Matter of the Heart
Human heart consists of four chambers and four valves. Mitral stenosis is a condition whereby mitral valve becomes narrowed. It is a long-term complication of rheumatic fever which is becoming rare in the developed world. Rheumatic fever caused by invasive streptococcus infection involving the throat and then causing inflammation of the lining of heart and valves.
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Ask for (dental) implants
What’s dental implant?
Dental implant is a sophisticated titanium screw that replaces the root portion of a missing natural tooth. The implant is placed in the bone of the upper or lower jaw, allowed to bond with the bone, and would serve as an anchor for the replacement teeth. These replacement teeth look, feel and function exactly like natural teeth.
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Regain your Youth
It is a fact that aging is part of a natural process and everyone has to go through it in his or her lifetime. However nowadays, many people are looking older than their actual age and there are several factors that could have led to “early facial aging”.
Discussing dementia
Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive (brain) function that is beyond what’s expected in the normal aging process. One common area of decline is the memory, but it can also affect other mental functions like language, the ability to do tasks one was previously able to do: the ability to recognize familiar objects, sounds, shapes and smells as well as executive functions such as planning and decision making.
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What’s Botox?
Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin, a highly purified protein which is injected in very small doses to reduce or eliminate wrinkles. Botox temporarily blocks the signal from a nerve to a muscle. The treated muscles are weaker, so that the wrinkle formed by muscle contraction relaxes and softens.
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EGGcellent
Chew’s Agriculture has developed the world’s first cordyceps egg, the latest in the series of the Designer Egg, which are specifically tailored to your needs. Cordycepin the key component of the rare Chinese Herb – cordyceps sinesis, may now be found in eggs.
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320 Singapore clinics now offer diagnostic tool for young children with feeding difficulties.
As many as 40 to 50 percent of Singapore parents report some kind of feeding difficulty in their children, which can be attributed to a wide range of causes. By the end of October, these parents can approach doctors at 320 pediatric and general practice clinics across Singapore for a systematic approach of diagnosis, treatment and management with a new diagnostic tool.
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Colon Cancer Awareness
Colon cancer awareness
Ms Chua, a housewife, tries to keep herself healthy by exercising. Her quest for good health led her to benefit from the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS)’s free Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) kit distribution program which has been running for the past two years. The FOBT kit is used for colorectal cancer screening.
Every March, Ms Chua will look through the newspapers for announcements on Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign (CCAM), during which SCS will distribute free FOBT kits. In March 2008, Madam Chua took the kit again without giving much thought to it as her previous tests had turned up negative. Understandably, she was dismayed at being told that her latest test was positive. After the shock has worn off, the support of her family helped her to come to terms with the diagnosis. She received swift guidance from SCS staff, who instructed her to report to Jurong Medical Centre, where doctors arranged for her to undergo colonoscopy.
Colonoscopy just takes around less than an hour and the doctor extracted around three polyps from her intestinal area, for which the largest was about one centimetre. The polyps were later tested and found to be non-cancerous. She was relieved to hear that the final result was negative, who has to return for follow-up colonoscopy in the next two years. She said that CCAM was beneficial to the public, as it helps to raise awareness about colorectal cancer. Her experience has led her to encourage friends and family to undergo colorectal cancer screening.
“In fact, some of them have already gone for it,” she said.
Sleep disorders
Different types of sleep disorders
The international classification of disease documents as many as 81 sleep disorders. Sleep disorders includes parasomnias, dyssomnias, insomnia and many others. Parasomnias are noted for deviant sleep-related behavior. They include sleep terror, sleep walking, nightmares and restless leg syndrome.
Dyssomnias on the other hand are characterized by abnormal sleep quality such as initiation, maintenance, duration, timing and the amount of sleep. Common treatments include bright light therapy, melatonin, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Various forms of sleep therapy surgery are available for opening the airways in obstructive sleep apnea.
Insomnia is one of the most common sleep orders, it is the difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, early awakening or fragmented sleep. Psychological triggers include anxiety, depression, stress and medication.
Obstructive sleep apnea is due to the buildup of fat or the loss of muscles tone with age. Each apnea is associated with micro-arousals, chest movement but no airflow to the nose. Apnea is the absence of breathing lasting for than 10 seconds. Abnormal apnea is the absence of breathing lasting for than 10 seconds occurring more than 5 times an hour.
In order to have good sleep hygiene, a regular sleep routine is required, sleeping and walking hours have to be stick to have synchronized body clock. Napping decreases “sleep debt” and cause slepp fragmentation and insomnia. Smoking, drinking coffee, tea or coke is not advisable as they contain nicotine and caffeine which are stimulants. Do not use alcohol to fall asleep as cause fragmented sleep, snoring and sleep apnea.
To conclude, maintaining good sleep hygiene can minimize or prevent sleep disorder and by ensuring that the disorder is early diagnosed, the sleep disorders would be then treated sooner.
Scuba Diving, a whole new experience
Discover a new amazing world of scuba diving
Most of us will never get to go to space but you can experience floating through an alien environment where really strange and weird creatures live almost right on our doorstep in South East Asia.
Imagine an exotic place with sunbeams spearing an azure sea creating dapples on rainbow coral reefs teeming with underwater marine life. This is what scuba divers get to enjoy when escaping the hectic Singapore scene. Beneath the waves they get to totally relax and rejuvenate before they come back refreshed to take on new challenges!
However, there are elements of learning that enhance your enjoyment. Just like an astronaut, you will be bringing your own life support system, namely your Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, hence the word ‘SCUBA’. Moving about underwater is almost like moving in space, where everything seems to be in slow motion and you can also float about weightlessly using buoyancy control. Scuba diving provides fantastic learning opportunities outside the conventional bounds of the classroom.
Practically anyone who is healthy and reasonably fit can, medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or high blood pressure could prevent you from diving safely. But don’t be too worried, people with these conditions are not automatically disqualified from diving but some extra precautions may be required as advised by the doctor and/or diving medical specialists.
As with any sports, staying healthy and physically fit are important aspects of letting you enjoy scuba diving. However, rest assured that you do not need to be as fit as an astronaut to scuba dive because even 10-year-olds can join in the fun. And for the weight conscious… yes, you do get to burn those calories while diving. Another reason to do scuba diving is the social aspect. Making friends is all part of the fun. Through learning to care for your buddy (the technical term for your dive partner!) and the sharing of knowledge and experience, trust and friendships are forged.
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