It’s that glorious time of year where the days are getting longer and the flowers are blooming. It’s been a long cold winter. There’s a palpable sense of joy as people walk down the street wearing shorts , and there’s not a jacket to be seen. But you can hear the sneezing a mile away. Spring is the season of the sneeze. It’s the price we pay for the lovely weather as trees and budding plants of all types bloom their flowers and spew their pollen for all the world to inhale. Itchy eyes and throats, runny noses and even headaches and coughs run rampant through the ranks of anyone who displays just the slightest allergy to plant borne particulates.

Even though allergies are not commonly life threatening, they can have an acute effect on quality of life. Mild allergies like hay fever are highly prevalent in the human population and cause symptoms such as allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, and runny nose. Allergies can also play a major role in conditions such as asthma. Perhaps the most common allergy is rhinitis, or sneezing and runny nose. But in some people, severe reactions to environmental or dietary allergens or to medication may result in life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and potentially death.

Like the common cold, there is no known cure. Allergy shots can sometimes go a considerable distance to relieve symptoms, but generally speaking, shots - which desensitize the body’s response to a given allergen - have a mixed record of success. Most treatments out on the market today primarily deal with the alleviation of symptoms, and not the essential cause of allergies.

The Cause of Allergies

The casual mechanisms that bring out allergic reactions are very complex and beyond the bounds of this article. But simply put, an allergy is your immune system overreacting. At its most basic level, an allergic reaction occurs when a given allergen comes into contact with the body’s mast cells and basophils. If surrounding T and B white blood cells have been sensitized to this particular allergen, the mast and basophil cells will release histamine and other inflammatory chemical mediators (cytokines, interleukins, leukotrienes, and prostaglandins) into the surrounding tissue, causing several systemic effects, such as vasodilation, mucous secretion, nerve stimulation and smooth muscle contraction. This results in rhinorrhea, itchiness, dyspnea, and anaphylaxis. Depending on the individual, allergen, and mode of introduction, the symptoms can be system-wide (as in life threatening classical anaphylaxis), or localized to particular body systems. For example, asthma is localized to the respiratory system and eczema is localized to the dermis.

Allergies can come in a broad array of categories from food allergies to drug /medication allergies as well as insect stings to even jewelry. Perhaps the most common allergies are reactions to dust, mold, pollen, and animal dander. These are also among the most difficult to control as they permeate so much of our environment. After all, we have to breathe, don’t we? But when these allergens are trapped inside a house or business their effect can be intensified. Even people who are not overtly prone to allergies can have their immune systems compromised by mold, dust mites and particulates that can remain trapped in a house. Carpets pose a particular problem, as they are notoriously difficult to keep clean. Try and vacuum carpets as often as possible. Better yet, consider hiring a professional carpet cleaning service . Professional services are markedly more effective than consumer vacuums, as they tend to use highly pressurized steam cleaning techniques, combined with very high pressure vacuuming to rid the carpet pile of built up particulates and residue.

Whether you suffer from seasonal allergies or down and dirty carpet buildup, taking a few simple, preventative measures can make the world of difference, and boost your quality of life for pennies on the dollar.

Medi-spas can treat everything from cellulite to acne, and use all sorts of treatments like botox, body sculpting, chemical peels, and facials. They are very convenient and relaxing ways to improve your body’s health and appearance in a few short hours.

Cellulite Reduction

Cellulite is that unwanted look of cottage cheese bumps along fatty deposits on the body. It is caused by bulging fat cells but it is not medically dangerous, just ugly!

You can have a cellulite reduction package at a medi-spa that involves treatments that can separate your fat cells from each other, improve the body’s ability to get rid of toxins that contribute to cellulite, and allow your connective tissues to stretch and stabilize.

The most common applications are body wraps and liposuction and creams. It is important to realize however, that it may not be possible to completely eliminate cellulite.

Botox

For those looking to give their faces younger, fresher looking skin, with reduced appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, a medical spa often offers the option of botox injections. Botox is a chemical that comes from the botulinum toxin and essentially paralyzes the muscles that create deep facial wrinkles. It takes less than a half hour and does not involve any incisions or even any recovery period.

A cosmetic professional simply injects botox under your facial skin where you would like to see wrinkle-improvement and no anesthesia is required. The results can last up to 3 or 4 months long, but more treatments are done for longer-lasting results. Botox is especially effective in reducing the look of furrow lines between the brows, and is relatively inexpensive.

Body Sculpting

If you are looking for a more extensive redefinition of your body, a medical spa can often provide you with body contouring procedures. This includes several operations to create a new, more sculpted appearance. One operation commonly included in body sculpting is liposuction. This targets especially stubborn patches of fat and gets rid of them by sucking the fat out with a small liposuction tube called a cannula.

Tummy Tucks or abdominoplasty surgeries are common. This procedure means removing extra, sagging skin around the tummy and tighten the abdominal muscles, leaving you with a tighter, leaner looking torso. Other forms of body sculpting include body lifts in the legs, buttocks, or arms, and breast and body implants.

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels are popular options for those looking for softer, fresher looking skin. It involves allowing a chemical solution to eat away the uppermost layers of the skin, revealing new, fresh, undamaged skin. Chemical peels can reduce the look of blemishes, wrinkles, and can sometimes improve skin pigmentation.

Facials

Medi-spas are a great place to get facials, a skin treatment that exfoliates and cleans your skin. During this process the trained professional cleans your facial skin, looks at it closely under very bright lights, uses a steam vapor on your face while exfoliates the top layers, removes blackheads, massages your face and applies a cosmetic, nourishing mask to treat your skin type. Facials are inexpensive and can give the face a rejuvenated look and feel.

Liposuction is a surgical procedure in which an experienced and qualified plastic surgeon removes fat from the under the skin by inserting a hollow tube called a cannula assisted by a suction device called an aspirator.

There are many techniques that all follow this basic procedure but vary by the kind of anesthesia used, the insertion of liquids, and the incorporation of mechanical devices used to break up the fat. The cells are then suctioned out through the cannula.

Dry liposuction
This method does not use any fluid injection at all and has become almost completely obsolete.

Tumescent liposuction

A high volume of fluid is inserted directly into the tissue that is to be removed. The fluid contains a saline solution, lidocaine, and epinephrine. The fluid inserted breaks up the cells and reduces blood loss and bruising. The large amount of fluid also separates the muscle from the fat which makes it easier for the surgeon to move the cannula around and thus it is easier to remove the tissue.

Because the area is only locally anesthetized by lidocaine, the patient can sit or stand which makes it easier for the doctor to make sure the contour is even and smooth. This method does not require a hospital stay and generally takes 2-3 hours to complete.

Wet and Super wet liposuction

Both wet and super-wet procedures are very similar to tumescent liposuction. During wet liposuction, a small amount of fluid is inserted under the skin in the area where tissue is to be removed. The area is locally anesthetized with lidocaine and the epinephrine and saline solution within the fluid helps to contract the blood vessels which minimizes blood loss and bruising.

The fluid also helps to loosen up fat cells so they can be suctioned up through the cannula. The super-wet method is the same as the wet technique only the amount of fluid is increased to equal the volume of fat removed. This method is preferred when there is a high volume to be removed. IV sedation in addition to local anesthesia is necessary during this procedure.

Microliposuction

This technique is used to remove small pockets of fat, usually on the face. Tiny incisions are made and tiny cannulas are used for refining contours. Because smaller cannulas are used it may take a long time to remove the cells although it is just a small area.

Ultrasound assisted liposuction

A specialized cannula sends ultrasonic waves through the cells making them easier to remove. Ultrasonic waves literally breaks up the tissue by shaking it and applying heat. This method is preferred in areas of the body where the fat is more fibrous such as the back or on the chest in cases of gynecomastia (male breasts).

There is more of a risk of pockets of fluid forming and thus it may be necessary for doctors to leave drains exiting the body for a few days. This procedure generally takes longer than the tumescent technique.

Power assisted liposuction

During this procedure a specialized cannula emits high speed vibrations to loosen up the fat cells, making them easier to remove. This procedure is also physically less tiring for the surgeon as the cannula helps in the mechanical movement. This method is preferred in cases where the fat is fibrous as well as in areas where there is scar tissue from previous procedures.