As we get older, our skin is the most telling sign of aging. However, today we have many options to improve skin condition. There is no need to avoid wearing shorts because of spider veins, wear heavy makeup because of rosacea, age spots or acne, and wrinkles can be minimized. At Cosmetic Aesthetics Laser Salon, we provide comprehensive screening & education and develop a partnership with you in treating your issues. Our Fotona Nd:YAG laser provides the most flexibility and patient comfort of any laser on the market. Cindy Sult RN, has been a registered nurse for over 20 years, the last 10 of which she has been working in the cosmetic laser industry. She is a co-owner of the business and is currently an instructor of “Skin & Skeletal Systems” at Career College of Northern Nevada (CCNN).

Spider Veins: (Telangiectasia) Are widely dilated blood vessels and can be located anywhere on the body. Spider Veins are not the same as varicose veins. Spider veins are common in healthy people and are usually caused by sun damage or aging. They can also occur at any age, but usually appear between 18-35 years and peaks between 50-60 years of age. There are three main treatment options for Spider veins: Laser treatments, sclerotherapy, and electro-cautery. Sclerotherapy & electro-cautery can leave scarring. Laser treatments, with the Fotona Nd:YAG laser offers flexible settings and exceptional patient comfort without scarring.

Rosacea: is a chronic skin condition involving inflammation of the cheeks, chin, nose, forehead or eyelids. It may appear as redness, prominent spider-like blood vessels, swelling or skin eruptions similar to acne. While there is no cure for rosacea, it generally can be successfully controlled. The best approach for high levels of success includes education, laser treatments and skin care products.

Age Spots: 80% of all age spots have a vascular nature. An Nd:YAG laser, which targets blood supply, is very successful with that type of age spot. The remaining 20% are melanin type age spots, which can be successfully treated with education, skin care products, and various peels.
Acne: Acne has many causes including stress & hormone fluctuations. Proper skin care includes using safe OTC products even shampoos, and hair gels. Treating active inflammations or lesions with laser, having a recommended skin care regime specific to your skin type and closely monitored progress are essential when developing a program for success.

Wrinkles: As we age, our skin thins which is due to reduced collagen production. And our skin doesn’t turn over as often as in our youth. Laser photo-rejuvenation stimulates the dermis to produce more collagen, thus giving us a plump, more youthful appearance. A line of skin care products that encourages the more rapid turnover of skin cells, gives us that healthy pink glow associated with youth.

References:

1. www.wikipedia.org
2. www.skinsight.com
3. www.webmd.com
4. www.rosacea.org
5. www.mayoclinic.com
Dr. James Fulton, MD – “Acne RX”

Bladder control: Reclaim Your Natural Ability

When it comes to bladder control, embrace what comes naturally. Forget the prescriptions and surgeries. Simple behavior changes can create huge results. Here are 5 ways in which you can regain control of the frequency, urgency and leakage:

•Retrain your bladder
Our parents taught us to go to the bathroom before we left the house to avoid the need to urinate while we were travelling in a car. In other words, to go while we have the opportunity “just in case” the sense of urgency arises and we are unable to answer nature’s call. I call this a “JIC” pee. Our bladders have the capacity to hold 8-12 oz of urine. If we empty the bladder before we reach maximum capacity, we have retrained the detrusor muscle (the bladder muscle) to hold less and to alert us sooner. Try waiting at least 2 hours between voids. Don’t practice “JIC” pees.

•Avoid drinking 2 hours before bedtime
Imbibing beverages of any sort within 2 hours of bedtime will certainly lead to the need to arise and void during what is intended to be a time for us to rejuvenate and sleep. Try to stop drinking early in the evening. If you must take medicine in the evening, do so with your dinner to allow your body the time needed to process the liquid and send the waste in to the bladder. Empty your bladder just before you climb into bed.

•Squeeze before you Sneeze
Perform a pelvic floor muscle contraction, aka Kegel, before you sneeze, laugh or cough. Tightening the muscles of the pelvic floor will help you to avoid leakage of urine during a forceful contraction, which occurs with the previously mentioned activities. If you are unsure how to perform a Kegel, imagine that you are trying to hold back gas from escaping or trying to stop urine from flowing. The muscles you tightened for this task are your pelvic floor muscles (Kegel muscles).

•Relax
Urination requires that one relax during the activity. In other words, one should not force the stream. Sit on the toilet, if you are a woman. Men should stand and allow their muscles to soften, not strain. Many people in jobs where their potty breaks are few and far between with an extremely short time to be away from their duties, such as teachers and nurses, are in the habit of trying to urinate quickly. They push the urine out in an attempt to get done quickly. This forcefulness can cause pelvic organ prolapse, where the bladder and even the uterus can descend in the pelvic cavity and fall through the vagina. Another consequence can be excess stretch of the pelvic floor muscles, which leads to weakness. When the muscles are not strong enough to support the organs, leakage can occur. So, relax when you void. It is, however, often necessary to push when you defecate. Just don’t strain.

•Exercise
If we don’t use it we lose it. Muscles of the pelvic floor are no different than other muscles in the body. To keep the muscles of the pelvic floor strong, one must practice daily. Contract the muscles 3-5 seconds, for 10 repetitions. Try to work up to 10 second holds, 30 times per day. The exercises are easiest when performed while lying on your back. Challenge yourself by sitting reclined to 45 degrees. Advance to sitting upright, then progress into standing. These exercises can be performed while settling down to sleep, while brushing your teeth or while driving to work. Check to see if you are properly performing the exercise by holding a mirror between your legs. Women will see the area between the legs, called the perineum lift with a squeeze. Men will see the penis rise a bit. If you have any doubts, ask your women’s health physical Therapist or the gynecologist to check your status.

The field of women’s health Physical Therapy has increased awareness of issues, such as bladder control, painful intercourse, pelvic pain tailbone pain, post breast surgery rehabilitation and high risk pregnancy. Physical Therapists in the practice of women’s health have completed special training to enable them to evaluate, diagnose, and treat these sensitive issues. Despite the name, men benefit from women’s health therapy as well. After prostate surgery, men should seek the services of a women’s health therapist to assist with bladder control and erectile difficulties. Most importantly, Women’s health physical Therapy is a natural method of regaining control and function of the pelvic floor without surgery or medicine.

References:

1. Pelvic Physical Therapy, level 1,2,3 course manuals
2. The Gynecological Manual, Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association, 2002
3. To find a women’s health PT in your area, go to www.womenshealthapta.org.

For more info, contact Jane O’Brien a Women’s Health Physical Therapist at 775-831-6600 or go to www.essencerrelease.com.

by Dr. Thomas S. Lee, Naturopathic Physician and Homeopathic Practitioner |

Good clean water is a basic need for health and life itself, and scientists have validated ancient teachings about many other legendary attributes of water. All major religions maintain that water is sacred, and they use it to confer blessings and health to their communities. Healers and shamans in many traditions have long used water to retain and transfer healing energies to treat ailments of the body and spirit. How is water able to absorb and transfer these healing thoughts and feelings in so many different cultures?

Water has physical properties that permit life to exist. Less well understood is that water has a kind of memory of where it has been and the non-physical energetics it has “experienced”. This memory property permits a physician who knows the health conditions of his patient to match an appropriate medicine or combination of medicines held within a liquid solution. The medical effect of that water can then deliver healing effects to a specific area of the body. For example, a soup, an IV bag of nutrients, an herbal soak, or a cleansing enema would each deliver different benefits. The doctor trained in homeopathy uses old techniques of serial dilution and manual agitation to impart specific information and properties to his water based remedies. With skill and experience, these potent remedies work well.

Water and mineral proportions in our body fluids are very similar to those in ancient oceans, and our lives depend upon precise amounts and qualities of these from moment to moment. With this ability to convey non-physical information, it is evident that people and all living things are sensitive to the vital energy of water we drink or bathe in.

Mineral hot springs bring up water charged by epic variations in pressure and heat from deep-earth magma flows. The water in your body does exchange information and characteristics with untreated hot springs water. This has been found through the ages to be healing and strengthening.

Handling of municipal water through pipes, in buildings, heaters, and sewage treatment, often repeatedly, will charge water very differently than a deep-earth aquifer does. That weakened water will merge with your own in your showers, baths, and beverages, perhaps more intimately than you would like. The quality of our shared water shows how we value our water resources and each other’s life, ultimately.

To experience deep earth water memories for yourself, go to your nearby untreated geothermal hot spring and languish in a hot tub full of water that has never before touched another human body. Then compare that to your home shower or bath. Repeat this experiment as often as you like. Luckily, in the Reno/Tahoe area we have several wonderful hot springs to choose from.

References:

1. Emoto, Masaru. Messages from Water, Vol. 1 (1999) and Vol. 2 (2001).
2. Emoto, Masaru. The Shape of Love: Discovering Who We Are, Where We Came From, and Where We are Going, Doubleday, 2007.
3. Milgrom, Lionel. “Icy claim that water has memory.” New Scientist, 11 June 2003.

For more info, contact Steamboat Hot Springs at (775) 853-6600.

Written by Nancy Pfaff, CCHT, MNLP |

Breathless, Ella burst into her hypnotherapist’s office confessing she was “mean and nasty” to her husband over the weekend. She felt irritable and restless, experienced hot flashes which she hated, and thought she was in menopause. Something had to change. All the stress associated with hormonal upheavals showed itself in her body.

Her hypnotherapist, specializing in the passage to power–the menopausal journey–suggested a path for her return to harmony in body, mind and soul. Ella discovered some of the wonderful, new things she could do to reframe her situation and nourish her inner being.

Menopause can be a dynamic time of reinventing oneself, of setting new priorities. It’s a time of shifting priorities from giving one’s life for others to diving deep within oneself to release that authentic inner self. It doesn’t mean leaving the nurturing task to others, but balancing it with self-discovery and “blossoming.”  This physical change as a rite of passage to wisdom and power is more accepted and understood now than ever before.

How can hypnosis help Ella, and what can she do physically to help herself?

The hypnotherapist, working with the subconscious mind, can talk to the organs and cells of the body because the body is directly related to the subconscious mind. Negativity, which threatens the immune system and starves the cells, can be reversed through direct suggestion and the use of metaphor. Shifting negative to positive through guided imagery in the hypnosis process triggers a sense of safety in the body bringing balance and wholeness to the physical, mental and spiritual system. Hypnosis will help her Inner Healer (the parasympathetic nervous system) bring balance to her body, up regulate her immune system, boost her self-esteem and decrease her stress.

Hypnosis can also help in reframing the symptoms of menopause by looking at them from a different perspective. Using direct suggestion and metaphor techniques, an uncomfortable hot flash due to hormone imbalance can be transformed into an energy surge, burning away the hurts and disappointments of the past. Distress can be transformed into gratitude for a spiritual growth burst.

A hypnotherapist can work with the subconscious mind by teaching deep relaxation, and by implanting agreed-upon suggestions while she is in a hypnotic state. First the hypnotherapist will work with the client to identify several resource states—past experiences where she felt empowered, confident, healthy and loved.  Then the resource states can be made into suggestions, which will fortify her self-esteem and empower her to move forward with her dreams.

To help herself physically, the client needs to know what her body is doing to affect her mind and emotions. She needs to know her levels of estrogen and progesterone and how they are cycling. One of the best ways to identify these hormone levels is with a saliva test, because the saliva gland identifies how much of each hormone is actually being delivered for use in the body.

Once the hormone levels are identified, natural products and bio-identical hormones if needed can help to bring back a natural hormone balance. If symptoms are significant, you may need a well-informed medical specialist who works with bioidentical hormones that do not have the side effects of the pharmaceuticals identified by the Women’s Health Initiative.

Menopause is seen today as an opportunity to let go of limiting belief patterns, of developing wisdom and power by living out of  authenticity, and to bring to fruition longings and desires. Images of menopause indicating old age, being used up, being sexless and helpless are images relegated to the past. Balance your hormones, eat well, exercise, develop your spirituality with hypnosis, and celebrate your coming of age, into your wisdom and power!

References:

1. Consultation with Dr. Joseph Johnson regarding saliva tests and bioidentical hormones. Sierra Nevada Wellness Center, 2009

2. Borysenko, Joan Ph.D. ¬Menopause: Initiation into Power. Sounds True, Boulder 2004.

3. “Menopause — Women’s Night Out”, seminar in Reno, Feb. 28, 2009.

4. Brizendine, Louann MD. The Female Brain. Broadway Books Random House, Inc. New York 2006.

5. Alman, Brian M. MD. Self-Hypnosis: The Complete Manual for Health and Self-Change. 2nd Edition. Brunner-Routledge. New York 1992.

6. Brunson, Tim. “Integration: Innovations in Mind/Body Therapies.” The International Hypnosis Research Institute.

For more info, contact Nancy Pfaff, CCHt, NLP at (775) 560-3030, specializing in clinical hypnotherapy and Neuro-linguistic psychology.

Written by James E. Pickens, MD, FACS |

Asynergy treatment is designed to apply positive and negative pressure to the skin and subcutaneous tissue during 30 minute treatments. The initial treatment period will require a minimum of 15 to 20 treatments on a regular basis, a minimum of once per week. Following the initial treatment period, the Synergie provider will reevaluate the client and suggest a maintenance program for continued care. It is suggested that the maintenance program consist of at least two treatments per month for three to four months following the initial aggressive package of 10 to 15 treatments followed by a minimum of once per month for at least one year. The treatment will continue to exert results from the skin and subcutaneous tissue allowing continued improvement.

The positive pressure to the skin and subcutaneous tissue is represented by the rim and center post of treatment heads of the Synergie machine. The negative pressure is suction. The positive pressure causes the blood vessels to constrict and the negative causes them to dilate. This results in vasodilatation or redness that will be evident at the end of the treatment. This increased oxygenation and nutrients to the skin and subcutaneous tissue thus speeds up metabolism and leads to a decrease in the stagnant circulation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue leading to an increase in lymphatic and venous drainage.

This positive and negative pressure will break some of the fat cell membranes and increase the permeability of other fat cell membranes decreasing the volume of fluid and ions within fat cells to push the fluid outside of the cells; thus, making it available for elimination through the lymphatic and venous vascular system. This is the reason it is helpful to support the skin and subcutaneous tissue with compression garments, such as support hose, for 24 to 48 hours following each treatment along with drinking two to three liters of water a day and having a regular exercise routine. It takes approximately 24 to 48 hours for the injured fat cells to heal. The cells will return to normal permeability without re-absorbing any extra-cellular fluid to swell up again following the treatment. The fluid and ions pushed outside of the cells during treatment must be excreted through the lymphatic or venous system or burned by exercise. This explains the necessity for drinking water and exercising following each treatment. Exercise is encouraged everyday two to three liters of water consumed each day is optimum to achieve maximum results. The client must do his/her part to make this program a success.

The fibroblasts in the subcutaneous layer secrete collagen and elastin. It is believed that elongating these cells by application of vacuum massage therapy may cause them to produce more collagen and elastin which may promote toning of the skin. Photographic results of the vacuum massage methods have demonstrated visual indication that toning has occurred during treatment. In addition, physical measurements of waist, abdomen, hips and thighs decrease in inches, indicating toning of the skin being achieved. In many cases, the clients have lost inches but there is no significant change in weight. Scientific studies are underway across the nation to substantiate these beliefs.

Application of Vitamin K cream to spider veins prior to the vacuum massage treatment may help to decrease the appearance of spider veins. Application of Retin A cream to stretch marks may help diminish their appearance.

References:

1. Robert A. Ersek, M.D., F.A.C.S., et al. Noninvasive Mechanical Body countouring: A preliminary Clinical Outcome Study, Aesth. Plast. Surg. 21: 61, 1997

2. David H. McDaniel, M.D., et al. Body Contouring: A Preliminary Report on the Use of the Silhouette Device for Treating Cellulite, Aesth. Surg. Jn., 18:177, 1998

3. Per Bjorntorp. Adipose Tissue distribution and Function. Internatl. Jn. Obesity, 15:67-81, 1991

4. J. Sheldon Artz, M.D., FA.C.S., et al. Treatment of Cellulite Deformities of the Thighs with Topical Aminophylline Gel, The Canadian Jn. Of Plast. Surg.

5. Lamm, S., Younger at Last. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997

6. Cumin, J.J. The Utilization of LPS Technique During Liposuction, J.Esth. Med. Surg., 23:1996

7. Daver J. A New Instrument for the Treatment of Cellulite, Med au Fem. 30;25,1991.

For more info, contact Hedy Dawson at (775) 828-4339 at Hedy’s Tender Touch.

These functions are impaired when the lymphatic system becomes congested or constricted (see below), affecting the body’s ability to rid itself of its own waste material. When the system is blocked, we also become defenseless against attacks by virus, fungi and bacteria.  Infection-fighting cells are prevented from destroying germs, and cell-nourishing elements are prevented from reaching our blood.  Over time other body systems that rely on the lymphatic system for waste removal become compromised, setting the stage for pain, inflammation and disease.

Contributors to lymph constriction include emotional stress, air and water pollution, work environment, industrialization, food/product additives, surgical and drug intervention and genetically modified foods.

Functional disturbances of the lymphatic system are found in chronic immune disorders, chronic metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes), chronic pain syndromes and accelerated molecular and tissue aging.  Edema (water trapped in the tissues causing swelling) is the result of blocked lymph and often caused by surgery or an injury.

Bumps or pain/tenderness in an area may indicate a breakdown in the mechanical functioning of the system.  The lymphatic system operates the same in both sexes, but when men have prostate issues there is generally a blockage of the lymphatic fluid in the inguinal nodes (located at the bend of the leg).  Women with breast issues usually have blockage at the axillary nodes located in the armpits, extending towards the breasts.

Illnesses as wide ranging as allergies, fibrocystic disease, and cancer can be related to lymph congestion.

The Light Beam Generator (LBG) represents one of the most exciting new therapeutic avenues for improving the health of immune functions.  It is a safe, natural, non-invasive method, which achieves its results on an energetic level.  The most specific and best use of the LBG is reducing or eliminating edema.  Treatment with the LBG puts the correct charge back into the cells and breaks up the pooled wastes.  The use of SCALAR RESONANCE to destabilize viruses, fungi and bacteria that feed on the pooled waste, makes it particularly effective for reducing symptoms associated with sinus congestion, intestinal candida or even respiratory illnesses.

Cells have an electromagnetic charge that either binds them together or keeps them apart, and when the cells in the system clump together and bond electrically with water, it can create disease conditions of swelling, inflammation, or abnormal growths.

The LBG is able to separate these cells from each other and their accumulated fluids.  The result is that swelling, and other blockages are dispersed rapidly and completely.

With proper treatment the unnatural additives in our food, including the steroids that mimic hormones and attach to proteins, can be flushed out.

Day to day factors like eating habits, body structure, nutrition, medication and mental health should also be addressed to provide a successful formula for restoring health.

ONE TREATMENT WITH THE LBG IS EQUIVALENT TO 8-10 MANUAL LYMPH TREATMENTS!

Reference:

http://www.lightbeamgenerator.com/additionalinfo.html

Shortcutting the Inflammatory Process to Expedite Acute and Chronic Injury Recovery

© By Courtland Reeves, MS, RMT, ND, Research Director, Bio-Telemetric Signaling Inc., USA

For more information contact Yvonne LaValle, LymphaticTherapist at (775) 747-5419 or (775) 250-5373.

“Nearly 80% of what we perceive, comprehend, and remember depends on the efficiency of the visual system”

Dr. Richard Meier, F.C.O.V.D., of the Meier Eye & Vision Center, has been helping people see better in the Reno area since 1979.   Dr. Meier is not “just your local optometrist,” he is the sole optometrist in the Nevada area with Fellowship Status in the College of Optometry in Vision Development (F.C.O.V.D.).  He has 27 years of experience in the field of Vision Therapy, also known as orthoptics.    Vision Therapy (VT) is specifically designed to “develop, improve and enhance an individual’s visual performance.”

Almost everyone is a candidate for Vision Therapy, including the legally blind, children with learning difficulties, dyslexics and stroke victims. VT can even enhance athletic performance.

“To see is to believe.” This statement has a literal meaning to Reno attorney Kevin Mirch.

“I woke up blind and I wasn’t getting any better,” he said, “It was like looking through a bar straw.”  At 48 years old, on April 1st, 2006, Mirch suffered an occipital stroke and woke up in the hospital unable to see.

“He can do magical things,” his referring doctor told Mirch, but he was skeptical, as attorneys usually are, he jokes.

“I told Dr. Meier that I wanted to be very active,” Mirch said.

After a comprehensive visual evaluation, including a visograph reading analysis, OCT nerve fiber analysis and threshold visual fields, Mr. Mirch began Vision Therapy.  Within the first week Kevin Mirch was seeing better.  Nine weeks later, Mirch is now able to read and he can drive once again.  Mirch’s field of vision has “widened tremendously” and he describes himself as 85 percent better than before he saw Dr. Meier.

“I can open up the newspaper and read the headlines again,” he said.  Even though he describes the Vision Therapy as a miracle it is not without hard work.  In the beginning, Mirch was working the exercises ten hours a day, all day long.  But he describes the payoff as “unbelievable.”

“Without the therapy, I’d be blind.” said Mirch, “It’s just amazing. I really don’t know what I would have done without Dr. Meier.”

“I ask my patients ‘What do you want to do with the rest of your life?’” said Dr. Meier “and I help them accomplish that.”    According to Dr. Meier, the visual system directly determines how we are able to perform in our daily lives. The eye is a lens-muscle system and it is the same for the muscles of our body.  “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”  However, with motivation and effort, vision problems can be greatly helped by VT.

Dr. Meier puts an emphasis on the importance of time-distance relationships and Vision Therapy can dramatically affect an athlete’s performance.  As a four-time Boston Marathoner, Dr. Meier understands the significance of vision in athletic ability. In addition to helping correct severe vision problems he also specializes in sports vision.

Besides Vision Therapy, some of the services available at the state-of-the-art 4,000 square-foot facility at Meier Eye & Vision are LASIK surgery, topography, low vision systems, Orbscan, OCT, and an optical center that includes sports eyewear.

“Vision is the reality of achievement,” says Dr. Meier.  Whether someone wants to correct severe vision problems, increase reading speed and comprehension, or even be able to knit better, Dr. Meier says, “They can do anything they want to do.  It just takes motivation and hard work.”

Meier Eye & Vision is located on 3201 Lakeside Drive in Reno.  Check out Dr. Richard Meier’s website at www.meiereyeandvision.com  775-825-0559