Gentle, relaxing lymphatic massage can help you fight off illness and heal from injuries.  Despite its feather-light touch, it offers powerful benefits for your immune system.

If you knew that there was a gentle, safe, and relaxing technique that could

* help you heal from illness, injury and surgery;
* promote a healthy immune system;
* reduce inflammation;
* support the health of your entire body;
* and promote healthy, radiant skin

–would you do it?

I’m guessing you would!

That procedure is lymphatic massage- (also called lymphatic facilitation or manual lymphatic drainage). It increases lymph flow eight to ten times. This removes harmful substances from your tissues, nourishes tissues, reduces inflammation, and generally increases immune function.

Developed as a manual therapy in Europe, it has been well researched and used in hospitals and clinics for decades.

It can speed recovery from

* sprains, strains, and sore muscles
* acute injuries
* congestion due to allergies
* surgery
* wounds (as long as there is no infection present)
* congested sinuses
* acne
* headaches
* swollen ankles, puffy eyes, etc.
* allergies/allergic reactions
* toxic side effects of drugs administered for surgery or other medical purposes
* scarring.

It also helps people manage the symptoms of fibromyalgia and arthritis.

Skin Health
Lymphatic work to the face is a lovely, gentle, treatment that enhances skin health, thereby improving skin appearance.  Done regularly, it can keep skin looking healthier. Facial lymphatic work can also help improve acne.

Pre- and –Post-Surgical Support
More and more doctors—especially plastic surgeons–are becoming aware of the value of manual lymphatic drainage before and after surgery to help clients heal. Many plastic surgeons routinely recommend it for their cosmetic surgery patients. (Post-surgical treatment needs a doctor’s permission.)

A Light, Relaxing Touch
People are often surprised about how light lymphatic facilitation is. It doesn’t feel anything like a “normal” massage (which provides deeper pressure into the skin and muscles of the body).

That’s because this form of bodywork works with the lymphatic system, rather than the muscles, and over half of the lymph nodes and vessels are just underneath the skin.  A deep or heavy touch would close off, rather than encourage, lymphatic flow.

The feather-light strokes and soft, pumping action stimulate lymphatic flow, with powerful results both for general wellness and for specific conditions including inflammation, traumatic injuries such as strains and sprains, headaches, sinus issues, healing from surgery, osteoarthritis, skin conditions, and swelling from unresolved injuries such as ankle sprains.

Lymphatic facilitation is also deeply relaxing. This too helps boost immune function.

How It Works: the Lymph System
The lymph system is a critical part of our immune system, playing a crucial role in the body’s ability to heal from injury, ward off disease, and purify itself.  It includes a network of thin vessels, nodes, tissues, ducts, and organs (e.g. spleen, thymus, bone marrow) throughout your entire body.

The lymphatic system has three major functions:

* It removes excess fluids from body tissues.
* It defends the body against harmful micro-organisms.
* It absorbs fats and fat-soluble vitamins from the digestive system and transports them to the circulatory system.

The lymphatic system has no pumping mechanism (such as the heart has for arterial blood flow) and depends on muscle contraction through deep, abdominal breathing and exercise to move its fluid.

A sluggish lymphatic system can contribute to many health issues, including an increase in the frequency and severity of illnesses; joint pain; headaches; arthritis; fatigue; acne; slow healing of wounds; and swelling in extremities.

When the lymphatic drainage becomes impaired for some reason, lymphatic massage, with its ultra-light touch and pumping motion performed in the correct sequence and direction, can greatly increase lymphatic flow.  This helps the body remove toxins; brings white blood cells and nutrients to cells; and decreases inflammation.

Contraindications
As with all massage therapies, there are some contraindications. These include having a bacterial infection anywhere in the body, malignant tumors, thrombosis and major heart  or circulatory problems. Your therapist should screen you for these issues before giving you a lymphatic treatment.

Conclusion
Of course, you should always consult your medical doctor if you have or think you have a medical problem. But if you are basically healthy and seeking to enhance your health and healingFree Reprint Articles, lymphatic massage can be a valuable complement to your regular wellness program.

Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, can be caused by several conditions such as lung disease, heart disease and lack of conditioning. It can also be caused by psychogenic factor. Your physician can help you establish the reason for dyspnea, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, treat it effectively.

What is shortness of breath?

For most people “shortness of breath” or “having breathing difficulties” means a sensation of difficult or uncomfortable breathing, or a feeling of not getting enough air. Medically, this is referred to as dyspnea.

Does shortness of breath mean illness?

Shortness of breath can occur in both health and disease, and its significance varies accordingly. For example, when it occurs in a healthy person walking 100 feet at the top of a very high mountain, it may signify no disease. But if the same person had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years, the same symptoms at lower altitude may be the first sign of progressive emphysema. In healthy individuals, shortness of breath may also occur at rest for no apparent physical reason.

Shortness of breath may be appropriate or inappropriate, real or perceived; and therefore, there is no standard lay person definition of shortness of breath. Physicians use the term dyspnea to describe “an abnormally uncomfortable awareness of breathing.”

What causes dyspnea?

The issue of dyspnea comes up frequently when patients are seen in their physician’s office for specific complaints, or for a periodic physical examination. It’s the physician’s task, not always an easy one, to determine whether the dyspnea is medically important, and to recommend a diagnostic plan and a course of therapy when needed.

Dyspnea can be acute, intermittent, or chronic, and can be caused by a heart or lung problem or physical deconditioning; or it can be of psychogenic origin.

Common heart diseases causing dyspnea include coronary artery disease (the major cause of heart attacks), congestive heart failure, and conditions where heart valves malfunction. Lung problems include bronchial asthma, acute and chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and interstitial lung disease (diffuse scarring and stiffening of lung tissue). Exposure to allergens may precipitate an asthma attack, or dyspnea-producing post nasal drip; but the biggest undiagnosed culprit remains smoking.

Psychogenic dyspnea, precipitated by anxiety, panic or an irregular breathing pattern of frequent sighs (“sigh dyspnea”), is now diagnosed in increasing frequency. This is usually not dangerous, but it may be uncomfortable, and particularly hard to diagnose and treat.

Lack of conditioning is also a cause of dyspnea, especially seen in the “weekend warrior athlete.” If you are short of breath playing basketball on Sunday afternoon, do you have a disease causing dyspnea, or is this lack of conditioning?

How is the diagnosis made?

Your account of the intensity, severity and frequency of dyspnea is very important.

This, combined with a physical examination and some basic testing, may rapidly establish the correct diagnosis.

Sometimes the diagnosis is elusive. Both asthma and heart disease can be “silent.” Even lack of conditioning may be difficult to diagnose without meticulous testing. The diagnosis of psychogenic dyspnea, can be made on the basis of your symptoms, after medical causes of dyspnea have been ruled out.

For exercise-related dyspnea, we use cardio-pulmonary stress testing (CPST). This important, noninvasive test combines the familiar cardiac test with lung function testing during exercise (on a treadmill or exercise bicycle). With it, we can determine your level of cardiopulmonary fitness, and whether your shortness of breath is due to a heart problem, lung problem, deconditioning, or “none of the above.”

Treatment

Treatment of dyspnea, and its effectiveness, depends on the underlying cause. Frequently, medications are used, such as those needed to optimally control asthma, congestive heart disease and anxiety. Special lifestyle instructions may be given, such as smoking cessation and allergen avoidance. Reconditioning exercises and stress management may be advised, or you may be instructed in the proper performance of diaphragmatic breathing.

Working together with your physician, in the overwhelming majority of cases shortness of breath can be controlled or completely resolved.

Most, if not all the tools necessary to establish the cause of dyspnea is available under one roof at our practice.

American women are excited when they learn there is a new breast implant available. What is a cohesive gel implant? What does it cost compared to saline and silicone gel? What does it feel like? What size of an incision does it require? What size of scar does it leave? Is there a risk of unwanted rotation?

The goal of augmentation surgery is to enhance the breast you have, not to distort it. That means selecting the proper size of cohesive implant is just as important as selecting the proper size of silicone gel or saline implant. You need to consider the body frame you have. Can the tissue and muscles of your chest support the volume and weight of the larger breasts you desire? Although it is ultimately the patient’s decision, the patient should carefully heed the concerns and recommendations of her surgeon – the expert.

Something to consider while selecting your implant size and shape is whether the implant will maintain its shape throughout its lifespan. Cohesive gel implants, also called Gummy Bear implants, will not lose their shape like other implants will.

A cohesive gel implant is generally firmer than the other implants available, especially the saline. However, the firmness of your implant also depends upon how much breast tissue you have in regards to the size of the implant. A very large cohesive gel implant under very little breast tissue will naturally feel firmer, as opposed to a size of implant that complements the amount of breast tissue stretched over it.

Cohesive gel implants sound like they are the safest available because they have no liquid to leak. The cost of the implant itself in comparison to a saline implant is significantly more expensive, but it doesn’t cost much more than a silicone gel implant. If the implant cost is an issue, however, women should know the FDA will reimburse a portion of the cost as part of their ten-year research study.

A larger incision size is definitely a disadvantage of cohesive gel implants. It makes sense when you consider the smaller the implant, the smaller the scar. Saline implants are inserted into the breast empty and filled after placement, so they need the smallest incision. Silicone gel implants are prefilled, so they require a larger incision. The cohesive gel implant has no liquid, so it is the largest implant and can’t be squeezed through a smaller incision.

In America, the cohesive gel implant is only available in anatomical shapes. That means it is fuller at the bottom than at the top to emulate the natural slope of a real breast. However, that also means even a minimal amount of movement or rotation will visibly affect the appearance of the breast. The only way to correct a rotated cohesive gel implant is surgery.

Are you interested in learning more about the amazing new cohesive gel implants? The internet is a great place to start. But before making any kind of decision, you need to seek out an expert. In this case, that would be a board-certified plastic surgeon that specializes in breast augmentation. And because cohesive gel implants are not available on the open market, you will need to locate a surgeon participating in the FDA clinical trial studies.

Plastic surgeons do not usually charge for an initial consultation, so call for an appointment today. This article is not intended as medical advice. Only accept guidance in your health and medical related issues from a licensed physician.

Acne is a skin disorder which is common among the age group of 18-25. This skin disease is usually associated with a lot of pimples, scars and huge open pores. There are several treatments for acne scars. The most recent latest treatment is the laser treatment for acne scars.

This laser acne treatment is the latest technology advancement in the field of medicine to ensure the complete removal of the acne scars from the face and the back of the human body. This medical procedure is usually done by dermatologists and they are done in laser clinics in hospitals.

The acne scars laser treatments are mainly done with the help of wave lengths that are usually assorted. The laser treatments are also of several intensity levels, which is mainly due to the different levels of scars and acne in the human body.

Laser acne will not only remove the occurrence of the acne bacteria but it also helps in reducing the red skin that is usually caused by acne and its pimples. This procedure which is done in the hospitals takes a bit of procedures to be done before hand.

The dermatologist will have to first determine whether the patient is suitable for this type of acne treatment. After this, he/she determines the type of laser to be used for the laser treatment for acne scars.

The intensity of the laser treatment can also be determined between you and the doctor to ensure that you get the results that you wanted. The tissues that are not needed are completely removed with the help of the carbon dioxide laser.

For most acne patients, a single acne laser treatment is enough, but for others who have more severe acne problems, more than one treatment is required. There is another kind of laser which is known as ablative laser treatment for acne scars. This laser eliminates the outer layers of the skin along with the tissues of the scar which helps a lot in lowering the visibility of the acne scar.

Laser acne treatment cost is expensive but is the most effective way to remove acne scars fast and permanently.

Our skin, which is the largest organ on the body, takes a lot of abuse and it doesn’t care. It’s the skins job to be the protector of the body and this organ does what it can to keep us as safe as possible. This is something a lot of us take for granted. We go gallivanting in the sun or visit the tanning bed, we pick at our pimples and scabs, and allow bacteria and dirt to stay longer than necessary; we don’t even realize it either. Even if you are using a skin care product, you should still follow these four rules for helping keep your skin at tip top conditions.

1. Wash your face with a cleanser twice daily. The reason behind this is that, throughout the day, your face is polluted with makeup and environmental elements that can put you in danger for a breakout of pimples.  So washing your face in the morning is good, giving you a fresh start to the day, but washing your face at night is essential. Also using the right cleanser is important. Find one that will not react adversely to your skin and does not have a scrub quality to it (scrubs should only be used once in a while).  For the sake of already mentioning it, Dermajuv cleansers would be good for a daily face wash. They contain organic natural ingredients (like Tangerine Oil and Olive Leaf Extract) that do not react adversely to skin and are gentle to our skin.  Now Dermajuv cleanser are not the end all of facial cleansers but they are at the top of their game.

2. Do not pick at your blemishes and scars. This is huge when it comes to treating your skin right. The reason for this is that you are tearing at your already inflamed skin tissue, giving it even more work to do. Pimples are dirt and grime and bacteria that get stuck in your pores causing a pimple to form. If you break it up, yes you are releasing the stuff stuck inside but you are also doing two things that can cause more problems: first you are allowing that dirt and bacteria to be spread to another area creating more pimples, and you are doing what I said above tearing the skin tissue possibly causing scars. So just follow the above step and keep washing your face with the Dermajuv or any other cleansers, the pimple will eventually go away.

3. Do not go to the Tanning Bed. Just please do not do this. Tanning beds are pretty much the equivalent of baking your skin. We are fully allowing the UV rays that we have been trying to stay away from (due to UV rays causing premature aging and skin cancer) about inches away from your face and body. It just makes no sense to me.If you would like to get color on your skin, go for the spray tan route or the self tanning lotion route instead.

Take this as a warning, the more you make the skin’s job as a protector harder to accomplish, the faster your skin starts breaking down. This means wrinkles, lines, saggy skin, and the most immediate affect acne and acne scars. Cleansers do a good job of helping with these, but if you were to have been aware earlier you wouldn’t have needed them. Just remember that following these three very important rules and using the right product, you will make your skin happy. This in turn will make the skin work harder and look better.