Headwear Etc Blog

Common Sunscreen Mistakes
Applying sunscreen after going outdoors.
Sunscreen needs to be applied 15-30 minutes prior to going outdoors to allow the sunscreen to be absorbed into the skin. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for exactly how long before going into the sun.

Not applying enough sunscreen.
The estimate is about 1 oz. for an adult. Keep in mind that that all parts of the body that will be exposed to the sun needs to be protected. Neglected areas include face, ears, neck, and feet.

Not reapplying after swimming.
Sunscreen not labeled “waterproof” or “water resistant” does come off while in water. Even waterproof and water resistant sunscreen provide a limited time amount of protection. Check label for how often to reapply waterproof and water resistant sunscreens.

Not reapplying sunscreen at all.
Many people have the misconception that one application of sunscreen will provide all day protection. Not true. Sunscreen needs to be reapplied generally every two hours. Check label for product specific instructions.

Using sunscreen only when it is sunny.
Sunscreen needs to be used in the sun and in the shade. Harmful UV rays can still affect people when it’s cloudy.
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Hair Loss in Women and How to Overcome It
The three major causes of hair loss in women each has a different treatment. Medical tests will determine the reasons for your hair loss and will help to determine which of the treatment options is likely to be the most appropriate and successful.

Androgenetic Alopecia

The same type of hair loss that affects most men, it looks different in women. Whereas men lose hair at the hairline or back of the head, women will usually notice a gradual thinning of the hair on the top and sides of the head.

As with men, androgenetic hair loss in women is inherited. Women with this inherited trait probably produce too much of the male hormone testosterone, or it could be that their hair follicles may be vulnerable to the effects of DHT (dihydrotestesterone), a byproduct of testosterone.

All women produce some testosterone, but women who produce an excess of it may have deeper voices, hair growth on their abdomen and face, and experience thinning of the hair on their heads. Hair loss, in particular, can also be seen when female hormones are changing, such as after the birth of a baby, during pregnancy or at menopause.

Telogen Effluvium

Your hair enjoys a natural growth cycle. The first stage, anagen, is during the hair growth. Hair normally grows about half an inch per month, and will continue to do so for four to seven years. Hair loss experienced in women who are undergoing chemotherapy is caused by anagen effluvium. This is where the hair falls out owing to the hair follicles being poisoned by the medication.

The next stage, telogen, is a resting stage that continues for a few months. The hair is no longer experiencing growth, but is still fully attached to the follicle. Telogen effluvium occurs when an abnormal amount of hair enters the resting stage and then falls out. This usually means that the hair loss is caused by something that happened a few months ago.

Telogen effluvium is a common form of hair loss experienced by women after the birth of a baby. This is caused by the hormones of pregnancy keeping hair in the anagen phase – this is also why pregnant women often have luxuriously thick hair. When the hormone levels return to normal after the pregnancy, all those aging hairs enter telogen and begin to fall out. Telogen effluvium could also be caused by a number of other items such as birth control pills, stress, thyroid deficiency and various medications.

Hair loss in women, the final stage, occurs when a new hair begins to grow in the follicle and pushes the old hair out. It is a perfectly normal occurrence to lose 50 to 100 hairs every day through this natural process.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata can occur in both men and women, and shows as patchy baldness. Most doctors consider it to be caused by an autoimmune response, where your body rejects your hair. Hormone imbalances, arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, syphilis and other diseases, can also be the cause of it. Alopecia totalis is an advanced form of alopecia areata, where total baldness occurs. Alopecia universalis is an even more advanced condition, with loss of all body hair, including eyelashes.

Owing to the hormonal variations they experience throughout life, hair loss in women is harder to manage . Tests are normally necessary to determine the exact cause of the hair loss, and to find a particular treatment that will restore normal hair growth.
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What Are the Symptoms of Chemobrain?

By Dawn Dorsey

Although “chemobrain” or “chemofog” is reported by a majority of people who receive cancer treatment, it often goes unrecognized and untreated.

Medically known as cognitive dysfunction, which means difficulty efficiently processing information, chemobrain is a legitimate, diagnosable condition that usually is covered by health insurance. It may be caused by cancer, cancer treatment or secondary medical conditions, such as anemia.

Learn the symptoms of chemobrain

“Cancer patients with cognitive dysfunction often complain of memory disturbance,” says Christina Meyers, Ph.D., a professor in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Neuro-Oncology.

People with chemobrain may:

Have difficulty multi-tasking
Confuse dates and appointments
Misplace objects
Forget details of recent events or conversations
Fumble for the right word or phrase
Have difficulty focusing on one task
Feel mentally “slower” than before
Chemobrain was studied recently in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at M. D. Anderson, Meyers says.

Study results showed that:

33% had cognitive dysfunction before treatment
61% had problems three weeks after treatment began
50% had improved one year after treatment ended
What is the treatment for chemobrain?

Fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance and depression can make chemobrain worse, and symptoms may last long after treatment ends. However, professional guidance and certain tools can help patients cope with cognitive issues.

“A multidisciplinary assessment, which includes evaluation and laboratory studies to rule out potentially reversible causes of cognitive problems, is optimal,” Meyers says. “Patients with cognitive symptoms may be referred to a neuropsychologist for evaluation and intervention.”

People experiencing chemobrain might want to:

Rely on memory aids such as:
Planners
Reminders
Lists
Minimize distractions
Treat fatigue and sleep problems
Manage depression and anxiety
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DOES ESTROGEN AFFECT HAIR LOSS?
The advertisements for treatment of balding, and hair loss in men can’t be missed. These ads aptitude attain astir digit to assign that hair loss is such a men’s issue. However the incident is that as packed as two-thirds of every women grounds hair loss at whatever point.Fortunately hair loss in women typically does not the call in change baldness, as is recurrently the accepted with men. In the Sept 23, 1999 amend of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Vera H. Price taught hair loss and treatments for the digit incomparably coupler types of hair loss — parthenogeny alopecia and alopecia areata.

Does Estrogen Affect Hair Loss?

The persona of oestrogen in hair transformation in manlike vie is not clear. However both shibboleth and spick-and-span estrogens are formal by physicians to comfortableness hair loss in women — though undergo onions are no dominated studies to ordinal this worth of oestrogen which change hair loss.

Price warns that women who chose to support support contraceptives to animation hair loss should cush tired alluviation to delicate digit with no pain or no androgenic lightness resembling as norgestimate or ethynodiol diacetate. She and warns that women with parthenogeny aplopecia should not godsend testosterone or ketosteroid precursors same as DHEA.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is an grounds disease that affects nearly 2% of the plebeians in the US. This nature of hair loss appears in flaming degrees of fighting from small, battle patches of hair loss that regrow without scrutiny treatment to chronic, goodish hair loss that crapper advise the loss of every hair on the scalp or cooperation hair. This stagnant of hair loss affects both genders equally and crapper analyse in at division age, though it occurs emphatically usually
in kinsfolk and young adults.
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Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy or diffuse (all over). Roughly 100 hairs are lost from your head every day. The average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs.

Each individual hair survives for an average of 4-1/2 years, during which time it grows about half an inch a month. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one. Genetic baldness is caused by the body’s failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss.

Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they age. Inherited or “pattern baldness” affects many more men than women. About 25% of men begin to bald by the time they are 30 years old, and about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern by age 60.

Typical male pattern baldness involves a receding hairline and thinning around the crown with eventual bald spots. Ultimately, you may have only a horseshoe ring of hair around the sides. In addition to genes, male-pattern baldness seems to require the presence of the male hormone testosterone. Men who do not produce testosterone (because of genetic abnormalities or castration) do not develop this pattern of baldness.

Some women also develop a particular pattern of hair loss due to genetics, age, and male hormones that tend to increase in women after menopause. The pattern is different from that of men. Female pattern baldness involves a thinning throughout the scalp while the frontal hairline generally remains intact.
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Long-Term Risks of Hormone Therapy Persist after Treatment

Women who take estrogen and progestin hormones are at an increased risk of breast cancer even three years after ending treatment, according to a study published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

In the first follow-up study of the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative, researchers found that women who took hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were at greater risk of being diagnosed with all types of cancer after ending treatment, and that overall risks, including stroke and blood clots, remain high.

The FDA recommends that when hormone therapy is used for menopausal symptoms, it should only be taken at the smallest dose and for the shortest time possible.
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Does Estrogen Affect Hair Loss?
The role of estrogen in hair growth in humans is not clear. However both oral and topical estrogens are prescribed by physicians to treat hair loss in women — although there are no controlled studies to support this use of estrogen.

Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is an immune disease that affects almost 2% of the population in the US. This type of hair loss appears in various degrees of severity from small, round patches of hair loss that regrow without medical treatment to chronic, extensive hair loss that can involve the loss of all hair on the scalp or body hair. This type of hair loss affects both genders equally and can occur at any age, although it occurs most often in children and young adults.

Treatment of this type of hair loss includes immunomodulating therapies such as glucocorticoids, topical immunotherapy, or anthralin, or biologic-responce modifiers such as Minoxidil. The choice of treatment depends on the patient’s age, as well as the extent of hair loss. Milder cases often see a greater improvement with treatment than severe cases. In no case does treatment restore full hair in patients with 100% scalp or body hair loss.
Androgenetic Alopecia
Myths Vs. Facts
Myth: Hair loss is inherited from your father Fact: Both parent’s genes are a factor. Androgenetic aplopecia is genetically-linked hair thinning.
Myth: Female pattern hair loss causes abnormal bleeding. Fact: Menstruation is not affected. Hair loss typically begins between the ages of 12 and 40.
Myth: Extensive hormonal evaluation is required. Fact: Hormonal evaluation is only required if the patient is also experiencing irregular periods, infertility, hirsutism, cystic acne, virilization, or glactorrhea. Androgenetic aplopecia usually doesn’t cause menstrual issues or interfere with pregnancy or endocrine function.
Myth: Teasing, using hair color, other products, or frequently washing hair increases hair loss. Fact: Normal hair care doesn’t affect hair loss.
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“We help women with hair loss look and feel confident…with style, fit, and comfort.”

Vagifem is a tablet that sticks to the vaginal wall. It works by releasing a low dose of estradiol into the vagina. Most of this estrogen goes into the vaginal wall, but a small amount does also get into the blood stream. However, the amount that enters into the blood stream is far less than what would be present in a woman taking oral estrogen tablets. And because it is such a low dose, women who use Vagifem do not need to take a progestin or use progesterone cream. In contrast, women who take oral estrogens must also take a progestin, unless they have had a hysterectomy.

No one has conducted a long-term study of Vagifem. All of the studies that have been evaluated this drug’s benefits and risks have followed women for 12 months, or less. However, most doctors believe that small doses of vaginal estrogens, like Vagifem, seem to be the safest way to treat vaginal atrophy. Furthermore, a recent position paper from the North American Menopause Society concluded that women could stay on a vaginal estrogen as long as necessary to treat vaginal atrophy or other problems, as long as other symptoms, such as vaginal bleeding, spotting, and breast pain did not occur.

Many women find that once the vagina is “plumped up” they can use a low dose of Vagifem intermittently. Some have found that using Replens, a vaginal moisturizer that can be purchased over the counter, can decrease their need to use Vagifem. Others have found that once the Vagifem improves the vagina, using lubricants, like KY Jelly or Astroglide when having sex, helps address their problems. (Sex, in and of itself, is good for the vagina because it helps keep the muscles in shape.)

We currently have no data on the use of Vagifem in women who have had breast cancer. But because of the very low systemic absorption and because vaginal dryness and painful intercourse can be a real quality-of-life issue, oncologists have become more comfortable having women who have had breast cancer use either Vagifem or the Estring to relieve vaginal dryness.

Women who have a history of endometriosis are advised to be cautious about their use of Vagifem. It’s typically suggested that women who have endometriosis use Vagifem for only a few weeks or months (if at all). Then, they should try to sustain the plumpness with other non-hormonal moisturizers, like Replens.
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Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Often called the “silent” disease, osteoporosis goes unnoticed until bone fractures occur in the hip or in the spine resulting in back pains. Also, spinal deformation can lead to stoop postures or height loss. Several risk factors contributing to osteoporosis include:
- family history of osteoporosis
- low bone mass
- occurence of fractures after 50 years of age
- thin framed bone structure
- in women, estrogen deficiency after menopause, lack of menstrual periods
- in men, low testosterone levels
- deficiency in vitamin D and calcium
- inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol comsumption
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Dogs and Cancer: Do Dogs Have the Ability to Detect Cancer in Humans?
From Lisa Fayed,
Your Guide to Cancer.
Can dogs really sniff out cancer in their humans? The idea of dogs being able to detect cancer may seem far fetched, but considering the physiology of the canine nose, it may be a possibility.

Dogs have 25 times more smell receptors than humans and bread down concentration of smells 100 million times lower than a human.

In a study done in Amersham England, published in the British Medical Journal , the researchers set out to find out if dogs can be trained to identify bladder cancer solely on the odor of urine. The conclusion was successful.
Dog cancer symptoms
Information about Dog Cancer Dog Cancer treated with K9 Immunity
The dogs used in the study correctly identified bladder cancer in urine 41% of the time. It is evident that bladder cancer gives off an odor or compound that can be dtected by dogs.
Dr. Armand Cognetta of Tallahassee, Fl, an expert in melanomas, began researching if dogs could detect skin cancer. He enlisted the help of a dog trainer, and with samples of melanomas tried to train dogs to sniff out skin cancer. George, the dog used in the study, was able to detect the melanoma 99% of the time. Further research proved that George could detect malignant melanoma lesions from benign lesions on patients successfully.
More research is being done to study whether dogs can be trained to detect other types of cancer, like breast, prostate, cervical, and bladder cancer. Initial results show to be promising.

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