Immunization is the key to protection from critical diseases. Vaccinations during childhood and adulthood have brought down the high mortality rates caused by life-threatening illnesses. Meningococcal infection was one such dreaded disease that claimed the lives of many people. Thanks to meningitis vaccine shots, meningococcal disease is now preventable. Although rare, meningococcal disease can cause grave conditions in teens and young adults. Once a person contracts this infection, it spreads rapidly, infecting the lining of the brain and spinal cord. In worst cases, the meningococcal infection spreads to the entire brain and spinal cord within a few hours. To get protection from meningococcal disease, it is vital that one takes meningitis vaccine shots. Vaccination is the best way to guard oneself against contracting this dangerous and rapidly spreading infection. All you need to know about the meningitis vaccine Meningococcal infection is not contagious like flu or cold, but the disease can spread through infected respiratory and throat secretions. An infected person can spread this infection by coughing or sneezing around others or by kissing them. Currently, three vaccines shots for meningitis are available in the country. None of these vaccines contain live bacterial cultures. These vaccines essentially contain antigens that trigger the immune system to produce antibodies to fight the meningococcal disease.

Chronic pain can play spoilsport in our lives by affecting our job, daily routine, and relationships. The good news is that timely diagnosis and treatment can go a long way in eliminating this pain from our lives. The ideal chronic pain management aims at reducing or eliminating the need for pain medication and improving physical functioning. With the right treatment for chronic pain, you can lead a pain-free life. Any pain that spans over a few months or around 12 weeks is called chronic pain. The cause of pain may be illness, injury, joint-related disease or overuse of joints. Gone are the days when you only surgical options were available for the treatment for chronic pain. Thanks to the medico-technological advancements, patients now have numerous treatment options for dealing with chronic pain. Types of chronic pain Chronic pain can occur in different locations of the body and for a variety of reasons. The most common type of chronic pain occurs due to injuries. This injury may be sports-related or caused by accident. Back pain is another common type of chronic pain. Lower and upper back pain may result from incorrect posture, extended hours of sitting or standing, or damage to the spine.

A survey conducted in the year 2014 showed that 8 out of 10 American people have some type of complication regarding their feet. The overall stability of one’s health and life depends on the condition of the feet because it is that part of your body that gets used for the most part of the day. The part of feet that carries almost the whole weight of the body is the heel. Heel pain may present itself in two spots: under the heel and behind the heel. Having heel pain can make day-to-day life very uncomfortable while performing daily activities, and shoes play a crucial role here either by adding to the pain or lessening the pain. Thus, wearing the right type of shoes helps a lot while managing heel pain. Certain things should be kept in mind while buying the right shoes for heel pain, which may be overlooked often. Given are few “dos and don’ts” that would prove really helpful when one is looking for shoes for heel pain. Buy the shoe toward the end of the day Feet are that part of the body that get worked up the most throughout the day. By the second half of the day, the feet expand because of all the pressure and may swell after a long day in hot weather.

Spinal stenosis is an extremely painful condition that causes the narrowing of the spaces within the spine. This puts pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine and may lead to several complications. Spinal stenosis commonly occurs in the neck and the lower back. One of the major drawbacks of this condition is the fact that its onset may come with symptoms to indicate the presence of the condition. If you do experience the symptoms of spinal stenosis though, expect to face severe pain, numbness, muscle weakness, and tingling in the affected areas. The symptoms generally worsen with the progression of the condition, so consult a doctor immediately. The onset of spinal stenosis is generally due to wear and tear in the spine related to osteoarthritis. To make things easier for you, here are a few of the best spinal stenosis treatment methods for you to choose from. Spinal Stenosis Treatment Options Treatment for spinal stenosis is dependent on the severity of the signs and symptoms of the disease as well as its location. You must consult a doctor to determine the treatment method that suits you best. If your condition is mild, home remedies may be enough to keep your condition at bay.

There are several people who have to deal with the problem of frequent urination. It leads us to question the amount of fluid we are losing on a daily basis. The bladder can store up to 600 ml of urine. We generally feel the urge to urinate when the bladder contains 150 ml of urine. The average person urinates four to eight times per day. If you are urinating more than eight times a day, you have a leaky bladder. There are several causes which culminate to this problem. Wondering how to stop frequent urination? Here are a few tips which will help you to deal with this problem. Kegel exercises involve strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles may be weakened by an overactive bladder. Performing these exercises facilitates improved bladder movement. All you have to do is identify your pelvic floor muscles by stopping your urine midstream while urinating. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles for 3 seconds and then let them go for 3 seconds. Repeat this process 3 times in sets of 10. The best thing is that you do not need to designate a particular time to perform these exercises. You can do Kegel exercises while sitting down, standing up or while on the move.

Snoring is a common problem that plagues a large part of the adult population in the country. You might feel uncomfortable or embarrassed if you are known to snore loudly, but you should know that this process is often natural. Usually, men snore more than women on a regular basis. There is no specific treatment for snoring, but there are certain devices available in the market that can help partially manage snoring. The best stop-snoring devices reduce the loud symptoms of snoring effectively, without causing any discomfort or harm to the user. These anti-snoring devices can suppress snoring in either of the two ways- by pushing the tongue backward or moving the tongue forward. Moreover, these devices do not require any prescription from any doctor. Let’s have a closer look at what causes snoring and how these anti-snoring devices actually perform. What causes snoring? The restriction or obstruction in the pathway of the upper airway typically causes a tickling sensation in the back of the throat which results in a typical harsh and loud breathing, described as snoring. Several factors are responsible for snoring. One of them is obesity, which is fairly common in certain adults. Sometimes, throat related allergies due to cold and other biological factors are also responsible for loud snoring.

To effectively manage diabetes, some patients need to take insulin shots throughout the day. An insulin pen is an effective insulin delivery system that makes giving these shots extremely easy and comfortable. Insulin pens are quickly gaining popularity in the country. These pens include an insulin cartridge, a disposable needle, and a dial to measure dosage that helps in delivering the exact amount needed by the body. Insulin pens deliver anywhere between 0.5 to 80 units of insulin at one time. The increments in the dosage can be in half unit, one unit or two units. The maximum dosage, as well as the incremental amount, varies in different kinds of pens. Types of insulin pens Primarily, there are two types of insulin pens: Disposable: This contains a pre-filled insulin cartridge. You can discard the pen after injecting it. Reusable: Reusable pens contain replaceable insulin cartridges. After injecting yourself, you can throw away this cartridge and replace it with a fresh one. With proper care, these reusable pens can last for more than a year. However, you need to use a fresh and disposable needle every time you use the insulin pen. These needles are available in different thicknesses and lengths, and mostly, all of them fit on every kind of insulin pen.