Diabetes is a serious health problem facing children and teens. More than 13,000 children are annually diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, according to AtHealth.com, because they cannot properly produce insulin, and a growing number are diagnosed with...
Caffeine is a stimulant that naturally occurs in certain foods like tea, coffee and chocolate. It can also be added to foods and is sold as over-the-counter (OTC) stimulants. The Mayo Clinic says that moderate caffeine intake is okay, but heavy...
Seizures are normally frightening events for parents and children. Absence seizures, though, may occur without a parent or child even being aware of them. Also called petit mal seizures, absence seizures occur most commonly in children between the...
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease in which the small airways in the lungs constrict, reducing airflow. Further, because asthma is an allergic process, immune system stimulation and irritation generally leads to mucus production. The mucus...
Salicylic acid is used in soaps, lotions, creams, foams, ointments and shampoos to combat acne and a host of other skin and scalp conditions. It's in a class of medications called keratolytic agents that are used to separate or loosen the outer...
Upon digestion, foods that contain carbohydrates yield sugar, which normally enters the cells with the aid of insulin. When insulin is not available or not recognized by cell receptors, sugar remains circulating in the blood. Glucose levels rise...
The respiratory system consists of the lungs, airways and muscles that assist in breathing. This system of organs and tissues controls how an individual inhales oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide. When heavy breathing occurs, it usually manifests...
Lactic acid buildup occurs during anaerobic exercises, which leads to the burn felt in muscles. However, this buildup involves a much more complicated metabolic process. The buildup continues to be the focus in exercise physiology courses, a...
Side effect of high K+ (potassium) can be serious. Potassium imbalance occurs from kidney disease, excessive use of potassium supplements, adrenal gland disorders, obstruction of urine flow from structural problems or urinary calculi, lupus,...
Tai chi might be able to help you cope with anxiety attacks, episodes of intense panic or fear that typically peak within 10 minutes and seldom last longer than a half-hour. Symptoms can include heart palpitations, chest pain, trouble breathing,...
Your lungs are specialized organs designed for efficient absorption of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide from your body. By constantly filtering blood through these tissues, the pulmonary system creates an interface between the circulation and...
The nerves of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system are responsible for providing sensation and movement to specific areas of the body. Any damage to the nerves, either caused by trauma or an underlying condition, can result in...
Breathing provides life-sustaining oxygen and rids the body of the gaseous waste product carbon dioxide. The respiratory control center in the brain stem receives various types of input from sensors in the body that influence the breathing rate....
Raising kundalini is most often practiced through a type of spiritual yoga called kundalini yoga, but sometimes spontaneous awakenings can occur. It's said that enlightenment occurs when the kundalini energy travels from the base of the spine up...
The greatest effect of scuba diving on the lungs, indeed on the human body as a whole, is pressure. To experience the world below the water, your lungs must be healthy to deal with the changing pressure.
Children naturally breathe at a faster rate than adults. According to the National Institutes of Health, adults generally breathe 8 to 16 times per minute, while normal newborns may breathe up to once per second. In children, rapid breathing can...
Your busy and fulfilling lifestyle may be causing more stress than you think. It is easy to brush off headaches, frequent forgetfulness or decreased productivity at the office. Perhaps, you don't realize that tension, fatigue and anxiety may be to...
When foods are digested, they are classified as either acid or alkaline producing by nature. This is measured by the pH value of the remains after food has been metabolized. While it is important to consume both acid and alkaline foods to keep pH...
Like many, your waistline may carry more weight than the rest of your body. While pounds may head swiftly to the area, shedding them off the waistline requires losing overall body weight. To do this, you need to stick to an aerobic exercise plan,...
Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by a defect in the body's ability to make or utilize insulin, resulting in high blood glucose levels in the blood. In the United States, 23.6 million children and adults have diabetes and 1.6 million...
The body's preferred fuel is sugar, or glucose. If insufficient glucose is available to the body's cells, fat is used as an alternate energy source. However, the utilization of fat for energy produces acidic chemicals called ketones. A buildup of...
It is only when a person cannot breathe that they become acutely aware of the function of breathing. Although a person can consciously alter the rate and depth of breathing, the actual control center is in the lower part of the brain stem. Nerve...
Ketones are metabolic byproducts of fatty acid metabolism. In the diabetic patient, the presence of ketones in the blood are indicative of a state known as diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, whereby there is an uncontrolled increase in blood glucose,...
Countering stress and anxiety with exercise helps fight the negative effects they have on your physical and psychological well-being. While any form of exercise may help reduce your anxiety and stress levels, certain types of activity may...
People experience heart palpitations when their hearts start beating rapidly or begin fluttering or pounding. According to doctors at the Mayo Clinic, heart palpitations can result from stress, medication, fear and exercise. They also can be...
More oxygen makes its way to the cells in the body with slow, deep breathing. Rapid, shallow breathing usually indicates levels of stress often resulting from emotional turmoil. The effects of stress from the shallow rapid breathing create...
Though breathing is an involuntary bodily function, practicing various breathing methods can significantly improve your health and well-being. Yoga Journal reports that the stresses of daily life constantly engage the sympathetic nervous system,...
Affecting approximately 40 million sufferers nationwide, anxiety disorders are the most widespread form of psychiatric illness in America, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America notes. Characterized by excessive worry and uneasiness, anxiety...
The vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches and low-grade fever that generally accompany the stomach flu can leave a child in misery for days. Symptoms of the stomach flu, or viral gastroenteritis, can last for up to 10 days, although some children luck...
