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   Archive for the ‘Family Health’ Category
What Is Collagen, And How Is It Related To Stretch Marks?

Collagen is a protein that makes up the connective tissue in your skin. Collagen is responsible, at least in part, for the elasticity of your skin. In other words, collagen helps your skin to stretch as it is needed. However, when a person’s skin becomes stretched too far, such as may happen during a time of rapid weight gain or loss, such as may occur during pregnancy, the regular rate of production of collagen is interfered with. This results in the skin not being as elastic in that area. In turn, then, the skin will actually tear. When this happens, the skin will scar in the form of a stretch mark.

Stretch marks will vary in appearance based on the tone of your skin. Stretch marks may start out as pinkish, a red-brown color, brown, or dark brown streaks on your skin. Over time, stretch marks will fade in color to be lighter than your skin color, and will also generally have something of a silvery sheen or covering to them.

There may be things that you can do to help reduce the occurrence of stretch marks, or to lessen their impact. Some women, for example, have used laser therapy that helps spur the body to produce collagen, which restores the elasticity of the skin in the stretch mark area. In addition, it is thought that laser therapy can help to improve the actual quality of the collagen, and can help to reduce the inflammation that often occurs. There are herbal remedies that you can use to try to prevent stretch marks. These products tend to rely on things like cocoa butter, chamomile, and Vitamin E to help prevent stretch marks. Even if these remedies do not prevent stretch marks, they may speed up the healing process and help your stretch marks to become less visible over time.

Posted in Family Health, Pregnancy |
What Is A Sitz Bath?

A sitz bath is, at the most basic level, a bath designed to be used for your bottom. It is, quite literally, a bath that you “sit” in or on. A sitz bath can be used to help with a number of different discomforts and ailments. A sitz bath is especially useful for the woman who has just had a baby, in that it can offer some comfort to the perineum. If the woman has had an episiotomy or if there was perineal tearing, a sitz bath may be able to help out with the healing process. A sitz bath can also be useful for someone who is experiencing severe or painful hemorrhoids.

A sitz bath can be purchased at the store. Generally, this will take the form of a plastic container, much like an inverted top hat, that you place over the toilet. If you don’t want to buy a sitz bath, you can make your own in a bathtub, or in a shallow bucket. The advantage to a sitz bath that you purchase, however, is that they are designed in such a way as to allow you to continually add water to the sitz bath, and allowing the excess to spill over into the toilet.

The water in a sitz bath should be warm, but not hot. A sitz bath should contain salts, such as Epsom salts, or it may contain a different sort of salt. There are also herbal sitz bath products that you can use. These herbal sitz baths will include herbs such as uva ursi, sea salt, yarrow, and probably witch hazel. These herbs can help to soothe sore muscles and to reduce swelling.

A sitz bath should, generally, not be used if you have an infection. If you do have an infection, you will want to speak with your health care provider. It is likely that your health care provider will recommend that you treat the infection first, perhaps with a course of antibiotics, so as to avoid inflaming or aggravating your infection.

Posted in After Pregnancy, Family Health, Pregnancy |
Diet And Stretch Marks

Stretch marks can be caused by a variety of different situations. For example, many women will find that they develop stretch marks for the first time during pregnancy, especially if the weight that they gain during pregnancy tends to be rapid, rather than slowly over the course of the pregnancy. Other people will develop stretch marks as a result of rapidly gaining weight without being pregnant. There are even people who will develop stretch marks during a period of rapid weight loss.

There are many factors that contribute to the development of stretch marks. For example, skin that stays moisturized tends to hold its elasticity better, and is therefore less likely to develop stretch marks. This is the basis for most of the commercially available stretch mark creams. There is even a relationship between diet and stretch marks.

This relationship between diet and stretch marks is based on the principle of healthy skin. When your diet is high in fruits and vegetables, for example, your skin is more likely to be healthy and strong. This is especially true of having a diet high in leafy green vegetables. In addition to a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, a diet that contains specific nutrients can help with stretch marks by helping the elasticity of your skin. Some of the important nutrients to have in your diet in order to avoid stretch marks include zinc, silica, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. In addition, if you are pregnant or developed stretch marks during pregnancy, these nutrients will help your skin to be able to snap back into place after your pregnancy.

The best approach to avoiding stretch marks, or trying to treat stretch marks once you have them, will likely combine diet with other sorts of treatments. For example, you might consider using a herbal stretch mark cream containing ingredients like chamomile and based on a natural butter like cocoa butter, alongside diet modifications in order to help prevent or treat your stretch marks.

Posted in Family Health, Pregnancy |
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