Consumer Awareness Journal
Get Rid Of A Hangover

Trying to get rid of a hangover can be like trying to get rid of your noisy next-door neighbors. It just won't leave, and it certainly won't give you any peace and quiet. The pounding headache, the nausea, the spinning room, the fatigue, the weakness, the stomach ache and the knotted bowls are there to stay whether you like it or not.

There are a million different folk remedies and medications that claim they can help you get rid of a hangover, and while some may work better than others, there really isn't anyway you can alleviate it immediately. The best things I've found to help get rid of a hangover are time and fluids. Hangovers are chiefly caused by two things; dehydration and the alcohol metabolite acetalaldehyde. Bringing in a lot of fluids will help alleviate both of these problems. Dehydration is obviously helped when you drink fluids, and the alcohol metabolites will also hasten their departure from your body if you are flushing them out with plenty of liquid.

So just drinking a lot of water, juices, or Gatorade can help you get rid of your hangover faster. The only problem is it can be hard to do so if you are extremely nauseas. If you are nauseas, don't force yourself to drink. Take very small sips, and steadily increase your fluid intake as you feel better. Once your nausea has subsided enough for you to eat, you are in the clear. If you can keep a meal down you can then drink fluids more rapidly, as well as take any medications you want to help treat your hangover. The medications I recommend most are common analgesics, like ibuprofen, or aspirin, aluminum hydroxide and Uncle Rummy's Hangover Helper to settle your stomach.

www.bellaonline.com
Dealing with Dark Under Eye Circles

Dark under eye circles are a cosmetic challenge many a woman faces as she gets older. Granted there are some people for whom age isn't a factor. But for most of us, it's just one more thing that sneaks up over time, until one day we look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "how did I get so tired-looking?". Since shadows under the eyes can make even the most energetic and upbeat of women look tired and gloomy, hiding them is usually a top priority. Getting rid of them altogether is even better!

What causes dark circles to form in the first place?

The most common reason for under eye circles is a thinning of the natural fat pad under the eye, which results in a sunken-in appearance. (Loss of fat under the skin is a normal part of aging). Hollow contours cast shadows, giving the illusion of darkened skin under the eyes, even when skin tone hasn't changed. Another part of the aging process is often an increase in the number of blood vessels in the skin below the eyes. Since the skin here is thinner and more translucent than elsewhere, the blue color of the veins shines through. That's also the most common reason for dark circles in younger people. Some women just have more than their share of blood vessels under their eyes. Prominent cheek bones and deep set eyes can also create the kind of hollow contours described above.

One more change that occurs with age is that tiny capillaries in the skin can weaken and become leaky. This leakiness can lead to a pooling of fluid in the area and hemoglobin, which is the pigmented part of the blood, can accumulate in these fluids. If you combine all of this with inflammation caused from chronic sun damage, and the downward pull of gravity, you have more than just dark circles. Now you have shadows and puffiness -- a real double whammy! And as if that weren't bad enough, hormonal changes and allergies can make all of this even worse.

University of Michigan
Aspirin may e less effective heart treatment for women than men

A new study shows that aspirin therapy for coronary artery disease is four times more likely to be ineffective in women compared to men with the same medical history.

Historically, studies have shown that aspirin therapy is less effective in women than in men, but it has remained unclear how much less effective and whether this affects patient outcomes, said Michael Dorsch, clinical pharmacist and adjunct clinical instructor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.

Dorsch is the lead author of the paper, "Aspirin Resistance in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease," which appears online today in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

Originally, Dorsch and his team set out to determine if patients with a history of heart attacks were more apt to be aspirin resistant than those with coronary artery disease but no history of heart attack. They found that gender and not medical history was a predictor for aspirin resistance, Dorsch said. The results surprised him.

"I was surprised by how big of a difference it was for females," said Dorsch, who has appointments at the U-M Health System and the U-M College of Pharmacy, and started the study as a resident at the University of North Carolina. "This is another piece of information that affirms we need more studies in women."