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Health Issues That Can Affect Your Oral Health

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oral health, girl smiling, dental issue

Our overall and oral health is tightly connected, even if it may not seem so. Both can affect the other, whether it be positively or negatively. To lead a healthy, fulfilling life, we must take care of not only our body but also our mouth! Contacting your dentist for more information regarding different health issues you have and their effects on your oral health can help you get your health back on track and have you feeling better than ever before.

Acid reflux

Acid reflux, also known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, can have detrimental effects on our dental health.  It is a condition which entails stomach acids travelling up the oesophagus (throat), sometimes ending in the mouth. These acids can be dangerous, and in extreme cases, can even lead to oesophageal cancer.

Within the confines of the mouth, acid reflux could lead to tooth erosion as well as periodontal issues.

After being diagnosed with acid reflux, patients should follow their physician’s advice and instructions when it comes to controlling their stomach acid. In many cases, medical professionals will recommend avoiding citrus or acidic foods like tomatoes, raw onions, chocolate, alcohol, and coffee. If the condition is particularly severe and your dental health is suffering, a physician may also prescribe medication to get your reflux under control, decreasing the amount of acid produced in excess.

Stomach ulcers

Health professionals previously believed that stomach ulcers were only the direct result of an overproduction of stomach acid, which destroyed the stomach’s walls. Previous treatment for ulcers entailed only controlling the amount of acid produced.

But recently, researchers discovered that certain bacteria in the mouth, caused by poor dental hygiene, may actually lead to stomach ulcers. The bacteria believed to play a role in stomach ulcer production are common among individuals with infected gum tissue.

Therefore, it is crucial to take care of our dental health to avoid any further, seemingly unrelated health conditions. Destructive bacteria that forms in the mouth can spread across the body and harm our well-being.

Chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease is a hard condition to live with on its own, paired with chronic dental issues such as cavities or gum disease; it only gets harder. As another infection grows in your mouth, your body will have to take and use some of its valuable resources towards fighting the dental disease, instead of working to improve the status of your kidneys. While fighting off additional dental disease, you may end up in the hospital more often than normal since your immune system is impaired.

Patients with kidney disease on dialysis may receive blood-thinning medications to prevent clotting. But this can pose problems during dental surgeries and make getting dental work more dangerous.

Diabetes

Diabetes is another medical condition that can wreak havoc on our smiles and general dental health. Diabetics are 3 to 4 times more likely to develop periodontal disease in their lifetimes. Periodontal disease is when various bacteria severely infect the gum tissue.

Diabetes, especially when undetected, can cause persistent bad breath resulting in low self-confidence.

If you have diabetes and notice that your gums are red, swollen, and sore to the touch, inform your dentist in Milton Keynes right away. They will schedule an emergency check up to see if you have gum disease. Should you, in fact, have periodontal disease, your dentist will create a treatment plan with your kidney disease in mind. In most cases, complex surgeries will be avoided as much as possible, and certainly when the patient is on dialysis.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure and related cardiovascular diseases have a strong connection with periodontal disease. When the gum tissue is inflamed, the blood vessels thicken and are filled with plaque, effectively decreasing your blood flow.

A decreased blood flow, along with high blood pressure, dramatically increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.

If you have any medical conditions, tell your dentist at your check-up so your medical records can be updated. Armoured with your complete medical history, your dentist can make informed decisions about your future treatment plans as well as look for any developing issues. 

Guest Post by Susan Louisa

A tale of victory over depression

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depression

After an arduous four years battle with depression, he finally got estranged from its claws. Numerous relapses and a mulish addiction to alcohol, brought him miseries that he could barely imagine in his wildest dreams.

“Depression strolls in one’s life begging for its existence. Once it senses any hint of odd, uncovers its majestic form, under different highs and lows.” He said.

An abusive father, bad companions, and maltreatment in school made the ground of depression fertile for him. He was one of those, who would suppress his emotions and cover his thoughts, no matter how devastating they are.

In the beginning, he was totally clueless about the series of unwanted events happening with him. Craving for high-calorie food, sleep issues, increased argument with his girlfriend, feeling numb and hazy every time, became his regular routine.

After much contemplation, he could match signs with depression. Spaced out, he decided to disclose the matter to his parents. But his surprise jumped in amusement when his dad brought him a Brainolia (a kind of memory enhancing syrup) while his mom massaged his scalp with Navratna oil (a soothing ayurvedic hair oil).

Finally, seeking a psychologist was his only choice left. He was prescribed with antidepressants. For four years he soaked in antidepressants, with higher doses every week.

A conversation about his struggle with prolonged depression

As he says, “Depression is all about self-esteem. We have a monitor in our mind. When we do good, it feels good and when something bad happens, it feels bad. But once you learn to distinguish between good and bad, learn to stand for yourself, that self-esteem gradually builds up.”

Q: How was depression, your old friend?
A: I broke up with her now. There are times when she didn’t let me sleep for days. That phase was horrible but it taught me many things.

Q: How did it all end?
A: I was drained, both mentally and physically. Depression had taken away my health, sleep, and my life completely. And antidepressants, they deteriorated the situation more. Around 4 am, one day, I was lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. Out of sheer frustration, I walked out of my home. Kept walking, heedlessly. After few hours, I felt good. And then, there’s no stopping since then.

Q: Did you get hook on to any sort of drugs?
A: Yes, I was an extensively into alcohol and marijuana. In one instance, I drank a full raw bottle of whisky, with a hope to gain some sleep. But woke up with wide eyes within two hours. However, I am all clean now.

Q: Did you experience any suicidal ideation?
A: I felt total numbness but there were no suicidal thoughts. Also, I was not afraid to die. It was like let things happen their way.

Q: How were your parents and friends? Did they support you?
A: My parents and siblings were quite supportive, unlike my friends. When I discussed my condition with my friends, they lend a hand with alcohol. They were just waiting for me to get well. When I was recovering, still battling, they influenced me toward alcohol, once again. Further, relapse knocked.

Overcoming depression

After the fourth cup of coffee, he put forth some of the important practices he followed that helped him in his battle. Below are some of them:

  • Journaling helps a lot. I jot down all my good, bad, and ugly feelings. These anecdotes now help me in making music.
  •  Stay away from bad influence and from any sort of drugs. Eventually, you will fall into the trap of addiction, further depreciating things more.
  • Avoid narcissistic people. Learn about narcissism and co-dependency.
  • Avoid any kind of spiritual modality. You will likely fall prey to these. Be VERY CAREFUL.
  •  Exercise is a must. You will feel lethargic, not want to even think of it. This is a very slow process. It took me a year. But exercising augmented my thought process and helped in enhancing my self-worth. I started loving my life.
  • Self-counseling helps. I treat myself as a child. I ask questions, about things that hurt me, why did I feel bad about something that the other person had said, is it good? Is it bad? Then I come to the climax.
  • Know that you cannot please everyone. Society is a huge problem. Prejudices like you are too good to revert to an elderly person’s (wrong) views, would subsequently want you to restore their faith in you.

There have been numerous times when he was raped, mentally. After four years of living in absolute darkness, Ankit finally defeated his demons. He is now happy to embrace the scars left by his kick-boxing practices than by those dreadful four years.

Struggle of distinguishing depression

The word “depression” is powerful enough to frighten anyone. In a world with more than 300 million people struggling with depression, only a handful of them dares to speak up about their mental status. And others? They suffer in the shadows of misery, despondency, and ultimately seek suicide as their final destination.

Camouflaged by societal stigma, prejudices, and indifference, people battling with depression or any other mental clutter could barely distinguish their problems or seek professional guidance.

There are people who may not even realize the signs and intensity of depression and in turn, can fall in the vicious cycle of drug or alcohol addiction. Thus, it’s imperative to know and understand the signs before it is too late.

 

Editor’s Take: We will update an article on the signs and symptoms of depression in our health section soon.

Also, don’t forget to share this article. Help us reach this story to others in need.

For busy people: Easy and effective hacks to stay healthy

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stay healthy ways

Sedentary lifestyle, hustling schedules, and the race to stand tall among other competitions has disturbed numerous lives. Competitions have killed the world’s sleep and eating habits more than an outbreak. Lack of time is a major account why people buckle under unhealthy eating and sleeping patterns. As a result, prevalence rates for the number of ailments and afflictions have increased rapidly.

The body achieves what the mind believes. Thus, it is essential to watch out both the mind and the body in order to maintain the balance.

Highlighted below are some of the easy and effective ways that will help one engage in a healthy state, physically as well as mentally.

  1. Exercise it out:

    Man doing exercise
    Source: BBC

    Engaging in physical exercise is a great way to eliminate toxins from the body. Besides toning the muscles and tissues, regular exercise also helps in the release of the brain’s reward chemicals, the ones necessary to enhance one’s state of mind.

  2. Cut off the intake of caffeine

    no to coffeeThe widely used mood-altering drug in the world, caffeine, when consumed in moderate proportion can yield a number of health benefits. Unlikely, heavy intake, more than 500-600 mg of caffeine a day, on the other hand, can lead to health issues like insomnia, nervousness, irritability, an upset stomach, restlessness, aggravated anxiety, and muscle tremors.

  3. Switch to chamomile tea

    chamomile-tea
    Source: Medical news

    Chamomile tea possesses a number of health benefits. The beverage is stacked with antioxidants that cut risks of life-threatening diseases like cancer and diseases of the heart. Additionally, chamomile tea treats sleep disorders, promotes digestion, better skin, controls blood sugar, boosts immune health, as well as helps one to relieve from mental clutters like anxiety and depression.

  4. Expose to sunlight:

    woman exposed to sunlight Vitamine D

    From regulating the level of insulin to maintaining cardiovascular and lung health, Vitamin D plays numerous roles in keeping the body hale. Exposing to sunlight, at least 15-minutes every day can also help in breaking-free from stress

  5. Listen to good music

    woman listen to good music

    Music has the ability to influence one’s mental and physical state. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) announced music therapy as a therapeutic and effective means to combat problems of the mind. Distinguished philosophers like Plato, Confucius, and the kings and monarchs pronounced music as an effectual medium to heal aggravating conditions of their mind.

  6. Replace your regular cup with green tea

    green tea cup of green tea green tea benefits
    Source: Prehab

    Green tea has been known as an effective agent to treat issues of the stomach, skin, and brain. Besides, green tea also helps to curb blood pressure and drop an escalating heart rate. Amino acid or L-theanine present in green tea is an important agent required to abate stress and anxiety.

  7. Yoga and meditation:

    woman doing yoga
    Source: Woman fitness org

    Accepted since ancient times, yoga, and meditation are powerful antidotes for a healthy body and mind. Pranayama (breathing techniques), asana (body postures), meditation, and the ancient yoga philosophy, has strengthened millions of people with positivism and a new perspective on life.

It is not always possible to maintain a healthy diet. In such, balancing with alternatives can work wonder as well. Keeping alongside ditching smoking and drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day, sleep is an important factor to grasp while considering one’s health.

Albeit there are numerous ways to stay healthy, practicing a few simple and basic steps can prove beneficial in retaining one’s health in the long run. So, which are you going to adopt? Let us know in the comment section below.

Also, don’t forget to share this article in your circle.

You may also like to check out Asanas For Weight Loss.

Health risks associated with vaping e-cigarettes

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Electronic cigarette (e-cigarettes or vapes) is a kind of electronic device that is used by heating the liquid that contains nicotine. The liquid then becomes vapor and stimulates the sensation of smoking a cigarette. Compared to a traditional cigarette, e-cigarettes does not comprise of the hazardous cocktail of compounds found in tobacco.

In recent times, e-cigarettes have gained much popularity mostly among the younger generation. But little did they know that vaping extensive amount of flavored smoke produces a high level of toxins.

However, according to a study from the University of California, San Francisco, e-cigarettes, which are sold in a variety of flavors, produces the excessively hazardous level of Formaldehyde and carcinogenic compounds that are known for causing numerous health hazards.

Highlighted below are some of the health risks that may subsequently affect one due to unseemly use of e-cigarettes.

1) Chemicals such as benzaldehyde and vanillin, used as flavoring agents in these cigarettes are known to cause respiratory issues. Besides, the World Health Organization reported that vaping kills more than 7 million people each year.

2) There are about 7,000 different varieties of flavors available for e-cigarettes. In a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspective, highlighted that the flavoring substance, diacetyl, is linked with “popcorn lung” disease. Popcorn lung disease is a serious disease that causes coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. It is a condition that causes scarring of tiny air sacs in the lungs thereby resulting in thickening and narrowing of the airways.

3) Even a single puff of any of the flavored e-cigarettes can produce the unacceptably higher level of dangerous chemicals like aldehydes.

4) Vaping causes inflammation in the lungs and over time can result in serious lung disease.

5) A study conducted by the University of Connecticut found that nicotine e-cigarettes and unfiltered cigarettes are corresponding to produce significantly higher levels of potent tobacco carcinogen that are likely to cause substantial damage to one’s DNA.

6) According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, people who vaped fruit flavors had higher levels of acrylonitrile, a highly poisonous compound that is extensively used in manufacturing plastics, adhesives and synthetic rubber compared to those, who did not use those flavors.

7) Vaping can inflame cells of the mouth in such a way that could severely elevate one’s risk of getting tapered by gum disease. Consequently, gum diseases carry the risk of destroying tissues of the teeth, thereby leading to loss of the tooth.

Although e-cigarettes are considered less harmful than traditional cigarettes, they still carry the risk of causing chronic and stern damages to one’s health. In fact, a recent report shredded light on the risks carried by these vaping devices. The report said that although e-cigarettes do not contain nicotine, youngsters who smoke e-cigarettes expose themselves to substantially higher levels of cancer-causing chemicals.

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