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Knowing the Difference Between ADD and ADHD

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To some degree, we can all be a little spacey, disorganized, or get easily sidetracked, with any number of things demanding our attention NOW. But if it starts to feel extreme — you’re constantly frazzled from running late all the time or find yourself often getting called out by your peers or acquaintances as rude or disorganized, for example — you might want to test for ADD or talk to your doctor. Though almost 6.5 children in America (between the ages of four and 17) have been diagnosed with ADHD, ADD is something different — and yes, adults can have it too. Luckily, there’s been more research and public awareness about both ADD and ADHD in recent years, so it’s becoming less stigmatized and easier to understand in regards of what signs are and how to treat it, with ADD testing and assessments.

What is the Difference Between ADD and ADHD?

ADD stands for attention deficit disorder, while ADHD stands for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Both fall under attention deficit disorder, but present themselves in different ways. Those with ADD tend to be easily distracted, have a poor memory, and often are inattentive. Those with ADHD generally have these, plus a tendency to be hyperactive or impulsive.

ADD in adults can be particularly harmful, simply because they may be portrayed as lazy, rude, or disinterested over their lives, internalize these labels, and have low self-esteem as a result. Indeed, adults who have ADD are three times more likely as adults without ADD to have stress, be depressed, or deal with other emotional problems that could potentially cause them to not go to work. Furthermore, about half of adults with ADD have anxiety disorders.

How Can I Tell if I Have ADD?

Unfortunately, there’s no one “thing” that is going to tell you whether you have ADD or not, though ADD testing is helpful. Generally a doctor will run through a list of common systems and have you answer questions about any previous or current issues you might be having. Medical exams may also be needed to make sure that your symptoms aren’t due to another ailment. Generally, if you display five or more symptoms of ADD, the doctor will be able to make a fairly clear diagnosis.

These symptoms can include not paying close attention to detail or keeping one’s attention on the task or activity they’re doing. Someone with ADD may appear as if they aren’t listening when they’re being spoken to directly or won’t follow through when it comes to instructions. Organizing tasks might be difficult and activities that require a long period of attention are often done grudgingly or avoided. Forgetfulness and losing items is also a hallmark symptom of ADD.

However, if you suspect you have all the “right” symptoms, taking part in an adult ADD assessment or ADD testing can help confirm that. There are free ADHD testing centers and tests online that you can take, but usually it’s good to confirm it with a doctor. And keeping your primary care physician up to speed also means that he or she can monitor you as you start medications or other types of treatment and adjust as needed.

What Can I Do To Be Treated for ADD?

Though medication can help some people when it comes to ADD, it’s not the only treatment tool that should be in your toolbox. Taking care of yourself — exercising as an outlet, sleeping well, and eating right — can go a long way towards reducing some of the stress and reducing symptoms.

Meditation, yoga, and therapy are also wonderful ways to ease ADD symptoms and find ways to manage symptoms, treat anxiety, control unhelpful behaviors, and generally get you through the day with more ease. Behavioral coaching and professional organizers can also be great assets to have on your team.

It’s clear that once ADD testing is done and the official diagnosis
has come in, that there are plenty of other options for how to treat ADD that don’t rely solely on medicine. Getting you to a good place is the most important thing and being upfront and honest about what you need to do is crucial.

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How To Recognize Symptoms Of Burnout

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For many people in many professions, all across the United States, recovery from severe burnout is often necessary. In fact, stress originating from work causes around one million absences from work every day in the United States. Around two thirds of all American employees, men and women both, consider their jobs to have a considerably impact on their overall stress level. Of these employees, around 25%, one in four, has taken at least one mental health day because of work related stress. These employees often experience burnout symptoms like workplace anger and physical exhaustion.

But though anyone can have job stress or job burnout, physicians in the United States are more likely to be in need of a recovery from severe burnout than anyone else, particularly young physicians. For medical professionals under the age of thirty five, there is a burnout rate which, at 44%, affects almost half of all young physicians. Overall, the burnout rate for physicians in need of recovery from severe burnout is over 30%, and more than 45% of physicians are experiencing at least one burnout symptom, such as workplace anger, if not a full blown burnout in need of a recovery from severe burnout.

It can be hard to know if one is need of a recovery from severe burnout, but there are some signs and symptoms to watch out for. Workplace anger can be one manifestation of severe burnout for example, and can build up over time. Exhaustion is another key symptom, as well as depression symptoms. After all, physicians and medical professionals have rates of depression up to 30% higher than the rates of depression seen in the general population. Depression symptoms should be taken seriously, and part of recovery from a severe burnout is seeking professional help when it is necessary. A severe burnout can also have adverse affects on the personal lives of those affected by it. Medical professionals are, after all, up to 20% more likely to file for divorce than the general population. Part of this is due to a poor work-life balance, of which physicians and medical professionals report more dissatisfaction with than any other profession in the United States. A poor work life balance can lead to problems with relationships, high levels of stress, and the need for a recovery from severe burnout.

While job burnout is common, particularly for our doctors and medical professionals, it is important that burnout symptoms are taken seriously and given the proper treatment. Burnout can lead to physical exhaustion, workplace anger, and a number of other symptoms, so it is important to treat it as soon as it is noticed in order to prevent it from escalating.

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5 Reasons to Visit Urgent Care

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An urgent care facility is the best place to get medical care for anything that isn’t a life-threatening emergency. Whether you need a flu vaccination, an x-ray, or treatment for a sinus infection, here are five reasons you should go to an urgent care center first:

Urgent Care is More Convenient Than a Doctor’s Office

If you try to arrange an appointment at a doctor’s office, you’ll have to wait for their schedule to be open. This could mean taking your kids out of school or taking time off work for yourself. No one wants to do that for something like a simple flu vaccination. In fact, the CDC reports that half the adult visits to the ER that don’t result in hospital admission happened just because those patient’s doctors’ offices were closed.

Urgent Care is Faster Than the Emergency Room

The emergency room isn’t a great choice, either. Emergency room waits can be really long. Meanwhile, over at medical urgent care, seeing a doctor or other medical provider takes less than 15 minutes for 60% of people who visit. And 80% of all urgent care visitors wait less than an hour.

Urgent Care Has Convenient Hours

More than half of all walk in clinics are open before 9:00 am, and more than 45% are open that early on Saturday. More than 30% are open early even on Sunday. More than 90% of all medical urgent care is available after 7:00pm on weeknights, too.

Urgent Care is a Great Place to See a Doctor

There is a misconception among some people that you can’t actually see a doctor at an urgent care facility. A doctor or group of doctors owns about 50% of all the walk in urgent care facilities in America. And 65% of all urgent care centers have a doctor available at all times they are open. You can also rest assured that the clinic will refer you on if your case is more serious than they are equipped to handle

Urgent Care is More Appropriate Than the Emergency Room

If you need a flu vaccination or someone in your family has an infection or the flu, there is really no need to go to the emergency room. Urgent care centers are faster and cheaper, and 70% of urgent care centers can provide IV fluids while 80% are able to provide care for fractures. Sprains, illnesses, preventative care, routine exams, flu vaccinations: all of these can be taken care of at an urgent care facility.

There are a lot of great reasons to check out your local walk in clinic the next time you or someone in your family needs medical care. The hours are more convenient than those at a doctor’s office, and your visit will be faster and cheaper than heading to the emergency room. Next time you need a flu vaccination, why not try an urgent care facility?

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How Drug Treatment Centers Can Provide New Hope To Addicts

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Drug addiction can be incredibly difficult to overcome, and emotionally draining for both the addict and the addict’s family and close friends. Fortunately, drug rehab centers can provide the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, and can give the addict the necessary support and structure in order to overcome their addiction and get back to their lives. Drug rehab centers can treat a number of different kinds of addiction, from heroin to prescription pain killers, and can prevent addicts from developing new addictions.

Addiction is unfortunately relatively common and one type of drug addiction can easily spiral into another. For instance, around 80% of all heroin addicts start abusing prescription painkillers before moving on to heroin and over 20% of those who abuse heroin will also abuse opiod painkillers as well. Addiction, particularly to opiods, is widespread across the United States, also referred to as the opiod crisis. In fact, people in the United States represent nearly 100% of hydrocodone abuse seen around the world. Over 20 million Americans ages twelve and over require drug treatment and over 2 million of those people had addictions to prescription drugs. Over half a million had addictions to heroin. Fentanyl also presents a dangerous opportunity for addicts. Similar in effect to heroin, fentanyl has a strong lure for opiod addicts. It’s up to 100 times as powerful as morphine, making it dangerous in how easy it is to overdose on.

Drug rehab centers can be critical in preventing deaths from drug addiction and abuse. In 2016 alone, there were over 60,000 drug related deaths. Of those drug related deaths, over 40,000 involved opiods. Drug rehab centers can prevent these deaths, but it is crucial that treatment begins as early into the addiction as possible. Drug abuse centers can help patients identify the root of their addictions, as well as guiding them through the often painful and difficult process of detoxing. Drug rehabilitation centers can deal with a large number of drug related problems as well. Although opiod addiction is the first and foremost drug related problem that our country faces, meth and cocaine abuse are also significantly problematic. Math, for example, leads to nearly 5,000 overdose deaths every year and cocaine is frequently abused by young adults ages 18 to 25.

Drug rehab centers can provide hope for drug addicts or those who regularly abuse drugs. It can be the light at the end of the tunnel, providing its patients with ways to safely detox from drugs and begin a lifestyle focused around clean and sober living.

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4 Things You Can Go to Urgent Care For

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Your local walk-in medical care clinic may just be one of the best places you don’t know about. It’s the ultimate source for convenient and affordable medical care. Head into a walk-in medical care clinic and you don’t need an appointment, but you won’t be waiting in line for hours like you would at the emergency room. Every year about three million patients visit America’s urgent care clinics. You should also be in your walk-in medical clinic if you need help with any of these:

Routine Medical Exams and Physicals

Your local walk-in medical care clinic is a great and convenient place to get your annual physical, exams for reproductive health or cancer screenings, or even for kids signing up for sports. In many walk-in clinics, you can make appointments, but it’s just as easy to walk in and see one of the 20,000 physicians employed in urgent care locations around America today.

Acute Care for Non-Life Threatening Conditions

Sometimes you really need medical attention quickly, but you don’t have a life-threatening condition that requires a hospital and emergency room. What does this mean? It means if you suspect you’re having a heart attack, the emergency room is for you. If you have a migraine, a bad sprain, the flu, or a respiratory infection, you can get treatment at your local walk-in medical care clinic.

Preventative Care

Not only can you get routine exams like physicals and wellness checks, but your local walk-in urgent care center can also help you and your family stay up-to-date on immunizations, administer booster shots, and help you manage chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or problems with the thyroid or gastrointestinal system.

Minor Medical Procedures

Four out of five urgent care centers can take care of minor fractures. Your local walk-in medical care clinic can also help you with lacerations and stitches, lance and drain abscesses, remove certain abnormalities of the skin, or help you deal with warts and skin tags. They can also help you if you have an unfortunate run-in with poison ivy, which is a good thing: 85% of people are allergic to it and it’s found in every state except Hawaii and Alaska.

If you have a cold or the flu, if you need a minor medical procedure done, or even if you just need a physical done and can’t find a convenient time to schedule it in at a doctor’s office, try an urgent care clinic near you.

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A Look at the Life of Someone Who Suffers from Hyperhidrosis

Treatments for hyperhidrosis

There are eight million people in the United States who suffer from hyperhidrosis. These people can sweat as much as four to five times more than other people who do not have this problem. This is considered to be a leading cause of excessive sweating. The most common cause of excessive sweating is referred to as primary focal hyperhidrosis and impacts between 1% and 3% of the general population.

Facts about hyperhidrosis:

  • People who suffer from this usually are healthy and have no other serious medical issues.
  • Because it can cause a decrease in the quality of life for people who suffer from it, it has been called a “silent handicap.”
  • There is some evidence that there may be a genetic component to this condition.
  • Some medications or neurological conditions can cause what is called secondary hyperhidrosis.
  • People who have this may suffer more infections on their skin due to the heavy sweating.
  • There are several hyperhidrosis treatments. These include surgery, injections with Botox, and medications.

The Daily Nation profiled a person who suffers from the condition, Gladys Nijru. She says that this has been a problem for her for as long as she can remember. She says that she was about seven years old when she found other children did not sweat as much as she did. She says the other children were mean to her. To keep her books and area clean, her teachers made her always have a towel and bucket of water, which set her apart from the other kinds her class. They started calling her “the cold one” because her hands were cold all of the time.

When Nijru’s mother took her to a doctor, they were told this was something that she would “grow out of” but she never did. He did not really understand the cause of excessive sweating she was suffering. The teasing she endured made her withdraw and her self-esteem suffered.

Because Nijru experiences the sweating from a number of areas of her body including her feet, underarms, and palms, she plans out everything she will do, every day. This change the way she selects the clothes she will wear and never wears white. It is also hard for her to wear open-toed shoes. Any open shoes have a tendency to slide off her wet feet. On the other hand, closed shoes can give her feet a bad odor. This makes her uncomfortable going to other people’s homes.

While she is not sure what her cause of excessive sweating is, it has had an impact of just about every part of their lives. When she graduated from high school, she wanted to go to college and eventually become a lawyer. She changed her mind and went, instead, into environmental science because the idea of spending all of her time inside and working with papers seemed like an unpleasant idea. She has just started her sophomore year in college. She studies at Kenyatta University.

For Nijru, dating is also a challenge. She hates having to tell people about the cause of excessive sweating that she has to deal with. She also finds it unpleasant to hold hands with someone she is dating.

Recently, Nijru found a support group in her area called “Hyperhidrosis Awareness andndash; The Perfect Imperfection.” It was founded and is run by Martin Kiman, whom Nijru met by accident. Before she found this group, her main way to deal with her sweating constantly was to just keep to herself. It has meant a lot to her to talk to other people who have the same problem she does, something she had never done before. She says it was great to meet people who have the same condition but have normal lives.

In addition to going to the support group, Nijru has also found help online where there are a number of forums for people to talk about their problem. Topics discussed are often ways to prevent underarm sweat and the importance of drinking enough water. Hyperhidrosis can often lead to dehydration if care is not taken.

Nijru says, “They are forums where I get to laugh at myself.” She also says she has learned of other treatments and the cause of excessive sweating.

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What You Need to Know About Hair Drug Testing

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More and more companies are using drug and alcohol tests for their current and potential employees. At least 62% of businesses have started to use rapid drug screens and hair follicle drug tests to make sure their workers are safe, they are in full compliance with federal and state regulations, protect their brand’s reputation, and promote a work environment that is free of drugs.

One kind of drug screening that is being used more and more is a hair drug test. While this is not effective at testing for drug usage within the last five days, for that the rapid drug screens will work better, but these tests show drug use over a longer period of time. It takes about five days for drugs to get into the hair shaft but once it is there, it is very hard to get it out.

When you use rapid drug screens, most often these drug test kits look at saliva or urine. There are steps people who know they are going to be tested can take to alter either of these fluids to pass these tests despite using drugs. When you test the hair follicle rather than the other bodily fluids, drugs leave the bloodstream faster as well, you get a more reliable result.

Every day, thousands of companies use hair follicle drug screens to see if their workers are using drugs. Moreover, the results of this kind of testing are so reliable that courts will accept findings and schools use them to make sure their students are not using drugs.

Hair follicle tests are used to screen for a number of illicit and prescription drugs. These include opiates such as codeine, oxycodone, and heroin, as well as marijuana, MDMA (Ecstasy), MEDEA (EVE), PCP, and cocaine.

The time period covered by hair follicle drug screens is a lot longer than for rapid drug screen tests. The time varies for the drug used when you rely on rapid drug screens that analyze saliva or urine. A sample of hair for a follicle test is generally about one and a half inches. The hair should be taken from an area that is close to the scalp. This can show drug use as far back as 90 days.

While the speed with which hair grows varies from person to person, for the most part, it grows about .5 inches each month. Because people’s hair grows at different rates, the testing time frame also varies from person to person. So if two workers ingest one of the substances at the same time, and it was around 80 t0 90 days before your tested their hair, one may pass the test and the other may fail.

Mant companies who want to make sure their employees are not using drugs such as cocaine, opiates, PCP, and methamphetamine wonder if they would be better off using rapid drug screens to test their urine. The problem with that form of testing is that these substances are cleared from the urine fairly quickly. Within three days (72 hours), they are gone. When people use marijuana, many people assume that always stays in a person’s system for a long time but that is not true for the user who does not have a pot habit. For someone who uses once in a while, the chances are good that unless you test soon after their last use, they will pass your test.

The main drawback with hair follicle testing is that it does take some time for the drug to get into the hair shaft. If your worker has used the drug for the first time, or the first time in a long time, when you take the hair and they used within five days, they may pass. It should also be noted that the hair drug test cannot tell you when the person used a substance, just that they did. So, if a worker you just hired failed a drug test, they may have recently stopped so you should talk to them about the drug test results before letting them go.

Addiction to drugs an alcohol is a major, global, health problem. Keeping your workplace drug free is an admirable goal and hair follicle drugs testing can help with that.

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All About Urgent Care Centers

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The landscape of American health care is always changing. The private doctors’ offices are slowly disappearing, and replacing a visit to the doctor’s office with one to the emergency room costs more, wastes time, and also wastes resources. To fill the gap for those who need medical treatment, the urgent care industry has been growing steadily over the last few years. Read on for some important facts about urgent care centers.

There are Plenty of Urgent Care Clinics to Choose From

There are currently at least 9,000 in the United States, and 85% of them are open seven days a week. Approximately three million patients visit America’s urgent care centers every week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.

Urgent Care Can Be a Great Way to See a Doctor

Unlike with traditional doctor’s office visits, it’s not necessary to make an appointment to see a physician in an urgent care center. Seeing a doctor in a hospital emergency room can mean a very long wait and a huge expense; seeing a doctor at a private office involves changing your schedule to find openings in their appointments. Seeing a doctor at the urgent care clinic for medical treatments can be done faster and more conveniently. While not everyone at an urgent care center is a physician, there are 20,000 doctors working in urgent care today and more than 94% of urgent care clinics have a full-time doctor on staff.

Where are Urgent Care Centers Located?

They can be found everywhere, and particularly near bigger cities. About half of all centers are in buildings of their own, while another half are found in shopping centers. Over 60% of walk-in clinics have been operating for more than five years, and 40% have been open nine years or longer.

What Medical Treatments are Available at an Urgent Care Center?

The most common diagnosis at an urgent care clinic is for some kind of condition of the upper respiratory system. The most common procedure conducted at the clinics is wound repair. They are also great places to get medical treatments for urinary tract infections, a cold or flu, treatment for poison ivy, headaches, earaches, sprains and sports injuries, and most can also provide care for fractures.

How Many Emergency Room Visits Could Have Gone to Urgent Care?

The numbers will vary every year, but a 2010 study found that about 14% to 27% of visits to hospital emergency rooms could have been dealt with faster and less expensively at an urgent care clinic. In fact, had they been, the cost savings would have been nearly $4.5 billion.

How Quickly Will I Be Seen if I Visit Urgent Care?

Most people can get medical treatments at an urgent care facility very quickly. Current stats show that the average wait for nearly 70% of urgent care centers is 20 minutes or less. The average wait at most emergency rooms is at least twice as long.

Urgent care clinics are a growing feature of America’s healthcare landscape, and they are filling needs that traditional doctors offices and hospitals cannot cope with as conveniently, quickly, and cost-effectively. Make sure you know where the nearest urgent care center is for the next time you or your family have non-life threatening need for medical treatments.