Smoking - What is it ?Written by Steven A Harold
Smoking tobacco has been something that people do for numerous reasons for centuries. It is inhalation of smoke from burning of tobacco. Orinigally at least that is what it was. The tobacco leaf was shredded and rolled up or stuffed in a pipe and lit. The fumes or smoke were then inhaled. Why was this started - who knows - maybe it was seen as a cure for some breathing complaint. However it started, most people who smoke want to stop.... eventually.Today many more chemicals are inhaled into smoker's lungs than when practise first started. In fact there are more than 4,500 chemicals in every drag that a smoker takes. Some of these chemicals are in their naturally, others are added as part of manufacturing process. The majority of these chemicals which include hydrogen cyanide, methane, acetone and countless others would harm you in isolation... so just imagine what those chemicals do in combination. I believe that in today's faster society our food intake does not contain goodness (vitamins, minerals etc) in same quantities
| | Is it Colic, Infant Reflux or GERD? Learn How To Tell The Difference.Written by Roni MacLean
It can sometimes be difficult for a parent to understand whether baby has colic or reflux (and even GERD) since some of symptoms (eg. poor sleep, constant crying) can be similiar. It's also extremely important to rule out reflux as a cause of this crying, as it's becoming widely acknowledged that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed and untreated cases of reflux. In these cases, simply treating reflux may eliminate colicky behavior. The easiest way to determine whether a baby has colic or reflux is to look at definitions and symptoms of each. Then compare them to your child's symptoms. COLIC Colic can be defined as uncontrollable, extended crying in babies who are otherwise healthy and well-fed. All babies cry, but when they cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, they are said to have colic. Symptoms of Colic The main symptom is continuous crying for long periods of time. This crying can occur at any time of day but it usually gets worse at night. It's not believed that colic is caused by pain although a colicky baby may look uncomfortable or appear to be in pain. They may lift their head, draw their legs up to their abdomen, pass gas and become red-faced. Poor sleep habits is also common. REFLUX The term reflux is a shorter way of referring to GER (Gastro Esophageal Reflux) and is simply defined as backward flow of stomach contents up esophagus. GER is a physiological process that happens to everyone—young and old—from time to time, particularly after meals and many times we are not even aware it is happening. In babies it generally occurs from immaturity of LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) which is muscle between stomach and esophagus. Some common symptoms of uncomplicated reflux can include: *constant or sudden crying or colic like symptoms *irritability and pain *poor sleep habits typically with frequent waking *arching their necks and back during or after eating spitting-up or vomiting *wet burp or frequent hiccups *frequent ear infections or sinus congestion
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