Speciality pharmaceuticals group Shire just posted its first quarter earnings with an extremely strong increase in sales in their hyperactivity treatment group of medications especially in the US market. In fact, they’re making about 19% more than they were this same time last year (keep in mind thats $972 million dollars).

Quoting one of their representatives:

“Sales of our ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) treatments INTUNIV, VYVANSE and ADDERALL XR were all up and the overall ADHD market in the US showed good growth.”

It seems like just another example of drugs being over-prescribed to me. “ohh, johnny didn’t do well on his test? He probably has ADD, let’s talk to a doctor and get him some treatment.” Meanwhile what little Johnny needs is less Xbox 360 and more studying. Parents are now-a-days looking for quick fixes for just about everything and sadly this has become one of them. Let’s keep in mind what we’re prescribing our kids shall we:
Adderall is just a version of amphetamine salts. Remember amphetamine? If you’re old enough it was probably called Dexedrine back when you first heard about it, but that’s just the medical prescription form that they had back then. Even if you don’t remember Dexedrine, you surely remember what the drug called “speed” is right? Think of it as a medically toned down version of the same stuff that is sold on street corners and first became popular by the beatnik generation (who’d usually inject it).

Now, back to adderall, if you think just because it’s not Ritalin that it can’t be that bad you’re wrong. It’s actually (on the scale of how addicting not to mention harmfull if used over time) far worse. From growth stunting, death, heart problems and high blood pressure as starters, this one can be a real problem if taken improperly. These drugs were made to be a supplement to real treatment for their ADD/ADHD. By that I mean behavioral treatment. It’s not just something you get prescribed and then forget about it until each month when you have to go refill the prescription, it’s something you treat with education on how to better train your brain to focus. Whether that’s getting in the habit of taking excessive notes, using a stress ball or other one-handed object to occupy yourself as you engage in another task or any other of the hundreds of treatments that can easily be learned. This isn’t alternative medicine i’m talking about. No new-age, hippie, take some vitamin C and you’ll be fine stuff, this is actually how to treat ADD/ADHD. Just think twice about having your child be prescribed any ADD/ADHD medicine. You don’t want them to still be taking it 10 years from now….because I promise you not only will they have been affected negatively by the drug, they also will most likely be taking a dosage thats 4x higher due to a growth in tolerance.

For more information on the drug visit drugs.com or the WebMD.com section on the drug.

Are you using anti aging products and treatments that may harm your skin? Look at this list of harmful ingredients and make sure to avoid them. They are not only risky but also useless for anti aging, so avoiding them is a win-win deal.

1. Acrylamide

This is an ingredient found in many products like face creams and hand creams. While the evidence is not yet conclusive, the studies say it may cause breast tumors.

2. DEA, MEA, TEA

These are often used to adjust the PH of skin care products, but they are actually restricted in Europe because of their known carcinogenic effects. TEA can cause dryness, allergic reactions and can be toxic if absorbed into the body regularly.

3. Dioxane

This is a widely used synthetic derivative of coconut, which often contains high amounts of 1,4-dioxane – which is easily absorbed into the skin. 1,4-dioxane is toxic and considered by the state of California to cause cancer.

4. Fragrances

Synthetic fragrances should not be in your anti aging products and treatments because you never know what they are made of. There are more than 4000 different ingredients it can be made of, many of which are toxic or carcinogenic.

This is not healthy to rub into your skin so instead look for a fragrance-free product or one with natural essential oil scent.

5. Petroleum By-Products

Ingredients like mineral oil, liquid paraffin, paraffin wax and petrolatum are all from the same source as the petrol for your car. They clog your pores which may cause irritation and acne, and they strip your skin of its natural oils causing premature aging.

6. Parabens

There is no conclusive proof that parabens are a health threat, but recent scientific studies say they may cause cancer. A lot of people avoid this unnecessary risk by choosing paraben-free skin care.

The easiest way to avoid all of them at once is to choose completely natural anti aging products and treatments. Natural products with proven effective ingredients are some of the most effective ways to get smoother and healthier skin.

You can usually tell how old someone is by looking at their eyes. They’re more than just ‘Windows To The Soul’ but also a way to show your age. Why is this so? Your area around your eyes will typically be the first to start sagging and becoming wrinkled which is natures sign of aging. You have to keep in mind that the body has three main types of skin on it. The skin around your eyes is the thinnest, most delicate skin. The skin on your face is more like the paper found in business cards and the skin on the rest of your body is more like file folder paper.

Think about how easily tissue paper is damaged or wrinkled. The very same type of thing happens to the thin skin around your eyes, which is why you should not treat the skin around your eyes the same way you would treat the skin on the rest of your face, or especially the skin on the rest of your body! Have no fear, there are simple routines that are easy to start and if you do them often (once a day is recommended) you can prevent and even reverse some of these signs of aging!

1. Do not rub your eyes!!. Rubbing your eyes either with your fingers or a wash cloth can wrinkle the skin around your eye area. When your are touching your eye area, use the pad of your ring finger, which is the weakest, softest finger on your hands and pat the area, instead of rubbing it. This holds true for applying moisturizer, concealer, or any other eye product. Eye makeup should ideally be applied with an appropriate cosmetics brush. When removing your eye makeup, use a cotton ball to prevent the pulling and tugging that may occur with a wash cloth or your fingers.
2. No Regular Soap For The Face. Most soaps are made to clean the “file folder” skin on your body and are not always gentle enough for your eye area. In addition, many soaps have a high ph, which can lead to irritation or dryness for normal to dry skin or even increased oil for combination to oily skin. Many soaps also contain lards or fats that can block pores and lead to increased acne. Be sure to use a gentle cleanser, specific to your skin type on your face and an eye makeup remover formulated specifically for your eye area.
3. Apply daily moisturizer around the eye area daily. It’s important to use a moisturizer on your face to help trap the moisture so your skin looks more like a firm grape than a weathered tennis ball! Since the skin around your eyes is so thin and doesn’t have much fat, it’s important to use an eye cream that not only moisturizes, but strengthens and firms the skin in that area and also encourages collagen and elastin production. Your body stops producing any significant amount of collagen on it’s own after the age of 16, but thankfully, there are moisturizers on the market that can actually help this process along and diminish and prevent wrinkles. If you already have poor skin try using something like Res-V Youth, it’s been promoted on many popular TV programs as a relatively inexpensive way to get rid of wrinkles and other signs of aging.
4. Get your beauty sleep. Researchers say that your body ideally needs 8 hours of sleep per day. While your sleeping, your body is working to repair sick and damaged skin cells. So, the more sleep you get, the more time you’re giving your body to naturally fight the signs of aging. It is literally the least expensive, most natural way to get that fresh, relaxed glow we’re all after.

These basic tips, if followed, can help reverse (also prevent) the area around your eyes from a lot of the damage that time will cause. The “Before” picture in this article is a picture of my eyes when my daughter was 4 months old, I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t taking care of my skin. Flash forward to the “After” picture, just 8 months later on my daughter’s first birthday. This was taken after I’d been fully rested and happily back on my daily skin-treatment routine. If I can do it, anyone can!  Start following these 4 simple steps and I guarantee you will notice a difference. This is safe for all ages, all skin tones, all body types! Don’t show your age!

The latest treatment in the prevention of chronic migraine headaches might surprise you. No, it’s not some sort of drug you’ll have to be prescribed, nor is it a new form of exercise or diet. To participate in this new medical breakthrough you’ll have to do something that you probably never thought to associate with a cure for anything other than old age, you just have to go get a facelift.

Using cosmetic surgery (or in most cases just Botox injections) to correct migraine is a fairly new idea to hit the scientific community.

According to WebMD, some 30 million Americans suffer from migraines with a large number of them being women.

The study enrolled 75 patients with moderate to severe migraine headaches. Migraine trigger sites in the forehead, cheek and back of the head/neck were identified, then injected with the face-lifter Botox to see if the drug “disarmed” them.

If the trigger sites responded to the Botox, which lasts about six-to-eight weeks, then the patients underwent surgery to remove the trigger areas.

Forty-nine patients were randomized to receive “real” surgery and 26 to “sham” surgery.

The surgeries differed depending on the trigger points.

“For the patients with forehead headaches, we removed the frowning muscles. That’s why they look better, more cheerful,” explained Dr. Bahman Guyuron, lead author of the study and professor and chairman of the department of plastic surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

Those with temple headaches underwent an operation on a small nerve, which also lifted their eyebrows.

And, for those with a back-of-the-head trigger, Guyuron replaced a small amount of muscle around the occipital nerve with fatty tissue to shield the nerve from being squeezed by the muscle.

After one year, almost 84 percent of patients receiving actual surgery reported a reduction in migraines of 50 percent or more while slightly more than 57 percent said that their migraines had completely disappeared, versus 57.7 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, in the sham group.

Some patients did experience temporary numbness in parts of the face, said Guyuron, but it usually went away.

“One thing that’s impressive is the migraine-free rates,” Lipton said. “The other thing that was impressive is they did a year of follow-up. Usually, everything is placebo-responsive but those responses are usually short-lived. A year is really impressive.”

Guyuron believes the procedure, which he has already performed on more than 400 individuals, could benefit a wide range of migraine sufferers. “It really is not invasive surgery. It takes about an hour to do the operation for each trigger site, three-and-a-half hours is the maximum,” he said. “They go home right after the surgery and go back to work within a week.”

But Lipton wants to see another study, and feels surgery should be reserved for the most intractable cases.

“This is obviously not for everyone. This is for people who are really suffering, who’ve had adequate trials of medical therapy and who have an identifiable trigger point and get better following a Botox injection,” Lipton said. “There are a lot of hurdles someone would have to jump over before I would send them for surgery.”