Natural Remedies for Bad Breath

Bad breath, although very common, can be quite embarrassing, and very few people will actually come and tell you that you have it. There are many reasons for it, namely alcohol, oral dryness and digestive problems, among many others.  So how do we make sure we don't have bad breath?

If you suffer from chronic bad breath, then mouthwash may not be enough, especially if you only use it in the morning. However, there are plenty of natural remedies that can keep your breath fresh for a long time, and also help solve the problem that caused it in the first place. Here are some easy and natural solutions anyone can use, and we're sure that out of all the items on this list, you'll find something that works for you.

Mint - Chew fresh mint leaves during the day to neutralize bad breath over the long-term. It also works with basil, rosemary and parsley.


Parsley - Parsley in particular has a high level of chlorophyll, so a great solution is to chew a few parsley stems dipped in vinegar for immediate relief. If you swallow the leaves after chewing, they will get digested and will continue to freshen your breath for quite some time. The reason is that these leaves reduce the amount of gas created in the bowel by promoting better digestion.

An infusion of cloves - Prepare a home-made mouthwash by mixing three buds of cloves, or a quarter-spoonful of ground cloves, with two cups of hot water. Let it soak for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally. Filter, cool and use as a mouthwash that you can gargle twice a day.

Fresh vegetables - Chew vegetables such as carrots, celery or lettuce to keep your mouth clean and your breath fresh.

Apples - Eat an apple on a daily basis to neutralize bad odors. The best time to do so is in the morning.

Apple Vinegar - Consume a tablespoon of apple vinegar before each meal.

Hazelnuts - Chew hazelnuts very slowly until they absorb all the bad odor in your mouth.


Lemon - Suck on a slice of lemon with salt on it to get rid of the smell of onions or garlic.

Drinking Baking Soda - A solution that will help reduce the amount of acidity in the mouth. Make sure to brush your teeth with baking soda every couple of days. It won't only bring some shine to your teeth, but will also neutralize those bad odors. You can put some baking soda on a wet toothbrush or dip the toothbrush (with the toothpaste) in the powder.

Gargling Salt - Mix a spoonful of salt in a glass of water and gargle for 30 seconds without swallowing.

Tea tree oil - The tea tree oil contains a powerful disinfectant mixture. Try to use a toothpaste that contains the oil, or pour a few drops of it on your toothbrush.


Cinnamon - Suck on a little piece of cinnamon peel during the day to alleviate bad breath.

Aromatic Spices - Chew cardamom, cloves or sage to neutralize bad breath. Our recommendation is to choose the aromatic spices that are tasty and also release aromatic oils.

Hydrogen Peroxide - Dilute with 50% water and pour 5-10 drops in each nostril. Blow strongly until the sinuses open. This will resolve that bad odor that originates from blocked sinuses.


Citrus Fruit - Bad breath is often the result of simple mouth dryness. If this is the case, just eat some citrus fruit that have a lot of lemon acid, such as oranges, lemons or grapefruits. They can significantly improve your breath. The acid in these fruits encourages the production of saliva, which helps get rid of some of the odor-causing bacteria.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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What Is a Cytokine Storm? Doctors Explain How Some COVID-19 Patients' Immune Systems Turn Deadly

 The immune system is there to help us fight infection, but sometimes it wreaks more havoc than the disease itself.

The news cycle is heavily saturated with stress-inducing information about COVID-19, but one of the most worrying aspects so far has been the huge disparity in the way the novel coronavirus presents itself: Why do some people have no symptoms (or only mild ones), while others are so sick they require ventilation?

There isn’t a definitive answer, but many experts suspect our own immune system is to blame for the intense illnesses some people are experiencing. The immune system is there to help us fight infection—and usually it does—but sometimes it goes rogue, wreaking more havoc than the disease itself.

It’s called cytokine storm syndrome (known more broadly as a cytokine storm), and although no one knows for sure how many COVID-19 patients are becoming very ill as a result of this escalated immune response, it’s reasonable to assume that the condition's responsible for at least some of the coronavirus-related fatalities we’ve seen. Here’s everything you need to know.
What is a cytokine storm?

Whenever a healthy body is fighting an infection, there’s a natural immune system response that occurs. According to Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, part of this response involves releasing cytokines, biological chemicals that stimulate cell pathways and allow for communication between cells. These cytokines, according to the American Cancer Society, essentially signal the immune system to start doing its job.

Again, that’s normal—unless this outpouring of cytokines suddenly becomes accelerated. "Normally, cytokines are meant to be helpful to us in moderation," explains Dr. Fichtenbaum, "but when a certain pathway is engaged [too much] the immune system starts causing damage to the patient."

Dr. Fichtenbaum says that when most people hear the term "storm," they think of a raining downpour, but that’s not the most accurate way to explain a cytokine storm.

Clinically speaking, a cytokine storm means a cell pathway has been turned on, leading to the production of a number of biological mediators (which are kind of like signal transmitters) that cause changes to the body and interfere with normal cell function. Commonly, this means an excessive number of cytokines are released, which create high levels of inflammation in the area of the body being flooded—so much inflammation, even, that it can be fatal.

"Imagine that you put your foot on the accelerator and it gets glued to it," Dr. Fichtenbaum says. "You can't get your foot off the gas to slow down your car." Essentially, these storms can be more deadly than the original virus the body is fighting.

Are these storms occurring in patients with COVID-19?

Yes, and clinicians aren’t surprised: Cytokine storms can be instigated by a number of infections, including influenza, pneumonia, and sepsis. This heightened immune response doesn’t happen in all patients with severe infections, obviously, but experts don’t know what makes some people more susceptible than others.

That’s especially true with COVID-19, since we know so little about how it works. What doctors do know, at this point, is that some patients are simply becoming very sick, very quickly.

"We’re seeing people across the course of this illness respond in a hyper-inflammatory way," says Deepa Gotur, MD, a critical care physician at Houston Methodist Hospital. "It’s a cascade of cytokines affecting the patient’s lungs, heart, kidneys. The extent [to which their bodies are overreacting] is similar to the way cancer patients respond to infection."

Most of the COVID-19 patients experiencing cytokine storms are presenting with fevers and shortness of breath, then having so much difficulty breathing they eventually require ventilation, says Dr. Gotur. This typically occurs about six or seven days after the onset of illness.
How are cytokine storms detected and treated?

There’s no way to test whether or not someone is experiencing a cytokine storm, though bloodwork may give clinicians clues that a hyper-inflammatory response is happening. "Some clinicians and investigators have been suggesting we do certain blood tests upon hospital admission for warning signs that this might be an impending problem, but that’s a theoretical idea that hasn’t been proven at this time," explains Dr. Fichtenbaum.

Otherwise, doctors are looking at how individual patients are presenting, such as if they are continuing to have breathing difficulty despite receiving oxygen. That might mean their bodies are being flooded with cytokines.

As far as treatment, there are several interventions, like ventilator intubation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Doctors are also paying close attention to how patients are responding to some of the treatments being used, like antibody plasma infusions, protein binding medications, and stem cell therapies.

Dr. Fichtenbaum says some clinicians are also using a medication that blocks interleukin-6 (IL-6), one of the key biological mediators responsible for cytokine storms. Anecdotally, these doctors are reporting improvement when treating COVID-19 patients with anti-interleukin-6 medications (or IL-6 inhibitors), which is encouraging, but it’s not a well-studied treatment.

What are the outcomes for patients who experience a cytokine storm?

There isn’t much data available on how many patients recover from cytokine storms, especially ones caused by the novel coronavirus, though Dr. Fichtenbaum says the fatality rate is higher for patients who experience this heightened inflammatory response.

What’s more, Dr. Gotur says that since many people are already experiencing a storm by the time they finally get themselves to the hospital, it’s often difficult to avoid serious interventions like life support and ECMO.

Still, her team is working hard to prevent patients from ever reaching the storm phase. At Houston Methodist, clinicians have mobilized to determine how to treat every patient in every stage of the disease, using all their resources—from experimental medications to oxygen treatments—in hopes avoiding the kind of hyper-inflammatory response that requires more serious interventions or, ultimately, can lead to fatalities.

"We quickly realized we needed to start utilizing our resources earlier to prevent patients from being intubated or going on life support," Dr. Gotur says. "Our mortality is low because we have a set algorithm and approach for every stage of this disease process. We have instances where we feel we have prevented the patient from needing a ventilator or ECMO support."

Moving forward, Dr. Fichtenbaum says it will be important for experts to perform controlled studies to answer a few key questions if we want to have better outcomes for patients regarding cytokine storms:

    Who is at most risk, and is there a way we can predict a storm before it happens?
    Can preemptive strategies and therapies be successful?
    Once a storm happens, can we treat it effectively with mediator blockers or other medications that interfere with the cytokine storm pathway?

We don’t currently have that research, but clinical trials are ongoing in the midst of the pandemic, with clinicians tracking and reporting on all of the medications, therapies, and strategies they’re using to treat COVID-19 patients. With more answers, we could hopefully see more patient recoveries and success stories, too.

The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Homemade Microdermabrasion Scrub

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp baking soda *
• Avocado oil, or other carrier oil
• 2 – 3 drops lavender essential oil  
• *Note: Baking soda is fine for most skin types, but if you have especially sensitive skin, I would recommend using blended oats instead of baking soda. Just grind the oats into a fine powder using your blender or a coffee grinder!          
•                                                                           Directions:
  Start with a clean face. This is important, because you don’t want to rub any dirt back into your skin!
  
  
  Add the baking soda and a small amount of your carrier oil of choice to a small bowl. We used avocado oil because it’s hydrating and a great source of vitamins and fatty acids!
  
  
  Then stir the baking soda and oil together to form a “soup-y” paste. (If yours is too thick, add a little bit off oil at a time until you achieve the desired texture.) Add a couple drops of lavender essential oil, if you like.
  
  
  Scoop up some of the mixture with your fingers, then rub it gently onto your face using small circular motions. Continue this process for about five minutes, taking care to avoid your eyes.
  
  Rinse very well, then bask in the glow of your clean, soft skin!
  
  

  This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
  https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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  source- onegoodthing 

Gene 'switch' that helps breast cancer spread identified

Scientists have identified a genetic ' switch' that helps breast cancer spread through the body, an advance that may help combat the deadly disease.

The team showed that the 'switch' boosts the production of a type of internal scaffolding. This scaffolding is a type of protein- Keratin-80, and related to the protein that helps keep hair strong. Boosting the amount of this scaffolding makes the cancer cells more rigid, which the researchers say may help the cells clump together and travel in the bloodstream to other parts of the body. The researchers studied human breast cancer cells treated with a common type of breast cancer drug called aromatase inhibitors.

The team found the same switch is involved in breast cancer cells becoming resistant to the medication (meaning the drugs are no longer effective if the cancer returns). Targeting this switch with a different drug could help reverse this resistance, and make cancer less likely to spread, said the lead author of the study. Even worse, when the cancer comes back it has usually spread around the body, which is difficult to treat, he said.

The study suggests a type of genetic switch- called a transcription factor- can turn on genes that cause the cancer cells to not only become resistant to the treatment, but move into health tissue around the body. This research now needs to be followed up with larger studies, but if confirmed, targeting this genetic switch could prevent cancer cells from becoming resistant to the drugs, and from spreading to other areas of the body, he said. Aromatase inhibitors are used to treat a type of breast cancer called estrogen-receptor positive. These make up over 79 % of all breast cancers, and are fueled by the hormone estrogen. However, around 30% of breast cancer patients taking aromatase inhibitors see their cancer eventually return.

This returning cancer is usually metastatic, meaning it has spread around the body and the tumours are often resistant to aromatase inhibitors starve cancer cells of estrogen, some cells adapt by increasing production of cholesterol, which they then use for energy to survive. This means that if the cancer returns, it can no longer be killed by the same type of drugs.

In the latest research, which used human breast cancer cell cultures in the laboratory, the team found the witch that turns of genes that increase cholesterol production also activates genes that make the cells more rigid and prone to invade nearby tissues. The team also found that in women whose cancers had spread around the body, the cells contained higher amounts of keratin-80. The team said larger scale patient studies are now needed to confirm the findings, but the research could provide new avenues for helping treat breast cancer that returns and spreads around the body.

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Scientists have identified a genetic 'switch' that helps breast cancer spread through the body, an advance that may help combat the deadly disease. The team from Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research in London showed that the 'switch' boosts the production of a type of internal scaffolding. This scaffolding is a type of protein, called Keratin-80, and related to the protein that helps keep hair strong. Boosting the amount of this scaffolding makes the cancer cells more rigid, which the researchers say may help the cells clump together and travel in the bloodstream to other parts of the body. The researchers, who published their work in the journal Nature Communications, studied human breast cancer cells treated with a common type of breast cancer drug called aromatase inhibitors. https://www.thehansindia.com/life-style/health/gene-switch-that-helps-breast-cancer-spread-identified-534226

https://www.thehansindia.com/life-style/health/gene-switch-that-helps-breast-cancer-spread-identified-534226