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Best Workout Music for the iPod

June 30, 2011 by rfcamat

In order to keep yourself active and alert, you should put exercise among your top priorities. However, if you think working out is too much of a drudgery, and you dread the “torture chamber” scene in the gym, you would have to do something to motivate yourself. It would be exciting to download and listen to some kick-ass tunes on your iPod to make the donkey work a whole lot of pleasure. You may tend to be a bit sluggish at start, but there’s nothing like listening to heart-racing themes to fire you up!

The Best Workout Songs of All Time

Looking for cool songs to reinvigorate your senses while working out? Listed below are some of the adrenaline-pumping songs many people just love to listen to:

Crazy in Love – Beyonce
Dont’cha – Pussycat Dolls
Feelin’ Alright – Joe Cocker
California Love – Tupac, Dr. Dre
Hung up – Madonna
Ay Chico – Pitbull
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Weapon of Choice – Fatboy Slim
“I Gotta Feeling” – The Black Eyed Peas
Stronger – Kanye West
Bad- Michael Jackson
Wonderful Person – Black Masses
“Say Hey (I Love You)” – Michael Franti & Spearhead
“Where are we Runnin?”-Lenny Kravitz
“Crash” -Gwen Stefani
“Savior”-Rise Against
“Hotel Room Service”- Pitbull
“Just Dance”-Lady Ga Ga

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More Workout Songs For Your Ipod

Shed off those unwanted calories and have fun right at the same time. Here are a few of those songs women just love to groove to while hitting the gym:

Like It – Narcotic Thrust
Plastic Dreams – Jaydee
All-American Girl – Carrie Underwood
Happy Girl – Martina McBride
Royksopp – The Girl And The Robot
Shut Up and Let Me Go – The Ting Tings
Come…(Into My Dream) – Foggy
Just a Girl – Ian Van Dahl
Til I Collapse – Eminem
Bawtidaba – Kid Rock

Some Mellow Workout Music

If you are the schmaltzy type, you might want to check out these song selections below. They are effective in soothing your senses while you are burning those fats.

What About Now –Daughtry
Breathe (2AM) – Anna Nalick
The Time of My Life-by David Cook
Light On-David Cook
Speed of Sound – Coldplay
Viva La Vida -Coldplay
Bleeding Love- Leona Lewis
I’m With You- Avril Lavigne
No Air- Jordin Sparks
Sway-Bic Runga
Kissing a Fool-George Michael
Breathe-Faith Hill
Foreplay-Boston
More Than a Feeling- Boston

This is the most useful tip: the more variety, the better it is for you. You will not get bored listening to the same music over and over again if you have a lot to choose from. You definitely have no more excuses to procrastinate exercising now. Now, you would rather prefer killing your time exercising than spending your whole day pigging out in the kitchen.[ad#afterpost]

How To Treat Bee Sting: Effective Home Remedies For Bee Sting

August 2, 2010 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

My Personal Experience with Bee Sting

My first experience (hopefully last) with bee sting was when I was in high school. I was helping my parents in removing weeds in our small eggplant garden. Out of curiosity, I tried to catch a bee silently collecting nectar from an eggplant flower. I did catch the bee but I involuntarily released it after few seconds because I felt a sudden and intense pain somewhere in my thumb. Ouch…I was stung by the angry bee! I didn’t expect it to happen. (Seriously!) I had no intention to kill the bee; I just wanted to experience holding it with my bare hands. It’s too late for me to realize that bees don’t like to be touched. Blah, blah, blah…enough reasoning.

I’ve saw the pricked area swelling badly. When I noticed the bee’s black stinger injected in the middle part of the raised area of my thumb, I quickly removed it using my finger nails. I didn’t know what to do to ease the pain. Bee sting is five times more painful than ordinary ant sting (though the feeling is subjective). I didn’t ask my parents any remedy for the bee sting because I was afraid that they may “laugh at me” for my stupid curiosity. Without any medication whatsoever, I just withstood the pain for hours. The next day, the pain was gone but the swelling did not subside completely. I forgot the number of days passed until the swelling was completely gone.

Though I am not anticipating another bee sting in the future, I believe that knowledge on bee sting treatments or remedies is very important. What if my future children will get stung by a bee, what will I do? I cannot just stand there watching my children crying in pain. I have to do something. I read a lot of articles in the internet about bee sting remedies. I want to share with you, what I’ve learned.

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Bee Venom Composition

Bee venom contains melittin (a toxin) as well as histamine and other biogenic amines that cause pain and itching to vertebrates. The venom signifies the adaptation of bees against predation. They use it to protect their colony from predators. When they inject their stingers to the skin of vertebrates, a large portion of their abdomen is ruptured. This injury causes their death.

Bee Venom and Allergy

Bee venom contains certain proteins that can trigger allergic reaction to an individual. The most dangerous symptom of bee venom allergy is anaphylactic shock which is marked by a serious drop in blood pressure, breathing difficulty, and loss of consciousness. Since anaphylactic shock is deadly, immediate medical help is needed for the patient. Epinephrine injection is the best treatment for anaphylactic shock. It relaxes the airways and constricts blood vessels to increase blood pressure. Individuals who are highly allergic to bee venom and survived anaphylactic shock before should carry with them self-injectable EpiPen.

Home Remedies for Bee Sting

Bee Sting Removal and Cold Compress
The first step in treating bee sting is removing the stinger itself. Studies show that delaying the removal of the stinger for only few seconds will result to more venom being injected. Therefore, remove the stinger as fast as you can by using your fingers, tweezers, credit card, etc. Wash the swelling with soap and cold water. Dry it gently with towel. Then put ice (wrapped in cloth) or cool, wet compress to the inflamed area. The ice or cold compress will reduce swelling by constricting the blood vessels and slowing down the spread of venom-tainted blood. The ice’s numbing effect can also cancel the pain and itching.

Toothpaste
Another remedy for bee sting is toothpaste; any brand would be okay but I recommend a brand with mint or menthol flavor. Toothpaste will tingle the swelling so the pain and itching will be reduced.

Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Meat Tenderizer

Other traditional remedies for bee sting are vinegar, baking soda, and meat tenderizer. A lot of people claim that these are effective in treating bee sting. They say that vinegar and baking soda will neutralize the venom by acid-base reaction. They also say that meat tenderizer will hydrolyze the venom which is made up of protein. After reading this article, I questioned the effectiveness of vinegar, baking soda, and meat tenderizer. Take note that the bee venom is injected under the skin and deep into the tissues; it is unlikely that topically applied vinegar, baking soda, or meat tenderizer will reach those areas to neutralize or hydrolyze the venom. Physically, vinegar, baking soda, and meat tenderizer may not be effective but psychologically they may be effective (the mind perceiving benefit).

Herbs

Other home remedies I read from the internet are herbs which are chewed first and then applied to the swelling. I don’t know if those herbs are effective; I doubt. The use of herbs as bee sting remedies is still practiced in many parts of the world.

Tobacco, Garlic, Onion, and Clay
People also recommend tobacco, garlic, onion, and clay for treating bee sting. Personally I doubt their effectiveness but you may try them. Share your experience with them in the comments tab below. According to the experiment of William Brantley of slate.com, tobacco and onion aren’t effective but they just give you weird smell. By the way, William Brantley performed a clever experiment on the effectiveness of various drugs and home remedies for bee sting. He found out that the best remedies for bee sting are ice and toothpaste. Read his cool article here.

Pharmaceutical Remedies for Bee Sting

There are also pharmaceutical remedies for bee sting: topical creams. Skeetir Stik and Survivor Gel Stick contain benzocaine, the anesthetic found in toothache medicines like Anbesol. Benzocaine “deadens” nerve endings so that the signal for pain and itching will not be transmitted to the brain.

To stop itching, there is Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping which contains antihistamine. Antihistamine blocks histamine which causes the itching.

There is also hydrocortisone cream that reduces inflammation.

William Brantley chooses Caladryl calamine lotion as the best pharmaceutical remedy for bee sting. Calamine works as analgesic. The calamine lotion should be reapplied as soon as the pain or itching returns.[ad#afterpost]

How Do You Get Rid of a Staph Infection?

May 4, 2010 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

Staph infection or Staphylococcus infection is a type of bacterial infection caused by strains of bacteria under the genus Staphylococcus. The most common strain causing staph infection is Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus for short) which is spherical in shape and found in the environment and living organisms. The human body can contain thousands or even millions of this bacterium; in fact 20% of the general population are carriers of S. aureus.

Staph bacteria do not cause any problem, unless they invade the body and cause infection. They enter the body through tiny openings in the skin (usually wounds), through the mouth, nose, ear, and the eyes.

S. aureus can cause skin infections which include pimples, impetigo, cellulitis folliculitis, furuncles (boils), carbuncles, scalded skin syndrome and abscesses. It can also cause life-threatening infections which include pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis, sepsis, and toxic shock syndrome.

Most people are familiar with skin infections caused by S. aureus since they are the most common. This article provides necessary information needed on how to get rid of staph infection in the skin.
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How to tell if it is staph infection? Symptoms of staph infection.

The development of boil in the skin can be an indication of staph infection. Boil is a pocket of pus that develops in a hair follicle or oil gland. Below is a picture of a typical boil.

Another indication of staph infection is the contagious impetigo – painful rushes and blisters that may ooze fluid. Impetigo is most common in infants and young children and usually occur around the nose and mouth. Below is a picture of impetigo in the face.

Cellulitis is staph infection of the deeper part of the skin. It causes the skin to look red and swollen. Cellulitis usually occurs at the lower legs and feet. Below is a picture of cellulitis.

Scalded skin syndrome is another staph infection commonly affecting newborns. Symptoms of this infection include fever, rashes, and blisters. Below is a picture of baby with scalded skin syndrome.

The best person who can identify staph infection in the skin is a medical doctor. He is also the right person who can tell the treatments.

How To Get Rid of Staph Infections

Washing the infected area of the skin

-Maintaining the cleanliness of the infected area is a very important step in treating staph infection. The infected area should be washed by soap and alcohol several times a day. After washing the area, it should be covered by a loose piece of cotton gauge to prevent its exposure to the environment.

Warm compress

-A warm compress soaked to vinegar or rubbing alcohol can help to get rid of minor staph infection in the skin. Vinegar and alcohol have antimicrobial activities so they can kill S. aureus.

Antibiotics

-Antibiotics are drugs prescribed to treat staph infection. The use of antibiotics is the most common cure for staph infection. People with minor staph infection in the skin can use topical antibiotics like Neosporin but those with serious infection must use stronger antibiotics.

The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a big problem in treating staph infections. MRSAs are no longer affected by methicillin (an antibiotic) so physicians are forced to use stronger but potentially toxic antibiotics like glycopeptide antibiotics.

Glycopeptide antibiotics (e. g. vancomycin and teicoplanin ) are now used to treat MRSAs but their use in hospitals are governed by regulations to prevent the development of resistant bacterial strains.

Frequent use and overuse of antibiotics contribute to the evolution of bacteria to become antibiotic-resistant.

Note

Consult your doctor to know the best ways to get rid of your staph infection.[ad#afterpost]