Hypothyroidism: Causes And Effects

Hypothyroidism is a malfunction of the thyroid gland in which the gland stops producing the normal amount of hormones. It is also known as underactive thyroid. The thyroid is a very important part of the machine that is our body and if it is not producing enough hormones the body is greatly affected. The symptoms can vary from person to person and there are a few different things that may be the cause of this disorder.

First of all, how do you know you have hypothyroidism? It's definitely tricky sometimes to connect a whole bunch of symptoms that could be individually be easily shrugged off. When it comes to having an underactive thyroid it'll usually come down to a combination of a few of these symptoms and also the consistency of them to consider. Regardless, if you have any medical concerns it is always best to consult a doctor even if it's just for your peace of mind.

Quite often one of the main symptoms of an underactive thyroid is a complete lack of energy. The other obvious sign is an enlarged gland or lump where your thyroid gland is situated. If you are getting a good amount of sleep and really struggling with exhaustion and tired muscles this could be an indicator. Also dry skin and hair or brittle nails and hair can be present. Another symptom is memory loss, lack of concentration and focus. Other most common symptoms are weight gain, low libido and even infertility to name a few.

If you are concerned that you are suffering from some of these symptoms and would like to be checked a simple visit to your local doctor should provide you with the answers you're looking for. Once you've had a chat with your doctor about your symptoms and history, he'll perform a physical examination and proceed to take some blood from you. This blood will be tested to see if you have hypothyroidism.

If you don't then you can eliminate this possibility and continue the search to find out what's causing your symptoms. If the blood test comes back and you do have an underactive thyroid, then your doctor has a few options for treatment. Depending on the cause he may place you on some sort of hormone replacements to counter for the lack of thyroid hormones being released. He may also arrange for you to speak with a health professional who specialises in diet and exercise to specifically improve hypothyroidism.

A certain amount of diet and exercise can help with the main issue of underactive thyroid. Certain alterations can also relieve symptoms. One of the main causes of this disorder is a lack of iodine in the diet. This is found in various products such as bread and seafood. Exercise can help with transforming one hormone into another one that has a stronger and more important function. This should happen naturally on it's own but does not so much when suffering from an underactive thyroid.

Gardening-Garden Safety And The Importance Of Outdoor Lighting

As the summer approaches and people begin to start dining outside and sitting out in the evenings it is time to start considering safety in your garden and the importance of adequate Outdoor Lighting.

Walkways should be well lit and solar path lights are the perfect choice, they use solar energy to charge them during daylight hours and they automatically turn on when the light goes down. This saves you money and time because you don't have to think about turning them on each time. Outdoor lighting should be should be used to clearly mark ponds or other water features that could be very dangerous in the night.

Solar lights have come a fair way since just the static path light, they now include fairy lights which charge during the day, and you then have the option between continuous light and flickering lights to create a mystical feel. Not only do these lights look lovely in the garden they save you money on your energy bill, so you can be green fingered in your garden in more ways than one. This sort of fairy lights is also available in a range of colours making them the ideal outdoor party lights.

Lights and Trees
Tea lights are always a popular option for dressing the garden when having a party outdoors, they create a magical atmosphere when suspended in branches but they can be dangerous if placed too close to dry branches. The other concern with tea lights is that over enthusiastic party goers will start burning bits of paper and other items which can get out of hand and be incredibly dangerous.

This does not mean that you have to steer clear of tea lights because you can invest in some LED tea lights that are battery powered but produce the same gentle glow that a candle would produce. They are of a similar size and shape and they come with a welcoming warm glow or multicoloured for a seriously funky lighting effect.

With so many new options for outdoor lighting there is no excuse for not being safe in the garden this summer.

Health Tips - Normal Sounds And Noises Can Affect Autistic Children

The normal sounds and noises are sometimes better to be silent for some children with autism, because of their sensitivity. But is silence golden? There are many signs for autism. A few of them are, poor eye contact, tantrums, short attention span, lining up items in a certain row and sounds and noises that are normal but painful to some autistic children.

I want to talk to you about the normal sounds and noises that are painful to the ears of many autistic individuals, because of an over sensitivity and sensory that some children have.

For example, large crowds of people talking, malls, airplanes, streets in the city filled with cars and people, riding an elevator, that is full of people talking, concerts, music, holidays with families, are just a few of them.

Many children who have an extreme intense sensitivity to normal sounds or noises, will try to calm themselves by either wringing their hands, shaking their hands and some will rock back and forth. Others will put their hands on their ears, to protect them from the noises.

It is a challenge for parent(s), caregiver(s), to know when these normal sounds or noises will affect the individual. Every person with autism is different and there is no concrete or sure way to predict the behavior of the child with autism.

Try to learn what your child likes or dislikes and how he or she responds to new areas that are being introduced, then tabulate them and be prepared if the behavior to normal sounds or noises are too much for your child to handle, try to keep your child safe from it. Do not push or force your child to like normal sounds or noises, by doing that, it will only cause an outbreak in another behavior area that will have to be dealt with.

Some autistic individuals have an over sensitivity to the sounds that seem to appear, to be functional and normal to other people.

For the child or an adult, with autism, they do not understand why they are so sensitive to normal sounds and noises and they probably are trying to understand or trying to make sense of it themselves. For you, to understand why there is a sensitivity to this kind of behavior, many experts agree that these behaviors might be a way that the child is trying to communicate, relate to or try to figure out what is going on.

Parent(s), caregiver(s), must realize that the intense sensitivity to sound that appears to be normal noises and sounds, is common symptom of autism