Don't Live With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The key to curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is to first identify the cause. The most common causes of IBS are gut dysbiosis or imbalanced gut flora (bacteria that protects our gut), and food sensitivities. This occurs by taking antibiotics, certain medications, other disease processes, parasites, yeast, misalignment of the spine, undue stress and anxiety over long periods of time. Think of the stressors you are exposed to, the life changes you experience. Even happy changes like getting married, buying a new house, having a baby, starting a new job, will affect your immune system and digestive system. The day to day stressors will add up too. If you are overwhelmed at home and work, eating the wrong foods, not exercising, not sleeping well, all of these will chip away at your digestive system.Our digestive system is very complex and affects our nervous system and immune system. More than 70% of your immune system is tied in with your intestines. If the intestines have been compromised, you will develop "leaky gut". This simply means that things are getting through your intestines and into your bloodstream that shouldn't be there. This will get your immune system involved and create inflammation. This will also aggravate the nerves that innervate the Gastrointestinal tract. The end result is your body will try to tell you that something is not right. You may experience symptoms such as gas, bloating, burping, pain in abdomen, the feeling that food is not moving or feeling too full, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, joint aches, thyroid problems, and many more.


Once you have IBS, it can put you at risk for developing other chronic diseases like Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis, autoimmune conditions, gastritis, stomach or intestinal ulcers, depression, anxiety, behavioural issues (ADHD, OCD), and potentially colon cancer. This condition should not be ignored. It will not go away on its own.What to do next? First thing is to see a Licensed Naturopathic Doctor (not a Traditional Naturopath) that can take a full history and order the appropriate tests to determine the extent of help the digestive system needs. These tests may include a complete stool analysis and a comprehensive digestive analysis. From those results, your digestive issues can be resolved with certain vitamins, minerals, botanicals, nutritional and lifestyle changes. It's one thing to fix the digestive tract, but it is also very important to prevent this from recurring.You will typically feel better within a week, but the treatments may take 3-6 months to completely heal the gut.

The Rehab Alcohol Process Involves Everybody

Recovering from an alcohol addiction is not an easy process. It can be as difficult and frustrating a process for the family of the person recovering, as it is for the recovering person themselves. Rehab alcohol treatments and centers are filled with professionals that are there to encourage, advice and support anybody in need. Everybody involved should take the steps to be aware of the process, the ups and downs and know where they are best able to help with this journey.Know your StrengthsIt is easy to read a book on how to best support your loved ones during their alcohol rehabilitation process. Yet it is a very different process to be able to do what you are expected to do. As much as the person directly involved in recovering needs an individualized process, so do those supporting them. Know where you are best able to help and where your weaknesses are. For example, you are living with or supporting an individual that needs direction but space to make choices. A rehab alcohol process with this person will inevitably fail if you are constantly giving strict orders and over managing their recovery process. If this is an area you are not strong in, be aware and be honest. Perhaps involve the use of counsellor or other family members to oversee their daily process and help in other ways. Be a listening ear, be the transportation to checkups and counselling sessions, find other avenues where you can assist that are better suited to you.Know the facts


Alcohol is currently the most expensive addiction, with $166 billion being spend each year on this beverage. It is followed by smoking at $165,000. This is simply for the money being spent on purchases; this does not include counselling for its damaging effects. This does make it hard to place a price tag on sexual and other dangerous addictions. However, this shows that you are not alone when you are seeking help. Always remember, it is not just the person going through the rehab alcohol process that has access to help, everybody involved has avenues for their own counselling and support.The rehab alcohol process is not a quick weekend fix. It is a lifestyle change that will deeply affect all involved. It will take dedication, support and forgiveness for the ups and downs and high and low points. Many relapse, but many more succeed. All involved need to be fully aware of the full process and where they can help. It is a long journey; it is a tough time for everybody involved. The most important thing to remember is that this stage is rehab from alcohol. The users have noted their problem, have sought help and are trying to improve. It is easy to say that the worst is over, it may be. There may be hard times ahead, but know for sure that this is recovery. The user is trying to better their life and the lives of those they love. This is what you have hoped and waited for. Learn where you can help and be ready for a tough journey that has a beautiful outcome.

Health Insurance Terminology for the 99%

I've had some interesting conversations this past week and wanted to take a step back to discuss health insurance in general. I'm slowly learning that the vocabulary regarding health insurance is very foreign to some folks and they are having difficulty understanding the terms that are used. I want to take this opportunity to educate folks on some of the basics and how it pertains to you, the consumer.So lets start off with the basics of insurance terminology in its most simple form- in regards to how it plays out in the medical world.Premium- this is the amount of money you pay to have health insurance (your safety net), can be paid monthly, quarterly, or all at once.Deductible- this is the amount of money that you must pay before your insurance even begins to cover costs. There are fine details associated with this but in my mind, this is how I think about it. These can vary from a few hundred dollars to $10,000, depending on what kind of insurance that you have.Co-insurance- after you have paid the entire amount toward your deductible (the amount of money you pay prior to your insurance actually kicking money in), your co- insurance represents the amount of dollars you are still responsible for. Let's use an example to demonstrate this. If you see a doctor and the bill is $100, the first hurdle is whether you have paid your deductible yet or not. If you have paid the deductible amount, the insurance carrier will pick up a portion of the bill and the rest you will owe. If your Co-Insurance is 20%, then you are responsible for 20% of the bill. In this case its $20. If your Co-Insurance is 35%, then you are responsible for $35. The higher the co-insurance, the more money you will have to kick in for medical services.Out of Pocket Maximum- this is the amount of money in a given YEAR, that you will likely need to pay on top of health insurance. Some plans include your deductible towards this amount. Some do not. The other fine detail here is that your insurance carrier can deem certain services not included in this out of pocket maximum. For example, if you really hurt your knee and need an MRI, your insurance carrier can say that the MRI is not a covered service meaning that they will not pay for it. The MRI bill will come to you on top of all the other bills that you have accrued.IN- Network/ OUT of Network- This seems to be the area of most confusion for most patients. The simplest analogy I use is to think of discount membership stores like Costco or Sam's Club. When you have a membership to either place, the products they sell have been approved by Costco or Sam's, at an agreed price, and then the you the consumer can purchase it from the store, typically at a discounted rate. If a product that you want is not at Costco or Sam's, then you are going to pay full price at another store. IN- network means that the doctors office has agreed to terms set by the insurance carrier, and you the patient only pay a pre-determined amount of money based on these negotiations. Most times- your charge is a nominal fee. OUT of network means that your doctors office is NOT a part of the insurance plan. The fees associated with this visit are ultimately your responsibility and sometimes your insurance carrier pays you back for services rendered. NEVER assume that your doctors office is IN NETWORK. I always assume OUT of network coverage until I see it in writing.


Co-Pay- The amount of money that you must pay at the doctors office. Think of this as an entry fee. Primary care doctors have a low copay. Specialty doctors and the Emergency Room have high Copays. The copay is devised as a financial barrier. The insurance company and the medical practice wants to make sure that you the patient are coming in for something truly medical related. You would be surprised at how many people that have $0 co-pays come to the doctor for a hang nail, or non medical related issues. It's a way of allocating resources as well. For every hang nail, there is also a sick patient that may have not been seen. Some patients have commented to me about copays in the past, thinking that this money goes straight into our pockets as supplementary income. Rest assured, I tell them, the amount of money collected barely covers the electricity bill.So in essence, the question I hope that many of you are asking yourselves, is what's the point health insurance? It does not provide any health benefits. There seems just to be layers of payment schemes. So why get health insurance? You need to start thinking of health insurance like car insurance. Most of us get car insurance to help protect us from financial woes if we total our car or get into a serious car accident. It offers a layer of financial protection for us. We still get our oil changed, brakes fixed, tires rotated, get our maintenance done at our own expense. This is how I view health insurance. It's there to help pay for medical services if you should get really sick or really hurt. It will offset a majority of costs that you may have been responsible for. In the event of a serious accident or surgery like appendicitis, those with high deductible insurance plans will burn through the deductible within hours of such an event. It will offset the bill of $20-30K coming to greet you 30 days later.The last point I will leave you with came out of a patient conversation this past week. There is a perception out there that doctors receive discounted rates for our own healthcare insurance and coverages. The assumption is based on the fact that since we are in the medical arena, that insurance carriers cut doctors a break. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For years, I paid, through my former group, $6000 per year ($500/month) for my own health insurance, something I rarely used. I was not given a higher level of coverage than any of my staff. The only difference is that I also was responsible for paying for their premiums as well. Realizing over time at my cost for this, I switched myself to a high deductible insurance plan with an HSA (health savings account). The HSA or health savings account is a tax deferred account where I can set money aside for any medical needs, separate from any bank or retirement account. For me, this was the most cost effective solution. This coupled with a subscription pay primary care group such as Flat Rock Health Seattle covers all my bases for health, wellness, and serious injuries.Now that you are empowered with this terminology, I hope that each and everyone of you will understand some of the insurance company jargon. I hope that this will allow you the ability to make informed decisions for you and your family regarding your safety net (health insurance).

Holistic Medicine For Seniors

The definition of holistic medicine
There are any number of definitions offered to help pinpoint what holistic medicine really is, and in most cases they have a few elements in common. These include, but are not limited to, the following:• An approach to healing that takes into consideration the patient's mind, spirit, and body
• Integration of both traditional medical treatments and alternative therapies
• Focuses both on prevention and treatment of disease
• May involve a range of diagnostic and treatment strategies
• High quality holistic care is a partnership between patient and provider with each responsible for active participation in the process
• Takes into account physical, social, emotional, spiritual, nutritional, environmental, and lifestyle issues and influencesAs you can see, holistic medicine emphasizes an all-encompassing approach to health care and illness prevention. The full range of holistic approaches may emphasize a variety of techniques and philosophies that cover the entire spectrum from very traditional to extremely new age.A word about certification and training
What should you look for in terms of certification and training? How do you know if a holistic practitioner is qualified and trained to practice this type of medicine?This is where holistic medicine becomes somewhat vague when compared to traditional medicine. There are several holistic medicine associations that offer various certifications and accreditations, but these also cover a wide range of requirements. Certified holistic practitioners may be licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, or any other of the familiar and traditional medical occupations. However, certified holistic practitioners may also be people whose expertise developed via non-traditional treatment approaches such as acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy, herbal medicine, psychotherapy, massage, and nutritional therapy just to name a few.So let's go back to the original question above, what certification and training should you look for in a holistic medicine practitioner? The answer depends on how traditional versus non-traditional you are when it comes to medical treatment.For instance, if you prefer someone who uses traditional medical treatments but also incorporates holistic principles of treating the whole person then look for a licensed medical doctor, physician's assistant, or nurse practitioner who has additional training in the holistic approach. On the other hand, if you prefer to step away from traditional medical treatments and focus instead on non-traditional and alternative medicine (homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, etc.) then look for a practitioner who has certification from one of the reputable holistic medicine professional associations.


These two examples represent the full spectrum of holistic medicine, from traditional medicine adding in holistic principles to alternative medicine using holistic principles. Before you make the switch from your current medical provider to a holistic medicine practitioner be sure to thoroughly research the people in your area who use the holistic approach and determine very specifically what kind of certification and training they possess.Who should consider holistic medicine?
This is another tricky question to answer because it depends a great deal on your own philosophy and approach to health and wellness. Some people dismiss holistic principles as new age nonsense, while others take the same very negative view of traditional medicine with its emphasis on science, medication, and diagnostic procedures. If your own perspective fits with one or the other of these two extremes then it should be fairly obvious whether or not holistic medicine is something you should consider for yourself.If, however, your own perspective falls somewhere between these two extremes then the choice to consider holistic medicine should be a very careful one. You must balance your own health needs and medical conditions against your willingness to consider a range of traditional and non-traditional approaches. Part of your decision making process should be to research about this topic in more details, give careful consideration to the advantages and disadvantages of making changes, and find a practitioner whose approach and perspective is a good fit with your own.Holistic medicine may not be for everyone, but it is an approach to health and treatment that is rapidly becoming more main stream in the medical world. It is certainly worth learning more about it before deciding whether to embrace it.

Alternative Medicine - Cure With Care

Alternative medicine encompasses medical treatments that are not part of the conventional means of treatment (evidence based medicine). Its effectiveness has been discussed, debated but never dismissed. An excellent example would be the use of accupressure and accupuncture. Though claims suggest that the health benefits derived from accupressure and accupuncture are more of a placebo effect, nevertheless the benefits are real with a wide number of patients globally claiming pain relief, better mobility and various other health benefits from accupuncture and accupressure.Alternative medicine includes the use of ancient systems of healing, such as Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, which are ancient practices of healing and have developed outside the domain of 'Western Medicine'. Alternative medicine does not treat a disease as a standalone problem. It takes a holistic approach and considers the body as a whole while administering any treatment. So, unlike convenional medicine where one just pops a pill to get well, alternative system of medicine is more like a lifestyle correction aimed at treating the very factors that caused the disease in the first place.There continues to be an ongoing debate for only one form of medicine to exist, the one that is scientifically proven. I do agree with this point of view wholeheartedly, but how can one neglect the beneficial effects of a particular line of treatment, even though the scientific eidence to back that claim may not have been fully explored. This is a grey area open to both positive and negative opinions.


Having said that, one cannot deny the fact that people are now turning their attention to holistic treatments much more than what was being taken few years ago. The term 'complementary medicine' is one that is now gaining recognition and refers to the use of conventional science based medicine along with alternative medicine with the intention of making patients feel better and assist in their speedy recovery.Patients can derive the real benefits of alternative medicine when used adjacently with ongoing medical treatments. Such treatment requires a working level of understanding between practitioners of western and non-conventional medicine. Alternative medicines are here to stay and there is no denying that this field of science is open to both scientific examination and reproof. It is time that people start taking such treatments seriously and begin exploring the numerous health benefits it has to offer at the hands of certified and trained professionals.

Which Factors Influence the Cost of Medicines?

In the present scenario, a consumer is completely bombarded by advertisements shown on television, newspapers and magazine ads that suggest of a new breakthrough in the field of medicine or the 'first' or 'only medication' of its kind etc. The direct-to-customer concept of advertising is a very persuasive means for the promotion of a medication convincing consumers that the newer treatments are superior to the already existent prescription drugs. Although, newer medications may offer benefits which are superior in nature over older treatments, it is important to make a note that there are always alternatives that might be available that offer the same clinical results at a reduced cost. Because certain generic manufacturers may lack the ability to advertise their products effectively, consumers are left unaware of alternative low cost treatments that may be available.Advertising is the biggest and the single largest factor that influences the cost of prescription medicines. The direct-to-consumer approach of advertising and marketing of medicines to physicians has not only increased the cost of drugs, but has also influenced the patterns of prescription. Manufacturers employ drug marketing executives to aggressively promote products to physicians. In most cases, the marketing materials that a pharmaceutical company provides are the single source of information regarding a new drug for a doctor. Also, because the information is provided with the intention of increasing sales, this information seems to be more biased. Generic medicines that are not promoted tend to be less recommended as the physicians themselves are not aware of their availability. Also, healthcare providers hand out free samples in large quantities. This may lead to an increase in the number of prescriptions of brand name products as compared to generic ones.In our society, we tend to equate high costs of medicines with better quality. It is a general trend wherein consumers believe that since it is costly, it must be better. This is not the case with prescription medicines. Studies have shown that inexpensive medicines that are generic have been in the market for quite some time and were found to effectively reduce blood pressure than most expensive brand name medicines. Such compelling evidence makes us question why patients end up paying more for therapies that have otherwise cheaper alternatives. Consumers need to realize that just because a medication is expensive; it does not mean that it is better. Not only are generic medicines cheaper than brand name medications, they have also been in use for a longer duration and thus have a proven track record of its safety and efficacy. Newer medications do not have such a proven safety profile and need to be tested across a wide population spectrum in order to observe its adverse effect or side effects.


Not only are generic drugs significantly less expensive than brand name medications, but generics have stood the test of time and usually have a proven track record of safety and efficacy. On the contrary, new medications do not have a proven track record of safety and efficacy. They may not have been tested in a large enough population to observe rare side effects.Few Tips to minimize your medication costs:1. Remember that new or expensive drugs need not always be the best option. Ask your physician to prescribe alternative medicines of cheaper generic brands.2. Ask your doctor if the medication is extremely necessary. For example, as people age, they tend to rely more on sleep medication. The truth is, we need less sleep as we grow older and hence feel that we are suffering from insomnia. In such a scenario, your physician may agree that such medication is not required.3. Express your concern over excessive advertising of a particular brand of medication in a patient waiting room.4. Ask your physician if there are cheaper OTC (over-the-counter) products which are available and which might provide the same results as that of prescription medications. Often these OTC drugs would be cheaper than the prescription ones.In the past few years, drug costs have increased rapidly and have outpaced inflation as well. Rise in the price of drug costs is one of the largest reasons for increase in the cost of healthcare. Although it is not possible to stop the rising costs of drugs, you can work closely with your physician to minimize prescription drug costs while maintain your health effectively.

Finding a Good Remedy for Toenail Fungus Infections

Are you carrying an infection of toenail fungus? Are you prepared to get the infection treated immediately? If so, it is essential for you to understand that you will not be able to see results overnight regardless about the type of treatment you choose. You will have several options available to you when looking forward to dealing with such issues. Let us look into the options you have to manage this infection.If you notice the infection in its initial stages, you can look at some of the grandma's recipes, which can help. Mixing a little vinegar with water and applying it on the affected part of the nail is often mentioned as an effective home remedy. Some people have also recommended Vicks VapoRub as an effective method of treating nail fungus. Whether people have really been successful or not in managing this condition with common household ingredients are unknown because no research has been conducted scientifically to prove their veracity.The next option ahead of you will be to visit physicians in your locality. This can be an expensive process because you will be required to go through several examinations and spend a lot of money apart from sparing the time required to visit a physician of your choice. Instant results will not be available to you despite using the expensive methods used. However, if you prefer to speak to a qualified physician, there is nothing in this world, which can stop you.


Option number three is to search through pharmacies and supermarkets where plenty of remedies for nail fungus infections will be displayed. Each will claim that they are the best in the world and can provide you with instant results. Do not fall for this gimmick because treating nail fungus infections is a long-term procedure.When searching for over-the-counter remedies ensure that you go through the ingredients of the product. Furthermore, look for instructions that have been provided by the manufacturer about how you must use the remedy. Ensure that you follow the instructions regularly and without fail if you desire to see healthy toenails on your feet. Reputed companies that sell nail fungus remedies will be prepared to back the claims they make and can be contacted for any queries which you may have in your mind. In some cases, they will also offer a money-back guarantee and refund the money you pay the moment you return the product purchased. Look for a nail fungus remedy manufactured by such companies because this is the best way to deal with the infection.