What Really Makes A Wheelchair Lightweight?

If you're trying to decide on which is the right wheelchair for you, then there a number of factors to take into consideration, namely the type of chair.
* Self propelled.
* Powered.
* Transit/Attendant.
* Folding.
In addition to the chair type, there's the width of the chair, the activities and performance that is required of the chair, and of course there are all of the accessories that you can choose from.
Probably one the most important decisions to make, is the weight of the chair's frame. In recent years the design and manufacture of wheelchairs has evolved considerably, and now it's possible to buy ultra lightweight wheelchair frames because of the advances in new materials and technology.
The materials used for making a lightweight wheelchair frame.
There are typically four types of materials used in the manufacture of lightweight wheelchair frames, and they are.
* Aluminium.
* Carbon Fibre.
* Titanium.
* Other composites.
Manufacturers have looked to the aerospace industry for their weight saving inspiration, as aircraft manufacturers like to use cutting edge materials to make their aircrafts stronger, lighter and more economical, so wheel chair designers and manufacturers have tried to follow suit.
Aluminium frames.
The majority of lightweight wheelchairs are made from aluminium, with some manufactures going so far as to make the tubing an oval shape to cut down on the weight of the frame. Others weld the tubes as opposed to using brackets and bolt, further reducing the weight of the frame. The thickness and diameter of the tubing is another way that manufactures can cut down on weight; however there may be a compromise in the strength of the frame as a result, so the weight of the user will need to be a consideration when choosing this kind of material.
Carbon Fibre frames.
Relatively new as a material for wheelchair frame manufacture, it is less than one-quarter the weight of steel. Offering high performance, rigidity, shock absorption and durability, a carbon fibre wheelchair frame will be the lightest of all materials, and can be customised to the user's requirements. The one drawback however is in the cost, as they are the most expensive frames to produce.
Titanium frames.
Lighter and stronger than Chrom-moly steel and aluminium, titanium is the best compromise between a lightweight wheelchair frame and an affordable price. A well made titanium frame is durable and comfortably absorbs vibration.
Composite frames.
When we refer to other composites what we are really talking about is making a wheelchair frame as lightweight as possible by customising the design and materials to suit the individual. As the frame is made to fit the user's body perfectly, there will be no need to add any frame adjustability, and with fewer bolt, brackets and screws it will be much lighter.
In summary, what makes a lightweight wheelchair frame light and easy to transport, are the materials that are used in its manufacture and the number of its component parts.

Fenetic Well Being is a new company based in Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Fenetic specialise in the sourcing and supply of high-end, quality healthcare products. This month see's the launch of their lightweight wheelchairs product range.

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2 Major Methods You Need to Keep In Mind for Treating Uterine Fibroids

It has become common for women to develop tumors of the uterus. These tumors are accompanied by symptoms like pain during sexual intercourse and menstruation. Although, surgery is not always required, a large number of women do undergo surgery and the necessary operating room protocols. Uterine fibroids have become one of the most common causes for women to undergo hysterectomies.
Even though most women undergo surgery to remove the fibroids, hysterectomy is not required in most of the cases. As in other conditions like ovarian cysts and endometriosis, the common reason behind uterine fibroids is hormone imbalance. The imbalance between the levels of progesterone and estrogen can lead to the formation of uterine fibroids. Doctors try to find the dominating hormone to find the right treatment for this condition.
Effect of Correcting Hormone Imbalance
It is often possible that correcting the hormone imbalance can help in avoiding uterine fibroids, but in women having large fibroids surgery is often essential. Hence, while some women can have their fibroid shrunk by correcting the hormonal imbalance, others will have to look forward to surgery.
• If the size of the fibroids is not large, and they do not shrink, the correction of hormonal imbalance at least helps in preventing them from gaining size.
• If the fibroids are large in size then it becomes necessary to undergo surgery to remove them.
• Some women can consider undergoing natural treatment protocol and avoid operation protocols under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and there is nothing wrong with this.
How to Avoid Surgery
• If you are suffering from uterine fibroids and at the same time you want to avoid surgery, then you should consult a doctor.
• The doctor would determine if there is an imbalance of hormones, estrogen and progesterone.
• If there is an imbalance of hormones, the doctor will recommend that you undergo natural treatment to balance the levels of the hormones.
• If the size of the fibroids is small, then there is always a good chance of avoiding surgery and associated operating room protocols.
• Small sized fibroids clearly mean that they are not going to cause any major complication.
Avoiding Surgery with Larger Fibroids
• If you have a large fibroid, it does not mean that surgery cannot be avoided.
• Women with larger fibroids can also consider natural treatment protocols.
• However, severe symptoms are associated with larger uterine fibroids and a patient may not be able to wait until the natural treatment starts showing its effect.
• Removal of the entire uterus is a step that should be avoided as much as possible.
Summary
Women having small to medium sized fibroids are best candidates for undergoing natural treatment protocol. This method involves correcting the imbalance of hormones. However, if you have large-sized uterine fibroids, surgery can be considered depending on the condition of the patient. If you are suffering from uterine fibroids then you should consult your doctor to find the correct preventive method. As many say, prevention is the key.

For more information, please visit our Operating Room Protocols website.

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6 Steps You Should Know To Avoid Scarring After Surgery

When you undergo surgery, the next thing you want to focus on after recovery is to prevent any form of scars. After undergoing a surgery, there is always a high chance that your surgical incisions may appear for the rest of your life. There are many instructions that your surgeon is going to give to prevent this from happening. In addition, there are some steps that may take some effort to follow.
Steps to Avoid Permanent Scars
It is essential that you perform the following activities in order to avoid permanent scarring after a surgery.
1. Smoking
Smoking is going to increase scarring and also slow down the healing process. When it comes to surgery, surgeons do not allow operating room protocols to begin unless they are certain that the patient has completely quit smoking for at least a couple of weeks before the procedure.
2. Drinking
Alcohol is a substance that dehydrates the skin and also your body. It will also affect your overall health condition. During the recovery process, it is important that you completely avoid drinking and even avoid caffeinated drinks.
3. Nutrition
During the recovery period your diet should be rich in protein. Protein acts as the building block during the healing period. Food rich in protein include:
• Pork
• Chicken
• Fish
• Beef
• Seafood
• Dairy products.
If you want to avoid meat, then soy products are your best source of lean protein.
4. Water
Make sure that you take sufficient amount of water during the recovery period.
• If your body gets dehydrated, it can lead to imbalance of electrolytes in the body and even heart problems.
• In conditions like mild dehydration, you are going to feel thirsty and the health condition will fall.
• A good indication of being sufficiently hydrated is when your urine shows a light color.
• When you are hydrated well, the recovery process will be fast.
5. Weight
Overweight patients are more likely to get scarred after a surgery as compared to lean patients, the reason being that the fat under the skin does not help the incision to close properly.
6. Infection
It is important that you follow the instructions of your surgeon to avoid infection on the incision. If an infection sets in, it can complicate the situation and even after recovery the scars can remain for the rest of your life.
Proper Care of Wound
Your surgeons can advise you about the right steps needed to be taken in order to care for your wounds.
• You would need to take the right steps to avoid infection.
• You would have to avoid using some types of ointments or medications.
• The surgeon can also tell you to avoid remedies that have not been prescribed.
In addition to the patient, the surgeon should also take proper care to avoid scarring of the skin. It is important on the part of the surgeon and the operation team that they follow proper operating room protocols to save patient from developing scars after recovery. Take care and have a safe recovery.

For more information, please visit our Operating Room Protocols website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6579233

7 Tips for Healthier Lungs

The lungs are remarkable organs that perform a wide range of crucial functions on which most of the other organs depend. Breathing is one of the most crucial functions carried out by the lungs. Each and every breath taken by the lungs adds oxygen to the body and expels carbon dioxide. The lungs also protect the body from the harmful effects of the environment like infections and pollution.
Even though the nose is the primary defense against environmental substances, the lungs act as a secondary line of defense. Therefore, it is very important that the lungs should be kept healthy and free from diseases.
Here are 7 tips on keeping your lungs healthy and well nourished so that they can properly perform their task.
Tips for Healthy and Strong Lungs
• Milk thistle or silymarin extract helps the lungs in fighting against toxins found in the environment.
• There are many benefits of drinking green tea. It is highly effective in protecting the lungs against the development of cancer.
• Avoid smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. Smoking is the leading reason behind the development of lung cancer. When you reduce or eliminate smoking, the chances of developing lung cancer are also reduced significantly as compared to those who regularly smoke. The chances of lung cancer also go down when you completely quit smoking. The cessation of smoking helps clean your lungs, and they start functioning in a better way.
• Avoid second hand smoke. If anyone smokes close to you, it is best to leave the area or ask them to stop smoking. Patients who are dealing with lung cancer should seriously avoid second hand smoke as it can aggravate their condition.
• Exercising is a good way to have healthy lungs. You can include running, walking, swimming and other cardiovascular exercises in your schedule to improve the functioning of your lungs. The more you exercise, the stronger your lungs will become.
• It is also essential that you consume a nutritious diet in order to have healthy lungs. Different food types to eat should include:

• Cereals, grains and breads that are high in fiber content.
• Lean proteins like fish, eggs, turkey and chicken.
• Sufficient amounts of water as it also helps in flushing out toxins.

You should avoid consuming excess amounts of oily food, salt, alcohol and caffeine. It has been found that proper nutrition and dietary habits have a strong effect on the functioning of lungs, and avoiding unhealthy foods can also help in avoiding lung diseases. In fact anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant rich food has been found to be helpful in improving lung function and minimizing the development of lung diseases.
• Avoid working in environments where there is excessive amount of particulate matter in the air. For example, people working in textile factories are prone to contracting Byssinosis caused due to intake of cotton and other dust particles.
Following all these tips and avoiding certain conditions and food, you can avoid developing any lung diseases and more importantly avoid any need for operating room protocols or surgery.

For more information, please visit our Operating Room Protocols website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6579164

How To Lose Weight Naturally

What do you think is the first thing people trying to lose weight remove from their diet?
Fat.
Is this justified?
FACT: For every gram of Fat there is a total of 9kcal of energy. FACT: Protein and carbohydrates contain a significantly lower energy yield of just 4kcal per gram.
To many people on a slimming regime it makes perfect sense to lower your intake of fat and so lower your calorie intake, therefore allowing you to shed body fat. What many people do not realise is that you need to reduce specific fats and not all fats.
Unlike what you may have heard, both saturated and unsaturated fats are crucial nutrients to obtain in our diets, as just about every hormone and cell in your body is composed of or formed from fat, this includes the sex hormones, testosterone and oestrogen which govern exactly how much, where and why we store that stubborn body fat, interestingly particularly around the midsection.
Many vitamins such as A, D, E and K are actually fat soluble, so lack of dietary fat can increase the risk of nutrient deficiency. This is particularly true of vitamin D which has been extensively researched as one of the most vital nutrients required for overall health. One fat of particular interest is Omega 3 which has proven anti- inflammatory properties. When you consider that many of today's diseases such as arthritis and heart disease are inflammatory by nature it makes perfect sense to incorporate these fats into your diet.
Omega 3 rich foods include fresh oily fish such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines, various kinds of nuts, especially walnuts and brazil nuts as well as flaxseed, eggs and grass fed beef and lamb. When simply dieting, these are usually the foods which are removed due to their relatively higher calorie intake.
Unfortunately, like most things, it is not quite as simple as just putting extra omega 3 into your diet. It is really important to reduce your intake of Omega 6. If you were to travel back in time to caveman times, our intake of Omega 3 to Omega 6 would have been a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 parts Omega 3 to Omega 6. Recent studies show that our average intake here in western society is close to 1:16 and even as high as 1:40 which could possibly relate itself to our rising rate of our obese, health poor population. Omega 6 is broken down by a specific pathway which promotes inflammation in the human body. Interestingly enough, increased inflammation is associated with a higher incidence of obesity and raised levels of body fat which come about by deregulation of hormones. (have you ever wonder why post-menopausal women tend to gain on average 2kg of body fat?)
The ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 is therefore a considerable factor when reducing your weight and in improving overall health.
The verdict:
Increase your intake of Omega 3 rich foods and decrease your intake of Omega 6 fats which are found in most vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn and soybean oils, processed foods and grain fed meat (instead opt for grass fed meats). As always, accompany this with a well-balanced nutritional and supplement regime alongside a healthy and active lifestyle and you will find yourself one large step closer to your goals. GOOD FOODS FOR SLIMMING: Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines Grass fed Beef and Lamb Various nuts, especially walnuts and brazil nuts Flaxseed Eggs Fresh Vegetables

The Author is Terry Oswell of Natural Slimming Therapy. The slimming and diet market world-wide is enormous and there are thousands of products available designed and produced to help people lose weight. To find out more about How To Lose Weight using a natural method read all about it here at www.naturalslimmingtherapy.com

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Healing Properties of Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a common household plant and one that has many health benefits. The most common use of aloe vera gel is soothing burnt skin from excessive sun exposure or reactions to chemicals. During the summer people often use aloe gel for burns or dry irritated skin. Instead of buying commercially made aloe gel try the fresh pulp as it is more effective.
Aloe plants are easy to grow inside or if your climate permits outdoors. To use the plant cut off a plump leaf and slice it open lengthways then rub the fleshy part onto the skin it will feel very cool and soothing. The juice of the aloe plant is also cooling and hydrating therefore it makes a great alternative to water on a hot summer day. Again you can find aloe juice in natural food markets but it is just as easy to scoop out the flesh of a fresh leaf and add it to a smoothy.
In traditional Chinese medicine the use of aloe goes beyond hydration. In TCM aloe or Lú Huì is dried and has a dark glossy look like glass, it has a bitter flavour and cold nature. It works on the Large Intestine, Liver and Stomach organ systems and has the action of draining fire and guiding out accumulation in the body. Fire in the body refers to signs of heat such as red eyes, irritability, dizziness or headaches all of which can be related to the Liver organ system. Accumulation in the body in this case refers to constipation or epigastric discomfort. Due to its purgative nature Lú Huì also has the ability to kill parasites such as roundworm and ringworm.
Aloe gel is great for nourishing Kidney yin, which is cooling, moistening and stabilizing. If kidney yin is deficient there will be symptoms similar to those listed above. Often as one ages Kidney yin becomes depleted especially in the case of menopause. Therefore the pulp of the aloe plant is a great way to nourish kidney yin as well as gain immune enhancing benefits. Due to the cooling nature of aloe it is not recommended for those that have loose stools or feel cold.
Clinical research has shown aloe to have antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties as well as the ability to inhibit the growth of neoplastic tumours, reduce inflammation and associated pain. It is not recommended to use Lú Huì during pregnancy or menstruation.

Angela Foran is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine where she uses acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary and lifestyle recommendations to help clients achieve optimal health. Click here to learn more about her Vancouver acupuncture practice

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6579869

6 Tips for Maintaining Good Health

A lot of emphasis is placed on maintaining good health today. However, with today's modern lifestyle becoming more and more lethargic or sedentary, remaining healthy has turned into an unending challenge. But stress not! Six tips to help you be healthy, both physically and mentally, are discussed below.
1. Eating the Right Food
Include lots of vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains, proteins, dairy products and lean meat in your diet. Avoid eating food that is high in fat or that is too salty. And make sure you include all necessary nutrients in your daily diet.
2. Exercise Regularly
This is an age old method of maintaining good health. However today, most people do not pay much attention towards a regular workout for their body. So listen up: if you cannot dedicate a sufficient amount of time daily to staying fit in an active manner, at least carve out 30 minutes from your busy schedule 3 times a week. Not only will your physical fitness improve, your feelings, i.e. your inner well-being will also be enhanced. In fact, healthy physical activities can help release a lot of stress in your body.
3. Laugh a Lot
Whenever you feel that you are undergoing excessive amounts of stress, you should take a break and find a reason to laugh. "Laughter is the best medicine," many say. This can help you find instant relief from your worries, and as a result, you should be rejuvenated and ready to get back to your regular grind after some good, clean fun.
4. Good Night's Sleep
Make sure that you complete get enough sleep to keep your body healthy and your mind working well. Doctors suggest that a person should have at least 8 hours of sleep in a day (even if it's broken down to 6 hours at night plus a couple long naps throughout the day). You should also find some time in between work and home projects to get some relaxation.
5. Maintain Healthy Relationships
This point may not seem to be significant to you but this is a crucial factor in helping you maintain good mental and physical health. When you have supportive and healthy relationships with your family members and friends, this helps in reducing anxiety and stress. Always make room for others to make mistakes and allow others to speak.
6. Drink a Sufficient Amount of Water
Make sure that you remain hydrated by regularly drinking water. Maintaining the water level in your system will mean that unwanted toxins are washed away. Avoid drinking soda or other beverages, and rely more upon fresh water or lemon juice.
By following these methods mentioned above, you can ensure that you are physically and mentally healthy. And a healthy body is going to mean that you can hopefully avoid a lot of unnecessary illnesses in future. Maintaining good health is not just limited to your physical well-being, it also originates from your inner well being. Hence, you also need to focus upon meditation, maintaining healthy thought processes and good relationships with others.

For more information, please visit our Operating Room Protocols website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6579159