Dr. Mauk’s Boomer Blog
Each week, Dr. Kristen Mauk shares thoughts relevant to Baby Boomers that are aimed to educate and amuse.
Dr. Kristen L. Mauk, PhD, DNP, RN, CRRN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, FAAN
Markham Smile Center: Best Ideas for Your Cosmetic Dental Smile Makeover
A smile is contagious and can uplift the mood of other people. Be it from simple things or bigger ones, we smile to show that we are glad about it. Sometimes we lose what we call spark in us. There are situations in our life that we lose our confidence to smile, not because we are unhappy, but because our teeth don’t look that good. Many people lose their self-confidence because of their teeth.
Thus, these problems could still be fixed with the help of experts. Bringing back the smile you once have will not be a problem anymore as Dental Makeovers are here to save your day. To address the specific problem, you have the Cosmetic Dental Smile Makeovers. It could help you with your teeth problems and bring back the best smile you’ve ever had.
Ideas for a Smile Makeover
- Teeth Whitening
People especially those who are into smoking, as well as those who have poor oral hygiene, are prone to tooth discoloration. Many individuals have undergone this problem. And, it truly affects their day-to-day interaction with others. Good thing, there’s a solution to confront this issue today. The teeth whitening solution is the answer for teeth discoloration. The process is mainly done with the guidance of the dentist. A solution is applied to your teeth that will penetrate and break the stains on your teeth surfaces. So, if you have a problem similar to this, you can visit your dentist and undergo a tooth whitening procedure.
- Dental Veneers
Aren’t you happy with how your teeth look? Well, these might be the solutions you’ve been looking for. This process is mainly the solution given for individuals who have an issue with their teeth appearance. Improving the way your teeth look with this procedure is helpful. It covers your tooth that changes its color, size, shape, and even length.
Dental Veneers are longer-lasting, which means you just need to visit your dentist from time to time. This is to keep them safe from any crack and damages. Thus, the cost of this solution is expensive yet if you can afford this, you can bring back the best smile you’ve ever had then.
- Tooth Implants
Tooth Implants or Dental Implants are the processes employed for patients who want to have an artificial tooth. This process replaces the old tooth you have by attaching a metal, screw-like one on your gums beneath the jaw or skull and covered with replacement or permanent teeth that will act as your tooth later on.
This may sound too painful and may take 1-2 weeks for its initial healing process for 3-6 months. The dentist attaches the implants to the jaw’s bone. Thus, the result will surely satisfy your need. Especially for some who lose their tooth due to decay, you can still bring back the tooth in its new and hefty capability.
- Enamel Shaping and Recontouring
It is often called cosmetic contouring or Enameloplasty. This process is done to help people with unequal shapes and with sharp-edged dental imperfections. This changes the form making it look perfect and free of any unbalance forms. The process goes where enamel (the hard-protecting layer of your tooth) is reshaped through drilling or laser. This process is often quick and painless. This event doesn’t require any recovery period. Visit your dentist to check whether these solutions are right for the problem you have.
- Teeth Alignment
This might be the most common dental procedure undergone by many today. Teeth alignment is the process where your teeth are arranged perfectly fit and straightened as well. This comes often under braces and clean teeth aligners where people who have imperfect tooth growth commonly choose.
Having your teeth aligned makes it more pleasing and healthier. It protects your gums especially those who have issues with separated teeth. Well, if you wish you have this procedure, there are some precautions you need to consider. Also, you need to visit your dentist to have it fixed when it becomes loose.
Benefits of Getting a Smile Makeover
Having a dental makeover gives us a lot of benefits. Because it could keep our teeth healthy, for some people who have lost or missing teeth, it could help them restore these. For people who have a misshapen or discolored tooth, a dental makeover could fix them in just a period.
These procedures being discussed give back the natural look of the patient’s teeth, smiling at them like they used to have.
Conclusion
It is important to take care of our teeth, especially when we are still young. As we grow older, we lose the elasticity of our teeth. And, this leads to some dental problems which eventually make us suffer. Thus, before we think of undergoing these solutions, as early as today we must be really careful.
By doing the most common way of protecting your teeth which is brushing you could protect them. Thus, for some who have this kind of issue when they are still young, they could still address the problem with these dental solutions.
If you wish to address this kind of issue, you can visit your nearest dental clinic and have them give you the best solution to your problem.
Bladder Cancer Risk Factors and Treatment
Background
This type of cancer occurs mainly in older adults, with an average age at diagnosis of 73 years, with 9 out of 10 cases of bladder cancer diagnosed in persons over age 55. The American Cancer Society (ACS)(2012) reported that over 73,000 cases were diagnosed in 2012 and that this diagnosis rate has been relatively stable over the last 20 years. Men are three times as likely to get cancer of the bladder as women (American Foundation for Urologic Disease, 2008) and the incidence increases with age.
Risk Factors
Risk factors include chronic bladder irritation and cigarette smoking, the latter contributing to over half of cases. Male gender and age are also risk factors.
Warning signs
The classic symptom of bladder cancer is painless hematuria (blood in the urine). Older adults may attribute the bleeding to hemorrhoids or other causes and feel that because there is no pain, it must not be serious.
Diagnosis
Assessment begins with a thorough history and physical. Diagnosis may involve several tests including an intravenous pyelogram (IVP), urinalysis, and cystoscopy (in which the physician visualizes the bladder structures through a flexible fiber-optic scope). This is a highly treatable type of cancer when caught early. In fact, the ACS (2012a ) estimates that there were more than 500,000 survivors of this cancer in 2012.
Treatment
Once diagnosed, treatment depends on the invasiveness of the cancer. Treatments for bladder cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy (ACS, 2012). Specifically, a transurethral resection (TUR) may involve burning superficial lesions through a scope. Bladder cancer may be slow to spread, and less invasive treatments may continue for years before the cancer becomes invasive or metastatic, if ever. Certainly chemotherapy, radiation, and immune (biological) therapy are other treatment options, depending on the extent of the cancer.
Immune/biological therapy includes Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) wash, an immune stimulant that triggers the body to inhibit tumor growth. BCG treatment can also be done after TUR to inhibit cancer cells from re-growing. Treatments are administered by a physician directly into the bladder through a catheter for 2 hours once per week for 6 or more weeks (Mayo Clinic, 2012a). The patient may be asked to lay on his/her stomach, back, and or sides throughout the procedure. The patient should drink plenty of fluids after the procedure and be sure to empty the bladder frequently. In addition, because the BCG contains live bacteria, the patient should be taught that any urine passed in the first six 6 hours after treatment needs to be treated with bleach: One cup of undiluted bleach should be placed into the toilet with the urine and allowed to sit for 15 minutes before flushing (Mayo Clinic, 2012a).
If the cancer begins to invade the bladder muscle, then removal of the bladder (cystectomy) is indicated to prevent the cancer from spreading. Additional diagnostic tests will be performed if this is suspected, including CT scan or MRI. Chemotherapy and/or radiation may be used in combination with surgery. When the cancerous bladder is removed, the person will have a urostomy, a stoma from which urine drains into a collection bag on the outside of the body, much like a colostomy does. Bleeding and infection are two major complications after surgery, regardless of type, whether a TUR or cystectomy is performed. Significant education of the patient related to intake/output, ostomy care, appliances, and the like is also indicated.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/bladder/
Adapted from Mauk, K. L., Hanson, P., & Hain, D. (2014). Review of the management of common illnesses, diseases, or health conditions. In K. L.
Mauk’s (Ed.) Gerontological Nursing: Competencies for Care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Used with permission.
Interview with Chad Jukes – Mountaineer
IRC’s interview with Chad Jukes. Chad lost his limb while serving in Iraq and now is a prolific mountain climber. Follow his upcoming climb in Ecuador with the Range of Motion Project (ROMP) in July on our social media. Dan Easton, our Social Media Director for IRC, will also be climbing with Chad and the elite ROMP team.
A Ministry of Care
A Ministry of Care
Promoting Health in Your Faith Community
Churches tend to focus—rightly so—on spiritual care for parishioners, but what if your church also had a healthcare ministry? Health-related concerns affect the majority of individuals at some point in their lives. Whether it’s facilitating healthcare clinics, hosting seminars by medical professionals, or helping congregants navigate the complex healthcare system, A Ministry of Care explores a variety of ways for any church to become a place where people can be ministered to in spirit, mind, and body. Advanced practice nurses Cynthia Russell and Kristen Mauk guide you through the steps toward starting and sustaining a health-oriented ministry in your church. Pastors, church board members, or motivated lay members can take advantage of the professional tips and advice shared in this handbook in order to better care for the physical well-being of the members in their church and the community beyond.
Cynthia A. Russell
Dr. Cynthia A. Russell is dean and professor of nursing at Holy Family
University, School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Prepared as a psychiatric mental health clinical nurse
specialist, she is also a certified health and wellness coach. She is the
mother of five children and grandmother to four.
Kristen L. Mauk
Dr. Kristen L. Mauk has nearly forty years of teaching and clinical
experience in rehabilitation and gerontology. She is a professor of nursing
and the graduate program director at Colorado Christian University. Dr.
Mauk is the mother of eight children.
Guest Blog: 3 Essential Tips in Senior Foot Care
Due to decades of intense usage, the inevitable process of aging can be particularly taxing on your feet. However, foot troubles are not necessarily an unavoidable part of getting older, and there are many actions one can take to maintain healthy feet beyond their years.
Here are the three main factors you need to consider:
1. Hygiene
The foot is like any part of the body, and if you neglect its cleanliness, then you are bound to end up with some undesirable effects. It’s a good idea to wash your feet every day with a mild soap while using a foot scrubber to smooth off any dead skin.
After a good soak, you may want to trim those softened nails by using clippers to cut straight across, careful to avoid sharp corners that may become ingrown toenails. It’s also important to note that you should never put socks on wet feet, as bacteria thrive in damp conditions and a fungal infection could be quick to follow.
2. Footwear
A bad shoe can not only cause an array of displeasing foot conditions (including bunions, hammer toes, and Achilles tendinitis) but can also inflict trauma on your knees and posture. Always choose comfort over fashion, get every shoe professionally fitted, and ask about the best insole for your arch shape to prevent foot pain.
If mobility has become a problem for you, then test out an assistive walking device. Whether a cane, a rollator, or a mobility scooter, there are so many options to choose from that you will easily find something to suit your exact needs.
3. Attention
Your foot cramp might be telling you something, so don’t ignore it! There is a good chance that these muscle contractions are related to your diet, hence why you should always load your plate up with fruits and vegetables. This may also be the perfect excuse to go out and get a nice relaxing foot massage.
Another essential aspect of foot care is to regularly inspect your skin for any new marks or sores, taking note of everything that wasn’t there before including ulcers, corns, and ingrown toenails. If you’re in doubt about anything you discover, it’s better to be safe than sorry and speak to a medical professional. Remember: the sooner something hazardous is caught, the easier it will be to repair.
5 Great Benefits of Rub for Inflammation and Minor Pain
Content Body: Whether you are an athlete or a regular office-goer, every human body is prone to two issues: inflammation & minor pains. Strained, overworked, and strained muscles these fundamental problems can be relieved by simple muscle rub cream. In most cases of minor aches, muscle rubs work by rushing blood to the affected areas. However, when the user is tackling inflammation, rubs can provide cooling, soothing sensations to ease it. The third primary work of muscle rubs is to penetrate herbs to encourage the healing of muscles. These rub creams are prepared to loosen up tight, loosen up and tired muscles so that they can perform at their full potential.
- Reducing Swelling & Inflammation
Cooling rubs, especially ones prepared using CBD oil, are the first choice of people facing inflammation-related skin issues. Meanwhile, warming muscle rubs are usually applied for the sole purpose of improving blood circulation in certain areas.
Rubs with cooling effects can also reduce swelling and inflammation caused to any muscle due to injury or overuse. It is the active ingredients like MCT oil, lavender, and menthol that make these cooling rubs so effective for inflammation.
Most of these rubs that are thick in the state can tackle acute pain, cramps, and scars as well. What makes such rubs ideal to use is the fact that they are suitable for all sorts of skin types, even for sensitive and dry.
- The Natural Rubs Are Good For Your Skin.
Along with helping you cool down the inflammation and helping you with pain, natural rub creams are actually good for your skin too. Natural rubs contain ingredients valuable ingredients like clary extract, willow bark, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Saccharide Isomerate, and Tilia Cordata (Linden) Flower Extract.
All these ingredients help your body in reducing inflammation, pain, and stiffness. Similarly, some rubs have black pepper and ginger in them, that help in warming muscles, joints and tendons naturally.
The foremost benefit of using natural products is that you’re not applying lab-developed chemicals but only nature’s boons provided to humans. In other words, you’re lowering the risk of irritation, blistering, swelling, and other side effects.
Other side effects in rather basic creams include severe redness, nausea, ringing in the ears, rashes, dizziness, and allergic reaction. So, it is better if you’re consulting a proper doctor before using any rub available in the market. If your city is still observing lockdown, then telehealth is a safer option.
- Warming The Muscles/ Painkillers
The most basic combination every rub contains is cassia oil, camphor, and menthol. This master combination provides pain relief and vasodilation. Vasodilation is the process of drawing blood rush into the skin capillaries that create warmth sensation.
While using a rub for warming up a muscle, make sure it has basic ingredients cayenne, ginger, rosemary, and lemongrass. Named elements are essential to create a gentler sensation of warmth.
Many studies have found that many rubs are effective as acetaminophen and fast-acting as pain relief in the cases of acute tension headaches. So, if you have a home care consultant as him/her to throw those painkillers away and start using rubs straight away. Nonetheless, if you’re not using the services of a home care consultant, read here why you should for your business?
- Accelerates Healing Process
We’ve established how rub creams help to rush blood to a muscle it is applied to with ingredients like camphor. Health benefits of improved blood circulation include reduced inflammation and quicker healing time.
Some leading rub creams also have capsicum that blocks pain impulse transmitter nerve receptors. The whole process not only reduces the pain but also speeds up the healing process.
Capsicum is also used in medicine as it reduces the aches induced from gastrointestinal, arthritis, and even cancer.
Another basic ingredient that boosts the healing process is methyl salicylate that numbs the skin, reducing aches and stiffness.
- Unlocking Skin Cells
Your skin is the largest organ of your body. It regulates temperature, plays a vital role as a protective water barrier, controls fluid loss, and keeps your health balanced internally. There is an intricate blood supply that human skin is supported by. Our skin also has nerve endings that carry signals like pain, temperature, touch, etc., to the brain.
The rub creams we use carry medication through our skin layers directly into the blood. Certain compounds in the rubs help in penetrating skin barriers by widening the closed channels for a longer time.
Not just that, the rub creams also help the skin in absorbing drugs quickly through the unlocking of the skin cells closed naturally.
Ending Note
So, these are some expected benefits of the rub creams used basically to reduce inflammation and minor pain. The medical world is increasingly getting close to topical drugs instead of pills and injections. The reason behind this new trend is thought to be the fact that rub creams have lesser side effects than their counterparts. Rub creams are a safer option, especially for kids and senior citizens.
However, it is highly recommended that one use the natural rub creams as much as possible as they have lesser side effects.
CBD rubs are the most recommended rub creams as the cure for inflammation if your state has legalized it. They are safest, have all the required ingredients, and are very economical compared to other options.
Author Bio
For the past year, Sami J has worked as an author at Clariskincare.com. CLARI Skin Care is a growing company that is owned and operated by women and focuses on providing skincare beauty and body products. She has evolved a passion for content writing through beauty. Beauty and skincare are her main interests, which is what lead her to start writing within these industries.