The Nation Newspaper

Category: Wellbeing

  • What Exactly Are Blackheads?

    What Exactly Are Blackheads?

    Blackheads are really a specific type of acne, triggered by sebum (otherwise known as face oil) production. If a clogged pore “remains open to the air, the oils in the pores oxidize to a black color, which is why we called them ‘open’ comedones or blackheads.”Here are tips to deal with black heads. Before you can begin to start treating blackheads, it’s a good idea to actually know what you’re dealing with. As you can’t really fix a problem when you don’t know what’s causing it.

    Keep in mind that they aren’t composed of dirt stuck in your pores. It’s really just the natural oil from your skin, turned a darker color.

    Those May Not Be Blackheads
    Also not all large pores have blackheads. Also, not everything that comes up when you press your pimples are blackheads either. Grab a magnifying mirror and take a (much) closer look. You may just have microscopic hairs that look like blackheads. A visit to your dermatologist, to tell the difference between the two diagnoses, can make the difference in getting rid of these spots.

    Sebaceous Filaments

    Besides microscopic nose hairs, you could have sebaceous filaments. These, instead of turning black, are clear. Sebaceous filaments don’t oxidize like blackheads do, meaning they don’t have the telltale color change. Sebaceous filaments are like blackheads, in that they both have condensed oil and skin scales, but they aren’t totally congealed like blackheads. Sebaceous filament material may congeal into a true blackhead, and most blackheads have had former lives as sebaceous filaments. With proper cleansing and care, however, sebaceous filaments can be softened, dissolved, and/or lifted up and out of the oil gland ducts.

     

    Blackheads Can Show Up Anywhere
    Not all blackheads live on your nose. You can get blackheads anywhere you can get a pimple; they’re just more common near the oiliest parts of your skin. In fact, blackheads regularly show up on areas besides the nose and chin. To be honest, most people can have blackheads on the face, chest, and back. Blackheads are dependent on many different factors. A combination of the thickness of your sebum, the stickiness of skin scales, and how well both can move through the pore. Oil and scale production amounts, and qualities vary from place to place on the skin and, in the same person, vary over time due to developmental and hormonal factors.

     

    Topical Treatments To Bust Through Blackheads
    So by now, we know blackheads are made up of oil and skin scales getting stuck in a pore. When you’re a hormonal teen with an especially oily T-zone, it may seem like there is nothing you can do to quell the oil. And, for many, that may just be true unless they turn to hormonal regulation through something like the birth control pill.

    Even if you can’t stop your skin from being oily, you can help to keep that pore from getting clogged in the first place. Adding a retinol in your nightly regimen, exfoliation using an at-home peel to remove dead skin cells, and products with salicylic acid like cleansers, and spot treatments are your best bets for treating your blackheads at home.

     

    Search for these three specific skin-care ingredients:

    Salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and vitamin A. Salicylic and glycolic acids work well together to decrease oil production and vitamin A (found in retinols) is a great exfoliant. Prescription-strength varieties of vitamin A are sometimes necessary if the acne is severe, but during harmattan months, use over-the-counter versions of retinol.

     

    DIY Treatments For Blackheads
    But if you aren’t into buying lots of new products, you can also look to DIY treatments for acne. Here are a few concoctions for treating blackheads with ingredients you may find in your own kitchen.

    Turmeric mask

    Combine turmeric powder with chickpea flour, and plain yogurt to create an easy DIY mask. It’s what Indian brides bathe in the day before their big wedding day.  Apply the mask for 10 minutes, and then rinse it off to avoid staining towels with the bright yellow pigment of turmeric. You’ll notice the improvement in the blackhead acne, as well as the overall complexion of the skin within the first 48 hours. It works great and is pregnancy safe!

    Oatmeal and Honey Mask

    Combine oatmeal and raw honey, mix in with filtered or distilled water, and apply as a mask. This can pull out sebum.” This type of mask is great for sebaceous filaments.

  • What chores do for your kids

    What chores do for your kids

    Every parent wants their kids to be better than they (the parent)ever were; unfortunately we fail to equip our kids with the right tools to do so. A simple thing most parents did growing up in traditional African households is fast becoming a thing of the past, and that is chores. By this I mean assigning duties or tasks to children on a daily basis. As much as we tend to focus on academics and intellectual growth, we fail to realize the importance of having children helping out as home. It is the most effective way to teach children responsibility, a work ethic, excellence, a spirit of service, empathy and lots more.

    Developmental psychologist and writer Richard Mende in his book Raising Can Do Kids says “Parents want their kids spending times on things that can bring them success, but ironically we’ve stopped doing the one thing that is a proven indicator of success and that is doing household chores.” This assertion is proven right in traditional Nigerian homes where you find kids routinely cleaning the house, washing, or even following their parents to the farm or market as the case may be. Have you noticed that oftentimes many people who grew up in the rural areas often tend to do better when they come to the city? The simple reason is that with all the hard work that goes into running a household and providing for the family, children from an early age learn to fend for themselves, and help out at home.

    Here are some things making your children to do chores will do for your child;

    Assigning children chores from an early age teaches them self-reliance, mastery, and responsibility. A Harvard University study carried out years ago revealed that over 40% of CEOs in the US are first born children. Such children are often saddled with the responsibility of looking out for their younger siblings from an early age.
    Doing chores teaches empathy and responsiveness to the needs of others. When children are trained from an early age to ‘help out’ in the home, doing things like taking care of younger siblings, elderly relatives, sick or invalid members of the household they learn sensitivity to the needs of others, an important life skill.
    Allowing children avoid doing chores for homework teaches children that achievement and good grades are more important than helping people, which is definitely not so.

    How to encourage kids to do chores

    Use the proper language- Praise and thank kids for being helpers, and not just helping, as this encourages them to do more.
    Create a timetable- Having a time table placed in a prominent place in the house, like the fridge in the kitchen means that it is accessible, and will more likely be used.
    Make it a game- Young children love to play, doing things like setting the table, cleaning their rooms, helping with folding and taking in the laundry can be made into a game they will love playing.
    Separate pocket money from chores- Don’t make the mistake of ‘paying’ children to do chores around the house. Attaching money to doing their chores makes children see it as payment for work done, thereby turning an act of service to a business transaction.
    Make the chores neutral- There are no good or bad chores, all must be embraced with an open mind, and remember that if you hate cleaning the house, the children will pick that up from you, and hate doing it as well.
    Pay attention to the type- Chores are the usual things that keep a household running, and teaching children to do their part teach skills like empathy. Bear in mind that they have to be routine tasks that take care of the family like cleaning and dusting the living room, instead of just personal care tasks like cleaning their bedrooms or washing their clothes. Psychologists claim that involving kids in choosing chores encourages more buy in.

  • How to survive sugar detox

    It’s a new year, and one of the things you might have chosen to do is live healthier, which requires giving up some unhealthy food choices, like sugar. Scientists have told us that sugar is more addictive than hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. As a result quite a number of people try without success to give up their sugar addiction, or at least reduce it. Unfortunately cutting down on sugar is easier said than done. No matter how hard it might be, cutting down is so important as high sugar intake has been touted to be a major cause of obesity, diabetes, and probably even cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Sugar has also been fingered as a cause of inflammation, and many other diseases. Having compared it to cocaine in addictiveness, there no doubt that quitting sugar is a very painful process, as any sugar addict can testify. However uncomfortable it might be in the short term, the long term benefits make it well worth the effort. So here are some tips to help you stick to your resolve to quit the sweet poison.

    Banish sugar from your house

    First of all don’t just stop buying or using refined sugar in any and every form, ensure it does not find its way to your house. This also includes protein bars, sweetened yogurt, soda (i.e. soft drinks), sports drinks, sweetened teas, fruit juice, vanilla-flavored nut or soy milks, most breakfast cereals and bars, granola, maple syrup, honey, agave, most processed foods and more. When reading labels, look for words that end in -ose and avoid those items. Sounds too much? Simply stick to eating whole, unprocessed foods and you should be okay.

    Make sugar free snacks your new best friend

    Unsweetened tea and green juice are good to have on hand for all those times you used to reach for a sweetened beverage. To snack on, try celery, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, avocado, tuna, nuts and low-sugar fruits like pawpaw, pineapples, bananas, apples and pears. If you really need something processed in order to feel full, try Popcorn, just be sure to check the label if you’re buying the microwave version. Need to eat bread? Try whole wheat bread.

    Sleep for at least 7-9 hours a day

    Not getting enough sleep increases cortisol levels, and makes one feel hungry. Endeavour to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (within an hour) and aim for between seven and nine hours of sleep. You’ll know you’re getting the appropriate amount when you no longer need an alarm to wake up.

    Eat proteins for breakfast

    Studies revealed that eating a protein rich breakfast reduces food cravings in the brain, and helps curb mid-day longing for sugar laden snacks and cookies. Whole-wheat bread and eggs, or boiled yam with eggs or vegetable sauce with fish is a great breakfast option.

    Meditate

    Whatever religion you choose, following communing with a higher power is a sure way to keep down stress, which has been touted to be a cortisol inducer. Meditation is a sure way to ease the stress. Should you experience anxiety during your workday, take a quick time out to focus on your breath to regain balance.

    Work out with weights

    Lean muscle burns more calories, and helps your body remove glucose from your bloodstream. This means that you won’t suffer as much from blood sugar spikes, and crashes- and won’t be a slave to the sugar cycle. Exercise also releases endorphins, which boost your mood.

  • Leave fried stuff off the salad plate

    Salads are a healthy addition to every diet, even as dieticians advise that the fruits and vegetables are best eaten raw. However, some salads ingredients (like potatoes) need to be boiled to be edible. One can also choose to add fried ingredients- either vegetables or garnishes. True, fried vegetables or garnishes add a nice little crunch to salads and are lovely every now and then, especially when you’ve ordered a gourmet salad at the newest restaurant, but that will be defeating the purpose.

    Why? For everyday lunches or dinners, a regular addition of fried foods will increase the saturated fat, calories, and, potentially, the inflammatory factor of your salad. To get that crunch in a healthier way, add one to two tablespoons of raw chopped nuts or seeds.

    Simply put: Cut out the fried additions, and opt for nuts and seeds, fresh berries, and your own dressing.

  • The health benefits of egg

    Every second Friday in October is World Egg Day and Nigeria is one of the seven countries in Africa that celebrate it. Funtuna eggs, the first to introduce the concept of branded and packaged eggs to the Nigerian food industry, is the ambassador for the International Egg Commission (IEC) in Nigeria.

    The concept of ‘World Egg Day’ was created by the IEC in order to promote nature’s vitamin pill. The day is seen as an opportunity to ensure that everyone knows that egg is an excellent and affordable source of high quality protein, with the potential to feed the world.

    This day is celebrated in the form of omelet cooking competitions, donation of egg recipe booklets, boiled egg donation, radio and TV advertisements and round table discussions.

    We are regularly told how important it is to eat a balanced diet; we need protein and plenty of vitamins and nutrients.  Fruit, vegetables and meat naturally spring to mind, and when combined can provide all these. But one food contains them all – egg.

    Egg is an excellent source of high quality protein, rich in amino acids, calcium, sodium, iodine, selenium, choline and vitamins A, B, D & E; described by nutritionists, as a large vitamin pill – a mineral cocktail, they contain all the essential vitamins and minerals required for a healthy diet.

    Egg lower the risk of heart disease, the risk of breast cancer and age-related eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration, while at the same time reduce muscle loss and promote healthy growth and aging.

    Egg is packed full of goodness, from vitamin A, which is needed for the healthy development of the body’s cells, helping to maintain healthy skin and eye tissue and assisting in night vision, vitamin B12, which is necessary for the formation of red blood cells, important for the immune system to function properly, and helps protect against heart disease, right through to choline, vital for nerves and muscles to function correctly, and proven to lower the risk of heart disease, prevent age related memory loss and reduce the risk of breast cancer by as much as 40 per cent.  Egg really is a large vitamin pill, in 100 per cent natural package.

    Health organisations around the world are actively encouraging people to eat more egg to ensure that they benefit from nature’s natural vitamin pill.  The Australian Heart Foundation recommends that people should eat at least six eggs a week.  In Canada, egg carry the country’s health check mark, and the Irish Heart Foundation has coined the phrase, an egg a day is ok.

    Funtuna eggs is a part of the global celebrations that are in place for the 20th anniversary of World Egg Day on October 9, 2015.

     

  • Coping with respiratory illnesses (2)

    Asthma

    Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the bronchial tubes with increased production of sticky secretions inside the tubes. People with asthma experience symptoms when the airways tighten, inflame, or fill with mucus. Common asthma symptoms include:

    Coughing, especially at night

    Wheezing

    Shortness of breath

    Chest tightness, pain, or pressure

    Bronchitis

    Another common respiratory illness is called bronchitis. Bronchitis is a disease that affects the bronchial tubes (the tubes that carry air to the lungs). When someone has bronchitis, their bronchial tubes become inflamed, causing coughing and difficulty breathing.

    Symptoms such as:

    A cough that brings up mucus

    A fever of about 101 degrees

    A general feeling of tiredness

    Pain in the chest when they try to breathe deeply

    Shortness of breath

    Most cases of bronchitis are caused by a virus; this means that they cannot be treated with antibiotics. Often, bronchitis is caused by an infection such as a cold or flu that spreads to the bronchial tubes.

    Most people who have bronchitis will feel better within a few weeks, although sometimes a cough will last longer (up to several weeks or months). If the bronchitis seems minor, there is no need to call a doctor right away. However, it is important to carefully monitor the symptoms of a person with bronchitis because some cases of bronchitis can become serious or develop into pneumonia and lead to unplanned hospitalization or death.

    You should always call a doctor if the individual:

    Continues to wheeze

    Continues to cough for more than 2 weeks

    Has a high fever that isn’t going down over time

    Coughs up blood

    Has trouble breathing when lying down

    Has swollen feet

    Has difficulty breathing or chest pain.

    Those with bronchitis should:

    Make time for extra sleep and rest

    Drink plenty of liquids – such as: juice, water, tea, or soup

    Cut back on smoking, if they smoke

    Breathe moist air from a humidifier, hot shower, or sink filled with hot water

    Use over-the-counter cough drops or sore throat lozenges

    Pneumonia

    One of the most serious respiratory illnesses is pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs and can be caused by either a viral or bacterial infection. It can often begin as a more minor respiratory infection, such as a cold, the flu, or bronchitis, which spreads to the lungs.

    Most healthy people who get pneumonia will recover within a few weeks. However, pneumonia can be serious and can cause death in older people or in people with certain health conditions.

    The common symptoms of pneumonia include:

    A cough that brings up mucus that may have blood in it

    A fever

    Fast breathing or feeling short of breath

    Shaking or chills

    Chest pain that will feel worse when the individual coughs or breathes in

    Feeling very tired and weak

    Is having trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly

    Has a bluish or gray color on their fingernails or lips

    Has a fever of over 102 degrees

    The individual’s doctor will be able to tell if he or she has pneumonia. In most cases, pneumonia will be treated with antibiotics. In serious cases of pneumonia, the individual may need to stay in the hospital. In other cases, the individual will be able to return home while he or she recovers.

    Also encourage the patient to drink plenty of fluids.

    If he has chest pain, try using a heating pad or warm compress on the chest. Make sure the heating pad or compress does not get hot enough to burn the individual.

    If the person does not seem to be getting better or if new symptoms develop, make sure to check back with a doctor.

    Concluded

  • Coping with respiratory illnesses (1)

    Respiratory illnesses are the leading causes of unplanned hospitalizations and death for people with developmental disabilities. While many respiratory illnesses can start out as minor illnesses, such as the common cold, they can sometimes develop into much more serious and life-threatening illnesses, including pneumonia. Respiratory illnesses mostly affect the parts of the body used for breathing. For example, respiratory illnesses can affect the: Nose

    Sinuses (air pockets located inside the bones of the skull)

    Throat

    Bronchial tubes (the tubes that bring air to the lungs)

    Lungs

    Many people experience at least one or two minor respiratory illnesses each year. If left untreated, some minor respiratory illnesses can turn into more serious and life-threatening illnesses. Some common respiratory illnesses include:

    The common cold

    Influenza (flu)

    Bronchitis

    Pneumonia

    Asthma

    What are the risk factors for respiratory illnesses?

    Everyone experiences respiratory illnesses periodically. However, some people have a greater chance of experiencing more serious respiratory illnesses more often. These people include:

    Older adults and young children

    People who smoke cigarettes, cigars, or pipes

    People who live in an area with polluted or smoky air

    People with other, ongoing illnesses or conditions

    Respiratory illnesses are contagious (can spread from one person to another). Because of this, people are more likely to develop respiratory illness when:

    They live in homes where they often come in close contact with others who may have respiratory illnesses

    They visit their doctor’s office more often than others; while at these visits they may come in contact with other people who have respiratory illnesses

    They don’t use proper hygiene or come in contact with people who don’t use proper hygiene

    Cold and flu

    The common cold and flu are two of the most common respiratory illnesses. Symptoms include:

    Feeling more tired than usual

    Having a stuffy or runny nose

    Having a sore throat

    Sneezing a lot

    Having a fever of about 101 degrees

    Have a headache, cough, and sore throat

    Feel general aches and pains in their body

    Feel more tired than usual

    Inability to keep fluids down (vomiting after drinking)

    Painful swallowing

    A sore throat that lasts for longer than a week

    A cough that lasts for more than two weeks

    Cold and flu are usually caused by viruses. This means that they cannot be cured by taking antibiotics. Most cold and flu symptoms do not require a doctor’s care and will get better on their own. However, some of the time, and especially among people with other health concerns, cold and the flu can become more serious diseases and lead to unplanned hospitalizations and even death.

    Treatment

    Make time for extra rest and sleep

    Drink plenty of liquids – such as: juice, tea, water, or soup-ginger and honey tea are especially effective for colds and cartarrh.

    Use over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers, decongestants, or sore throat lozenges

  • Beating insomnia (Part 2)

    Beating insomnia (Part 2)

    Treatment

    If you’re having trouble slipping into-and remaining in-dreamland, don’t dart straight to prescription sleep drugs, which can be habit-forming, harmful if you live with certain conditions, and even downright bizarre! The good news is, science has found that many foods, drinks, herbs and other natural sleep aids can help put you to sleep … naturally.

    Non-Medical treatment and behavioral therapy

    Several simple steps can be taken to improve sleep quality and quantity. These steps include:

    -Do not drink caffeinated beverages later than the afternoon (tea, coffee, soft drinks etc.) Avoid “night caps,” (alcoholic drinks prior to going to bed).

    •Do not smoke, especially in the evening.

    •Do not go to bed hungry.

    •Adjust the environment in the room (lights, temperature, noise, etc.)

    •Avoid going to bed with your worries; try to resolve them before going to bed.

    •Do not watch TV, read, eat or use the computer or other gadgets in bed. Your bed should be used only for sleep and not work.

    •Set your alarm clock to get up at a certain time each morning, even on weekends. Do not oversleep.

    Other simple measures that can be helpful to treat insomnia include avoiding large meals and excessive fluids before bedtime and controlling your environment.

    Light, noise and undesirable room temperature can disrupt sleep. Shift workers and night workers especially must address these factors. Dimming the lights in the bedroom, relaxation, limiting the noise, and avoiding stressful tasks before going to bed may be beneficial.

    Avoid doing work in the bedroom that should be done somewhere else. For example, do not work or operate your business out of your bedroom and avoid watching TV, reading books, and eating in your bed.

    Generally, treatment of insomnia entails both non-pharmacologic (non-medical) and pharmacologic (medical) aspects. It is best to tailor treatment for individual person based on the potential cause. Studies have shown that combining medical and non-medical treatments typically is more successful in treating insomnia than either one alone.

    Foods and drinks that aid sleep

    Lemon Balm

    This lemon-scented member of the mint family has been a sleep-inducing superstar for ages. Other benefits include better digestion and decreased agitation. Try making lemon balm tea by steeping 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb in 1 cup of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes.

    Other Herbs

    If lemon balm is not your thing, another herb sage, also works as a natural sleep aid. Just steep 4 tablespoons in a cup of hot water, steep for four hours, strain, and reheat to drink. Chamomile tea and valerian teas, other sleep inducers, are also more widely available pre-bagged in natural food stores, if you don’t want to fuss with the aforementioned straining herbs.

    Carb/protein combo

    You’ve probably heard that warm milk can help you sleep, since milk contains tryptophan. But the key is to combine carbs with a protein containing tryptophan to help your body better utilize the sleep inducer. Try pairing a cup of whole grain cereal with organic milk before bedtime. Fish is also great as a sleep aid.

  • Beating insomnia

    Beating insomnia

    Sleep is essential for wellbeing as it restores and regenerates the body. Not getting enough of it can put one at great risk of certain ailments such as risk of heart disease and cancer. Besides, lack of adequate snoozes can leave one feeling dull, lethargic and listless with no energy for work or play. Sleep benefits the brain as well, as findings show that it can make one smarter. Yet researchers are finding that most adults have experienced insomnia or sleeplessness at one time or another in their lives. An estimated 30%-50% of the general population are affected by insomnia, and 10% have chronic insomnia.

    Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is “difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both” or the perception of poor quality sleep. Insomnia may therefore be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. Insomnia is not defined by a specific number of hours of sleep that one gets, since individuals vary widely in their sleep needs and practices. Although most of us know what insomnia is and how we feel and perform after one or more sleepless nights, few seek medical advice. Many people remain unaware of the behavioral and medical options available to treat insomnia.

    Insomnia Causes

    Insomnia may be caused by a host of different reasons. These causes may be divided into situational factors, medical or psychiatric conditions, or primary sleep problems. Insomnia could also be classified by the duration of the symptoms into transient, short-term or chronic. Transient insomnia generally last less than seven days; short-term insomnia usually lasts for about one to three weeks, and chronic insomnia lasts for months or even years.

    Many of the causes of transient and short-term insomnia et lag

    •Changes in shift work

    •Excessive or unpleasant noise

    •Uncomfortable room temperature (too hot or too cold)

    •Stressful situations in life (exam preparation, loss of a loved one, unemployment, divorce, or separation)

    •Presence of an acute medical or surgical illness or hospitalization

    •Withdrawal from drug, alcohol, sedative, or stimulant medications

    •Insomnia related to high altitude (mountains)

    Uncontrolled physical symptoms (pain, fever, breathing problems, nasal congestion, cough, diarrhea, etc.) can also cause someone to have insomnia. Controlling these symptoms and their underlying causes may lead to resolution of insomnia.

     

    Causes of chronic or long-term insomnia

    The majority of causes of chronic or long-term insomnia are usually linked to an underlying psychiatric or physiologic (medical) condition. These include anxiety, depression, stress (mental, emotional, situational, etc), schizophrenia, and/or mania (bipolar disorder). Insomnia may be an indicator of depression. Many people will have insomnia during the acute phases of a mental illness. As mentioned earlier, depression and anxiety are strongly associated with insomnia. Out of all the other secondary medical and psychological causes of insomnia, anxiety and depression are the most common.

    Those at risk

    Insomnia affects all age groups. Among adults, insomnia affects women more often than men. The incidence tends to increase with age. It is typically more common in people in lower socioeconomic (income) groups, chronic alcoholics and mental health patients. Stress most commonly triggers short-term or acute insomnia. If you do not address your insomnia, however, it may develop into chronic insomnia.

    There also seems to be an association between depression, anxiety and insomnia. Although the nature of this association is unknown, people with depression or anxiety were significantly more likely to develop insomnia. Certain age groups and conditions are more prone to insomnia. These are seniors, adolescents or young adult students, pregnant women, women in menopause, those who abuse drugs and alcoholics.

    Lack of sleep can lead to poor concentration and focus, difficulty with memory, impaired motor, no coordination (being uncoordinated), irritability and impaired social interaction and motor vehicle accidents because of fatigued, sleep-deprived drivers.