Mouth Ulcers: What they say about your health and how to deal with them
Friday, January 25, 2013 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments


As the year of the snake rolls in, late nights, stress (over meals, shopping and meeting the relatives), consuming lots of unhealthy Chinese new year goodies and not getting sufficient water to go with it can lead to ulcers.

Simple mouth ulcers are believed to be caused by injury and trauma, changes in hormone levels, lack of iron, vitamin B12, or folic acid, food allergies, genetics, stress or anxiety, reaction to certain medications, or a suppressed immune system, according to Guardian.

The Chinese believe that “heatiness” causes simple ulcers, and ulcers are therefore a sign of impending sickness if you do not cool off with some herbal tea or get sufficient sleep!

Ulcers are a real pain in your mouth and very often, you can’t enjoy your favourite food without wincing in pain! If you don’t clear it up before the Chinese New Year, you won’t be able to enjoy the food and festivities wholeheartedly!

Fortunately or unfortunately, mouth ulcers go away without treatment within 14 (long days). There’s no real cure for ulcers in the sense that nothing makes the pesky little bump disappear in a day or two. However, you can get pain relief for it, or make it heal faster.

Like acne, certain remedies work for certain people, while some don’t do anything at all. Here are the more common methods for pain relief and faster healing:

- Over-the-counter gels like Bonjela. These can usually be applied as often as required and do not pose harm when swallowed. Bonjela provides a slightly numbing and cooling effect that provides temporary relief for your pain.

- Antimicrobial mouthwash helps to kill germs that are causing mouth infections. If your ulcers are so crippling that you can’t brush your teeth for the time-being, using mouthwash helps to keep your mouth hygienic.

- Oral pastes like Kenalog, which forms a protective layer over the ulcer, allowing it to heal, while relieving pain and swelling. These are rather expensive however.

- Salt has anti-bacterial properties, which probably leads to it being a common cheap home remedy for ulcers. Make a solution of salt water and gargle it every night. While it does not provide pain relief, and may even cause more pain (ever heard of the saying “rubbing salt into one’s wound”? This exemplifies it), it does reportedly speed up the healing process for some. Some people apply grains of salt directly to the wound, but this can be extremely painful.

To go beyond these surface treatments, you will need to understand what’s causing your ulcer. Reflect on your lifestyle in the past days. Have you been staying up late? Snacking on heaty new year goodies? Been particularly stressed over finishing your work before the holidays? Not getting sufficient veggies and fruits in your diet? As mentioned earlier, all these are potential causes for ulcers, so to make the ulcer go away more quickly, you will need to correct your lifestyle. Personally, I get ulcers when I’m a little under the weather. Herbal tea usually works for me.

For faster relief, you can also go to the doctor for a prescription.

As your ulcer heals up, do take some precautions so you do not hinder the healing process:

- Avoid food that would irritate the ulcer, especially spicy foods and sour foods that are high in acidic content.
- Avoid chewing gum as you may accidentally brush against or bite on your ulcer. Ouch.
- Use a soft-bristled brush to reduce the trauma on your ulcer. Do also floss daily. Good oral hygiene is crucial in preventing possible mouth infections and spreading of ulcers.

Do note that if your ulcer is severe i.e.
- lasts longer than 14 days
- have not healed with treatment
- are larger than 1 cm
- bleed
- occurs very often
- several ulcers occurring simultaneously or one after another
- accompanied by other sicknesses like sore throat, rash, high fever, diarrhoea

you should consult your doctor as this may be an indication of other underlying health problems.


Ridding a pesky cough
Friday, January 18, 2013 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments


Researchers in Georgia recently published the results of their study which revealed that cough usually takes about three weeks to clear up. I thought that was odd that they did a study on it and only published it recently. For many of us who have caught the cold, it is no news to us that the hacking continues to torment us even after our colds and throat inflammations are gone. As the study rightly points out, getting additional or even stronger medication to clear the cough does not improve matters much, but only incurs more medical expenses and may have side effects. This is because antibiotics only affect bacteria, but has no effect on viruses, which are the main causes of coughs.

Coughs persist because your respiratory tract and the air passages in your lungs remain sensitive and inflamed even after your cold has gone away. This requires time to heal. In the meantime, let your body have ample rest and adopt certain habits to prevent the aggravation of your cough:

- Avoid cold water and gassy drinks. Drink lots of water, preferably warm water
- Avoid spicy food
- Ensure that your living environment is airy and has fresh air. Avoid air-conditioning and don’t expose yourself to cigarette smoke.
- In an air-conditioned room or in cold weather, wrap up warmly. Use scarves and turtle necks to protect your throat from the cold.
- Get more rest
- Wear a face mask to prevent the spread of the germs. You wouldn't want them coming back to you while you're still vulnerable!

Although coughs are stubborn, you can make your condition more manageable, and possibly eliminate the coughs quicker.

In cosmopolitan Singapore, we are fortunate to have access to a myriad of medications, including herbal and natural remedies, from different cultures. With increased faith in Traditional Chinese Medicine, more people are subscribing to a fusion of Western and Chinese treatments – get a quick cure for their inflammation with antibiotics, and then resort to Chinese medicine and herbal teas to get rid of the cough.

Pi Pa Gao and Hui Ji Herbal Mint Cough Syrup are tried and tested remedies for coughs. They exhibit no side effects, and they actually taste nice. Having a sweet and minty taste, they offer temporary reprieve for sore and irritated throats.

Warm green tea is a comfort beverage for coughs. Its detoxification qualities are already widely known. Adding honey to green tea will make the drink sweeter and smoother.

Natural news has published a few home remedies for coughs that with detailed recipes and easily accessible ingredients: http://www.naturalnews.com/035323_home_remedies_colds_coughs.html

Is it all right to eat bananas when I’m coughing?

Bananas are nutritious, filling, delicious and convenient! It would be a bummer to have to abstain from bananas for three whole weeks while your cough goes away. The good news is, bananas do not cause or aggravate colds when consumed at night like the old wives’ tale suggests, or any time of the day in fact.
A cold is a contagious viral infection, and cannot be caused by any particular sort of food. In fact a 2010 study by American scientists revealed that eating a slightly unripe Cavendish banana (those big long bananas often sold in our local supermarkets) can increase immunity against the cold as it contains an enzyme that inhibits the cold-causing bacteria.

However, bananas do increase mucus and phlegm production, which could make you cough more when you are sick. If your cough is not very serious, you can still eat bananas, but down it with warm water or tea. In addition, it is not just bananas that increase phlegm production. Some fruits and vegetables like cabbage, potatoes and corn have a similar effect. Livestrong.com recommends celery, pickles, unsaturated oils, lemon, parsley, onion, garlic, watercress, horseradish, mustard and rose hips tea in your diet if you’re coughing.

Sources:

http://www.diethealthclub.com/askquestion/8056/banana-common-cold-is-it-true-that-if-you-eat-bana.html

http://www.healthywaymagazine.com/issue35/05_.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/496916-foods-that-encourage-phlegm/


Nature's Liquid Gold
Friday, January 11, 2013 - Posted by SunnyHealth - 0 comments

The great Greek poet Homer called it "liquid gold", while Ancient Greek physician and father of Western Medicine Hippocrates called it the "great healer".

Yet while celebrities and socialites are papering their faces in gold for healthier skin, much to the envy of the greater majority, the goodness of nature’s “liquid gold”, a far more economical alternative, seems to be forgotten.

Olive oil contains many health and beauty benefits. Apart from being an exceedingly healthy alternative to saturated oil for cooking, it is also a natural skin moisturizer, repairs damaged hair, reportedly effective for clearing acne, amongst many others.

Do you know that this wondrous oil has also proven to reduce the likelihood of skin cancer? In the Mediterranean countries like Greece, only three in every 100,000 people develop skin cancer, this despite the fact that these countries are also famous for their sunny beaches. Mediterranean diets are renowned for containing fresh produce rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help the body to build up resistance against the ultra violet radiation in the sun’s rays. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed raw, which means that it retains all its nutrients and vitamins. It contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids which are high in antioxidants.

A short term study conducted by Japanese researchers on mice back in 2000 also suggested that high quality olive oil may reduce the risk of skin cancer. In the experiment, bald mice were exposed to a sunlamp, and olive oil was applied to the skins of some, better quality oil for another group, and no oil for the placebo. The placebo group developed tumour the earliest, while those who had the protection of olive oil developed tumours later than projected. Other specific studies suggest olive oil might have a hand in reducing breast cancer and bowel cancer.

As many studies require more indepth research, and have not been performed on humans for obvious reasons, that is not to say that olive oil should completely replace professionally manufactured sun block meant for protecting the skin against the sun. It does however show that there is some basis to the preventive qualities of olive oil. If you do not apply sunblock indoors, consider applying extra virgin oil to soothe your skin from any mild UV rays indoors. If anything, it doubles as a non-chemical moisturiser, and is a popular home remedy for acne.

However, make sure you use fresh olive oil that has not expired, and it has to be extra virgin oil, not any old inpure olive oil; these might have little effect or worst, damage your skin. In addition, olive oil loses its health benefits when cooked, so it is best consumed raw, such as as a salad dressing.

The days are getting hotter and sunnier in Singapore. One more good reason to include more olive oil in your diet in place of other fattier, oily foods like butter and animal oil!