HYPOTHYROIDISM

Hypothyroidism is the disease state in humans and in animals caused by insufficient production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland.

CAUSES

• Iodine Deficiency
• Diseases such as Hashimoto thyroiditis
• Lack of thyroid gland
• Deficiency of hormones from the brain

SYMPTOMS
Early symptoms

• Poor muscle tone
• Fatigue
• Cold intolerance, increased sensitivity to cold
• Depression
• Muscle cramps and joint pain
• Goiter
• Thin, brittle fingernails
• Thin, brittle hair
• Paleness
• Decreased sweating
• Dry, itchy skin
• Weight gain
• Bradycardia (low heart rate – less than sixty beats per minute)
• Constipation

LATE SYMPTOMS

• Slow speech and a hoarse breaking voice – deepening of the voice can also be noticed
• Dry puffy skin, especially on the face
• Thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows (sign of Hertoghe)
• Abnormal menstrual cycles
• Low basal body temperature

TREATMENT

• Hypothyroidism is treated with thyroid hormones (L-T4) and (L-T3) available in the form of tablets.
• Thyroid hormone is taken daily, and doctors can monitor blood levels to help assure proper dosing.

Reasons to Stop Smoking

Most of us know that smoking is indeed a habit that can have many serious implications on our health, but there's a tendency to view the problem lightly. It's important though, that every smoker be aware of the facts concerning smoking. So here are some eye openers for you. The World Health Organization has been studying smoking trends and statistical patterns across the globe and has come up with the following statistics:
A good deal of variation exists from one part of the world to another. Many more women smoke in Eastern Europe than in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Eastern Europe itself has a particularly high rate of smoking, with up to 59 percent of adult males smoking.
As with other substances of abuse, such as alcohol and cocaine, the global frequency of tobacco use varies by social class, historical era, and culture. Historically, smoking had been a pastime of the rich. This trend has changed dramatically in recent decades. It appears that economically advantaged men in wealthier countries have been smoking less. The more years of education you've had, the less likely you are to be a smoker.
As a wannabe quitter, you're in excellent company. People all over the world are trying to quit and stay away from cigarettes. There appears to be a correlation between a country's standard of living, level of education, and income and the number of people who have quit smoking. The more and better-informed people are, the more likely they are to quit smoking.
Most smokers begin early in life, before they are 25 years old. According to World Health Organization studies, the majority of smokers in affluent countries begin in their teens. A decline in the age of starting smoking has been observed worldwide.
Current estimates are that over 1 billion people in the world smoke. (In other words, approximately one in three adults on the planet smokes.) The majority of these smokers reside in countries on the low end to the middle of the socioeconomic spectrum. Of this majority, about 80% live in low and middle income countries. The total number of smokers worldwide is expected to keep increasing. But are things in the USA any better? Not really, as you can see for yourself in the figures of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
In the United States, an estimated 25.6 million men (25.2%) and 22.6 million women (20.7%) are smokers. These people are at higher risk of heart attack and stroke. The latest estimates for persons age 18 and older show:

• Among whites, 25.1 percent of men and 21.7 percent of women smoke
• Among black or African Americans, 27.6 percent of men and 18.0 percent of women smoke
• Among Hispanics/Latinos, 23.2 percent of men and 12.5 percent of women smoke
• Among Asians (only), 21.3 percent of men and 6.9 percent of women smoke
• Among American Indians/Alaska Natives (only), 32.0 percent of men and 36.9 percent of women smoke

Studies show that smoking prevalence is higher among those with 9-11 years of education (35.4 percent) compared with those with more than 16 years of education (11.6 percent). It's highest among persons living below the poverty level (33.3 percent).

And These Figures Spell Death...

• One out of every five deaths is caused by tobacco
• An average of 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco
• Tobacco is blamed for many serious pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases
• Tobacco and nicotine are some of the most potent carcinogens and are to blame for a majority of all cancers of the lung, trachea, bronchus, larynx, and esophagus
• Tobacco use also produces cancers in the pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix
• Impotency is sometimes to blame from addiction to nicotine because of its ability to reduce blood flow
• Smoking is an important risk factor for respiratory illnesses, causing 85,000 deaths per year from pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia
• Children and adolescents who are active smokers will have increasingly severe respiratory illness, as they grow older
• Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low-birth-weight births, and 7-10% of pre-term deliveries, and it increases the risk of miscarriage and fetal growth retardation
• Cigarettes are responsible for about 25% of deaths from residential fires, causing nearly 1,000 fire-related deaths and 3,300 injuries each year

So, are you ready to try and quit smoking now

ASPIRIN Info

Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon, Somers said. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame.

1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life". Therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the aspirin would be strongest in your system.
2. FYI, aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest years. (When it gets old, it smells like vinegar.)

Please read on.
Something that we can do to help ourselves. Nice to know.
Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets.
Why keep aspirin by your bedside?
About Heart Attacks - There are other symptoms of an heart attack besides the pain on the left arm.
One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.
The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.
If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
After-wards:- call Emergency (911, 112, 1122), phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by
-say "heart attack!"
-say that you have taken 2 aspirins.
- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and DO NOT lie down, tell this information to everyone you love.