Category Archives: Healthy Aging

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Exposing heroin and opium effects

Exposing heroin

Here is the way out of exposing heroin and opium addiction effects to human health

Exposing heroin and opium effects: What is Heroin and Opium?

Before we can settle into the discussion of exposing heroine and opium effects, we want to first understand the definitions of the two substances. A lot has been said about heroin across the globe and one very important point is that heroin like all other substances of abuse has got nothing beneficial to human health. They can only be associated with disasters like poor health, suffering and death to the extreme further begging the question “what really are these dangerous and devastating substances?”

Heroin is derived from the morphine alkaloid found in opium and is roughly 2-3 times more potent. A highly addictive drug, heroin exhibits euphoric (“rush”), anxiolytic and analgesic central nervous system properties. Heroin is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and as such has no acceptable medical use in the United States. Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Most illicit heroin is sold as a white or brownish powder and is usually “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. It can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death and that is why exposing heroin effects is very necessary. Another form of heroin known as “black tar” may be sticky, like roofing tar, or hard, like coal. Its color may vary from dark brown to black. Heroin has some funny street names include smack, H, skag, junk, brown sugar, horse, and black tar.

The opium definition

Opium is also a highly addictive narcotic drug which comes in dried latex form from the opium poppy seed pod. Customarily the pods which have not ripened are slit open and their sap seeds out and dries on the outer surface of the pod. The product realized will be yellow-brown latex, which is then scraped off of the pod; it is bitter in taste and contains varying amounts of alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, thebaine and papaverine.

And now back to exposing the effects of opium and heroin in both the short-term and the long-term, can be overwhelming in a number of different ways. The euphoria experienced in the short-term can overtake the senses, making the patient incoherent, unresponsive and unable to focus. In the long-term, the health effects can erode major organ systems and cause infections that can be life threatening. The good news is that when you schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, you will be attended to professionally in all your addiction related concerns.

Exposing heroin and opium effects: Short term effects

The short-term effects of opium and heroin are generally the reason why people use opiates in the first place. This is when you experience the high or euphoric rush associated with the drug.

  • Less than 10 seconds after intravenous injection, opiate users will feel a rush while an intramuscular injection provides a high in less than 10 minutes.
  • For those who snort or smoke the drug, the euphoria takes up to 15 minutes.
  • Other short-term effects of heroin and opium include dry mouth, a warm feeling, and heavy arms and legs.
  • When heroin is cut with poisons or dangerous drugs like Fentanyl or when too much heroin is taken, a short-term effect of the drug can be overdose or death.

Exposing heroin and opium effects: What is Heroin and Opium?

 

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Managing panic attacks in cancer patients

Managing panic attacks

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients require professionalism and care

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients: This attack can be life threatening

Careful consideration should be taken in managing panic attacks in cancer patients since it can be an alarming symptom of anxiety. According to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD, panic attacks can happen very suddenly and often reach their worst in just about 10 minutes. The victim may seem fine between the attacks but is usually very afraid that they will happen again. The following are some of the symptoms of panic attack.

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients: Symptoms of panic attack

  • Shortness of breath or a feeling of being smothered
  • Running heart
  • Feelings of dizziness, unstable, lightheaded, or faint
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Feeling as if they’re choking
  • Quivering or trembling
  • Sweating
  • Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
  • An urge to escape
  • Impassiveness or tingling sensations
  • Feeling “unreal” or “detached” from themselves
  • Chills (shaking or shivering) or hot flashes (may involve sweating or facial reddening)

If a person is having any of the first 5 symptoms or any five for that matter, it can mean an urgent or life-threatening condition. In this case the presence of a doctor would be required right away to attend to the patient if someone unexpectedly has any of these. It is also very important to note that these symptoms can be signs of other, more serious problems such as shock, heart attack, blood chemistry imbalance, collapsed lung, allergic reaction and many other chronic conditions. Therefore it’s not safe to make an assumption that they are panic-related until are diagnosed and confirmed by a doctor.

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients: What to do

  • Check with the doctor to be sure that the symptoms are caused by panic and not another medical problem.
  • Stay calm and speak softly during a panic attack.
  • Sit with the person during panic attacks until he or she is feeling better.
  • Call for help if needed.
  • After the panic attack is over, encourage the person to get treatment for the panic attacks.
  • Provide transportation to treatment if needed. The person may be afraid that a panic attack will happen while driving.
  • The ideas listed under “What to do” in the section “Anxiety and Fear” may also be helpful.

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients: Do not

  • Minimize or make light of the person’s terror or fear.
  • Judge the person for feeling scared and acting strangely.
  • Try to talk the person out of their fear or other feelings.
  • Hesitate to call the doctor if you have questions about what’s happening.

Finally for us to win the good health back, we must ensure that we change our attitude towards anxiety and fear more so when it comes to handling cancer patients. Everything we do will matter a lot in the healing process of the cancer patients. Therefore seeking for treatment in good time and from experience and qualified doctors will be the best you can do for yourself. Doctor Dalal Akoury is one of such professionals you can contact for any health conditions you have that is cancerous. Make the best decision today and schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for a life changing treatment that will give you your life back enjoying it to the fullest.

Managing panic attacks in cancer patients: This attack can be life threatening

 

 

 

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Helping cancer patients cope

Helping cancer patients cope

Helping cancer patients cope with this disturbing condition requires a lot including healthy living

Helping cancer patients cope: Attitude and beliefs

People value the care they get from their cancer care team, but many also want to take an active role in dealing with their illness. Dr. Dalal Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center has been in the medical practice for well over two decades and she is going to be very instrumental in helping cancer patients cope with this condition progressively as we continue in the discussion. She says that for a better understanding of these concerns, it is important to segment the useful ideas on coping with cancer in to two categories. The divisions is based on attitudes and beliefs that clearly are beneficial (and she calls them the Do’s) and those that are harmful (which she referred to as the Don’ts). The following are some of the doable.

Helping cancer patients cope: The doable attitudes

Only go for those coping ways that have been helpful for you in the past in solving problems – It is important to note that everyone will only want to associate with those people who will add value to their lives. Therefor be selective and only go for those whom you will feel comfortable sharing and talking with about your illness freely. In the event that you can’t talk to anyone, you could opt for meditation, relaxation or listening to music as alternatives of calming you down. Do what it takes and only apply what has worked for you before and in the unlikely event that nothing works and coping is becoming difficult, then at this point getting professional help becomes necessary.

Deal with cancer “one day at a time – For effective dealing with cancer, it is very important that you keep distance from elements of worries. The business of coping with cancer will be less tasking when broken into smaller units which are manageable. By doing this, you will be able to handle your daily objectives.

Register for support and self-help groups – Only associate with value additions groups and leave any group that makes you feel worse.

Find a doctor who lets you ask all your questions – In the journey of answering this question “how can I help myself cope with cancer?” it will be very important that you in all your association there must be the feelings of mutual respect and trust. Always insist on being a partner in your treatment. Doing this will enable you to be informed of the problems you are likely to face before they come, and addressing them will become even easier.

Explore spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, such as prayer, that may have helped you in the past – If you don’t consider yourself a religious or spiritual person, get support from any belief systems that you value. This may comfort you and even help you find meaning in the experience of your illness.

Keep a personal notebook of your doctors’ numbers, dates of treatments, lab values, x-rays, scans, symptoms, side effects, medicines, and general medical status – Information about the cancer and your treatment is important to have, and no one can keep it better than you.

Keep a journal if you find a need to express yourself without holding back – It can help you process the journey, and you may be amazed by how helpful it can be.

Helping cancer patients cope: Attitude and beliefs

 

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Beautiful Child wearing a head scarf due to hair loss from chemotherapy fighting cancer

Cancer affects emotional health in many ways

Cancer affects emotional health

Cancer affects emotional health in many ways.

Cancer affects emotional health in many ways: Depression and cancer

It is never fun to be told that you are suffering from cancer. When such news is broken to the patients, devastation, pain and anguish sets in not just to the patient but even to the relatives and loved ones. For sure most patients, families, and caregivers expresses some degree of depression, anxiety, and fear when cancer becomes part of their lives. These feelings are normal responses to this life-changing experience. We want to settle into the discussion of how cancer affects your emotional health and what you can do to help. We will be guided by the help of doctor Dalal Akoury who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where a lot of cancer preventive treatment are done. You can also be part of the many experiencing life transformation with the professionalism approach doctor Akoury is applying in the treatment of her clients.

Like I have just mention cancer is life threatening and people struggling with cancer will have the feelings expressed above which can be caused by many things, including changes in their families’ roles and even assignment at their work stations. A cancer patient is likely to feel the loss of control over life events, and bear the burden of dealing with changes in their body image. They might feel grief at the losses and changes in their lives that cancer brings. There may be fear of the eventualities like death, suffering, pain, or all the unknown elements that lie ahead. This may not be limited to the patients only but even the family members and caregivers may have these feelings too. It is possible that they will be afraid of losing their loved one. Anger of knowing that cancer is affecting their loved ones will be another concern especially with the knowledge that cancer is genetically inherited. This will in many ways cause both the patient and their loved ones frustration and stress that they are either not doing enough to help or that they have to do more at home.

In all these, it’s important to remember that people with cancer, as well as their friends and family, can feel distress about these things at any time after a cancer diagnosis, even many years after the cancer is treated. And as the cancer situation changes, they all must cope with new stressors along with the old, and their feelings often change, too. For instance, people dealing with cancer that’s spread and is making the person feel worse may have more emotional distress than those dealing with early-stage cancers.

People who have physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness (fatigue) also seem more likely to have emotional distress. Most of the time, physical symptoms can be controlled with medicines but it could take more than one try to find the right drug or combination of drugs. Doctor Akoury emphasizes that because of this, patient must keep consulting closely with their doctors and with their cancer team. This way they can help with these kinds of symptoms before you feel overwhelmed.

Take note that this link is tailored to equip you with health information that can help your families, friends, and caregivers to know what feelings and behaviors they might expect from their loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. It is also to help you understand what isn’t normal and when more needs to be done like getting outside help. Besides, it can also help you recognize when you or others need outside help. Remember that everybody is vulnerable to cancer and all these things can happen to anyone including your caregivers, friends, and family members too. Anyone affected by cancer theirs or a loved one will need help in dealing with the emotions that result.

Cancer affects emotional health in many ways: Depression and cancer

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Clinical depression and cancer

Clinical depression

Clinical depression and cancer treatment solution begins with detoxification effectiveness

Clinical depression and cancer: Emotional health

It’s normal to grieve over the changes that cancer brings to a person’s life. The future, which may have seemed so sure before, now becomes uncertain. Some dreams and plans may be lost forever. But if a person has been sad for a long time or is having trouble carrying out day-to-day activities, that person may have clinical depression. In fact, up to 1 in 4 people with cancer have clinical depression. The effects of clinical depression is alluded to great distress, impairs functioning, and might even make the person with cancer less able to follow their cancer treatment plan. In all these, there is still hope and the good news is that clinical depression can be treated. Therefore if you know of anyone who has symptoms of clinical depression, you can be their link to the much help they need, encourage them to get help from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. There are many ways to treat clinical depression including medicines, counseling, or a combination of both. With good and timely treatments, you can reduce your rate of suffering and improve the quality of your life.

Symptoms of clinical depression

  • Loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities most of the time
  • Being slowed down or restless and agitated almost every day, enough for others to notice
  • Frequent thoughts of death or suicide (not just fear of death), suicide plans or attempts
  • Continues sadness, hopeless, or “empty” mood for most of the day
  • Extreme tiredness (fatigue) or loss of energy
  • Trouble focusing thoughts, remembering, or making decisions
  • Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless
  • Major weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain
  • Trouble sleeping with early waking, sleeping too much, or not being able to sleep

Remember, some of these symptoms, such as weight changes, fatigue, or even forgetfulness can be caused by cancer and its treatment. However when five or more of these symptoms happen consistently daily for 2 weeks or more, or are severe enough to interfere with normal activities, it might be assign of depression. If this description fits your situation, then you need to be checked for clinical depression by a qualified health or mental health professional. If the person tries to hurt him- or herself, or has a plan to do so, get help right away.

Clinical depression and cancer: What to do

  • Promote physical activity, especially mild exercise such as daily walks.
  • Reassure the person that with time and treatment, he or she will start to feel better – and although changes to the treatment plan are sometimes needed, it’s important to be patient.
  • Help make appointments for mental health treatment, if needed.
  • Provide transportation for treatment, if needed.
  • Remember that it’s OK to feel sad and grieve over the losses that cancer has brought to their lives, and to yours.
  • Realize that being pessimistic and thinking everything is hopeless are symptoms of depression and should get better with treatment.
  • Engage the person in conversation and activities they enjoy.
  • Encourage the depressed person to continue treatment until symptoms improve, or to talk to the doctor about different treatment if there’s no improvement after 2 or 3 weeks.

If you suspect you may be depressed, schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury today.

Clinical depression and cancer: Emotional health

 

 

 

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