Stretch marks have traditionally been one of the most difficult challenges for cosmetic surgeries, even those as esteemed as Cosmos Clinic led by Dr Joseph Ajaka. Due to the fact that they are caused by abnormal collagen formation in the first place, most long term treatments focus on stimulating new collagen production as a means to treating this condition. There are more solutions these days than there used to be and thanks to the introduction of laser skin treatment, stretch marks may soon be a thing of the past. Below are five ways to get rid of stretch marks that use only minimally invasive procedures and avoid long periods of downtime.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the most part, becoming an adult and growing as you progress through life is a great thing. But for some people, once you reach a certain stage of life when your children have moved out, your work career is slowing down, and you’re not really sure what your focus is, the natural thing to experience is a crisis of sorts. Clearly, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about this, but the following five steps will definitely help you come back down to earth.

Read the rest of this entry »

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/By sakhorn38

If you’re a smoker or someone close to you is, you may be surprised to find out what’s really in cigarettes. While we all know smoking is bad for us and can ultimately have serious consequences for our health, unless you’ve done your research you may not realise just how many nasty chemicals you’re inhaling every time you take a puff. With more than 500 potentially toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, it’s pretty hard to narrow it down to a list of just 10, but if these aren’t enough to make you think twice before lighting up, I don’t know what is!

Ammonia

Often used as a flavouring agent, Ammonia is probably one of the most well-known chemicals that is found in cigarettes, because it’s also a common element found in most toilet cleaning products – which seems to really stick in your mind for some reason!

Arsenic

You don’t even really need to know what this one is to know its bad for you, because just the name sounds scary. Arsenic is found in most smoking products and is also commonly used as an ingredient in rat poison.

Hydrogen Cyanide

This is one very harsh chemical found in some cigarettes that you may not be aware of. Hydrogen Cyanide is used in Gas Chamber Poison – just something to think about next time you take a puff!

Read the rest of this entry »

Calling the rollout of the website for the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, is probably an understatement. It’s incredibly disappointing to hear the stories of problems with the website, as it’s so important to so many to have this access to affordable health insurance. Also, regardless of your political opinions, the law is here and for many people having this access will be critical. Don’t let the political hype dissuade you from trying it out.

Still, it’s now likely that many people won’t try it, at not for a while, with all of the much-publicized problems with the website. Hopefully this update from HHS is a sign that they are serious about fixing the problems. They need to fix the problems, and then be diligent in letting people know as the site improves. Fortunately, the media is all over this, so if they finally get it right people should hear about it.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We’re finally getting close to the point where people can start buying insurance policies in the Obamacare exchanges, and all of the bluster about “rate shock” is running into reality. The bottom line is that the health care plan will be affordable for many people.

The main takeaway from an exhaustive new study of premiums on the Obamacare health insurance marketplaces: They’re generally going to be lower than expected, undercutting the persistent claims of “rate shock” by conservatives.

Marketplaces premiums are coming in below initial estimates, said the nonprofit, nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation in a new report released Thursday.

The expected monthly premium for a 40-year-old adult purchasing a silver-level plan (the baseline, which covers 70 percent of costs) on a marketplace had been $320, according to previous projections from the Congressional Budget Office. But in 15 of the 18 regions studied by Kaiser, the average premium will be below that — thus the study’s conclusion that the prices are going to be lower than anticipated.

“While premiums will vary significantly across the country, they are generally lower than expected,” the authors wrote.

In some states like Wisconsin, Republican administrations are trying to push the notion that premium prices are rising, but the information they are putting out there excludes the subsidies available to many people.

The key for everyone is to actually go into the health care exchanges once they are open and see for yourself what is available.