May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and it's a great time to remind everyone of the need to get immediate help if someone you know is experiencing symptoms of stroke. If an individual is having a stroke, it is very possible that they will not recognize that they are which makes it even more critical that those around them are aware of the signs and take urgent action.

Stroke can happen to anyone and can occur at any age. According to the Stroke Awareness Foundation, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and almost 25% of strokes affect people under the age of 65.

An easy acronym to help determine if stroke is occurring is F.A.S.T. Face: is the person's face drooping to one side? Arm: Is the person able to raise both arms, and maintain their balance? Speech: Can the person repeat a sentence without slurring words? If any of these symptoms are evident, Time is of the essence and you need to call 911 immediately. When the EMTs (emergency medical technicians) arrive, be sure to request that the patient be taken to a hospital that has a certified stroke center so that they can receive proper treatment. Oftentimes if the hospital is not equipped to treat stroke patients, the patient may be sent away without correct diagnosis and treatment, and will suffer much more extreme effects of the stroke.

Typically if the person who is suffering a stroke receives t-PA (tissue plasminogenic activators) within three hours, their risk of experiencing debilitating effects of the stroke, including paralysis on one side of their body, is greatly reduced. If treatment is administered after three hours, the drugs are much less effective.

There are also some initial signs of stroke that are not as obvious as the ones listed above. These are sometimes referred to as mini-strokes or warning strokes. The medical term is TIA or transient ischemic attack. Although these are less common, if do you experience one of these and get immediate treatment, you may ward off a major stroke. According to the American Heart Association, symptoms of TIA include: sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body; confusion or trouble speaking; trouble seeing in one or both eyes; dizziness or trouble walking; and sudden severe headache.

While these symptoms may sounds like the same as a stroke, the difference between TIAs and stroke, is that the TIA symptoms are short term, often lasting no more than 5 minutes, and do not cause brain injury. However, they are not to be ignored, as about 50% of patients that experience TIAs suffer a major stroke within one year.

Unfortunately, stroke can strike when no one is around to recognize the symptoms and call 911 immediately. The longer the stroke patient goes without out medical help, the greater the risk of long term injury and even death can occur. If someone you know and love does experience extensive injury from stroke or brain-attack, do not despair. Even though the recovery process can be very long and trying, the stroke survivor will recover and although their life style may be much different than what they previously had, there is life after stroke.

A study at the University of Maryland showed that stroke patients that used humor and a positive attitude during their recovery, looking for ways to find a positive outcome from their experience, had a greater success of recovery and suffered less from bouts of depression. Patients also fared much better if they had a strong support network of empathetic family members and loved ones to assist with transportation to doctor appointments, therapies, and other social outings.

A positive, persistent attitude will help the stroke survivor and family members get through the recovery period, and with love and support you will all come through the event much stronger and able to cope with whatever challenges life sends your way.

What is the difference between health and wellness?
What is the difference between wellness and dynamic wellness?

A lot of people look at the information about nutrition and how the body breaks food down and absorbs it through the villi, putting it into the blood stream to deliver it to their cells and say, "That just makes sense".

There is a big step though from knowing how the body does this to understanding that each of us needs to be taking some personal action to give our bodies what they need for optimum performance.

Once upon a time vegetables were grown in your garden and animals grew up in fields. I say "once upon a time" but it is only 40 or 50 years ago that this was basically true.

Now we find that vegetables are grown in depleted and often contaminated soils. They are nurtured with chemicals to get best production but the trace elements that are so important to our long term health are not in the soils to begin with and son the plants cannot put them into the vegetables and fruit that we buy.

It is a difficult place to begin the food chain.

How does your body react when you put it under stress? How well can it stand outside pressures, and all the damaging things modern society throws at us every day, is directly related to our level of wellness. If we have dynamic health, if we have a reserve of energy and strength and our body is not working flat out just to keep us going then we can withstand problems much better

Having enough energy to be able to get up and do your daily tasks with enough energy to do them easily it a much better way to live. Life is more interesting and you have the capacity to go beyond your normal routine and meet a friend for a drink or get to the library for a book or to get that extra job done around the house. Life is much more pleasant when you have enough energy to do normal things without having to push yourself.

Dynamic health requires us to take positive action to ensure that our body has the things it needs to keep us well.

We need:

- Good hydration, that is, enough clean water
- Some regular exercise.
- Enough calories to allow our metabolism to stay fairly high
- Basic nutrition, including the: protein, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibre, healthy fats and oils and the botanical factors that our body needs every day to keep healthy.
- Regular, and enough, sleep.

If we give our body these things then we have a realistic chance to keep healthy and to be able to rise to the challenges that life throws at us from time to time.

You need to just make the effort to do the things that are easy to do but that are, at the same time, easy Not to do. Get rest, Find a way to fit a little exercise into your day, find a really good broad-spectrum nutrient supplement to ensure that you are getting all the dietary factors you need every day to keep well and strong, and make sure you get enough water.

With these things taken care of then there is a good chance you will live long and that you will also be healthy enough, and fit enough, to make full use of the extra years of life that this effort will, God willing, give you.

You do not like being sick and to make matters worse, you have a head cold. You're coughing, have a sore throat, have a sinus headache that is pounding and a runny nose. Stop that nose from running a marathon and get rid of that head cold. Why should you feel sick, when you can get better? There are some techniques you will be able to do in order to feel better. Please take note that we are not doctors; we're not even close to being a doctor, we write for a living. So what makes us qualified to give you this type of information? Nothing really. However, we have had many head colds in our life and we know some tricks to getting rid of them. Continue reading this article to learn some tricks on how to cure a head cold.

Are you still reading this article? Of course you are, because you know you are going to find some great tips. First of all, you should turn to some herbal tea. Herbal tea is known for soothing the body and will help out with that head cold you are having. Herbal tea with mint in it is especially good for your body.

Do you like chicken noodle soup? Good, because this will help cure a head cold as well. Good, old fashioned chicken noodle soup is good for your body, be sure to drink the juice from the noodles. Speaking in drinking, you should drink plenty of fluids. In this case, we believe water would be perfect for you.

You can always take some medication that will relieve a head cold until it is cured. However, a little words of cautions: taking more medicine does not mean you will get rid of that cold faster. You should always abide by the directions on that label. In the end, if you still have that head cold, then you should turn to your doctor for advice on how to cure a head cold. Your doctor will more than likely prescribe some medication for you.

UTI is an infection that occurs in the urinary organs. This infection is mainly found among women but some men suffer from urinary infection due to enlarged prostate. Most of the men suffer from urethritis or prostatitis. Urethritis occurs due to bacterial infection in urethra while prostatitis occurs due to infection in prostate gland.

The bladder and kidney infection occurs among men above 60 years of age. This infection occurs due to presence of kidney stones that block the flow of urine from the urinary bladder. Hence, the urine gets contaminated inside the bladder which facilitates the growth and multiplication of bacterial infections. Few men acquire UTI due to the use of catheter for the drainage of urine. It can also occur due to diabetes or unsafe sexual activities.

Hence, you should undergo a diagnosis as soon as you notice the symptoms of urinary infections. The medical practitioner will ask you to undergo an urinalysis to detect the presence of bacterial infections. He might conduct tests to detect the type of bacteria and its possible treatment. Hence, you should cooperate with them so that they can analyze the extent of infection and means to provide relief from its side-effects.

A majority of doctors recommend an antibiotic treatment for the cure of UTI. These antibiotics kill the bacterium responsible for the infectious disease. However, you should complete the dosage to avoid recurrence of the infection in the urinary organs. You can also consume over the counter pain medicines that provide relief from the pain incurred during urinary infections. However, it's advisable to consult a doctor before purchasing one for yourself.

You can also take certain dietary precautions during the infliction of UTI. Ideally, you should drink 8-12 glasses of water to flush the bacterium from the urinary tract. You can also drink fruit juices to counteract the disease. So, take the necessary precautions and undergo proper treatment to get cured from the urinary tract infections.