Acne Skin Care

Acne is defined as a diseased condition of the skin that involves the hair and oil glands. It is characterised by pimples, black/white heads, reddishness and cysts.

Face acne can spoil your appearance to a great extent and body acne can really ruin your day by making you very uncomfortable. Considering acne as a minor problem, some people tend to totally discard the topic of ‘Acne skin care’.

However, the importance of Acne skin care cannot be undermined in any way.

Acne skin care should really start much before the acne actually appears. Acne skin care is more about being proactive than reactive. Acne skin care is about being aware of preventive measures.

Acne skin care is - following daily skin care routines with complete discipline. So let’s have a look at how acne skin care can be applied to our daily routine.

Acne skin care starts with the most basic thing - cleanliness. So morning showers are the most basic way of keeping the skin clean. In fact, a lot of people take night showers too (that not only helps in keeping your skin clean but also provides relaxation to your body and enables a good sleep).

If you are living in a hot and/or humid place, a night shower becomes a must. In fact, a shower is recommended after any activity that causes high levels of sweat to develop. It’s a very effective acne skin care technique.

However, acne skin care is not about just showers. Acne skin care is also about wearing clean clothes and sleeping on clean pillows. Moreover, too tight clothes can cause sweat to accumulate quickly; so soft and comfortable cotton clothes are recommended, especially if you already have acne. In the same sense, acne skin care also advocates regular cleaning of your make-up brush and any equipment that you use on your body.

Besides that, you should also use a mild, water-soluble, oil-free and soap-free cleanser for keeping your face, neck and arms clean. Cleansing is the most important part of any acne skin care routine. Cleaners are the easiest and the most effective way of removing dirt, grease, pollutants and excess oil from your skin; thus reducing the probability of acne occurrence.

Acne skin care also recommends removing your make up using a make up remover, and this should happen before you go to bed (not in the morning).

If you already have acne, do not try to touch them or squeeze them; it can lead to permanent scars. Acne skin care advocates gentle cleansing and cleaning of the affected area using an over- the-counter medication and a clean, soft cotton pad. There are various acne skin care creams and lotions available over-the-counter (a lot of these acne skin care products are actually cleansers).

However, if these acne skin care measures don’t give you the desired results, contact a dermatologist for acne skin care advice and treatment.

Charles

Food Drug Administration and Prescription Drug Manufacturer Partnership

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) was passed into law by Congress in 1992 and allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect feeds from Prescription drug Manufacturers to fund the new drug approval process.

The PDUFA declares that the FDA is allowed to collect a fee, called an application fee, from these Prescription Drug Manufacturers whenever a new drug is introduced through a new Drug Application (NDA). The fee was up to $250,000 per new NDA.

Note: Kinda looks like the FDA is now working for the Prescription Drug Companies. In fact, a comment from the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group stated “The review of new drugs is too important to leave to ‘user fees’ and likened the drug industry’s financial support of the FDA review process “similar to criminals paying user fees to the police department.”

Originally a short term experiment slated for 5 years, it was “improved” by The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA). This act extended user fees for NDA’s for another 5 years and introduced three amendments: Off Label Use of Drugs; Drug Labeling for Children: and, Fast Track or Accelerated Approval of new drugs.

Off Label Use pertains to using drugs for other than it was approved for. The FDA did away with thus prohibition on the Drug Companies promoting other than approved uses for their drugs, opening the door for Drug Salesman to promote new drugs with no proof of safety or effectiveness for the off label use.

The Drug Labeling for Children amendment. Previously drugs approved for adults were presumed to be safe in children albeit with different doses. This is not always the case. Now drug companies were required to do additional clinical trials to provide information for prescribing to children.

The Accelerated Approval and Parallel Tracking amendment opened up the door for new drug approval based on one “well controlled” Phase 3 clinical trail when the previous standard was two. There is no denying this amendment made drugs available that have saved countless lives, however with much less of a process to ensure safety.

The PDUFA III continued user fees and integrated a Medical Device User Fee as well. PDUFA IV was signed into law in September 2007 represents a significant addition to FDA authority. Among the many components of the law, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) and the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (MDUFMA) have been reauthorized and expanded.

The FDA claims these programs will ensure that FDA staff will have the additional resources needed to conduct the complex and comprehensive reviews necessary to new drugs and devices. However, the FDA and Drug Manufacturers continued to share the same bed.

Allowing the industry to “negotiate” with the FDA on recommendations and “pay” the FDA user fees for new drugs undercuts the agency’s original true role as an independent, drug safety regulator. If the FDA and the prescription drug manufacturers are going to regain the respect and trust of the American public, the FDA must be seen as an objective regulatory entity with a clear and inviolable mission to serve the public, and its reliance on the fees and goodwill of the industry they are supposed to oversee must end.

The bottom line is that the prescription drug consumer needs to live by the old adage “let the buyer beware”. Do your own research and be careful for the drug interactions if you are taking multiple prescriptions, especially from multiple Doctors and Pharmacies.

In a perfect world, you would be able to mitigate much of the problems you are addressing by living a healthy lifestyle, eating low glycemic foods and taking the best nutritional supplements.

Stay Informed!

Charles

Choosing A Herbal Detox Diet

Toxins can include perfume, alcohol, cigarette smoke, pesticides, mercury, food additives, oral contraceptives, and cleaning supplies. Toxins are transformed chemically to less harmful compounds that can be excreted via stools or urine.

Is there anyone who should not try a detox diet?

Consult your primary care provider to find out if a detox diet is appropriate for you. A detox diet should not be used by pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with anemia, eating disorders, heart problems, lowered immunity, low blood pressure, ulcers, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, ulcerative colitis, unless recommended and supervised by your primary care provider.

There are endless detox plans you can follow, so chose carefully. Some will advocate complete fasting or juice-only days, but beware of the health implications and never start such an extreme plan without consulting your doctor or a qualified nutritionist.

Detox Benefits

1. Improves symptoms of heartburn, constipation and gas and treats digestive disorders.

2. Boosts the immune system.

Allergies or sensitivies?

By and large, conventional health care only deals with masking the symptoms of allergies and food sensitivities, rather than attempting to resolve them. The first step that many alternative practitioners recommend is a change of diet that cuts out wheat and dairy foods, two common allergens.

To do so is also the first step in "detoxing." Higher levels of detoxing, as well as additional immune support through nutritional supplementation, have been known to help many allergy sufferers. Allergies are, however, almost by definition, a very individualized condition.

What happens after the detox?

Many of the foods that were eliminated during this diet can be allergenic. A natural health practitioner can help to systematically reintroduce food groups (wheat, dairy, gluten, corn) and note reactions to identify the food groups that may be aggravating health conditions such as sinus congestion, fatigue, skin conditions, arthritis and bloating and constipation. Flare-ups can occur, so supervision is recommended.

Charles