Safe Pedicure Tips - How To Avoid Infection During a Trip to the Salon

So you are thinking of heading to your favorite salon to get a relaxing pedicure. Before you do that, consider some do's and don'ts first.

Did you know that you can easily get infected just by getting a pedicure? Yes. Hepatitis B Virus and other fungi can be easily transmitted from those sharpinstruments and pedicure accessories.

The American Podiatric Medical Association offers these suggestions to reduce the risk of infection or injury during pedicure.

• Make sure that you schedule your pedicure in the morning when tubs are clean as well as the pedicure accessories to be used. Or if you can't help but come in during the afternoon, just make sure that all equipments are clean.
  
• A good pedicure salon should have good infection control. Sterilization of instruments should be an S.O.P. But if you're still doubtful, just bring your own pedicure tools and instruments. You should have separate kits for manicure and pedicure instruments.
  
• Skip shaving your feet before your pedicure to prevent bacteria from entering small pores.
  
• When it comes to removing dead skin, pumice stone is preferable over razor. This would lessen the chances of abrasions and cut injuries.
  
• Toe nails should be cut straight, not curved and should be smoothed by an emery board. For infection control purposes, emery boards should never be shared.
  
• Blunt manicure and pedicure accessories is better than sharp ones. Never allow your nails to be cut or cleaned out by such sharp object as it could easily puncture the skin.
  
• Toes should be dry when you have them cleaned. Fungi love moisture so the last thing you want is an open wound and wet skin.
  
• Cuticles should NEVER be cut, only pushed back.

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Acetaminophen a.k.a. Paracetamol: A Culprit of Liver Damage - Public Be Warned!

Pain is always a nuisance in our life. Whether at work or in school, we hate having a painful headache simply because it distracts us from concentrating on whatever it is that we are tasked to do. So what we do is we pop some pain killers and instantly the pain will go away.

Pain killers, such as Paracetamol (a.k.a Acetaminophen) works really well with pain. It works even if we take it without food. It even works with fever! Yes. That is how effective Paracetamol is. Unlike other painkillers (particularly NSAIDs such as mefenamic acid, aspirin, ibuprofen etc), it does not cause common side effects such as nausea and vomiting, constipation, rash, headache, and even drowsiness.

Because of the popularity of Paracetamol and perhaps its superiority to NSAIDs (when it comes to causing side effects), most people are unaware that Paracetamol can likely cause liver damage.

Most people don't know this because you can buy this drug even without a prescription. As such, many people take paracetamol beyond the recommended dose thinking that a higher dose is equal to faster pain relief.

The Food and Drug Association (FDA) is very concerned with this news and has now recommended that daily maximum dose for adults should be limited to 3,250 milligrams or 6 1/2 tablets of 500 milligrams each.

The following is also included in the recommendation of the FDA:

• limiting pediatric liquid formulations to one mid-strength concentration (compared to multiple dose strengths available now);
• requiring that a measuring device (such as a calibrated cup with dosing increments) be included in each package;
• including dosing instructions for children under 2 years of age if accurate dosing instructions can be determined and adequate efficacy data exist to support dosing.

Proper labelling of all acetaminophen and NSAIDs drugs is also required from manufacturers and should carry a warning that the drug can cause possible liver damage and stomach bleeding.

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Obesity in Pregnancy - Recommended Weight Gain for Moms-to-be

"Pregnant obese women should gain only 11 to 20 pounds during pregnancy, in contrast to the previous guideline of 15 pounds."

Weight gain during pregnancy is very important for the mother and for the baby. An underweight mother is likely to increase their baby's odds for stunted growth and pre term delivery. This is why moms weighing below normal should gain 28 to 40 pounds during pregnancy.

The case is very different with obese moms. Since obesity poses a lot of problems, such as cardiovascular problems and diabetes, moms should limit their weight gain to only 11 pounds. Obesity in pregnancy not only is risky to moms but also to their babies as well.

Children born to obese moms are more likely to be obese themselves and to have type 2 diabetes later in their lives. As for moms, risks include vaginal tearing, bleeding and the need for a ceasarian section.

Perhaps the solution here is to achieve a normal weight prior to pregnancy. It would also be helpful if the doctors help the mothers to monitor their diet by giving them diet plans and possible exercise routine.

However, although pregnant mothers are very responsive to such recommendations, it would be hard to pull off the diet plan long term. This is very much alike to weight loss wherein its very easy to start the whole routine but hard to maintain. Losing weight should be a life long commitment for obese moms-to-be not only for them but for their babies as well.

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