Hair Loss - The Top 7 Causes and What You Can Do About ItWritten by John Howard
Hair loss is always something people do not want to deal with. Perhaps seeing extra hair in shower or on brush is what alerted them to their hair loss. Or, maybe a friend or family member has made a comment as to how thin individual's hair has become. Regardless of how it came to be noticed, hair loss means something. Here are a few things to look into regarding why hair loss happens and if there is something that can be done about it.1. Medicines are often a large cause of hair loss. Such medicines as blood thinners, birth control pills, and antidepressants can cause hair loss. Chemotherapy drugs, gout drugs, and even high doses of vitamin A can cause it. To stop hair loss, drugs must be stopped. Usually normal hair growth will return at this point. 2. Hormones are a large cause of hair loss as well. Often this will be due to over-activity or under-activity of thyroid gland. This creates an imbalance of such hormones as androgens and estrogens and leads to hair loss. Treatments for thyroid disease often fix this problem and hair loss stops. 3. Pregnancy. Often times, levels of hormones in pregnant women's body are so high that they do not allow normal growth cycle of hair to continue. This means that during pregnancy, women lose less hair. About 3 months after pregnancy, though, many women experience high levels of hair loss that is just hair that never fell out during pregnancy. Hair loss will soon stop and regular hair cycles will begin again.
| | A Look At Arthritis: America's Leading Cause of DisabilityWritten by Larry Denton
The word arthritis literally means joint inflammation, but it is often used to refer to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints. The most common are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout. Most forms of arthritis are associated with pain that can be divided into two categories: acute and chronic. Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or a few minutes but diminishes as healing occurs. Acute pain is associated with burns, cuts and fractures. Chronic pain, such as that felt by people with arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last days, months, years or even a lifetime. Osteoarthritis is one of most frequent causes of physical disability among adults. More than 20 million people in United States, alone, have disease. By 2030, according National Institutes of Health (NIH), 20 percent of all Americans--about 70 million people--will have passed their 65th birthday and will be at a higher risk of osteoarthritis. Arthritis limits everyday activity of 8 million Americans, and this disability creates huge burdens for individuals, their families, and nation as a whole. Each year, arthritis results in 9,500 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations. According to National Center for Chronic Disease Control, in 1997, medical care for arthritis (in U.S.) was $51 billion. This disease affects each person quite differently. In some people it progresses quickly and in others symptoms are much more serious and painful. Medical practitioners do not yet know what causes arthritis, but they suspect a combination of factors including: being overweight, aging process, family history, joint injury, and stresses on joints from work or sporting activities.
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