Five Fibrosis Treatment Options

Fibrosis can be the result of lung diseases that cause the organs' air sacs to scar. This causes the lungs to thicken and lose the suppleness that makes it easy to breathe. In turn, the blood is deprived of oxygen, which causes shortness of breath. There are several modalities used to treat fibrosis.

Medications

Right now fibrosis is not curable by medicines, though some medicines are used to ease the symptoms of the disease. One of them is prednisone, which is an anti-inflammatory. This medicine be taken two different ways, orally or taken intravenously, then orally. Because of its side effects, prednisone needs to be used and prescribed with care and the doctor will need to closely monitor the patient while he or she is on it. Another type of fibrosis treatment is azathioprine, which is used in conjunction with prednisone. This drug is an immunosuppresant and also needs to be prescribed with care. A drug that's often taken with prednisone and azathioprine is N-acetylcysteine, which is an anti-oxidant. This means it helps to prevent free radical damage to the cells of the body, including the cells of the lungs. However, some studies have found that this three drug fibrosis treatment may do more harm than good for patients.

Vaccines

Though vaccines that are usually taken to prevent pneumonia and the flu don't slow down the progress of fibrosis, they can prevent the lungs from becoming infected by the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases. For a patient to contract another pulmonary disease when he or she already has fibrosis is exceptionally dangerous.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

This is s group of treatments that help people with fibrosis and other lung disorders cope with their malady. Fibrosis patients are helped by specialists in a clinic with exercise, diet and nutrition, education, counseling and techniques that assist their breathing and help them conserve their energy.

Oxygen Therapy

This helps the patient when, due to the fibrosis, the oxygen in his or her blood gets too low. The oxygen can be delivered through a mask or nasal cannula attached to a tank or a machine.

Lung Transplant

This fibrosis treatment is the treatment of last resort for people with severe fibrosis. Lung donors are not common and the risks of a transplant can be rejection, where the body recognizes the new organ as foreign and tries to reject it, and infection, which is a common risk of any major surgery.

Because of this it's more common for hospitals to perform this transplant on older patients, who will have to be on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.

Alkaline-Rich Diet May Help to Prevent Fibromyalgia

A body that is too acidic can be a host of so many diseases such as fibromyalgia. This is why many people sought refuge in a diet that is alkaline-rich to prevent such diseases from occurring and create a balance inside the body. While origins and root cause of the disease is still unknown to many experts and doctors, the symptoms can easily be managed. Aside from that it is also known that stress, an acidic diet and leading an unhealthy lifestyle can all trigger symptoms of the disease and can aggravate the condition. This is why having an alkaline diet is important to people with the disease; so they can control and manage the symptoms.

There are actually more ways than one in which an alkaline-rich diet can prevent the symptoms of fibromyalgia from occurring. Here are 5 ways on how you can do so:

Eat the right foods - the best way you can do to prevent symptoms from attacking is to eat the right foods. A healthy diet is important to keep your body from getting acidic. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of alkaline-forming compounds to prevent your body from becoming acidic. Such foods will maintain the right level of alkalinity in your body and thereby prevent any symptoms of the disease that you might feel.

Turkey for meat - most red meat contains high amounts of fat which can increase the acidity levels of your body and thereby produce the disease. It can aggravate the condition and make symptoms even harder to manage. This is why resorting to healthier alternatives is the best option to maintain low levels of acidity in the body and to maintain a healthy body. Turkey is the best source of meat that you can eat. It is also rich in tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid that helps in preventing muscle fatigue which is often associated with the disease.

Sardines - sardines should be incorporated in your diet is you are one of the many sufferers of the disease. But it is best that you eat fresh sardines instead of canned ones. It contains high amounts of CoQ10 which is a great source to prevent symptoms from occurring. Sardines are also alkaline-forming compounds to lower the acidity levels of your body.

Red Fruits - It is also highly suggested that you eat tons of red fruits such as raspberry and cherries. Red fruits are rich in anthocyanins, a compound that prevents inflammation from occurring thereby relieving pain felt due to the disease. You can eat them fresh or juiced. They also help maintain the alkalinity of your body making your healthier and stronger.

Raw fruits and vegetables - as aforementioned, fruits and vegetables are the best sources of alkaline to neutralize your body. They are best eaten raw and unprocessed so you get maximum benefits.

Having an alkaline-rich diet can greatly help you reduce symptoms of fibromyalgia and live a healthier, happier life again. You don't have to worry about muscle pains again and inhibit your daily work because just by changing your diet to alkaline-rich one, pains are under control.

Qualities Critical For Pharmacy Technicians

Before, licensed pharmacists were required to prepare prescriptions, count pills and prepare ointments by hand. However, with the improvement of the manufacturing process of pharmaceutical companies and the practice of delivering medicine by bulk, these tasks are no longer commonly performed by pharmacists and they are now allowed to focus more on their clinical duties.

Still, someone must be in-charge of measuring doses, counting pills and typing up instructions for patients. This is where technicians come in. They are now the ones who prepare pills, measure doses and give instructions to patients. They do this under the direct supervision of licensed pharmacists.

Technicians perform their duties under the close watch of pharmacists who reviews all the prescriptions before they are given to patients.

There are cases where customers will ask questions about their medications and other miscellaneous health matters, the pharmacy technicians must arrange for the customer to speak with the pharmacists during these circumstances.

Becoming a Technician is a rewarding career, with pharmacies opening up in malls, retail areas, hospitals and clinics, the properly trained pharmacy technician is sure never to run out of employment.

However, the task isn't easy. Here are some of the qualities required from pharmacy technicians.

1. Attention to detail - given the power of today's medicines, the pharmacy technicians must be accurate and precision minded so as not to hurt patients.

2. Well-versed in mixing medications and can follow the supervision of licensed pharmacists - this is not a profession that tolerates mistakes. One slip-up can cause harm or even death of a patient. The pharmacy technician must be focused and clear minded when performing their duties.

3. Professionally trained - educational requirements for pharmacy technicians include a high-school diploma and pharmacy technician certificate obtained from community colleges, vocational or technical schools, or other similar institution.

The qualities may look hard but the good thing about this career is that the growth is backed-up by the baby-boomer generation who are increasingly requiring more medications today and in the years to come.

A lot of technicians learn on the job while others take professional certification via formal education in pharmacy technology programs at community colleges or vocational schools. These institutions award certificates and the programs usually last a year or less to cover the entire variety of subjects required.

Important subjects required includes arithmetic used in pharmacies, recordkeeping, medicine dispensation procedures, pharmacy law and ethics. You will also be required to learn medicine names, actions, uses and doses.