What Causes Deep Vein Thrombosis?

Oct 09

The name might sound fancy to you, but deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is more common than you think. So, what are the DVT symptoms and who is at risk?

Blood Clot Formation
DVT is characterized by the formation of a blood clot in one of the deep veins, which are usually found near the artery and within the leg muscles that carry most of the venous return to your heart.

Most DVT cases occur in the legs in one of the following deep veins: femoral vein, common femoral vein, popliteal vein, profundal femoris vein, and the calf veins. However, DVT can also occur in other parts of the body. When a blood clot occurs, the blood will clump together and thicken in a specific area. Symptoms of DVT in the legs, if there are any, might include leg cramps, swelling and discoloration, gradual onset of pain, warmth, redness, and tenderness in the leg.

Pulmonary Embolus
When the clot in the veins break off, it can travel up the bloodstream and block blood flow. The clot that is loosened is called embolus, and this can travel to the lung artery and block the flow in a condition called pulmonary embolism. When this happens, the lungs and other organs are damaged and it can even lead to death. Unfortunately, most people who experience this do not show symptoms, but if there are any symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. Some symptoms may include chest, pain, shortness of breath, and coughing up of blood.

Even if there is no pulmonary embolism, DVT can still damage the vein valves and cause long-term swelling, pain, and sores in the affected leg.

Causes of DVT
DVT is a result of one of the following conditions:

1. Injuries in the lower body
2. Hip or leg surgery
3. Damages in the inner lining of the veins
4. Slow or sluggish blood flow
5. Medical conditions that cause blood to thicken or clot

Number 4 is a common cause of DVT, especially when the person spends hours without moving during travel or while sleeping in bed after a surgical procedure. If you have had surgery on your fractured knees or hips for example, your doctor must take precautions against DVT because you will not want to move much. You are also at risk if you have heart or respiratory problems (including hypertension), have medical conditions that affect the veins, or if you are obese.

Treatment of DVT
DVT is often treated as a medical emergency and the doctor must stop the clot from getting bigger, prevent it from breaking off, and reduce the chances of having another incident.

You will be prescribed the following medications: anticoagulants and thrombin inhibitors to decrease clotting and thrombolytics to dissolve large blood clots or vena cava filter if you can’t have blood thinners. You will also have to wear graduated compression stockings to reduce swelling in your leg.

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5 Ways to Find Your Next Job

Sep 14

Every year graduates flock from different school, each one seeking for jobs. If you are a fresh graduate or maybe just wanting some fresh perspective from another job, looking through ads has a slim chance of finding a good one.

Nowadays, it’s a normal trend to find competition among job seekers a bit higher than they did a few years back. But keep a positive outlook in life since there are still effective ways to land a good one. Start updating your curriculum vitae and don’t forget to indicate what makes you special. After that, you’re good to go for the job hunt.

1. Attend job fairs and events
If you have written your resume and profile with extra care, there are chances that you may be hired on the spot. Big companies attend these kinds of events as well as charities and professional organizations. Prepare a generous number of copies of your CV and during the event, hand it over to employers whom you think will consider hiring you depending on your qualifications.

2. Connect with alumni
Join meetings or gatherings in your area or region. Having a common vision, the same values, the same hobbies or having gone to the same school is a solid approach or even better if these are in your industry.

3. Enlarge your network
Meet people. Have an activity. Everybody knows somebody. Touch base with these people. Connect with old buddies and friends. You may want to buy them a cup of coffee sometime and just brainstorm. They may know somebody that you might want to meet later. Identify a number of most influential people in your network and meet with them. Ask for referrals. In a week, meet with three new referred friends of your circle.

4. Check job bulletins
In most government offices for example, they do display their vacancies either outside their offices in a board or at their websites. Define the top job openings for your skills, talents and qualifications. Update your resume. Indicate your skill and specialty.

5. Get references
If you happen to know somebody in a high ranking position in a good company or even your head of school if you are a fresh graduate, it is wise to ask them to refer you to a company of your choice where you intend to apply. Whether we accept it or not, sometimes whom we know makes a difference nowadays plus of course the skills we have.
These are but a few ways to help you get ahead of your job-hunting game. It’s always best to prepare yourself for the tedious job-hunting process but don’t fret; there’s always a good company just waiting for your application.

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Ways to Achieve a Flatter Stomach in Just a Week

Sep 14

Being healthy is naturally a top priority. Developing visceral fats must be avoided if it can be. Visceral fats are basically the fats covering the inner organs in our body especially around the stomach or belly area. Sad to say, they are easy to develop and so hard to eliminate. We need to exercise a lot and be conscious of our diet. But if we have discipline in our food intake and diet, plus an hour or two of everyday exercise, a fit body can actually be achieved.

1. Watch your diet
Eat fruits and vegetables for fiber. This will help you move your bowels easily every day. There is a truth in the saying that people who don’t move their bowels everyday have unpleasant odor as they sweat. This could be because you have not moved your body waste and it returns to your system. So when you sweat, some of the odor surely comes out in your sweat glands.

You may want to add natural diuretics in your diet like Chamomile Tea, Peppermint Herbal Tea, ginger, pineapple, papaya and yogurts that contains probiotics.

You may also want to reduce your rice and carbohydrates consumption into smaller amounts. Also, try eating small frequent meals. Keep with you crackers if you feel you are hungry in between meals.

2. Drink plenty of water
This is to flush out excess water and food you have taken. This is also part of cleansing your body system. If you’re not fond of drinking water regularly, there’s a tendency for the high-sodium food to be crystalized and will lodge like stones in your body organs. Water is also an effective beauty tip as this helps our body be naturally hydrated. Thus making our skin lustrous, glowing and healthy.

3. Avoid Soda
Sodas are carbonated drinks. There is more damage than benefit done in our system when we drink sodas. The carbon dioxide from those drinks makes you expand thus making feel bloated. Sodas are also a red flag as it contains sugar which is unhealthy and just making you fat.

4. Exercise
Make your exercise regular by establishing a routine that works for you. Thirty minutes to one hour every morning upon waking up will do you good. When going to the office or an appointment, be early and take the stairs if you can for more exercises for the day. It also helps your heart and blood circulation to be healthy.

5. Avoid too much salt intake
The more salt or sodium that you have taken in your food will hold water in your body. You will feel bloated and may also cause other damages like kidney diseases later. It’s also beneficial to avoid eating too much junk foods. Junk foods are what they are: junk.

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7 Signs that You Need a Pro Electrician

Aug 30

With so many appliances and gadgets essential for most homes to function nowadays, it is easy to forget that proper wiring and enough electrical supply are needed to keep them working safely. Unfortunately, even most apartment owners in Singapore are not aware that older circuits are not designed to work efficiently with the electronic equipment today. If this is the case, it is vital to have a reputable electrician services inspect and update the home’s power supply.

1. Burnt Out Lighting. Flickering lights can be a hassle, but if replacing the light bulbs do not solve the problem, it’s time to call a professional electrical service crew to inspect your wiring. This is common in old buildings with circuits that have not been updated. Old wiring can be a fire hazard, but do not attempt to connect electric wires by yourself even if you have had some training. Only a certified electrical worker should do that.

2. Few Outlets. Using a lot of extension cords at home is a fire hazard; that is why it is better to have new outlets installed. Contact an electricity handyman in Singapore to help you set up more power sources around the house. Your licensed electrician may have to check first how many appliances you have and do an estimate of how much power your home needs before new outlets will be mounted.

3. Frequently Tripping Breaker. If the circuit breaker trips, it means that it is working, but you should be worried if this happens too often. Contact a trusted 24 hour electrician if you experience power loss more than once whenever you plug in a gadget or appliance.

4. Power Dips and Surges. When there is a power failure every time you turn on the light switch or plug in a gadget to an electrical socket, this could mean that there is a problem with the power grip or the materials used for the switches and sockets are of poor quality. When moving into a new apartment in Singapore, let professional residential linemen perform safety inspections all over the space.

5. Poor Wiring. If your apartment unit has a poor electrical wiring, chances are, the other units in the residential complex also has the same problem. If this is the case, you should call a commercial electrical contractor to perform inspections and updates for a large electrical works project. A home electric handyman can also help with the wiring in the entire residential building if it has not been inspected for years.

6. Overloading. You do not need a licensed electrician to change a lightbulb, but most people make the mistake of forgetting to check the recommended watts for a fixture when doing so. This could lead to electrical fires because the heat from the bulb might be too much for the insulation in the socket and wires. If you are not sure about the fixtures in your new apartment, contact a cabling technician who can help you.

7. Faulty Switches. Sometimes replacing an old switch plate will not do the trick if the problem is with the circuit itself. Do not take chances with sub-standard materials and old wiring that is not appropriate for most modern lights and appliances. A licensed electrician can inspect and install power point switches for you safely.

Make sure to keep the contact information of your trusted electrician services company for emergencies and repairs.

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A Beginner’s Guide to The Different Types of Cargo Vessels and Transport

Aug 15

Being non-vessel operating, a freight forwarder agency must get in touch with more than one shipping company in Singapore in order to find the best method for cargo handling.

This means that aside from planning the transportation route for freight forwarding, they also need to find the best vessels that can accommodate the cargo itself, as well as which company owns those vessels.

Knowing the different types of shipping vessels, whether it’s for local freight distribution or international freight if you need to export goods, can save you time with your freight forwarding agent and let you know how your cargo gets to your destination.

Why Planes over Ships?

There are certain types of goods classified as CAO, or “cargo aircraft only”, which means they can only be transported by air freight. This is because these certain cargo types are more likely to combust or break down over extended periods of time, which is why they need to organise shipment as soon as possible.

These goods include combustible and flammable substances, such as gases, liquids, and solids, as well as corrosives and oxidizers, and their volatility makes them very expensive for a logistics company to ship.

The most common type of commercial vehicle used in air freight is the Boeing, whose variants can carry a cargo load of up to 9 containers and 8 pallets on their lower decks. Other airplane models, such as the Airbus and especially the A350-900, can carry up to 13.

Why Ships over Planes?

While you may think that all cargo can be transported via flight to make it faster, even planes have their own limitations in terms of take-off and landing weight.

Maritime forwarding agent charges lesser on shippers here in Singapore who transport their cargo by bulk or by container load. An experienced freight broker should be able to recommend this and be able to provide the most efficient freight forwarding option for you—be it by ship or by plane.

Here are the different types of cargo vessels used in sea freight:

• Bulk carriers – These types of cargo ships are used to transport cargo in bulk, such as mineral ore and food staples (i.e. grain, rice). They also have the cheapest shipping fees.

• Container ships – This type of transportation carrier transports their load in truck-size containers and are so common that they carry most of the world’s dry cargo.

• Tankers – Tankers are extremely crucial for transporting liquids, such as crude oil and petroleum products, in large quantities.

• Reefer ships – Reefer ships are used to transfer perishable goods, such as fruits, meat, fish, vegetables, and other types of foodstuffs.

• Ferries – Ferries often carry passengers and cargo from one land mass to another, but they are usually limited between islands in the same continent.

Your freight forwarder will recommend a specific shipping company to take your cargo, and give you a detailed insight on the freight forwarding services to expect for the transport of your goods. Your agent will also handle the bill of lading and provide you relevant shipping options to suit your cargo needs.

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