Making good choices about anesthesia, from the June 2015 Harvard Women's Health Watch

There are many types of anesthetic available, and the type chosen can affect recovery. Learn your options.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 17, 2015

From stitching up a cut to bypassing a coronary artery, most operations aren’t possible without anesthesia. It is designed to keep a patient comfortable during a procedure that otherwise might be hard to tolerate physically, emotionally, or both. There are many types of anesthetic available, and the type chosen can affect your recovery. While doctors make some of the decisions about which type of anesthetic to use, patients often have a say, too, according to the June 2015 Harvard Women’s Health Watch.

“Anesthesiologists have four goals: to see that you have no pain, that you’re drowsy or unconscious, that your body is still so that the surgeon can work on it, and that you aren’t left with bad memories of the procedure,” says Dr. Kristin Schreiber, an anesthesiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

There are four main types of anesthesia:

•     Local anesthesia. Anesthetic medication is injected near the area to be treated. Its effect is limited to a fairly small area.


•     Regional anesthesia. Anesthetic medication is injected near clusters of nerves to numb a larger area, or region, of the body.


•     Neuraxial anesthesia. Anesthetic medication is injected near the spinal roots, numbing an even larger part of the body than regional anesthesia. Epidural and spinal anesthesia are included in this category.


•     General anesthesia. A combination of intravenous and inhaled drugs brings on unconsciousness and the inability to feel pain.

Regional and neuraxial anesthesia can also induce different levels of sedation. Minimal sedation means being relaxed but aware of what’s going on. Moderate sedation causes a “twilight sleep” — drifting in and out of consciousness, but able to easily be aroused. Deep sedation is similar to the effects of general anesthesia — being fast asleep and unlikely to remember anything.

Read the full-length article: “What you should know about anesthesia“

Also in the June 2015 Harvard Women’s Health Watch:

•     7 lessons from the proposed nutritional guidelines


•     When is a fainting spell worrisome?


•     What to do for shoulder pain


•     Keeping one step ahead of toenail fungus

Harvard Women’s Health Watch is available from Harvard Health Publications, the consumer publishing division of Harvard Medical School, for $20 per year. Subscribe at w ww.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/womens or by calling 877-649-9457 (toll-free).

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/05/prweb12747507.htm

Making good choices about anesthesia, from the June 2015 Harvard Women"s Health Watch

Sam Smith unveils dramatic weight loss after praising nutritionist's book for making him 'happy'

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Sam Smith has revealed his dramatic weight loss and he’s never looked more like a Boy George tribute act.

The 22-year-old singer unveiled his dramatic disappearing act at the NRJ Music Tour in Lille this week.

He previously told how he’d lost 14lbs in 14 days with the help of nutrition book by Amelia Freer, Eat. Nourish. Glow.

While it’s not clear how much he’s now lost since posting this Instagram snap, by the look of this latest picture, it could be even more.

Three weeks ago I met a woman who has completely changed my life. Amelia Freer has helped me lose over a stone in 2 weeks and has completely transformed my relationship with food. Everyone go check out her incredible book, and start to live healthy. It’s not even about weight loss it’s about feeling happy in yourself. Love you Amelia & thank you for making me feel so happy inside and out @ameliafreer #eatnourishglow

A photo posted by Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) on Mar 17, 2015 at 1:36pm PDT

His new de the compariosn to Boy George, who he used to be a trite  only sr.

Speaking to Fuse last year, he said: ‘Apparently there’s this obsession that he looks like me when I was, like 20—but I really can’t see the similarity at all.’

MORE: Watch out peeps, Sam Smith has started posting seriously sexy selfies

MORE: Rihanna looks great in Hulk-esque outfit as she confirms Sam Smith collaboration

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Sam Smith unveils dramatic weight loss after praising nutritionist"s book for making him "happy"

Making resolutions: Planning, reflection key

Coshandra Dillard,cdillard@tylerpaper.com

We all know what time it is, but I’ll spare the typical New Year’s resolutions speech. It’s the most optimistic and ambitious time of the year. Well intended, we toss around ideas for elusive goals such as losing weight and getting fit.

As studies have pointed out, the majority of News Year’s resolutions don’t see the light of day past Feb.1. It’s not because resolutions are unrealistic, but the way we approach this tradition often encourages a cycle of depravation and gorging instead of meaningful and sustainable change. Goals are often too broad or involve abruptly eliminating habits we’ve carried for years. While it may work for some, these strategies don’t work for others.

So maybe the acts of planning and reflection should be the resolutions— knowing what your weaknesses are and learning how to effectively goal-set.

I think it’s healthy to look at these tasks one day at a time, rather than stressing about the big picture. As the old saying goes, you have to crawl before you can walk.

If you’re looking for something to motivate you towards a fitness goal in this new year, a regional weight loss contest may help.

Lighten Up East Texas returns with a kickoff event from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 9 at Broadway Square Mall. Participants who lose at least 5 percent of their weight will be eligible for grand prizes.

Another opportunity to register will be held there from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Jan. 10. Other locations will begin registration on Jan. 12 and will be listed atwww.lightenupeast texas.com. The challenge ends May 9.

If it’ll take more than a contest to spark a fire in you, keep in mind the following ideas before adopting resolutions:

Accountability. Get support from others who have similar obstacles or goals. At the very least, let family and friends know that you’re serious about making lifestyle changes. Just making it public can help you stay committed.

Pay attention to nutrition. No matter how much you workout, nutrition still matters. Not only can eating unhealthy sabotage your weight loss efforts, but it’ll also affect your general health, such as cholesterol, blood pressure and increased risks for chronic diseases. Make a list of the healthy things you like to eat and at least one thing you’d like to try. Plan grocery-shopping trips and menus, find recipes and try to cook at home more often to stay motivated about healthy eating.

Activity. Don’t approach exercise like a military regiment. If you’re not an athlete or didn’t participate already, you will eventually lose steam if you dive in too eagerly. Find something you like to do and keep doing it. When you get tired of the monotony, reassess and find something else to do.

See health as a whole. Our body is not fragmented. Everything works together like a machine. Don’t forget to address your mental health such as paying careful attention to how you cope with stressful situations. This almost always wrecks havoc on your health because you’re more likely to lose sleep, eat poorly or make other poor choices. These all have an effect on weight loss goals. Find ways to decompress, such as exercise, deep breathing or mediation. Make “me time” a routine event.

Leave room for mistakes. Stuff happens. Have a plan in place if you go days without exercise or eat a monstrous dessert. We are often our biggest critics, and despair can lead to giving up. Celebrate what you’ve done right—not with food, but by doing something special for yourself.

Making resolutions: Planning, reflection key