Higher healthcare calling motivates

by Mike Troy

Senior Walmart executives regularly invoke the name of Sam Walton when it serves to reinforce a point regarding the company's business model or the cultural principles on which Walton is said to have founded the company. Dr. John Agwunobi, president of health and wellness for Walmart U.S., took the practice a step further recently when he participated in a panel presentation with other top executives at a conference put on by the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business.

When it was Agwunobi's turn to address an audience comprised primarily of Walmart suppliers, he shared a grainy video of Walton speaking at one of the company's Saturday morning meetings. It was early 1992, and Walton was seated next to then president and CEO David Glass. He was bemoaning the healthcare system, the markup charged for various tests he was receiving and a general lack of price transparency. "I wasn't there," Agwunobi said, "but he used that opportunity to deliver a very personal message that Walmart has a purpose."

That purpose, embodied by the company's "save money, live better" value proposition, has become a more powerful force, motivating Walmart's health-and-wellness strategies. "We want to lower the cost of health care so more people can have access to it," Agwunobi said. "Every employer in this environment is facing amazing increases in the price of health care, and we think we might have a way to help them."

He believes the concept of the productivity loop the company applies to other aspects of its business can work just as well in health care. By lowering prices so more people can buy products and services, the cost can be lowered to increase access so even more people can buy and prices can be lowered more and access improved further in a sort of virtuous cycle, according to Agwunobi.

Can you Get Rid of Hemorrhoids With Drugstore Medication?

There are many drugstore and alternative Internet products
for treating hemorrhoids. Most of these products are not
made to cure or eliminate hemorrhoids but to give you
temporary relief of itching, pain, swelling or bleeding. I
don't recommend using any type of drugstore product that is not
natural for attempting to get rid of hemorrhoids.

If a hemorrhoid product contains petrochemicals, additives, coloring, dyes, or other chemicals, which enhance its appearance and feel, don't use them. Most, if not all, of these chemicals will be absorbed into your body where your organs of elimination will have to deal with eliminating them. In addition they may irritate your hemorrhoids making it more difficult for you to heal them.

Look at the label before you buy a hemorrhoid product. Check to see what the active ingredient is and how many different additives they have. Avoid those that have a lot of additives or dyes.

All products whether drugs, drugstore medications, or
natural formulations use chemicals, substances, oils, and
herbs that have the following properties:

" Anesthetics - suppresses pain and gives relief…any name with the suffix "caine" like tetracaine
" Analgesics - suppresses and give pain relief - some of them are Anacin, Tylenol with Codeine, OxyContin, Darvocet, Ultracet
" Vasoconstrictors - helps to narrow or constrict hemorrhoidal veins…any name with the suffix "rine" like phenylephrine
" Lubricants - provide lubrication in the colon to relieve constipation - mineral oil, flax seed oil, castor, oil olive oil
" Astringents - help to tighten tissue, which have been pushed out by hemorrhoid action - zinc oxide, witch hazel, calamine
" Keratolytics - help to remove excess hemorrhoidal tissue. They are compounds of sulfur and salicylic acid

Many of the drugstore medications have anesthetics. They
can aggravate and irritate the hemorrhoids you're trying to
get rid of. If you are using one of these drugstore
medications, consider using a more natural remedy.

In 1975 Carl I. Flath, wrote a book called The Miracle
Nutrient - How Dietary Fiber Can Save Your Life. In
his book he talks about the effectiveness of drugstore
suppositories,

"Suppositories quickly work their way up in the
rectum beyond the location of most internal
hemorrhoids, and so are of limited value in
reducing local pain. As antiseptics they are
essentially worthless, since the surface areas
they are supposed to protect are under
constant exposure to new bacteria….
Anesthetic agents do offer temporary relief from local
irritations and pain… Neither the suppositories nor the
ointments, however, do anything whatever to correct the
basic cause of hemorrhoids-constipation."

You can get temporary relief for your hemorrhoid condition using drugstore products, but in some cases these products can cause more irritation and discomfort. It is always best to try natural remedies before you move into drugstore products.

You will find a variety of natural remedies that work well on hemorrhoids. But as with many illnesses and body imbalances, natural remedies some times take a little longer to take effect, but not always. You can find a variety of natural remedies to help you get rid of hemorrhoids on the internet or you can look for some of my other articles on hemorrhoids.

Viral Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B

Types and Transmission of Liver Inflammation Due to Virus Infection

Jan 30, 2010 Wendy Anne Makhdum Prosser

Hepatitis A and hepatitis B, due to hepatitis A virus and hepatitis B virus infection respectively, are the most common and widespread types of viral hepatitis worldwide.

Viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by infection with a virus. Although various different viral infections can lead to hepatitis, the most common forms of the disease are hepatitis A, B, C, D and E, each of which is due to a corresponding virus.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is the most common type of viral hepatitis worldwide. It is caused by infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV), which is spread by eating or drinking food or water that has been contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. As a consequence, HAV is most commonly a problem in places where sanitation is poor and is less often seen in developed countries.

Hepatitis A causes flu-like symptoms, abdominal pain and jaundice that may last for weeks or months. There is no specific treatment for the disease, but people who have been infected with HAV are immune to the virus for the rest of their life.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B, caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), is also very common, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Like HAV, HBV is less prevalent in Europe and North America. As the virus is present in the bodily fluids of an infected person, the disease is usually spread by unprotected sexual contact, sharing needles among drug-users or blood transfusions. Hepatitis B can also be passed from a mother to her baby during birth.

The symptoms of HBV infection are flu-like but are often late to develop, so people with hepatitis B are often unaware that they have the disease. In some people, the disease becomes chronic, and serious liver problems such as cirrhosis or liver cancer can result. Medications are available to treat both acute and chronic hepatitis B.

Hepatitis Viruses are Common Worldwide

Although the various hepatitis viruses all cause inflammation of the liver, the viruses are unrelated to each other and are transmitted and treated in differing ways. Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are the most common and widespread types of viral hepatitis worldwide, particularly in resource-poor countries, but are less commonly seen in developed countries.

What Is Non-allergic Rhinitis? What Causes Non-allergic Rhinitis?

When a person has rhinitisthe inside of their nose becomes inflamed (swells), causing cold-like symptoms, such as itchiness, blocked nose, runny nose and sneezing. Rhinitis can be caused by an allergy (allergic rhinitis) or something else (non-allergic rhinitis). This article is about non-allergic rhinitis. The symptoms of non-allergic and allergic rhinitis are similar, but the causes are different.

Some individuals with non-allergic rhinitis often find they have a runny nose that does not seem to get better, while others find that symptoms keep recurring. The blood vessels inside the nose expand, causing the lining of the nose to swell. This stimulates the mucus glands in the nose, causing it to become congested and "drippy".

According to The Mayo Clinic, USA, and the National Health Service (NHS), UK, both children and adults are similarly affected by non-allergic rhinitis. Women tend to be more susceptible to nasal congestion during menstruation and pregnancy.

According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary:

Rhinitis is " Inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane."

The English medical word rhinitis comes from the Greek word rhinos meaning "nose" and the Greek suffix (word ending) itis meaning "inflammation".

There are different types of non-allergic rhinitis:

• Infectious rhinitis - also known as viral rhinitis. This is caused by an infection, e.g. the common cold or flu.
• Vasomotor rhinitis - the blood vessels in the nose are too sensitive, leading to inflammation. There is abnormal nerve (neuronal) control of the blood vessels in the nose, resulting in inflammation.
• Atrophic rhinitis - the membranes inside the nose become thinner and harder, causing the nasal passages to widen and become drier. Crusts form inside the nose, some of them foul smelling. The patient can lose his/her sense of smell. This type of rhinitis may be a complication of nose surgery or an infection.
• Other causes - some people may develop non-allergic rhinitis after taking certain medications, such as beta blockers, aspirin or the overuse of nasal decongestants (rhinitis medicamentosa). Sometimes pregnancy, puberty or an over-active thyroid gland can cause rhinitis (due to a hormonal imbalance). Eating spicy foods can cause rhinitis in some people (this is not allergic rhinitis because it is not caused by an immune system response).

What are the signs and symptoms of non-allergic rhinitis?

A symptom is something the patient feels and reports, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor detect. For example, pain may be a symptom while a rash may be a sign.

The signs and symptoms of infectious rhinitis, vasomotor rhinitis and rhinitis medicamentosa are similar, and they include:

• Sneezing
• A blocked nose
• A runny nose
• Nasal pressure
• Nasal pain
• Postnasal drip - phlegm (mucus) in the throat

The signs and symptoms of atrophic rhinitis include:

• Crusting inside the nose
• Crusts produce a foul smell
• The nose may bleed when the patient tries to remove the crust
• Anosmia - loss of the sense of smell

Individuals with non-allergic rhinitis do not generally have itchy nose, eyes or throat (allergic rhinitis symptoms).

What are the risk factors for non-allergic rhinitis?

A risk factor is something which increases the likelihood of developing a condition or disease. For example, obesity significantly raises the risk of developing diabetestype 2. Therefore, obesity is a risk factor for diabetes type 2. Risk factors for non-allergic rhinitis include:

• Irritants - people who are exposed to tobacco smoke, smog, exhaust fumes, and some other irritants are more likely to develop non-allergic rhinitis. People who work in environments with irritants, such as airplane fuel, jet exhaust, solvents, and some other substances have a higher risk.
• Overuse or prolonged use of nasal sprays and drops - people who use OTC (over-the-counter, no prescription required) decongestant drops or sprays for longer than a few days have a significantly higher risk of developing severe nasal congestion.
• Gender - females tend to be more susceptible to nasal congestion during menstruation and pregnancy.
• Some health conditions - individuals with lupus, cystic fibrosis, some hormonal disorders and asthma are more likely to develop non-allergic rhinitis, compared to other people.

What are the causes of non-allergic rhinitis?

Viral rhinitis - the lining of the nose and throat become inflamed when a virus attacks the area. Inflammation triggers the production of more mucus, which in turn leads to sneezing and a runny nose.

Vasomotor rhinitis - blood vessels inside the nose should contract and expand, thus helping to control the flow of mucus. If the blood vessels are oversensitive they can dilate when exposed to several kinds of environmental triggers, leading to congestion and too much mucus. Triggers include chemical irritants, perfumes, paint fumes, smoke, changes in humidity, a drop in temperature, consumption of alcohol, spicy foods and mental stress.

Atrophic rhinitis - atrophic rhinitis can occur if the turbinate tissue becomes damaged. The turbinate tissue refers to three ridges of bone that are covered by a layer of tissue inside the nose. Surgery is a common cause of turbinate tissue damage - if air flow is obstructed it is sometimes necessary to surgically remove turbinate tissue. Infection can damage turbinate tissue (more common in India, China and Egypt. Very rare in Western Europe and the Americas).

Turbinate tissue helps keep the inside of the nose moist, it protects against bacteria, helps regulate air pressure of the oxygen we breathe in, and contains nerve endings that give us our sense of smell. If some turbinate tissue is lost, the inside of the nose becomes dry, crusty and much more vulnerable to infection.

While some people need to lose a significant amount of turbinate tissue for atrophic rhinitis to develop, others need only lose a small amount.

Rhinitis medicamentosa - caused by over-use of nasal decongestants. In some cases it can be caused by cocaine use. Nasal decongestants reduce the swelling of the blood vessels inside the nose. If the patient uses nasal decongestants for more than five to seven days non-stop the lining inside the nose can start to become inflamed again - even after whatever caused the symptoms, such as a cold, has gone. If the patient carries on using decongestants to try to reduce the swelling, it will probably make the swelling worse (rebound congestion).

How is non-allergic rhinitis diagnosed?

Viral rhinitis - the signs and symptoms of an infection, as may be observed in a cold or flu, help a doctor diagnose viral rhinitis.

Vasomotor rhinitis - as this type of rhinitis has similar symptoms to allergic rhinitis, diagnosis is not so easy. There is no single test that can diagnose vasomotor rhinitis. Doctors use a system known as diagnosis through exclusion to be able to eventually make a diagnosis. All other potential rhinitis causes may have to be checked, including allergens, such as animal fur or pollen. This will include some allergy tests:

• Skin prick test - drops of diluted foods are placed on the patient's arm. The skin is then pierced through the drop, thus introducing the food into the system. If there is itching, redness or swelling, the indication is most likely a positive reaction. Experts say that negative results are 95% accurate, while positive results are 55% accurate.
• Blood test - the aim is to measure how much IgE (Immunoglobulin E) antibody there is in the blood. IgE is produced by the immune system in response to a suspected allergen.
• Patch test - a tiny amount of suspected allergen is added to metal discs which are then taped to the patient's skin. They remain there for up to two days. The health care professional then inspects the skin to see whether there has been a reaction. The test is generally done in hospital.

If the patient is found not have any allergic reactions, the doctor will probably diagnose vasomotor rhinitis.

Atrophic rhinitis - signs and symptoms, such as nasal crusting, widening of the passages in the nose, a foul smell, and the patient's loss of his/her sense of smell indicate that the patient has atrophic rhinitis.

CT (computerized tomography) scan - the CT scanner uses digital geometry processing to generate a 3-dimensional (3-D) image of the inside of an object. The 3-D image is made after many 2-dimensional (2-D) X-ray images are taken around a single axis of rotation - in other words, many pictures of the same area are taken from many angles and then placed together to produce a 3-D image. Doctors may use a CT scan to confirm diagnosis and check for changes in the nasal cavities.

Rhinitis medicamentosa - the doctor will ask the patient whether they have been using decongestant nasal sprays, and how long for. The patient needs to answer honestly. The doctor is interested in making a diagnosis, and will not judge or criticize the patient.

Ruling out a sinus problem - the doctor may want to determine whether the patient might have a deviated septum or nasal polyps. Either a nasal endoscopy or CT scan may be ordered.

What are the treatment options for non-allergic rhinitis?

Viral rhinitis - as the infection that caused the rhinitis usually goes away on its own, medical treatment for the rhinitis is not usually required. Nasal decongestants may help reduces swelling and blocked nose - it is important not to overuse as this may eventually make the congestion worse, leading to rhinitis medicamentosa. People taking MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) antidepressants should not take nasal decongestants.

Vasomotor rhinitis - an individual who has been diagnosed needs to try to avoid exposure to the environmental triggers that are causing vasomotor rhinitis. Corticosteroid nasal sprays may help reduce inflammation and congestion. If the patient does not respond, the doctor may try:

• Antihistamine nasal sprays - even though these are more commonly prescribed for patients with allergies, they sometimes help patients with vasomotor rhinitis.
• Anticholinergics nasal sprays - this medication helps widen the airways, which helps breathing. They also reduce the production of mucus.
• Sodium cromiglicate - reduces the production of mucus as well as inflammation. In most cases the medication is inhaled.

Atrophic rhinitis - nasal irrigation is most commonly recommended. A saline solution is inserted into the nasal cavities with the use of a syringe. Nasal irrigation is effective in treating crusting and dryness. If there is an infection - often the case if there is a foul smell - the patient will be prescribed an antibiotic.

The following surgical procedures are sometimes used to treat atrophic rhinitis:

• Young's operation - the nasal cavity is closed, usually for about nine months, after which it is reopened. This allows it to heal with a much lower risk of infection.
• Nasal narrowing - grafted bone or cartilage, and sometimes Teflon or silicon is used to narrow the affected nasal cavity. If the cavity is narrower crusting is less likely to occur.

Rhinitis medicamentosa - the patient needs to stop using the nasal decongestant spray. Some may find this difficult, especially if they have been using them for a long time. The following may help:

• Do not use the spray on the good nostril (or less congested one). The good nostril will eventually open up - then stop using it on the other nostril.
• There are some types of antihistamine, especially the older ones, that cause drowsiness and help the patient sleep. When taking them be careful not to drive or operate heavy machinery.
• Use a saline solution to naturally lubricate your nose.

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Top Tips to find Legitimatize Online Pharmacy Drug Store

Written by Vishal Dwivedi

If you are looking for legitimatize online pharmacy store then you need not to worry. It bit easy and no hassle comprised task. There are number of tips that help you out to find the required thing.

All of us know that reasonable price, fast delivery service, privacy are some of the factors that made the online pharmacies widely known among the common people as well as with patients. Also if we check for few years back, people required getting line up in front of a public pharmacy store and receiving their recommended prescriptions filled, introduction of online pharmacies has really proved a boon for the people who are incapable of going and buying their medicines from pharma stores. So, now people do not require covering up all the way and then buy medicine from nearby drugstore, no standing in line up in front of stores and more prominently all details and medical informations remnants locked, as private ownership and provided that it is entirely inaccessible to the outsiders. Now, with this boom of online pharmacies, any kind of prescribed drugs can be purchased by just clicking to the option of "order now" of that particular website of pharmacy. Everyone knows it's a minute task and is cost savvy too. Once you get done with the little procedure, the concerned Online Pharmacy supplies you the required variety of drug at your doorsteps.

Although online pharmacies are grabbing more and more popularity among the people, but this fact cannot be unnoticed that most of such pharmacies are not filling the requirement of expected values. The flourishing trade of online pharmacies has provided the way to few illegitimate pharmacies but patients must require walking with legitimate pharmacies only. If you are dealing with entirely legitimate pharmacy then you don't require thinking much about quality issues and standard policies linked up with buying and selling of medicines. Legitimate pharmacies rum smoothly with their high quality services in terms of all services. For finding legitimate pharmacy, you just check out the things:

▪ Check out for the proper contact details of online pharmacy with which you are dealing. It must possess a physical address and the mentioned or given address should idyllically be there in its website itself Prescription drug store.

▪ Pharmacy must sell prescription-based medicines only. Away from that it should require dealing with multiplicity of drugs.

▪ Always check for a seal of verification. Legitimate online pharmacies have their rank approved from a confirmation authority.

▪ Most significant thing is that you should avoid dealing with pharmacies that use to advertise drugs forcefully.

Over the existence the, online pharmacies in Canada has really been of immense assist for the patients and will retain the same reputation. Though, it is the best part to check for the above mentioned essentials before placing any kind of order with any of the pharmacy Canadian Pharmacy.

Red-Light Specials

Looking for sexual aids or just sex toys? You don't have to shop online anymore.

By Susanna Schrobsdorff | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Feb 13, 2008 | Updated: 6:05 p.m. ET Feb 13, 2008




Hustler magazine and Wal-Mart haven't had much in common over the years. After all, the megaretailer won't even carry Hustler's explicit publications. But now they have at least one area of overlap. As of this month, Wal-Mart will be selling Wet, a sexual lubricant that has been a staple for more than a decade at Hustler's adult product boutiques.

If you haven't heard of Wet or its cousins, like Astroglide, you probably haven't been exploring the "sexual health" section of your local drugstore lately.

The migration of what used to be called "marital aids" from specialty sex shops to the mainstream stores began about four years ago for Trigg Laboratories Inc., the company that makes Wet. "Since then, even the more conservative retailers have come over," says John Winning, vice president of sales for the Valencia, Calif., firm.


You might think that Wet and other personal lubricants with blush-worthy labels would be hidden away on a special shelf in the back of the store behind a curtain. Nope. They are usually right out in the open—near the female contraceptives and pregnancy tests."Every retailer has a different line on what will be acceptable—and that line can move," says Winning. "For us it was also about getting them past the name. But once they see our sales, that doesn't last long."

Nor are they the most risqué items to appear on pharmacy shelves in the last six months. Indeed, certain aisles are starting to look like supply sites for Cosmopolitan magazine's sex tips section.

Those who do go sex-product shopping online will find products that go way beyond the discreetly and romantically packaged offerings on retail store shelves without having to go to sleazy sites. Most of the big chains, except for Wal-Mart, have a sexual health section on their Web sites with an extensive and often eye-popping array of sex toys and "intimacy aids."

Click the "Sexual Wellness" tab on Walgreens's home page and you get a screenful of featured products that includes things like the "Liberator Wedge/Ramp," which comes in three colors and costs $210. (Sorting out what exactly it's for may take a little extra research.) And we won't even describe the other prominently displayed item on the page; suffice it to say it's called "Shag Throe."

For now there's not much chance you'll be seeing the Throe at your local pharmacy. But Winning says he has his sights on expanding into supermarket chains.

Durex and other companies are already selling the lubricants at many mass-market stores like Target, though Cleary declines to say whether the vibrators are heading to supermarkets, where they'd be just a few aisles away from the chicken filets. But the way these products are migrating, we may soon be able to add a lot more spice to our grocery lists.

Royal Botanic Gardens discover nearly 300 new plant and fungi species

Giant rainforest trees with exploding seed pods and minute fungi are among nearly 300 new species discovered by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in their 250th anniversary year.

By Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM GMT 22 Dec 2009

Kew scientists have discovered well over 250 new plants in their 250th anniversary year, including the Isoglossa variegata Photo: PA

However, while discoveries were made in exotic locations across the world, one expert found a new species in one of Kew Garden’s own glasshouses in west London.

Coffee lovers can also celebrate that their favourite morning brew could be saved from climate change after seven new species of the plant were found.

Nearly a third of the 292 new plant and fungi species unearthed this year are thought to be in danger of extinction.

Threatened discoveries include the critically endangered "cancer cure" yam from South Africa, with only 200 plants known in the wild. Regarded by locals as a medicine for cancer, the plant, which has a 3ft, lumpy wooden tuber, is under threat from over-collection.

The smallest species discovered this year are wood rotting fungi which are less than a millimetre thick.

Two species of flowering plants less than 4 ins tall, which take their energy from underground fungi instead of the sun, have also been identified.

According to researchers, the work to discover and document the world's plant species is vital in an era of climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Professor Stephen Hopper, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: "These new discoveries highlight the fact that there is so much of the plant world yet to be discovered and documented.

"Without knowing what's out there and where it occurs, we have no scientific basis for effective conservation."

Among the most impressive of the new discoveries are three towering rainforest trees identified by Xander van der Burgt, and colleagues in the Korup National Park in Cameroon.

Talbotiella velutina and Lecomtedoxa plumosa both reach more than 100ft into the forest canopy, but Berlinia korupensis tops these at more than 135ft in height.

Despite its size, the critically endangered Berlinia is a member of the pea family, whose 12-inch pods explode when ripe, propelling the seeds ballistically away from the tree.

However, this year's most surprising discovery was made by Dr Iain Darbyshire as he took a lunchtime stroll through the gardens’ Princess of Wales conservatory. There he found Isoglossa variagata, a plant native to east Africa and southern tropical Africa.

Dr Darbyshire later unearthed specimens of the plant, which had first been collected nearly 100 years ago, at Kew's Herbarium, a scientific collection of more than seven million dried plant specimens.

But despite a note on a specimen from the 1950s which reads "name urgently desired", it has only been described this year.

Dr Aaron Davis, a botanist and Kew's coffee expert, said the discovery of new species of wild coffee this year took the total found in the past decade to almost 30.

With most commercial coffee – the second most traded commodity in the world after oil – coming from a handful of plants, the genetic variety is very limited and the plants are susceptible to pests, diseases and climate change.

Conserving species with different traits, such as being able to grow in waterlogged soil or at different altitudes, could help secure the future of the important crop – but an estimated 70 per cent of wild coffees are in danger of extinction due to habitat loss and climate change, he said.

"Conserving the genetic diversity within this genus has implications for the sustainability of our daily cup, particularly as coffee plantations are highly susceptible to climate change," he said.