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 ! 

Cracked heels go away

See you , cracked heels , on others LOL 

Been really procrastinating on blogging as the new job that I started got me much occupied , from one day in North of the country to the next in the far end of the island . The kind of walking involve in this job , puts my attention on keeping my foot healthy and strong so I can walk more !! 

Pedicure can be done easily anywhere in the mall, or simply while you are on holiday in Vietnam . But you can also do it at home yourself if your work schedule is really packed . Two amazing product to get from the pharmacy I would say is the urea heel balm and Epsom salt . 

You can get a foot cream from body shop which is packed with lovely peppermint scent and get a foot scrub but of course you pay premium price for it . The two products I mentioned will cost you a fraction of the price but will do the job better ( ahemmm I think we should be watching our expenditure in this economy crisis time of life ) 

Urea 5% heel balm is a much more efficient moisturizing cream because 1 unit of urea hold 100x more water molecule than Ha ( hyaluronic acid ) . So you would ask why don't we use it on our face ? You can , but the scent of urea is simply unbearable (imagine stinking toilet ) and to rub it on to your face where your nose is , will certainly drive you away from the idea. On top of that , the natural property of that ingredient can cause a nasty 'stinging' feeling on our skin , so when applied to our face where our stratum corneum ( skin layer ) is a lot thinner than our foot would also not make it ideal for a face cream . Perfect for your foot ! Foot creams from body shop may give a oily after feel as they normally use botanical extract that has an oily properties to locks in the moisture , I am not a fan of it especially on your foot , you may fall in your bedroom due to the slippery feet ! Urea cream on the other hand is normally water base , because it is the urea that is working to locks the moisture and not the Shea butter . 

All time favorite is Ellgyplus ( Aussie made) not that I am bias because I graduated from there , it's just that the weather was really harsh and 10 out of 10 Aussies has a cracked heel problem, so they have really good formulation that works , and I've tried it myself . Some of the packaging comes with a sole mate ( the socks that covers only the heel ) so you can look out for it and compare prices . 

Never heard of Epsom salts ? It's usually somewhere near the pharmacy counter . A box navy blue in colour with white bold alphabets written "Epsom Salt" . They are basically magnesium salts . Granules are easily soluble in water . Before you do that , use the granules to scrub your heels to get rid of the dead skin cells , then soak your feet into a tub of warm water and feel the magic ! Add more Epsom salts to the tub if you like . Magnesium is a good muscle relaxant , and soothes your tired feet . After your foot bath (~20minutes ) , dry your feet and slap on your urea cream . Wear a sock overnight (wear a light/ thin material if you are in Malaysia ) and tmw you'll have heels with baby skin at work , flaunt it with a pair of heels with a back strap , show it off when you have it girl !