Health Tips to Boost Immune System Against Coronavirus
The Covid 19 pandemic has re-emphasized the importance of a good immune system. Those with good and strong immune systems have been safe during this pandemic, while people with a weak immune system have suffered a lot and even died due to the Covid 19 infection.
The immune system consists of many cells and organs. The organs are the spleen, liver, thyroid gland, lymph nodes, etc. The immune cells are macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, mast cells, monocytes, and the B and T lymphocytes. In general, all these organs and cells help organize a body’s immunity and fight against pathogens and other types of infections present in the environment.
How does the immune system help in fighting against pathogens?
The immune system helps in producing immune cells (mentioned above) and these immune cells fight infection-causing foreign bodies like viruses, bacteria, allergens, etc. The immune cells like monocytes and macrophages literally eat these foreign bodies and make them incapable of infecting our bodies.
Cells like B-lymphocytes produce antibodies. Antibodies attach themselves with the antigen of the foreign body and make it easier for T lymphocytes to grab these foreign bodies and kill them. Whenever you catch an infection, another type of lymphocyte, the helper T-cells, remembers its kind.
When this infection tries to affect you again, these Helper T-cells signal the B-lymphocytes to release antibodies against this infection. That’s how your body saves the memory of the infections it has faced and fights with foreign bodies.
Some tips for a healthy immune system:
1) Diet: Improve your diet, eat food low in carbohydrates and high in proteins. Proteins constitute the building blocks of our body. Nothing is possible without proteins. While carbohydrates also play an important role in bodily functions, nowadays, every meal is more focused on carbs rather than protein.
Excessive carbs can increase sugar, blood pressure. Try to have more Beta carotene, ascorbic acid, and other essential vitamins in your diet. Have vegetables like spinach, lemon, tomato, ginger, etc. Ask your dietician about supplementing omega-3-fatty acids. These additions to your diet will help boost your immunity.
2) Sleep: 7-8 hours of sleep is essential for everyone. Lack of sleep impairs body as well as brain activity. Impaired brain activity makes the immune system weaker, resulting in delayed immune responses. Lack of sleep also reduces the effect of any flu vaccine you have administered in your body.
3) Hydration: Staying hydrated will help you in keeping healthy and energetic all the time. A positive attitude is always helpful in any kind of disease and helps in hastening the healing. Drinking 7-8 glasses of water daily will help in excreting toxins from your body. Try to drink coconut water for essential vitamins and minerals and lemon juice for Vitamin C.
4) Exercise: Metabolism plays a big role in strengthening immunity. A well-functioning metabolism will help in regularizing the immune responses. A lack of exercise routine destroys your metabolism therefore directly affecting your digestions and immunity. Try to exercise daily for about 35-40 mins or however the doctor advises. Even simple exercise might do a good deal of healing.
5) Addictives: Avoid any kinds of addiction like cigarettes or alcohol. Cigarettes directly affect your lungs and make them weak, lessening the area for the absorption of oxygen. Oxygen is what you will need the most if you catch covid. Alcohol takes a toll on the liver while digesting, weakening the liver. The liver is responsible for producing various immune cells of the body.
Conclusion
In conclusion, exercising daily, adding Vitamin C and D to your diet with healthy food and essential fatty acids will keep you safe from the coronavirus testing Utah. However, this is just one part of it, you don’t want to go to crowded places to avoid getting infected.
How Effective are Creams and Tablets to Treat Cold Sores?
Cold sores are blisters that form inside the mouth or around the lips. The infection is generally caused due to exposure to Herpes Simplex Virus type-1 (HSV-1 virus) and can cause physical as well as emotional discomfort. They are also known as fever blisters, lip ulcers, and cranked sores.
The virus is contagious and spreads through oral contact. The virus has no cure. Once a person gets infected, it remains dormant in their body and may get activated due to stress, sun exposure, fever, etc.
There are numerous medications available in the market, both in the form of oral tablets and creams. These medications can help relieve the symptoms of the disease and can also reduce the healing time.
Effectiveness of cold sore medication.
As we mentioned earlier, HSV-1 has no cure, which means that medication can’t kill the virus completely. Hence, even after the blisters heal, there are chances of outbreaks in the future.
However, there are medications for fever blisters that can shorten their duration and alleviate the symptoms. Both creams and tablets are effective in treating colds sore and can make the blisters go away a day sooner. However, the effectiveness of the medication depends on how soon you start taking them.
Commence your fever blister medication within twenty-four hours of the first symptoms. The sooner you start the treatment, the better it is.
The medication for fever blisters is available in two forms: topical creams and oral medicines. Topical ointment and creams need to be applied directly to the affected area, and the antiviral medication needs to be consumed orally.
1. Topical medication
Topical medication for cold sore includes creams, gels, and ointment. They contain the drug called acyclovir or penciclovir and are effective in deterring the growth of fever blisters.
These medications can be purchased over the counter without a prescription. You can also buy them online and get them delivered to your doorstep.
Creams and ointments can shorten the healing time by a day. They can also improve the appearance and severity of the outbreak.
You need to apply the medication multiple times a day with a gap of two to three hours. The medication needs to be applied for five to seven days. The treatment also helps in dealing with crusted and painful sores.
Use a cotton swab to apply the medication and dispose of it. This will stop the virus from spreading to other parts.
Topical medication may not be suitable for people with recurrent outbreaks. Also, they need to be applied several times a day, which may not be possible for someone with a busy schedule.
Another alternative for the treatment of cold sores is oral medications.
2. Oral antiviral medication
There are several oral antiviral for cold sore medications. The most common ones are acyclovir, famciclovir and valaciclovir. These medications can make cold sores go away a day sooner and help you deal with the symptoms effectively.
The antivirals attach themselves to the virus and prevent it from replicating. This will contain the outgrowth of blisters and accelerate the healing process.
These medications are equally effective for people with recurrent episodes and severe cold sores. However, these drugs are only available with a prescription.
The medication needs to be taken once or twice a day for one to seven days. Your health care provider will recommend the antivirals based on the severity of your symptoms. A higher dose of antiviral may be recommended for people with a weakened immune system.
The medication does not have any side effects. However, people with kidney issues need to take a lower dose of antivirals.
Both creams and tablets are effective in treating cold sores and can alleviate the symptoms. If you have frequent episodes of cold sores, it is advisable to purchase the antiviral medication in advance and start the treatment as soon as possible.
Immunotherapy: Fighting The Cancers From Inside
If we talk about some of the life-threatening diseases that occurring in human beings at a fast pace, cancer tops the list. There are numerous reasons for diseases like cancer. The ways we live our life, eat, etc. are some of the prominent reasons why cancer has become a common disease in today’s time.
Have you ever thought about why a disease like cancer is life-threatening? Well, the reason is that the immune system of our body is not capable of fighting cancer or another similar disease like it fights a common fever and cold. To become a healthy person, people need to make their immune system highly strong since it determines the core issues that cause major diseases and fight them to make it out of life.
So, the above discussion makes it clear that our immune system is not capable of fighting these diseases and makes us ill. You may be excited to know the reasons? The main reason is that cancer cells come with the ability to hide in the human body. And the worst thing is that our body fails to recognize them as harmful cells. So, if the immune system of a human body is not capable of recognizing cancer cells, it will not fight with these cells and the disease finally grow.
Meanwhile, the good news is that we have now the most effective method to treat cancer with a higher success rate. Immunotherapy made it possible for those patients fighting cancer to recover fast and enjoy a normal lifestyle. It works on the principle of making the body’s immune system strong to improve its capability of fighting cancer.
How Immunotherapy helps Patients in Fighting Cancer
Immunotherapy advanced cancer treatment. In this method, the therapist targets mainly cancerous cells and nothing has to do with those of healthy cells. It doesn’t’ have any side effects and has the potential to extend the survival period of patients to help them live a quality and normal life.
Types of Immunotherapy
When it comes to immunotherapy approaches, one can find them in different types.
Monoclonal Antibodies
These are immune system proteins that doctors prepare in laboratories to use for biding a particular target on various cancerous cells. These antibodies can highlight immunotherapy cancer cells that make it quite convenient to spoil these cells.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
These are nothing but the most important types of drugs that include the capability of blocking checkpoints of the immune. These are normal parts and maximize the response to cancer.
Vaccines
Vaccines play a crucial role when it comes to improving the immune system of patients to fight cancer cells quickly. These are not the same as those vacancies used for curing cancer.
T-Cell Transfer Therapy
This is an important type of therapy that improves the capability of the T-cell of the human body to battle cancer cells effectively to help them get rid of infected cells. The method advocates for separating immune cells from cancer tumors and is then developed in a laboratory. Once the completion of the process, doctors then enter modified cells in the human body with the help of infusion.
Immunomodulators
These are an important group of drugs that are effective when it comes to improving the immune system of the human body in some types of cancer.
Cytokines
This is another treatment for curing cancer that improves the immune cells with the use of cytokines to fight cancer.
Oncolytic Viruses
In this method, a virus is modified in the laboratory to spoil various cancer cells.
How Does Boric Acid Suppositories Work For Yeast Infections?
The vagina generally has a small amount of yeast and bacteria. The presence of yeast and bacteria is healthy and does not cause any discomfort or infection. However, hormonal imbalance, stress, or a weaker immune system can cause an outgrowth of yeast. The sudden increase in the yeast present in the vagina can cause itchiness and discomfort and is called a yeast infection.
Yeast infections are very common and have been experienced by every woman at least once in their lifetime. They are caused by a fungus called Candida albicans or Candida glabrata.
The infection is also called candidiasis occurs in women of all age groups.
Traditionally, a lot of home remedies have been used by women for yeast infection treatments. Also, numerous over-the-counter medications help eliminate the infection.
However, for some women, the medication may not bring the desired results or can even prove to be ineffective. These recurrent and chronic cases of yeast infection can be treated with boric acid suppositories.
The age-old formula is effective in treating yeast infection and has become immensely popular in recent years.
What is Boric Acid?
Boric acid is a great antifungal and antibacterial agent for the human body that is available in the form of a white powder or crystalline solid.
The boric acid can restrict the growth of Candida Albicans and the more resistant Candida Glabrata. Hence, it helps in combating yeast infection.
When other oral medication or ointment are ineffective or are unable to provide satisfactory relief, boric acid suppositories are generally prescribed as a second line of treatment.
If you are suffering from recurrent and chronic yeast infection, boric acid can be very helpful.
Using boric acid as a treatment for yeast infection
Boric acid suppositories are available over the counter and even in online stores. However, it is always advisable to book an appointment with your health care provider and undertake a proper diagnosis. Your health care advisor will be able to provide you prover guidance and advice on how to use boric acid suppositories and other remedies for recurrent yeast infections.
You can also make your own boric acid capsule. However, the process can be slightly tedious, especially when you have convenient options like ordering online and getting suppositories delivered to your doorstep.
To make your boric acid capsules, all you need is boric acid powder and a size 00 gelatine capsule. Now, fill the capsule with boric acid powder and close it tightly. The recommended doses of the medication are 600 mg in each capsule.
Boric acid capsules are toxic, and therefore, you should never ingest them orally. They need to be inserted into your vagina to combat a yeast infection.
The course of the medication needs to be followed for 14 days. Each day you need to insert a single capsule into your vagina. You may experience some watery discharge which is completely normal.
Boric acid is very effective, and the results are visible in a few days of usage. However, it is essential to follow through with the process for fourteen days to eliminate the recurrence of infection.
Side-effects of boric acid
If you are pregnant, it is better to consult your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medication, and boric acid suppositories are no exception. Boric acid can be toxic to your infant and can cause serious complications.
Also, if you have a scrape, scratch, or an open wound in your vagina, boric acid can be extremely harmful and should be avoided.
There are a few side effects to boric acid-like burning sensation during insertion, redness, and vaginal discharge. You can also experience some vaginal discomfort. Depending on the severity of these side-effects, you should stop taking the medication and consult your health care provider at the earliest.
Boric acid capsules are extremely beneficial for yeast infection and can cure even chronic infection. It is an effective second line of treatment and is also budget-friendly.
Three Things You Didn’t Know About Pediatrics
A child in their growing years needs special care and attention. They should not be treated as young adults as their brain is still in the developing stage. They need a specialist who can deal with issues specific to their age.
A pediatrician is your best ally when it comes to providing superior quality care for your child’s medical needs. They are specialists in dealing with health issues specific to infants, newborns, children, adolescents, and teens. They help your kid with their mental and physical development to enable a better adult life when they grow up. They aid in the early diagnosis of diseases that make it easy to deal with these issues later in life.
Pediatrics have become an increasingly popular part of the medical field in recent years. However, there are a few things about a pediatrician that you might not know. Read further to know some interesting facts about this field of medicine.
1. There are thirty-three different types of pediatricians.
Most people think that every pediatrician does the same thing and can only help you with general issues related to your kid’s health. However, this is not true at all. Like other divisions of medicine, pediatricians also specialize in their field.
There are thirty-three different kinds of pediatricians ranging from general pediatricians to specialized pediatrics. Pediatric medicine is a vast field and covers every health aspect that you can think of. This includes physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral aspects.
Some pediatrics specialize in physical ailments like issues related to stomach or brain development. However, pediatrics can also specialize in treating kids with a history of abuse or other behavioral problems.
Jacksonville pediatrics can be found in your local hospital, clinics, and private practices. General pediatricians can help you with health concerns like flu, cold, etc. However, if your child is suffering from an ailment that requires specialized care, it is advisable to go to a specialist who can diagnose and treat the issue correctly.
2. A student needs to devote a minimum of eleven years to become a pediatrician.
Pediatricians are relatively new in the medical space, which means a lot of people are unaware that it takes almost eleven years to become a qualified pediatrician. Their education includes numerous levels of schooling to ensure they are trained to handle all aspects of a child’s health.
A pediatrician is required to go through a four-year graduate program, after which they study for four years in medical school. This is followed by a pediatric internship of twelve months. After which, they spend two years residency in a hospital for a specialty.
Children are unable to express their medical issues as clearly as adults. A pediatrician realizes the need to understand all the signs to gather an understanding of the child’s medical needs. The cumulative period of eleven years trains a pediatrician to handle these medical issues efficiently.
3. Pediatricians are generally focused on providing preventive care.
We all know that prevention is better than cure and a pediatrician follows this mantra to the letter. While some pediatricians are trained to perform emergency care, most pediatrics aim to prevent ailment and diseases right from their initial stage.
A pediatrician understands that the impact of diseases on children is far severe than adults. This can hinder their growth and development as well. Hence, they try to diagnose preliminary signs and symptoms to eradicate disease at the initial stage.
It is always advisable to take your children for regular checkups with your pediatrician so that they can trace any development or medical issues. A significant part of a pediatrician’s occupation involves dealing with vaccination and immunization of infants. Pediatricians have played a significant role in eradicating diseases with a severe impact on children, for example, polio, tuberculosis, smallpox, etc.
These are some of the lesser-known facts about your pediatrician. This medical field is relatively new but holds immense importance for the development and care of children.
