Article Source: Health And Fitness Journal

During normal breathing, air passes through the throat on its way to the  lungs. The air travels past the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and tongue. When a person is awake, the muscles in the back of the throat tighten to hold these structures in place preventing them from collapsing or vibrating in the airway. During sleep, the uvula and soft palate frequently vibrate causing the distinctive sounds of snoring. These structures can fall into the airway causing snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

The LAUP procedure is a laser surgical procedure designed to sequentially trim and shorten these structures, thus preventing or reducing snoring.

Risks and Complications. You have the right to be informed that the surgery may involve risks of unsuccessful results, complications, or injury from both known and unforeseen causes. Because individuals vary in their tissue circulation and healing processes, as well as anesthetic reactions, ultimately there can be no guarantee made as to the results or potential complications. The following complications  have been reported in the medical literature. This list is not meant to be  inclusive of every possible complication. They are listed here for your information only, not to frighten you, but to make you aware and more knowledgeable concerning this surgical procedure.

1. Failure to resolve the snoring. Most surgeons feel that about 85% of patients who undergo a LAUP will have a  significant or complete resolution in their snoring and an additional percentage of patients will notice reduced levels of snoring such that their sleep partners will report that it’s level is no longer offensive.

2. Failure to cure sleep apnea or other pathological sleep disorders. Pathological sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, are medical problems which may have associated serious complications. At this time, the LAUP procedure has not been proven to cure these disorders.

3. Bleeding. In very rare situations, a need  for blood products or a blood transfusion. You have the right, should you choose, to have autologous or designated donor directed blood pre-arranged. You are encouraged to consult with your doctor if you are interested.

4. Nasal regurgitation, a change in voice, or velopharyngeal insufficiency when liquids may flow into the nasal cavity during  swallowing (rare).

5. Failure to resolve coexisting sinus, tonsil, or nasal problems.

6. Need for revision, or further and more aggressive surgery.

7. Prolonged pain, impaired healing, and the need for hospitalization.

Sleep apnea is characterized by loud snoring and disturbed or interrupted sleep patterns. Sleep apnea can have serious consequences including cardiac problems. Frequently patients will awaken in the morning with a headache. If they become sleep deprived they may feel sleepy all day, and may fall asleep while driving in the car.

Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a sleep study. During a sleep study, the  patient’s breathing patterns, heart rhythm and brain waves are monitored.

If it is found that sleep apnea is present, most doctors recommend the use of CPAP. CPAP is a breathing device worn during sleep to help keep the airway open. In some situations surgery is recommended. The uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with or without tonsillectomy are surgical procedures designed to open the airway. In rare situations, a tracheostomy is necessary. These are procedures designed to  circumvent this sleep related collapse of these structures.

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Article Source: Health And Fitness Journal

Trim The Gas Budget And Your Waistline was written by Tracie Johanson from letspickupthepace.com

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, gasoline prices appear to be on automatic pilot to the moon. As reported by www.cnn.com on 9-5-05, “Drivers paid an average of about $3.20 a gallon for unleaded regular on Monday, up $1.35 from a year ago, and 75 cents more than they did before the hurricane”.

Higher gas prices are putting a big dent in the budget of the average citizen, leaving many with less disposable income for essentials like food and clothing.

But Americans can take solace in the news that there is a way to dramatically lower gasoline costs, while at the same time shrinking our waistlines. The answer is to start walking to work, to the store, and anywhere else it’s practical to do so. Walking is great exercise and doesn’t require a trip to the gas pump.

According to www.caloriesperhour.com, a 160 lb. person who spends thirty minutes walking to work will burn approximately 145 calories. An uphill walk will boost that calorie burn to 218 calories, and ‘race-walking’ will increase that to a whopping 236 calories.

Taking a thirty-minute walk to work would burn approximately 725 calories per week. Since each pound of fat is comprised of 3,500 calories, walking to work would burn about one pound of fat every five weeks. That translates to at least ten pounds of fat loss in just one year. That’s an impressive feat, since according to the Federal Citizen Information Center “Even a small weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds can improve your health, for example by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels”.

Changing how we get to work will, however, make one thing heavier: our wallets. As a whole, Americans do not drive fuel-efficient cars. As reported by www.businessweek.com on 6-20-05, “Federal mileage standards — 20.7 mpg for light trucks and 27.5 mpg for cars last year — are little changed since 1985 (though the light-truck standard is slated to rise to 22.2 mpg by 2008). As a result, the average mileage of U.S. passenger vehicles peaked in 1988 and has fallen slightly since”.

Assuming a two-mile commute to and from work, walking instead of driving would save twenty miles of driving per week. That’s a savings of about three dollars per week, or $156 per year.

With summer temperatures finally dropping, and gas prices still rising, the best time to get started on a new walking program is now.

• Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.
• The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

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By Alison Harper
BBC News

In the Stevens’ household, in a fridge in the kitchen, is a stack of small boxes.

It does not look much, but not only is it worth thousands of pounds, it is quite literally a lifesaver.

It contains Elaprase, an enzyme replacement drug (ERT), which has given Oliver and Samuel Stevens a chance to be typical boys.

Oliver, nine, Samuel, seven, have Hunter Syndrome, also known as MPS (mucopolysaccharide disease), a genetic illness passed via the mother.

It is a degenerative illness which causes tissue to thicken, leading to heart problems, organ damage and stunted growth.

The boys were not expected to reach adulthood.

‘Wonder’ drug

It is four years since I first met Claire and Bob Stevens at their home in Badshot Lea, Surrey.

"Before the treatment started there was a fair degree of certainty that we would outlive our children – now there is uncertainly"
Bob Stevens

Then they could only hope that a ‘wonder’ drug would pass tests and be made available.

When it did, there was a long wait for a UK licence, but finally 18 months ago, the boys had their first dose.

Claire was understandably over the moon.

“For five years we waited for them to get it,” she said.

“It is now been a year and a half since they have been having the infusions, it has been absolutely fantastic.”

The boys used to have to go to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for the weekly four-hour long infusions.

But now Claire has learnt how to medicate the boys at home – and that has made a massive difference.

“Oliver hasn’t had a hospital stay, apart from operations, since he has been on the treatment and Samuel hasn’t either,” she said.

Big help

So now every week, Claire brings out two blue trays and a mixture of medical paraphernalia, and lays it out on the dining room table.

She begins the ritual of sterilising the kit before attaching it to a portacath which takes the medicine via the heart.

To be able to physically help with the infusions has helped her deal with the boys’ illness.

“Hunter’s is carried by the mother and passed on to the children so for me to be able to give the boys something to make the them better – it doesn’t get any better than that,” she said.

The whole process takes five hours.

The medicine is kept in a small bag carried over the boys’ shoulder which looks like it could hold an MP3 player, and they carry on, watching TV and playing while they receive it.

“We can’t run or ride bikes,” says Oliver, but his brother is more upbeat: “We eat pizza!” he adds, “it is better than going to the doctors because there you have to wait and my mum now does it and it doesn’t take long.”

Easing symptoms

The ERT helps by softening the tissue, which means the visible features of Hunter’s – the heavy eyebrows and forehead – are lessened. The medication also softens the texture of the boys’ hair, and skin.

Internally, damage to the organs should not get worse – but it is not reversed.

"ERT in some cases has saved lives, and without question in others it is preventing physical degeneration"
Christine Lavery
MPS Society

Neither does ERT help the skeletal structure, so Oliver and Samuel will continue to find their joints stiffening.

There are approximately 90 people in the UK with Hunter Syndrome and because of the nature of the illness most of them are children.

Christine Lavery, chief executive of the MPS Society, has known Oliver and Samuel since they were first diagnosed.

“They were quite poorly children before they had ERT,” she said.

There are about 50 people with Hunter’s who are suitable to be treated with Elaprase and Christine says in many cases the results have been obvious.

“ERT in some cases has saved lives, and without question in others it is preventing physical degeneration,” she said.

“Some children with more progressive problems have become fitter, more well in themselves and they have regained some skills.”

It is that time of year where everyone reflects on the past 12 months.

Reflection

Claire and Bob can see their children making progress and Bob’s guardedly optimistic about the future.

“Before the treatment started there was a fair degree of certainty that we would outlive our children which is something that is pretty awful to contemplate but now there is uncertainty.”

There is NHS funding for Elaprase until 2012, Claire and Bob are desperately hoping that after then, the government will continue to support them

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This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation

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