Diseases List

Symptoms

A family of fungi called dermatophytes is responsible for causing the ringworm infection. When a person is infected with ringworm, the most common symptom is the appearance of rough circular patches that have raised edges on the skin. The ringworm infection causes a lot of itchiness on the infected areas and can be very uncomfortable. The ringworm infection is easily spread to other parts of the body when the affected person scratches the infected parts and then touch themselves on some other part. It is also highly contagious and so any physical contact with an infected person or with infected clothing can easily spread the infection. Lack of personal hygiene and sweat accumulation on parts of the body can cause ringworm, but in most cases hygiene has nothing to do with it as it can be spread in a number of ways and can affect anybody.

Ringworm and Natural Cures

Perhaps the best way of keeping a ringworm infection away is to always keep your skin clean especially after a visit to the gym or swimming pool as the fungi grows in damp environment. To cure the infection, you can also use some known home remedies like rubbing the areas infected with pieces of raw papaya. Alternatively, a mix of some water and dried papaya seeds powder can make a paste that could be used to smear on the patches and the infection should disappear withing a few days. Another remedy is soaking mustard seed in a half full cup of water for some hours, after which you will grind them to make a paste that will be applied on the infected areas of the skin. This also gets rid of the infection within a few days.

Instructions for yet another remedy is cut a fresh lemon in half, use a little salt to sprinkle on the inner parts of the lemon and rub affected area using the slices. You should use the other slice in the same way before rinsing and using a dry cloth to dry gently. The salt and the lemons acidic juice act as a disinfectant and destroys the microbes that cause the ringworm infection. For another alternative, you can get some holy basil leaves, crush them to extract the juice and thrice a day you will dab the skin with the juice which arrests the germs growth and treats the ringworm. All these may not be scientifically tested but they are all good examples of known natural cures against a ringworm infection.

To understand the most effective means of stomach flu prevention, it helps to know what causes stomach flu and how the sickness spreads.

Stomach flu, which is called viral gastroenteritis by health professionals, is actually caused by a virus and so it isn’t really a type of influenza. Nonetheless, the term stomach flu has become commonplace through the decades and is now part of the language.

Viral gastroenteritis begins when one of several viruses enters the digestive tract – usually through the mouth. Stomach viruses carry easily in the air and can float on air currents for surprising distances. If there is someone in your home who has symptoms of gastroenteritis, there’s a good chance the viruses are circulating, landing on counter tops, sinks, bathtubs and other areas that are frequently touched by humans. Keeping food surfaces in your home clean and disinfected is basic to stomach flu prevention.

Gastroenteritis can be directly transmitted from person to person too. You can get the virus by touching, kissing, or shaking hands with an infected person, even if they haven’t gotten sick yet.

Eating food that has been touched by someone who has the virus is another way to get stomach flu. This is one of the reasons many municipal health inspectors insist that restaurant employees wash their hands often. But at home, you should also make sure you don’t share eating utensils, drinking glasses, or napkins with someone who is infected. Clothing used by infected persons should be washed as soon as possible.

Certain foods can be contaminated before you buy them. Shellfish that come from sewage-contaminated water are an example. Unclean drinking water is another source of the virus.

Frequent and diligent hand washing is the best means of stomach flu prevention. The idea is to get the virus off your hands before you touch your mouth, which is something most people do unconsciously many times a day. Hand washing is particularly important before a meal, or after you have been using the bathroom or changing a diaper. Keep your hands under running water for at least 20 seconds and use soap liberally.

Alcohol-based hand gels have become popular in recent years, and they afford protection against some types of stomach viruses, but not all. They should not be considered a reliable method of stomach flu prevention.

Anyone with gastroenteritis symptoms should stay away from the kitchen and definitely shouldn’t cook food for others. If you normally prepare meals for anyone, you should wait at least three days after symptoms subside before you start cooking again. This is not always practical of course. But if someone else can do the cooking, or you can get take-out food from restaurants for a few days, you’ll reduce the risk that anyone else in the family will get sick.

Stomach flu prevention is hard work. You have to spend a lot more time than usual disinfecting floors, sinks, countertops and other areas of your home or work space. There are some commercial disinfectants that are good for neutralizing the major types of stomach viruses, and you should read the labels carefully when using them. If you prefer a homemade disinfectant, mix some bleach with water using 1 part bleach to 50 parts water. If you live in an area where water quality is questionable, use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water for cleaning (obviously not for drinking).

At the moment, two types of vaccines have been approved that are formulated for stomach flu prevention, but they only work against one type of virus. They protect against severe diarrhea from infection in infants and very small children. These vaccines are routinely given to kids before their first birthday along with other childhood vaccines.

Researchers have recently made discoveries that may lead to an effective vaccine against other stomach viruses, but as of the publication date of this article, none had yet been fully developed.

You may not even know it, but you could have Candida infection symptoms. The list of candida symptoms is very lengthy and could prompt you to look at this common problem more closely:

• abdominal gas and bloating with frequent stomach pains and digestion problems
• headaches and migraines
• skin problems (skin infections, eczema, psoriasis, acne)
• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• excessive fatigue and constant tiredness
• cravings for alcohol or sweets, sugars and breads
• anxiety
• vaginitis
• rectal itching
• inability to think clearly or concentrate – foggy brain
• hyperactivity
• mood swings
• diarrhea
• constipation
• itching
• depression
• sinus inflammation
• pre-menstrual syndrome
• dizziness
• persistent cough
• ear aches
  
• low sex drive
• muscle weakness
• irritability
• learning difficulties
• sensitivity to fragrances and/or other chemicals
• cognitive impairment
• thrush
• athlete’s foot
• sore throat
• indigestion
• acid reflux
• chronic pain

Candida is a yeast that occurs naturally in the human body in the lower bowels, vagina and skin. It normally co-exists with “good bacteria” called Bifidobacteria and Acidophilus in a strong immune system.

When there is a weakened immune system an overgrowth will probably occur or if an unhealthy amount of sugar and carbohydrates is being consumed. A high consumption of sugar and simple carbohydrates actually feeds the overgrowth of the yeast.

Antibiotics can also bring on an overgrowth and cause Candida infection symptoms. Antibiotics can kill off the healthy bacteria needed to keep the body safe from many illnesses and conditions. These problems can actually take place after years or even decades after the antibiotic has been taken and when they appear can depend on dietary habits. Once an overgrowth occurs it can be the cause of numerous health conditions.

This yeast overgrowth, which is quite common, is generally overlooked by the traditional medical establishment. The Candida infection symptoms are very similar to other conditions. Alternative physicians, however, recognize the seriousness of this condition, and tend to treat the illnesses more effectively with their non-conventional methods.

People who believe in the conventional drug-oriented approach of traditional medicine will be the consumers of numerous medications in later life, because their immune defense has been destroyed from the consumption of antibiotics.

Antibiotics have become one of the most commonly prescribed drugs around the world and make lots of money pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment. They make for continual customers and more profits, which is almost impossible for them to stop manufacturing and prescribing them.

There are natural methods, which can also take care of Candida infection symptoms and their resulting maladies and even more importantly don’t destroy the body’s first defense, the immune system.

Garlic and coconut oil, for example, can be helpful with Candida infection symptoms but often they’re not nearly enough. A deep Candida cleanse is necessary to get to the root of the real problem.

It’s that time of year: the weather is freezing cold, work is insanely busy, and everyone in your office sounds like they have walking pneumonia. But you’ve got a major presentation (or report or initiative) coming up, and you can’t afford to get sick. You can’t barricade yourself in your apartment, so how can you stay healthy?

Follow these tips to make it out of this cold and flu season alive.

• Boost Your Immune System

If you’re not sick yet, you’ll want to focus on activities that boost your immune system, your body’s natural defense against cold and flues. Get plenty of exercise (which has been shown to boost immune response), eat lots of fruits and vegetables (to make sure your body has all the vitamins and minerals it needs), and get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. The stronger your immune system is, the better your body will be able to fend off any cold and flu viruses it comes into contact with.

• Get a Flu Shot

If you haven’t had one already, go get a flu shot. They’re available at most drug stores, health clinics, and your doctor’s office, and may be covered by your insurance. The flu shot will protect you from the flu virus that medical experts view as being the most nasty for that particular cold and flu season.

• Keep Your Hands Clean

At work, it’s likely you shake a lot of hands. Wash your hands regularly and keep a jar of hand sanitizer on your desk to use after meetings, using the restroom, using the cafeteria, or after being anywhere else you’ve touched things other people have touched. The ethyl alcohol in hand sanitizer can kill any germs you come into contact with and help prevent their spread. It may sound a little obsessive, but being vigilant during cold and season can make a huge difference in your health.

You may also want to wipe down your equipment – telephone, computer, keyboard headset-with rubbing alcohol periodically also, especially if you share these devices with others, as they can spread cold and flu viruses.

• Take Echinacea

If you start to feel a cold coming on, you may want to head to your nearest health food store. According to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, taking Echinacea (an herbal supplement) may help alleviate cold symptoms while they’re in their earliest stages. An added bonus? Echinacea won’t make you feel groggy or fuzz-headed like your typical over-the-counter medicines.

If you’ve been suffering from sinus infections or some other type of sinusitis, which basically means an inflammation of the sinuses, you may be wondering what’s caused it. Although it’s not always known and sometimes can follow a cold or may be confused with a cold you may have some ideas of your own. You’ve no doubt heard of the most common causes.

Many people still think sinus infections are caused by bacteria and want their doctor to give them antibiotics. But most sinus infections are NOT caused by bacteria and are caused by invasive or noninvasive fungus, which you can find as household mold. So you want to eliminate that possibility first and get rid of any mold that you may have in your house, apartment, and condo or even in your motor home.

Look under and around toilets and bathtubs and showers. The bathroom is the most common place and also search the kitchen. If you have any plants in your bedroom make sure to remove them all. If you have a lot of plants in your house and continually have sinus problems or get sinus infections then consider removing them although it’s good to have the oxygen they emit.

Less common causes of sinusitis and sinus infections or factors that contribute to them are: nasal obstruction due to certain conditions including swollen adenoids, nasal polyps, foreign bodies, tumors and any surgeries you’ve had, dental infections, tooth extractions, dental surgery and oral surgery.

Consider indoor pollution so ventilate the house as much as possible by opening the windows and doors especially in the winter months if at all possible when many people routinely get sinus problems, sinusitis or sinus infections.

Then there are barotraumas which are injuries due to changes in ambient pressure resulting form activities such as air travel or scuba diving.

Other problems include immune system problems which can be from birth as congenital or as acquired. More serious causes can be due to underlying disease such as cystic fibrosis or ciliary dyskinesia and cleft palate, conch bullosa and a deviated septum.

The more familiar causes are to dust, sawdust and other particles you can find in the air such as pollen, chemical pollutants and dust mite leavings. People often get sinus infections around remodeling work in their homes or if they’re around construction both indoors and outdoors. So look through these causes and think about the environment around you as to what could be causing your sinus infections, sinusitis or other sinus problems. Know that you can treat most of the common causes yourself at home with natural sinus treatments and home remedies.