General Health

Choosing a Marriage and Family Therapist

e ContentIt can be difficult to admit that your family or marriage is in trouble, but itâ€™s the first step to getting the help you need. Having a healthy and happy family and marriage is important for your health; worrying about family fights or marital disputes can actually make you physically ill and decrease your quality of life. Donâ€™t just pick the first marriage and family therapist you find; make sure that they are the best one for you, your family, and your therapy needs.

Try to find a therapist that has a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Any therapist with a valid counseling or therapy degree can claim that their specialty is in marriage and family therapy. However, youâ€™ll benefit most from one with a degree specifically in Marriage and Family Therapy. Theyâ€™ve clocked thousands of hours in that specific field and know the theories in that field of counseling.

Ensure that the therapist you pick has the same therapy goals that you and your spouse have. Some therapists have very strong personal opinions about the roles in a marriage and how you should fulfill them. As an example, if your goal is a more equitable distribution of work but your therapist wants to see you fulfill traditional male and female family roles, you should look elsewhere.

Finally, pick a therapist that everyone in the family is comfortable with. If only one of you is happy with the choice, therapy is unlikely to work for everyone. Although it can take some work to find a therapist everyone can work with, the payoff is worth it.

Marriage and family therapy is a big step in saving your marriage and family. When the divorce rate is 50%, you need to do everything you can to keep your family together and happy.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Counseling Services, Family, Family therapy, Health, Marriage, Mental health, Relationships, United States

Choosing Your Health Care Coverage

ContentWhen you start looking over your health care options, you might feel a little overwhelmed. All the talk of deductibles, in-network, out-of-network, and co-pays can leave anyoneâ€™s head spinning. By reading your plan carefully and asking the right questions, you can go into any appointment without worrying about what youâ€™ll get charged.

The deductible refers to the amount that you have to pay out of pocket. The majority of plans have an initial deductible that is entirely paid for by you. This means that anything besides routine checkups has to be paid for by you; typically, the first $1,000, $2,000, or $4,000 is the deductible. The higher the deductible, the less you pay out of your paycheck for insurance. After the initial deductible is met, insurance companies tend to split the cost with you. For another $1,000, $2,000, or $4,000, the insurance company will pay 80% while you pay 20% of your health care costs. After this, the insurance company typically pays for 100% of your health care costs.

Out-of-network and in-network are two more confusing terms. Every insurance company has lists of doctors in every specialty that they will cover. If you stick to these in-network doctors, your deductibles and payments remain the same. However, if you go out-of-network, you have to pay more out-of-pocket. Additionally, the amount you pay out-of-pocket typically does not apply to your deductible. For these reasons, you should only go out-of-network when itâ€™s absolutely necessary.

Co-pays are a big part of your health care plan. When you see a doctor that is a general practitioner, you typically have to pay a low co-pay for any checkups. If you see a specialist, such as an ob-gyn or cardiologist, you have to pay a higher co-pay for any appointments.

The best source for clarification on your health care plan is your insurance carrier; the customer service agents are always willing to answer questions.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Copayment, Deductible, Financial Services, Health care, Health insurance, Insurance, Out-of-pocket expenses, United States

Benefits of Therapy

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Health care comes in many forms, and it involves treating your mind as well as your body. While it may seem easier to take a pill for any mental health issues you may have, therapy is a wonderful alternative with many benefits.

Using therapy to treat depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders has a high efficacy rate. Essentially, it works very well and it works well across many populations of people. One of the primary benefits to this is that you can skip the negative side effects of mood-stabilizing medications. For instance, many antidepressants have negative sexual side effects and can cause weight gain. Even worse, in some groups, they can cause suicidal tendencies.

Therapy also tends to work longer than medications do. If you are on medication for a mood disorder, you typically need to be on it for the rest of your life to keep the symptoms of the mood disorder away. If you can work through therapy goals and eradicate the source of negative thoughts or anxiety, you may not need regular treatment ever again.

People who go to therapists tend to have better mental health outcomes than those who just use pills. Even better, those who use therapy in conjunction with medication have the best outcomes. While a medication can treat the immediate need for relief, therapy works to cure the disorder. Talking through issues can help patients keep those issues from adversely affecting their personal and professional lives.

Clearly, therapy has many benefits for those in need of mental health care. Whether or not you choose to use medications along with therapy, it’s hard to not see results when you go to a good therapist. Just be sure to pick someone that you can open up to and who supports your mental health goals; you’ll be making progress in no time.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Anxiety, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Disorders, Health, Mental health, Mood disorder, Pharmaceutical drug, Therapy

McDonaldâ€™s Is Being Sued Over Happy Meal Toys

ContentMcDonaldâ€™s has been around for decades. Many consider it an American Institution. McDonaldâ€™s is also a popular place for parents to bring their children for the equally famous Happy Meal, which comes with a toy surprise. Many people will agree that a McDonaldâ€™s Happy Meal isnâ€™t the healthiest food for a kid to eat, but once in a while itâ€™s worth it to give a toddler some chicken nuggets and fries.

In California, a mom teamed up with The Center for Science in the Public Interest to sue McDonaldâ€™s Corp. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco, at the California Superior Court. The duo wants McDonaldâ€™s to stop using toys to market Happy Meals to children. They also claim that using toys to market directly to young children violates a few consumer protection laws because the fast-food chain is exploiting the vulnerability of children.

Prior to filling the lawsuit, The Center for Science in the Public Interest sent a letter to McDonaldâ€™s indicating that they will sue if toys are not removed from the childrenâ€™s meal deals. Several states legally require this type of letter to be issued before a lawsuit can be brought under consumer protection statuses. When McDonald’s didn’t change their practice, the lawsuit was filed.

Stephen Gardner, the litigation director for The Center of Science in the Public Interest, compared McDonaldâ€™s to a stranger giving out candy to children in the playground. He also said that using toys for marketing actually undercuts parentâ€™s authority and exploits the developmental immaturity of young kids. McDonaldâ€™s says that its meals are the right size for children and provides parents with healthy food choices and that the toys in the kids meals are just part of a fun family experience.

San Francisco is the first city to prohibit restaurants and fast food chains from including toys with meals that do not meet nutritional guidelines. Soon after, a similar ruling was passed in Santa Clara County, California.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: California, California Superior Court, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Happy Meal, McDonald's, Public Interest, San Francisco, Santa Clara County California

Is Your Adolescent in Need of Counseling?

Growing up is always difficult, always involves change, and always has awkward moments. Some kids handle this better than others, but some can have an extremely hard time and may not cope well with the changes that are occurring. Other events can add to this, such as changes in the family through death or divorce, personal or community wide traumatic experiences, loss of a friend or significant other, and any kind of abuse or addiction. Even good stress, such as the stress caused by being a student leader and being given more opportunities and responsibilities can be difficult for a teen, and they may benefit from the help of a counselor who will coach them through this time.

When you see your teen struggling, you can help them by communicating with them and providing them a stable and supportive place at home. In order to establish a relationship with them, you have to start before they reach the age of adolescence. You need to have an established relationship with them from when they were very small so that they know that they can trust you and that you are listening to them and care about what is in their mind and heart.

However, if your teen is still struggling and you become concerned for their health, you should start seeking out therapists to meet and talk with them. They can meet with a psychologist, counselor, or even just the school therapist. It may give them the extra help they need to push through.

The following signs or symptoms may mean that you should consider taking your child to see a counselor. Signs of depression (changes in sleep pattern, seeming sad) for longer than two weeks, an explosive temper and violence, behavioral problems in school or a drop in grades, and suicidal behavior (talking, writing, drawing focused around death, etc.). Whatever you decide to do for your child, try to understand what is going on in their mind and heart, and to communicate your love and joy in them, and how you are proud of them and have faith in them.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Adolescence, Health, Suicide

How to Choose an Adolescent Healthcare Provider

Whether you are trying to decide if you should change your doctor for your child, or if you are searching for a doctor on your own, it can be difficult to know which doctor to go to for the adolescent stage. Some parents start to think about changing their child’s doctor from a pediatrician to an adult doctor when they are 16 or 17, but many patients stay with their pediatrician until or even after college.

Other options are a family doctor, who can treat patents from birth into old age, an obstetrician, or an internist. If you are in your late teens and have not had a family doctor or pediatrician, than an internist, a doctor who focuses on adults, would be a good choice. However, there is a lot of literature, studies, and new information about adolescent health available for doctors, and the primary doctors who will keep up with this information are pediatricians. In fact, some doctors specialize specifically in adolescent health, sometimes along with child health. Also, while some girls may continue going to a pediatrician or other doctor, an adolescent girl who is thinking about becoming or who already is sexually active should have an appointment with an obstetrician or gynecologist.

The most important thing about a healthcare provider, however, is how comfortable and trustworthy you think they are, and how they fit into you and your family’s needs. Do you feel comfortable talking with them? Do they ask enough questions? Do they listen to what you say? These are a few questions that you should be able to answer with a solid yes.

For parents of adolescents, it is also important that your adolescent’s healthcare provider spend time one-on-one with your child. Since your child is reaching adulthood, they should begin to have their own conversations and relationship with their doctor, apart from you. This should happen no matter what doctor they are with. In the end, while there are many choices for adolescent healthcare, there is no one right answer. The answer is what is comfortable and works for you.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Adolescence, Health, Pediatrics

How to Spot Restless Leg Syndrome

If you have trouble sleeping because of unpleasant sensations or feelings in your legs, you may have restless leg syndrome. Generally these unpleasant feelings happen when a person lies down to go to bed. Moving your legs around may help the sensation, but unfortunately, this makes it extremely difficult to get any sleep.

In most cases, there is not a reason that has been found for the restless leg syndrome. It has been found, though, that it can run in families. Many pregnant women also develop restless leg syndrome. Luckily, if you develop the problem during pregnancy, it is most likely that it will go away again once the baby is born. It has also been shown that certain deficiencies can also cause restless leg syndrome, such as an iron deficiency. Certain diseases and disorders may also be the cause behind the syndrome. For example, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis can all lead to restless leg syndrome, though in most cases that have been diagnosed, this is not the case.

Unfortunately, many times restless leg syndrome goes undiagnosed because it just doesn’t come up at your regular checkups. If you feel that you may have restless leg syndrome, or if you are having trouble sleeping, make sure that you bring this up to your doctor. Your doctor may run some blood tests to make sure that other issues are not causing your symptoms. Nerve tests may also be ordered, because your doctor will want to rule out nerve damage. He or she may also ask that you participate in a sleep study, to confirm the diagnosis.

If you are diagnosed with restless leg syndrome, you may be able to help it with just a few easy lifestyle changes. Regular exercise, massaging your legs before bed and in the morning, and staying away from things like caffeine tobacco, and alcohol can all help.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, Sleep disorder

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

: Image by Khaleeka via Flickr

Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system disease. It affects the spinal cord and the brain, and can cause severe problems with vision, feeling, balance, and muscle control. All nerve cells have a covering that is called myelin. Without this protective covering, the spinal cord and brain are unable to communicate with the rest of the body, and specifically the nerves. What multiple sclerosis does is actually eats away at the myelin throughout both the spinal cord and the brain in patches. This is what causes the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

There are innumerable amounts of ways that multiple sclerosis affects people. It can affect each person significantly differently. There are four different basic ways that it is seen, but the specifics differ from person to person.

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis is where the symptoms start slowly, and just get worse and more widespread.

Relapsing remitting happens when the symptoms of your multiple sclerosis actually fade and then come back throughout the years.

Secondary progressive is when your symptoms start by following a relapsing remitting phase, and then goes into a progressive, which means that the symptoms stay, and progressively get worse.

Progressive relapsing is when the symptoms may come and go, as with relapsing remitting, but they get worse each time they come back.

Though multiple sclerosis tends to run in families, there is actually no known cause currently. Some believe that it is an autoimmune disease, but it is not known for sure what causes multiple sclerosis. It has also been shown that multiple sclerosis tends to affect those who grow up in colder areas, than in warm. Multiple sclerosis is difficult to diagnose in most cases. The reason for this is that at first, the symptoms may not be very strong, or they may be vague. Usually it is not diagnosed unless your doctor can be completely sure that you have suffered from a minimum of at least two attacks.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Brain, Multiple sclerosis, Spinal cord

Bronchitis Symptoms

With the colder months coming up, many people may be concerned about the possibility of bronchitis. Bronchitis is when the tubes to your lungs, which carry the air to them, are irritated and inflamed. When these tubes swell up, they produce mucus. This mucus is what makes you cough. Chronic bronchitis is a form of the problem that comes back over and over. It can also last a long time. Chronic bronchitis is frequently seen in people who smoke. If your bronchitis comes on quickly, and then gets better within a few weeks, you probably have acute bronchitis.

If you have recently had an upper respiratory tract infection, you may end up getting a virus that causes bronchitis. Occasionally the bronchitis can be caused by bacteria. If you breath something in that causes irritation to the bronchial tubes, this can also cause bronchitis.

With bronchitis, the most common symptom for most people is a hacking, dry cough. Eventually, this cough might have mucus coming up with it. Fatigue and a low grade fever are also common with acute bronchitis. The symptoms of bronchitis can last up to a month. If you have these symptoms, you may want to consult with your doctor. Sometimes, the doctor will do an X-ray of your chest to differentiate whether you have bronchitis or the possibility of pneumonia.

If you do have bronchitis, make sure that you drink lots of fluids. Using a cough medicine that you can get over the counter can be a great idea. Usually with bronchitis, your doctor won’t prescribe antibiotics, but if these are prescribed, make sure to take them as prescribed.

For many people, bronchitis is seen mostly in the colder, winter months. It can be seen at any time, by anyone, though. Make sure to check with your doctor if you feel that you may have bronchitis.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Bronchitis, Bronchus, Cough

HealthCare Issue: What to do When Your Doctor Retires

: Image via Wikipedia

Being a doctor is just like every other career out there and eventually a doctor or physician will retire. Many of the doctor’s patients are unprepared for their doctor retiring. When they get that letter or announcement that the doctor is retiring they rarely know what to do. Here are a couple of helpful tips to follow if you find that your healthcare provider is retiring.

Make sure you have your healthcare records. Often times retiring doctors will forward their patient’s healthcare records to another doctor that is “taking” over their practice. If this isn’t a doctor that you wish to see, it can be a hassle getting your records transferred to another doctor. Make sure that you have a copy of your own healthcare records to make the transition smoother.

Interview possible doctors. You want to have the doctor that will take care of your specific healthcare needs. Sometimes the doctors that you are being referred to are known, other times they are unknown quantities in the healthcare world. Don’t be afraid to call the doctor’s office and interview the doctor. Ask them questions about their experience with specific conditions and other questions that you might have for them. This is a great way to get to know the new doctor and allow you to feel comfortable with your decision.

Meet with the retiring doctor. A last visit with your retiring doctor is important. This allows you to ask questions about how he or she would continue your care. This will allow you to get a better idea of what could or should happen with the new doctor. It also allows you a time to get those all important prescription refills, as sometimes refills can be a problem if your doctor stops practicing.

Retiring doctors are always an unexpected event. However, following some of these tips when you find your doctor retiring will allow for a smooth transition between doctors.

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: Health, Health care, Patient