Canker Sore Prevention & Therapy.

Canker sores are one of the most common painful mouth lesions. Canker sores appear as shallow ulcer like lesions in the mouth and can be caused by various factors. Some people may tend to have canker sores more often than others, but the exact cause of these lesions is still unknown. Canker sores are divided into simple and complex types.

Simple canker sores are ones that people normally get a few times throughout the year and are usually acute. They can be caused by various factors including food, stress, dentures, braces, and other causes that may irritate the mouth mucosa upon contact. Certain citrus fruits or juices like oranges, lemons, pineapples, strawberries, and tomatoes can cause canker sores. Sometimes daily life stress can even lead to the development of canker sores. The wrong choice of tooth brush with hard bristles can also irritate the gums and lead to canker sores. Old people who have dentures that don’t fit right can also get canker sores on the gums due to irritating contact, as well as people who have braces.

Complex canker sores are more chronic and arise in people with underlying diseases. These diseases can range from vitamin deficiencies, gastrointestinal diseases, and even immune deficiencies. Some of the vitamin deficiencies that can cause canker sores include vitamin B12 deficiency, iron deficiency, folic acid deficiency, and zinc deficiency. Zinc is an essential mineral that strengthens the immune system. Gastrointestinal diseases that alter normal absorption of vitamins and nutrients through the intestines can cause canker sores as well, like Crohn’s disease and Celiac sprue.

Canker sores can resolve on their own without any treatment in about a week, but due to their painful nature, most people prefer to seek treatment. There are some non-prescription treatment options to treat canker sores depending on their cause. A good practice it first to rinse the mouth with some hydrogen peroxide. After that, you can apply an oral anesthetic liquid or gel like Anbesol with a q-tip on the canker sore to relieve pain. Some other OTC products offer a disc shaped tablet that you can apply directly to the sore, which coats it to prevent further irritation and promotes quicker healing. In the case of braces, there are wax sticks that can be molded into a ball and placed on the sharp edge causing the irritation. Prescription remedies for canker sores include a combination of mouth washes that include ingredients such as Lidocaine, Maalox, and Benadryl.

Prevention of canker sores may be the best step in their treatment. Depending on the cause, some good practices can help reduce the recurrence of canker sores. Try to avoid eating an excess of irritating foods. Choose a tooth brush that is right for you with soft bristles. Try to exercise regularly to promote good mental health and relieve daily stress. Finally, it is very important to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and to take daily vitamins to supplement the shortage in your food.

Prescription Discounts for Uninsured People

Health insurance has become a big obstacle for many families these days. Due to hard economic times and many people losing their jobs, several families have been unfortunately left without any health or prescription insurance. This has led many people to become less willing to seek medical advice unless it was a life threatening event and less compliant in taking their maintenance medications. People with diseases like Diabetes and Hypertension for example, may not feel anything while discontinuing their medications, but the complications of theses silent diseases can be fatal. This article will give you some insight on how to seek medical help at a discounted rate and how to find different prescription discount options.

Normally, people who have insurance usually pay premiums from $150 - $700 per month. When they go to see their primary care physician, they have to pay the visit fee $15 - $25 or even $35 for a specialist. That’s not all, if the physician orders some tests, they have to pay some of the cost until the meet their deductible. So if you don’t get sick, you happily donated your monthly premium to the insurance company, and if you get sick, you paid even more for the services. Like you shop around for bargains on items, you could also shop around for doctors. Many doctors prefer to have cash paying patients than to chase down insurance companies for months in order to get paid for their services. One good way to start is by finding a local physician and speaking with their office financial manager. Explain that you don’t have insurance coverage and ask if they have a discount for uninsured patients. Always ask for a dollar amount and get the name of the person you spoke with. Most of the time, you will be surprised that the price is much cheaper than you expected or even less than half your monthly premium. In fact, I’ve seen visit charges in the $60 range. Getting established with one physician is also a wise decision, which not only builds a close relationship with your physician, but also saves you the repetition of unnecessary tests.

Prescription costs have been forcing many people on a limited budget to become less compliant with their therapy. Some people will just pay the cost regardless because they have no choice and others will simply not buy their prescriptions. There are many programs offered by pharmacies that provide maintenance medications at a discounted rate or even for free. Also, there are prescription discount cards and coupons that are available to save money on prescription costs.



Some pharmacies like CVS have a prescription discount program (Health Savings Pass) for maintenance medications, where you pay a $10 yearly enrollment fee and receive a 90 day supply of some generic medications for $9.99. Other pharmacies like Wal-Mart offer a 30 day supply on some generics for a $4 co pay with no enrollment fee. Publix pharmacy offers many generic antibiotics for free, and has recently started a free medication program for diabetic patients. So calling your local pharmacies and asking about prescription discounts for uninsured people would be a good start.

Another way of getting prescription discounts is by checking with the county you are living in if they have a prescription discount card. Also, some other prescription discount cards can be found online, and some prescription discount cards may be state specific. The last money saving option is to contact the manufacturer of the medication you are taking via customer service phone or through their website and see if they have any prescription discount coupons on their brands or co pay assistance programs for uninsured patients. Using these money saving options can significantly help you cut down on your medical expenses and prescription costs.

Diarrhea & Electrolyte Hydration

Diarrhea is characterized by frequent loose stools or liquid bowel movements. Diarrhea can be acute (less then 14 days) or chronic (more than 2 weeks), and is also divided into three types.



Infectious Diarrhea is the most common type of acute diarrhea. Depending on the type of infectious agent, some of these diarrheas may present with just loose watery stools or even fever and bloody stools. This type of diarrhea is associated with infection by some strains of Escherichia Coli (Traveler's Diarrhea), Campylobacter (causing reactive arthritis), Shigella (food & water transmission), Salmonella (raw eggs, dairy products, pet turtles), Yersinia (joint pain & rash), E. Coli 0H157 (undercooked beef & unpasteurized milk), and Rotavirus (most common cause of infectious diarrhea).

Secretory Diarrhea is the second type of diarrhea. It presents with large volumes of stool usually more than one liter and it's usually caused by the effects of hormones. This type of diarrhea is associated with conditions like carcinoid syndrome, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, VIP secreting pancreatic adenomas, and the use of irritative laxatives like phenolphthalein.

Osmotic Diarrhea is the third type of diarrhea. It is usually caused by undigested food in the intestines. The undigested food acts a solute causing the intestine to secrete fluid into the lumen, because it is unable to absorb undigested food. Some examples of such solutes are lactate and some carbohydrates such as fructose and sorbitol. This type of diarrhea usually occurs after a meal and improves with fasting. Lactase deficiency is the most common cause of osmotic diarrhea.

Depending on the type of diarrhea, the management can range from supportive measures to intravenous fluids and antibiotics. In the case of simple diarrhea that is not bloody, the main concern should be to avoid dehydration by maintaining proper hydration and controlling fluid loss. When we lose fluids from our body, we also lose electrolytes. So water or juice isn't our best choice for hydration. On the other hand, a better choice would be either Gatorade, Pedialyte, or Ricelyte because they contain electrolytes. Also, a person should avoid eating foods that are fried or have a high fat content, and instead eat a more bland diet like mashed potatoes, soup broth, rice, toast, crackers, etc. Besides dietary measures, there is an OTC product that can be used to control diarrhea called Imodium. Imodium works by decreasing the frequency of bowl movements, giving more time for the intestines to absorb water out of the fecal matter. However, Imodium should not be used by people who present with fever, bloody stool, infections with invasive organisms that penetrate the intestinal wall (E. Coli O157:H7, Shigella or Salmonella), or that have a tendency to develop severe rebound constipation. Also people taking certain medications or who have certain health conditions (ex. Diabetes, Hypertension) should always consult with their doctor before taking any OTC medications.