Morning Sickness – What A Terrible Choice of Words!
INTRODUCTION: Morning sickness is the nauseated feeling you get during pregnancy and can be, but is not always, accompanied by vomiting. These nauseating feelings, which can actually occur at any time of the day, can really put a damper on your excitement about being pregnant. It can only become a problem for your baby if you can’t keep any foods or fluids down and begin to lose a lot of weight. This problem and the others that occur around this time are almost always mild enough to manage on your own and occurs in 50% to 80% of new mother’s to be.
NAUSEA AND VOMITING: Nausea and vomiting can be one of the first signs of pregnancy and usually begins around the 6th week after conception and continue beyond your 4th month of pregnancy. These signs usually go away 12 to 14 weeks into pregnancy. Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints of pregnant women and can be made worse by lying on her side.
This nausea seems to stem, at least in part, from rapidly rising levels of estrogen, which causes the stomach to empty more slowly. You should always contact your health care provider: If you are experiencing excessive nausea and vomiting that prevents you from keeping any food down, If vomiting is accompanied by pain or fever, If nausea and vomiting persists well into the second trimester (after 13th week).
TREATMENT: The most important thing is to inform your physician when these symptoms appear and discuss possible solutions. Severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum) may neccesitate a stay in the hospital and treatment with intravenous (IV) fluids and medications, including anti-emetics, which control nausea.
A lot of women do not request treatment for morning sickness because of fears about treatment safety. Yet, once symptoms progress, treatment can become more difficult. Mild cases may be resolved with lifestyle and dietary modifications, and safe and effective measures are available for severer cases. Your best course of action for controlling the nausea and vomiting is home treatment. These measures include: Modifying what, when, and how much you eat.
Therefore, during the first-trimester use home remedies for your symptoms, unless your physician recommends medicine. Taking Vitamin B6 or Vitamin B6 plus doxylamine (an antihistamine) is safe and effective and should be used as a first-line treatment. Although ginger ale or ginger tea may decrease mild nausea, your best bet for treating with ginger is with regular daily use. With any over-the-counter supplement, including herbs, it’s always a good idea to check with your MD first, particularly to make sure the symptoms aren’t related to a more serious condition that requires medical treatment.
However, few women get complete relief from morning sickness with any treatment. If you’re looking for medical advice, a diagnosis, or treatment, speak to your physician or other qualified medical professional.
CONCLUSION: Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, is one of the classic symptoms of pregnancy. The name is a misnomer, since it can strike at any time of the day or night and is more common among women who are under a great deal of stress, either at work or home.
Symptoms can range from mild, occasional nausea to severe, continuous, disabling nausea with bouts of vomiting and generally improves by the 13th or 14th week of pregnancy, but some women continue to experience nausea into their second trimester. Also, it may be more severe if this is your first pregnancy or if you’re carrying multiple fetuses.
Most women who experience morning sickness notice a dramatic improvement after the 1st trimester – at roughly 13 weeks. For prevention: Eat frequent small meals, every two or three hours, rather than 3 large meals daily. Try ginger, which has proven effective in fighting morning sickness. Proven ginger products include: ginger tea, ginger candy, and ginger soda. Call your physician if your symptoms do not improve, despite trying these treatments.
Yeast Infection – There’s Fungus Among Us!
INTRODUCTION: A vaginal yeast infection is often produced by a fungus called Candida albicans which is normally found in small numbers in the vagina. While it is definitely not a pleasant experience, there’s no need to spend too much time worrying.
Yeast infection is also more common after menopause due to declining estrogen levels, which thin the vaginal walls. It is usually not spread by sexual intercourse.
The only time Candida Albicans causes a problem is when the conditions in its environment are such that it begins to grow and reproduce at an increased rate. When this occurs a vaginal yeast infection is the result. If the yeast infection is left untreated, some doctors feel that the Candida Albican will continue to reproduce at an alarming rate. They feel that if the vaginal yeast infection is left untreated that it will produce an imbalance in the bodies natural bacterias and the person’s immune system will become involved, in short the person will become sicker and sicker.
SYMPTOMS: Signs of a yeast infection are similar to a number of other diseases, including bacterial vaginosis (a bacterial infection of the vagina), trichomoniasis (a sexually transmitted infection), and contact or allergic dermatitis (a skin reaction to an irritating or allergic substance).
They can sometimes include intense and unbearable itching, rash, a burning sensation, vaginal discharge, and pain during sexual intercourse. Your health care provider will ask about your symptoms and examine you. Your provider may collect samples of cells from places you are having symptoms, such as the mouth or vagina.
TREATMENT: Treating vaginal yeast infection may include a topical cream or tablet; most are applied inside the vagina at bedtime with an applicator. Treatment durations vary according to the formulation; one, three, and seven-day treatments are equally effective. Women with recurrent infections should use a longer course of treatment for infections, between 10 to 14 days for a topical (cream or suppository) medication or fluconazole 150 mg by mouth with a second dose 72 hours later.
Treating with antibiotics can lead to eliminating the yeast’s natural competitors for resources, and increase the severity of the condition. Treating yeast infections will not help or cure sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomonas.
CONCLUSION: Let your physician help you be certain that yeast infection is the problem and, if it is, to determine why does not respond to current treatment. If you feel that your infection is immune to the over-the-counter medicine you are using, you can try using a new product, or go to your physician for a prescription treatment.
A good home treatment for vaginal yeast infection is to boost your immune system through proper diet and complete sleep. Probably the easiest way to deal with a yeast infection is prevention. This may be a major “well duh”, but one of the best ways to treat a yeast infection is to wash yourself thoroughly at least once a day.




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