A good high quality mattress is essential to getting a restful and relaxing night’s sleep. An old or low quality mattress is the primary reason behind sleep complaints, with the average person keeping hold of their mattress for over 10 years when 6-8 years is the advisable length.

An inappropriate mattress leads to three main common complaints – back discomfort, sleep discomfort, particularly when it comes to falling asleep, and poor quality of sleep, essentially restlessness throughout the night.

These common complaints are supported by research, in particular a study which was published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine titled, “Subjective Rating of Perceived Back Pain, Stiffness and Sleep Quality Following Introduction of Medium-Firm Bedding Systems.” 

As Dr. Jacobson, one of the main researchers behind the research says, “Largely from this study we have found that new bedding systems provide immediate and sustained benefits in sleep… More so, each week as the study progressed, participants noted an increased improvement in sleep quality and efficiency and in the other targeted variables, all attributed to the new sleep surface.”

The importance of a new mattress was stressed greatly, as older mattress lose their support and gradually become less comfortable through the years.

With this in mind it’s recommended to renew your mattress every 6-8 years, or even earlier if you notice any deterioration in its condition. Mattress technology is continually developing so keeping hold of a mattress any longer than that can mean that you’re missing out on the best night’s sleep that you can get.

Memory foam technology is an example of one of these technological advances. It’s particularly advantageous for those who sleep with partners of different weights, as normal mattresses slant causing discomfort for one of the partners. Memory foam, on the other hand, moulds itself perfectly around each individual, thereby providing excellent support for each individual.

First, let me explain what a full-body scan is. This fifteen-minute noninvasive procedure uses high-speed computed tomography (C1) to provide detailed three-dimensional images of all the major organs, including the heart, lungs, spine, and liver. It is generally available only to those willing to pay the cost: $650 to $1,500 out of their own pockets. Insurers don’t routinely cover this type of screening unless it’s ordered to investigate specific symptoms.

Even if you have enough money to undergo one of these scans, should you?

Probably not. In all likelihood, the scan will find an abnormality, which may actually be a “normality” for you or something quite benign-but over which you are likely to experience significant trepidation and anxiety. You will rush your report to your doctor, who will then be charged with interpreting whether the abnormality is serious or inconsequential. You’ll be subjected to further tests and further anxiety.

Even if the scan finds you in the clear, this may give you a false sense of security and possibly prevent you from seeking appropriate care from your doctor or beginning beneficial lifestyle changes. Someone who smokes, for example, and gets a clear lung scan may decide that it’s okay to keep on smoking. Also, full-body scans are not a substitute for an annual checkup or appropriate screening tests.

Nor does a full-body scan find everything. For instance, it cannot pick up many debilitating and deadly conditions-like elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar, hormonal disturbances, leukemia, or abnormal cholesterol levels. Please note, too, that full-body scans are performed without intravenous dye or “contrast” injections, thereby providing limited information  about the abdomen and pelvis, so small lesions in the liver, pancreas; and kidneys can he missed. Some professional organ cations, including the American College of Radiology, oppose full-body scanning as a screening tool for people with no disease symptoms or family history of a diagnosable problem. Further, the US Food and Drug Administration has raised concerns about radiation levels.

There’s no doubt that CT scans offer great potential as screening tools. But they do expose you to radiation that far exceeds that of a - routine chest X-ray. They provide useful snapshots of the coronary arteries, and for heavy smokers, lung scans are excellent at pinpointing tumors. Someday they may even replace more invasive tests But in my opinion we’re just not there yet. Other medical tests are much more conclusive.

Handsome, talented actor Heath Ledger passed away recently due to drug overdose at the young age of 28. Known for his Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain, this young actor died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication.

This shows us that drug overdose should not be taken lightly; at times, with or without realizing, we can easily overdose on drugs and the consequences are indeed fatal.

There are numerous ways to prevent yourself from suffering such fatal corollaries. These simple guidelines should be able to help you.

• Always read the labels. Make sure you take your right medication and not something else. Many pills look similar so don’t depend on the looks of the medication, read the label.

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• Follow instructions. If the medication requires you to consume after eating and in small amounts, don’t overdo it just because you think it may be more effective.

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• Expiry dates. Always check your medication for expiry dates and dispose of them. Besides that, dispose of the ones that are unidentified as well.

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• Do not share. If there is no medical supervision, do not take other people’s medication. This is because each person’s body is different and may react differently.

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• Use a journal. As older people tend to suffer from memory lapses, they might overdose on their medications. Hence, it would be wise to jot down the name and dosage each time medication is taken.

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• Buy separators. Many pharmacies and healthcare stores have containers that separate medication for each day. These would help you take the appropriate amount and not overdose.

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• Keep all medications locked away.

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• Avoid using medications in the same day as alcohol.

These are merely simple steps you need to be cautious about so as to prevent you from overdosing on drugs. So be careful and take medications seriously as it is not something to just wave off. A onetime fall could have major effects.

Compression stockings reduce swelling, blood pooling, and blood clots in the legs. Physicians often recommend these stockings for people with deep vein thrombosis, post-thrombotic syndrome, or lymphedema or for pregnant women or post-surgical patients.

Incorrect use of this support hosiery is very common. One research study found that nearly one third of those prescribed stockings were unable to use them because they didn’t know how.

Your physician can serve as an incredible resource when it comes to compression garments. He or she can help you get fitted for them, put them on properly, and use stocking aids/stocking donners.

But your doctor can’t help you use these stockings properly unless he or she knows what you’re struggling with. Here are some questions to ask your doctor about:

*Why do you recommend compression hosiery for me? \r
*How will they help my health condition?\r
*Will you or a nurse fit me for them?\r
*What brand of stockings do you recommend I buy? (Some popular brands are Juzo, Jobst, Mediven, and Sigvaris.)\r
*Where can I get these stockings locally?\r
*Can I purchase them from an online retailer?\r
*How many hours a day should I wear them?\r
*How long (weeks, months, years) will I need to wear them?\r
*Do you have any tips to make them easier to put on?\r
*Am I putting them on correctly?\r
*My stockings feel very tight - is that normal?\r
*How often do I need to wash these stockings?\r
*I have trouble bending over to get my stockings on. Do you recommend any stocking aids? How do I use them?

The discovery of antibiotics in the early 1940s was hailed as one of the most important events in the fight against human infectious diseases. The discovery started with the introduction of penicillin and subsequently resulted in numerous discoveries of effective anti-bacterial drugs. Optimism ran high as more and more people believed that antibiotics would be a cure all for all infectious diseases.

This over-zealous optimism was somewhat premature as infectious diseases made a powerful comeback in the late 1970s. The most alarming aspect of this comeback has been the evolution of new strains of disease-causing bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. These new bacterial strains have developed a resistance against almost every antibiotic on the market today.

Antibiotics are often prescribed for illnesses such as the common cold and for various viral infections, even though viruses do not respond to antibiotics! Every dose of antibiotics makes it easier for resistance to spread.

Another reason that bacterial strains have developed a resistance to antibiotics is due to the flood of antibiotics that have entered the food chain. Farm animals ingest 30 times more antibiotics than humans and these remain in the animal’s flesh which we then eat.

Scientists believe that these super-resistant bacterial strains actually develop a mutant gene that is resistant to the antibiotics. The mutant bacteria then pass their resistant genes onto their offspring, and just one bacterium can produce more than 16 million offspring in 24 hours! This means that the more an antibiotic is used, the higher the chance that it will kill off the weaker microbes and leave the mutated resistant germs to reproduce.

As resistant bacterial strains continue to win the battle against antibiotics, the use of colloidal silver has started to make a comeback as a natural alternative to antibiotics.

Any single antibiotic has the power to kill perhaps half a dozen different disease organisms. By comparison, colloidal silver has been reported to kill many different microbes, including bacteria, many viruses, fungi and parasites. In addition to this, colloidal silver leaves tissue cells intact, so it is non-toxic and safe to use. By contrast, pharmaceutical antibiotics have been known to destroy beneficial enzymes.

The presence of colloidal silver near a virus, fungus, bacterium or any other single-celled pathogen can disable its oxygen metabolism enzyme. Within a few minutes, the pathogen suffocates and dies, and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems.

Perfect Shape’s Colloidal Silver is manufactured using the latest electro-current controlled technology and a 9-stage water purification process. This ensures maximum benefit from the smallest amount of silver and ensures high stability without the need for dark storage or glass bottles.

Many people have reported that they have found Perfect Shape’s Colloidal Silver to be effective against a whole range of everyday skin complaints and bacterial infections.

Colloidal silver is effective in fighting infections, but it is not a panacea. Readers should consult their health care professional before using colloidal silver.