Neuropathy has many symptoms. It may start with a tingling feeling and end up with numbness. It can be a pricking, or burning sensation, loss of reflexes and muscle shrinkage, abnormal sensations, or sensitivity to touch. Its worse symptom is pain, sometimes so excruciating that a person would amputate rather than continue the pain.
It is called many names such as paresthesia, neuritis, neuralgia, dysesthensia, hypoesthesia, hypesthesia, hypalgesia, hypealgesia and hyperesthesia due to its many different kinds of symptoms.
But, what underlies all these symptoms?
They are created by a specific type of nerve damage. This nerve damage can come from too much sugar in the blood (the reason it is a side effect of diabetes). It can be caused by exposure to chemicals such as cancer treatments, poisons, alcoholism, or a side effect of some medications. It can be the result of kidney or liver failure, infectious disease or nutritional deficiencies especially B vitamins. The reasons are many; the damage they produce is the same.
What creates the problem is damage done to the outer lining of the nerve cell. Cells have coverings much like an electrical wire has an insulation of plastic. Have you ever seen a wire whose insulation is damaged – the electrical current doesn’t flow correctly. It can send electricity out from the area where it is damaged, it can stop the flow of electricity or it can damage what it’s supposed to be supplying electricity to.
A damaged nerve covering does the same thing. It can send out “sparks” that cause tingling, it can stop the flow resulting in numbness. It can create feelings of hot or cold or sensitivity due to crossed signals. It can definitely cause pain especially as the damage gets worse.
The idea is to fix this outer covering. This is called the myelin sheath. What is needed are specific B vitamins. The only question is how to get these B vitamins in sufficient amounts so that the body can actually build healthy nerves. Isolated B vitamins that are sold at the health food stores or local drug stores get washed out of the system too quickly to fix the damage. It would be hard to take enough of this type of nutrients to make a difference. You can’t get it from vitamins made in a laboratory.
What is needed is a whole food supplement with methylcobalamine and benfotiamine and other B vitamins that the body can use to build healthy nerve cells. That is one of the functions of the body, to build health. But it does need specific nutrients to do its job.
Nutrients are what a body runs on. A car runs on gas. If you drive the car down the road, it uses up a steady amount of that gas. If you take that same car and speed down the freeway, you will use up a lot of gas. When you take a body “out on the freeway”, or put it under physical stress, it uses up a lot more nutrients. Thus, getting the right supplements in the right amount is important.
Just as a car won’t drive without giving it gas a body can’t or function correctly or build health without the proper nutrients it needs to “drive”. In the case of neuropathy, it needs these B vitamins.
Neuropathy can be a side effect of many things. Although most often it is caused by too much sugar in the blood – Diabetes – there are many factors. Chemotherapy and some drugs have neuropathy as a side effect, and it can be caused by surgery damaging the nerves – there are others.
For more information about neuropathy.
Success in Handling the Nerve Damage of Neuropathy
We got lots of different people who got nerve damage from many different reasons who have written up what happened to them.
Read about getting relief by building healthy nerves.
Lowering Blood Pressure: The Medications and the Natural Treatments
Lowering Blood Pressure is important to many people. How can you do it and what treatments can you chose?
The Medications
If you take blood pressure medications to address hypertension, you will need to take a blood pressure lowering drug for the rest of your life. These medications do not change the underlying reason that the blood pressure is high and so you have to take the medications continuously for them to work.
These drugs are attempting to address the reason for hypertension, which are the small smooth muscles inside your arteries that tense up. When these muscles tense up, the arteries become narrower, more rigid and less flexible. These medications will lower pressure by slowing your heart beat, or interfering with nerve impulses to your arteries, or removing water from your body, or blocking biochemical reactions, or preventing calcium from entering the cells that make up the walls of your arteries.
Blood Pressure medications alter basic body functions not only in the blood vessels but other parts of the body as well. Because all of the body’s systems work together, these drugs can create a wide array of side effects.
There are different types of blood pressure medications.
Beta-blockers: Are used to control irregular heartbeats. These drugs limit the ability of the heart to beat faster and as a result they reduce the ability of the person to or to physically respond to “fight or flight” during an emergency. Fatigue is a side effect. Beta Blockers can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
ACE Inhibitors: Lowers blood pressure by decreasing certain substances in the blood that tighten the blood vessels. It will dilate the blood vessels so the blood will flow more smoothly and the heart can pump blood more effectively using less pressure. Common side effects are violent cough, dizziness, fatigue and flu like symptoms. It can also produce a pounding or uneven heartbeat.
Diuretics: Stimulates the kidneys to flush excess fluid and sodium out of the body. Less blood volume allows the heart to move the blood easier. Side effects are loss of potassium, dry mouth, dehydration and raised blood sugar levels.
Calcium Channel blockers: Keeps the blood vessels and heart from absorbing calcium, which causes the blood vessels to contract. Common side effects are headache, nausea, constipation, rash, dizziness and fluid retention.
Alpha Blockers: stops certain nerve impulses to the blood vessels causing the vessels to relax. Common side effects are low blood pressure, dizziness, headache, pounding heartbeat, nausea, fatigue, fluid retention and an increase of the cholesterol levels in the blood.
Vasodilators: Cause the muscles in the blood vessels to relax, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls of the blood vessels from narrowing. Side effects are headache, nasal congestion, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, pounding heartbeat, fluid retention, fluid retention and dizziness.
It is often recommended that two or three of these drugs be used at the same time, which creates even more side effects as a result of the chemical interactions between the medications.
Natural Treatments: Addressing the underlying cause of the high blood pressure.
Since blood pressure is affected by the small smooth muscles that line the inside walls of your blood vessels, the reason that these muscles tense up needs to be addressed.
The Reason: The loss of vital minerals by poor diet, nutritional deficiencies, being overweight, alcohol and caffeine in excess, emotional and physical stress and being diabetic results in these small muscles tensing up.
It is the replacement of vital minerals to your body that is essential to the natural and effective control of blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels and making them supple again.
Taking the vitamins and minerals your body is deficient in will naturally relax the muscles, relax the blood vessels and lower the blood pressure.
Magnesium is a key mineral. The body needs a proper balance of potassium, sodium and calcium. When the body is deficient in magnesium, the balance is disrupted.
One of the things about getting enough vitamins and minerals that you need from your food or from supplementation is that you have to be able to metabolize it.
RECOMMENDED:
High Blood Pressure Treatment by building a healthy metabolism.
Metabolic Formula – Targeted Nutrition at a Cellular Level
Our Blog - Up-to-date info on the latest health-related news happening in the world
https://www.health-blog-mcvitamins.com
Tips for Summer Health
Summer is almost here. It officially starts on 21 June. So let's remember how to be healthy during the summer more then a healthy diet.
Prevent Sunburn
I know the first thing people do when they go out in the sun is slater on a sunscreen. Most health experts recommend reapplying sunscreen every 2 or 3 hours.
However, you should pay attention to what chemicals are in the sunscreen you chose to rub into your skin. It gets absorbed and may be full of toxins that would counter the positive affects you are trying to achieve.
If you want to use a sunscreen, find a natural formula that is not like most sunscreens which are laced with chemicals that are hormone disruptors and damage coral reefs. I think that you can find “essential oil” sunscreens. But check around for one that you feel comfortable with.
Heat-Related Illnesses
Prevention
The following tips can help prevent a heat-related illness.
1) Drink plenty of water, especially in hot weather. Drink extra water if you sweat a lot. If your urine output decreases, drink more fluids.
2) Increase your fluid intake when playing sports.
3) Schedule sports events during the cooler times of the day to reduce the risk of getting a heat-related illness. First aid stations should be available at all sports events.
4) If you are sweating heavily, drink a re-hydration drink to replace lost salt (sodium) and other minerals (electrolytes).
5) Use caution during your physical activity in the heat if you have a condition or disease that may increase your risk of a heat-related illness.
Things to avoid
1) Avoid spending too much time in the sun. Being out in the sun is good for you and the best way to get your Vitamin D. But don't bake out in the sun.
2) Avoid strenuous activity in hot, humid weather and during the hottest part of the day, particularly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
3) Avoid alcoholic beverages in extreme heat because alcohol can cause dehydration.
Ways to acclimate to hot environments
Before you travel to or work in a hotter environment, use gradual physical conditioning to acclimate to a hot environment. This usually takes 8 to 14 days for adults. Children require 10 to 14 days for their bodies to acclimate to the heat.
If you travel to a hot environment and are not accustomed to the heat, cut your usual outside physical activities in half for the first 4 to 5 days. Once your body adjusts to the heat and level of activity, gradually increase your activities.
Heat safety measures
Be aware that when the outdoor humidity is greater than 75%, the body’s ability to lose heat by sweating is decreased. Other methods of keeping cool need to be used. The National Weather Service lists a heat index (sometimes they say "feels like") each day to alert people of the risk for a heat-related illness in relation to the air temperature and humidity for the day. Direct exposure to the sun can increase the risk for a heat-related illness on days when the heat index is high.
Practice heat safety measures when you are physically active in hot weather to reduce the risk of getting a heat-related illness. This is especially important for outdoor workers and military personnel.
Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing in hot weather, so your skin can cool through evaporation. Wear a wide-brimmed hat or use an umbrella to shade yourself in hot, sunny weather.
Stay in air-conditioned areas during hot weather as much as possible. In heat-wave conditions, spending more time in an air-conditioned place decreases the risk of heat-related illnesses.
Maintain good indoor ventilation by using a fan or air-conditioning.
Take a cool bath or shower once or twice a day in hot weather.
More Health tips
If you feel nauseated, dizzy, or weak in a hot environment, sit or lie down quickly to decrease the chance of fainting.
Encourage anyone standing for any length of time in a hot environment to flex their leg muscles often while standing. This prevents blood from pooling in the lower legs, which can lead to fainting. Wearing support hose to stimulate circulation while standing for long periods of time will help prevent heat edema from occurring.
Be aware of the symptoms of heat-related illnesses and know appropriate treatment measures. Do not become dehydrated. The amount and color of your urine can indicate whether you are properly hydrated. You should urinate every 2 to 4 hours during an activity if you are staying hydrated.
If you take medications regularly, ask your health professional’s advice about hot weather activity and your risk for getting a heat-related illness.
Lifestyle risk factors
Those at risk for heat-related illnesses include:
Firefighters and hazardous waste handlers who wear protective clothing that does not allow sweat to evaporate (vapor-impermeable clothing) in hot weather.
Athletes (such as wrestlers, jockeys, boxers, and body-builders)who purposely try to lose weight by sweating.
People who travel or move from a cool or temperate environment to a hot environment without acclimating their bodies. For example, people from cool climates who move to warm climates for the winter months have an increased chance of developing a heat-related illness.
People who have suffered heat stroke in the past are more bothered by heat in the first few months following the illness, but they do not suffer long-term effects.
