Your Medical Clinic - The Importance Of Personalized Healthcare

If you're someone interested in keeping up with healthcare discussions in America, you've probably heard the term "personalized healthcare" thrown about quite a lot. What is this term and why is it suddenly so popular? Unlike a lot of terms in the industry, which tend to say little while sounding very important, any medical clinic that wants to provide the best service possible to their patients should be invested in the concept of personalized healthcare. The same goes for patients who want to find a place to go when sick or well. Here's what you should know about this important principle.
Your Family History
It's a common complaint. Endless forms you have to fill out when you visit the doctor or a medical clinic. While it's true that some have this process more streamlined than others (what's more frustrating than giving out the same information multiple times?), the family history background is essential to the concept of personalized healthcare. Many health conditions are genetic in nature and a doctor can learn a lot about a patient just by knowing the issues her parents and grandparents have dealt with. If you are in the dark about this information, ask about it the next time you're on the phone with your parents; the information could be vital to your health.
New Science
While doctors have always been able to predict and prepare for certain health conditions by knowing intimate details about a patient's health history, personalized healthcare is about taking a big step into the future. A medical clinic may be able to use pharmacogenetics, a methodology that uses an individual's DNA to closely prescribe medications, dosages, and help them avoid side effects that could be dangerous. There are even genetics tests that can help you know your risk factors for certain diseases. If you knew you were at higher risk for heart disease based on a few lines of code, you could better prevent it through lifestyle changes.
Primary Care
More and more, people are eschewing the need for a primary care physician. Most in the healthcare spectrum see this as an alarming trend. Instead of getting preventative checkups, people are waiting until there is a problem to see their doctor. While taking advantage of a medical clinic when you have a cold is a good idea, you shouldn't rely on a walk in facility for all of your healthcare needs. Only a regular, primary care physician can give you the personalized healthcare you need to stay well.

How to Choose a Tummy Tuck Surgeon

A tummy tuck could be the ideal way to transform your body and to take back some of the youthful appearance you are craving. After having a baby, losing a lot of weight, or having other surgical procedures, the abdomen often looks bad. You may have sagging skin in this area or a pouch of excess fatty tissue that just will not go away no matter what you do to try to make it possible. The good news is that a surgeon can help you to fix the problem for good. Finding the right one makes a big difference.
Experience Matters
Perhaps the biggest factor to consider when selecting a surgeon for your tummy tuck is whether the professional has the level of experience you feel comfortable with in a doctor. In most cases, the best providers have three to five years of surgical skill and a solid reputation for providing great work. Most of the time, the professional will be board certified. He or she may have a good amount of surgical experience, but you also want to ensure that experience includes this specific procedure.
Education Is a Must
It is not possible for someone to be trained and licensed in the United States to perform this procedure without first having extensive education. That usually includes at least five years of surgical training. Two of those years, at least, should be in plastic surgery. Additionally, most doctors learn how to perform a vast number of procedures on various parts of the body. You will want to know the surgeon has specific training on this type of procedure.
What Else to Look For
When comparing doctors, do some research. Look at before and after shots of the doctor's work. Do you notice scarring? Can you tell the individual had work done? You also want to know the doctor never works in anything but an accredited medical facility. He or she should also maintain a strict code of ethics. This may be present in his or her membership to various boards including the American Board of Plastic Surgery. If the doctor is from out of the country, learn about his or her training and experience in that area as well.
A tummy tuck is a permanent process. There is no way to go back once it is done. The skilled hands of a plastic surgeon can make all of the difference in the long run. Before you even go in for a consultation, know who your doctor is, what his or her specialties include and what type of reputation he or she has. It really can make all of the difference in your success with this procedure and it is easy to check out beforehand.

Top Tips to Whet Your Appetite

While most of the world would prefer to feel less hungry, people who are underweight may want to increase their appetite so they can gain weight and achieve a healthy a size. Poor appetite has a multitude of causes, but some cause's can lie in the digestive tract and nearby organs. Almost every stomach and intestinal problem will disturb appetite, including constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion and ulcers. Disorders of the gall-bladder, pancreas and liver can be a source of slow digestion from a lack of enzymes, and this in turn can cause appetite loss. When you need to consume more calories, try some simple techniques to increase your desire for food.
Get cooking. Prepare as many meals yourself as possible. Chopping, preparing and simmering food create incredible aromas. It doesn't only make your kitchen smell lovely; it also kicks off the secretion of digestive enzymes. Touching, tasting and smelling food before you eat it will prepare the body for digestion and improve your psychological relationship with food.
Appealing taste is vital for a hearty appetite. Healthy foods don't have to be bland. Use fresh herbs and spices to enhance flavours and aromas in your foods.
Eat regularly. Eat at least every 4-5 hours. Our bodies need regular fuel to maintain blood sugar levels & metabolism but enough time to complete digestion before more food is eaten.
Be mindful not to unintentionally isolate someone who has no appetite. Meals are typically social times; not being able to participate in them can feel lonely.
Read food magazines or find our nutritionists' recipes on our website. Those are bound to whet your appetite!
Drinking during a meal can hinder digestion as well as appetite. Wait until sometime after the meal.
Add cinnamon to your food. Cinnamon stimulates your appetite naturally. Other spices that increase appetite are ginger, peppermint, fennel, clove, cardamom and anise.
B vitamins or a B complex can be taken instead of, or in conjunction with yeast. Many green foods, especially alfalfa, are highly nourishing and stimulate appetite.
Vitamin C deficiency can cause loss of appetite. Vitamin C can be obtained through eating fruit and vegetables. An alternative method of obtaining enough vitamin C is through supplementation. A good product like Mixed Ascorbates provides 1g of vitamin C with magnesium, calcium, zinc, potassium and manganese and around 4g of antioxidant-rich berry extracts. It makes a great tasting antioxidant drink when mixed with water.
Zinc appears to stimulate appetite; researchers have conducted numerous studies on zinc and appetite in relation to eating disorders.
Bitter herb juices taken half an hour before meals, are excellent for stimulating the appetite
Snacks between meals should provide proteins, the essential fatty acids omega-6 linoleic acid and omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid. Some examples are avocados, nuts and nut butters, tuna and chicken.
Lactic acid fermented foods such as natural, unsweetened yogurt or kefir or probiotic supplements ( hyperlink Bio-Acidophilus) are also very beneficial to digestion and optimal absorption of nutrients because they create a healthy bacterial environment in the intestines.
Whole oats are very rich in proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, complex carbohydrates and cellulose, which stimulates intestinal activity.
Food is such an important part of our lives, getting the right nutrients from it is integral to a healthy lifestyle. This isn't always easy for everyone to do, but sometimes a few small changes can make a big difference.

Right Time For A Chiropractor

Many people wait till the last minute with an illness or condition to get help. Either they don't have time to see a physician or they can't pay the medical bill, but in both cases the condition gets worse and then more complications arise. Then there are some cases where the patient doesn't know anything is wrong until the symptoms or pain is too much to bear. All are understandable and people have their reasons to stay away from medical care, but it's important to know when and where to go when you need help.
When you experience muscle, neck or back pain over an abnormal period of time--it's time to see a chiropractor. There is no "right" or "wrong" time for seeing a chiropractor. However, seeing a chiropractor earlier than later is best. Why? Because a chiropractor can offer treatment and cure an issue before it develops into a larger complication. The best time is when you experience abnormal pain over a longer period of time.
It's hard to detect the source of pain, especially when you haven't done something different in your routine. When you do detect pain, keep track of where the pain is, if it moves from one area to another and if the pain intensifies. Keeping up with this information helps a chiropractor find the best treatment for your case.
Have you experience pain for a week or more? If so, then it's time to visit a chiropractor and be evaluated. It can't hurt to get an evaluation. The least a chiropractor can say is that you are healthy and only experiencing mild pain that will subside soon. However, if a chiropractor detects a larger problem, they can diagnosis it and get you started with treatment. So, the best time to approach a chiropractor is after a week of unresolved pain. Evaluation after a week provides the feedback you need to live a healthy life.
To be even more prepared, you can start searching for good chiropractors in your area. Knowing who to see when pain starts will expedite the process. You won't waste time searching online for good chiropractors. Instead, you can go directly to a chiropractor and receive an evaluation.
The best advice anyone can give you is to not wait when you experience abnormal pain. See a chiropractor and learn what's wrong while you can easily correct the issue. The "wrong" time to see a chiropractor is weeks or months after the pain has started. See a chiropractor early and everything will turn out right.

Otoplasty Corrects Ear Problems

There are several different reasons why a doctor would suggest otoplasty as the remedy for a person's ears. Most people are born with ears that look normal, but there are many people that aren't. Some people have ears that are protruding, and others are born with a condition known as microtia. Microtia is a condition that affects babies, and it results in deformities. These deformities may be minor and they may only affect one of the ears. They can also be very severe though, and cases like this will definitely need some type of corrective surgery.
If a child is born with microtia, the child can undergo surgery to have this problem fixed. There are other times, though, that otoplasty is needed. One of the main times is to fix a person's protruding ears. The outer part is called the pinna. This is the part of the ear that you can see and it serves an important function. This function is to help a person hear. Protruding ears affect more males than females, and it is an embarrassing problem. Through otoplasty, this can be fixed. When protruding ears are corrected with this type of surgery, it is called reconstructive otoplasty. During this procedure, a doctor is able to fix the problem and make the ears look like they should.
There are several things that cause protruding ears. One of these things is the angle of them relative to the head. Normal ears stick out at approximately 20 to 35 degrees. This is average, but some people's stick out further than 35 degrees and this is when they begin to look weird, or protruding. Two other causes are overdevelopment or underdevelopment of the cartilage. If the ears have too much cartilage, there is a good chance that they will protrude. If there is not enough cartilage, this can also happen.
When a child has this condition, there are two main techniques that can be used to fix the problem. Otoplasty is one of these and ear splinting is the other. This works great for minor problems, and it can be done when a child is very young. The other option is used on more severe cases and is used when the child has microtia. This is usually done when the child is around 5 years old. Doctors will recommend waiting until the ears of the child are fully grown, even if they are not present. In other words, around the age of 5 a they are usually as big as they will get. This makes the age of 5 a good time to have this done. The child is still young enough, but the results will also be good because the ear size will not change much after this. This is a type of procedure that should only be conducted by cosmetic surgeons that are highly trained in reconstructive ear surgeries.