Health | Breathe Network

Basic 411 for Children’s OTC Cold Medicine

FDA Warnings

Cold medicine is not safe for children under the age of 2 and not recommended for any children under the age of 4. Tips on safe use of cold medicine:

Make sure you are not providing two medicines containing the same active ingredient.
Try to purchase medicine with a child safety cap, and make sure you close it all the way after each use, and try to store it out of reach of your children.
Only use measuring devices specifically made for medicine.
Keep a log of the medicine you give your child tracking date, time, quantity and drug so that you or another caregiver don’t accidentally give another dose too soon.
Keep in mind cold medicine only treats symptoms. It won’t make your child get better sooner.
Follow instructions accurately, and do not give children cold medicine intended for adults.

Antihistamines

Examples: Diphenhydramine, Brompheniramine, Chlorpheniramine, Loratidine. Ceterizine, and Carbinoxaimine

Antihistamines are used to treat allergies. Most night time medicine includes an antihistamine to help you sleep. It is not generally recommended to give your child an antihistamine just to help him fall asleep. If your child is having a problem sleeping due to a cough, better he have the luxury of waking up to hack something out that could choke him rather than the luxury of sleep.

Expectorants

Most commonly used: Guaifensesin

Expectorants help loosen phlegm and make it easier to cough it up; however, they have not been proven to help children. Steam will also help loosen mucus.

Cough Suppressants

Most commonly used: Dextromethorphan (DM)

If your child is coughing a dry, unproductive cough and is breathing fine, cough suppressants can help reduce the amount of coughing. Decongestants are usually used to complement this drug.

Decongestants

Examples: Phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine

Decongestants help relieve runny noses, but often come with the side effects of hyperactivity, irritability, and sleeplessness.

Filed Under: Alternative Practices, Health Tagged With: Brompheniramine, Cetirizine, Common cold, CoughMedicine, Diphenhydramine

Keep Asthma Under Control

If you aren’t living with asthma, consider yourself lucky! There aren’t many things in this world scarier than a severe asthma attack. Just imagine how it would feel if you were suddenly unable to draw a single breath of air. In some cases, this can happen with little or no warning. If you or your loved one is living with this very serious chronic illness, let’s take a look at a few things you should do.

Keep Your Asthma under Control

If you or your loved one suffers from asthma, it’s important to see a doctor regularly to keep this chronic disease under control. It’s much easier to prevent an asthma attack than to recover from one! In fact, a severe asthma attack could result in a trip to the hospital or worse. Make sure you take your medicine and use your inhaler as directed. Stay away from smoke, dust, and other allergens as much as possible. With the proper healthcare and maintenance medication, most people with asthma can live a perfectly normal life.

Buy a Good Insurance Policy

Of course, doctor visits, breathing treatments, medications, and hospital visits can get expensive. However, when it’s a life or death matter, you can’t afford to not take care of this dire medical problem. To minimize your costs and keep every health care option open, invest in a great health insurance policy. By taking advantage of online insurance quotes, you can easily compare a variety of coverage levels, insurance companies, and prices to get the best deal on the health care features you actually need.

Don’t suffer, or allow a family member to suffer, with the dangerous disease known as asthma. Take advantage of one of the many health insurance plans available to provide medical care on a regular basis and in the event of an emergency.

Filed Under: Alternative Practices, Health Tagged With: Asthma, Chronic (medicine), Conditions and Diseases, Health, Insurance, Organizations, Respiratory Disorders, United States

General Benefits of Tai Chi

Tai Chi offers two purposes in this day and age. One is the martial art quality, and the other is the health quality.

Martial Arts Benefits

Practice makes perfect, and Tai Chi takes martial arts moves and slows it down into a repetitive dance to help classically condition the mind to react to certain fighting situations defensively with a pre-determined response.

In addition to the martial art, you are learning about a way of life with The Tao, The Way. The Tao philosophy is go with the flow, no force, circular approach to life, and it’s in sync with the natural laws of Mother Earth. The Tao believes in contentment of what you have with a strong emphasis on the present. Walk lightly is the Tao’s secret to long life. Catherine Kerr, a professor at Harvard Medical School who practices Tai Chi says, “Doing Tai Chi makes me feel lighter on my feet.”

Health Benefits

The current studies are at that phase where they realize Tai Chi may have many positive effects on people’s overall health, but there isn’t enough evidence just yet to make it a sure thing. The problem is most studies approach ideas from a clinical trial standpoint, but Tai Chi has so many other variables that a more creative approach will be required. Some studies have shown evidence that Tai Chi can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, improve sleep, reduce chronic pain, increase balance and flexibility, and help reduce falls for the elderly.

Some good resources on the Tao to enhance your Tai Chi experience include:

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu/Tse—a very ancient, poetic description of the Tao

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff –a modern description of the Tao in a very easy to read format

Twin Warriors starring Jet Li (movie)—a fiction story showing the Tao as a healer, a martial art, and a way of life and how they all go hand in hand.

Filed Under: General, Health Tagged With: Benjamin Hoff, Harvard Medical School, Health insurance, Qigong, Tai Chi, Tai chi chuan

Stretch Your Body and Reach Some Benefits

Stretching before and after workouts often becomes a low priority, but here are some awesome benefits to how stretching makes the workout.

Longer Muscles are Stronger Muscles

Building muscle is a sure-fire way to increase metabolism, and you really take a short-cut to building muscle through regular stretching. Don’t forget to regularly stretch your stomach muscles if you are aiming for some awesome abs.

Stretching Helps Prevent Discomfort

You are less apt to get muscle cramps and other muscular issues if you stretch before and after every work out. In addition, when running, you basically put three times your weight on your legs, and whatever weight your leg muscles cannot hold goes directly to your joints, which can increase Tendonitis among other issues. If longer muscles are stronger muscles, then stretching with strength exercises can help alleviate the weight that hits your joints. If you find yourself suffering from regular muscle spasms, it helps to increase electrolytes like potassium in your diet in addition to regular stretching. Foods such as meat, bananas, milk, and spinach are high in potassium. Some studies have shown that it can also help prevent sports injury, but that’s still controversial amongst the experts.

Stretching is Great for the Mind and Soul

Because you are taking a time out from a good workout or a busy day to relax and stretch your muscles, you are also taking a time out to relax and stretch your mind. Make sure you breathe regularly when stretching.

Flexibility and Joints

Stretching increases flexibility to make some tasks easier in life to perform, and it also increases the motion in your joints to help improve balance and reduce falls.

Warning

If you already have a medical condition that might interfere with stretching such as a strained muscle or a torn ligament, make sure you discuss your stretching exercises with your doctor beforehand.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: stretch

Breathing as a Coping Technique

While it common knowledge that certain breathing techniques are used to help woman endure pain during labor, breathing can also be used as a way to handle fear,pain, and stress. Breathwork teaches how to use the art of breathing to help people cope with common alliments in everyday life. By using the breathing techniques, you can destress anywhere. When you start to feel stressed, simply measuring the breathes you take can help to relieve your stress levels. By concentrating and counting the breathes that you take you will be able to feel yourself calming down.

Concentrating on your breathing can also help to clear your mind, making your mind more succeptable to new thoughts and problem solving. Clearning your mind and being open to new thoughts can help to alliviate your stress.

Breathwork also states that working with a breathing technique called ‘Vivation’ can help to reduce fear or anxiety. The technique is commonly used in yoga and if you are familiar with yoga you may be familiar with the technique. If you are placed in a situation where you are fearful or aprehensive, this technique can help. By breathing in ciruclar patterns you are better able to judge your sorroundings and sense what is troubling you. By breathing in a controlled pace, you will begin to relax and feel more at ease.

Many people who work out regularly are aware of the power of breath to help deal with pain management. In many activies such as yoga and Tai Chi, breathing is used to empower movement and streghten a pose. The same technique can be used to help deal with pain afterworking out. Breathwork teaches that by concentrating on breathing rather than on the pain, you can work through the pain and being to experience relief.

Breathwork can be used to aid many situations in everyday life like stress, pain, and fear management.

Filed Under: Breathwork Groups, Health Tagged With: Breathing, Breathwork, Diaphragmatic breathing, Health, Pranayama, Stress, Vivation, Yoga

Breathing Towards a Healthier Life

: Image via Wikipedia

You probably know that stress can lead to a depleted immune system. Almost everyday we are faced with something that can cause us stress. Weather it is a blown fuse in our home, busy lines at the gorcery store, or an argument with your boss at work, all of these little stresses can reek havic on your immune systems. Rather than giving into these little stresser and letting yourself feel overwhelmed by life, take the time to engage in some breathwork. Breathwork is a way of breathing to relieve stress and ultimately boost your immune system. Breathwork is a technique that allows for you to treat your stress in holistic way. Allowing yourself to focus on your breathing by counting your breaths can have a calming effect almost immediately. But deeper benefits may exist in using breathwork.

The practice of Breathwork was developed in ancient India in the form of Pranayama, a technique that promotes satisfaction within the mind and skin. Our cells our powered by oxygen. You need oxygen to survive. Taking the time to take in soothing breaths will not only help to relieve stress but it will also help to cleanse your body. If you take great pains to make sure that your bodies are protected against germs, but mental health is just as important to your immune system as gaurding your body against harmful germs. Taking the time to learn breathing techniques can help to lead you towards a healthier lifestyle.

By finding ways to take stress out of your live you are likely to have a healthier immune system. It is commonly said that singing and even laughing leads to reduced stress, which in turn can help in having a healthier immune system. Breathing can aid your mind and body the same way laughing and singing can. By focusing on calming breathing techniques, the body will feel more relaxed and stress free.

Filed Under: Breathwork Groups, Health Tagged With: Breathing, Breathwork, Health, Mental health, Stress, Stress management

What is Breathwork?

: Image via Wikipedia

If you take part in a meditative pratice like Tai Chi or yoga, you know that the instructor places a lot of emphasis on breath. You may think that the way you breathe and when you breathe are not important. You would be wrong. The practices of activities like yoga and Tai Chi where developed with breathing in mind. To correctly complete the cycle of excerises, breathing should be an important part of the practice.

Breathwork is an generic term for specific breathing excerises. The breathwork done during these excerises is something that you concentrate on and is deliberate. You intentionally alter your breathing pattern to gain healing and mind expanding benefits.

Through breathwork you can build a deeper understanding of yourself, deepen active work in yoga and Tai Chi positions, help your mind and body destress, and even ease anxiety.

Breathwork is not something that can simply be done by breathing. Breathwork is an act where you consiously change your breathing to create a desired effect. There are many websites that will allow you work through breathwork cycles by sitting at your computer. There are also programs that can help developing stronger breathwork techniques.

You may think that there is only one way to breathe. You may think that your one way of breathing is perfect for every occasion. You would be wrong. The proper type of breathing depends on what you are doing and what the desired outcome of the activity is. There are many different breathing techniques that could help you in doing everything from calming your nerves to running a marathon. Think of all the activities that you could enhance in your daily life just by changing the way you breath.

If your yoga teacher emphases breathing there is probably a reason. Learning how to breath will enhance your life.

Filed Under: Breathwork Groups, Health Tagged With: Breathing, Breathwork, Health, Yoga

Natural medicine: Alternative cures for anxiety

If you are someone who suffers from anxiety, you may think that there are not many natural options for controlling anxiety. You have probably heard that the only way to ease your anxiety is to take medications. Usually these medications have so many side effects that taking them is scarier than your anxiety. Perhaps you don’t like the idea of having to take prescription medication and are looking for natural way to deal with your anxiety. There are many natural cures for anxiety. One way to ease the symptoms of anxiety is to use breathing exercises.

Breathing exercises can be used for a variety of reasons but are very helpful in deminishing anxiety. Learning to control you anxiety through breathing could help you to not need medication or reduce your dependency on anxiety medication. Also, by learning to use a breathing technique you would be controlling the anxiety yourself rather than relying on medication.

Breathing exercises are a very natural way to help anxiety. By learning to recognize what makes you anxious and what triggers your anxiety you can learn to use breathing techniques to cope with the situation. One the ways that breathing helps is to focus your mind away from what is upsetting you. By paying attention to your breathing you will learn to use breath as a way to calm youself down. You may think that using breath to ease anxiety sounds stupid, but the next time you feel anxious try the simple act of counting your breaths. This can have a calming effect as you would be focusing the attention away from what is troubling you and you will be able to calm down. You could also begin to breath in a circular fashion, where you begin to exhale immediately at the end of inhale and vice versa.

Filed Under: Health, Herbal Medicine Tagged With: Alternative medicine, Breathing, Disorders, Health, Mental health

health and nutrition

With the holidays right around the courner many people are probably thinking the same thing: why am I eating so much? Every year around the holidays people seem to forget that all the cookies they are eating around the tree it will eventually end up on your waist line. But not to fear, there are several nutrition tips to help you make sure the holidays do not become your enemy.

One of the best nurtition tips is to conciously keep track over everything that you are putting into your mouth. The best way to do this is to write everything down. However, it not just what you eat, everything you drink has a calorie count as well and deserves to be written down. Remember that eggnog packs a heavy calorie punch.

Another option is to allow yourself to work on a reward system, much like mothers do with their children. For example, if you are good all day, you can have one cookie as a treat. The importance with this method is that you are establishing good habits but still allowing yourself to endulge at the end of the day. However, it is important that you do not over indulge in your reward. There is a difference between eating one cookie and eating an entire plateful.

You could also think about engaging in holiday activies. Think of how many calories you could burn shovling snow or building a snow man! The opportunities are endless. If you are the type of person who does not like to even think about snow, remember there are many activies that you could be doing inside besides sipping hot coco. You could walk a mall and check out all the great holiday sales. Or your could simply park in the fartest posible parking space and force yourself to walk the extra steps. Doing these simple activies will make ensure that you remain healthy and happy throughtout the holiday season.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Calorie, Cooking, Dietary fiber, EAT, Food, Home, Milk, Nutrition

Some Residential Care Facility Questions

They say that in every life, a little rain must fall. Sometimes, however, when that rain comes in the form of an inability of a loved one to fulfill everyday functions, it may be time that you looked into getting some professional help for them. As a person gets older, their body often begins to decline, and even more so if they had the kind of youth that people tell wild stories about. In cases like that, it may even be time to look into placing your loved on into a nursing home so that they can get the kind of care that they deserve in their twilight years. First, however, review the facility thoroughly.

Start by checking if it’s owned by a corporation or a government entity? In the case of government owned residential care facilities, it can often be difficult to work out payment and medical arrangements. While they tend to be more accepting of Medicare and Medicaid, they can also have a lot of very strict rules which can be difficult to navigate. Additionally, you will want to look at how accessible the facility is for loved ones. If the facility is on the other side of town, getting to and from it can be a significant logistical challenge. After all, you will want to be able to see your loved one on more than just “on Thanksgiving and their birthday.”

You should also check if the facility is properly staffed. When you go to a nursing home, you should see a good number of staff members, usually on the order of one per twenty to thirty residents. If you see very few staff members and there seems to be no effort being made to hire, that might pose a problem in getting your loved one the care that he or she really needs. Without people, care is pretty difficult, after all.

Filed Under: Health