Lactose intolerance is a type of medical condition. This is a type of disorder in which you will not be able to digest foods containing lactose in it. Any product containing lactose will not be acceptable for your body and the chances for you vomiting it back are many. Lactose can be called as the sugar which is commonly found in milk and other milk products.

Those people who are suffering from Lactose Intolerance will not be able to take in food in which milk is the major component. These people will feel sick if they had accidentally taken in foods containing milk products. The following are some other effects that your body will suffer like gas, swelling in your stomach, diarrhea and nausea.

There can be many uncomfortable feelings to a human body if its suffering from lactose intolerance, but this is not a serious medical condition. You would not have to worry much deep on this medical condition and this is not a life threatening disorder as well. Even though this is not a serious medical condition it can create much uncomfort to human beings and can even result in long term health problems. If we do not give proper attention to Lactose Intolerance, then chances are many that it may lead to problems such as osteoporosis which is a serious health issue.

There is no treatment or cure as such for a person affected with Lactose Intolerance. The only thing that he can do is to avoid dairy products from his diet. This is the best cure for such a medical condition. The next thing that you can do is to continue with dairy products in your meal but take with it some expensive supplements.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Services have conducted some researches on Lactose Intolerance. They came with so many findings which were found interesting to all those who are suffering from this medical condition. They were able to suggest some things to those people with Lactose intolerance so that they can have fewer symptoms of this medical condition.

-Drink low-fat milk of 1 cup or less.

-Always drink low-fat milk along with other food like breakfast instead of taking it all by itself.

-Eat those dairy products other than pure milk. It can include hard cheese or cottage cheese or a low fat ice cream or yogurt. These dairy products even though made from milk will contain only a lesser amount of lactose in it and so would not cause many symptoms while consuming it.

-There are various lactose free milk and other dairy products available in the market which possess the same amount of calcium as that of regular milk.

-The next option that you can choose for is to go for lactogens. Its a patent-pending formula that helps our body to slowly overcome lactose intolerance and can help in reintroduction of dairy into our digestive system.

If you are suffering from lactose intolerance please consult your doctor.

Acne, a nightmare for any young generation nowadays. From smooth and beautiful facial skin turns into dirty spots that tarnish the beauty that suppose to be owned by any individual.

So what actually is acne? Acne is derived from greek word “acme” or “a prime of life”. It is actually a lesion in the sebaceous gland (a.k.a. sebum gland or oily gland) of hair follicle. The common sites of acne are face, earlobe, back, chest, and anogenital area. However the facial acne is particularly a nuisance for an individual as it is the most visible one.

Even though sebaceous gland is responsible for acne, it also holds certain functions. It functions to secrete sebum which composed from triglyceride, fatty acid, wax esters, and sterols. This sebum is responsible to lubricate the skin, prevent crack of the skin and to cool down skin during hot weather.

How does sebaceous gland causing acne? The changes happen during acne started with increase in sebum secretions. Then the keratin lining of sebaceous duct will get thickened and forms comedones or black spots (or white spots). The change of colour of comedone is due to melanin. As the sebum secretions increase in amount, a bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes proliferates inside the sebum. After that, inflammation will occur around the sebaceous gland and produce acne. Basically, the main culprit that is causing acne is increase in sebum secretion.

So what causing the increase in sebum secretions? There are few causes of increase sebum secretions includes hormonal factor, fluid retention, dietary habit, season changes, exogenous factor, and medications.

Hormonal factor plays an important role in sebum secretions as increase in androgen (male hormone) will cause increase in sebaceous glands size which in turn increase the amount of its secretions. This explains why the male adolescent is more common to get acne compared to adolescent girls.

Fluid retention particularly during premenstrual period leads to increase hydration and swelling of sebaceous duct. This explains why there is exacerbation of acne during the premenstrual period. Apart from that sweating also makes acne worse due to same mechanism.

Dietary habits of eating chocolate, nuts, fizzy drinks or coffee worsen acne problems. However the exact mechanism on how these foods causing acne has yet to be determined.

Acne often improves with natural sunlight and it is worse during winter. The Ultraviolet light said to improves acne however the efficacy of the UV light treatment is unpredictable. Exogenous exposure to oils (particularly common in cooks in hot kitchen) has known to worsen acne. Exogenous exposure to coal tar, dicophane (DDT), and polychlorinated biphenols also has known to worsen acne.

Some medications also can worsen acne. These medications include corticosteroids (both systemic and topical), androgen and combined oral contraceptive pills (COCP). Consult with the doctor who prescribed the medication if acne problems arise from usage of these medications.

So what should we do if we have acne? Relax, acne is usually resolved spontaneously and it is not infectious. There are few methods to hasten the resolution of acne which includes conservative method, topical cream, and medications.

The conservative method is done by applying hot wet soft cloth on the face (simple alternative to facial sauna), followed by gentle rubbing in a plain soap, or diluted Savlon solution (an antiseptic solution). This will cause dissolution of comedone however they (particularly savlon solution) may cause considerable skin scaling and dryness. NEVER PINCH THE ACNE!! Pinching the acne will expose the acne to secondary infection and it is responsible for ugly scar on the skin.

Topical cream for acne is widely available nowadays. It is up to the consumer to choose which one is the most suitable. The best topical cream for acne should contain Benzoyl peroxide in concentrations of 1–10%, salicylic acid and vitamin A solution. So try to find out the best solution for your acne problem. Note: Benzoyl Peroxide may irritates the skin depends on type of skin.

If both conservative method and topical cream are unsuccessful, consult your doctor for antibiotic. Commonly prescribed antibiotic for acne is tetracycline. However the treatment needs time, sometimes need months to take effect. Other alternative for tetracycline are erythromycin and co-trimoxazole.

Newly available treatments are UV light therapy, antiandrogen, and synthetic retinoids. However the efficacy of these treatments has yet to be determined.