When the natural moisture content of your skin begins to dry up, you experience dry skin. Although it is a temporary skin condition which occurs mainly during the winter or in a generally dry climate, for some people, it could be a problem for a lifetime.

Naturally dry skin tendencies v/s drying of other skin types
Naturally, the water content of a healthy skin is around 10 to 20 percent. This natural moisture level can dwindle due to many factors and the skin may show signs of drying. Thus you may end up getting dry, flaky, itchy and lifeless skin. People with naturally dry skin experience 75 percent more water loss than normal skin. Since the skin loses water and sebum (the oil secretion from the sebaceous glands within the skin), the topmost layer of the skin begins to dry. As a result, the top layer starts peeling away. These skin peels are called flakes.

Causes

You can experience dry skin due to excessively cold weather, which in most cases is accompanied by a lack of humidity.
Again, if your skin is exposed to too much heat or skin drying conditions like sauna baths or prolonged hot showers, you experience dry skin.
Applying skin cleansing materials or chemicals can also make the skin dry.
Some internal disorders like illness or infection can make your skin dry.
Treatment
When you have a perennially dry skin, you should moisturize it daily to keep it hydrated. You should consult a dermatologist for picking out the right skin cream for your skin. The appropriate moisturizer, if you have very dry skin should be oil or petroleum based. When you purchase the prescribed moisturizer or lotion, make sure you buy something which contains vitamin E, Shea Butter and Avocado Oil. Since these moisturizing agents aren t water based , they can lock in the skin moisturizer effectively.

Advantages of moisturising regularly

Dry skin is prone to wrinkle formation   When you moisturize daily, the collagen levels of your skin are restored, which can then effectively fight wrinkling and aging of your skin.
Prevents flakiness   Since the upper layer of your skin starts peeling off, your skin may appear dull, lifeless and flaky. The condition worsens when there is a cold weather outside. Moisturizing your skin daily will make your skin get a natural glow and stop flaking form occurring in the first place.
Reduces itchiness: Moreover, daily moisturizing will make your skin less itchy.
Moisturising reduces the negative effects of makeup: Not moisturizing dry skin will make it look less hydrated. Applying makeup on your dry skin directly is the worst thing you can do. This may spoil your makeup and make it look creasy and broken. Thus, you should keep your skin hydrated by applying moisturiser regularly.

Flaky Skin - Why You Should Moisturize it Daily?

Nausea can result from a variety of reasons. While the most cases arise from a hangover, it can also be a result of cancer treatment, patients fresh out of surgery and such other instances. A great degree of environmental changes is necessary such as keeping a cool temperature in the room or staying away from nausea triggering smell. Food also plays great strokes in curbing nausea. Here is a list of 10 best foods that helps to fight nausea:

Apple: Fruits with high fiber content goes a long way in eradicating chemicals that are responsible for causing nausea. Apple is definitely one of them. Consumption of a whole apple can ensure that nausea can t set in.
Crackers: Crackers such as toast, saltines and bread helps the stomach to settle down and effectively absorbs the acid from the stomach. Keeping a few crackers close to the bed or office bag can come real handy in fighting nausea.
Lemon: Lemons are a great agent that effectively blocks nausea and fight morning sickness. This can be consumed along with food, drink in the form of juice or simply sucking on it. Not to mention they are a great source of vitamin C.
Ginger: Ginger is a jack of all trade and master of many. Apart from its enormous nutritional value, it helps a person to fight nausea. This is recommended by Doctors for a patient undergoing chemotherapy or radiation. They can be consumed along with tea, in food or as a whole.
Water: Although water may not be a preferred choice for many during nausea, but it is one of the best agents to fight nausea. It not only keeps the body hydrated but negates acid formation in the stomach. Small sips of water after every half an hour can pay rich dividends in fighting nausea.
Nuts: At times the body suffers from nausea due to lack of protein and nuts contain plenty of them. Even peanut better will serve the same purpose. They ensure that the body is at the threshold of the energy level and keep nausea at bay.
Chicken broth: The Chicken broth is known to help individuals who have a tendency of suffering from nausea. Since broth is prepared of bouillon cubes, they greatly help in absorbing acid from the stomach.
Banana: Bananas are a great source of potassium which becomes essential in cases when a patient is suffering from diseases such as diarrhea. Due to their heavy sugar content banana effectively fights nausea.
Mint: Mint is refreshing for people at any state of mint. Simply chewing a mint leave or preparing a glass of juice from mint can effectively fight nausea.
Chilled food: Contrary to the popular belief chilled foods can effectively counter nausea. They have the double benefit of keeping the stomach temperature under control and easy digestion.

Nausea - 10 Foods That Help You Treat It!

Dandruff isn't just a social embarrassment, but may also give you certain pointers about your general hair health as well. Let's look at some facts regarding dandruff and how it may affect the health of your hair.
Causes of dandruff

The cause for dandruff is usually stated to be a dry scalp, which is not entirely true. Dandruff could be caused by a host of reasons and rather than being a problem, it could be a symptom of other problems with hair health. Let's look at some of the causes:

1. Yeast problems on your scalp: If you suffer from extreme dandruff problems during the winter months, it is likely that it is due to the buildup of yeast on your head. Yeast may build up during the winter months and it usually gets resolved when temperatures rise during the summer months.

2. Not maintaining your hair regularly: This may come as a surprising element as brushing helps in removing dandruff from your scalp. If you have short hair and don't brush your hair regularly, chances of getting dandruff increase more so. Shampooing also has a similar effect and thus if you don't keep your hair clean, it might end up causing more dandruff.

3. Conditions such as Seborrheic dermatitis or other diseases: Dandruff may well be a manifestation of symptoms for other health problems within your body. For example, Seborrheic dermatitis is a condition which may cause your scalp to be irritated and oily and in turn, cause more dandruff. It could also mean you have a Malassezia problem. Malassezia is a fungus that naturally lives in our hair and feeds on the oil, but an overgrowth of these might result in dandruff as well.

4. Lifestyle issues such as diet and stress: If you follow a poor diet, mostly consisting of junk and fried foods, and also have a lot of stress, then it may lead to dandruff. In such cases, topical medications or treatments might not work. You will need to correct it by making changes in your lifestyle, one of them following a healthy diet

In all of these cases, it is not just a specific problem, but a symptom of a larger problem that needs to be resolved. Treating the underlying problems will ensure that dandruff goes away too.

Common Factors that Cause Dandruff

6 Best Home Remedies To Get Rid of Acne

Acne causes skin damage and leaves marks that ruin appearance. Although these scars cannot be completely removed, they can be reduced to an extent that they become invisible.

Give your skin these tested remedies to get rid of pimple scars-

1) Cleansing of Lemons: Lemons, as you know are rich in vitamin C, which helps in the synthesis of collagen (the connecting tissues of skin) in the body. Therefore, regular use of lemons helps in keeping your skin free from blemishes or scars. Treating with lemon includes consuming lemons as well as application of lemon juice on the scars and washing it off.

2) Smoothening of Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera gel application is extremely beneficial for skin, it not only reduces the scars but also soothes the skin. It also smoothens out the skin as well as lightens the complexion.

3) Soothing of Sandalwood: Sandalwood or chandan is antiseptic and anti inflammatory in nature. It is therefore highly effective at cleansing of scars as well as soothing facial skin. Regular application of sandal wood powder mixed with rose water gives a glow to your skin that nothing else can.

4) Healing of Fenugreek: Fenugreek or Methi seeds are anti-inflammatory and are also a smoothening agent. It heals skin conditions and greatly reduces acne scars. Its extract can be applied externall for the reduction in the intensity of the scars  appearance.

5) Protection of Neem Leaves: Neem leaves are effective against a lot of skin problems, from acne and eczema to ringworm. Its alkaloids content gives Neem its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Neem also helps in removal of toxins from the body. It can be crushed and externally applied in the form of a pack or its bitter juice can be comsumed.

6) Care of Apple cider vinegar: Vinegar promotes peeling off skin, which is helpful when you have scars. It is also antiseptic in nature.  It can be applied on the scalp using cotton, with a little dilution. The vinegar is particularly helpful in dandruff.

Have any further questions on how Ayurveda can help you get beautiful skin? Click on consult privately to ask me.

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6 Best Home Remedies To Get Rid of Acne

Coughing during the night can really wreak havoc for your sleep and cause inexplicable discomfort in the throat and chest region. Thankfully, you can manage it by soothing your tickling throat as well as sensitive airways before you go to bed at night. 

Drink herbal tea: A mugful of non-caffeinated tea mixed with a teaspoon of honey before going to bed can help you to a considerable extent. This is because any warm liquid has the power to break down the formation of mucus in the throat region and with a bit of honey, the herbal tea becomes even more powerful.
Try to sleep in an inclining position: Gravity is your greatest enemy while combating night-time cough. When you lie down flat on your back at night, all the mucus and dust particles, which you have swallowed all through the day, would accumulate in the throat area and aggravate it making more cough. But you can easily defy gravitational force by piling up some pillows and prop yourself on them while sleeping. You may also keep a wooden block of 4 inches height under your head, which would keep the acids in the stomach so that they don t come up to irritate your throat.
Make sure you use the steam cautiously: When your airways are dry, it can make you cough harder. Therefore, you may find relief if you take a warm shower or a bath before going to bed. But you have to be sure that you don t have asthma as steam can prove harmful for you.
Check the level of humidity: Humidifiers are known to soothe the problem of persistent coughing when the surrounding air is dry. But too much of moisture during the night can also make you cough. This is because dust mites, mold and other allergens thrive well in the damp air and they could conspire to make your cough even worse. So, pick up a cheap hygrometer from a hardware store and see that the humidity level stays within 40 to 50 percent.
Equip yourself at night: Keep all the things from drops to water to cough syrup or anything that soothes coughing at your bedside so that you can help yourself in case you wake up in the middle of the night and start coughing.
By following these few tips every day, you can manage the night time cough and have a good night s sleep without any interruptions.

Night Time Cough - 5 Tips to Manage it

Most people would panic on seeing slightly red urine being passed. A common urologic condition, this happens because blood cells are leaking into the urine. There are multiple reasons which can cause it, and not all of them are major causes for concern.

Read on to know more about some common causes, and how to manage this.

Urinary tract infections: There could be an infection of the entire urinary tract including the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. In addition to blood in the urine, there could also be an urge to urinate, pain with urination, fever, and flank pain.
Enlarged or infected prostate: The prostate naturally enlarges with age and can obstruct the urethra, causing pain and blood in the urine. There is a constant urge to urinate and difficulty initiating the stream. Infection of the prostate also produces similar symptoms along with fever and pain.
Kidney diseases: In addition to infections, other kidney diseases including glomerulonephritis, which can also lead to hematuria. Kidney stones, which are quite common, are also another reason, and this will be characterised by the sudden sharp pain around the flank which is very diagnostic of kidney stones. Injury to the kidneys from trauma or sports is another reason for hematuria.
Cancers/tumours: Cancers in the kidney, bladder, or prostate can cause blood to appear in the urine, but this would happen once cancer has reached some advanced stage, not very early in the process.
Listed below are some risk factors for hematuria.

Age: Men older than 50 are more prone to hematuria
Sex: While men are more likely to have stones or prostate infections, UTIs are quite common in women below 50s.
Family history: though not hereditary, if kidney stones or cancers or infections are in the family, chances of developing hematuria also goes up.
Medications: Aspirin, blood thinners, NSAIDs, and some antibiotics increase the chances of hematuria.
Exercise: Long distance runners are shown to be more prone to developing hematuria.
Diagnosis: In addition to a physical exam, blood tests, imaging (CT scans and/or MRI) and cystoscopy might be required to confirm the diagnosis. Identifying the cause is extremely important as treatment would depend completely on the causative agent. Though hematuria is just one of the symptom, the underlying cause could have severe adverse effects on the whole body system.

Treatment: Whether it is an infection or enlarged prostate or kidney stone or tumour, once the cause is identified treatment is customised accordingly. Antibiotics for the infections, laser treatment for the stones, etc. are recommended.

If you see your urine turning slightly pink in colour, talk to your doctor immediately. Identifying the underlying cause and treating it will help solve the problem of hematuria.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!


Blood In Urine - Is It Actually Serious?

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