Some essential facts about rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
Some essential facts about rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are autoimmune disorders that cause joint pain. The joint pain and a few other symptoms are common in these two conditions, but typically, they are two separate diseases that require different treatment approaches. While both these conditions are inflammatory, joints are majorly impacted in case of rheumatoid arthritis whereas it is the skin that faces the wrath in lupus. Here are some facts about these conditions that could help patients choose their treatment method.

Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus – comorbidity incidence
Comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus is very common. This implies that people with lupus may also be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. There is a 15% chance of an overlapping disease for lupus patients with about 1% risk of the overlapping condition being rheumatoid arthritis. There is also a genetic link between rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus – symptoms
Rheumatoid arthritis could lead to bone deformity. As mentioned above, joint pain, swelling, and inflammation are common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Apart from this, people who are affected with lupus may also exhibit other symptoms such as a butterfly shaped rash on the bridge of their nose and cheeks, sensitivity to sunlight, ulcers in the mouth as well as heart or kidney related problems.

Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus – risk factors
Women are at a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, and this is particularly in their post-pregnancy phase when there is a drastic change in the levels of certain hormones in the body. Having a family history of this condition or exposure to environmental pollutants can also increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Risk factors with lupus are more or less the same, but when it comes to the associated complications, lupus can lead to kidney or heart problems as well as damage to the central nervous system due to the inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis can increase the risk of various conditions as well such as osteoporosis, lung problems, cardiovascular issues, etc.

An accurate diagnosis of these conditions can help in quicker treatment and better management of them.

  • What is an ESA and how to get one

    Having a dog as a companion can contribute to one’s mental and emotional well-being. Therefore, some canines are trained to officially aid people with disabilities. These dogs are known as emotional support animals (ESAs). People can qualify a dog as an ESA with a few crucial steps. With official evidence, such individuals can be exempted from strict federal housing norms and rules that restrict flight travel with an animal. If you want to know how to register a dog as a support animal or understand the process of getting an ESA, you can follow these steps.

    • Register through a trusted ESA service
      There are several online ESA services in the country, like the US Service Animals that register a support animal. After entering details about the owner and the dog and completing registration, the ESA service will send the owner a photo identity card of the dog and a certification of registration. This identity card will also contain legal information regarding rights. Having an ID of your dog, along with a certificate, can make it easier to establish the authenticity of the whole process.
    • Locate a licensed health care provider
      Only licensed practitioners can qualify an ESA officially. People usually connect with a licensed therapist via a referral from a trusted doctor. There are online search tools like the Psychologist Locator by the American Psychological Association that may be useful. Simply enter the zip code and practice area to locate an ideal licensed therapist close to the person’s residence.
    • Ask for an ESA letter
      After speaking to the therapist, one has to request for an ESA letter. The letter must state the diagnosis of an emotional or mental disability and that an ESA can help improve the symptoms associated with the mentioned condition. Note that the severity of one’s disability need not be revealed in the letter.

    Only an official letter from a licensed practitioner can qualify an animal as an ESA. However, when you register a dog as an emotional support animal with a service, you can show additional documentation to someone who doubts the validity of your ESA.

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  • Six tell-tale symptoms of Hepatitis C

    According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been at least 30,000 reported cases of acute Hepatitis C infection every year. A study shows that around 3.5 million people were detected with Hepatitis C virus in 2015. The Hepatitis C virus causes inflammation of the liver that occurs over a prolonged period. This makes Hepatitis C is one such disease that does not show immediate symptoms.

    It has been observed that about 20 to 30 percent people experience Hepatitis C symptoms in the first six months. The symptoms of Hepatitis C tend to resemble those of common flu. Hence, it is quite difficult to detect whether a person has been infected by the Hepatitis C virus or not. If you get the following symptoms, consult your doctor and ask whether you are at a risk of Hepatitis C infection.

    • You frequently experience pain in your upper abdomen. The pain usually occurs on the right side. You will also notice a swelling on this part. This happens due to water accumulation. You might also suffer from diarrhea.
    • Your urine is dark and you pass light-colored stool. This is one of the clearest symptoms of Hepatitis C. If you observe these symptoms in yourself, rush to doctor and get tests done to determine whether you are suffering from Hepatitis C.
    • You have jaundice. Your skin and eyes develop a yellow tint. You might suffer from constant itching.
    • You lose your appetite and lose interest in your daily activities. You tend to be nauseous and experience vomiting.
    • You are constantly tired. You experience periodic pains in your muscles and joints. Also, you experience chronic body aches from time to time.
    • You might also suffer from extreme mood swings with a persistent feeling of sadness and lack of energy and enthusiasm.

    Most of these symptoms appear within first three months of infection. These can last for two to twelve weeks. Sometimes, certain subtle symptoms can occur periodically over decades. It can take about six months to ten years to became aware of the virus in the body. Since most of these symptoms are similar to illnesses such as flu or diarrhea and other viral infections, Hepatitis C often goes undetected in most cases. It is only when the liver stops functioning normally that it becomes clear that the person is suffering from Hepatitis C infection. In extreme cases, the person might suffer from a condition known as cirrhosis. If you observe any of the above six symptoms, ask your doctor to test you for Hepatitis C. After all, prevention is better than cure!

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  • The third stage of kidney disease

    Chronic kidney disease is a gradual effect of kidney damage, which can happen either due to physical injuries or some other health complications such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Once the kidneys become damaged, they tend to be dysfunctional and are not able to filter blood or perform other functions, which would keep the affected individual healthy. Some of the most crucial functions performed by kidneys include balancing the fluids in the body, regulating the hormones, keeping the blood pressure under control and helping in making red blood cells. When kidney disease takes place, the kidneys fail to perform all these functions.

    Stages of kidney disease
    There are five stages of the chronic kidney disease where the mildest is stage 1 and the most severe is stage 5. Stage 3 kidney disease symptoms are the first to show up, although in the early stages itself, the kidneys fail to function properly. And when it comes to stage 3, about half of the kidney functions are lost. This would lead to other issues such as high blood pressure and problems with bone health. It is very important to start treatment at this stage to help slowing down of kidney damage because severe kidney damage happens at stage 4. In the final stage, the affected individual would require dialysis or kidney transplant in order to live.

    Stage 3 kidney disease symptoms
    Even though there are no noteworthy symptoms of kidney failure in the first two stages, signs and symptoms start to showcase themselves from the third stage. These include the following:
    – Fatigue and lethargy
    – Retention of fluids in the body
    – Shortness of breath
    – Swelling or edema in the extremities of the body.
    – Change in frequency as well as the texture and color of urination. The urine becomes foamy and has either the color of tea or dark orange. It may also change to red, if there is a presence of blood cells.
    – Some people also report that they suffer from kidney pain at the lower back and sleep problems owing to restless legs and muscle cramps.

    Possible ways of managing stage 3 kidney disease symptoms
    There are several ways of managing these symptoms, but most importantly, it is crucial to consult with an expert without any delay. Someone suffering from stage 3 kidney disease may also be referred to a dietitian since diet is a critical part of the treatment process. Consuming the right diet can preserve kidney function along with overall health. If blood levels are above normal, it is important to take high-quality potassium and protein. Many doctors recommend decreasing the intake of saturated fats for lowering cholesterol levels.

    There is no cure for this ailment, but it is possible to slow down its progress. In many cases, it has been found that with proper dietary and lifestyle changes, the affected person can live longer and healthier.

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  • Supporting products using tools

    Products and tools are much like the hands and gloves on a cold winter day one cannot exist without the existence of the other, and they always go together.

    The interdependence of products and tools
    Tools and techniques are the raw materials for a product to take shape. Products are basically the requirement from a buyer wherein a seller produces it using appropriate tools. The finished products are then sold at a cost to a buyer. There might be a post-sale support contract associated with the sold products at an additional cost. The support again is provided by using supporting tools, for example, ticketing tools, debugging tool, databases, etc. All the tools are always aligned to the products that are being sold or built. Tools such as coding language, testing environment, servers, etc. are used in building a product. A product might not be sold in market, they can also be built as a support tool in order to produce the actual product; this is termed as supporting sub product.

    How products and tools work
    Main products can be partially used for producing other products such as an operating system. For instance, Microsoft is the main product, utilizing which more products are built such as the Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and so on. A main product can be a foundation to building a new sub product or another main product.

    Products built can be used further as supporting platforms for many services and support. A support team is established upon training them on the required tools and processes. Every support staff must be made familiar with the products that they will be supporting as part of their jobs. There are different levels of support when it comes to supporting a product in a firm. Product knowledge is as important as knowing about their respective tools to support a product. Different levels of support staff will be trained at different levels based on the skill set they have been pre-hired for. Depending upon the same, levels of support contracts are sold along with the products.

    A new concept of software as a service is in trend in the market nowadays. It simply means that the software has its own solutions built within. Submitting an error report or running a software in debug mode fixes certain possible issues by itself. This is one of the smartest way of building a software with a complete solution.

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  • Everything you need to know about high uric acid levels

    Higher uric acid levels can cause serious health problems. It can result in gout arthritis, kidney stones, and even renal failure. Recent studies have shown other complications associated with it. A higher uric acid level may lead to hypertension and cardiovascular diseases as well.

    Causes of high level of uric acid in the body
    An increase in the level of uric acid in the blood happens because of an increase in the production of uric acid. Another reason is slow excretion of uric crystals from the kidney. The causes of this health condition are:

    • High-purine diet including foods like red meat, seafood, and pulses
    • Excessive intake of alcohol
    • High consumption of sugary foods
    • Existing renal problems
    • Obesity
    • Less active thyroid
    • Low immunity
    • Genetics

    Prevention is the cure
    If your initial diagnosis shows higher uric acid level, you can control it. You can follow these simple steps to avoid a health disaster.

    • Avoid a high purine diet to exercise control over uric acid levels
    • Avoid high fructose food products
    • Drink alcohol in moderation
    • Reduce your weight
    • Drink lots of water

    All these would ensure that your uric acid levels stay in control. Following a strict diet can help lower uric acid levels. Here’s what all you should eat.

    Diet to follow

    • Cherries and strawberries as they have anti-inflammatory properties
    • Lemon juice, as the citric acid in it neutralizes uric acid
    • Apple cider vinegar flushes uric acid out of the body
    • Baking soda makes uric acid more soluble and flushes it out of the body
    • Olives and olive oil lowers uric acid content in the body
    • Eat organic eggs as they contain less purine
    • Flaxseeds reduces uric acid level and inflammation in joints
    • Vegetable juices like carrot and cucumber juice keep the body hydrated
    • Green tea lowers uric acid

    Besides making changes in your diet, it is important to exercise to maintain a healthy weight. Regular exercising helps in dealing with weight management issues. It is also helpful to keep your uric acid level in check.

    Symptom management
    The initial signs of excessive uric acid in your body includes:

    • Inflammation and redness in the joints
    • Excessive pain in the joints
    • Swelling at the base of the big toe
    • Tenderness of joints
    • Swelling or redness of ankles, knees, fingers, elbows, and wrists
    • Lumps beneath the skin
    • Kidney stones

    You need to undergo a simple blood test to know uric acid levels in your body. It is good to get a routine test to avoid a serious health disorder later. A high uric acid level is not too harmful and is controllable too. But if the uric acid is excess in the blood, then you are likely to experience serious gout or kidney problems.

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  • Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 is your ultimate cleaning assistant

    Snow Joe was launched in 2004 and it opened its foremost outlet in 2017 to offer various garden equipment at factory prices. In a country like ours that faces heavy snowfall, Snow Joe has taken the initiative of developing as well as delivering tools that help in keeping the weather blues away. The products offered by the brand range that are brought on the shelves of the stores only after the technicians have given their approval by certifying them. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 is one such item that makes driving away snow from the backyard simple and effortless.

    The company also sells products that have minor scratches or dents but function perfectly from the inside. Similarly, it also purchases items from brands that were ordered in bulk but not put to use. Snow Joe products may be manual, powered by electricity or use a battery for cordless operations. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 has been engineered as a powerful device to satisfy all snow cleaning requirements whether it is the light downpour of November or the heavy snowfall of January. The company believes in providing a high level of expertise at reasonable prices so that every individual can manage his house without burdening the pocket.

    The Snow Joe Ultra 621 is an electric device that is as powerful as a gas powered one but more convenient regarding the operation. Its motor features a robust rotor made with four blades and heavy duty steel that is capable of cutting heavy pieces of ice across long distances quickly and easily. It moves the snow at a very high speed clearing massive passageways in a matter of a few hours. Various parts of the Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 can be adjusted according to the width and height of snow to suit varying cleaning demands. It also comes with headlights that make removal of snow at night possible.

    While the gas counterparts cause a lot of pollution, the electric Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 is environment-friendly and comes with the ETL mark ensuring fulfillment of appropriate safety standards. Moreover, the scraper attached facilitates snow cleaning right up to the ground, and its strategic placement at the base makes sure that no harm is caused to the floor surface. The smooth wheels of the Snow Joe Ultra SJ623e have been designed in a manner so that maneuvering through the ice is not a tough task.

    Various other features of the Snow Joe Ultra SJ621 will be explained in detail to you by the salesmen once you visit the store and physically examine the product. This machine is extremely productive and worth the price shelled out at the factory outlet.

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  • Top 3 email marketing services for small businesses

    Starting a new business can be a challenging task, and getting it right in the first attempt can be equally taxing. To ensure that your business expands to different horizons, you need the right marketing tools to aid in this endeavor. Email marketing services are one of the most important marketing tools whose effectiveness is often downplayed.
    Choosing the right email marketing service for your business can prove immensely beneficial, as it helps you establish a direct contact with your customers, and you wouldn’t be spending oodles of money doing so.
    So, below are the top 3 email marketing service providers, ideal for small businesses, which ensure that you communicate effectively with your client:

    Constant Contact
    This email service provider is one of the most reliable email marketing services that has been garnering popularity owing to its usefulness and simple interface; even a novice can easily use this email marketing tool without any hassle. Constant Contact allows you to manage your email lists, contacts, and email templates with great ease. It even provides its user with easy tracking and reporting, an image library, built-in social media sharing tools, and 1GB of storage for their files. In fact, Constant Contact even offers online training and live seminars in several neighborhoods, thereby, making it the perfect marketing tool for small businesses.

    ConvertKit
    Here’s a robust email marketing platform that has proven quite useful for marketers, professional bloggers, authors, and small businesses. ConvertKit is quite powerful and easy to use. It even allows the users to offer various content upgrades and incentives to their clients with the email signup forms. Moreover, even the auto-responders are easy to manage, and you can successfully send drip emails. Additionally, ConvertKit even offers email-based support to its users and has an extensive knowledge base along with great learning material.

    Drip
    Drip has been hailed as one of the most robust email marketing platforms that have been successfully catering to eCommerce websites, marketers, and bloggers. It is quite popular with various audiences, as it offers a wide range of tools along with their smart email marketing platform. People often choose this email marketing service provider because it is quite beginner-friendly and offers several add-ons available for popular website builders like WooCommerce and WordPress. Drip outranks most of its competitors, as it offers several intelligent marketing automation tools, list groups, smarter email segmenting, and a plethora of amazing features that can allow you to contact specific audiences in your email list.

     

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  • Must have camera and photo accessories for professionals

    Must have camera and photo accessories for professionals

    Professional photography is a good way to make those few extra bucks, even if you are a part-time photographer. Metro cities and bustling urban areas will have a number of events to be covered by professional photographers. The advent of social media and image sharing websites has also increased the demand for camera and photo technicians and freelance photographers to cover live events, wedding receptions, sporting events and even house parties so that people have great images at the end of the day to share on social media.

    Professional camera and photo technicians will want to work with the best equipment out there which is why it is imperative to understand the need for these camera essentials. Every photographer must have these accessories as part of their camera and photo kit.

    Professional grade camera: These cameras are high end and can be very expensive, with some of the most popular models made by top brands like Canon, Nikon, Sony among many others. Nikon D850, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Nikon D810, Canon EOS 5DS, Nikon D750, Nikon D5, Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, Sony Alpha A99 II, Canon EOS 6D Mark II are among some of the best high makes and models when it comes to a professional grade camera and photo equipment.

    Professional grade lenses: Professional photographers will have a need for the various type of lenses suited for different uses and purposes. Some of the popular ones include Sigma 18-35mm f1.8, Sigma 50mm f1.4, Sigma 150-600mm, f5-6.3, Zeiss Otus 85mm f1.4, Sigma 24-105mm f4, Sigma 18-200mm f3.5 macro among many others. Just having a professional grade camera will not work, if you don’t have the best lenses to use with the kit.

    Tripod: You have bought a camera and a couple of lenses, great! However, it will be quite difficult to manage heavy professional grade cameras especially when you want to capture fast moving and long distance objects with precision, clarity, and focus. This is where a tripod comes handy because it provides all the stable support you will need even on rough terrains. The weight of the equipment also gets distributed evenly which is why investing in a good quality camera and photo tripod is recommended. Vanguard Alta Pro, Gitzo GK, Bonofoto B6, Joby GorillaPod, Vanguard VEO, Manfrotto, Globetrotter are just some of the best tripod accessory brands when it comes to premium quality camera and photo accessories.

    External flash: No camera is complete without an external flash or Speedlite. This is especially the case for professional grade cameras since this particular accessory will allow photography in low and dim lighting conditions. Popular Speedlights for premium purchases include Canon Speedlite 600, Yongnuo YN wireless flash, Canon Speedlight 430EX, Nikon SB AF Speedlight, Sony high power flash among many others available online.

    White balance cards: White balance is essential for professional grade cameras from time to time to achieve true color images since all colors are made out of mixing the three primaries red, green, and blue. The perfect composition of RGB is what professional photographers are looking for since the picture quality will depend on proper lighting, white balance, and composition at the end of the day.

    Wireless memory cards: Eye-Fi brand has innovative solutions for professional camera and photo technicians with their WiFi enabled wireless memory card to upload photos directly from the camera to your computer automatically once it has been set up and synched.

    Camera bag: Last but not the least, you will be needing a supreme quality camera bag to keep your DSLR, all the lenses, memory cards, UV filters, extra batteries, battery charger and everything you need for a professional shoot.

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