs and symptoms considered danger signs are persistent vomiting, drowsiness, lethurgy, cyanosis, seizure, shock, absence or weak pulse, prolonged bleeding, severe abdominal pain and loss of consciousness. Patient has to be taken to the hospital if any of the danger signs is observed.

Preventing dengue is through prevention of mosquito bite particularly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The dwelling area has to be free from stagnant clean water to prevent breeding of mosquito. Mosquito needs water every 3 to 4 days to lays eggs. If there is no available stagnant water in your dwelling area the mosquito will look for one maybe in the immediate vicinity or in the next house. Insecticide
maybe useful but removal of stagnant water is the best. You will even notice that no mosquito bothers you inside your home.

Antibiotic abuse

I have seen unusual number bronchopneumonia just this past 2 weeks. They have been using Co-trimoxazole antibiotic when I see then but the problem is they did not improved. I believe my worst fear is here, the resistance of bacteria to Co-trimoxazole antibiotic. I have been using this antibiotic for about ten years already. This is a result of antibiotic misuse. Patient already self medicate with this antibiotic. The health personnel also learn to use this antibiotic but the problem is the dosing. Most of the time the dose is not appropriate. I have to stop using Co-Trimoxazole now, instead, more effective and expensive medicine will be needed. I hope the patients can afford this medications. It is life saving medicine.It would be more difficult for my patients since most of them are from the lower income status. I hope health personnel learn to use antibiotic properly.

Relaxation Techniques

Anybody needs relaxation. The present situation is stressfull. Stress can come from the workplace or at home. Stress will make your blood presure rise, gives you sleepless nights or makes you loose focus. Stress is a mental state. It is just a temporary state and you can manage it. When you are under stress youd mind is active i.e. thinking. managing your minds is through diversion of your thinking to such activities like physical activities like sports, hiking, eating and other usual activities you do when you are under stress. Managing you active mind need diversion of your thoughts as well. To do this you need to follow these steps: (1) Close your eyes (2)Breath slowly (3) Listen to yur breath (4) In you thought say rising during inspiration and say falling during expiration, If something enters your thought which usually is, remove it from your thought and go back to step number 4. After some time you may fall into sleep. Even if you do not fall into slumber you will find your strss is gone and you get more energy to move on. Practice this every time you need it. It is the same technic if you cannot go to sleep at night. This can be done while sitting or lying down.

Diabetes

Diabetes is the condition wherein the blood sugar is high. It could be due to lack of insulin or over replacement of blood sugar from body reserves. High sugar content of the blood increases its viscosity hence circulation in the small blood vessels, particularly capillaries, are affected. Poor circulation means poor supply of material to cells like sugar and oxygen. These cause cell hunger and the cell shifts to other source of energy within the cell, the anaerobic energy source. It is the one that neither use oxygen or sugar but fats or protein. Waste products of this metabolism are acids which are secreted through the kidneys. This overburdens the kidney in the long run. The other affected organs, the nervous system particularly the peripheral nervous sytem, is also affected through the same mechanism...slow blood flow. The symptoms will be numbness and tingling sensation of extremities.
Reduction of blood sugar is the key to longer onset of complications and diet is the most important. To make it easy to comprehend, suppose your blood sugar is 300 mg%, halving your meals will help. Three hundred mg% blood sugar is twice the normal hence halving the intake will help. Exercise will also help as it release adrenalin that will help reduce he blood sugar. It is also dangerous to lower your blood sugar too much. Its sympstoms will be dizziness, weaknes or fatigue assocaited with cold sweat or hunger. At this time you need an emergengy intake of food with high sugar content like softdrinks or sweatened fruit juice. Consult your physician as soon as possible if you have this symptoms. Diabetics must have a regular appointment with their physicians. Once the complication set in... it will not be reversed. Bye bye

Urinary tract Infection (UTI)

Ang Urinary Tract Infection o UTI ay infection sa daanan ng ihi, mula sa kidney hanggan sa may labasan. Iba iba nag nararamdaman kung saan ang dako ng infection. Kapag ito ay nasa may labasan ang tawag dito ay urethritis at ang nararamdaman ay masakit pagdumadaloy ng ihi. Kapag naman ang infection ay nasa pantog na, ang tawag dito ay cystitis. Ang nararamdaman naman ay masakit pagkatapos ng ihi o sa umpisa ng ihi o kaya naman ay laging maiihi. Ang dalawang yan ang tawag ay lower urinary tract infection. Pag yan ay napabayaan aakyat yan dadaan sa ureter papunta sa kidney mismo. Upper urinary tract infection na ang tawag dyan at medyo malala na. Nariyan na ang sobrang sakit ng tagiliran at kung nakarating na sa kidney magkakaroon na yan ng lagnat at iba pang symptoms gaya ng suka, sakit ng tiyan, masakit na tagiliran at iba pa.

Hypertension

Ang blood pressure na mataas kaysa 140/90 ay masasabi na nating high blood. Mahirap ang may high blood pressure. Puersado ang puso natin na magbomba ng dugo sa ating katawan. Ang puso ay isa rin muscle. Pag laging pwersado ay lumalaki gaya ng mga braso ng weightlifter. Kapag lumaki ng lumaki ang puso kukulangin na ito ng supply ng oxygen buhat sa dugo. Sa umpisa ay kaunting pananakit ang nararamdaman ito ay tinatawag na angina pectoris. Kapag tuluyan nagkulang ang supplu ng oxygen uuwi ito sa matinding sakit ng dibdib na mamataymatay ang pakiramdam at pinagpapawisan. Atake sa puso na ito at kailangn madala agad sa ospital.

Pag-iingat sa Katawan

Ang mga mababasa mo rito ay mahalaga para laging ligtas tayo sa sakit. Di tayo dapat magkasakit sabi nga ng commercial.

Ang pangkaraniwan sanhi ng pagkakasakit ay ubo at sipon. Mga 80 porsiento ito ng sanhin ng pagpapakonsulta sa doctor. Kapag ito ay napabayaan uuwi ito sa bronchitis, pulmonya, o impeksyon ng tainga.
Ang ordinaryong ubo kalimitan ay di lumalampas ng 5 araw at ito ay kusang gumagaling kaya pag lumampas ng limang araw ang ubo o sipon mo kailngan mo na ang tulong ng Doktor.
Huwag din naman masyado maaga magpadoktor kailangan din ng ating immune system ang exercise kaya di tayo dapat naka antibiotic agad liban lang kung talagang malala agad ang tama ng sakit.
Iwasan natin ang magkaubo o sipon. Ang ilan sa paraan ay paglayo sa mga may ubo, sa karamihan ng tao, at kailangan maghugas ng ilong. Ang ilong ang daanan ng mikrobyo papunta sa baga. Tayo ay humihinga ng mga 16 - 20 beses kada minuto. Kada hinga mo ay maaring may dalang mikrobyo kaya dapat huhugasan palagi ang loob ng ilong. Gawin ito tuwing gabi at tuwing mangangati ang ilong.

Tandaan: Huwag palampasin ng limang araw ang ubo. Magpatingin ka na.

Maari kayong magtanong o mag-iwan ng comment or mag suggest ng topic.

More on next blog.