Self-Care at Home

• Rest in bed. Avoid physical exertion. Avoid using alcohol and tobacco.

• Drink plenty of fluids such as water, fruit juices, and clear soups (chicken). Water should never be the sole or main liquid consumed because it does not contain adequate electrolytes (sodium and potassium, for example) that the body requires. Commercially available products such as Gatorade and other similar sports drinks can be useful in this regard. For children, ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) packets are another good way to replenish the body. A similar rehydrating solution can be made at home using salt, sugar, and plain or rice water. Adding some orange juice and mashed bananas enhances the taste and also provides a good source of potassium. Such a solution can be used by anyone, regardless of age.
• (Advil or Motrin), and Treat fever and aches with over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofennaproxen (Aleve or Naprosyn). Aspirin should not be used because of its association with Reye syndrome.
  • Caution: For children younger than 16 years with symptoms of flu or cold, aspirin is not recommended because it is associated with liver and brain damage (a condition known as Reye syndrome).
• Use cough suppressants and expectorants to treat the cough.
• Steam inhalations may be useful in opening up a blocked nose and thus make breathing easier.
  • To create steam, boil water on the stove, remove the pot from the stove, then sit with a towel over your head and inhale the steam. The water should be hot, not boiling under your face. Use caution if you have asthma. You may enhance the decongestant effect of the steam by adding a half teaspoon of Vicks VapoRub, 1-2 drops of eucalyptus oil, or a few slices of ginger to the boiling water.
  • Another simple method is steaming up the bathroom by letting the shower run with hot water only. Inhaling the moisture in a steamy room can serve a similar purpose. Be careful, however, not to sit directly under the shower in order to avoid getting burned.
• Avoid touching hard surfaces where flu viruses may remain alive: handrails, telephones, doors, faucets, and counters. Wash your hands often, especially after being in public places or at work.
• Cough and sneeze into a soft tissue or handkerchief. Carefully dispose of soft tissues after using them.
• Stay away from people who have the flu, if possible.

Taken from: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/flu_in_adults/article_em.htm

Overview

A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in your brain. Many different types of brain tumors exist. Some brain tumors are noncancerous (benign), and some brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Brain tumors can begin in your brain (primary brain tumors), or cancer can begin in other parts of your body and spread to your brain (secondary, or metastatic brain tumors).

The number of brain tumors diagnosed each year is increasing. There’s evidence the increase has been occurring for decades. But it’s not clear why.

Sypmtoms

The signs and symptoms of a brain tumor vary greatly and depend on the brain tumor’s size, location and rate of growth.

General signs and symptoms caused by brain tumors may include:

• New onset or change in pattern of headaches
• Headaches that gradually become more frequent and more severe
• Unexplained nausea or vomiting
• Vision problems, such as blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision
• Gradual loss of sensation or movement in an arm or a leg
• Difficulty with balance
• Speech difficulties
• Confusion in everyday matters
• Personality or behavior changes
• Seizures, especially in someone who doesn’t have a history of seizures
• Hearing problems
• Hormonal (endocrine) disorders

Causes

Brain tumors that begin in the brain
Primary brain tumors originate in the brain or close to it, such as in the brain-covering membranes (meninges), cranial nerves, pituitary gland or pineal gland. Primary brain tumors begin when normal cells acquire errors (mutations) in their DNA. These mutations allow cells to grow and divide at increased rates and to continue living when healthy cells would die. The result is a mass of abnormal cells, which forms a tumor.

Primary brain tumors are much less common than are secondary brain tumors, in which cancer begins elsewhere and spreads to the brain. Many different types of primary brain tumors exist. Each gets its name from the type of cells involved. Examples include:

• Acoustic neuroma (schwannoma)
• Astrocytoma, also known as glioma, which includes anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma
• Ependymoma
• Ependymoblastoma
• Medulloblastoma
• Meningioma
• Neuroblastoma
• Oligodendroglioma
• Pineoblastoma

Cancer that begins elsewhere and spreads to the brain
Secondary (metastatic) brain tumors are tumors that result from cancer that starts elsewhere in your body and then spreads (metastasizes) to your brain. In some cases you may have a history of cancer when a brain tumor is discovered. In other cases, a brain tumor is the first sign of cancer that began elsewhere in your body.

Secondary brain tumors are far more common than are primary brain tumors. Any cancer can spread to the brain, but the most common ones include:

• Breast cancer
• Colon cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Lung cancer
• Melanoma
• Neuroblastoma
• Sarcoma

Taken from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/brain-tumor/DS00281

Stroke is a brain attack. It is much like a heart attack, only it occurs in the brain. Like a heart attack, stroke is a medical emergency. Do not wait or hesitate to call for emergency medical help. Fast treatment makes a big difference in outcome for someone having a stroke.

CALL 911 for STROKE

When the blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off or greatly decreased, a stroke occurs. If the blood supply is cut off for several hours or more, the brain cells, without enough blood supply, die.

Depending upon the amount of blood involved and location of the stroke area in the brain, a person having a stroke can show many signs and symptoms. These can range from barely noticeable difficulties moving or speaking to paralysis or death.

Until recently, doctors were unable to do much while a person was having a stroke or immediately afterward. Now however, treatments for the acute event, while it is happening, are available, which makes recognizing strokes and getting immediate care critically important.

• About 750,000 new strokes occur in the United States each year. Stroke is the third most common cause of death (after heart disease and cancer). Strokes occur more frequently in older people but can occur in persons of all ages, including children. African Americans are at a higher risk of stroke than whites. Hispanics have an intermediate risk.
• A transient ischemic attack (known as a TIA or ministroke) is similar to a stroke except that, with a TIA, the symptoms go away completely within 24 hours. People who have a TIA are very likely to have a stroke in the near future.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a stroke depend on what part of the brain and how much of the brain tissue is affected.

• Stroke symptoms usually come on suddenly—in minutes to an hour.
• There is usually no pain associated with the symptoms.
• The symptoms may come and go, go away totally, or get worse over the course of several hours.
• If the symptoms go away completely in a short time (fewer than 24 hours), the episode is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA).
• A third of all strokes occur during sleep, so people first notice the symptoms when they wake up.
• These are the common symptoms of stroke:
  • Weakness in the arm or leg or both on the same side: This can range from total paralysis to a very mild weakness. Complete numbness or a pins-and-needles feeling may be present on one side of your body or part of one side of your body.
  • Weakness in the muscles of the face: Your face may droop or look lopsided. Speech may be slurred because you can’t control the movement of your lips or tongue.
  • Difficulty speaking: You can’t speak, speech may be very slurred, or when you speak, the words sound fine but do not make sense.
  • Coordination problems: You may seem uncoordinated and stumble or have difficulty walking or difficulty picking up objects.
  • Dizziness: You may feel drunk or dizzy or have difficulty swallowing.
  • Vision problems: You may develop difficulty with vision, such as double vision, loss of peripheral (side) vision, or blindness. (Blurred vision by itself is not usually a symptom of stroke.)
  • Sudden headache: A sudden, severe headache may strike like “a bolt out of the blue.” Some people have called this the worst headache of their lives.
  • Loss of consciousness: You may become unconscious, stuporous, or hard to arouse and could die.

Causes

Of the 2 main types of stroke, the ischemic stroke occurs 80-85% of the time. With an ischemic stroke, a blood vessel in the brain becomes clogged. With a hemorrhagic stroke, a blood vessel in the brain actually bursts or leaks.

Hemorrhagic strokes tend to be more serious. The distinction between type of stroke can be critical in determining the treatment used.

• Ischemic strokes occur when a blood vessel gets so narrow or clogged that not enough blood can get through to keep the brain cells alive.
  • Plaques (or build-up of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits called arteriosclerosis) in the blood vessel walls can narrow the blood vessels that supply the brain. These plaques build up until the center of the blood vessel is so narrow that little, if any, blood can get past. Many things including high cholesterol and high blood pressure cause plaques. The plaques may occur in small vessels that supply only a very tiny portion of the brain but may also occur in the big blood vessels in the neck (carotids) or in the large arteries to the brain (cerebral arteries).
  • Ischemic strokes may also be caused by small blood clots or emboli that go through the bloodstream and then get clogged in an artery when the artery narrows. These clots can come from pieces of plaques in the bigger arteries that break off or from the heart.
• Hemorrhagic strokes occur when the wall of a blood vessel becomes weak and blood leaks out into the brain.
  • In addition to having decreased blood flow past the leak, the blood in the brain damages brain cells as it decomposes. If a lot of blood leaks out, it can cause a build-up of pressure in the brain because the brain is enclosed in the skull. There is not room for it to expand, and it can compress and kill important areas of the brain.
  • Hemorrhagic strokes tend to be more serious than ischemic strokes. Death occurs in 30-50% of people with this type of stroke.

Taken from: http://www.medicinenet.com/stroke/

Finally, have a great experience to save your precious life through healthy lifestyle!

Best Regards