Why i took a break from Blogger

The stars were lining right and i finally realize i have been disconnected from myself for so long . It's been a long long break *feeling sorry * to those of you who read my post , pardoning my bad english and nonsensical grammar errors , i finally got back on my feet after a long hiatus .

I never thought i would come back writing , blogging , sharing what i know on the internet the moment i went away. Back then  i simply didn't think what i did was appreciated , but i was wrong . It wasn't that i was not appreciated , it was simply me being angry and frustrated , so i gradually thought no one would listen to my voice . I could not see the light , could not hear the cheerful laughter , could not feel the support from my surroundings not that i was not getting any or maybe i didn't get any that i like LOL , that sounds so unappreciative and wrong . 

The truth is ..i was shutting out everyone , my family and friends , my followers and supporters. I felt people didn't want my company, some of you would want to kill me when you read this , you can leave the page if you want , i know some of you don't like negativity but trust me i don't like it either . But sometimes you need to destr u c..t  something , i don't know why i did the tearing apart writing for the word 'destruct' , i just thought it look a lot more destructive , and finally rebuild something again. 

I build and rebuild myself .   At times it feels like i am back to square one, but my head tells me otherwise , my head knows better than  my heart in everything i do , i am glad . My head tells me if i was back to sqaure one , why am i seeing laughters these days that i never did and why am loving lemonade when don't even like lemon , something must have changed so it's something but square one. 

Reading my older post , tears running down my cheeks , i saw everyone of you who has been to this page, who has leave comments and emailed me , i miss you all , how have you been ? Let's reconnect once again , shall we ?

Peptic ulcer liquid lipstick

I have an obsession for liquid lipstick , and my imagination ran wild today thinking would there be a set of lipsticks name after diseases ?  Like the lipstick is called 'acne' - a bright red color for instance and 'diabetes' - for a frosty pink color ? You know what I mean ..? Ok ,no. I am weird , my ideas are strange . 

Let's not get carried away in makeups , if you do have the same problem as I do , then you might want to read on , I could have a few tips that would help you with your situation. 

Well first of all , the word peptic ulcer is not commonly use in this part of the world , as in my place . When I came back to practice as a pharmacist , everyone uses a term 'gastric' for peptic ulcer or dyspepsia condition . And I would remember thinking what gastric ?? Gastric as in my gastric , you mean intestine ?? Then I realize that the English proficiency is so low here that they could not say gastroenteritis , in short is gastric *roll eyes * , why didn't they say gastric (pain) ?? I didn't think it was funny but I think coming back to work in this country was silly . But anyway ... Things doesn't look too bad now , at least I got some experience that some of my peers in uni could never imagine and some hilarious stories to tell them when I see them in Perth. 

Peptic ulcer is a pain but it is easily managed as long as you don't ignore it . Most people ignore the signs and symptoms , and when things gets really bad , it is too late . First of all your stomach has two parts , the stomach and the duodenum, and these organs are responsible for digesting your food. If they get unwell or falling sick, that means it has something to do with the food you consume. Of course there are exceptions whereby some people literally produces too much stomach acids by nature , but it is really uncommon. Generally most ladies' minor dyspepsia is due to common weight loss diet they've self created and most of the time self destructive . Crash diet or a change in diet drastically could affect your stomach . I have been on my blood type diet for some time , and it does really change my dyspepsia . Blood type O like me generally have strong stomach acidity which helps in digesting meat, but caffeine can kill my stomach in just a shot .i'll have gastric pain for two days if I have just a single cup of espresso. 

Caffeinated drinks or caffeine is highly effective in loosen the gastric sphincter and that could be a problem for me as I generally have strong stomach acid. Try blood type diet first , and if it does not get better in 4 weeks then opt for medication . 

Some of you might be screaming now, saying mama have no time for your blood type diet , I need quick relief ! Ok... I hear you .. I will get to that *doing that stay calm hand motion*

There are antacids in the pharmacy such as Gavsicon , Ranitidine and Esomeprazole ( let's just call this nexium ) , the drug names are harder to pronounce than Thai language. They were listed respectively , according to their potency . You might be thinking the strongest the better , well no exactly . Medications comes with side effects , if you have done an endoscopy , and been through seeing your gastrologist all the time , then yes . Take nexium . Maximum dose. But if not , I think Gaviscon is not such a bad medication . Not because someone pay me to say this , I blog for my interest and I do buy all my medications with my hard earn money . Reason being the medication just neutralize the excess acids that is giving you trouble without altering the body's system . 

Ranitidine is pretty much the same as nexium except in a milder form . What they do is getting into your system , bonds to some of your receptor in your stomach and switched the acid button off . That way the overall production of acid would reduce , giving you less reflux . Now acid reflux is a term using to describe acid regurgitation up the food pipe , which gives you the feeling of a dull pain on your upper stomach , sometimes the pain is so intense it will give you a feeling of 'difficulty of breathing' . 

Switching off the acid production can be a bad thing especially if it lasted for 8hours ( because you generally feel hungry every 4 hours ) and when your acid is not really sufficient to digest the food you eat . The higher the dose or potency of medicine means the stronger the switch / block of acid production .

Start low dose and go up slowly and accordingly , and when your friend gives you a tablet of nexium 40mg does not necessarily is right for you . Check with your regular chemist or simply email me ! 

Bye pretties ! 

Ps: Oh before I forget , anemia could be the name of a light beige liquid lipstick , no ?? 

Is alcohol giving you red face ?

Me too *put out right hand for a hand shake* . I think most of us do have that unless you are Indian , whom among our races who is known as born to drink and the terms 'Indian liver' is use to describe their liver that is able to take tremendous amount of alcohol without having a problem LOL 

But my good Indian friend who is always light hearted says : we get Asian flush syndrome too , but my skin is too dark for you to notice it .... 

Well , maybe . LOL 

Asian flush syndrome first got my attention when I was working in Australia as a pharmacist , and fellow friends love a sundowner on Fridays . Oh how I miss the grill lamb rack , lightly grill , done medium rare , drizzle with some olive oil macerated with some mint leave before hand , absolutely worth worshipping *lift both hands up and look up the sky* .... Ok let's not get carried away . Back to the topic about lacking the enzyme of breaking down acetylaldehyde , does not quite often happens among my Aussie friends , which lmakes me look like a stand out red face in all my sundowners party photos. It's quite embarrassing when you look all red as if you had a severe sun burn. I wish I could burn all the photos tagged on my FB but it does not work that way ... 

And the best part was my friends would try and keep away the alcohol from me as they're worried about me being intoxicated like overloaded with acetylaldehyde . So in order find a solution to people stopping me from having my booze I had to find a way to make my face don't go red. Back then there were no BB cream and foundation won't cover the flush I have *insert frown emoji*

So let me share with you what found . Something called ranitidine . They come in 150mg pack (over the counter, no prescription needed) and they are mainly use to treat acid reflux ( Asian call it :gastric ) . To block the overproduction of digestion acids . Well you will be thinking how does blocking acid do that ? It actually works by slowing the absorption of alcohol into your body. Digestion acids are liable for getting all the food breaking down into smaller molecules to aid absorption. Just like the old saying of swallowing a spoonful of butter will stop you from getting drunk , what it actually means is that coat your stomach lining with some oil, block out the acids, keep your stomach confuse better if you are eating some snacks , the alcohol absorption slows down. But common, which lady wants to swallow butter because it's so fattening , even if you know it works you won't do it , would you ? Ranitidine does the same thing accept with a fraction of the calories . 

And let me tell you more , it could save you from saying no to your drinking buddies that could really drink and kept asking you to bottoms up ! The slow release of alcohol into your body stops you from getting hang over the next day too ( just in case in the crazy drinking party they don't serve good ) . Asian culture could really kill lousy drinker like me , my friendly host from China got me some 50years good old hard liquor and made me do bottoms up almost every other minute , and because she is a much older lady , from the sayings of Confucius , I must not reject her offer . But on the bright side they don't mind me looking bright red like a tomato, they are not into selfies anyway , so no tagging on FB or anything but I am totally wasted the next few days *plays hang over song* 

Till I found the magical drug that fights it . So now I don't have to worry about people stopping me from drinking , with some help of ranitidine , BB cream and jokingly say : I have really good blood circulation , when people do question how come I turn so red when I have alcohol . 

Ps : don't drink and drive 

Pps : don't drink excessively 

Ppps : don't go drinkin alone if you are a woman in kl 

Ultra sensitive skin

Is not allergy prone skin . And vice versa . People often mistaken the two , so it is really a pain in the butt for the beauty advisors and beauty therapist . Why ? Because here in Asia or maybe all places in the world thinks "customer's always right " . It is very true , but at least in the states , people have the right and freedom of speech , so you may "correct" the customers if you think they are wrong , but not in our country . If you try to tell them they are wrong , they would walk away and buy it from someone who thinks they are right , they would not thank you for your professional advice and of course bad mouth about you . Hey we Asians love yum cha session when they gossips and b**** about who and who , so the lady probably go telling her friends , you know I met a stupid girl that day who thinks I have no sensitive skin , how cannnnnnnn ??!!!! I have rashes so often , everywhere you know !!!!! She is not professional lah !

So if you know what I mean , after sometime in the workforce , you are trained to be "less opiniated" in order for everyone to give you a "professional" title . This is how things are here, at least for the next 20 years to come . 

Let's just put it that way I blog not because I am vocal ,but because I think there are people out there in the globe we live on wants to know nothing but the truth. Read on and scroll along if you are one of those. 

Ultra sensitive skin is usually a unusual skin type , the type of skin maybe perhaps only 1 out of 100 has it . Where allergy prone skin is probably 1 out of 10. It's a huge difference. Sensitive skin are not in born. Sensitive skin is due to environmental factor but allergy prone skin is usually genetically related ( in born) or disease related . It's not all kinds of disease but mainly eczema , asthma or psoriasis. Also if you have immunity disorder or metabolic disorder , you can get allergy prone skin easily too. Sensitive skin comes with a few characteristic firstly very visible red blood vessels under the skin , skin is tight and abnormally thin . The environmental factor cause is commonly due to the usage of incompatible skincare or continual exposure to laser therapy. The sufferer mostly has very good skin to begin with , but with the ultimate greed to change their skin type , for instance wanting to use anti-aging products at the age or 21 , as their excuse would be "to prevent" . If you don't believe it , anti-aging products are usually higher in price simply because they are meant to target the older generations whom can afford more expensive products and also much "potent" in active ingredients. The sales promoter would not mind you buying it as higher price makes her hit her sales target faster , closer to getting her Gucci handbag and pay rise anyway ( if you insist ) because she would be called stupid if she tries to stop you ( according to the scenario mentioned above ) . The result from using such product would be having a sensitive skin thereafter because  let me put it in a simpler way , when you don't have high blood pressures, you started yourself on blood pressure lowering pills , what happen to your body ?? 

Explain further , older skin has a lot more issue , such as lower turnover cell renewal rate , they are tolerant to most active ingredients as they are previously exposed to when they are younger .so these anti aging products are design to solve all these problems so the consumer would like it . The younger skin needs ultimate moisture and uv defense to stop the signs of aging , but if you use the anti aging cream, the cell turnover is changed and replace with oil/water cream for moisture , your skin will stop working, doing the turnover naturally and just start coming up with oil seeds . When your skin gets "lazy" relying on the cream to renew the cells  , that's when your skin starts to go all crazy , because the system is upsetted . And if you try anything on your skin thereafter , you'll think nothing works and you go saying : I have sensitive skin !! Because nothing works and nothing suits my skin type !! And if you are into Korean fad all about BB/CC cream, which is all in all silicone base product which stops letting your skin breathe , your skin will be worse than ever after using them for a year or two. 

It's such a shame, initially you have pretty good skin ? But of course it was never easy to understand such complex science especially most beauty advisors in our country are not fully well trained and they themselves use the wrong skincare too . Beauty editors are probably better with the knowledge and know how but they are paid only to talk about good things about ALL beauty products ,so .... I think I don't have to explain further.  

Well if you ask me , if someone walk up to me and say I have sensitive skin , all I know is that you are probably not very knowledgable , stubborn and spent rift . And that no matter what I say , she thinks she knows better . 

I would advice as a pharmacist , stop using anything ( just use water ) not even any make ups and let your skin start all over . I know she'll probably roll her eyes ,finding me rude and walk off . The one that has allergy prone ( thinking she is sensitive ) should just fix her rash by getting some antihistamine and stop using the wrong term. Well, I don't need a professional title , I have it written on my certificate and license renewal form , and I am not a politician ,so I can say what I want . 

Organic Zeron

*scratch* 

ok so about 2 years ago I wrote about organic skincare and how I don't think they work but just a marketing gimmick , but here..

*scratch again* oops it's my scalp , I don't have hookworm ok ? *insert cheeky emoji* 

But here I am going to blog about the organic hair product I found lately . Well I must say organic skincare is not too good as you need to suffer down time while your skin try to get use to it , you can't really hide your face for 2 months can you ? But for organic hair products you could always wear a hat and hide from bad hair days , or bad scalp days . 

I have recently been diagnosed with sensitive scalp *show microscopic scanner* so which is why I am scratchy scratchy .Badically you could see that my skin is all inflamed and red blood vessels are highly visible on my scalp *point scanner picture* . This could be a few reason , sun exposure , the use of harsh chemical hair products, the use of regro solution on my scalp for a long time and of course  extensive bleaching . The symptoms are prominent , as I tend to have break out on my scalp and also itchiness when I don't wash it properly after I swim. The search for the right shampoo and conditioner is really a pain as the ones in Malaysia are either sky high price like Aveda or just does not have the right size , such as A'kin unscented very gentle shampoo . Seriously that 225ml bottle for my long locks don't go a long way at all !! 

Untill a fine supernatural day I went and get my roots done by a hair technician , she hooked me up with Zeron , and from then on I am in love *lovestrucked emoji* The use of organic products can be frustrating as usually they don't foam up as they don't use any sodium lauryl sulphate , but Zeron foams up nicely but of course they are zero percent sulphate free too . And because it is so mild , give it a double shampoo if you have very oily or if you sweat a whole lot. The pack size is big for such a price tag so you don't feel the pinch for double cleansing. The weather is too hot in Malaysia , even for normal individual that stays indoor all the time, double cleansing is usually needed. And if I have to pay ~RM500 per pair for 1L pack ( no pump / dispenser ) *roll eyes* I am going to eat only  Gardenia bread from 99mart every night for dinner. 

Now everyone seems to love the marshmallow or watermelon conditioner these days , but for sensitive scalp it is best to stay away from artificial fragrance , although I do wish to smell like a walking strawberry shortcakes. The scent is from plant base essential oils so it's like walking into a Thai massage spa or Jurlique beauty store each time I am in shower, I am all relaxed from the hair follicles to the splitted ends of my hair LOL 

Sensitive scalps includes all with eczema , dry flaky scalp and serious dandruff problems. Paraben , silicone and sodium chloride are all irritant and would worsen the cases. And due to the hot weather in our country , constant UV exposure at the top of our head makes the area worse , for my Malay friends who wear head scarfs will not suffer from sun damage on scalp but they have they their problems too , for example sweats get trapped on their scalp and the area would be more prone to fungal infection . Or the more should avoid using products with irritant ! 

Essential oils can be an irritant , but in Zeron , they use lavender oil to soothe it and Argan oil for nourishment , 99% pure to minimize irritation , only if it happens . The brand has a thinning range which I am yet to try , since I still have a full bottle of regro solution , would be a good alternative if next time I want to keep my scalp medicine free  .. Hehe .. 

The pump is efficient with a wide head top to fit nicely on your palm . Hate it when the pump is small and slim , they tend to break so easily after wear and tear , bare in mind you use your shampoo daily , and I hate pump straw that are narrow , getting stuck easily when the solution is thick , this one does not have that problem at all *big clap emoji* ! 

Go get some and try , even better if you have read my blog , simply use my name druggqueen or use promo code <druggqueen2015> when you buy online to get 15% discount on total bill . For product enquiries email  vivaclassic1437@gmail.com 

Hydroquinone 4% cream

The best thing for stubborn stubborn stains , oops I meant pigment on your face , though to me it really looks like a stain on anybody's face. Well the sight of pigmentation on your cheekbones can be annoying I know , I totally feel you because when I see someone with freckled face I wouldn't try to be nice and say it makes you look cute , because really let's face it 30 years old is wayyyy too old to look cute , it can be really insulting if you are a deep thinker . I believe in the saying 'if you have nothing better to say , it's best to say nothing at all ' .

Pigmentation also known as melasma , it's the appearance of dark spots at areas with high sun exposure , such as your Nose bridge , cheek bones and forehead . The over production of melanin in your body is usually not known why , some say hereditary but not a hundred percent . I would say unlucky if you are fair skinned Asian , and lucky if you are dark-skinned Blacks . The melanin gives us color and the under production of it makes you look pale , for example an albino and you get sun burn much more easily . So the key here is a balance , everything now is about balance I hear it all the time , work life balance , balance diet , balance in relationships escetera escetera ...

It's great if you have it on a single or few areas of your notable skins , because all you need is just a cream ! But if your freckles are all distributed in your body , they would need systemic ( overall ) reduction of melanin , which can be difficult . 

Now there are some really famous formulation in the market for instance Obagi , from the USA but they are hell expensive especially if you get them in the dermatologist clinic in Malaysia , they have some exclusive partnership going on so you don't get it else where and for those ladies who does not do online purchase often , this is their only place to get it , hence resulting the sky high price but still monopolizing the market . The formulation is good but it is way to much to pay for for such a cheap active ingredient . 

Hydroquinone is only less than Rm 10 when you get them in bulk powder if you compound it , well I am not asking you to make your own cream at home but you get the idea.. Why pay so much ?? 

The tube of 4% hydroquinone cream  is only about Rm30 in pharmacy , so there you go with Obagi price , you can buy like 10 tubes of cream for one Obagi cream. Hydroquinone is a bleaching cream so bare in mind you can get very bad reaction is your skin is very very thin and sensitive . If so make sure when you use the cream with some aloe Vera gel (as pure as possible like 92-99%) to help with the burn like feeling and apply sunblock every 2 hours when you are using it on high exposure area (like face, cheekbones area) . The redness and tenderness on the area of use can really put you off using the cream in the long term , if so try using it every other day , trust me your skin will build a tolerance in a month and soon you will be asking me is there a higher strength ?? 4% not enuffffff !!! ??!!! LOL 

You will have to make your own cream in your house junk yard if you really want a higher strength , well you will have to know people like me personally to be able to help source your raw materials *insert wink emoji* . Till then enjoy this amazing cream to lighten your freckles and enjoy flawless Korean like skin , except without the BB cream girls !! 

Ps : You should never never skip sunblock when on hydroquinone cream . 

Pps : you will get fried up if you don't ! 

Ppps : I didn't mean to scare you , love you all much . 

Double action or acid block pills ?

Acid reflux is really common among our nation because we Malaysian just love to E A T . It sounds really stupid ( maybe ) , but what else can we choose as a hobby ? The blistering hot sun forbids us to love the outdoor , unless you really don't mind suffering hyper pigmentation on your skin (which in general Asian mentality being dark skinned is ugly) and if you really want to get your lungs clogged up with pollution ( if you are living in central KL ) . Movies !!!! The Star Wars hype was all over my family , it's so crazy that I saw a Darth Vader Santa , that thing is weird . But I honestly thought the show was so so , Luke sky walker and Han Solo seems rather attractive 10 years ago but not now, I could not associate any hotness with them in the 6th episode all though I grew up watching Star Wars . To me, the popcorn was seriously more interesting ( there you go food again ) , and I am sure when I mentioned popcorn , I was not the only one feeling excited , come on the love for food is the most sincere kind . Okayyy I am getting carried away . Let's talk about indigestion when you had too much food or when you have a bad acid reflux . Not all acid reflux are from eating too much , not everyone is like me being a Xmas dinner chunky , some individual do have overactive acid production in the stomach so they basically have acid reflux even if they don't eat (or even eat proper size meal) . 

There are many types of antacids in the pharmacy store and even some over the counter if you ask the expert behind the counter . 

Eno and Gavsicon 

They come in salts form or even better being dissolve in water , packed in liquid sachet forms . These are excellent acid neutralizers and treats most basic acid reflux . Why they are good ? Because they are harmless and can be taken by pregnant and nursing mum . But the problem with them they contain a heavy load of salt (sod chloride ) which will cause the blood pressure to raise if take everyday , for long term . If you have no heart disease and your doctor never complain about your blood pressure or you never checked but you don't need it more than 3 days , this is best for you . Double action Gavsicon is rather good as you need a smaller amount of liquid and it helps with gas in the stomach. Eno comes in best for ppl with a really tight budget . 

Acid block pills 

They come in many brands and many types , in different price range and different action for different severity . Don't always think the strongest is always the best ( Asian mentality in general ) , even the most expensive restaurant does not mean it is the best or of your best liking . These pills do have a wider range of side effects compared to the liquid antacids and some are not suitable for pregnant mothers and elderly . Some so strong that they block the acid too much for an ordinary person , and they cause indigestion for the next 24 hours simply because there is not enough acid to digest the food when you eat . You will feel very nauseated and girls would be thinking if they are having morning sickness . If you dislike the liquid salts , a level up would be Ranitidine . Anything above that you would have to get a prescription from a doctor or be ultra 'friendly' to the pharmacist ( this should make sense if you have live in this country long enough ) . 

But I certainly hope you would watch the food your eat , acid reflux maybe temporary and that now you have a cure so it does not matter anymore , but putting on weight may be forever and the cure is painful , imagine no pain no gain written on your gym room locker ! 

Happy holidays and enjoy the family gatherings ! May the force be with you and see you next year peeps !