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How to help someone to quit smoking?

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There has been a consistent increase in the number of people addicted to smoking year by year and it is not just restricted to men but also women and teenagers. Many start as fun and become enslaved to the nicotine. And, then, it can be hell to make a person quit it. Probably, the person might start hating you for battering him regularly on his habit instead of quitting. So, there are some habits which can help a person quit smoking. Encourage your loved ones in the right way and help them leave this habit. The first rule is always to make them want to quit the habit by themselves.
Habits which can help you leave smoking
  • Chewing peppermint or a menthol toffee as it makes your brain crave less for something hot.
  • Chewing a mint-flavored or other bubblegum keeps the mouth busy and keeps your cravings away.
  • Drink water or fruit juices very slowly at the time of cravings will make the craving go away by the time you finish the drink. A moment of weakness is enough to hook on to bad vices and a moment of strength is enough to develop new habits.
  • Eating grapes is a good idea at time of cravings.
  • Make sure that you do not smoke for 21 days and it will become a habit. It is said that it takes only 21 days for a habit to foster into routine so stick to your determination through thick and thin for just 3 weeks. Starting days are hardest but your will power should carry you through.
  • A very useful thing which I read in one of the comments is that think about the money you poured for the smoking habit just to help the companies let you die and what you could have done with that kind of money.
Give support to your loved ones to discourage their habit
  • If it is a relative who has this habit and you want him to leave it, this especially helps in intimate relations. Be honest with a person and make them understand you reasons for hating their habit. That will strike a chord somewhere inside.
  • Do not get angry with their habits and comment on them. This makes people more determined to stick to the forbidden habits.
  • Explain them your worries about their health. Be reasonable and not pushy. That will yield better results.
  • A psychological condition with the smokers is that they feel they would fail if they do not smoke. Understand this fear and work around it. Show them the strengths if they leave the habit. Tell them how their family would fare better without the smoke. Talk especially about small children.
  • Do not make them feel bad about their habit. Instead motivate them to work on their good ones.
  • Do not force. This might sound repetitive but this is the most common of the pitfalls one can fall into because of losing temper or patience. And, the results the opposite of what was intended.
  • Motivate them to seek professional advice. It easier to leave such habits while in a group of people who are undergoing same things instead of going through it alone.
  • Reward the person for their efforts. A special trip or something they wanted to have since a long time, any thing special would shift the focus towards the benefits of leaving the habit.
  • Do not give up or expect them to stop in just one day. It is not possible. It is a consistent effort depending on the emotional state of the person involved with smoking. Some smoke just for fun but smoke because it takes them away from their problems, many are trying to hide something behind the facade of smoking so understanding the psyche of a person is important when you want them to give up smoking.
  • Do not ever chide them for their weakness.
Instead of ignoring the bad habits of someone you love, work with them to lose such habits. The working would take time but a step how so ever small is a step instead of not starting at all. And, this fact would apply in any kind of a situation and any kind of problem you are trying to deal with in your life. Understanding the person, their fears, their strengths and weakness would help you help them.

Root Canalling or Filling?

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Dental problems continue to hound you for life, if given a chance to start. And, worse still, your dentists are not to be believed. Now, why do I say this? Well, yesterday, I went with my friend for getting her filling done. She already had a filling in her cavity but she was getting pain so she went for a simple check up. She could not visit the same doctor who did her filling so we went to the one nearest in our vicinity.
When we went for consultation, he was pretty insistent on root canalling which was not required in my friend’s case as the cavity in her teeth had not reached the roots. Yes, you can tell that by looking at the X-ray. And, she was also told so by her previous doctor. Look at the X-ray, you can easily find the demarcation between a cavity and the teeth. I shall ask for X-rays and scan them and put them up so that it would be a visual help. In root canalling, the teeth is killed by pulling all the nerves from the root and desensitizing the teeth which is required only when the cavity reaches the root nerves. You can see that in the X-ray too.
To speak of the doctor, he was young and quite inexperienced as my friend said. He was not at all confident of his work but that at least was well in a sense that she got a very good quality filling done. Now, when she already had a filling, why did she get another filling? Reason is the doctor. When we went for the check up, they said the already existing filling is really good. Only, it has chipped from the top. They said they can fill that up and bring the filling in proper shape again. We thought that they would apply a little bit of filling over the existing filling so we went ahead with the idea. When my friend went on the dentist chair (which you should be really afraid of), there was no looking back. I was, very ruthlessly, thrown out of the room. And, my friend re-emerged from the chair after a full two hours! Any one would say that when does filling take so long. What I come to know then is that her existing filling was removed and a new filling was put in place just to fill the above chipped part!! I was shocked. But, I think whatever happens, happens for the best. Why? Coz the doc was uncertain of his work, he did a very good job of the filling and another reason is that my friend’s earlier filling was silver mixed with mercury which got replaced with a tooth color cement filling.
I am very sure that you are already aware of the toxic effects mercury has on the body. Well, if you do not, let me just say this that mercury is used to melt silver and then, the mixture is poured into the filling. Thus, metal fillings should never be done as mercury is always used to melt the metal and then mixed and poured into your tooth or jaw. That keeps on sipping slowly into your system and badly affects your kidneys, brain, liver and spinal cord. General problems are breathing problems, nausea, memory loss, hallucination, personality disorder and skin allergies among others. And, mind you, there is always a danger of exposure to mercury in the environment itself so it is not only a dental filling which introduces mercury into your body.
Secondly, metal fillings look really bad when you open your mouth for eating or laughing or talking purposes 🙂 A tooth color cement is also used for fillings. I would not say that they do not use chemicals. The procedure goes something like this. A layer or two of chemical is added then dried with a UV light bulb. And, this process is repeated till the whole of your cavity fills up. There are lot of chemicals used in this method but they are less toxic than mercury.
Now that you have heard of toxic effects of mercury, please do not rush to the doctor to get your fillings replaced immediately. See for yourself that have you been really having any problems and allergies after the fillings, get yourself tested for mercury allergies and then approach the doctor. And, people going for fillings, opt for porcelain or other kinds of fillings which do not involve mercury.
So, coming back to the incident of my friend, I would like to say do not believe what your doctor tells you. There is free information available today. Search on the topic, ask your friends and other doctors you know, ask people who have the same problems, these things help a lot in getting a correct diagnosis and proper treatment. Many doctors tend to treat the symptom instead of the cause. So, unless its your family doctor, always be skeptical of what you are being told. There is no harm in taking second opinion for serious things. Always be skeptical of your doctor and do not hesitate to ask a reason. You are not a guinea pig. If they fail to give an answer, run from there never to return and if they give an answer, take time to counter check. There is always some or the other doctor whom your acquainted with or related to. Always take advice from them. They are the ones who can give you the best advices.
After covering this incident and my advices, I would stress that prevention is always better than cure. So, start taking care of your teeth from today. And, stay away from sweets. Trust me they harm you (at least your teeth) real bad. I do have another incident about it which I would save for another post but you have been warned!! Floss regularly. Buy Oral-B toothbrush and floss. It was recommended by the same dentist. Flossing is difficult if you are new at it. Getting at the teeth at the back of the jaw, especially, the upper jaw is really difficult but you need to have patience and slowly you would master it. And, then flossing would take you no more than 5 minutes each time. If you do have cavities and other dental problems, I would recommend flossing after every meal. Otherwise, two times a day is fine. I would also add that if you are flossing for the first time, you would notice the blood on the floss. It is perfectly fine. It just indicates that your gums are not healthy and the situation would improve with every time you floss. Make your children learn this habit early in life to prevent their dental problems. Lastly, eat these foods to keep your teeth healthy and white.

Baba Ramdev’s Women Problems Video

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Below is embedded a video by Baba Ramdev. It is an hour long and so much full of tips that first I thought of recounting them here. But, it is just impossible to. So, I”ll just write a short summary about the video.

This video was specially made for women and their problems. So, it recants all the home remedies, physical exercises and Ayurvedic medicines for every problem a woman can face right from a simple hair loss and pimple to the infertility due to closed fallopian tubes, fibroids in the uterus or irregularities of the menstrual cycle. Baba Ramdev says that every problem in the body can be cured by just simple pranayam techniques and the most important of them are Anuloma-Viloma and Kapalabhati. These exercise if done daily for 15-20 minutes each can cure all our problems:
  • wrinkles, pimples, acne, moles on our face
  • split ends, damaged hair, weak hair, hair loss or promoting hair growth
  • keeping lips and eyes in the best of their conditions
  • improving the health problems caused by irregular periods like back problems or stomach problems or heavy blood flow
  • infertility due to closed fallopian tubes, smaller size of the uterus, fibroids and cysts in the uterus
  • migraine and regular headaches
  • improper functioning of any part of the body
  • weight loss for people with excess fat and weight gain for people who are too thin
The exercises can be done even during the periods. But, pregnant women should not do Kapalbhati. Probably, it will be bad for the baby. He also warns to stay away from the burgeoning market of the cosmetics which are useless and do nothing but rob you out of money and eating a lot of spices in the food. Eating wrong food can cause irreversible damage to your system like eating lots of spices causes both hair loss and weakening of eye sight.

Some simple Grandmother’s Remedies (Dadi Maa Ke Nuskhe) for hair loss and chapped lips.

  • Apply some oil in your belly button to prevent dry and chapped lips.
  • Rub the nails of both your hands against each other. Exclude the thumbs if you do not want to grow a mustache and beard. This can help even bald men regain their lost hair. The simplest and most inexpensive remedy for hair loss and promoting hair growth.
  • Apply Mustard Oil / Sesame Oil / Coconut Oil to your hair for keeping it healthy and black. Mustard Oil is the best for cooking purposes and body massages whereas sesame oil is used in all Ayurvedic preparations.