Cleaning the Air during the hazy days

Medklinn' slogan - Cleaning more than just the  A I R. So my friends been asking me about getting one of those air sterilizer since the haze is so bad these days . Should you ? Or should you not bother ? 

Medklinn 

They are available in the pharmacy and offers excellent after sales services . The company provide pick and and delivery service right to your door step after they service the sterilizer . The one most talk about sterilizer would under this brand would be the versa and autoplus . These two product is portable , the prior would be good for traveller and the latter best for the car. Most of all , the product has a lever to adjust the power or 'level' of sterilization to be taken place . These little sterilizers emits ions to the air , which binds to the allergens in the air which carries opposite charges and then the bounded particles settles down onto the surface , allowing you to clean the particles away . Think about it when the dust mites and dust in the air , how is it possible to clean them with a vacuum cleaner pointing up the air?? So there you go , this is what medklinn does. But what is the cons of the product? Space. It needs to be in a confine space and it is only efficient in a measurable confine environment , therefore the versa is best , as it is cleaning just your room in the hotel while you travel and autoplus is just cleaning the air contained in you car. Initially when the dust and particulars settles you would see the bonded particles everywhere thinking it is more dusty than before , but the dust particles would reduce as you slowly clean them away regularly , giving you fresh and clean air in a confine place.

What about something bigger ? Like the living hall of my chateau  ( mansion in French) ? Well medklinn won't do the job so well . 

Blueair sense 

HEPA filtration system for a bigger space. The filter is about a size of an microwave , with a bigger filtration cartridge . Power usage is reasonable not more than a fan turn on for 24hours . Just like the former it does not emit a single hiss or sound when you have it on in your kitchen or living hall. But the after sales service is not so well established. 

The difference between the medklinn and blueair is relatively big, the former one you do the cleaning yourself ( cleaning intensely in the first 2 months ) they do the ion charge emitting . On the other hand ,blue sense does the cleaning and sucking in the air , but the cleaning and maintenance of the filter is more tedious for the owner,but then again you only need to do it twice yearly . 

Rainbow vacuum 

The well known household cleaner , can be use as an air cleaner too !! I am sure when some of the sales demo was done at your house , you must be awed to the maximum , the vacuum cleaner does amazing job in sucking up all the dust mites out of your bedsheets and pillows and you could leave the air filtration function on overnight in the living hall to clean some of the air . The pros , you have a vacuum cleaner for the household , the cons would be the air sterilization function is minimal and the sound is prominent when you turn it on so you can't leave it in the bedroom overnight to do the job unless you don't intend to have a good night sleep. 

There are a few more in the market such as Honeywell , Big Sucker air cleaner and  BHAF . Those fall under a different  categories as industrial for huge shopping malls and convention centers . 

These products are not so much in sterilizing the air but merely to make management of eczema or allergy easier. Eczema and sinusitis is common among the society and about 1in 4 of us has some form of allergy ailment , if you want to reduce the use of steroid and antihistamines and I would highly recommend to get one of these products .

Right attitude

The other day I have a customer requested for Diamox . Just in case you didn't know the tablets are prescription items in Malaysia , usually prescribe for an eye condition . But as a pharmacist it is my duty to find out more , and not to make presumption in any case because the tablets are use for many other conditions too . So I asked politely : is it from the doctors? And what are you using it for ? 

She then gave me a hiss sounded like 'TSK' (in capital letters as she made quite an obvious one) , then rolled her eyes as if I was stupid and said : I thought you should know ?!! It's for altitude sickness lah, I am climbing the Kinabalu mountain next month .

So I gave that bravo exclamation look on my face and go : wow !! 

Because I think people like her would like that kind of recognition and compliment . Geez now I am being horrible judging people , terrible me *slap myself* 

I then went on and said : Do you have a prescription ? Because I can't sell it if you don't have one ...( declining the sale in a nice way as I know very well she does not ) . She got a little ticked off and said : What kind of pharmacy is this ? So what do you have ? 

I went on and said : We don't have anything of a 'supplement' kind , but there is a tip , do the climbing slowly helps * big smile * . In my head I was thinking , what kind of a lady speaks like this ?! 

She was already on the way to looking at other things in the cosmetic section before I could say more such as drink plenty of water and stay away from alcohol. 

Diamox does help with mountain sickness , but it is a tablet that may also cause bad side effects when not prescribed properly , so I highly don't agree with dispensing it over the counter with no proper check ups , it is not suitable for EVERYONE . If it was really that essential in climbing activities then how come we don't see climbers of Mt Fuji or Mt Everest stocking up hundreds of those pills at their base camp sites ? Besides , the tablets (normal not extended release ) are to be taken 4 times a day . When you are doing a  Everest climb , which can be up to weeks , do you think you can stock up so much Diamox or you may ask yourself climbing mt Everest is more like a life /death problem rather than taking or not taking your Diamox problem? We have not even talk about the side effects yet LOL 

Here you go , there was a saying , it's not about the altitude , but the  a t t i t u d e . 

H a i r Bleaching

Hydrogen peroxide 6% is what everyone uses to bleach their hair in Australia , and all the platinum blondes would come into the pharmacy to clear my shelve and I need to remember to restock them everytime after they do that . In Australia and Europe , hydrogen peroxide is the least popular for wound cleaning prior to dressing , there are so many other better and newer antiseptic creams in the pharmacy . But over here in Malaysia, the simply old school never continue professional learning kind of pharmacy chain store do still keep them on the shelves under wound care. Well I don't really mind it because I was previously working in Bukit bintang ( before I got fed up with the HQ staff) the shop was the most frequently visited by tourist from the Middle East . The ladies under their cool hijab wear all pretty much love blonde hair and most of all they want their eyebrows and facial hair bleached . So I was lucky to have them as my customers , if it wasn't for them , I am pretty sure the hydrogen peroxide would be sitting on the shelves for years cleaning 'itself' or you could be unethical and try selling for wound cleaning . But let me tell you , that is not my style , I only sell what is best for my customers , and my patients health and wellbeing will always comes first . 

The bleaching agent if used on the face , 6% is a little too strong and you could come up with a red burn rash . What I tell them to do is mix it 1 part 1 of hydrogen peroxide with their night moisturizer , and add 1 full drop of vinegar . Vinegar here is not for the skin, but for the hair , to stop weak and brittle ones to break after the bleach . Say for instance , for facial hair and eyebrow, 2ml hydrogen peroxide 6% with 2g face cream , volume depends on how much hair you've got and how thick and black your hair is . Leave it on for 10 minutes, check your hair by scraping off some cream from the eyebrow and remove completely after it has lighten to the shades you want ! As for your hair do the same with hair treatment mask for the dilution , and ofcos more vinegar . Tadahhhh DIY bleaching session complete ! 

If you like the platinum blonde kinda look , keep your hair healthy by having high protein diet . The hair after bleached is 'dead' with the least strength and keratin composition . Do regular keratin replenishment hair treatment and blow dry them with cool air gently after you wash them , so they won't break so easily . Unless you want to have really short hair like Miley Cyrus then you don't have to bother about what I just mentioned above . 

Always to a patch test on your skin before you do the major thing , DIY is fun and cheap , but skin reaction is not ! 

Are your nails growing green ? !

Sounds really scary , how in the crazy world that mushrooms grow on us ?? People use to joke about growing mushrooms on their head when they are bored , but it is not funny when your nails are growing fungi . Fungal infection on our nails are very common and it is not something pleasant to look at . The nails get brittle , dry and discoloured (sometimes blue /green ---> it can really look like moulds ) , the surface may turn uneven depending on individual . Treatment are readily available from the pharmacy . 

I'll talk about it one by one : 

Loceryl 

The nail lacquer like treatment that only needs to be applied 1-2 times a week . Drug name is amorolfine and it has a very good half life ( means it stays in the body for longer time ) that is why you only need to put on 2 times a week (at most) . But you need to pay for the convenience sake so of all treatment , this is the dearest , with a box costing RM99 . And for toe nail fungal infection you will need more than a box , as toe nail takes 6 months to grow out . 

Emtrix and Nailner 

Newer treatment in the market . Seen in the pharmacy of our country in the recent 2 years . There is no specific drug name for them as they are combination of few ingredients such as lactic acid and propylene glycol ( different brand with different ratio / composition ) . Very attractive packaging in pen form !! Easy to carry around and portable *double-love eyes* so you can slip in your pocket and handbag *thumbs up*. That way you will be able to apply 2-3 times a day . This formulation is slightly cheaper (~ about RM65 -70) because it has no drug ingredient in it . So the next question would be is it effective ? The answer is yes and no , if you compare to loceryl ( -  no ! ) but if you compare to not doing or applying anything (- yes !) . The idea is to slowly deactivate the fungal cells 'weakly' and slowly . 'Weakly' so you CAN use it even when you are pregnant or breast feeding , on the other side Loceryl is not recommended . If I were to say it crudely this is the same as wrapping your nail in hydrogen peroxide every night before bed , if you skin around the nail can take it . 

Not really a treatment but Break the glass when all does not work .  

Manicure / pedicure 

It's in trend to color your nails in dark colors ( navy , eggplant , wine  , toxic - I can go on and on with the nail colour names ) these days, so they practically cover all the uneven surface or green discoloration LOL  and your hands and legs feels wonderful and light after all the scrubbing and trimming right ?? *pick up phone and ring for appointment * 

Before you do that let me remind you that not all nail parlor disinfect their tools daily , I have been to one that I literally saw a cockroach J walking in the store . The problem is that most business owners are not usually around in their shop here in KL they hire staff from Philippines and Cambodia to work for them and I doubt that they would make sure you do not get fungal infection from their tools and most of them do use liquid and remover from cheaper source to cut cost , which in the long run causing thickening of the nail bed , thickening of the skin below of your nails and each session , you are paying RM150 or more *grab-iPhone-touch-calculator -app* . 

Pros and cons . 

Decision is yours .

Garcinia cambogia drink

The overly popular e x t r a c t that helps in weight loss .  Pharmacies are all stocking up on these , in drinks ( in water )  forms, in tablet forms and some in liquid syrup forms. Supplement stores like GNC also have them in abundance , so now which should you be buying and how well does it work ? 

They are suppose to shrink you by inhibiting the fat cells formation , the ideation is to stop fat cells that you already have to grow and to stop formation of newer ones . The good thing  about it , it is not invasive , unlike liposuction surgery . Very good for people that are thinking of maintain their slim figure ( then why do you need them unless you are not quite normal up the head ) but certainly not for people who is trying to loose weight . The reason being when you try to loose weight , you starve yourself , and with this tablet , you would eat obliviously as subconsciously you think the tablets are 'giving' you a shield . The equation in the end balance out . 

The tablets would be right for people with very strong self discipline on loosing weight and refrain herself from eating a lot ( in fact eating less than before ) then the tablets would work over time . 

The better ones I have seen in the market is a combination of garcinia with something that causes statiety, something like duromine ( which is ban in some country ) but slightly weaker so it does not promote anorexia and giving cardiac arrest . This formulation was seen  in Japan but I am not too sure about taking it due to radioactive leakage and radiation happening currently as I might need to have a baby in the future .

But really loosing weight isn't all about the kg , sometimes you need to work on the circumference and firming of cellulites which simply taking garcinia is just not going to do the job . The toning and firming can only be achieve by regular exercising and stretching , not forgetting applying the stretch mark creams too . Mind you to look good in clothes your bones are not the most important thing , your muscles and fat percentages are. 

Seriously the whole weight loss thing would take up a whole lot of time (from taking tablets to applying your stretch mark cream ) if you need to work to earn a living I think it's best to skip the whole garcinia pills as they do don't come cheap. Burn your fat by running , not burning your pocket is certainly a better and healthier choice . 

T u r u l i n e

I have an  o b s e s s I o n  on Japanese drug store and don kihote !! I can't seems to stop myself from going into one whenever I spot one of these store in Japan . My travel mate can't understand why I can be fascinated with them since they stock all the same things , just drugs and cosmetics . That's why I said it's an obsession LOL 

I am not going to talk about everything in don kihote . Just one of my favorite things in there would be the turuline hair removal wonder I think all girls should know about . It's just like wax strips except the wax is not pre- stuck on the wax strips sold in the pharmacy in Europe and Malaysia . It's a gel formulation kept in a tube , and the wax strip is provided separately . Why are they better than the wax strip , clearly because you don't have to warm those wax in between your palm before 'open' them up and stuck it on your arms and legs , it's stupid especially in winter months, how long do I have to keep rubbing between my frozen hands to warm the strip up ?!!!! Then another point is those wax kept in the strips on the shelves and warehouses for so long are simply not 'sticky' enough to remove stubborn hair on the legs !! *roll eyes* 

Turuline gel grips on to the hair by forming a bond created by 'similarity' in structure , they remove the stubborn hairs better . And the leave on residue is not pink or green in color that if you are not careful enough the whole world would know which waxing brand you were using ( because there is only 2 types sold in Malaysia ) LOL  

Turuline on the other hand is transparent and absolutely washable with warrrrrtahhhhh , yes I repeat , plain tap water ( you don't even need body cream or wash ) . 

Go to this link if you can't read Japanese and don't know how to use the gel >>>>

http://youtu.be/Y19mxQSqNY8

Don kihote basically sells everything at the cheapest price so you really need not go around and compare prices for this product . Just grab one of these when you first hit the store , chuck it in your shopping basket and off you go crazy with the other stuff in that store , you will not regret it , I promise you ladies !