Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease which can be very painful and quite frustrating. One of the telltale signs of psoriasis is thick, red, silvery, scaled patches of skin that usually flake and itch. With psoriasis, new skin cells reproduce rapidly to the surface of the skin within days, rather than the normal growth period of a few weeks. These skin cells build up and form thick patches (plaques). While a doctor should treat severe psoriasis, many home remedies can be used to treat mild cases of psoriasis.

Psoriasis affects both males and females equally and is more common between the ages of fifteen to thirty, although it may appear at any age. Psoriasis is not contagious and you can’t “catch” psoriasis from touching someone who has it.

Psoriasis Symptoms

The following are common symptoms of psoriasis:

• Patches (or plaques) of red, irritated skin (may be slightly raised) that may be covered with bright silvery scales
• Scaling spots
• Itching, burning or soreness of skin
• Dry, cracked skin that may bleed
• Change in fingernails and toenails—thickened, pitted or ridged nails that change color and separate from the nail bed
• Swollen, stiff and painful joints—restricted movement of the joints
• Emotional distress

Psoriasis patches can vary. You may experience dandruff-like scaling in a few areas or there could be major eruptions over large areas. Patches usually occur on the scalp, elbows, hands, knees, feet, chest, back, arms, legs, toenails and fingernails. Although psoriasis is more common in adults, teens and children can also develop psoriasis.

Mild cases of psoriasis can be a nuisance and many people who suffer from it may avoid swimming and other situations where patches can be seen. More severe cases of psoriasis can be very painful and even disfiguring.

Most types of psoriasis involve cycles:

1. Flaring for a few weeks or months
2. Flaring subsides or goes into remission
3. Flaring returns (in most instances)

Psoriasis Causes

Researchers believe that psoriasis is caused by an overactive immune system which results in the inflammation and flaking of skin. The immune system consists of a type of white blood cell called a T call which aids in protecting the body from infection and disease. Scientists think that psoriasis is related to an overproduction of T cells in the skin. The T cells trigger inflammation and increased reproduction of skin cells, which leads to inflammation, and flaking of skin.

Heredity can also play a role in the development of psoriasis. If you have a family history of psoriasis, you chances of having the disease are increased. Read this article from eMedicine Health to find out about 7 new genetic clues for psoriasis to find out more.

Psoriasis Triggers

Psoriasis may occur or worsen due to various triggers. You may be able to figure out what factors triggers your psoriasis and find ways to try and avoid them.

• Stress
• Smoking
• Drinking alcohol
• Hormone changes—disease occurrence may peak during puberty and menopause. Pregnant women with psoriasis may experience an improvement in their symptoms. However, during the postpartum period, psoriasis may flare up.
• Overexposure to sunlight—short periods of sun exposure can help reduce psoriasis in most people, but too much skin can damage the skin and sunburn can cause flare ups.
• Cold weather
• Infections—strep throat, oral thrush
• Skin injuries—cut, scrape, insect bite, sunburn
• Medications—lithium, blood pressure medicines, iodides, antimalarial drugs

Psoriasis Home Remedies

Below are skin care treatments and home remedies to help ease the pain of psoriasis:

• Keep your skin moist by using creams, lotions, pills, baths, or soaks.
• Carefully remove psoriasis crusts by gently putting cream on them and then peeling the loose crusts off. This can help your skin to absorb lotions and creams. Be careful not to irritate the skin.
• Take a bath with hot Epsom salts then apply a little olive oil. Keep your skin clean with dry friction or daily sponging.
• Aloe Vera can help to soothe the skin.
• Cabbage leaves—make sure they are thick and green. Wash the cabbage leaves in warm water, dry with a towel, flatten them (you may want to use a rolling pin), make sure they are warm and apply to the affected area. Put a pad or cloth over them and secure with a bandage.
• Avocado oil has been proven very beneficial in treating psoriasis. Gently rub the oil into the affected areas.
• Buttermilk helps to relieve the pain and itch. You can drink it in liberal quantities or you can use it as a compress over the affected parts.
• Take Vitamin E in doses of 400 mg per day to help reduce itching and scab formation.
• Take 6 to 9 lecithin capsules a day (2 or 3 before or after each meal).

–Nolan

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What are TMJ Disorders?

The TM joints (also known as temporomandibular joints or jaw joints) connect the mandible or lower jaw to the skull. You have 2 TM joints—one on each side of your jaw. These joints are some of the most frequently used joints in the body. Temporomandibular joints open and close the jaw, helping us to chew, bite, talk, swallow and yawn.

TM disorders (also called TMJ, TMD, or TM disorders) are those that involve pain with jaw movement and tenderness or pain around the jaw area (or near the ear). TMJ disorders are a group of complex issues related to the jaw joint. These problems may also be called myofacial pain dysfunction and Costen’s syndrome. Finding the proper diagnosis may take a while because joints and muscles work in conjunction and problems with one or both may result in similar symptoms.

TMJ Symptoms

Common signs and symptoms of TMJ disorders are the following:

• Joint and muscle pain
• Pain or tenderness of your jaw
• Achy feeling in and around your ear (people often mistake TMJ for an earache)
• Tinnitus or ringing of the ear
• Clogged ears
• Trouble chewing or discomfort while chewing
• Aching facial pain
• Swelling of your face and mouth (affected area)
• Joint sounds—a clicking or grating sensation when chewing or opening your mouth
• Jaw locking—difficulty opening or closing your mouth
• Headache and dizziness
• Difficulty swallowing due to muscle spasms
• Uncomfortable bite
• An uneven bite

Normally the pain or ache in your jaw will occur when you try to move it, but you may feel pain even when your jaw is immobile.

TMJ Causes

The following problems can lead to TMJ disorders:

• Trauma or injury to the joint or surrounding area
• Clenching or grinding your teeth (bruxium) due to stress
• Habitual gum chewing or fingernail biting
• Joint diseases—degeneration of the joint, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis

Home Remedies and Tips

Try a soft diet for a while. Stay away from hard foods like bagels, raw vegetables, or candy. Do not chew gum or pens.

Use a cold compress immediately after TMJ pain occurs to relieve the pain. Later on, apply warm compresses to the afflicted area for 20 minutes. Then open and close your jaw from side to side. Try this 5 times a day for 5 minutes each session for about 4 weeks.

Stress reduction—try to reduce any thing that is causing stress in your life. Meditation, exercise and yoga are good ways to help alleviate stress.

Biteplate—you may need a biteplate or splint to wear over your teeth. This will help to align your jaw and reduce the pressure in your joints.

Mouth guard—a custom-made mouth guard for nightwear can help prevent grinding.

Try exercises to stretch your jaw muscles and try to massage the jaw muscles to ease the pain.

Put a cork in it—if you find yourself clenching your teeth during the day, put a cork in between your front teeth to keep your jaws separated.

DO NOT:

• Prop your chin on your hands for a long time, or at all if you can help it.
• Cradle your phone between your shoulder and your chin.
• Do not grind your teeth because this can make your TMJ even worse. See our post on teeth grinding.

–Nolan

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Getting rid of cellulite is a battle for most women. Cellulite affects 95 percent of women. Often it seems cellulite is a constant battle. We fight it, deny it, and cover it up. But we get cellulite anyway and it stinks.

Cellulite is fat that appears as dimpled skin on the thighs, hips and buttocks. Cellulite develops in the subcutaneous fat layers and occurs when fat cells push against the skin while the tough fibrous connective cords are pulling downward. This creates uneven puckering or dimpling of the skin. However, there are natural remedies to help reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Cellulite Symptoms

Some signs and symptoms of cellulite include:
• Appearance of dimpled or bumpy skin—on thighs, buttocks, breasts, lower and upper arms
• Skin has cottage cheese or orange-peel texture
• Feeling tenderness or tightness in the affected area
• Feels the dimpling while standing
• In mild cases, dimpling appears when skin is pinched
• In severe cases, skin an bumpy and has peaks and valleys

You can check to see if you have cellulite by pinching the skin around your upper thigh or buttock. If the skin appears lumpy, you probably have cellulite.

Cellulite Risk Factors

Cellulite affects more women than men because women’s fat is usually distributed around the thighs, hips and buttocks (where we normally find cellulite).

Some factors that play in role in developing cellulite:
• Genetics—cellulite tends to run in families
• Hormones—progesterone and estrogen can led to the formation of cellulite
• Stress—causes more adrenaline to be produced in the body, which is a major cause of cellulite
• Weight gain—makes cellulite more noticeable, but cellulite can be found in lean people
• Inactive lifestyle—this can cause cellulite to form due to poor circulation
• Pregnancy—hormones and fluid retention rapidly increase and lead to cellulite

Cellulite Home Remedies and Tips

Try the following tips to reduce cellulite:

• Drink an adequate amount of water to keep your body hydrated.
• Try a detox diet that is low in fat and high in fiber to help combat your cellulite woes. Eat lots of healthy fruits and vegetables while reducing your intake of alcohol, coffee, pop and cigarette smoke. A high-fiber diet will help to improve your digestive process. Make sure your diet is low in fat, high in fiber and incorporates fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Exercise regularly to improve blood circulation while firming your body tissue. Maintain a healthy weight. Those who are carrying around excess weight are more likely to develop cellulite.
• Reduce salt consumption to avoid water retention.
• Relax by taking hot bubble baths or meditating.
• Avoid stress or aggravation in your life.
• Yoga teaches you how to breathe deeply and gives your muscles a good stretch. It helps to calm down your muscles and relax you. Cellulite accumulates when your muscles become tense, which can happen when you’re stressed, so it’s important to stay calm.
• Those who are constipated on a regular basis normally have cellulite. Eat plenty of high-fiber foods like green vegetables and grains to help your meals move quickly through your digestive tract.
• Put your feet up and keep your legs elevated when resting.

To reduce cellulite, you may follow the below listed home and natural remedies:
• Drink several cups of green tea a day.
• Take a bath with 2 cups of sea salt in warm water for about 20 minutes. This will like your skin feeling silky smooth.
• Dry-brush your skin with a soft body brush on damp or dry skin to help improve circulation. Rotate the brush in a circular motion from head to toe or on cellulite-ridden areas. Use long sweeping motions over the affected area and work in the direction of the heart.
• Drink 3 glasses of freshly squeezed lemons in 1 cup water and a pinch of cayenne pepper day. This will also melt away the cellulite.
• Mix rosemary and fennel oils and rub on the cellulite-afflicted area daily.
• Some essential oils such as cedarwood, juniper and patchouli are effective in treating cellulite.
• Grind caffeinated coffee into a powder and mix it with cheap hand lotion. Rub this into those dimpled areas for 60 seconds a day and then rinse off.

—Nolan

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We’re not talking about the chill you get in the middle of winter when you’ve forgotten to wear your gloves. This is a kind of chill provoked by hardcore illness and infection. If you’ve had the flu, you’ve most likely experienced chills and then a fever soon afterward. Even in the middle of summer as your body temperature begins to climb due to the sudden onset of illness, you can still feel cold.

Why do you get the chills when you’re sick?

To fight infection, your body lights a fire to burn pathogens away. As your body’s internal thermostat is set higher for optimal infection-stomping status, your body feels cold. In response to this chill, your muscles throw themselves into a series of contractions in an effort to reclaim a warm and cozy feeling. This rapid flexing of muscles makes you shake and shiver, and your body temperature shoots up for the fight!

Causes of body chills

Just some of the common causes of chills include:

• Influenza
• Pneumonia
• Meningitis
• Strep throat
• Food poisoning
• Other bacterial or viral infections

Home remedies for chills

Chills usually subside on their own once a fever is maintained and then later broken when your bodily thermostat resets. However, there are some things you can do to make yourself or a person wracked with chills a little more comfortable.

Mix a tablespoon of honey and a squeeze of lemon into a warm glass of water. Don’t down it in one shot though; take time to sip and let it warm you from the inside.

If you’re caring for someone with chills, try sponging the body with warm water. The warmth will dilate blood vessels and help regain a lost sense of warmth.

Keep yourself hydrated. Drink plenty of water or 100% natural juice. Avoid sugary drinks as these will dehydrate you more.

In the vein of keeping yourself hydrated, don’t reach for the nearest bottle of cognac. Alcohol offers only a false sense of warmth and dehydrates your body further. The Saint Bernard is a liar!

Don’t overexert yourself. In fact, stay in bed! Chills are your body’s sign to you that something is wrong. If you walk around, your body riddled with chills, you will only prolong the symptoms.

If your chills are severe or if your fever reaches above 104 degrees and will not go down with the help of aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen, see a doctor right away.

QUICK FACT: Never give children under the age 18 aspirin as they run the risk of developing Reye’s syndrome.

–Magdalena

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Anemia is the most common disorder of the blood, where there is a deficiency of hemoglobin inside red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a molecule that carries oxygen throughout the body, and lack of hemoglobin means lack of oxygen delivered to vital organs.

What causes anemia

There are a variety of things that can cause anemia. Heavy bleeding through external wounds, menstruation or even stomach ulcers can bring on bouts of acute anemia. Iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, folic acid deficiency and/or poor nutrition are also a major causes of anemia, both acute and chronic.

Other causes of anemia include chronic illness such as cancer, kidney disease and even pregnancy. A type of anemia called sickle cell anemia is purely genetic.

Symptoms of anemia

Common symptoms of anemia include:
• Weakness and fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Rapid heart rate and/or breathing
• Low blood pressure

Home remedies and treatments for anemia

Take a variety of nutritional supplements or incorporate foods into your diet that are high in iron, B12 and folic acid. Always consult your doctor before starting a regimen that is high in iron. Though it is rare in adults, if you consume too much iron (especially in the form of a supplement) you can develop iron poisoning.

If your anemia is brought on by iron deficiency or a poor diet, try adding more lean meat to your diet. In addition to a healthy, balanced diet, lean meat provides a great source of natural iron.

Try cooking your meals in an iron pot or skillet. When you cook foods in an iron pot your food is actually absorbing some of the iron while cooking. Acidic foods, like sauces with tomatoes, work the hardest at leeching iron.

Enjoy a spinach salad or a salad with dark leafy greens. Spinach is high in iron and other good-for-you minerals.

Beets are a great for people with anemia and contains many essential vitamins and minerals you need. Take a cup of beetroot juice, a cup of apple juice and mix in some honey to fight the symptoms of anemia.

Avoid drinking coffee and tea, since they interfere with the absorption of iron into the body.

If you like sweets, enjoy a spoonful of honey when you’re feeling fatigued. Honey helps to increase the hemoglobin in the blood.

–Magdalena

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