Lasting Health Effects of Drug Addiction

A few moments of pleasure can easily turn into a lifetime of pain for unsuspecting drug addicts.Even after an addiction has been treated, the health effects of drug addiction can linger. Sadly, many drug users will inject, ingest or inhale a substance without giving any serious thought to the consequences. Outside of lost jobs and ruined relationships, drug addicts will also face setbacks when it comes to their health.

 

Weakened Immune System

Drugs that are inhaled will cause damage to the nose, throat and lungs. This will lead to increased risk of lung infections and upper respiratory tract infections. Methamphetamines contribute to decreased immune function by drying out the mucous membranes. Defective mucous membranes are not able to help the body in its removal of harmful bacteria. This will allow foreign bacteria to wreak havoc on the addict’s body. Even when a drug is used just a few times, the health effects of drug addiction are plentiful, and chilling.

 

Brain Dysfunction

A number of drugs contain chemicals that are structured similarly to those created by the brain. Using such drugs will send those chemicals to the brain and activate nerve cells under false pretenses. Other drugs trick the brain into releasing high amounts of neurotransmitters that stimulate the reward center of the brain. In order to compensate for this release, the brain begins producing less and less of these chemicals. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult for drug addicts to experience feelings of joy and pleasure.

 

Damage to the Cardiovascular System

Drugs like marijuana and cocaine will create an irregular heart rate and constrict the blood vessels. This will force the heart to work at an elevated intensity. If the heart is forced to work too hard for too long, then it will not be able to supply adequate amounts of oxygen to the rest of the body. This can result in chronic muscle fatigue, stroke and cardiac arrest.

 

Infertility

Long-term drug use can have an impact on a couple’s ability to conceive children naturally. Male addicts may experience low sperm count, poor sperm mobility and low amounts of seminal fluid. Female addicts may experience disruptions in their menstrual cycles and destruction of mature eggs in the ovaries.

 

Tooth Decay

Drugs like ecstasy and meth can cause dry mouth. Without enough saliva in the mouth, harmful bacteria will have free reign on tooth enamel. In other cases, tooth decay occurs in response to cravings brought on by drug use. For example, marijuana use produces cravings for junk food. The additional sugar will eat away at enamel.

 

Toxic Neuropathy

Putting drugs into the body will interfere with how the body communicates with itself. When nerves are unable to communicate, it is often the result of toxic neuropathy. This disorder produces tingling and numbness in various parts of the body.

 

Addicts who receive treatment may be able to regain some nerve functions. Treatment centers like the Action Recovery Group, for example, will be able to implement a safe 12-step recovery program that will help restore the mind and body of drug addicts.

 

Addicts are constantly chasing the euphoric feeling of their very first high. As they continue to search, they end up taking their bodies down in the process. Once they decide to get help, they can begin taking steps towards reversing some of those damages.

Categories: carcinogens, dangers of drugs, Drug, drug abuse, drug addiction, drug addicts, harmful bacteria, health effects, Health Risks, Infertility, mucous membranes, nbsp addicts

The Truth About the Reasons and Causes for Infertility

Infertility is a serious sexual and reproductive health issue. It is the word given for the inability to conceive a child within 12 months of normal sexual intercourse without using contraception. This can affect the wellness and wellbeing of both men and women.

 

Women are at their highest peak of fertility during their 20s, but continue to produce eggs (ovulate) until they go through the menopause – usually in their late 40s or their early 50s. Men, on the other hand, can remain fertile right up until they are in their late 70s, but the quality of the sperm does deteriorate over time.

 

There are also lots of other non-age-related factors which can affect fertility such as general health conditions including thyroid disease, uncontrolled diabetes and obesity. Psychological factors can also affect fertility, and this can include things like tension, stress and anxiety. Excessive smoking or drinking can also cause problems with fertility, as can some kinds of prescription medications.

 

Female fertility is caused by various things, such as a failure to produce eggs, failure of the ovaries in developing, endometriosis, inflammation of the reproductive organs, tumour in the womb, hormonal imbalances, blocked fallopian tubes, hostile cervical mucus and, in some rare cases, a reaction against their partner’s sperm.

 

Doctors can assess infertility by doing physical examinations and taking a detailed medical history of both partners, including things like exposure to sexually transmitted diseases and any menstrual problems. Blood tests can be carried out to look for hormonal imbalances, ad sperm tests can be done to make sure that there is enough healthy sperm. Various scans of the female reproductive tract can also be organised.

 

Infertility is treated in a number of ways, such as through weight management, recommendation of best times for sexual intercourse, surgery, fertility medicines and in extreme cases another method of fertilisation, such as IVF or GIFT.

Categories: affect, affect fertility, Causes, Fertility, hormonal imbalances, Infertility, nbsp, produce eggs, sexual intercourse, sperm

The Dark Side of Supplements: Is Your Health at Risk?

There’s no denying that supplements can be beneficial to your wellbeing; if you’re missing vital nutrients or experiencing health problems, supplements can give you the wellness top-up your diet needs. However, many people get their supplements in synthetic form, and this can be a real health risk. Your body can easily assimilate organic forms of foods, while synthetic foods often have side effects. In fact, there are eight major ways that supplements can threaten your wellness:

 

1. Carcinogenic agents: Although certain supplements – like vitamin C – may have the ability to prevent cancer, others can cause the disease, especially lymphoma and lung disease. Beta carotene, vitamin E and phosphorous supplements can also aggravate your cancer if it’s in the acute stages, and may even cause it to spread.

 

2. Heart disorders: If you’re taking food supplements along with your blood pressure tablets, heart problems are guaranteed to occur. Vitamin E can cause you to have a heart attack, as it contains antioxidants which cause a negative effect on the blood circulation to your heart when taken in an uncontrolled amount. Also, if you’re taking the heart medicine digoxin, calcium can have a similar effect.

 

3. Liver disorders: Taking too much vitamin A can mean that you’ll develop liver problems, including nausea, vomiting and liver damage. The same can be said of protein supplements, but really any synthetic vitamins have the capacity to damage the membranes in the wall of your liver. This makes it more difficult for your liver to digest fat, and so you could develop liver diseases such as jaundice.

 

4. Pulmonary disorders: You can experience lung problems from protein and vitamin supplements, as the large quantities of amino acids build up an intolerance in your respiratory system, which leads to related disorders. These include difficulty in breathing, nausea, and headaches due to the lower supply of oxygen to your lungs, sinusitis, etc. You can even become allergic to the supplements, which can cause symptoms such as sneezing, coughing and cold and flu – especially if you take high amounts of vitamin C.

 

5. Digestive problems: Your digestive system has trouble absorbing protein supplements, and so taking the supplements in excess can lead to improper digestion. Symptoms of this include gas, vomiting, weight gain, constipation, diarrhoea and other problems. You also need to watch out for fat-soluble vitamin supplements, as some of these can release toxins which are harmful to your digestive system, especially the walls of the stomach.

 

6. Bone disorders: If you overdo it on vitamins B6 and B12, you can experience body pains and inflamed joints. Excess levels of calcium, though the mineral is good for your bone strength, can actually lead to arthritis, spondilitis, weak bones and muscles, and more. The best thing to do is to consume dietary sources of calcium, such as bananas, dairy products and dark, leafy vegetables.

 

7. Neurological Disorders: Vitamins – as well as minerals such as zinc, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous – can cause neuro-related illness such as poor nerve function, loss of memory power, limb numbness due to weak nerves and headaches. You can also develop neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, while your eyes may suffer from a high intake of vitamin A.

 

8. Reproductive problems: If you’re on the Pill, calcium and zinc supplements can increase your risk of infertility. According to recent research, consuming a high amount of any supplement that contains creatinine has caused Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) in 68% of young females, and 23% of menopausal women. In men, protein supplements have been known to cause decreased sperm production and even infertility.

Categories: cancer, develop liver, disorders, Infertility, nbsp, Neurological Disorders, problems, protein supplements, Supplements, vitamin, vitamin supplements

Could Excessive Exercise be Causing You to be Infertile?

You know that exercise is a vital part of maintaining your wellness, and so many people ensure that they incorporate exercise into their daily routine. You may be shocked, then, to realise that too much exercise can actually be as bad for you as too little. New research is emerging which suggests that excessive exercise could be damaging to your sexual health and your reproductive wellbeing.

 

Amenorrhea is a condition which occurs when women who are of a normal reproductive age do not have a normal period for three or more months. This is generally caused by not enough food, long-term excessive exercise or a combination of the two. If you experience amenorrhea it is a sign that you are putting undue stress on your body, and that you should reduce the amount of exercise that you are doing.

 

If it is not possible to reduce how much exercise you are doing (such as if you are a professional sports person or are in training for some event) then you should attempt to up your calorie intake to compensate for all the exercise that you are doing and make sure that your body has enough fuel to burn off during these demanding sessions. Otherwise your body has no reserves to use for energy and starts attacking itself, leaving you in no fit state to conceive a child.

 

A Danish study was published last year which corroborates this. It looked at 3,600 women who were trying to fall pregnant. The group was subcategorised according to weight, and their eating and exercise habits were monitored. The researchers found that women whose weight was normal but who carried out too much strenuous exercise could cause themselves to be unable to conceive, or at least to experience delayed conception. This was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, and seems to corroborate the idea that exercise can have a strong impact on fertility.

Categories: body, excessive exercise, exercise, Fertility, Infertility, nbsp, normal

Ladies, or certain gentlemen, I’d like for you to picture your perfect man for me. Keep him in your head for a moment, drink in that perfection with your minds eyes and sigh just a little bit on the inside. Is he rugged and deep voiced? Chiselled and well-toned? Is he an Adonis whose handsomeness sets your heart aflutter? If you’ve nodded along to any of those questions then I’ve got some bad news for you, especially for the ladies, that man may not be all that you expect when it comes to fertility. That’s right, your perfect man may actually have a lower sperm count and as such be less fertile than a fellow with a higher pitched voice and non-chiselled but rather, “malleted” features. Researchers in Australia have conducted into voice pitch and attractiveness when compared to sperm count. It’s long been assumed that handsome and generally all around attractive men are more fertile as it’d make sense from an evolutionary standpoint. It would be logical for women to be biologically drawn to men with a more powerful fertility so as to ensure the continuance of our race. This is certainly true in the animal kingdom, the red deer with larger and more complex antlers (the factor which attracts lady-deer) tend to have larger testicles and as such be much more fertile than those with smaller antlers. The study involved male volunteers with voices from low to relatively high pitched (for men) being recorded making vowel sounds. They were then asked to give a semen sample which was tested for its sperm count and relative level of fertility. Ladies were then asked to rate the voices in terms of attractiveness and then in terms of masculinity. It was found that the voices which they found less attractive and less masculine had a higher sperm count on average than the more traditionally masculine and lower pitched voices! So, next time you’re out on the pull or trying to find the father of your future babies, think before you act! Mr Right might be Mr Average! Do ladies find infertile men more attractive?

Ladies, or certain gentlemen, I’d like for you to picture your perfect man for me. Keep him in your head for a moment, drink in that perfection with your minds eyes and sigh just a little bit on the inside. Is he rugged and deep voiced? Chiselled and well-toned? Is he an Adonis whose handsomeness sets your heart aflutter? If you’ve nodded along to any of those questions then I’ve got some bad news for you, especially for the ladies, that man may not be all that you expect when it comes to fertility. That’s right, your perfect man may actually have a lower sperm count and as such be less fertile than a fellow with a higher pitched voice and non-chiselled but rather, “malleted” features.

Researchers in Australia have conducted into voice pitch and attractiveness when compared to sperm count. It’s long been assumed that handsome and generally all around attractive men are more fertile as it’d make sense from an evolutionary standpoint. It would be logical for women to be biologically drawn to men with a more powerful fertility so as to ensure the continuance of our race. This is certainly true in the animal kingdom, the red deer with larger and more complex antlers (the factor which attracts lady-deer) tend to have larger testicles and as such be much more fertile than those with smaller antlers.

The study involved male volunteers with voices from low to relatively high pitched (for men) being recorded making vowel sounds. They were then asked to give a semen sample which was tested for its sperm count and relative level of fertility.

Ladies were then asked to rate the voices in terms of attractiveness and then in terms of masculinity. It was found that the voices which they found less attractive and less masculine had a higher sperm count on average than the more traditionally masculine and lower pitched voices!

So, next time you’re out on the pull or trying to find the father of your future babies, think before you act! Mr Right might be Mr Average!

Do ladies find infertile men more attractive?

Categories: Attraction, Infertility, Information