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Month: June 2019

  • Botox Treatments: How do they Work?

    Botox Treatments: How do they Work?

    Botox treatments are the most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure in the world! How much do you know about this popular procedure, though? Maybe you’ve heard about the muscle-paralyzing effects of the procedure, or maybe you’ve just heard that the procedure helps to eliminate wrinkles. Today we’re looking at the treatment, the chemical in question, and whether Botox might be a good idea for you.

    Botox Treatments

    What is Botox?

    The Botox treatment involves using a carefully controlled dose of a neurotoxin to paralyze some of the muscles in your face. That might sound pretty scary, but as long as a professional is applying the procedure it’s perfectly safe. The toxin itself, botulinum toxin, is created in laboratory settings by manipulating a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum.

    The toxin itself is unbelievably dangerous, and is one of the most poisonous substances to humans that science has ever studied. It is estimated that a single gram of botulinum toxin could kill over a million humans, and only a few kilograms could wipe out the entire human race. That’s a pretty scary thought!

    The Toxin

    The toxin itself usually has to be lab-made to be deadly to humans. The bacteria that create it normally don’t do so in their natural environments, unless they transform into vegetative cells. In nature Clostridium botulinum is often found near lakes, in forests and in soil. It often lives in the intestinal tract of small mammals, and can often be found in the gills of fish.

    In high concentrations, the toxin these bacteria create results in a medical condition called botulism. Botulism typically results in serious respiratory distress in affected people, and, if left untreated, results in death. While this all may sound rather scary, the botulinum toxin still has proven to be a successful therapeutic protein.

    What it Does

    Botulinum toxin, when used in small quantities and applied correctly, can paralyze muscles in a very localized fashion. It does this by blocking proteins before they can reach the nerve cells in the muscles. You’ve likely seen the jokes about people getting Botox and being unable to move their facial muscles: this protein-blocking action is the reason why.

    In order for muscles to work correctly, a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine has to be released. It binds to receptors in the muscles and this, in turn, causes the muscles to contract. It’s pretty simple in theory, but in your body is occurs millions of times in a short span of time and across your entire bodily structure. Botulinum toxin is capable of simply cutting this neurotransmitter off at the source, resulting in paralysis. This is what gives it the title “neurotoxin.”

    In Cosmetic Procedures

    All of the scary, nerve-blocking functions would be terrifying in a large dose, of course. In a controlled dose, however, this toxin can have some interesting cosmetic effects. Namely, Botox procedures are normally aimed at reducing the appearance of facial wrinkles or fine lines. It does so through its normal function of blocking proteins and paralyzing muscles, but in a highly localized area.

    By paralyzing these muscles, the intended effect is to cause the face to appear smoother and more youthful. Typically it takes a day or so for the toxin to take effect, though, when it does, it can result in facial stiffness for a few days while the body deals with the toxin. Following the procedure, many find their facial appearance to be much smoother, their wrinkles being reduced.

    There are a few side effects that can occur with the procedure, however. The most common ones include nausea, headaches or migraines, double vision and a general feeling of fatigue. Rarer side effects could include redness or local edema at the injection site, trouble swallowing, neck stiffness or weakness, dry mouth and other side effects.


  • Best Billing and Invoice Software for Small Businesses

    Best Billing and Invoice Software for Small Businesses

    Whether your business has ten employees or a hundred, you need invoicing and billing software. After all, keeping up with who gets money, and how much, is critical to operating your business daily. As such, you need the best billing and invoice software you can get. Today we’re taking a look at some of the best software on the market for your small business so you can get down to business.

    While there’s no one right answer for your business, these are some of the most popular and highly-rated software solutions out there. Your business deserves to succeed, so give it the best chance to by getting the best invoicing software!

    What is Billing and Invoice Software?

    For those who are just starting a small business and might not know, invoicing software is incredibly important to the daily operations of your business. Primarily, this software is for accounting and other financial operations. It can be as simple as something that allows single-entries of data points to more advanced, double-entry applications with more robust features.

    Depending on your business, you might be better served by a simpler software solution that allows you to quickly input and organize data and information. However, your business might be complex enough that it’s more important you have a more thorough and robust software suite available, with functionality such as double-checking your numbers and automating tasks.

    Quickbooks

    One of the most well-known and easily-recognized names in the realm of accounting software, you’ve likely seen commercials from or heard about Quickbooks. That name recognition comes honest: Quickbooks is one of the best software suites for accounting tasks, offering ample features for businesses without overwhelming users with options.

    The user interface is clean, easy-to-navigate and impressive. Task automation is easy and resources to help you find ways to solve problems with Quickbooks are plentiful. One of the best things about choosing a major name like Quickbooks is that most people are already familiar with the software, so your accounting employees will likely have no trouble using it or figuring out how to troubleshoot the software.

    Freshbooks

    Freshbooks, the similarly-named competition to Quickbooks, is another great option for small businesses. While not as recognizable or well-known as Quickbooks, Freshbooks offers a great platform for your accounting needs and is a bit less expensive than Quickbooks. The trade-off, however, is that less people will be familiar with the software, so your accounting employees may need more in-depth training with it.

    Freshbooks is a cloud-based accounting solution, so you can rest assured knowing your books are backed up offsite. Even if your computers go down or somehow you lose your hard drives, you won’t lose all of your accounting information. Automation solutions are as robust as Quickbooks; the only real step down from the competition is that Freshbooks is a bit more complex to learn and use.

    Sage 50cloud

    Another excellent accounting suite you can use for billing and invoicing is Sage 50cloud. Sage’s software solution is, as the name suggests, another cloud-based accounting option. This means that your books will be backed up in the cloud and can be recovered in case you lose your files or hard drive. This keeps incidents like fires or burglaries from being total wipeouts of your data.

    Sage 50cloud is also notable for its user interface. It’s a breeze to set up automated tasks, like payroll or recurring bills and invoices. Organizing invoices and expenditures is easy, and information is presented in a readable and easy-to-parse context. Exporting and importing data is a snap, and you don’t have to worry about minor clerical errors: the software double-checks behind you to make sure everything adds up.


  • Reverse Mortgage: Right for your Retirement?

    Reverse Mortgage: Right for your Retirement?

    If you’re a bit strapped for cash going into your retirement, or even a few years in, you might be considering getting a reverse mortgage. However, you might want to do some research about the type of loan that you’re signing up for. After all, reverse mortgages entail high fees, and they result in the lender owning your home when you pass away.

    Today we’ll take a critical look at reverse mortgages to see if they’re really right for you. There are situations when a reverse mortgage could be a good deal for you financially, but it could just as easily be a bad trade-off. Let’s look a little deeper.

    What is a Reverse Mortgage?

    A reverse mortgage is a loan issued by a bank with the trade-off being the equity in your home. Unlike a normal mortgage, a reverse mortgage goes up in incremental payments made to you as the interest increases. However, they carry heavy fees. In fact, these fees can be up to three times higher than a traditional mortgage. Not to mention, the up-front fees can be ten percent or more of the actual loan.

    Yes, a reverse mortgage will put money in your pocket at the outset, but it can be a hassle for a number of reasons. When you’re borrowing against your home equity, you’ve essentially sold your home to the bank. If you want to move, you have to pay back the reverse mortgage, and since it’s eaten up so much of your home’s equity, this means you’ll have to cover the costs of any move yourself, and still come up with a down payment on a new place.

    Other Drawbacks

    A major reason not to get a reverse mortgage is if you plan to leave your home to your children. In many cases, people leave their assets, including their homes, to their kids when they pass away. If you’ve taken out a reverse mortgage, however, you can’t do so. The lender will take possession of your home and sell it to recoup the loan they gave you for the reverse mortgage.

    This means that reverse mortgages can be a terrible idea for people who intend to leave their homes to their families. If you live in a family home that you want to pass to your kids, stay far away from anyone wanting to give you a reverse mortgage.

    Advantages

    This all being said, there are a few reasons you might want a reverse mortgage. If you’re very strapped for cash in your retirement and you have no children, or you don’t have any plans to leave your home to your children, then you might consider a reverse mortgage. If you don’t plan to move again, this can be an attractive way to shore up your finances to help cover some of your recurring bills.

    The line of credit you get with a reverse mortgage isn’t subject to being frozen by a market downturn. If you have bad credit, or a high debt-to-income ratio, a reverse mortgage can be a good way to get some immediate financial relief to help cover your bills. However, if you can qualify for a home equity line of credit, and you live in a pricey area, you might be better served by downsizing and moving to a less expensive region.

    Bottom Line

    While most people would benefit more from home equity credit lines or home equity loans, there are some who find reverse mortgages to be more appealing to their financial situation. However, unless you are very strapped for cash and have poor credit or a high debt-to-income ratio, you should likely stay away from a reverse mortgage.


  • Pest Control: How to Manage Rodents

    Pest Control: How to Manage Rodents

    Whether it’s mice or rats crawling in your cupboards, you just want them out. No one likes having rodents living in their house unless they’re pets who have their own living space. And, trust us, there’s a big difference between a sweet pet rodent and a serious vermin infestation. Calling out an exterminator can be costly and disruptive, though. What should you do?

    There are a few ways to deal with a rodent problem in your home. Today we’re looking at some of the most straightforward solutions, and how they stack up against one another. Let’s get started!

    Get a Cat

    This incredibly straightforward method is far from fool-proof, but it’s time-tested and has a good chance of fixing your rodent problem. Cats live with humans primarily thanks to their unchallenged mastery of hunting small pests. The average house cat will be delighted to move in with you for the head pats and free food, and you’ll get a sweet little buddy out of the deal. Often, the mere presence of a kitty will be enough to scare savvy rodents away, as your home becomes rather deadly to them.

    Meanwhile, your new feline friend will be having a great time snapping up mice and rats and dealing with the problem for you. This is a win-win solution, assuming your kitty is a dedicated enough hunter and you’re not dealing with terribly intelligent rodents. Of course, some cats aren’t great hunters, so if your kitty doesn’t manage to fix the problem, don’t get rid of her! She’ll still make a great little companion, even if she can’t hunt.

    Deprive Rats of Food

    Well, you have a cat now and the rats are still in your house. Or maybe you just skipped that last step, which is fine, too. In either case, your next step should be to shore up all of the potential food sources in your home that rats are going for. Seal up all foods in airtight containers, clean up your trash and don’t leave any table scraps or crumbs around. This will make the rats hungry and desperate.

    Once the rats’ food sources dry up, they’ll start getting desperate to grab a meal. Sometimes this drives them directly into the paws of your cat, if you have one. If so, great! If not, there’s a few other steps you can take.

    Rat Traps

    Once deprived of food, you can often trick rats into traps with some of their favorite snacks. Some rat traps are deadly, killing the rodent as it enters, leaving you to dispose of the remains. Others are a bit more humane, but then require you to drop the rat somewhere far from your home so they don’t re-enter and restart your problem.

    Traps are a preferred method for a few reasons. Poisons can be dangerous to have around children or pets, and also don’t take effect immediately. Often, a rat who ingests poison will go back to their hiding hole, only to die there. Here’s the issue: rats like to hide in your walls. A dead rat in your walls will stink to high heaven, and attracts bugs.

    Warding Scents

    Another way to deal with rats is using warding aromas. There are many products sold that purport to smell horrible to rats, usually composed of essential oils. Since rodents have such strong senses of smell, it’s not unreasonable that some powerful scents would confuse and repel them.

    If you have pets or children and don’t want to deal with rat traps or rat poisons, using these warding scents can be a good way to try to humanely stop the problem from occurring in the first place. If none of these efforts have any effect, however, it’s time to call in a professional exterminator.


  • Do It Yourself: Unclogging Tough Drains

    Do It Yourself: Unclogging Tough Drains

    You turn on the faucet, and the sink begins to fill with water. You think, okay, maybe I’ve got the stopper in. To your dismay, the drain is open and unimpeded, but the water is only barely draining. You’ve got a clogged, slow drain and you’re dreading calling a plumber and seeing the huge bill attached to their visit. What can you do?

    Today we’re looking at a few ways you can try to unclog a drain yourself, and why you really should do so. Let’s get into some DIY home maintenance, some Feng Shui, and how to avoid paying an arm and a leg to the plumber.

    Unclogging Tough Drains

    Why You Should

    The last thing you need in your home is a slow-draining sink or tub. They’re absolute breeding grounds for bacteria, making your home smelly and unsanitary. One of the best things about living in a home with modern amenities is plumbing: pipes that carry waste and dirt away from your home are critical to sanitary living and a long lifespan.

    If the “sanitation” argument isn’t doing it for you, consider the Feng Shui angle. Maybe you’ve heard of this philosophy: it holds that the way you organize your living space directs the flow of Chi, or spirit energy, in your home. In Western terms, a bad living space puts your head in a bad space. Feng Shui practitioners claim that slow drains can be a drain on your energy, ensuring lower finances, draining your good health, dragging down travel plans and even clogging your sinuses.

    Calling in the Plumber

    Your first instinct may be to call in the plumber. However, as good of advice as this is in an emergency situation, a slow drain is no emergency. You should try every home solution you can, first. Plumbers have to upcharge a ton for a variety of reasons, so you’ll end up spending a lot more on them than you will on any home solutions.

    A slow drain is almost always cause by a soft blockage. This can be hair or similar gunk that’s just cluttered up and become a ball of water-stopping grossness. A soft blockage like this can usually be broken down by some abrasive chemicals. Of course, if none of these home remedies work, it’s time to call in a pro, sadly.

    Drano (and Other Products)

    Store-bought drain cleaners, like name-brand Drano and all of its derivatives, can be helpful for these types of clogs. Typically, these drain products work best on clogs that are either caught in the first vertical trap of the drain, or in the third section. Things caught in the U-trap, the second, horizontal section, usually require a bit more in-depth solution.

    Drano should be able to break up any gunk caught in the drain that isn’t, say, a solid blockage. If someone has gotten a marble or some other little foreign object stuck in the drain, it’ll need to be removed manually.

    Removing the U-Trap

    If the blockage still isn’t gone, it’s time to go hands-on. Make sure that there is no drain product in the U-trap by thoroughly flushing the drain in question. Once that’s done, get some gloves on and put a bucket under the pipes. Remove the nuts from the front and back of the trap and then take it off. Let the water drain from both sides, and then drain the water from the removed trap.

    Take a bent pipe cleaner and scrub out whatever gunk or blockage is gumming up the works. Once that’s done, just re-attach the trap and send some warm water through the pipe. The blockage should be cleared. If neither of these approaches did the trick, it’s time to call in a pro.


  • Artificial Intelligence: Fact vs Fiction

    Artificial Intelligence: Fact vs Fiction

    One of the most misunderstood terms in computer science is “artificial intelligence”. While many people are familiar with the term artificial intelligence, or its shortened form, AI, they might have a picture of AI in their mind that doesn’t reflect the reality. Sci-fi movies paint a picture of an AI as simply a human-like intelligence that lives in a computer. That’s not entirely accurately.

    Today we’re looking a bit more closely at real artificial intelligence initiatives, how they differ from pop culture depictions of AI, and some of the ethical and philosophical questions raised by artificial intelligence technology.

    What is Artificial Intelligence?

    In simple terms, artificial intelligence refers to intelligence being displayed by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals. In the popular conception of an artificial intelligence, the term refers to machines that can mimic natural intelligence features such as problem solving, learning and innovation.

    Within the scientific community, there is an ongoing effect known as the “AI effect.” This observation states that any functionality once thought to be “artificial intelligence” that becomes achievable by current-day machines is no longer dubbed AI. For instance, tasks such as understanding human speech, playing games like chess and Go and decrypting written language were all once reserved for “artificial intelligence,” though they are now common computer programs.

    In short, as Tesler’s Theorem jokes, “AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet.”

    Types of AI

    There are three main types of artificial intelligence. These include analytical, human-inspired and, finally, humanized AI. Analytical AI is the simplest, and encompasses things like learning, problem-solving and understanding representations of the world around them. Human-inspired AI are more complex and would involve the understanding and emulation of human emotion. Essentially, these would be “emotionally intelligent” AI.

    Finally, humanized AI would most closely resemble the sci-fi incarnation of a human-like intelligence that can think, reason, emote and feel in all the same ways as a human being. Humanized AI, in theory, would be fully self-aware, cognizant, and, essential, would have all of the elements that make natural intelligence aware of their place in the world. This form of AI carries serious philosophical and ethical implications.

    Ethics and Philosophy

    Humanized AI raises a serious question: is a sufficiently intelligent computer program, one that shows evidence of self-awareness, a person? Should society extend human rights and legal protections to artificial intelligences? How should we react should the artificial intelligence prove hostile, or hold values contrary to those of its creator?

    Even deeper than these questions, there are serious philosophical questions about the nature of consciousness. We know we are conscious, or, at least, each individual can know that they are conscious. However, it’s difficult to distinguish a sufficiently well-programmed piece of software from a truly self-aware machine intelligence. How can we know that the program in question is actually experiencing consciousness, not just emulating the signifiers of consciousness we programmed into it?

    Reality vs Expectation

    The difference in the reality of artificial intelligence and the expectations of them have led to a number of miscommunications between researchers and their funding. Companies and universities funding AI research often expect fully-aware, sentient AI to leap fully-formed from the researchers’ computers, while the researchers are simply making iterative probes into the nature of machine learning and intelligence.

    In the short-term, it’s unclear if any of the software we currently have could be defined as “artificial intelligence,” due to the AI effect reclassifying innovations as simple machine processes, not intelligence. In the long-term, we will have a number of decisions to make regarding the future of artificial intelligence, how we as a species deal with machine intelligence, and what rights we extend to apparently self-aware programs.


  • Choosing an ISP for Your Business: What to Look For

    Choosing an ISP for Your Business: What to Look For

    The days of businesses not relying on internet services to get work done are long behind us. No matter what field your business is engaged in, you need to have a great internet connection. It needs to be fast, it needs to be reliable, and it needs to fit your budget.

    Often, getting all three of these factors to line up is a herculean feat. However, today we’re going to help you narrow it down by pointing out some of the biggest factors that make a business internet plan attractive to a business like yours.

    Types of Internet Available

    There are a number of different types of internet. If you’re not familiar with anything other than “broadband” and “dial-up,” this section is for you. There are a number of different types of internet available, and they each offer various strengths and weaknesses. Most well-known among modern internet connections is likely DSL, once called just “broadband.” DSL stands for digital subscriber line, and it’s the middle-ground on speed and price. It’s completely fine, nothing to write home about.

    Another older, but still popular, solution is cable internet. This is an internet form that literally uses coaxial television cables to send the data to your computer. Introduced in the 90’s, this internet solution is still pretty fast, offering speeds of up to 100 Mbps. The only issues with cable internet are that coaxial cables aren’t nearly as plentiful now as they were in 1998, and it remains relatively expensive. Oh, and it slows down when your neighbors get on the internet.

    Less Common Internet Providers

    If you want a faster connection via for your internet, you’re not getting DSL or cable. You’ve got a much faster option available, thankfully. Fiber internet uses fiber optic cables to deliver information as pulses of light, offering the fastest internet speeds currently available. In fact, fiber optic cables are the oldest option for sending internet data: they were how the basis of the internet was formed. However, they’re expensive, and they have a decidedly shorter reach than other forms of internet.

    Another uncommon internet service is via satellite. Satellite is great for businesses in remote regions that might not have internet wiring readily available. To be fair, satellite internet is rarely as fast as DSL, though it’s typically the only option for remotely located businesses. As such, if it’s all you can get, it’ll get the job done.

    Also, dial-up internet technically still exists. Yes, we’re serious. Yes, it’s incredibly slow, and it’s dirt-cheap. You probably do not want dial-up internet in your place of businesses unless you have almost nothing to do with the internet.

    Consider Your Needs

    Do you need the absolute fastest internet speeds available? Well, that depends on what your business does, and how big it is. Just because you have a big budget for internet doesn’t mean you need to break the bank on the best internet service available. On average, if you’re operating a smaller business with five or so employees, an internet speed of 30 Mbps or so should do the trick.

    Meanwhile, if you’re operating with seven to twenty employees, you’re probably going to want an internet speed exceeding 60 Mbps. As such, it follows that with more than twenty employees, you’re going to want 100 Mbps or more, and when you’re getting above that, you’re likely operating a medium-sized business of fifty or more employees.

    Other Considerations

    Make sure you know what the average yearly downtime for a given ISP is before you sign up with them. Likewise, check what their customer service scores are like. Are other customers satisfied with their internet, and with their customer support? Ask about any data caps, how long the contract is for, and any other spooky fine print that you might want to steer clear of.


  • Best Employee Time Tracking Software: Smarter Business Solutions

    Best Employee Time Tracking Software: Smarter Business Solutions

    Every business needs the right tools in order to succeed. Chief among these tools are employee management tools. When your employees clock in, when they leave: these are critical data points you have to have great tracking of. Time tracking software is how you generate payroll, and how you accurately keep up with billable hours, time management and project durations.

    When you get employee time tracking software, you need the best. It needs to be reliable, easy to use and easier to read. No one wants to have to decipher crazy tables and illegible data points in order to try to generate payroll. Today we’re looking at a few of the best employee tracking software solutions on the market to help you narrow it down to the best options. Run your business like a pro with these smart time tracking solutions.

    Beebole

    Don’t let the odd name fool you: Beebole is a great app for businesses of any size. Whether you have only 10 employees or 1,000, Beebole can help you to manage your team’s time. Of course, it can track basic time sheets, but it’s also great for coordinating project time management as well as budget monitoring.

    Beebole offers budget tracking, configurable time reports, one-click timers and a lot more. It’s incredibly simple and easy-to-use, but it’s also highly modular and can be configured to do pretty much whatever you need it to. To add to how easy it is to use, it’s also got a mobile app that works on all mobile devices, and can even be used when offline. Beebole only costs $6 per month, and there are even discounts for large groups.

    Scoro

    Scoro is a very popular time sheet program capable of handling tons of functions for your business. The basic time-tracking is there, of course, keeping up with billable hours employee in and out times and project durations. This information is presented in a clear and easy-to-read format, and can be used to help coordinate team efforts on project. This is a stellar tool for people who need their teams to work consistently on time-sensitive projects.

    Scoro is a lot more than just time-tracking, though. It also offers billing automation, quoting and invoicing, time and work reports, CRM and a lot more. It can probably replace three or four different tools you’re already using for these tasks, likely saving you a ton of money. Scoro costs only $26 per month per user, and you can try it out for 14 days for free.

    Harvest

    Harvest is a favorite time-tracking app of hundreds of businesses. It’s one of the best-known time tracking software solutions, and for good reason: it’s a very focused time tracker for businesses of small or medium size. It’s not like the other software suites on this list, though: it’s not a team collaboration tool, it’s primary function is as a time tracker. This single-mindedness makes it incredibly straightforward: it has one job, and it does that job quite well.

    Harvest is available in both free and paid plans. The paid version starts at $12 per month per user. The app supports real-time tracking of time spent on the job, generates estimates of invoices based on collected data, and can even integrate data from across a wide variety of time-tracking tools. In short, there’s a lot of very useful features under the hood of this deceptively simple time-tracking app. Whether you’re running a small business and just need an inexpensive solution for your time-tracking or you’re running a medium-sized business and need an efficient and focused time-tracker, Harvest can fill these roles for you.


  • Heed the Warning Signs: Alcoholism and its Effects

    Heed the Warning Signs: Alcoholism and its Effects

    Alcoholism is not a laughing matter. The symptoms can be hard to spot sometimes, whether in yourself or in a loved one, but they are deadly serious. Alcoholism can, and will, affect every aspect of the sufferers life, and can have residual effects that harm their loved ones, too. Today we’ll be looking at some of the biggest red flags that suggest the presence of alcoholism, or alcoholic tendencies.

    Remember, of course, that there’s a difference between enjoying a few drinks with friends and abusing alcohol. We’ll be going over these distinctions, as it’s common for sufferers to shrug off their drinking problem as simply “cutting loose” and “having fun.”

    Drinking Alone

    A person who consistently drinks alone may be suffering from alcoholism. It’s unusual to sit by oneself and drink, whether that’s just a few drinks to “take the edge off” or drinking to intoxication while alone. A strong, consistent desire to consume alcohol, even when there’s no one else around, is an indicator of alcoholism.

    This practice has been somewhat normalized by the image of someone just enjoying a single glass of wine or a can of beer. However, these little indulgences can lead to serious problems with alcohol abuse. When you’re alone, just grab a soda, or a water. There’s no need to drink just because you’ve got a free minute.

    Blacking Out

    Drinking until you’re “blackout drunk” is a very disorienting and unpleasant experience. Being “blackout drunk” means that you’re so inebriated that you will experience anterograde amnesia, forgetting many of the details of the night of drinking. This condition is also referred to as “blacking out,” and is, sadly, a goal for some binge-drinkers.

    Such behavior indicates a serious abuse of alcohol. If you or someone you know drinks to the point of blacking out, this is a red flag. Even when drinking socially, this much alcohol consumption is detrimental both to your physical health and your mental health.

    Mood Swings, Irritability

    Mood swings and irritability, as well as a general feeling of being hungover whenever not drinking, can be symptoms of alcohol dependency. People who abuse alcohol can develop severe physical dependencies on alcohol, and when they’re not drinking they feel feverish, nauseous, irritable and unwell.

    If you or someone you know seems to only be in a good mood when drinking, take heed of this red flag. A related symptom is mood swings that appear out of nowhere. One minute, the person seems happy and content, but the next they are inexplicably angry and irritated with their surroundings. This often follows nights of binge drinking and could be a symptom of alcohol dependency.

    Missing Responsibilities/Obligations

    Let’s not mince words: a person who is missing their obligations in order to drink, or because of being hungover from drinking, is an alcoholic. There are no shades of grey: if you’re calling out of work in order to sleep of a night of binge drinking, you’re suffering from alcoholism and need to seek help.

    If someone you love is consistently missing responsibilities and has little or no explanation as to why, they might be shirking their obligations to drink. Such situations can be incredibly awkward, as alcoholics can often become extremely defensive if confronted on their drinking habits.

    What to do

    Those who are suffering from alcoholism, or their loved ones, can often feel helpless in the face of the condition. However, there is help out there: alcoholism rehabilitation is available for sufferers. There are both in-patient and out-patient facilities, as well as support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. The first step to confronting alcoholism, of course, is admitting that there is a problem. Only then can the sufferer seek help with their condition and get treatment.


  • What is Eosinophilic Asthma? Signs and Symptoms

    What is Eosinophilic Asthma? Signs and Symptoms

    Nearly one in twelve people in the US suffers from some form of asthma. As research into the conditions that underly asthma has gotten more robust, it has become apparent that asthma is not just one condition, but several that can cause similar symptoms. One such condition is eosinophilic asthma. Unlike traditional asthma, it requires some distinct treatments.

    Today we’re looking at eosinophil asthma, its symptoms, its causes and how it is diagnosed and treated. It’s distinct from asthma in a number of noteworthy ways. If you feel like you might be suffering from asthma, speak to your doctor. They will be able to help you narrow down your symptoms and figure out what is causing your ailment.

    Eosinophilic Asthma

    Eosinophilic asthma, commonly shortened to EA, is a severe form of asthma. One of its telltale signs is a very high level of white blood cells in the body. Namely, the condition is marked by the white blood cells in the body causing inflammation in the airways, stopping the normal flow of oxygen throughout the body.

    Typically, white blood cells serve a role in the immune system, helping the body to isolate and obliterate foreign contagions. However, in cases of EA, the body’s overabundance of these white blood cells causes swelling and airway blockages, leading to full-blown asthma attacks.

    Symptoms

    The symptoms of EA are often similar to those of traditional asthma, and some of these symptoms even share similarities to chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder, or COPD. Symptoms can include shortness or breath, wheezing, chronic sinus infection symptoms, coughing, chest tightness, obstructed breathing and even nasal polyps.

    One of the most notable symptoms, of course, is the high level of eosinophils in the blood, from which EA derives its name. Since the symptoms of this condition closely mirror several other conditions, it’s important you work with your doctor to understand what exactly is causing your symptoms, so you get the proper treatment for the condition you’re suffering from.

    Diagnosis

    Often, people are first diagnosed with traditional asthma, even if they have EA. This is because EA’s symptoms are so similar to those of traditional asthma, and some of the only tests that can easily determine if this isn’t the case is bloodwork. As such, asthma sufferers who aren’t responding well to traditional asthma treatment, like inhalers, might be suffering from EA.

    Other tests that might be able to determine the presence of EA, instead of asthma, would be a physical exam. If the physical found that the patient suffered from nasal polyps, that could be an indicator that they were dealing with EA, instead of asthma.

    Treatment

    Inhaled corticosteroids, the common treatment for traditional asthma, may have less effect on someone suffering from EA. Larger doses might have some impact early on, but constantly increasing the dosage has diminishing returns and stops helping after a time. As such, doctors typically prefer to address the inflammation cause by EA through different medications.

    One such medication is a corticosteroid in pill form, which can have some success in preventing inflammation. However, these have a number of side effects that inhaled corticosteroids don’t usually entail. Likewise, rescue inhalers might be prescribed, but they have diminishing returns for people with EA.

    Other treatment options could include leukotrienes modifiers, which help to keep the impact of eosinophils down. Leukotrienes tend to pair up with eosinophils, so modifying them can impact the inflammatory nature of the eosinophils. Another option for treatment is biologic therapies, medications that block out chemicals that are typically connected to causing inflammation in the body. These medications are usually delivered via an IV or an injection, as they operate best intravenously.