I have been trying really hard to drink more water than I usually do. You know I have history of kidney problems and not just once that I pass a kidney stone. And a recent meeting with Blue Cross Philippines made me realize that I am more prone to kidney problems that I think I am. I mean, my lifestyle, me not drinking enough water and me holding my pee. A very very bad combo.

Blue Cross Philippines is a pharmaceutical company that was established in February 19, 1997. They make and sell medical equipments such as nebulizers, Glucsoscreen, Stethoscope, Sphygmomanometer and Urinalysis Machine. They also sell medical supplies such as ultrasound gel and urine bottles.

Blue Cross products are available at Watsons, Generika, Rose Pharmacy, South Star Drug, Metro Pharmacy, The Generics Pharmacy.

Most of all they sell home test kits such as pregnancy test kit, ovulation test kit and the one that they want me to try, UTI Home Test Kit.

UTI Home Test Kit- First In The Philippines!

I am hoping the increase of Leukocytes on my urine is due to the fact that I am about to have my period soon. OK, let’s try to be a bit more scientific here. What is Leukocytes and what is Nitrite?

Leukocytes in Urine

Leukocytes is white blood cells. It’s the one that is involve in protecting our body against infection. The UTI Home Test kit measures the presence of Leukocytes in our urine. If it is present, it measures if there is just a trace or the count is too much. If the presence of Leukocytes in our urine is too much, it may mean that the body is fighting an infection somewhere in the urinary tract. Increased level of Leukocytes in the urine may also mean kidney infection.

Nitrite in Urine

I wanna try to explain what Nitrite is but my chem’s bit rusty. So basically, the presence of nitrite in your urine means that there is a presence of bacteria in your urinary tract that causes UTI. How so? Bacteria that causes UTI, changes the nitrates to nitrites.

If  you used Blue Cross UTI Home Test Kit and you were both positive with Leukocytes and Nitrite, go to your doctor immediately. It is a clear sign of UTI. Specially if you are experiencing the following symptoms.

5 UTI Symptoms You Should Not Ignore: 

1. difficulty in urinating, specially if there is a burning feeling
2. frequent urge to urinate but when you do only little comes out
3. strong smell urine
4. urine that is strange in color, bloody, cloudy, or dark
5. pain on the lower back

If you expereince at least or even one of the symptoms above, go buy a Blue Cross UTI Home Test Kit at the nearest drugstore and have yourself checked. And if both result is positive, then it’s about time to say hello to your doctor. What if only Leukocytes turned positive? If 3 or more symptoms are present, I suggest going to your doctor too.

Treatments for UTI:

If you are positive with UTI, the only treatment is antibiotics. Your doctor will prescribe one and you have to drink it religiously. You also need to take lots of water to help flush down the bacteria. Some studies suggest that drinking cranberry juice helps.

How to Prevent UTI? Here are 5 Ways You Can Do To Prevent UTI:

1. Never ever ever try to hold your urine! I just got to know about this while writing about UTI. I mean I know it is not advisable to do so but it can actually lead to you being more prone to UTI. How? Why? When you need to pee, your gall bladder is full of urine. Our bladder, according to a urological researcher at the University of Minnesota, is like a pond. If you do not empty it properly, it can lead to bacterial growth. Years of holding pee can do that kind of damage to your bladder.
2. Drink plenty of liquid, follow the 8 glasses of water a day rule. Supplement your liquid supply with buko juice and cranberry juice.
3. Wipe from front to back after urinating and bowel movement. This will prevent the bacteria from the anal region to spread/
4. Urinate after intercourse and drink water to help flush out bacteria.
5. Always have a UTI Home Test Kit to see if you are at risk of UTI.

Do you know that women are more prone to UTI than men? As I mentioned n my video, it has something to do with our anatomy. Our body has a shorter urethra than men which makes it easier or faster for the bacteria to travel to our bladder. And I think it also adds up that we are most likely to hold our pee longer bec, well, we have a lot of things to do!

Which reminds me, I need to pee now!

So the husband just bought a $200 mechanical keyboard which had a malfunction after I used it. What is wrong with me? Rather, what is wrong with my hands? Nothing that much except that my hand sweat a lot. He’s saying it’s not my hands fault but I think my sweats has something to do it. Am I the only person who have a problem with sweaty hands? Where do I look for excessive hands sweating treatment?

5 Things About Excessive Sweating That You Should Know:

1. Excessive sweating is called Hyperhidrosis in the medical field. Palmar hyperhidrosis for excessive sweating of palm and plantar for feet.
2. There are more than 150 Million people living with this condition.
3. This condition has the most negative effect on patient’s lives compared to other dermatologic condition.
4. This condition usually starts at puberty and has two types; primary and secondary. Primary which means it has no cause and secondary which means excessive sweating is the result of underlying health condition such as Obesity, hyperthyroidism, gout, and more.
5. Excessive Sweating can be treated. There are home remedies to treat excessive sweating. There are also things you can do to control this such as using a certain type of shoes or clothing. In my expereince, there are flipflop brands that worsens my condition. One of the most effective treatment though, which is non invasive, is Iontophoresis. 

Excessive Hands Sweating Treatment Through Iontophoresis

What is Iontophoresis? 

Iontophoresis, also known as Ionization is a physical process of sending mild electrical current to the skin. It is considered as one of the most cost effective treatment for excessive sweating.

Iontophoresis machine is used for this treatment. Here in the Philippines, you can buy an Iontophoresis machine for excessive hands sweating treatment though IONTODERMA. This is a company dedicated on helping people who have hyperhidrosis. Their Iontophoresis machine is available in the country through online order or you can personally. If you want to buy the machine personally, check out Iontoderma branches here> IONTODERMA BRANCHES.

Excessive Hands Sweating Treatment Using Iontoderma’s Iontophoresis Machine

Please watch the video above to see how Iontoderma’s Iontophoresis Machine works.

The big question: Is Iontoderma’s Iontophoresis Machine effective? 

Of course I will have to know to find out right? From Iontoderma’s website, it is said that 55% of people who used it see the difference after a week of use.

This is not advisable for pregnant women but I still have to find out if it is OK for breastfeeding moms. And if it is, I might give this machine a try. I can’t wait to get a manicure. So yeah, my excessive sweating is the reason why I do my own manicure 🙁

P.S. Iontoderma accepts paypal payment! You’re welcome.

Christmas season is a great excuse to indulge. Indulge in gifts, indulge in spending and most specially indulge in eating. Guilty as charged! For the purpose of being fair, to you and to my diet, I am going to enumerate the food that I ate during the holidays.

I had lechon, grilled liempo, pork BBQ to start with, that’s after promising that I would stop eating pork. And for some reason, I decided to bake pineapple carrot cake during our Noche Buena, which basically ends up in my tummy (because I am the only who likes to eat this cake). It is frosted with cream cheese frosting, so just imagine the calories.

I will skip the chocolates because that was too many to count. And then there’s ham! That ham is the culprit. My mother even prepared Mechado for Media Noche. If there’s any consolation, I didn’t eat that much macaroni salad and rice.

Good thing, right after this season is the start of the year. A very good motivation to reflect and try to be better. Aren’t you glad that we celebrate Christmas one week before New Year? Oh boy, I am so glad! New Year gives us a chance to reflect and strive to be better than last year. Dapat lang kasama ang health to be better this New Year. New Year is the best time to start being mindful about our health and have a better nutrition.

I am going to share with you 5 New Year’s resolutions for better nutrition. Let’s hope that come March, we are all healthier and our bodies are beach ready!

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Better Nutrition

1. Drink less colored drinks and drink more water. What are colored drinks? Anything that is not water, Yes, coffee included. I know, I know. I didn’t say do not drink colored drinks. Just lessen it. If you’re used to drinking 3 cups of coffee a day, try doing just one. When dinning out, opt for service water instead of the bottomless iced tea (which looks very temping because it really is cheap). Honestly, you will save a lot if you’ll just skip that colored drinks when dinning out. Drink water, drink water, drink water.

TIP: Increase your water intake by having a water jug/bottle with you. You can easily keep track of your water intake using this method. A 2 Liter water bottle is good for a day. Adding a slice or two of lemon is a healthy option. 

2. Never skip breakfast. Never ever skip breakfast. And if I have to say it again, I will. NEVER. SKIP. BREAKFAST. Let me explain a bit why. Eating breakfast gives you energy during the day and also prevents you from being sleepy before lunch time. Eating breakfast makes you more alert and less grouchy. In terms of weight loss, eating breakfast makes you less hungrier during the day and gives your metabolism a good start.

TIP: A good breakfast meal includes carbohydrates, protein and fiber. If you’re on the go, a veggie smoothie is a good breakfast alternative. Add peanut butter or milk for protein and munch on a piece of wheat bread for your carbohydrates source

3. Eat less rice and more vegetables and fruits. As mentioned above, a good meal should include carbohydrates, protein and fiber in equal proportions of course. It should be 1/4 of your plate is carbohydrates, 1/4 is protein and 1/2 is fiber. Looks really hard but it gets better everyday. The key is start eating less rice. If your usual consumption is 1 cup of rice, try doing 1/2 for a while until you can do 1/4 rice. It’s easier than you think, I have been there. I know how it feels. To prevent that empty feeling (that’s how exactly I feel when I tried lessening my rice intake without alternative), add vegetables on your plate. Decrease rice, increase veggies. In just a week, you will see the difference.

TIP: If you are not a veggie person like me, try steamed veggies and cut it into small pieces. Kangkong with garlic works well with any ulam. 

4. Stay away from fried food as much as you can. Put that fried chicken down! At work, try ordering menudo or nilaga instead of your usual fried chicken or pork chop. Subukan mo din mag gulay huwag lang tuwing Biyernes.

TIP: Mixed rice works for me. When I am swamped with blogging duties and mommy duties, I usually cook mixed rice with lots of vegetables, some shrimp (sometimes chicken) and just reheat it in microwave when I need to eat. If you want to test your cooking skills, you can try cooking mixed rice good for 3 to 5 days and stack it on microwavable containers and put it in the fridge. 

5. Don’t forget to snack. Alam mo ba na dapat lang you eat your snacks aside from your meal? That you should eat every 4 hours to boost your metabolism and gives you better nutrition. Snack on healthy food such as whole grain products. Cheese and wheat bread is a good snack, as well as carrot sticks. Low fat milk and bread is a good option too.

TIP: Prepare/ buy a sandwich during your morning break and divide in two. Eat the other half as your morning snack and the other half as your afternoon snack. 

As the New Year unfolds, commit to do the right thing. Dapat lang you take care of your health. Dapat lang start the year right by being healthier for yourself and for your family. For more Dapat Lang tips visit the Solane website, www.solane.com.ph,  and Solane Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/solane.ph.