Health & Wellness Archives - Page 37 of 50

Vertigo Sisters

It was early morning, had my usual 2-3 cups of cold coffee.. then suddenly the whole world went spinning. It was not my first time to feel that way and usually a good chunk of sweets can take the spinning away. I always thought it was my need for sweets that’s making me dizzy that if I did not take a lot of sugar, I feel jelly like. That morning, the dizziness was a bit worse.. I feel like my head is about to explode or that I will stop breathing soon. Unfortunately my husband was not around, so I have to brave the hospital by myself.

I realized though I cannot go alone, afraid I might end up like a jelly fish somewhere around the road.. had to ask my sister to accompany. I really thought my sugar level is going down and also my blood pressure. All along I was praying hard that nothing would happen to me..

At the hospital, they took my vital signs, temperature, blood pressure and even my sugar level. The doc told me to lie down and he performed some visual test to me.. And the diagnosis is Vertigo Dizziness. My sister who is with me also has vertigo.. argh! It runs in the blood! MAde us thought of building a vertigo blog LOL Thinking about it now, how can we blog when we are spinning? hmmmm

The photo below is my sister during her vertigo moment:

I am too lazy for explanation so here’s a good one I found on the web:

Vertigo, or dizziness, is a symptom, not a disease. The term vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning or whirling that occurs as a result of a disturbance in balance (equilibrium). It also may be used to describe feelings of dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness and unsteadiness. The sensation of movement is called subjective vertigo and the perception of movement in surrounding objects is called objective vertigo.

What trigger my Vertigo that morning? I guess it’s the coffee as the doctor said anything with caffeine and salt can trigger it. Salt intake can trigger vertigo because, as explained by the doctor at the hospital, our ears has water on it and when we move, it moves freely.. increase in salt intake can make this water thick in consistency thus the water inside does not move as freely as it should be when we are moving, hence disturbance in the balance.. The effect of caffeine was not established and how this triggers vertigo.. but studies shows that it is indeed a trigger.

So what does it mean for me? no more Frappe!!! argh!!!

now expect me to rant over and over again.. (I used to say venting out with venti)

The Road To Good Health With GSK

I know that most warehouses and plants of some companies are located here in Pasig and Cainta, but I did not know that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plant is just a few minutes from me. When we were invited to have a tour of the plant, I just asked them to pick me up somewhere in Ortigas Avenue Extension instead of me going to the pick up point. From Ever Gotesco to GSK plant was fast. We were greeted by their staff and was treated to a hefty breakfast.

After the breakfast, we headed to their conference room and Mr. Edgardo Alvinez (Site Technical Director) gave a brief introduction about the company, its mission, vision and was able to learn about GSK’s Road To Good Health. The company is committed to improve the health of the Filipino by producing quality medicine at the lowest possible price. After that, each one of us got a free shot of flu vaccine.

We were able to see what’s inside the GSK plant and toured their manufacturing plant. For sanitation purpose, we are asked to wear lab gown, wear a mask, sanitation cap for our hair and plastic shoe covers. We were asked to leave our cameras for safety and security purpose. But we have a pro with us (the following photos are the photographer of the tour)

After the tour, we had lunch at Laya Personal Dining inside Pinto Gallery in Antipolo. The lunch was really great and the organic iced tea matches the summer heat.

Dr. Oscar Tinio, Philippine Medical Association head talks about the dilemma and challenge each health care professionals face whenever they treat a patient. That is how it goes in most medical cases, a health care provider will prescribe a medicine and a patient will no be very keen on following what is prescribed. There are so many factors that contributes to it and the top is the availability and afford-ability of the medicine. And what is GSK response to this challenge? Ms Daisy Cembrano, GSK’s VP for Government and External Affairs talked on how GSK are reducing the price of their medicines as a response to this challenge.

GSK also cooperate with the government in ensuring that Filipino health will be improved. GSK Philippine President and managing director Roberto Taboada also elaborate on the quality of medicine GSK are producing and their steps in making these medicine more affordable to every Filipino.

The talk was very informative and enlightened us to what is the real condition of the people in terms of health care. To cap the day, we were able to roam freely inside the gallery and marvel on different art works in different mediums.

When Summer Isn’t All About Swimming

This summer, there are so many activities that our kids can do. They can learn how to swim, they can do Taekwando and just like my kids, they can also try basketball. But not all parents are busy looking for summer activities for their kids, there are those who are busy looking for Teen Drug Rehabilitation Center. It is painful for every parent to know that their offspring is into drugs or is addicted to something like alcohol. But a parent should know what they must do in order to help their kids.

For one, they should know the information they needed for adolescent addiction treatment. Of course, there is someone to be blamed when this kind of things happen but this will not solve the issue. The parents should know why the kid did it and take action from there. They should also be open to possibilities of rehabilitation. And though most parents think of themselves as a failure because of it, they should remember that there is always hope and their responsibility as a parent does not end there.