Gout

So this is a new week, and a new problem. My boyfriend Darren has gout. It seems as if every year he goes through this..toe swollen and then all the whining. We know that uric acid causes the joint in his toe to swell up but no matter what he stops eating the gout still keeps coming back! What in the world?? So, I want to know what are the preventions of gout?

First to define gout. Gout is an inborn disorder of the uric acid metabolism. Uric acid is an organic compound of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. So, uric crystals are deposited in tendon and joints. (like the joint between the big toe and foot) The crystals provoke an inflammation in the area. Uric acid is a waste product formed from the breakdown of purines.

Now that we have a definition of gout, what are the symptoms. Gout usually occurs at night with no warning (no wonder it just appears in Darren's feet). The affected join area becomes swollen, tender and red. The area is so sore that some people cannot even put sheets over their toe. Darren says it feels like his toe is gonna burst, his big toe is just throbbing.

People who suffer from gout has too much uric acid in their joints. The uric acid can build up in their joints. The uric acid build up creates sharp crystal like needles in the joint. The crystals is what is causing the pain and inflammation.

There isn't really any preventions of gout. The only suggestion is to eat things that do not have a lot of uric acid. Another way to prevent a gout attack is to take medications to help your body eliminate some of the excess uric acid. If gout is attacking already go to see a doctor. Another way to pass uric acid is to drink a lot of water to get rid of the acid, the water can dissolve the crystals that already have formed.

Some foods that contain high uric acid are:
Sweet bread, sardines, mushrooms, liver, mackerel, peas, scallops and the list goes on.

Yawning

This week I wanted to know if yawning is really "contagious". I am always yawning. I yawn when I wake up, when I'm studying and when I see someone else yawning.

Wikipedia defines yawning as a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation. Yawning is associated with being tired, lack of stimulation, need of sleep. Yawning is a powerful non-verbal message with different meanings under different circumstances.

We know that yawning is inhaling and exhaling of oxygen. When we yawn it is a reflex to draw more oxygen to the bloodstream. This reflex is built into our physical body and we have no control over this. We cannot tell our body not to yawn and when to yawn, it just happens. Yawning is usually associated with the person being tired, but it is not always the reason. People yawn because of stress, boredom, emotions and being over-worked.

Have you noticed that when your in a classroom and someone yawns, you yawn too?? Why do we do that?

Researchers have found that to 40%-60% of people will yawn when they see a picture of someone yawning. People will even yawn when they read the words YAWN (which is happening to me right now...LOL)

No one really knows why yawning is "contagious". There has been suggestions though. It is said that yawning is a unconscious herding behavior (a subtle way to communicate in a group). Like when one bird rises, the whole flock of bird rises.... Maybe a yawn is to let the group know that the person is bored or tired.

Humans are not the only ones that yawn. Animals yawn too! I yawned soo much writing this blog... did you yawn reading it??? LOL...

Centipiedes

You can't see what it says on the paper, but the caption reads as is
"Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii
January 2000"... and it's 8 INCHES!!!

Okay, after reading Kerry's blog about cane spiders, I thought about what I'm really afraid of... centipedes!!! You guys cannot believe where I found one. I was in Kohala at my boyfriends house, getting ready to shower. So, I get ready to step in the tub... and guess what is crawling in the bath tub... a 6 inch centipede. OMG, I was screaming off the top of my lungs. For as long as I can remember I've always seen centipedes because of my dad's farm and now in Kohala when we're there. So, I want to know what can happen to you if you get bitten by a centipede?

Centipedes are fast moving, and I mean fast. The darn thing has from 15 to 173 segments and a pair of legs for each segment! They are venomous, predatory, terrestrial arthropods. Most centipedes are nocturnal. These arthropods live mostly in tropical climates but are also distributed in many different temperature zones.

Some symptoms of a centipede bite... painful stinging, burning sensation, localized redness and swelling. These types of symptoms usually last for a few hours, in few cases the symptoms have lasted for several weeks!!

Eww... I would not want to get bitten by this pest. But a centipede bite is almost like a bee sting. The bite causes inflammation and pain. A centipede bite can be treated at home!! Yup, you don't have to go to the emergency room for a centipede bite. Because the centipede is venomous, it is encouraged to squeeze blood out from the bite to get as much venom out as possible. After squeezing the blood out, clean the bite with soap and water. Then apply a cool compress to the wound. Yup, that simple.... but I still wouldn't want to go through this.

Okay... so a centipede bite wouldn't kill me, thank god!... LOL... but I am still afraid of it, who wouldn't be? At least now I know that I can take care of the wound IF I ever get bitten. *sigh*

Causes of Sinus Infection

So, I have been out for two days because of a sinus infection. I have no idea how this happened, I mean one day I'm fine and then next thing you know, scratchy throat and then down hill from there... serious...I thought I just caught a cold, I was taking medicine thinking that it would go away and I would feel fine... but I was wrong. I got worse. Went to the doctor and she told me that I had a sinus infection. What in the world is a sinus infection and how did I get it?

A sinus infection is when there is an inflamation in the sinus and nasal passages. This infection can cause headaches or pressure in the eyes, nose and cheek area. A person with a sinus infection has a cough, fever and thick nasal scretion (hanabatas).

A sinus infection can be caused by allergens (allergy-causing substance) or pollutants. Okay, so my sinus infection could have been caused by the bad vog we had earlier this week. The infection causes damage to the cells of the sinus lining. The damage to the cells cause the lining to inflamate. When there is inflamation, the fluids in the nasal passage is obstructed. The obstrcution doesn't allow the bacteria be removed properly. The bacteria then multiplies and begins to invade the lining of the sinus. This invasion then causes the sypmtoms of a sinus infection.

Symtoms of a sinus infection:
Moderate to severe sinus pain
Swelling around the eyes
Fever
Thick yellow or green nasal discharge
Difficult breathing through the nose
Nasal-sounding voice
A general feeling of not being well
A cough

Gray Hair

Every weekend, my mom always asks me to pull out her gray hair. I have been doing this since I can remember. We sit there for hours just to get all the gray hair out. I have told my mom many of times that she should just dye her hair, because each time I do it there seems to be more and more gray hair. I want to know... WHAT causes Gray Hair????? Maybe it's stress, and if it is... I am going to TRY REALLY REALLY hard to stop giving my mom stress so I don;t have to pull out the gray hair every week....



Well, gray hair comes with age. So, the older you get the more likely gray hair is to appear. Our head are made of two parts, a part called the shaft. The shaft is the part that has the color. The second part is the root, which holds down our hair to the scalp. The root has tissue around it called follicle. Each follicle contains a certain amount of pigment cells. The pigment cells produce a chemical called mellanin which gives us the color in our hair.

As we get older, the pigment cells start to dye off. When we get less and less pigment cells, there isn't much mellanin left. Since there is not much mellanin our hair turns to either white, silver or gray.

In conclusion, stress does not cause gray hair. So, it looks like I'm gonna be pulling out gray hair for a VERY long time... heheheh.

Medical Marijuana Use

Okay... Okay... I know what some of you may be thinking..why am I doing my post on this?... Tonight on the news, a man was arrested for distrbuting his medical marijuana, selling it. To be honest, I don't know much about medical marijuana, and I'm not sure if I really support it. I have seen what marijuana can do to people and am hesitant about people using it for medical uses... but maybe I will change my mind after some research.

What is Marijuana used for, medically?

First things first, I need some background on marijuana. Marijuana is also known as cannibis. The major active compound in the plant is THC. The chemical has a psychoactive and medicinal effetcs when consumed. The plant is usually somked like a cigarette.

Believe it our not, but marijuana is an antioxidant. Marijuana has a chemical that protects cells, better than Vitamins C or E. The drug may even prevent stroke and heart attacks.

THC the main component in marijuana can help with nausea and vomiting symptoms of some medical illnesses. When THC is smoked or ingested, it connects to two receptors on cells. Once the THC is attached to the cells it will take effect.

Marijuana and Medical Illnesses
Marijuana was used at first for menstrual cramps and to relieve headaches. Marijuana is used by some cancer patients. When cancer patients have chemotherapy they get nausea. Marijuana can help reduce mild to moderate nausea. Patients with AIDS may even use the plant to reduce weight loss and nausea. Glaucoma patients even smoke the plant to help reduce the pressure in their eyeballs. People with pain smoke marijuana for pain relief.

Marijuana is a very complex drug. The drug is made of 421 chemicals. 61 of the chemicals in the marijuana plant is found nowhere else in nature, so it is hard to say which chemical in the plant helps medically. There are some problems when it comes to medical marijuana, it can damage some immune system.

After some research, I have come to the conclusion, that if it works for some people I support the drug. If I had cancer and was suffering I would want something that could take the pain aways, even if it's temporarily. I do not support the casual use of marijuana, it's can be dangerous.

What caused the Nene bird to be endangered?

For some strange reason, I am becoming fascinated with endangered species. For this post, I am focusing on the nene bird.
The nene bird as we all know is the state bird of Hawaii. I know that the nene bird is endangered, but what caused the nene bird to become endangered?

The nene bird is a land bird. The nene is supposedly an evolved Canadian goose. It has adapted to living on the lava land. The nene used to have webbed feet but has transformed their feet into claw like shape to adapt to living on the harsh lava rocks. I have seen the nene up close and personal at the volcano golf course, they are very slow moving and really beautiful to look at.

From what I have read so far, many species become endangered because their habitat is destroyed. Apparently this happened to the nene bird too. When Captain Cook came to the islands, there were about 25,000 nene birds. With Captain Cook and other people to the islands, things around the islands changed, as well as the habitat of the nene birds. As people were building on the islands, the nene lost their habitat and deforestation happened.

With new people to islands came new animals. These new animals were predators of the nene bird. Predators like the mongoose, rats, wild dogs and cats preyed on the helpless nene. By 1950, there were only 50 nene birds on the islands. Being that the nene is slow when moving, it was an easy target for hunters too!

On May 7, 1957 population has increased. About 890 the nene bird became our state bird. Since becoming the state bird, the nenenenes are found around the islands. Worldwide though there are about 2000 nene birds in zoo's, captivity and in nature. I have hope that the nene population will increase with time.... *crossing my fingers*.....