Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism

July 28, 2015

Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism: Would you travel abroad for addiction treatment?

Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism, you realize that the most important thing is getting the problem sorted out. Therefore if traveling abroad would help then it is necessary and must be done.

The trend of treatment is changing from time to time due to various reasons. There are some illnesses that make people feel that they cannot be attended to from their locality again because of several factors. And as a result of this many are opting to seek for the same treatment far away from their localities. In this case distance may not matter but the interest and ability to meet the cost becomes the key factors for consideration. We spoke to doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center about her experience with clients in her over two decades of practice. And she said that addiction treatment is one that is being sought for by many across the borders. According to her most of her clients who are not residence of state are concerned about stigma. As it has been stated severally on this link that in the olden days individuals who were suffering from substance abuse were actually seen to be of weak character. And even though things are now changing, pockets of people are still harboring this old school of thought hence the reason of acute substance abuse problem and medical tourism in most parts of the globe.

If you are still wondering what medical tourism is then you are on time for the most cherished source of medical information. This simply refers to the practice of traveling across international borders in order to obtain health care. Ideally there are many reasons for why people might choose to do this but the most common are that it can be significantly cheaper to get treatment abroad, and it can also mean better options. Those individuals who are dealing with a substance abuse problem are now following the example of the medical tourist. They too are looking at their options in foreign countries and an increasing number of them are deciding that traveling abroad for addiction treatment just makes sense.

Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism: Importance of choosing the right rehab

In order for the individual to have the greatest chance of success in recovery they need to choose the right rehab. The problem is that the facility that might be right for one person might not be such a good option for someone else. If there was one facility that was right for everyone the rest of the rehabs could follow this template and this could help to eliminate addiction completely. The reality is that no such facility exists and there can only be a rehab that is right for the individual. This is why when choosing where to go the individual needs to consider their own needs and how the treatment program will match those needs. For example, some people are quite secular in their beliefs, and they might struggle in a rehab that focused too much on spirituality. On the other hand, those people who have strong religious beliefs will probably benefit from a rehab that emphasizes spirituality.

Even if the individual knows what type of rehab is most likely to work for them it does not always mean that this option will be available to them. The most common reason for this situation is that the individual feels they would do better with some type of private facility, but they do not feel able to afford it. One way to overcome this obstacle to choosing the right rehab is to consider traveling abroad for addiction treatment. This can also mean that the individual has new alternatives that would not be available to them back in their home country.

Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism: Benefits of traveling abroad for addiction treatment

People do not just travel overseas for no reason there must be some good things that motivate them to travel across the borders in search for treatment. The following are some of the benefits of traveling abroad for addiction treatment:

It means that the individual may have recovery options that would not be available to them at home. Some of the international rehabs offerunique programs that might be just what the individual needs.
By traveling abroad the individual will often find cheaper options than they would find in their home country. This could mean that even those with a modest salary can benefit from a stay in a moreluxurious facility.
There are some individuals who will not want other people to know about their stay in rehab. One way to protect their anonymity is to travel abroad to stay in a rehab in most of these placed they will not even need to use their real name further offering them the best of protection from any stigma.
It is possible to attend a facility in an exotic location such asThailand. By entering recovery the individual is building a foundation for a better future and it seems fitting that they do this in a special place.
Some people often feel or view rehab abroad as a reward for doing the right thing.
There will be some discomforts related to the rehab process that are unavoidable (e.g. being away from family), but there will be other discomforts that will be complete avoidable (e.g. staying in an environment that is not conducive to recovery). By choosing a foreign facility the individual may be able to eliminate many of the unnecessary discomforts associated with this type of treatment.
Combining rehab with a foreign holiday can make the whole process more meaningful. It will ensure that the start of the journey into sobriety will be special as well as memorable.
Some people will choose a remote location with stunning scenery. This ambience will make their stay in rehab all the more comfortable.

Finally the objective of traveling or medical tourism will always remain the same when it comes to fighting drug addiction. It is important to note that traveling alone will not offer the solution but all other factors of treatment must be observed if any meaningful result is to be attained. If the patient is still in denial and he/she is flown abroad for recovery treatment, such individual will not be able to optimize on their medical tourism and will probably return the same or even worse as they left. Therefore there must be good preparedness before this decision of traveling is arrived at. It will be very important that you talk with professionals in your region to help you understand some of the coping needs that you must observe. If you are looking for where to get this information, then look no further because we are here for you. Talk to us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center and we will be of great help to you in all matters pertaining to drug addiction recovery process.

Acute substance abuse problems and medical tourism: Would you travel abroad for addiction treatment

Medical Tourism And Treatment of Addiction

March 11, 2015

The Role of Medical Tourism in Treatment of Addiction

Basically medically tourism can be defined as the act of a person leaving his country to seek medical care in a different country or simply beyond the country’s borders. In the past medical tourism involved patients from third world countries traveling to developed countries in search of qualified medical doctors to treat their diseases. This meant that the patient had good money to spend in treatment in the country he was visiting for medical care. However today medical tourism has taken a new dimension with patients traveling from the developed countries to developing countries for affordable medical care. These patients are evading heavy financial crisis that they may plunge into if they opt to treat the diseases in their own countries where the cost of treatment is higher than in the countries they are visiting.

It is important to appreciate the fact that the patients who leave their countries to come and seek medical attention in developing countries are not destitute. In their countries they may form part of the middle class but they certainly have higher purchasing power than the citizens of the countries they visit for medical attention. They are therefore welcomed in these countries by the governments who view medical tourism as a chance to create more national income from it therefore it is greatly encouraged.

Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is a multimillion business that is known worldwide. However medical tourism if not well managed may result in some problems to the countries the medical tourist visit. Just like the common tourism you always know of, I mean that of adventure and leisure that has both positive and negative impacts on the countries the tourists visit the medical tourism is also a double edged sword. It therefore needs to be well managed for the benefits to be enjoyed. Apart from all the benefits that a country visited by a medical tourist will get, we need to look at the role of medical tourism in treatment of addiction.

Medical Tourism avails effective treatment for addiction

Medical tourism has far many benefits to an addict seeking help. To begin with we know that that the biggest hurdle to addicts in overcoming addiction is the presence of triggers that lie just outside the rehab walls. A change in the environment especially leaving a country to a different provides an addict with an opportunity to evade these triggers that may make him to fall back into drug use. These triggers may include the people they were drinking with or even some type of music that is usually played in bars and other places of leisure as people drink and use other drugs. When a person is receiving treatment in a different country, not only the location changes but also the culture which places learning and adventure at the top of the list while pulling the triggers out of the way of an addict.

The addict will also have access to some of the most unique addiction treatment practices across the world, treatments that have been used for centuries in treatment of addiction and have been proved to be very effective. Without the limits of the addicts country’s borders, a whole new world of variety of effective treatments open up for the addict to explore and choose from, of course with help from highly qualified doctors and healers. An example of a unique treatment of addiction that medical tourism avails for an addict is the Ayurvedic herbal Treatment;

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatments of addiction

Ayurvedic treatments are one of the oldest therapies in the world with its roots in India. It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The primary focus of Ayurvedic medicine is to promote good health, rather than fight disease. But treatments may be recommended for specific health problems. The best thing with ayurvedic treatment is that it is holistic. That is to say that it focuses more on the wellness of the patient other than on treating the patient of the symptoms of the disease. It focuses on uprooting the disease by maintaining the delicate balance of the mind, the body and the spiritual being of the patient.

One of the greatest Ayurvedic theories is that everything in the universe be it living or not are not is connected. Good health is achieved when your mind, body, and spirit are in harmony with the universe. Even the slightest disruption of this harmony can lead to poor health and sickness. A person should therefore coexist with the universe. To begin with you need to appreciate the fact that anything that affects your physical, spiritual, or emotional well-being can cause you to be out of balance with the universe and therefore bring you lots of diseases. Ayurvedic treatment is also known as Ayurveda. Through medical tourism addicts from all over the world have been travelling to India for Ayurvedic herbal treatments. This can be credited to its effectiveness in treatment of addiction. Ayurvedic medicine works through these mediums to help an addict overcome addiction and offer complete healing.

Ayurvedic Diet– through ayurvedic diet, a patient will get lost nutrients restored; ayurvedic healers will tailor a diet aimed at recovery for every patient.

Meditation – this is a crucial part of Ayurveda. Meditation helps addicts in the path of self-discovery and also helps them deal with stress and depression better. It effectively addresses depression which is common in addicts as a withdrawal symptom.

Yoga– this involves a series of exercise and postures that will help in deep purification that is needed in getting drug debris out of the system of the patient. It only improves good health and restores the balance of energy in the body.

Achieving Balance– when a person has recovered from drug addiction, ayurvedic medicine will help him to achieve and maintain the physical, mental, and spiritual health balance.

Finally, addiction is a disease that should be approached integratively just in order to be won. Medical tourism avails an opportunity for an addict to find integrative medicine that may not be in their countries. Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to offer the best treatment available to addicts. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for more help in any kind of addiction you may be wrestling with.

The Role of Medical Tourism in Treatment of Addiction

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Adult Stem Cells Therapy Amplifies Anti-Aging

March 9, 2015

With New Technologies Stem Cell Therapy Has Become Effective For Anti-Aging

Every person would love to stay young forever. That is a fact. Being young has many advantages since that is the time when a person has unrivalled vitality and good health as well. However it is in human life cycles that at some point a person shall have to age, grow old. This to me is not a problem. Aging is just a stage in life just like puberty. In spite of aging being a step in the lifecycle of human beings, it comes with certain disadvantages, as people age production of crucial hormones that life depends upon may come to a halt giving rise to myriad complications. It is these complications that are the problem and not necessarily the aging itself. It is a basic fact that women in perimenopause and menopause tend to accumulate fat around the waist and hips. Some people may also become obese as they age, a condition which is a home to many diseases such as diabetes and some type of cancers. It is therefore important to prepare yourself and choose a lifetime that will help you live a healthy life even as you age. It has been encouraged that the best way to fight these illnesses and conditions that are associated with aging is by with increasing exercise, reducing alcohol intake and eating healthy foods. By reducing alcohol intake a person reduces the danger of calories being deposited right in the gut. You may also. Also, increase your healthy fat intake, omega-3 fatty acids and unsaturated fats. However you should eliminate Trans fats completely because there’s no safe amount of them.

Anti-Aging

When for instance you chose to live unhealthy lifestyle before aging, or with considerate leniency, you had to live an unhealthy lifestyle before aging and you begin suffering the consequences; diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia among other problems associated with aging, you will need medical help. Today researchers have discovered that stem cells can be used to help in fighting aging. Researchers have verified that the stem cell therapy can be used as in anti-aging program. To many people the stem cell therapy may be a new term or better yet an innovative approach to treatment of diseases but the reality is that this approach to treatment of diseases and fighting aging has been used for ages now, but with recent breakthroughs in technology, the use of the stem cells in treatments have grown better. A bigger hurdle that many patients using stem cell therapy as anti-aging faced was that an aging person had less of the stem cells to be used in his own therapy. The procedure was also expensive too but now the stem cells can be easily obtained and effectively used as in fighting aging.

All people have stem cells, it’s only that their amount diminishes as a person ages. The most common is known as hematopoietic stem cells. The type of adult stem cell that is most often seen in research associated with tissue repair is a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)

Different types of stem cells used as anti-aging agents

Stem Cell Therapy There are different types of stem cells that are located in different parts of the body. These stem cells can be used to fight aging effectively. There is a type of stem cell known as hematopoietic stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells are found circulating in the blood and the bone marrow. They produce blood cells such white blood cells and red blood cells among others. These stem cells can be utilized in helping to produce other types of stem cells which can effectively help to repair the body. This process is called plasticity. This process works on the basis that the stem cells have the ability to turn into different types of stem cells. Doctors may therefore go from a stem cell, which produces blood cells, to one which produces cartilage tissue or tendon tissue. When a bone marrow aspiration is performed doctors obtain a rich source of these stem cells that can be turned into more useful stem cells and be utilized in fighting age related conditions.

Researchers have found a specific stem cell type to be very important in stem cell therapy to fight aging. These stem cells that are considered to be the most important are known as the mesenchymal stem cells. The Mesenchymal stem cells are found in the bone marrow, the circulating blood as well as in fat cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are the most important stem cells for orthopedic purposes as they help to repair and replace damaged tissues.

The Mesenchymal stem cells are very helpful, however as a person ages the number of mesenchymal stem cells in the bone marrow gets depleted and this is what results in aging. It is therefore very logical to go through a stem cell therapy as an anti-aging procedure that will also help on mitigating on the adverse effects of aging. The used of stem cells in treatments of certain diseases is not knew. However it is good to mention that when compared to embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have distinct advantages. For one, they do not cause an immune reaction, and two there are no ethical issues, as they are your own cells.

With improved technology and equipment, the stem cell therapy has become a very effective treatment for age related ailments. Dr. Dalal Akoury is an experienced doctor especially in the field of integrative treatment. Visit her at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for more.

With New Technologies Stem Cell Therapy Has Become Effective For Anti-Aging

Current Stem Cell Treatments for Orthopedic Conditions

March 8, 2015

Current Stem Cell Treatments for Orthopedic Conditions

The stem cells have a unique ability to divide and become more specialized cells forming cells like bone, blood, or muscle. It is this ability that makes them attractive agents in many areas of medicine. They can therefore be used to fight very many diseases in the regenerative medicine. Another advantage of stem cell therapy treatments is that autologous stem cell transport is made possible. This means that a person may be treated by doctors harvesting the stem cells from the patient and having the stem cells reimplanted into the same patient after finding out what was lacking in the patient. This reduces risks of infection as well as rejection which are helpful to the patient.

Today the stem cell therapy has become the game changing approach to treatment of orthopedic conditions. The ability of these stem cells to differentiate into more specialized cells has made them a valuable target in treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. Particularly the use of bone marrow stromal cells has attracted the attention of researchers who are in pursuit of finding out how these stem cells can be applied to end human misery caused by some diseases.

Stem cells are a unique type of cells, unlike the other cells in the body the stem cell have the ability to self-renew, they have the ability to divide several times giving rise to differentiated cells which are suited for specific functions hence can be used to replace or regenerate worn out cells in the body causing pain and discomfort. They can form cardiac, liver, fat, bone, cartilage, nerve, and connective tissue cells among other more specialized cells. Autologous stem cell therapy harnesses the regenerative power of your body’s own stem cells as a treatment option for degenerative orthopedic conditions.

body_skeleton

Today there are hospitals that have embraced the use of stem cells therapy in treating orthopedic conditions that were rather not easily treated in the past. They offer this autologous stem cell therapy, which embraces the regenerative power of mesenchymal stem cells to give patients another treatment option for dealing with orthopedic conditions such as osteoarthritis and other degenerative joint conditions. Patients who have the following diseases can benefit from stem cell therapy;

Degenerative Joint Changes, Including Osteoarthritis
Disc-related Back Pain
Meniscus Tears
Non-Union Fractures
Avascular Necrosis
Bone Loss
Cartilage Defects
Osteonecrosis
Tendonopathies

Orthopedic Areas in which Stem Cell Therapy is applicable

Spine – the stem cell therapy is applicable in treatment of the degenerated intervertebral disk which is known to cause pain and morbidity to many patients. The stem cell therapy brings into the field of regenerative medicine some bits of effectiveness. In treatment of spine, patients who fail to respond to conservative medicine are left with one option-surgery that may have limited success and is also very invasive. Cell-based tissue treatments, including mesenchymal stem cell injections for degenerative disc subjects have been shown to diminish the incidence of low back pain, with clinical results noting improvement in back pain and regeneration of the disc tissue. In cases where spinal fusions are necessary, the use of stem cells through bone marrow aspirate has shown greater success in obtaining fusion through bone formation as compared to standard fusion techniques. Daily the number of institutions using the stem cell therapy to treat orthopedic conditions is increasing.

Articular Cartilage – when the articular cartilage is damaged, the potential to repair it are limited and this can often lead to arthritic diseases many years later. This damage may be caused by injury. The vulnerability of the articular cartilage makes it important for it to be well handled in cases of injury. studies that have been done on the applicability of the stem cell therapy to repair damaged articular cartilage have shown that stem cell therapy have favorable outcomes in this area than current techniques of micro fracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation. Most studies use mesenchymal stem cells derived from the bone marrow.

Osteonecrosis – Osteonecrosis or avascular ischemia of the hip can be associated with progression to an advanced arthritic joint. Standard treatment for osteonecrosis has included cord decompression with limited results. Stem cell therapy holds key to success in this area of orthopedic treatment. Studies on this area have shown that patients treated with mesenchymal stem cells improved than those treated with cord decompression.

Bone – some damages on the bone may require transplantation of the bone plus other bone components. This is the effective way of restoring the bone structure. Being that the mesenchymal stem cells can be differentiated into bone cells and be used to replace the damaged bone components, stem cell therapy becomes the most appropriate treatment for bone damage.

Tendons and Ligaments – Autografts, allografts, and resorbable materials have been used to repair defects in tendons and ligaments however these methods puts the life of the patient at risk which may include formation of scars, donor morbidity and even tissue rejection. With autologous stem cell transplant all these risks are alleviated plus the mesenchymal stem cells may also be used alongside tissue allografts as this gives better results by improving the biochemical properties of the tissue allografts.

Stem cell therapy is a promising treatment for orthopedic diseases; you may tap into the unique medicinal properties of the stem cells to help you beat orthopedic conditions. Visit us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) an expert in integrative and regenerative medicine will be able to help.

Current Stem Cell Treatments for Orthopedic Conditions

Alcohol Use on the Rise in the United Arabs Emirates

December 15, 2014

Alcohol Use on the Rise in the United Arabs Emirates

The use of alcohol has been on the rise in the United Arabs Emirates. The United Arabs Emirates being a country dominated by Islamic religion which prohibits alcohol consumption this is being quite ironical. The laws that regulate the use of alcohol in the united Arabs emirates are very strict and people have lost their lives as a result of using alcohol and other drugs due to these strict laws. The residents of the united Arabs emirates lose their lives through drugs in two ways. Firstly whenever a person is found drunk in public places he faces very hefty fines and even jail terms with very unfair punishments. Capital punishment which is viewed by many nations as quite unfair to drug offenders is quite tolerated in the Arab states. Capital punishment that involves execution of people found to be using drugs is common and many addicts have had their heads separated from the rest of their bodies by a single strike with a sword. This is mostly done in public places to scare those who might think of engaging in alcohol and other drugs use either as traders or users. The other way through which addicts lose their lives is; they do not have places that they can seek help to quit using alcohol and drugs that they are using. In the United Arabs emirates there are not enough rehabilitations centers, in fact it is only in the recent past that the country put up a national rehabilitation center at Abu Dhabi.

Alcohol Addiction

In spite of the strict rules that regulate the use of alcohol in the United Arabs Emirates the number of residents battling alcohol abuse is on the rise. In fact it is said that in the United Arabs Emirates boozy brunches and binge drinking have become the order of the day. The problems associated with binge drinking has been crippling the economy of UAE given that alcoholism as affected the professional class just as much as the local Emiratis are affected and this has also rendered civil servants and other professionals incapable of serving the citizens of UAE effectively. To save the population and help solve problems associated with alcohol addiction the concerned authorities have been occupied trying to avail rehab services to those affected by this epidemic especially the expatriate. The authorities seem more committed to fighting this social ill as they are now offering this needed help to all affected individuals irrespective of their nationality as opposed to helping only Emiratis only as was done in the past.

Disease Burden on Individuals and Society

The ground-breaking treatment plans follow a National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) report this year titled Disease Burden on Individuals and Society. It says 5.3 per cent of the total deaths in the UAE are due to alcohol use or illicit drugs, coupled with an expected “considerable proportion of hidden users”.

Another research report done by a research firm known as Euromonitor in 2010 showed that alcohol consumption in the UAE has increased by an alarming 30 per cent in the past five years. At the same time, instances of alcohol abuse have also sky rocketed. The frequency of Alcoholic Anonymous Arabia (AA Arabia) meetings which address the issue has registered a staggering 700 per cent increase, from three per week back in the early ’90s to 25 per week today.

Neuro Endocrine Restoration could help UAE Alcohol Addicts

Neuro Endocrine Restoration (NER) is critical in treatment of addicts. It is one of the best ways of fighting addiction. What happens when a person is addicted to a substance is that the substance of abuse that he uses damages the brain by changing its biochemistry creating an imbalance in the brain and the entire endocrine system. This means that any effective treatment must restore the state of the neurotransmitters as was before addiction. The neuro endocrine restoration is the best at doing this since it cost effective, natural and takes a shorter time.

College drinking In our bodies there are neurotransmitters that help us feel good and at harmony with our surrounding. There are also other neurotransmitters that are responsible for low feelings. The brain needs all these neurotransmitters to work normally. In a normal person’s case the balance between these two neurotransmitters is achieved naturally but in case of an addict this balance ceases to exist as long term use of drugs and alcohol affects the neurotransmitters. The use of NER in addiction treatment aims at helping the patient to evade the use of the drugs since without restoring the neurotransmitters, anytime an addict will attempt to stop using the drug of abuse his brain will trigger reactions of danger leading to release of adrenaline and endorphins, in such instance the addict will be forced to use the drug to restore calm and this explains why most addicts fail when they try to stop using drugs without restoring the damaged neurotransmitters.

Intravenous amino acids and the NER are natural approaches to treating addicts that have so far bore juicy fruits. They are affordable, effective and are free from withdrawal symptoms that many people suffer after going through addiction treatment with pharmaceutical medicines. We at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts and offering them a place to call home. We advocate for natural healing to all kinds of addiction. In case you are struggling with addiction just call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

Alcohol Use on the Rise in the United Arabs Emirates

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