Showing posts with label white blood cells. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white blood cells. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Tea Tree Oil and Treatment of Boils

Staphylococcus is the bacteria that is usually found in the pus of a boil. The head is filled with bacteria and the white blood cells fighting the infection (pus). A boil usually starts as a tender area, becoming hard and swelling, and eventually softening and forming a head.

A boil is an inflamed area, usually based in a hair follicle, and can be caused by a physical condition such as diabetes, acne, or severe dermatitis and can also result from low immunity, irritations, an illness, stress, food allergy, poor diet, shaving, plucking hairs or poor hygiene.
The bacteria involved are those usually present on healthy skin, so the boil is an indication of low resistance to infection.
Dab it on with a piece of clean cotton, do not rub or otherwise irritate the boil. A drop or two of tea tree oil may also be applied directly to the boil. Wash with tea tree oil soap and apply antiseptic cream containing tea tree oil. Do not cover with a bandaid.

Apply hot packs for up to 20 minutes at a time, throughout the day, as the heat draws more white blood cells, thereby helping to fight the infection. It is advised not to lance the boil, because bacteria can spread to nearby skin and create new boils.
Procedure to be followed periodically throughout the day:
Dab some tea tree oil soap each time you handle the gauze or touch the boil.
It's important to learn to listen to your body and recognize when tea tree oil treatment will be enough, and when you need the help of a doctor. You should visit a doctor if this occurs, also if there is fever or lethargy. If there is a boil on the neck, check the lymph glands for swelling and tenderness.

Sometimes a boil's bacteria can spread to a lymph node that is nearby.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Black Tea -- Actually Good For You

You may not realize it but tea is the most consumed beverage in the world except for water. Since it is such a popular drink, it is a good thing that it contains a lot of nourishing properties.
Virtually everybody has heard that old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". People should realize that the ounces of vitamins, food supplements, dietary products, and exercise equipment they buy as a preventative health measure doesn't offset the pounds of fast food, carbonated beverages, cigarettes, and alcohol they consume that are destroying their health. Many people don't realize that one of the easiest, least expensive and effective measures to shift the winning balance to the side of prevention is right under their noses. If you drink tea you are already a winner but here are a few facts regarding black tea and its miraculous effects.
The different teas get their unique color and flavor depending on the amount of processing the leaves go through. There are so many different teas on the market it might surprise you to find out that they all come from only one type of plant called camellia sinensis.
Black tea contains: Favonoids (antioxidants) which improve artery function helping to prevent heart disease and strokes; Tannins which effects gastric and intestinal activity thus helping to control diarrhea (To help with diarrhea let the tea steep for a full 15 minutes); Theophylline, helping to improve cholesterol levels; Fluoride to help prevent tooth decay; Polyphenols, shown by research to increase the number of white blood cells. The leaves are picked, cleaned, sorted and then allowed to oxidize giving it its rich dark color. Black tea, the most common type used in the United States, goes through the most amount of processing.
Black tea also contains vitamins c, a, b, k and traces of minerals including potassium and calcium. Loose tea gives more benefits than tea bags since loose tea goes through less processing.
Studies show that after drinking the caffeine from tea that your energy rises slowly, plateaus and then gradually decreases. Small amounts of caffeine have beneficial effects such as increased energy, improved circulation, and help in the release of waste products. The caffeine starts to release during brewing after about a minute.

Black tea only contains about half as much caffeine as coffee and that level can be reduced by reducing the brewing time.
As you can see black tea is beneficial, so drink up and enjoy without feeling guilty for not drinking herbal tea or green tea. Black tea may be enough to deliver that extra ounce of prevention leading to better health.
For other health tips and alternative means of keeping healthy visit Health Fitness Explorer, Lakhovsky's Coil and Pain Relief Info.

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