Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Oral Fluid/saliva drug tests are rapidly becoming the ideal process for drug testing at both the home and workplace. Generally they can also detect the specimens of previous few days. Oral fluid based drug tests are as accurate as the urine tests. They can be obtained from quality suppliers in the United States. Specifically, the oral fluid test enables to employ the random drug testing programs, which are the efficient form of drug testing. These tests are likely photocopies the results of the blood tests and the level of intoxication can be estimated, according to the substances in the blood.

Oral Fluids can detect:
• ALCOHOL - Q.E.D. Saliva Alcohol Test (rapid)

• NIDA-5 - THC, Cocaine, Opiates, Amphetamines, PCP

• OTHERS - Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, Methadone

Features and Benefits of Oral Fluid TestingThe following are the feature of Oral fluid drug testing which even serves as the benefits to the donors

• Cost Efficiency: The oral fluid is the interceptive test that minimizes or even eliminates the collection fees, reduces the scheduling issues and extensively reduces the lost work time. It costs a lot if the same test is conducted based the urine specimens.

• Control the Process: Oral fluid samples don’t require any special facilities. They can be collected by anytime and at anywhere. There are many alternative for collecting the specimens. It can be collected in a small conference room or in an office. This screening enables the donors to provide the samples and seal it easily, in few minutes. The laboratory reports negative results on the same day and the positive results are confirmed using GC/MS/MS and reports within 2-3 days.

• Adulteration: An oral fluid test can merely abolish the risks evolved in the adulteration. It is virtually impossible to mask the oral fluid samples with drug consumed. The oral fluid testing is often a direct observed system.

• Employee Dignity: The oral fluid test delivers a dignified, secured and evident collection method. The dignity of the collection method is an authentic benefit. It helps in making a good impression. As these are the tests conducted for your loved ones, or for your employees. As a result, this testing is a less embarrassing method to adopt

Advantages of Oral Fluid Testing over Urine Tests:Using well-proven technology, saliva tests offer several advantages over urine based tests

• Oral fluid samples may be collected under direct supervision without donor privacy issues.
• Helps to eliminate sample adulteration.
• Sensitive and specific assays provide accurate test results.
• Non-invasive.
• Ideal for on-site testing. Test may be conducted anywhere and at anytime.
• No additional equipment or operator training required.
• The test kit includes all components like, instruction card to eliminate the errors.

The above information helps the individuals who want to test the drug screening in a simple and easy way.

Peyronie's Disease

Peyronie's Disease: Quiet Male Health ProblemPeyronie's disease (PD) is said to be a rather rare disorder of the penis that has no agreement as to the cause or cure; even the cellular pathology is not completely understood. Three primary criteria of PD are needed to establish a diagnosis of Peyronie’s disease, even though universal concensus does not exist even on these: 1) presence of a palpable nodule of fibrous tissue (called a “scar” or plaque), primarily situated within layers of a tough but delicate membrane of tissue called the tunica albuginea, 2) variable pain reactions during an erection caused by tissue stretching , and 3) curvature or bending of the erect penis not present before PD developed. The majority of men who have PD still retain a variable ability to develop an erection. As a result, some of these men can have difficulty with vaginal penetration due to abnormal curvature, or pain for either partner during insertion.

Since so few people have ever heard of Peyronie’s disease, it is assumed it is a rare health problem. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

Recent review of Peyronie’s disease

According to a report published in 1995 by the National Institutes of Health, Peyronie's disease occurs in about 1% of men. It is said to be most common between the ages of 45 and 60, but it also occurs in young and elderly men. Prevalence may be higher because of reluctance to seek medical attention for the condition and failure to report.As some reports suggest, if Peyronie’s disease occurs in only one adult male of 200 (0.50%) in the US, that figure can be extrapolated to show that 1.4 million men have PD. In spite of this, Peyronie's disease is held out as a “rare disease” by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), because other statistics they have developed suggests PD affects fewer than 200,000 men in the USA.

Peyronie’s disease was reported in several studies during the latter 1980s to be present in apporoximately 0.4% to 2.0% of US men. Now, based on additional investigation in the last several years, this number is increasing; perhaps this change is simply due to a greater openness about sexual subjects. Men have a tendency to both exaggerate and withhold information about matters related to sexuality. Yet they are extremely shy and withdrawn concerning any aspect of PD because there is a high degree of shame and humiliation associated with the loss of penile size that happens with this problem. For this reason information about Peyronie's diasese has proven to be most variable and unreliable. Previous data about frequency of PD used self-reporting surveys and unverified information; hence, the true rate of PD was an approximation or guess, at best.

This question has studied recently using much larger samples of men, over a wider age variance, and using more reliable and accurate survey methods to record the data collected:

Schwarzer, et al, used a PD questionnaire sent to 8,000 men around Cologne, Germany. The response rate of men to this questionnaire quite high - more than 55%. Results indicated the frequency of Peyronie’s disease in this normal male group (mean age, 57.4 years) to be an astounding 3.2%, or much greater than previously reported. Of the men in the 30-39 year age group, 1.5% had small localized nodules of dense tissue suggestive of PD; in the 40-49 year age group this rate increased to 3.0%; in the 50-59 year of age group it increased to 4.0%. In those men older than 70 years the presence of tissue density or hardening increased to 6.5%. All these age groups surpassed expectations. Of 142 men with a confirmed diagnosis of Peyronie’s disease, 58 (40.8%) admitted they also had concurrent erectile dysfunction, a known consequence of this disease. · Matkov and his researchers revealed that 30 (7%) of the 453 Peyronie’s disease patients being studied were younger than 40 years of age. Important characteristics of this more youthful PD group included: (1) recalled a specifica traumatic event during intercourse in which "ramming" or "jamming" occurred that was felt to be the start of the PD problem; (2) mild to extreme pain during an erection, presented as a major complaint; (3) men in a younger age category tend to have penile curvature about 10-20 degrees greater than men in an older age category. · Department of Urology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, conducted a study in which the prevalence of Peyronie's disease was determined in a group of men being screened for prostate cancer. In this study 534 men agve a complete medical history, and had a physical examination performed by a urologist, as well as completed a Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) questionnaire. Peyroie's disease would only be diagnosed only in the presence of a palpable penile nodular plaque. In this study, 48 of these men had such a palpable penile nodule detected on physical examination, creating a prevalence rate of 8.9%. The mean age of men with Peyronie's disease was 68.2 years compared to a mean of 61.8 years in men without Peyronie's disease. The conclusion of this study was that the prevalence of Peyronie's disease was greater than in most previously reported series.

Conclusion

Recent studies and reviews of the current medical literature indicates Peyronie’s disease is more common within the male population than previously recognized, and is greatly more common in the older (65+ years) population than any other age group. The average age of onset for PD is 53 years of age. It is clearly not well known among the general population, both male and female, it is not even well-known in the medical community. The reasons for this disparity are sundry, primarily more to due to social and psychosexual reasons than medical reasons. This is a “rare” disease that is obviously more widespread than previousky measured.

The Drugs

Pre employment drug testing is extremely important for any organization. Verification of employee's background is always considered as essential of assurance in the hiring process. Employee drug testing programs protects the health and safety of all employees. This testing proves to be an efficient method of managing drug abuse. It is a valuable tool to acquire positive employee relations, delivering significant cost savings, and providing corporations with a competitive advantage.

The drug abuse remedies can be done in rehabilitation centers and curing centers. Thus, drug testing should be conducted in many places to examine the levels of drug usage. The drug abuse is raising many problems that are directly causing employee turnover, tardiness, absenteeism, theft, turnover, attitude problems, deceased productivity, crime and violence

How the test is conducted?

Usually, drug testing is conducted by sending the candidate to a collection site, where a urine sample is obtained. This sample will be sent to a certified laboratory for analysis and results are available within 24 hours. There are instant test kits on the market, which are similar to home pregnancy tests. It involves the employer to manipulate a urine sample. Although these tests are considered accurate for immediate screening, they are useless in the event of a positive result, since that requires laboratory confirmation and retention of a sample for retesting by the subject. Moreover, they are much expensive then laboratory tests

The Pre-employment Drug Testing facilitates many employers to detect drug abuse among their employees, while screening them.

Tinnitus

While trying to determine the cause of tinnitus, recall that most all health problems have a multifactoral causation. It is important to evaluate all cofactors, direct and indirect, since these various causative agents and life situations often fit together like pieces of a puzzle to explain causation. Each potential cause of tinnitus - when considered alone - might not be sufficinet to cause this problem by itself. Nevertheless, in combination, a more complex and multi-layered cause of tinnitus becomes apparent. Two or more causes can interact and combine, starting a complex and unique chain of events resulting in a health problem, like tinnitus. Alone, none of them could start a problem like tinnitus.

Common medical causes of tinnitus

Typically, there are just two basic medical explanations to explain the cause of tinnitus. The first, is tinnitus often occurs as the end result of a health problem like high blood pressure or hearing loss, and is seen as an end result of a more serious preexisting health condition or disease. Second, tinnitus can often be a primary symptom related to almost any ear disorder, such as: any problem from an ear infection, to Meniere's disease, or a perforated ear drum to a sinus infection, or an ear canal blocked by ear wax to a tumor of the middle ear, or cervical spine osteoarthtitis to severe weight loss due to excessive dieting, or a whiplash injury to rapid change of barometric pressure on an airplane, or to overuse of aspirin or alcohol. Also, there are less common causes of tinnitus that can arise as a result of other disorders: a tumor of the auditory nerve, anemia, heart and blood vessel disorders (hypertension and arteriosclerosis), or low thyroid hormone levels in the blood stream (hypothyroidism). In certain sensitive individuals, the mercury in common amalgam dental fillings can be a cause of tinnitus. Tinnitus might also be an early indicator the body is being overtaxed with work and stress. Exercise, when taken to excess, can be a cause of tinnitus by creating micro-injury to the inner ear mechanism, from increased pressures or direct truama. resulting in abnormal auditory nerve function. To back up this idea, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, in its February 1991 issue, explained tinnitus can arise from the on-going, sudden and powerful impact forces of aggressive sports and exercise.

The typical deterioration of the cochlear part of the inner ear, and related reduced hearing ability that are a part of the natural aging process (presbycusis) are another common cause of tinnitus. Lastly, for reasons not entirely clear to medical researchers, but explained within the TTI website, general daily stress from the activities of daily living can and does worsen tinnitus. The Tinnitus Treatment Institute has long recommended that anyone suffering from tinnitus should undergo active Alternative Medicine treatment following the therapy guidelines suggested throughout its website. The results are great and therapy will probably improve other aspects of your health while you are at it, as many peopole report.

The Tinnitus Treatment Institute specializes in using safe and effective Alternative Medicine therapies to assist healing and repair related to those who suffer from constant ear noises.

The Loud

To measure the loudness of sound, a unit of measurement called a decibel (dB) is used. A decibel is one tenth of a bel (B), or the unit of measurement devised by engineers of the Bell Telephone Laboratory to quantify the level of sound reduction when a tone is transmitted over one mile (1.6 km) of standard telephone cable. Since the bel proved to be too large for most common sound measurements, the use of the smaller decibel became more popular.The decibel is used in a wide variety of scientific measurements related to acoustics and and electronics. This unit of measurement places a physical value – usually of noise or light intensity – in which a doubling of actual intensity causes perceived intensity to always increase by roughly the same amount. Specifically, a 3 dB increase is about equal to an approximate doubling of sound. This is important to understand because when you look at the dB values given in the following charts and text, you will understand a relatively small numerical increase of 10 dB between the sound of rainfall and a sewing machine accounts for the significantly greater noise level. It also shows that the 110dB sound of a screaming child is only several times less intense than a thunderclap or a rock concert.

How to Cure Constipation and Hemorrhoids

By constipation hard stool assembles in the lower colon or rectum without coming out in due time. This causes the stomach region to engorge, causes diffuse discomfort and sometimes sharp pain. When the hard stool eventually pass out it can overstretch the tissue in the anal region and tear up the mucosa and skin in this area. Hemorrhoids are dilated veins in the anal area. They often get infected and inflamed, making them even more engorged and causing itching and other uncomfortable feelings. Inflamed hemorrhoids often rupture and cause bleeding and sharp burning sensations.

Prolonged or frequent constipation often causes hemorrhoids by increasing the pressure in the anal region. To treat hemorrhoids effectively, the constipation must be treated simultaneously. Here are some measures to cure constipation and hemorrhoids:Your diet must contain fiber in each meal, since fiber stimulate the bowel to work better and empty itself in due time. Food sources containing fiber are full corn cereals, full corn bread, vegetables and fruit.

Your diet must contain the right amount of fat. Too little fat makes the stool hard, too much can irritate the digestion. Vary between these natural fat sources: Fat fish, almonds, olive oil, rape oil, canola oil and flax oil. The fat type in these oils alleviates inflammations in the digestive system. In addition you should consume some, but not too much of these fat sources: Nuts, sunflower seeds, avocados, eggs, spawn, sunflower oil, corn oil and soy oil.Drink enough water, since water makes the stool softer.

Eat regular meals each day. Do not overfill your stomach at each meal. It can be better to eat four or five smaller meals that three larger.Go to the toilet every time you feel the urge to pass stool. Relax at the toilet and let it all get the time to pass out. Try to avoid straining to pass the stool out. To ease the passing of stool you can smear the anal opening with vaseline or with special ointments made for this purpose

Two tablespoons of linen seeds each day for some time can loosen the stomach content and help to alleviate constipation and hemorrhoids. Let the seeds lie in water one hour before swallowing both the seeds and the water with the dissolved mucus from the seeds.By hard constipation, it can be useful to take a small or middle sized enema a couple of times each week. You can buy enema ampoules that are easy to use for this purpose. The content of these ampoules not only loosens the stool, but also stimulates the bowel to empty itself. A very great enema can however increase the intestinal pressure and worsen the hemorrhoids.

Two or three cups of coffee or tea each day stimulate the intestines to work better and counteract constipation. Too much, however, can irritate the stomach, can cause bloating, and thereby worsen constipation and hemorrhoids.Use strong spices in your food like cayenne, chili or ginger. These spices stimulate the tissue in the digestive system to heal. Too much of these spices can however irritate your digestive system.

Regular exercise will stimulate your intestines to work more effectively and this way counteract constipation and hemorrhoids.Take also some time each day to stress down and relax. A nervous system in a stressed mood sends fewer signals to the digestive system to work, and the digestive system slows down its function. Meditation is a very effective way of stressing down that also stimulates the digestive organs to work better.

You can alleviate acute hemorrhoids by applying topical ointments in the anal region. These products will do several simultaneous actions: Lubricating the anus to pass stool more easily, alleviating inflammation, killing bacteria infecting the hemorrhoids, stimulating tissue healing and alleviating pain.You can also use oral drugs to treat hemorrhoids. The actions of these are: Stool softening, stimulation of intestinal movements, stimulation of tissue regeneration, anti-inflammatory action and pain relief.

Some of these oral or topical products are pharmacological drugs. Others are based on natural plant fibers, herbs, natural oils, vitamins and minerals. Some of them combine natural agents with synthetic chemicals.

How to Cure or Alleviate Edema, including Lymphedema

By edema excessive fluid gather in body parts or greater areas of the body, making the areas swollen. Edema is most often a problem in the legs, but can occur anywhere in the body.

There are several types of edema, and many cases are also a mixture of more than one type. By lymphedema the drainage from the tissues through the lymph vessels are impaired or excessive fluid goes through the blood capillary walls into the spaces between the cells in a tissue. Edema can also occur because of poor drainage of blood through the veins towards the heart. Edema can further be caused by general accumulation of excessive fluid in the body.

The causes of edema are many. Edema is a symptom by most inflammations. Insufficient heart action by congestive heart failure can cause edema. A too high intake of salt can cause general water retention in the body. Sitting and standing long in the same position can cause edema in the lower limbs. A still sitting life without exercise can cause or aggravate edema.

Insufficiencies of the liver or kidneys can cause fluid retention and thereby edema. Edema can be a side effect of antihypertensive drugs, steroids surgery and radiation therapy. Further causes of different types of edema are varicose veins, cancer, hypothyroidism, blood clots, constipation and physical injuries.

To treat edema, it is important to treat the underlying disease or injury. However, medical treatment does not always cure the underlying condition or the cause is wholly or partially lifestyle aspects. Therefore various measures targeted directly against the edema are useful. These are presented here:

Pharmacological treatments: The physician will sometimes prescribe diuretics to reduce fluid retention in the body and thereby reduce edema. This treatment should however be used for serious edema or edema persistent when other measures do not work.

Salt intake restriction: Restriction of salt intake is an important measure by edema. People suffering from edema should avoid adding great amount of salt into their food or consume preprocessed food with a salty taste.

Diet: A good general diet that alleviates chronic inflammation is useful. The diet should especially contain enough sources of omega-3-fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids, like: Fat fish, seafood, flax oil, olive oil, almonds, rape oil and canola oil. Also vegetables and fruit in a natural shape are useful

Avoiding constipation: Constipation should be treated, since a stomach engorged by excessive content can cause impairment of fluid circulation

Variation of corporeal position: You should avoid sitting or standing still a long time during the day. When sitting during work or rest, you should change position with regular intervals.

Exercise: Every day you should have some exercise adjusted to your health condition. This could be walking, cycling, swimming, running or any other sport activity where you use greater parts of your body. Doing regular stretching exercises or yoga is useful. By severe edema special therapeutic exercises should be prescribed by a professional.

High position of limb: When you are sleeping or resting the swollen body parts can be placed in an elevated position by means of pillows, pads or by resting in an adjustable bed or chair

Massage: By minor edema yourself, your spouse or a friend can massage the affected body part to alleviate the edema. The massage should be done in the direction of natural flow of blood and lymph that is towards the heart. You should however avoid massaging distinctly injured or distinctly inflamed body parts. By severe edema a professional massager should be engaged to perform the massage type called "manual lymphatic drainage".

Elastic bandaging: You can use elastic gloves, stockings, tapes or bandages around the swollen body parts during the day or during physical activities after instruction from a professional person.

Inflatable garments: There are inflatable garments to be found that can be used around the engorged body parts some times of the day. Also these should be used after professional instruction.

Sequential gradient pump therapy: One can get special electric pumps connected to inflatable garments. The pump inflates and deflates the garments repeatedly. Each garment has several rooms that are inflated sequentially in the direction of the natural fluid stream towards the heart. In this way the fluid is dynamically pumped the right way out of the engorged body part. This type of therapy is used in professional settings or at home after instruction from a professional.

Skin care: The skin on a body part affected by severe edema should attain special care to avoid and treat sores. Proper cleaning, daily use of moisturing creams, proper rinsing of skin injuries, antiseptic creams by injuries.

Complete decongestive therapy: This is a complete set of edema treatment techniques done by a professional person combined with self-care instructed by the professional. The techniques used are: Manual lymphatic drainage, compression bandaging, therapeutic exercise and skin care.

Herbal and natural products: Many herbs and products composed of a blending of these herbs are used against edema. Such herbs are: Dandelion, Gingko biloba, horse chestnut, buchu, goldenrod, corn silk, horsetail, juniper, butchers broom, cleaver and ginger. Some people have experienced a good effect from using apple cider vinegar.

The flavonide rich product pycnognenol extracted from the bark of the French maritime pine has shown promising effects against edema according to scientific studies. The flavonides hydroxyethylrutosides also seem to have good effect against edema. Other natural substances that may help to treat edema are the flavonids diosmin and hesperidin and vitamin C.

Oil pulling: The procedure called "oil pulling" may help for edema. It consists of rinsing the mouth with one tablespoon of natural oil for 15-20 minutes and then spitting the oil out. It is done in the morning before eating. Sesame or sunflower oils are usually recommended for this use.

Good Lasik Surgeon

Much like finding a general physician or Family Doctor; finding a Lasik Surgeon requires research. Making the decision to have Lasik surgery is a big choice. Making sure that you have the right surgeon can effect how your result turn out. A surgeon with more experience can give you a better result and you can be less likely to have complications with the surgery.

Lasik surgery is a delicate procedure and requires a special touch. The results of Lasik surgery are excellent. It can free a person with mild nearsightedness from wearing glasses or contacts. Below are some things to take into consideration when looking for a surgeon for Lasik Surgery:

Make sure the surgeon is sincere and has you best interest in mind- As with all doctors, specialists, and surgeons you need to know that the surgeon cares. You should feel comfortable with the surgeon you select and they are listening to you and will consider your feelings before, after, and during the procedure.

Know what type of Equipment the Surgeon uses- Now I know this one sounds a bit silly; however the type of equipment a surgeon uses can effect the outcome of the procedure. Making sure that the surgeon uses double sterile equipment is also important. When a surgeon does work on both eyes they should have two sets of equipment. This is a question you should ask before going into the procedure. Sometimes a single sterile kit is used. This means the same set is used for both eyes. This can cause infections, and other issues later.

How long they Trained- This is important because we all know that the more training a surgeon has the more qualified they would be. Finding out if their training was hands on may also give you an idea on how much experience they have as well. Learning from a class or book is a must; but it doesn't compare to actually preforming the procedure

Asking questions is the best way to determine whether the surgeon is right for you. Lasik surgery is a great benefit to many and making sure that you have found the right surgeon is very important. Never be afraid to ask questions. After all they are their to help you and your vision!

Eye Surgery

For millions of Americans everyday the burden of poor vision has been difficult. Finding new ways to gain freedom from eye wear was a hope we often clung too. However now people are seeing clearly for the first time without the use of glasses and contacts. Lasik Eye surgery is bringing new life to many across the country.

Lasik eye surgery is the most common refractive procedure in the United States today. Lasik eye Surgery or (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) is done by creating a small circular flap in the cornea. They will then use the excimer laser to remove gently break the modular bonds of the cornea to reshape the cornea. This will help you see clearer and can give you better vision in as little as 1 day.

The cost of Lasik surgery can often discourage many people. But how much is it worth to you to have your vision restored? The Lasik procedure can help people with nearsightedness and farsightedness. It can also help correct astigmatism.

After the Procedure-

As with all surgeries the doctor will keep you a bit in the office. They will request when you return home to get lots of rest. It is important for you to not touch or rub the eye because that can dislodge the flap and can create complications.

You may feel ok within a matter of hours but you should get rest because your vision may still be blurry. It is important for you to take it easy for the first week much of our balance is coordinated with our eyes and doing things too quickly can also create complications.Some people may still require glasses or contacts after surgery for vision however the prescription will not be as strong. Also there maybe some complications later and you may need what is called a “touch up”. Below are some complications common in Lasik:

Dry eye Infection Irritated eyes Scratchy eyes Irregular flap Over/under correction

It is important to find a qualified eye surgeon to assist you in this procedure. Making sure they have experience in this field will ease your mind and reduce the chance of complications. There are many available Online and you can find many by look up Lasik Los Angeles. As with all procedures there will be some risks. However if you are serious about your vision and want to be free from your glasses or contact lenses Lasik eye surgery could be right for you.