Your Health Issue

Archive for August, 2009

Breast augmentation (also known as augmentation mammaplasty) is the use of breast implants to alter the size and shape of a woman’s breasts. Usually undertaken for cosmetic reasons, it is also used to reconstruct the breast, such as after a mastectomy or as part of male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. The most commonly performed cosmetic surgery procedure in the United States, it is generally performed on adult women who are unhappy with the size or shape of their breasts.

There are two main types of implants that may be used during breast augmentation surgery: saline filled and silicone gel filled. Silicone-filled implants usually feel more like real breasts, but they pose more of a health risk if they leak or rupture. Saline implants are safer, but may not be as realistic. Breast implants come in varying sizes and shapes. Your cosmetic surgeon will recommend a size that would be appropriate given your body size and goals.

The breast augmentation procedure takes about one to two hours, and is performed with general anesthesia. Incision sites vary; common locations include below the breast in the skin fold line, around the areola, in the armpit, or in the navel. The implant may be placed under or over the pectoralis major muscle.

Most breast augmentation patients resume their normal activities in about a week. Exercise and strenuous physical activity should be avoided for up to six weeks. During this recovery period, swelling or bruising is common. The scars from the incision site will slowly fade over time. The risks of breast augmentation surgery include bleeding, fluid collection, pain and scarring, interference with breast feeding, and visible asymmetry. In some cases, tightly-woven collagen fibers may form as an immune response around the breast implant, recognized by the body as a foreign object. This complication can be painful and may require the removal of the implants.

Ask any woman that has a history of ovarian cysts and I guarantee she will tell you that she is totally exhausted and fed up with having to deal with constant pain and discomfort and would do almost anything to find remedies for her ovarian cysts that will get rid of the pain forever.

As you probably know, the pain from a twisted or ruptured cyst is severe enough to keep you away from work for days at a time and leave you feeling totally wretched and miserable. The majority of doctors prescribe medication, in the form of contraceptive pills and painkillers, and in more extreme cases they may well advise surgery. However, there are natural treatments that women can do themselves at home that will effectively shrink away the cysts and prevent them from returning and causing more pain.

A very effective way of getting fast relief and comfort from the pain is to take time out to sip on a cup of herbal tea, such as camomile or mint, and to use a heated pad on the pelvic area. Now the trouble with heated pads is that they are not very portable because you have to be near a power source, they can overheat and burn your skin and they also wear out. But you can actually make your own heating pillow at home which is more portable and goes wherever you go.

The pillow or bag is very easy to make and you most likely have the two things you need for it at home. All you need is a bag of white rice and an old pillow case, sock or even remnants of material that you can use to make a cover. Simply empty the rice into a pillow case and tie a knot in the top. Then place it in the microwave for a few minutes and there you have it. Your very own portable heated pillow. It may take a few times of heating before the moisture dries out of the rice, and you need to experiment with your own particular microwave until you get the required heat. If you think the pillow case is a little cumbersome then you could make a small cover from a remnant of material. Put in as much rice as you need so that the pillow can tuck neatly down the front of your trousers or skirt, or alternative sew a couple of ties on to the case and wear it tied round your middle. You will need to ditch it after a few months and make a fresh one since the rice tends to get over baked after a few hundred uses.