GOLD MEDAL GARDENING
Raking, lifting, digging, kneeling, planting – this is enough activity to challenge any athlete. Gardening and yard work may not be Olympic sports, but they are strenuous physical activities. In a recent poll, 88 percent of Ontario chiropractors indicated that working in the garden and yard were the most common sources of neck and back pain they see during the warm weather season.
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Medical facials are very popular aesthetic treatments. They’re typically less invasive than laser, fractional resurfacing treatments and surgery, and offer minimal downtime. The lower price tag and effectiveness of these procedures has made them hugely popular, but how do you choose which one to go for? Many of these facials sounds similar; even their names are almost identical, which can make selection quite confusing for clients.
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I’ve had a number of patients ask me recently about natural injections for wrinkles, they’ve heard of clinics offering a product that is supposed to be a more natural form of, or the ‘purist’ form of botox- aka cleaner or safer than regular botox. Given the way these clinics are advertising “we use only the purist form of neuromodulators”, it is easy to see how patients would assume this means it’s a better product for you, assume they would be getting a healthier version of the treatment, and in turn, want to get their injections done at that clinic. Don’t succumb to misleading advertising! Yes there are differences between the various products available for wrinkle-relaxing, but these differences do not equate to one being healthier or more natural than the others. So this months blog is all about dispelling natural botox myths, breaking down basics of botox, the differences between the products on the market and what these differences really mean for the consumer.
BOTOX IS JUST A BRAND
Everyone refers to it as getting ‘botox’, but it’s time to correct your lingo, there are actually 4 types of wrinkle-relaxing preparations commercially available for dermatological application in Canada, and Botox is just one of them: OnabotulinumtoxinA marketed as BOTOX/BOTOX Cosmetic, abobotulinumtoxinA as Dysport, incobotulinumtoxinA as Xeomin, prabotulinumtoxinA as Jeuveau. Collectively, these drugs are known as neuromodulators. Botox was the first on the market, so much like Kleenex is to tissue, Botox is often inappropriately used to describe all botunlinum toxin A (BoNTA) therapy. So now that you’re in the know, I’ll be using the correct terms for anti-wrinkle injections – neuromodulators or BoNTA.
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Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medications that mimic the natural anti-inflammatory hormones in our body. They are used to control an overactive immune reaction in multiple conditions like rashes, allergies, asthma, and autoimmune disorders. They are potent and highly effective, but have significant unwanted effects, the degree of which is usually dose-dependent ie: the higher the daily dose and the longer the period of time you take the drug, the greater your risk of side effects. Many people taking steroids are often unaware of these effects or how to deal with them if they arise and do not realize how they can have life long consequences.
Women have many questions after a miscarriage. Unless the cause is discovered to be a genetic anomaly, infection, anatomical abnormality or advanced age, the answers are many times elusive. Our medical system does not fully investigate first trimester pregnancy loss unless it has happened two or sometimes three times. This can be devastating for people trying to conceive.
Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medications that mimic the natural anti-inflammatory hormones in our body. They are used to control an overactive immune reaction in multiple conditions like rashes, allergies, asthma, and autoimmune disorders. They are potent and highly effective, but have significant unwanted effects, the degree of which is usually dose-dependent ie: the higher the daily dose and the longer the period of time you take the drug, the greater your risk of side effects. Many people taking steroids are often unaware of these effects or how to deal with them if they arise and do not realize how they can have life long consequences.
Acne is a beast. A stubborn, multifaceted beast and no two patients are alike. This makes acne one of the most challenging conditions to treat – but the good news is, we’ve got options. Plenty of options. If you’re prepared for a major lifestyle overhaul, and can endure some trial and error, then there is great hope for an acne-free future. Too often, I hear of patients being prescribed the heavy-hitters with major side-effects (accutane & systemic antibiotics) right off the bat for mild/moderate acne; even more troublesome is how many patients were prescribed these medications as teenagers. Read More
Statin medications like Lipitor and Crestor are the new everyday Aspirin. Everyone and their mother is taking them. There are actually serious articles looking at the addition of statins to the public water supply.
All you need to know about a seriously important vitamin.
Even if you aren’t vegetarian it doesn’t mean vitamin B12 is something you can ignore.
