Remember that many of these physical symptoms will go away within the first couple of weeks. After the first week, much of the nicotine will have left your system and with it your body’s reaction to the immediate loss of a chemical that it had become used to.

After that, you will still have cravings and other reactions, but these cravings will be based on the psychological associations you have developed, such as not being able to enjoy your morning coffee without a cigarette. But these associations will lessen over time.

The best thing you can do at this stage is to know what to look for and to plan how you’ll cope when cravings happen and symptoms occur. The better you can anticipate times when you are going to be tempted to smoke and the more you have specific plans for managing them, the more easily you will negotiate the next few weeks. Even if a temptation sneaks up on you and. catches you unaware, it’s still good to have thought through the specific things you can do to get past it without smoking.

You’ve already learned how to cope with nicotine cravings using healthy snacks and delaying the urge to smoke. The following are suggestions for how to handle some of the other sensations you may experience as the nicotine leaves your body. These were developed from our own work with patients and decades or American Lung Association programs that have helped thousands of people quit and stay smoke-free.

- Fatigue, Feeling Extra Tired

For many people, nicotine acts as-a stimulant. Now that you have quit, your body is going back to normal. If you feel tired or sluggish, try to reserve some extra time for sleeping. Let yourself take naps and don’t push yourself too hard. Remember, you can’t smoke when you are asleep. On the other hand, another way to overcome feelings of fatigue is to exercise.

- Dizziness, Headaches

If you feel dizzy, make sure to move around a little more; slowly and carefully and be extra cautious. Unless you and your doctor have decided you shouldn’t use them, you can try over-the-counter, non prescription pain medicines like aspirin or ibuprofen to get rid of a headache.

You might try cold compresses or taking a warm bath or hot shower when you feel a headache coming on. You can also drink more water and reduce your intake of caffeine. Try cutting down or replacing your morning coffee with herbal tea, or start making your coffee half decaffeinated.

It is as if the two parts of their brain are not connected. One part order the body to do a certain thing, lock the door for example. The other part of the brain does not registers this action. The person is not sure if he did it, or if he did it right and he repeats the action again. But before the repetition accrues, the stress level is building up and leading to anxiety.

Have I locked the door when I left the house? Have I turned off the stove or is the pot left boiling and will burns the house down? Thoughts like that in a constant loop can cause a lot of stress and interfere with normal life. People with OCD are aware of the fact that are repeating the same action but they are powerless to stop themselves.
The fears a person with OCD can range from fear of germs, fear of harming others, fear of being embarrassed in public, fear of thinking bad thoughts, among many others. They need order in their life and any deviation causes anxiety. Compulsion that an OCD person can engage in are excessive washing of hands, refusing to touch door knobs or shake hands, eating food in a certain way and in certain order and being “stuck” on a word, number or phrase without being able to move on.
Doctors believe that the cause of OCD is both physical and environmental. The serotonin levels in the brain are usually low. Low level of serotonin uptake in the brain is thought to be passes from parents to children. Recently researchers found that there might be a link between repeated ear infections in childhood (especially Streptococcus) may lead to OCD later in life.
The treatments for OCD are similar to the treatments for anxiety. Anti depressants that elevate the level of serotonin uptake, psychological therapy and acquired skills that teach the sufferer how to avoid repetition are also helpful. The combination of all three is the best way to help a person suffering from OCD lead a normal and productive life.

Types of Alternate Therapies and their Significance

Naturopathy: This alternative medicines stream believes in natural healing properties of herbs and herbal products and the natural ability of our body to protect against any disease.

Chiropractic Healing: This deals with diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders that affect the nervous system resulting in consequences that affect general health.

Herbal or traditional Chinese medicine: This is an ancient Chinese healing method practiced for centuries and mostly relies on herbs for treatment.

Unani: Unani and Ayurveda have lot of common factors. This relies on regulating the five energy elements namely Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Metal.

Ayurveda: Traditional Indian medicines which believes in regulating the five basic elements of life and regulation of life according to the Natural Changes for healthy living.

Meditation: Meditation is about an art which aims at regulating the attention or systematically focusing on particular inner and outer aspects.

Yoga: This is an art which aims at regulating, preventing and curing of any problem in a systematic way by proper breathing technique, exercise, food and relaxation.

Acupuncture: An ancient chines medicine which believes in regulating “chi” energy by puncturing points along the energy channels in our body. Acupressure is derived from Acupuncture and is safer than the former.

There are several other treatment options too many of which have proven to be effective and reliable methods. Though they are claimed to lack scientific evidence their efficiency cannot be undermined. Ayurveda and Acupressure and few other methods are recognized by WHO for their results.

Most of the above mentioned treatments cure few diseases which are termed incurable to effectively manages and alleviates the pain that comes along. These methods have been into existence and use for several centuries and it’s still practiced because of the results though they might lack the evidence that is required by the western scientists.

So don’t go to the doctor and ask for antibiotics, for they won’t help. If you’re in a country that let you buy antibiotics over the counter, save them for something it might be helpful for.

There are antiviral drugs, but their side effects tend to be higher than those in antibiotics and are usual reserved for very bad infections; if someone is sick enough to be in the hospital, antivirals like Tamiflu will be prescribed, but otherwise healthy adults won’t generally be prescribed antivirals. However, children under the age of two, the elderly and folks with immune disorders are on the CDC’s list of folks that are candidates for antivirals, since they are at higher risk of dying from bad bouts of the flu.

For the rest of us, the old joke about viral infections rings true; if you go to the doctor, you get better in 6-8 days, if you don’t, you get better in about a week. All the doctor can do absent antivirals is to treat symptoms. If you have bad chest congestion that is causing breathing problems, steroid shots or nebulizing inhalers can help. A visit to a doctor isn’t in vain, especially if you have serious enough problems that might require hospitalization, but don’t expect miracle drugs from Dr. Feelgood.

The old-school advice still holds; drink plenty of clear liquids, rest and STAY HOME; you don’t want other people to be feeling as miserable as you do. If you are having a lot of congestion, the mucus will be sucking up liquids, so you have to drink a lot of water to keep from becoming Pierre, the Dehydrated Frenchman. The mucus is helping clear those unwelcome visitors out, so keep the water coming.

Decongestants can help clear out your sinuses and lungs, but avoid antihistamines; they dry up your sinuses, but they also will tend to keep the virus in place. You want your immune system to get those viruses out of there, and mucus is how your system gives them the heave-ho.

Aromatherapy – The use of essential oils to elevate mood or to calm down and release stress. For years that has been the home made therapy for anxiety. Those who specialize in aromatherapy believe that the fragrance in the essential oils stimulate the nerve in the nose.

Our sense of smell is connected directly to the memory and emotion parts in the brain. That results in a change of mood. As of yet, there is very little scientific proof that this method really works.

Medication – There are the short term drugs that help overcome an occasional anxiety such as Xanax and Valium, but they are helpful for a measured time only and form dependency. The dosage has to be adjusted with repeated use.

There are other medication that try to address the problem, not the symptom, and change the chemistry of the brain, which doctors think causes the anxiety. They are the anti-depressants and there are many of them on the market. SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil. There are the SNRI (selective serotonin and norepinepherine inhibitors) such as Effexor, Cymbalta and others, and there are the tricyclic antidepressants.

A medical professional is the one to decide which of them will help in a specific case. Sometimes a trial of more than one is needed to get the required affect. They have to be taken under the supervision of a doctor, build up to the recommended dosage and not to be stopped and once but gradually wean the body off them.

Therapy – Cognitive behavior therapy may assist in controlling anxiety and panic attacks. Understanding where it comes from, the behavior that causes it, may help prevent future attacks. Usually takes a long time and is combined with medication to allow the sufferer to exit the panic stage and confront his problems.

There are individual therapies, group therapies or hypnosis therapy to help the person relax and the doctor get to the root of the problem without the patient stopping it when it gets too painful emotionally.

Shock therapy – Used in only to most acute cases when the other, more traditional therapies did not help. The purpose of this electro-shock is to “wake up” the brain and make it function as it was meant to function.

Vaccines are a common method of heading off deadly diseases. The trick in developing a vaccine is finding a weaker form of the disease that can trigger an immune response, so that when the real disease shows up, the immune system is locked and loaded for it. The word vaccine flows from the Latin vacca for cow.

The original vaccine was for smallpox; when a British scientist found that milk maid weren’t getting smallpox, he found that cowpox, a much milder illness, gave them immunity to smallpox. They then proceeded to deliver the cowpox virus to folks, fending off the now-extinct (other than lab samples) smallpox virus.

One modern method finds an attenuated (weakened) version of a virus, one that will trigger an immune response to the virus but won’t wreck havoc on the body of the person getting vaccinated. That takes time, for the virus first has to be identified and then a crippled version of the virus will need to be created.

A second route is to kill the viruses and then inject them. Such killed viruses are safer for a lot of high-risk groups, like children under 2, the elderly and folks with immune-deficiencies.

The nasal-spray version of the vaccine is a live virus version, so at-risk folks or people who live with them should avoid it and get the killed-virus shot version.

Vaccines can cause reactions in people, so people are often leery of them. However, most vaccines are well-tested before given to a broad population and the side-effects will be far less than the effects of the virus, else it won’t be given. That hasn’t kept health care workers in New York from protesting having to get the vaccine.

However, it won’t help if you already have the flu ; one student of mine noted that she had scheduled a flu shot for a week from now and then proceeded to catch the flu.

There are times when patients arrive to the emergency room with chest pain and the doctor has to decide whether it is caused by anxiety or an heart attack.

Chest pains, cold sweat, shortness of breath will present themselves in cases of cardiovascular problems. If the pain feels different than what you experienced before or it is much stronger and lasts longer, do not avoid getting immediate help by thinking it is only an anxiety attack.

It is very important to stress that sometimes doctors make mistakes in the diagnosis, especially under emergency situations. Frank and truthful conversation with the doctor will help him avoid mistakes. It is better to have an additional exam just to rule out other physical problems.

Another extreme case that require immediate medical attention is when a person has thoughts of harming himself or others. This is a very important point since anxiety and depression sometimes go hand in hand. Many murder/suicide cases could have been averted had the person talked about it, or someone close to him has notice a change or a formation of a plan.

If the person has the means to commit suicide or harm others such as a gun, knife or pills, it is time for an outside intervention. Having a detailed plan how to do it, including time and place is another indication that the person might take action.

When there’s a deep depression and feelings that only death will make this feeling go away, when there’s talk of death, preoccupation with “the other side”, it’s time for professional help.

The help can come in different forms as in hospitalization, medication, psychological therapy or even shock therapy. All those methods aim at changing the brain chemistry to allow the affected person lead a normal life.

It’s always good to know some home treatments to combat allergies ; The first one is keep the house clean and free of dust.

If there are dust mites allergies, cover the mattress and pillows and use only synthetic pillows.

Screens on doors and windows will prevent insects flying in and stinging.

On windy days, if you are allergic to pollen, keeps the windows closed to prevent pollen from getting in and aggravating your eyes and nose. Especially between 10AM and 3Pm, that is when the pollen is at it’s highest.

Before turning on the heat the first time in winter, make sure you clean the heating ducts. They tend to collect dust during the summer months and activating the heating system without cleaning will cause the dust to fly all over the house.

Use a air purifier in the house, especially if you have small allergic children. It removes pollen, mold and other allergens from the air.

Use a humidifier to keep the air in the house moist. Dry air aggravates seasonal allergies.

Finding out what food causes an allergic reaction might take some work. Write down everything you or your child eats and note the difference in the reactions. With time you are bound to find which food it is.

If you have itching and hives on your skin – make sure you know what caused it, what plant exactly and get rid of it, or don’t go near it in the future.

If an allergic reaction did happen and the throat is sore – gargle with warm salt water.

Take an antihistamine when you feel the onset of Hay Fever.

Allergies are worse in wet weather. Prevent the formation of mold in bathrooms and basements, and get rid of it as soon as you find a wet spot. Bleach will help kill the mold.

If the allergic reaction is severe, if a difficulty in breathing develops or the face and throat and tongue start to swell or a skin infection develops go to the emergency room. The time it takes for a severe allergic reaction to develop is very short.

It is possible and not too difficult to live with allergy. All it takes is a little planning.

If the cause is a specific fear you can make a plan to try to avoid this fear. If it is economically driven, for example, make a plan or a budget to live by. Try to start saving, which will alleviate your fear somewhat.

If the anxiety is caused by some event in the past and it is playing like a loop in your head over and over again, you can will it to stop with techniques a health professional can teach you.
Accept the past for what it is – the past. You can not change it. Learn to live in the present, and as they say in Alcoholic Anonymous – “change the things you can and accept the things you can not change”.
Since there is such a strong body and mind connection you could do some physical things to help you cope with anxiety. The first and foremost thing is exercise. Exercise releases serotonin in our brain, and serotonin is responsible for our feeling of well being. If you manage to increase the level of serotonin with vigorous exercise, you will feel better.

Learn some relaxation techniques such as meditation, listening to music or engaging your mind by solving crossword puzzles or reading a book. Going to the movies is also a good distraction. Remember what you feel now you might not feel in an hour.
You must have enough rest to help you brain regain it’s balance. Lack of sleep has many diverse affects on the body and increasing the stress level is one of them.

Change the things you can change. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and nicotine. All those tend to increase your heart rate.
Join social groups or volunteer for some charity. Being in the company of others sometime relieves the tension. Being alone tends to make things seem harder than they really are.

It is advised to keep a diary of how you feel everyday and what you did to change it. Looking back on your diary might show you some common reasons for your anxiety and might reveal some technics that work for you. You have to make sure your symptoms are not getting worse while you treat yourself.
When all those things don’t seem to help, ask for advice from a medical professional.

Fever- You normally don’t get a fever with a cold, while a 100-degree-plus temperature is common with a flu bug. So, if you get out your trusty thermometer and it doesn’t crack triple-digits, you probably have a cold.

Aches and Pains- The flu is marked by headaches and other bad aches around the body; colds tend not to have as many aches.

Chills-Chills are more of a symptom of the flu.

Phlegm Fatale- A cold will produce a lot of mucus, producing chest congestion and stuffed-up sinuses; cold will produce coughs that will bring up plenty of mucus, while flu coughs are usually drier.

Speed- The flu tends to hit very quickly, within 3-6 hours, while cold symptoms are slower to manifest themselves. You may “think you have a cold” but you’ll know it when you get the flu.

Also, don’t confuse H1N1 with rotaviruses that are commonly called stomach flu or intestinal flu; rotaviruses cause vomiting and diarrhea rather than a dry cough and plenty of aches; if you’re “praying to the porcelain gods Rolf and Earl”, you probably have a rotavirus rather than the flu.

If you do have the flu, there isn’t much the doctor can do. Antibiotics don’t work on either colds or flues, since they are viruses rather than bacteria. You need antivirals to go after the flu, but those have higher side-effects than antibiotics and are generally reserved for very bad cases or people with poor immune systems.

There are a number of things that you can do, many of which are old-school disease treating tools. Drink plenty of liquids, which will give your system the tools needed to flush things out. Get plenty of rest, since your immune system is working overtime and needs to have all hands on deck to get rid of this nasty invader.

Lastly, stay home. Going to work or school runs the risk of giving your coworkers and classmates the same joy you’re going through, so tell your inner tough guy to get lost and stay put.

While environmental allergies enter our body through the nose and mouth, and can be avoided or removed, the reaction to the food allergy happens inside the body and that is what makes it much more dangerous.  As the person eats the food he is allergic to, he might feel an itch in his mouth, then when the food is in the stomach he might start vomiting, when the allergens reach and travel trough the blood stream it might cause a drop in blood pressure.

The histamines that are released into the blood can attack the ears, and they will itch, the skin and the body will develop hives or if the attack happens in the stomach it may manifest itself as pain or diarrhea.

The foods that are most common to cause allergies are shell fish (shrimp, crab, lobster), eggs, nuts and peanuts.

In small children the allergy can be caused by milk, eggs and peanuts and they can outgrow them. Adults who develop an allergy to certain food will keep it for the rest of their lives.

Not all intolerance for food is considered allergy. Lactose intolerance affects about one in ten people. It is caused by a different substance. The body doesn’t have enough enzymes to break down the milk. Instead the bacteria in the stomach feasts on it, creating gas and bloating.

The most dangerous for children is the peanut allergy, especially in the United States. It’s interesting to note that different countries have problems with different food allergies. In the United States the peanuts in it’s various forms as peanut butter is highly popular. In japan the most common food allergy is to rice. In Scandinavia it is to cod fish.

The danger in peanut allergy for kids is a severe drop in blood pressure, swelling of the throat up to almost a complete closure that might be fatal. The main treatment is to avoid those foods all together because the allergy might be triggered by a very small amount of the allergy causing substance.

People with severe food allergies have to be able to treat themselves when they accidentally ingest a minimal amount they were not aware of. They should carry with them, always, a syringe with adrenaline and be prepared to self inject when they think they are getting a reaction for something they ate. The symptoms can come about in a matter of minutes.

Acupressure is a very good and natural way to do it. Acupuncture as you all know is an ancient Chinese therapy. The word acu means fine needle and to “puncture”. Acupressure is an advanced methodology of acupuncture which is sans needle. Here pressure is applied to the points. This makes it much safer than using a needle and avoid major complications that acupuncture had.

Prevention and detection of diseases with acupressure is not all you can treat most common to major diseases effectively. It is advisable that you consult an acupressure doctor for treatment though with little efforts you can practice yourself too which is the greatest advantage.

Acupressure is mainly based on the concept of “chi energy” and regulation of the same. The acupressure points are all over the body and very easy to locate. The energy channels run through the body which helps in regulation of chi energy. Acupressure points are classified based on the location and importance.

Our hands and soles have all the vital organ points and massaging them with acupressure tools everyday for 10 – 15 minutes will give the overall body a good vibe, regulate energy across all the main channels and improve general health. There are few specific points which relate to organs which when applied right pressure signal the presence of any discomfort in those organs. Thus preventions and detection of diseases with acupressure is possible. For e.g: Tip of the thumb point to brain.

A regular pressure of three minutes will develop the memory capacity in children and efficient functioning and thinking ability in adults. There is point in the central point at your wrist when you are with your palm facing you. Regular pressure on the point strengthens your immune system and and is the point used to detect major diseases like cancer!! This is a simple example to illustrate that preventions and detection of diseases with acupressure is not a myth.

A scientific and efficient approach the natural way is acupressure. Not only this, there are lot of instances where acupressure was used to give anesthesia to patients during surgery. There are few diseases that might not be treatable with acupressure but it’s an efficient tool in easing the pain and suffering of the symptoms. You could ask you doctor to suggest points that you could administer during pain and discomfort too.

Common cold to sinus problems to arthritis to sciatica acupressure is handy and effective. Not only prevention and detections of diseases with acupressure you can use this science to also maintain a healthy and disease free life by regulating the “chi energy” in your body.

This says it all for any skeptics who are against this treatment method as everyone knows WHO does not recognize any treatment without considerable evidences. Now let us have a look at the use of acupressure for common day-day ailments.

Dandruff : This is a very common yet embarrassing and recurring problem for both men and women. Treating dandruff is possible and effective with Acupressure. Dandruff occurs due to congestion or blockage of the vital energy due to several reasons like lack of sleep. Thus mild pressure or a gently massage on the affected area the scalp would give a relief from dandruff. Not only that it also relaxes the mind and body and gives a peaceful sleep which is a vital contributing factor in alleviating dandruff.

Back Ache : To get relief from constant back ache the point to be stimulated for smooth energy flow is the B54. This point lies exactly in the middle of the crease behind the knees. Giving pressure on these points (both the legs) gives immediate relief from pain. It’s advisable to lie down relaxed for a few minutes after this.

Frozen Shoulder Pain and Back Pain : Shiastu is a massaging technique which is a part or a method of acupressure. Shiastu massage effectively treats back ache and frozen shoulder pain.

Sinus : Sinus can be treated very effectively with acupressure. The point located at tip of the eyebrow & the finger tips is used to treat sinus and pain related to it.

Tips to follow when using Acupressure : Drink lots of water once you get up. Drink fresh fruit juice everyday if possible. Avoid Non-Veg and Fried foods as much as possible. Acupressure should be done thirty minutes prior to food or two hours after food.

Not only that fever, cold, nausea, BP and lots more are effectively treated through acupressure. Acupressure not only cures or relieves pain it also prevents and detects any problem in our body at early stages. Regular acupressure everyday for ten to fifteen minutes a day at your convenient timings can work wonders in your health. Acupressure advocates consumption if two and half litres a day minimum as water has an important role in purification. Use this healing art lead a healthy and happy life!!

How does it work?

Nature is a tremendous source of energy called “Chi” which is also the governing energy of our body. Each organ has it’s own meridians running through our body which regulates this energy for efficient functioning of the body. This energy controls our blood circulation, balance and basic functions of our body. Acupressure is about treating any problem by giving pressure on the concerned points located in their respective meridians. Healing is achieved when the blocked or congested energy channels are cleared.

Acupressure and it’s advantages: Unlike acupuncture, acupressure does not impose lot of threats. Acupressure is acupuncture minus it’s bad effects. With acupuncture there were complication which were fatal when the punctured point became septic or unclean needle usage and lots more. With acupuncture not only the treatment in itself is less aggressive but friendly too.

Also acupressure is not only used for healing or relieving pain it can also be used to maintain a balance in our body and to maintain good health. Regular acupressure activates all the meridians and key points thus enable smooth functioning and balance of our body thus resulting in good health. It’s not a healing method it’s a complete health regulating art.

Treatment Method: Acupressure mostly uses finger as the instrument to give pressure but there are other instruments that are available in the market. Acupressure can be given in a sitting or lying position when the patient is relaxed. The treatment is preferably given before meals or two hours after a meal.

Generally it’s OK to get started with normal activities immediately after the treatment but there are exception when the patient is asked to rest for 30 minutes to an hour when vital points are given pressure. A qualified acupressure doctor should be consulted for treatment and with his guidance pressure can be given at home.

In short, this art of healing is complete in it’s context for maintaining health. It can be used to alleviate minor problems like cold, head ache to any major diseases. It’s an effective pain reliever and can also aid to prevent and detect major diseases like cancer.

Like I said earlier the universal controlling energy is “chi” and by regulating this energy or channelizing this energy we can achieve perfect health.

Reflexology for healthy lifestyle: Reflexology practitioners suggest giving pressure to all the points in the hand using one of the instruments available in the market everyday for five to fifteen minutes to maintain a healthy body. With reflexology every organ can be vitalized and overall functioning is improved.

Detection of diseases with Reflexology: A reflexology practitioner is able to detect the exact problem including major diseases like cancer or heart attack. Also there are specific points which pertain to overall immunity enhancement and pain relief which can be used as complimentary treatment with other treatments.

Scientific approach?: Reflexology does not have any scientific proof or base. Till date there is no solid scientific proof or evidence of the efficiency. Scientists have strictly condemned it’s use as a main treatment stream for serious complications. Though they claim it’s not efficient there are evidences of reflexology being used for centuries.

A reflexologist detects the problem using the stress clues that are seen as visual signs of knobby toes etc. The reflexogist then fixes a time and targets the area of stress and applies a proper pressure technique to relax and ease out the stress thus giving relief to the patient. The patient is generally relaxed as the treatment is generally not too painful and most of the times bearable and relaxation or relief is achieved during the treatment itself.

There are lot of people who speak for and against this treatment methodology and unlike acupressure which has been accepted as a treatment method this is outright rejected by many. There are lot of self-help books available in the market which can go a long way in learning and practicing this art.

H1N1 tends to affect younger people more than older people, since many folks over 55 have been exposed to a cousin of the current H1N1 virus back in 1957. Also, this flu isn’t as lethal as many viruses of the recent past, like the bird flu that hit Asia or SARS that hit Canada and China earlier in the decade. That being said, people have died from this bug, including 4 people in Kentucky.

You don’t get swine flu from eating pork products. Pigs and humans have similar cardiovascular systems and thus are prone to the same diseases, but proper cooking will kill off the virus; lunch meats are already cooked, so any bugs they have aren’t generally from the animals providing the meat.

That’s one of the reasons the media has made an effort not to use “swine flu” to describe the virus; while it is suspected that the virus was first transmitted via pigs, it was more likely from live pigs to a farmer, not from eating a ham sandwich or a BLT.

Most of the prevention methods are good for avoiding any bug; wash your hands before eating, keep those hands away from your mouth and nose if they haven’t been washed and keep away from folks if you’re sick. Hand sanitizers like Purell have done a land-office business this year; when H1N1 hit the University of Florida’s football team had, a Kentucky sportswriter christened their head coach Urban “Purell” Meyer.

Face masks can catch coughs and help keep you from infecting others, but they are less effective in keeping yourself from getting infected. A better prevention method that is underused is staying home when you’re sick. We often have the ethic of “playing hurt” and trying to tough-out your illness, but you don’t want other folks to go through H1N1, so stow your inner John Wayne and stay home if you’re sick.

Schools will often close down if the flu hits ; even during a normal flu season, if a school hits a critical mass of absenteeism (10% is often enough), they will close the school for a week. That will be long enough to let everyone who has the flu get over it so it doesn’t spread any further.

For schools, sports can be an issue; sick players are going to be in close proximity to healthy teammates and foes alike. When the flu hit the University of Florida’s football team, ill players, including star quarterback Tim Tebow, flew to their game at Kentucky in separate planes from their healthy teammates.

Getting individuals to stay home when they are sick is an important way to stop the flu from running through a workplace or school. People often are given kudos for toughing it out and coming to work walking-wounded, but not only will they be working at a reduced capacity, they run the risk of getting everyone else infected, possibly forcing the entire business to shut down.

For instance, the flu has hit the crew of the TV show Bones hard enough that producer Hart Hanson tweeted about having to stop production due to the large number of staff out with the flu. Had some of those sick workers stayed home rather than shared their blessings with their co-workers, the show might have gone on.

To this point, we have not seen the radical steps that Mexico did of closing all restaurants and bars during the height of their H1N1 scare. With some 20-20 hindsight, we know that such measures were likely overkill. H1N1 is not as lethal as some viruses of the recent past like the bird flu or SARS ; it seems to be more contagious than other flu but not any more lethal. However, the Mexicans didn’t know that when things first took off and they erred on the side of caution.

Thus, officials have to work on being cautious without being labeled The Boy Who Cried Swine Flu ; finding a workable middle ground is a work in process.

Moderate anxiety helps you focus on the problems at hand, gather all your energy and motivation, but when the worry is so big that it is accompanied by feeling of helplessness, sleeplessness and confusion, that are not in proportion to the problems you deal with, then you are suffering from anxiety.

Anxiety can effect you physically as well as emotionally. The symptoms that usually accompany anxiety are divers. From trembling and shaking, through rapid heart rate and breathlessness. From feeling light headed and dizzy to cold sweat. The hands may be clammy, the muscles tense, ache or sore and a you have a feeling of something stuck in your throat.

Anxiety affect the parts in the brain which are responsible for communication and it may cause problems between you and your loved ones. When both the emotional and physical symptoms manifest themselves, we call it anxiety disorder.

Women are affected by anxiety twice as much as the men for reasons yet unknown. The causes of anxiety in itself are also often unknown. People with the disorder admit that they have felt anxious and worried all their lives.

The symptoms can start at any stage of life, and are believed to have some basis in hereditary. Children of parents with anxiety or depression are twice as likely to have those symptoms.
Anxiety disorder has many sub categories; Panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder and even post traumatic stress disorder.

Panic attack is a feeling of intense, unexplained fear or anxiety that last for an hour or so. It is accompanied by a racing heart, trouble breathing, cold sweat and fear to close you eyes because you might stop breathing. They happen to healthy people as well but are shorter and not that acute. When the panic happens regularly, such as every night or so, it interferes with your normal life and has to be treated.

Phobias – manifests themselves as an extreme and irrational fear. The sufferers are aware that their fear is irrational but can’t help themselves. Fear of flying, of high places, of spiders or clowns – all those may interfere with daily normal life and are bothersome. Most people deal with phobias by avoiding doing the thing that causes the fear, such as open or closed spaces, fear of criticism (social phobia) and more.

You could live with anxiety for many years without admitting to it, or you can have it treated and finally go on that plane to the vacation of your dreams.

A normal reaction to a bite will be redness in the bite area, some swelling of the affected area and pain.

The more sever reaction can be swelling that extends beyond the bite area. While it looks frightening it is usually not much worse than a normal reaction.

An allergy to sting and bites will manifest itself in a more serious way; difficulty in breathing, hives that appear on the skin, swelling of the throat and face, rapid pulse, dizziness and a sharp drop in blood pressure.

The bigger problem is that it can lead to a shock, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. All that in the span of no more than 10 minutes. And the next time they are bitten or stung the reaction might appear much quicker.

The way to treat an allergic reaction to a sting or a bite is my injecting adrenaline into the blood stream. In most cases the injection will prevent the symptoms from getting worse.

Those who are highly allergic need to carry a syringe with them at all times because you never know when you might get bitten and how long it would take to get medical attention. In some cases I.V fluids have to be administered and oxygen given to help the patient regain the levels of oxygen reduced by the constrictions of the lungs. In some cases one injection is not enough, so a person who is known to have sting allergy has to be rushed to a hospital for continuous treatment.

To avoid this unwanted consequence people have to recognized to what they are allergic and try to avoid activities in an infected area. When going outdoors, they need to protect themselves with long sleeves, long pants and closed toe shoes, avoid wearing perfume that might attract insects, never go hiking alone or engage in any other sport while unaccompanied. Most important – protect their living environment with screen on doors and windows, and apply insect repellent  (such as Deet).

Allergic reaction to insect bites can be prevented with a monthly shot. They are very affective, up to 97% of the cases will avoid allergic reaction if given the shot, and by increasing the dosage gradually it might stimulate the immune system to become resistant to future allergic reactions.

The most common of them all is allergy to pollen, or as it is called “Hay Fever”. It is a seasonal allergy most common in the spring and fall. Symptoms are watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion. There are many over the counter medication that address this problem by administering anti histamine that blocks the body’s reaction to those normally not harmful substances. 

To prevent the appearance of the allergy in the first place, one has to avoid certain plants that are known as allergens by removing them from the immediate surrounding and staying indoors when the wind is blowing especially during the blooming season.

Dust mite Allergy is caused by those microscopic organisms that thrive in house dust and in the mattress one sleeps on. The symptoms are like those of the pollen allergy but they continue all year round. The same medications that helps pollen allergies might help the dust mite allergy.

To prevent the allergy from starting, it is advised to keep the house, especially the bedroom clear of dust, cover the mattress and pillows with dust covers and wash the sheets weekly in hot water. Stuffed animals, rugs and curtains also contain dust mites.

Mold allergy – mold is a fungi that has microscopic spores that get released to the air and breathed in by us. Mold can be found in bathrooms, basements and closets and needs the presence of humidity to thrive. The symptoms are similar to those of pollen allergy with the addition of a dry cough.

Animal dander – The saliva, oil glands and skin of certain animals cause an allergic reaction in some people. The symptoms are runny nose, itchy eyes and skin itch. Unfortunately the treatment and prevention of those kind of allergies requires the removal of the pet from the house. Medication might help but you’ll have to keep taking it all day every day.

Latex allergy – Those gloves used by doctors and nurses cause allergic reaction in some people. Symptoms can include watery eyes, skin rash, cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. They can be moderate to severe with hives developing and gastrointestinal problems. It is important for those people to wear a medical bracelet in case they will need an unexpected medical attention that can be aggravated by the use of latex gloves.

Environmental allergies are uncomfortable and annoying but the symptoms are usually mild. A twenty four hour antihistamine can solve the problem without too many side affects.

Allergy is when our body react to harmless intruders, such as pollen, as if it was an enemy. The body produces an antibody which attacks the intruder and binds with him. Our body releases a chemical into the blood stream called Histamine. This substance causes most of the symptoms we call allergy.

There are many kinds of allergies; seasonal allergies that are connected to pollen, dander allergy connected to reactions to animals like cats and dogs, food allergies and insect sting allergies.

When the symptoms are mild, the allergy goes almost unnoticed. Moderate allergy is when you feel like you have a cold or a flu. Severe allergies can be life threatening. Most symptoms of the mild allergy will go away after the source of the allergy is removed. In sever allergies the reaction of the body already started and only an antidote will stop the symptoms.

Most people are aware what triggers their allergic reaction and try to avoid it. The allergic reaction is unique to the person. A plant that causes watery eyes and itchy nose in one will not have the same affect on another.

There are a few way to fight allergic reaction. The abundance of over the counter medicines is a testament that many people suffer from allergies and that the drugs help lessen the affect. Another treatment is monthly shots that eliminate the necessity of the daily drug.

Yet another way to fight the allergy is to find out what causes it, if the source is not obvious. This is done by injecting small amounts of allergy causing material into the body and seeing to which one of those you are allergic. It is a lengthy process that sometimes requires a hundred shots to be administered before you find the one that triggers an inflammation. After that you can avoid the allergy causing element, or, and this is a new method, expose the body to small amounts of the allergen for a period of time until your body develops tolerance to substance.