When asked what the largest organ in the human body is, many people guess the liver, the brain, the intestines or even the lungs. But the truth is that the largest organ you have is actually your skin. Your skin protects your internal organs from injury, regulates body temperature and contains nerve cells that create the sense of touch.

In order to better understand skin conditions, you should understand the structure of the skin itself. There are three layers that make up the skin, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutis.

The epidermis is the outer layer of skin and is, itself, made up of three layers; the basal layer, the keritinocytes and the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum is the very outermost layer of skin and is made up of dead cells that have been shed from the underlying keritinocytes and basal layers. The keritinocytes produce what the skin needs to protect the body. The basal layer forms new keritinocytes. The epidermis also contains melanocytes, which produce skin pigment (melanin).

continue reading A Guide to Healthy Skin

Baldness is a condition in which the hair on the head becomes thinner in appearance and eventually doesn’t grow at all. Baldness can occur in both men and women. It can cause emotional distress for the sufferer because the person’s appearance is significantly altered.

There are several types of baldness. The three most common types of baldness are androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium and alopecia areata.

Androgenetic alopecia is the classic male pattern or female pattern baldness that we are all familiar with seeing. Men will generally see their hair thinning and then balding at the crown and front of the head, and along the temples. Women will see the progression of baldness at the crown and front. Androgenetic alopecia is generally hereditary.

continue reading Bald – Is it really Beautiful?

What are antidepressant drugs and how do they work? In cases of depression where psychotherapy alone fail at treating the condition, people seek alternatives, often of which takes on the form of a pill. What many people fail at realising is that antidepressants are not panaceas. While they do relieve depression in some people, these prescription drugs carry risks and should only be taken under the supervision of a medical practitioner. The result of ingesting these antidepressants varies according to people’s age, severity of depression, and history of illness. Furthermore, it is important to watch out for possible drug interactions when taking antidepressants in conjunction with other medications.

Types of Antidepressants

Antidepressants are available in three main forms, they are: selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). The SSRIs are a form of antidepressants which includes drugs like Prozac and Zoloft, as implied by the name; they work through inhibition of the presynaptic serotonin transporter receptor. TCAs were introduced in the 1950s and works through prevention of the nerve cell’s ability to reuptake serotonin and norepinephrine, Elavil is an example of this form of antidepressant. Finally, we look at MAOIs, which are amongst the earliest form of antidepressants developed works through inhibition of monoaxine oxidase, an enzyme which plays a large role in the determination of one’s mood by its effect on neurotransmitters. The drugs Nardil and Parmate are commercially available examples of MAOIs.

continue reading What You Ought to Know About Antidepressants

When people say they are allergic to something or that they are suffering from an allergy, they are actually referring to several inflictions instead of a single problem. An allergy is caused when your immune system reacts to an alien object or chemical in your body. This reaction if often not supposed to take place. The alien objects that enter your body can be found the following forms –

• dust
• chemicals from the household like cleansers, chlorine, soaps, paints, etc
• pollen
• some types of nuts
• citrus fruits
• some seafood varieties
• animal hair shed from pets
• pollutants from car and industrial emissions
• inhalation of smoke from fire
• some medications and so on

continue reading Natural, Simple Ways to Prevent or Reduce Allergies

Bronchial Asthma is a more specific term used to describe what is traditionally known as simply asthma, which is a chronic inflammatory disease that effects the airways by causing coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath “attacks“. More than twenty-two million Americans are suffering from various intensities of Bronchial Asthma. While not all cases of asthma have an element relating to allergies, a large number of them do. There is a strong genetic component for Asthma as well, so having a family history of Asthma is typically a reliable indication of a future with Asthma as well.

Because of the symptoms that are commonly associated with asthma, the disease is regularly associated with mast cells, T lymphocytes and Eosinophils. Mast cells are the cells that create allergies by releasing histamines and other chemicals. Histamine is a substance that is responsible for nasal stuffiness and dripping when you have a cold or are suffering from hay fever, as well as the constriction of airways that is common during an asthma attack, and the itchy areas when reacting to a skin allergy. Eosinophils are white blood cells that are associated with allergic diseases, and T lymphocytes are white blood cells, but these are associated instead with inflammation and allergies.

continue reading Bronchial Asthma

The term ‘allergy‘ is a blanket term that describes a large number of different reactions, rather than a single simple allergy type. When people refer to ‘allergies‘, they may be referring to seasonal allergies, or chronic allergies to specific irritants. The name for season related allergies is Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis. Allergies that are irritant-specific, like Mold Allergies, are generally chronic in that they show symptoms whenever the allergen is present, rather than simply during a specific season during the year.

Typical Allergic Rhinitis is a condition that occurs specifically when the immune system in a body is over responding to a specific non-infectious particle, including plant pollens, dust mites, molds, animal hairs, tobacco smoke, industrial chemicals, foods, insect venoms and medicines. Antibodies like immunoglobin E attach to your mast cells during an allergic reaction, releasing a number of chemicals including histamine, which is responsible for opening up blood vessels to cause swollen membranes and redness of the skin. The result of this process when it occurs in the nose is congestion and sneezing.

continue reading The Truth about Your Seasonal Allergies

Your skin, especially the skin on your face, is probably one of the last things you want looking terrible with pimple scars, acne and an oily appearance. Most people do not consciously realize that what they eat affects the health of their skin and eat the wrong things which cause all these problems. They get skin care products that never work because the root problem is still present. Diet is probably one of the more common causes of skin problems, so eat well and you may even be able to dump your skin-care products in the bin forever.

Eating foods rich in anti-oxidants is one of the keys in having great skin. This slows down cell-damage and as you may have already heard a million times, fights free radicals. Berries such as cranberries and blueberries are one of the richest sources of bioflavonoids, antioxidants that destroy free radicals which destroy tissue and reinforce the cells that make up blood vessel walls, increasing blood circulation and giving you those beautiful rosy cheeks. Bright colours on vegetables and fruits signify richness in antioxidants, so eat more of these as well. They include plums, apricots, strawberries, spinach, broccoli and other leafy vegetables.

continue reading Look Better – Eat these Foods for Beautiful Skin

Who has not heard of cholesterols these days? Everyone is being warned about the dangers of bad cholesterol and the need to take in more good cholesterol. This cholesterol talk is especially important when you speak of proper diet.

What is Cholesterol?

Simply put, cholesterol is a fatty lipid that is not susceptible of being dissolved in water. You can find cholesterols in certain parts of the body especially the brain, liver, reproductive organs, adrenal glands, and the spinal chord. Once cholesterol is synthesized, it signals the production of hormones and vitamin D3. Collection of bad cholesterol plaque builds up in the blood vessels and ultimately results in atherosclerosis – a primary cause of major heart diseases. It is common for physicians to prescribe statin drugs to patients who are at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases due to high level of cholesterol in their body.

continue reading Danger of Developing Cancers with Statin Drug