Saturday, November 29, 2008

Is Nail Polish Remover Dangerous?

Nail polish remover.... almost everyone has been exposed to it at one point or another throughout life. If you’re a man you've had a sister or mother or wife who’s used this product. If you’re female you've either used if yourself or someone else has. I personally have only used it a couple of times, I’m not really the paint my nails everyday type. My older sister used to use nail polish remover all the time and it would clear the house. That was due to its awful smell. So, is it dangerous? Let's find out.


There are many ingredients in a nail polish remover bottle, here are some of them. Acetone also known as 2- propanone. This is the main ingredient in most nail polish removers. Toluene is a flammable liquid from petroleum. This is used as a solvent in high-octane fuels. Ethyl Acetate is found in all non-acetone nail polish removers. This is a fragrant less colorless flammable liquid. This chemical can be found in perfumes and as a solvent for plastics.

So are these chemicals harmful? Chemical effects have two classifications. The first is local effect which is when a chemical has irritated the skin, eyes, nose or throat. The second classification is systemic effect which are chemicals absorbed into the bloodstream. Systemic effect can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea.

Acetone can irritate and cause redness to eyes, lung congestion, and shortness of breath. These are only temporary effects for average users. However, if you happen to work in a salon and exposed to this chemical repeatedly it can cause chronic bronchitis.

Toluene can cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, confusion and memory loss with minimal exposure. Repeated exposure to this chemical can cause birth defects in children. So if you’re pregnant don't use nail polish remover!

Ethyl acetate which is the substitute for acetone has the same effects as both the above chemicals, so why bother using this? Seems silly.

So after learning about all the risks what can you do about this? Switch to a safer product. There are many types of nail polish remover out there with gentler ingredients. Many of these other nail polish removers contain moisturizing ingredients that can help prevent dry skin. Just remember that nail polish removers are highly flammable so if you use them at home make sure they are stored away from electrical and heating sources.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Turkey-Day Tips!


Worried about Thanksgiving? Who isn't? Weather your hosting, traveling or just enjoying the holiday stress levels tend to rise up. Here are some helpful tips for the day:

Lets start with the most important the turkey! I hope everyone has a good cook at home because turkey can be tricky and unsafe if it's not cooked properly. So first off is safe thawing. A thawing turkey needs to be kept a safe temperature
re. There is a danger zone which is between 40 - 140 degrees F,
this is the temperature range that foodborne bacteria can multiply rapidly. Three safe ways to thaw turkey is in a refrigerator, cold water, and in a microwave over.
Next is safely preparing the turkey. Bacteria that is present on raw me
at can contaminate your hands, utensils, and work surfaces. If your hands, utensils and work surfaces are not cleaned thoroughly before working with the other foods, bacteria from the raw meat can be transferred to other food, and who wants that! Avoid this by washing your hands and work surfaces thoroughly before working with your other foods.
For safe stuffing of the turkey cook the stuffing outside the turkey. If you place the stuffing inside the turkey, do so before you cook it and make sure you use a thermometer. The center of the stuffing must reach a minimal of 165 degrees F, if not bacteria can survive resulting in foodborne illnesses.

Lastly for the turkey is cooking it safely! Make sure the over is set no lower than 325 degrees F and the turkey is completely thawed out. Place the turkey breast-side up. Check the internal temperature to make sure its at least 165 degrees. Let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before removing all stuffing from cavity and carving the meat.

For your other worries

If your traveling :
  • make sure you plan accordingly and expect traffic
  • Have everything packed and ready the night before

If your hosting:
  • Get up early
  • Plan all cooking ahead of time
  • Get everything set up nice and early
  • Don't wait until the last minute for anything especially with food
  • If something goes wrong, don't panic and relax


Most importantly remember to just relax and have a great time with friends and family!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Born in Autumn ... you could be more prone to asthma


Babies born closer to the peak cold season have a 30% more risk of asthma! " Children in the Northern hemisphere born in the fall months have the highest rates of asthma, which suggests the winter viruses, like RSV, cause asthma," says Dr. Tina Hartert who is director of the Center fro Asthma Research and Environmental Health at Vanderbilt University of Medicine.
RSV is respiratory syncytial virus is a common infection. Hartert said 70% of US infants will have RSV before their 1st birthday! This doesn't mean all of them will have asthma but, children with more server RSV will have a higher risk of asthma. About 40% infants that are hospitalized for a respiratory virus develop asthma when they get older.
"Asthma, like many other complex diseases, has a genetic background that is importantly affected by the surrounding environment. Different factors, like allergies or maternal/ parental history of asthma
a, when in combination with early life infections by respiratory viruses, seem to increase substantially the rest for asthma, or at least, persistent wheeze" said Dr. Renato Stein

So to avoid risk of infection parents should try to avoid day care before age 3, employ good hygiene, stay away from sick children and most important no matter how old you are wash your hands frequently!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Improve your smile


No one is ever happy with there smile. Don't deny it people are always thinking, my teeth aren't white enough, there too crooked, look at that huge gap, my front teeth are too big, I have to many cavities and much more. The thing is this day in age we have so much available to us why don't we take care of our teeth better? Were lazy that's why.

So who's ready to take control of there teeth and be proud of that smile? Well it's pretty straight forward when it comes to there crooked or there a gap. Braces. What the problem? It could take multiple years to work, you'll need a retainer and it costs an absurd amount of money. So let’s not dwell on braces.
Most people are concerned about their teeth not being white enough. Well for one thing if you’re a smoker there's your problem. However, if you just got stuck with not overly white teeth you can fix that. These days there are so many options for teeth whitening. First off you can go to the dentist and get them professionally done. A lot of people don't want to pay for that. So what then? Anybody ever hear of crest whitestrips? They've been proven to work, if you need proof read about some success stories here: http://www.whitestrips.com/whitestrips-facts/. Also they only cost you about $20.00, not to bad for a nice new smile. You could also bleach your teeth which is popular.

There is also this thing called bonding. It is a tooth-colored material that is used to change your color or fill in gaps. Its only 1 visit and it lasts for 7 years! Also there are these things called veneers. They are placed over the front of teeth to change color and shape. These are used for the same reason bonding is used. This however requires a little bit more work. The dentist would have to take an impression of your tooth and glue the veneer to it directly. It is also a lot more expensive. The only pro of a veneer over bonding is it has a better life expectancy and the color stays better.

With all these treatments how do you know which one is right for you? Well you have to think it through. How much can you afford to spend on this? How much time do you have to visit the dentist? It’s up to you to choose.


You can have all these options but still there is nothing more affective than brush your teeth 2-3 times daily, flossing and using mouth wash. Good luck!


heres some links:
Improval Oral Hygiene
Whitening
Whitestrips

Youtube
Youtube2

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Farting and Gas Pressure?

Everyone Farts ... A lot of people deny it but, It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from everyone farts. Did you ever think that those horrendous smelling farts could control your blood pressure? That smell is a result of hydrogen sulphide which is bacteria that lives within the human gut. Gas can also be produced by an enzyme found in blood vessels. According to researchers from John Hopkins University in Maryland the gas is generated alongside the blood cells by an enzyme called CSE (cystathionine gamma-lyase).
They engineered mice to be deficient in this enzyme and found levels of hydrogen sulphide were quite compared to normal mice. In the study the mice that were deficient in CSE had 20% higher blood pressure than the other mice. After this the scientists dosed the mice with a chemical known as methacholine. This chemical relaxes normal blood vessels. The CSE-lacking mice’s blood vessels showed little change. Researchers concluded that hydrogen sulfide is a significant for regulating blood pressure.
"Dr Solomon Snyder, who led the study, says: We have known the role of hydrogen sulphide in regulating blood pressure, it may become possible to design drug therapies to enhance it production that can be an alternative to current hypertension treatment methods.”
So farting doesn't lower blood pressure but, it does help control it. So next time you have to fart and get embarrassed just say “Hey I'm controlling my blood pressure... are you?"
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