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Category Archives: Health care

Looking After Walking Feet

Walking is a very popular activity amongst people of all ages. As feet are a vital part of a good walk it is important to keep them healthy and pain free. I’m often seeing people in the clinic complaining of foot problems during and after country walks. Many of these can be avoided by following some simple foot health tips.

Wear appropriate footwear. Always wear footwear that fits properly and is suitable for the terrain that you intend to walk on. If you are walking on a hard surface such as a road then your need footwear with a more cushioned sole, if you are walking over fields or moorland then you need a harder wearing boot that is waterproof and breathable and offers good ankle support. Wear good socks. Socks should keep your dry and cool. 100% cotton socks hold moisture against the skin which can irritate the skin and cause blisters. 100% wool is very good a wicking away sweat but usually isn’t very comfortable. A wool/silk blend is very popular or a wool/synthetic blend such as CoolMax works well. Clean and dry your feet after long walk. A very simple tip that helps prevent immersion foot conditions such as trench foot. Simply clean your feet with a wet wipe, allow the skin to dry properly then put FRESH socks and shoes on before driving home. Remember to wash them properly in the shower when you get home!!!! Trim nails regularly. Use proper nippers that cut the nail rather than bend it or shred it. Cut them straight across and not down the sides, else you risk ingrowing nails. If you can’t cut your nails or if they’re an odd colour, shape or painful visit a podiatrist like Essex Union Podiatry who will make them pain free and manageable.

Remove hard skin with a file. If you can’t remove it yourself visit a podiatrist who will be able to remove it quickly and painlessly and suggest ways to prevent it from building up. Moisturise your skin. Use a simple moisturiser, especially if you are prone to blisters as it keeps your skin strong and supple. DO NOT put it between your toes. DO NOT use surgical spirit to harden your skin. This damages the skin and makes it weak, increasing the risk of skin problems and infection. Dry your boots. Allow your boots to dry out before using them again by loosening the laces and remove the sock liner. Not only will this increase the life of the boot but it will prevent bacteria and fungi breeding in the damp dark environment of the boot. Treat athlete’s foot as soon as you notice it. Use an athlete’s foot cream on your skin daily until the athlete’s foot has gone then continue for a few more days. At the same time spray inside your shoes before and after each use. Socks should also be sprayed or better still thrown away and new ones brought.

Walking is a great leisure activity than can be very sociable and I’ts great for maintaining fitness. Don’t let a foot pain ruin it for you. Follow the above tips, if they don’t help then visit a podiatrist, something can always be done to help you walk pain free.

Unfolding The Vitamin And Supplement Way Of Treating Hearing Loss

Senses are the best friends of a person. They do not just help with understanding but also provide better communication and lead a healthy and non-compromisable life in several aspects. Hearing, or the sense of sound, is an immense gift to humanity. It helps to realize words and also feel each other. To those who have their hearing sense shatter or diminish can be a grave disappointment. The age strikes everyone, but to preserve this essence of life to the maximum, one can often choose health supplements that aid the hearing aspect of a human being. Available at the Homepage of several hearing aid websites, or a specialist, they can be an easy, hassle-free, and a better option.

Why do I need supplements?

In the busy world and an uneven lifestyle, the following are the reasons why choosing and picking up a supplement can be the best for treating hearing loss:

  • They can help to potentially fight and prevent infections, both minor and chronic related to their domains.
  • With a life full of stress and poor diets, it suffices for the micronutrients that a body needs.
  • They help to get in the essentials that otherwise an individual might be picky about eating or choosing as a whole.
  • Made from fresh ingredients and free of false values, they suffice for the artificial, otherwise available market.
  • No supplement is specific; apart from sufficing for the peculiar need, they also help ward off other unseen issues.

The must-have supplements for preventing hearing loss

The medical world has been growing rapidly. The following are the must-have vitamins and supplements that help with delaying or avoiding hearing loss at any stage of life:

Vitamin A

It is a fat-soluble vitamin that aids a lot of bodily functions. Beneficial to the heart, lungs, kidneys, and much more, they play a vital role in helping in better and sound hearing. They are available in the following:

  • Carrots
  • Red pepper
  • Cantaloupe
  • Pumpkin
  • Sweet potato

Vitamin C

It is one of the best friends that comes to rescue when any foreign body or infection invades a person. Helping with the immune system of the body, it is a common vitamin that is available in the following:

  • Kiwi
  • Oranges
  • Brocolli
  • Preppers (Red and green)
  • Lemon

Vitamin B 12

Extremely helpful for nerves and body cells, including DNA, it can be the best to befriend for a healthy hearing sense. Being used in treating some of the chronic issues, they can be incorporated in diet using:

  • Eggs
  • Dairy
  • Milk
  • Seafood
  • Chicken

Folic acid

It is a type of vitamin B that helps with cell rejuvenation and the production of new cells. It is extremely helpful in preventing hearing loss that is a result of growing age in a person. They can be found in the following foods:

  • Beans
  • Whole wheat products
  • Beets
  • Sprouts
  • Lentils

Although available in foods and regular food supplements available around a person, choosing the supplements can best provide the best shot of these vitamins. The best is to incorporate them naturally, but if not, supplements are always a way-out!

Hearing is one of the best gifts of nature, and hence it should be preserved to the utmost. Taking good caring, having a regular clean-up routine, check-ups, when something is fishy, is the best way to endure them. The Homepage of the supplement store may be the best insight into what a person needs to maintain the best hearing, but consulting a specialist is the best option. It helps to secure and choose the best product as per an individual’s need. Every person is different and hence ensuring the cross-check is the best when it comes to using supplements.

Try Finding A Doctor If You Are On Medicare

Politicians talk incessantly about ensuring the long-term viability of Medicare. However, there is a critical, immediate problem that impacts the ability of Medicare recipients to obtain necessary services.

Medicare is intended to provide Americans over 65 with medical care. Theoretically, it is supposed to cover most services, with the doctors being paid directly by Medicare. Part B of Medicare, which covers doctors’ services, requires patient co-pays which can be covered by one of the various supplemental Medicare plans available.

The problem is that more and more doctors are not willing to accept new Medicare patients for the very simple reason that the amounts Medicare pays are insufficient to cover the cost of the services. A recent survey of 100 primary care doctors in Colorado showed that two-thirds of them would either refuse to take on new Medicare patients or limit the types of services they may provide, that is why there are patients looking for alternatives such as New Medical Spa for their medical needs.

In researching this topic the one thing that became clear is just how confusing the entire reimbursement system works. Medicare gives doctors three choices: (1) physician must accept 80% of the Medicare-approved amount for each service and can collect the other 20% as a co-pay from either the patient or the patient’s supplemental insurance; (2) physician can charge 115% of allowed charges, with Medicare paying less than under option (1) and the physician can attempt to collect the balance from the patient or supplemental insurance; or (3) “opt-out” of Medicare and not accept any Medicare payments for any patient, and the patient does not get any reimbursement from Medicare. The physician and patient actually have to sign a contract agreeing to those terms. With the opt-out, the physician is free to charge as much or as little as s/he deems appropriate.

All three options are bad. The first and second provide doctors with very small payments. The doctors who take option 2 can end up with a little more if they are able to actually collect the balances due from the patients. Option 3 simply will not work for most Medicare recipients who cannot afford to pay market rates for medical care.

To make matters worse, the reimbursement rates paid to doctors have actually decreased over time. Under current federal law, Medicare payments to physicians were scheduled to go down by 26.5% on January 1, 2013. At the last minute, Congress prevented that decrease. This has become a yearly event: the law requires adjustments to Medicare payments and Congress overrides the law in order to prevent catastrophic decreases that would adversely affect the ability of all Medicare patients to obtain medical treatment.

Even though the 26.5% decrease was avoided, the “sequester”, the required reduction in spending by all branches of government caused by the inability of Congress to actually govern like they are supposed to, has resulted in a 2% reduction in payments in medical providers as of April 1, 2013. Given the thin margin, medical providers were already working on, that amount is significant. Indeed, a major cancer practice in New York announced that it was no longer going to see one-third of its patients.