This is a good app for android Smoking And Pregnancy 

(Scan the QR code to download Free Smoking And Pregnancy App)

To help mom to be with smoking problem. Understand how smoking can affect your health and unborn baby.
Good collected information text , video and help link to be share in the app.
-Smoking Cessation
-Maternal health
-Women and smoking
-May cause Breastfeeding Difficulties
-Smoking Causes Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema
-The effects of smoking on pre-natal development
-Quit Smoking Tips
-EFFECTS OF SMOKING
-Puzzle games to relax
"GET YOUR LIFE BACK!!!"

Smoking And Pregnancy

Tobacco smoking and pregnancy is related to many effects on health and reproduction, in addition to the general health effects of tobacco. A number of studies have shown that tobacco use is a significant factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers, and that it contributes to a number of other threats to the health of the fetus.
Ideally, women should not smoke before, during or after pregnancy. If this is not the case, however, the daily number of cigarettes can be reduced to minimize the risks for both the mother and child. This is particularly important for women in undeveloped countries where breastfeeding is essential for the child’s overall nutritional status.
 

Smoking Before Pregnancy:

It is important to examine these effects because smoking before, during and after pregnancy is not an unusual behaviour among the general population and can have detrimental health impacts, especially among both mother and child as a result. It is reported that roughly 20% of pregnant women smoke at some point during the three months.

Smoking during pregnancy:

In the United States today, approximately 10% of women smoke during pregnancy (March of Dimes. 2010. Smoking During Pregnancy.) Of women who smoked during the last 3 months of pregnancy, 52% reported smoking 5 or less cigarettes per day, 27% reported smoking 6 to 10 cigarettes per day, and 21% reported smoking 11 or more cigarettes per day.
In the United States, women whose pregnancies were unintended are 30% more likely to smoke during pregnancy than those whose pregnancies were intended.
 
Down load the free app to learn more.....
Cheers 

This blog is in response to a reader question about the symptoms of kidney disease that we received about our blog, "With diabetes, kidney care is crucial."

In some people with diabetes, over time, high blood glucose levels can damage the millions of tiny blood vessels that filter waste from the blood and dispose of it in the urine. Unfortunately, early kidney disease has no symptoms. Generally, not until the damage is extensive do symptoms emerge.

Symptoms of advanced kidney disease include:

Swelling of ankles, feet and handsShortness of breathHigh blood pressureConfusion or difficultyPoor appetiteNausea and vomitingDry, itchy skinFatigue

To identify kidney problems early, an important part of your yearly diabetes management checkup is getting what's called a urine microalbumin test. This test measures the amount of a protein, albumin, in your urine.

When kidneys are functioning normally, they filter out only waste in your blood, excreted in your urine. Protein and other helpful substances remain in your bloodstream. When your kidneys become damaged, waste products remain in your blood, and albumin leaks into your urine.

When your kidneys are in early distress, only small amounts of albumin escape into the bloodstream. You may lose 30 to 300 milligrams (mg) of albumin a day through the urine. This condition is called microalbuminuria. In advanced stages of kidney disease, you might lose more than 300 mg of albumin a day.

The most reliable test to screen for microscopic protein in the urine is to collect the urine in a container for 24 hours. Another available test, the random microalbuminuria test, requires only a one-time sample of urine.

If your health care provider is aware of early kidney disease through such testing, early treatment measures can help prevent or slow down the progression of diabetes-related kidney disease. Treatment measures include:

Keeping blood glucose levels in a healthy target range, as determined by your doctorMaintaining a healthy blood pressure level, as determined by your doctorStarting an ACE inhibitor blood pressure medication, which has protective benefits to the kidneysEating a low-protein diet

Your comments are appreciated.

Have a great week,
Nancy

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It's well known that depression symptoms can be caused or worsened by many medical illnesses. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255) Go to the nearest hospital or emergency roomCall your physician, health provider or clergyNational Alliance on Mental Illness
www.nami.org
1-800-950-NAMI (6264)One of these is thyroid disease.

Your thyroid gland is important in controlling metabolism. If it's not functioning properly, it can affect your mood. Your thyroid can be underactive or overactive, as well as normal.

Interestingly, there is a thyroid hormone produced by your brain that travels through your bloodstream to the thyroid gland in your neck. The thyroid gland, in turn, produces other hormones that regulate metabolism.

Your health care provider may check your thyroid with a blood test. Additionally, thyroid hormone is sometimes added to the antidepressant you are currently on to give it a boost.

Some medical conditions preclude the use of oral thyroid hormone. Talk with your health care provider about options as not everyone is a candidate for this.

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Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in developed countries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. Even if most of us know that the main factor influencing the development of heart disease is the presence of a high level of fats in our blood, chronic inflammation has proven itself to go hand-in-hand with heart disease and it is a condition that raises many concerns among both doctors and patients.

A healthy person has a  defense mechanism called the immune system, which triggers a series of chemical reactions, in order to neutralize and eventually destroy pathogenic agents, which are foreign elements to the body. If, for a number of reasons, the inflammatory process becomes permanent, these actions of our immune system, which are strong enough to kill pathogenic agents, can start damaging the organs, leading to multiple conditions.

In the case of the cardiovascular system, the inflammatory process is usually located in the blood vessels. Since they suffer constant physical aggression due to high blood
pressure and other factors, the immune response is meant to repair the arterial wall and prevent it from rupturing. However, if the artery is constantly inflamed, there is a high risk of thrombus formation. These are blood clots that are formed as a result of blood coagulation as an immune reaction.

If the clots are dislodged, they start traveling through our cardiovascular system, causing a possible blockage of major blood vessels, such as the coronary arteries, which deliver blood to the heart muscle. In this case, the heart cannot receive the proper amount of oxygen and nutrients and, therefore, a heart attack can occur, with devastating effects on the patient’s health. At the same time, if the thrombus reaches a blood vessel in the brain, the result can be a stroke, leading to impaired movement, speaking deficiencies or even death of the patient.

Acute inflammation is obvious through a series of symptoms, such as redness and swelling around the injury. Chronic inflammatory condition is invisible and it has no symptoms except for pain and discomfort, but even this appears only in some cases. Blood tests are needed in order to diagnose this problem correctly. The most relevant blood test for determining a chronic inflammatory condition is the tese for the C-reactive protein, abbreviated CRP in the medical field. This protein is produced by the liver and its levels dramatically rise when there is an inflammatory response somewhere in your arteries. If your C-reactive protein test shows high levels of this protein, you should find ways to lower the amount of inflammation in your body in order to reduce the risk of heart disease.

If you want to know what your doctor could prescribe, you should be aware of the fact that most of the drugs used in the treatment of such conditions are highly aggressive, possibly leading to the damage of your stomach, intestine and liver. COX-inhibitors are a relevant example of drugs which are highly contested by many physicians for their strong adverse effects. However, there are some things that you can do in order to prevent or even reduce already installed conditions.

First of all, exercise, weight loss and diet are very important for improving your overall health. Giving up excess fat and sugar and getting rid of a few pounds will reduce your blood pressure and relieve some stress on your arteries, therefore reducing the level of inflammation in your blood vessels and possibly reducing your risk of heat disease.