Utakecare

If you live in an area with a hot and humid weather conditions, you are likely to sweat a lot and may suffer from heat exhaustion or dehydration which may adversely affect your health. People doing physical work at construction sites or sports person are much more likely to face this problem.   In some places, people are known to die of heat stroke.

Some of the steps to prevent dehydration are:

• Drink plenty of water

• Gatoraide or Poweraide may be used to replenish electrolytes

• Salt tablets may help

• Wear a hat to cover your head

• A white Tshirt will have a cooling effect

• A sunscreen may help.

The virus causing a cold is very infectious as a result of which all the family members may fall sick even if a single person gets the cold.

However, by taking a few precautions it is possible  to prevent a person from falling sick:

• Wash your hands more frequently than you usually do

• Avoid using the same bathroom as the person who is suffering from the viral infection

• Avoid sharing food and beverages or eating from the same utensils.

• Eat food rich in Vitamin C like orange juice. Other foods which boost the immune system are mushrooms (Reishi, Shiitake, or Maitake), Colostrum, Elderberry, Beta Glucans,garlic and Echinacea

• Drink plenty of fluids especially water to flush out the toxins from your body

• Avoid stress and take plenty of rest

• Preventive cold medications such as Airborne may help

• Do not spend much time with persons who are suffering from the infection

• Clean the door knobs and the phones

Allergies may be largely due to genetic factors. If  the parents are allergic to substances, their children are also likely to be allergic and the allergy may be stronger in the children. It has been  observed that allergies have become more prevalent in the last few decades, especially  in urban areas. This may be due to the higher pollution levels and exposure to chemicals in urban area.

People in rural areas are less likely to suffer from allergies. Allergies are more common in affluent countries, where people live in a very clean environment and less exposed to parasites and other harmful pathogens. People in poor countries are exposed to pathogens in their daily life and so have a stronger immune system.

The only way to avoid getting an allergy is to avoid the allergen which causes the problem.  If a certain food ingredient is known to cause an allergy, it can be eliminated from the diet. However, this may not be possible for air borne allergens like dust, only exposure can be minimized.

An allergy is the undesirable response of the immune system when a person comes in contact with a foreign substance. The foreign substance is usually harmless and normally does not have any adverse effect on the most people. However, immune system of persons suffering from the allergy, will treat the foreign substance as harmful and trigger a response from the immune system.

More than 20% of the population in many countries suffers from allergies. The foreign substance causing the allergy is called an allergen. Pollen, dust mites, molds and some foodstuff are some common causes of allergy. Symptoms of an allergy depends on the allergen. Some symptoms of an allergy are:

1. Running nose

2. Redness and itching of eyes

3. Asthma, coughing and sneezing

4. Skin rashes.

Some of the common health problems in developing countries for adults are:

• Tuberculosis

• Pneumonia

• Hypertension (High blood pressure)

• Chronic Kidney Diseases

• Diabetes Mellitus type 2

• Cancer

• Cardiac ailments like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Many times, we are told we should take the advice of experts.  Many of these so called experts have little practical experience, they are only good at marketing themselves.  Especially for your finances, it is better to trust your own judgement.

Most people spend a lot of time taking care of their physical health by exercising regularly and going to the gym, but few people pay the same amount of attention to their mental health. Taking care of your mental health is often more important than your physical health. If you are worried about something or are under a lot of stress, this will affect your physical health also.

Some tips to take care of your mental health are:
1. Evaluate all events objectively, do not let your emotions affect your judgment. If some event or person is causing a lot of stress, decide if it is worth the trouble.

2. Do not try to please everyone, if you are unhappy, it is difficult to make others happy. You should know when to say no to people, and when to let people know that their actions are bothering you.

3. Keep aside some time every day to relax and review the events of the day.

4. Learn to laugh at your mistakes and retain a sense of humor

5. Keep your mind stimulated by learning something new like new languages or skills.

6. Devote some time regularly to hobbies which you enjoy.

“Health is wealth” . If you are unwell, there is very little to can do.  This blog contains tips is about taking care of your mental and physical health.