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 ! 

Makeup remover are money soaked in facial cotton

Now let's talk about the kinds of makeup remover in the store . Be it from the pharmacy or cosmetic stores . The need to know what ingredient removes your makeup is important , and understand the use of each ingredient , and what is the paraben free fad about.  Why ? So you don't pay extra for branded names and don't pay for things you can't use ( such as those allergic to mineral oil etc ) . 

You would be ultimately surprise when I tell you a prescription focus pharmacy in Australia basically don't stock makeup remover . My girlfriends from university comes to KL and wonder why my  pharmacy ( the one I worked for ) has everything a cosmetic store has ? So she asked me : What's the difference between the two stores ? And I went : me LAH , cosmetic stores has no pharmacist . She then went on : Then , if you are answering customer 's request on cosmetics , do they pay you extra ? I said : hell no ! It's Malaysia not Australia !  She laughed . 

The most important part of skincare is cleansing. First thing in the morning and before bedtime regimen . As for make up artist , they'll say use proper makeup removers. Especially to get rid of stubborn , ultra waterproof eye and lip makeups. But there are cheaper alternatives .. Read on . 

Oil free make up removers 

Silicone-base make up removers , that most high end makeup store would sell, they are not oil , but removes the most stubborn waterproof make up without giving your skin the risk to form oil seeds . This is particularly important around the eye area. Silicone is synthetic chemical with a organic part attach to it , that's why it will 'stick on' to the face . Chemically alike , we say organic like organic , synthetic like synthetic , opposite repels , geez my blog sounds like a chemistry class . So the organic part will be left on the skin , because they have affinity , if not properly cleanse. Problem with silicone is that it's so smooth , it feels like a second skin, making your skin feels smooth , that's the dangerous part !!!! When build up , your skin will not be able to breathe normally , gradually the skin 'die' , it turns dry and color turns dull. Worst than having oil seeds .

Oil make up remover 

I wonder why all of them are blue , why not purple or pink ? Blue looks so toxic to me , I guess they did not want child to drink it ( child resistant ) , I think like a child lol lol I like it in the pastel purple ! I am sure no kids would drink it unless he is color blind , but then if he is , he would drink the blue ones too . So oil removes waterproof make up just like the same principle as the silicone base ones, effectively remove and stays on of course, if it does , you may develop oil seeds . Wash thoroughly to avoid it . 

Makeup remover wipes 

So easy to use !! And loving the convenience when you travel , not needing to worry wether to check it in or spillage in your luggage. Quick and easy but anything so easy is always expensive, they don't go a long way , they run out pretty fast escpcially if you wear durable makeup daily and they don't come cheap . Cheapest one ? From the 5ringgit 30 cents shop ( boo GST ! ) Still needs cleaning after wiping . 

The good news are coming up after this ! 

Anything mention here after does not require cleansing after using . Both available at the pharmacy store .

Cleansing water / lotion 

Removed makeup and impurities on skin,  leaving skin fresh and not oily . Yes of course it's marvelous but unfortunately not for ultra waterproof makeups. I guess it's like having a broken neck after an accident and you try to go into a pharmacy for bandaid wouldn't help . You get the idea ?? 

Cleansing water can be leaves in as it will just dry out and gently removes smudge proof makeup . Using less makeup or light weight makeup is all good for your skin in every point of view , so if you can afford to keep it simple , do so .

Lastly , the magical wonderful sorbolene  cream . Cetamacrogol is the main ingredient we use as an emulsifier in making creams, simply removes makeup effectively . Cetyl alcohol and mineral oil would also removes impurities . There are a number of simple face cream that contains these ingredients , and they are absolutely fine to leave on without washing off . 

Happy DIY makeup removers . 

Amway

This brand existed since my parents' time , or maybe longer but I did not know and still counting . Recently met up with an high school old friend that I lost contact ever since I went abroad for studies , coincidently we went to the same wedding , October is really a very very huge wedding season !! 

So I have notice a huge difference on my friend , he looks much better than the FB profile pic he has on , upon chatting and asking , I found out he is an agent for Amway but in the back of my head I remembered he had a degree in the medical field . So looks like he has decided to ditch his professional degree and pursue an entire different work life . I am envious of people like this , not because I don't like what I am doing , but because they are able to be at ease and comfortable in any situation , that they could take up any challenges that came upon them even though they were not equip with such knowledge and foundation from university . I can't see myself doing that or say I just don't feel courageous enough. 

This friend of mine then start telling me about products from Amway that had t r a n s f o r m e d   him into the good looking man I have in front of me . And the flow of words comes naturally about so many things that all I could remember was him talking non-stop for 20minutes . And ofcos before he left , an hour before the end of the wedding reception , he asked for my contact number and before I could realize he is not a friend from high school but a sales man , the next thing was I receive a message saying when would be a good time to meet for further sharing *dumbfolded me* 

Well it is indeed s m o o t h  moves and the problem with people like me we hang on to old memories like a leech which most of the time gets us into 'trouble' like this . I find it really hard to say no when someone is persistent , and I know he would not stop till I make an appearance , that's what all salesman do !! So I said yes to dating Amway for half a day . 

I pick the place obviously , I am on a date right ?? *duhhh*  pick one that is expensive my advice , because this lowers the chance of him asking again , I am such a horrible person *sigh*  I know.  Common girl, be sensible !! I told myself when we sat down at a cafe . 

So he ordered a tea and obviously raising his hands to notify the waiter and revealing his watch which does not look like a watch , and before I could go : eh what is that ? He went on saying this is a watch look alike health monitoring devices .. Monitoring your body fat , count your daily steps etc etc ... So I nodded while he explains , but my mind starts wondering around thinking about him taking a pen out to sign the bill and goes on telling you that pen can monitor your heart pulse rate , I wanted to laugh but ofcos I tried to hold it as hard as I could . The interesting part is I started asking a lot more about the product than I expected , maybe he got onto the right topic I guess. ibody with the bodykey apps together monitors everything you need to achieve your target weight. The package comes with shakes and meal replacement , which ofcos would fascinate me because I work in the same environment / industry which means this allows free access to 'competitor ' formulation , pricing and also market popularity ! It's a double win situation so I went on and ask even more . He could sense the interest and was smug about the sales so slows down the explaination and double check my contact details so he could follow up on the sales. The 'date' ended quicker than I expected , I probably asked too much LOL .

Amway does have a wide range of product to serve their customer base. They even have stem cells extract skincare , air purifier and kitchen wash liquid . It's  a direct and indirect serious competitor of pharmacy and sundry shop ! The have an online website whereby you could participate as a member and start buying their products or if you don't like doing online purchase that's where my friend here comes into the picture to do everything for you as an 'agent' . But I do believe there is no free lunch or high tea , sales agents are persistent and they would try and try till you buy something from them. I take it as a chance to know more but I think for the vast majority who also can't say no would end up buying a whole Amway home . Be practical with the products selection and buy only what you need . Some consumable supplements I believe the best way is to cross check with your doctor or regular pharmacist , but problem is in Malaysia the agent could be a pharmacist and Doctor and you wouldn't know LOL just like my friend's case . 

If you have no way to find out the best professional advice , I suggest to keep it to non - consumable products or get to know your agent well , as in really well that you even hang out with them *shows evil smile* because with Amway there is no way you could pin down the agent if things are not right , there is no retail outlet like a pharmacy store where the time table and work schedule is clearly written on the pharmacy counter for legal purposes , you could pester and bug the pharmacy everyday during the work schedule , as for Amway agents , they could simply silent their phone or change their contact number when they quit their job , I am talking about worst case scenario . Always be prepared for the worst , if you ask for the rain , be prepared to deal with the mud .

Seriously have I got breast cancer ???

A couple years back I woke up overnight noticing the unusual change to my left nipple . So I went into the shower and do a self breast examination , some of you might be thinking what is a self breast examination , well if you are above 24 I highly recommend that you google it up and at least make a vow to practice it every now and then in your shower . The breast examination is about 15 to 20minutes and obviously depends on your cup size , for people like me , I often think that 10minutes was more than enough as there is not much mass to check or fiddle with LoL . But to my surprise I did not find any lumps or solid hard object in my two bulbs on top of my chest . But the change in that nipple color was too prominent to ignore . 

So I ring up the hospital and tried making an appointment for a mammogram . And i was lucky enough to be able to get one the next day . I brought my mum along as I was afraid , afraid that they might crush my boobs , as the ladies often scare us by saying how terrible uncomfortable a mammogram is . Few years back I lost a first cousin to breast cancer so that definitely prompt me to getting a thorough check up as breast cancer runs in a family other than that it is plain bad luck . 

When I was call upon for my mammogram , all I did was prayed that the radiologist was not a handsome young man , and it wasn't , and that sense of relieve made me smile all the way through the process as if i was getting my passport photo done ! And of course it did help with the slight discomfort of the mammogram but honestly it was not terrible pain like what those ladies said . Everything was over in half an hour and the results were - CLEAR no lumps . Which means I still have to check further - because the color has change to yellowish on one side to the other . 

As usual being a Malaysian , I have somehow adopted the idea , don't know since when ,not to consult the radiologist about it , but what I did was consulted the infamous oncologist Dr in town . Still paranoid as hell over the yellowish color discharge from my nipple !! And of course the wait was long , since she is the most famous one, I waited 2 days before I got my appointment and it was noon slot. The clinic was flooded with women and I was clearly the youngest of my mom was not with me . See mom always comes in handy, as people would thought it was her breast instead of mine needed check up, just in case I do bump into my friends . Seriously I was too paranoid and panicky to think about the result , what is it was a yes ? How long more do I have to live ? Breast cancer can be absolutely devastating and mastectomy can be destructing for someone so young like me . Though Angelina Jolie was a survivor and got a breast implant , but she had live her life , got many kids , married a gorgeous good looking man ! But I have barely even plan to do all those yet !!! 

My name was called .. And so I stopped day dreaming and walk into the consultation room with my mom . 

The doctor was professional and did a few minutes to do some history taking and she could see that I was nervous I bet as she quickly usher the nurse to get ready the examination bed so she could check out my boobs LMAO .. Sounds so wrong , well you get what I mean. 

After looking closely at my nipple , she touches it tenderly with her fingers then laughed. She went on and said: it's only a pimple , clogged pores. I went bizerk as I have not heard about a nipple pimple ever , and said : what???? You can have pimple on your nipple ? And it's nothing serious? 

Nothing serious she said affirmatively . Just wear breathable textile bra if you sweat heavily . And the nurse assisting me and my mom out of the room while calling upon the next patient's name. 

I was reluctant to pay for consultation fee but on the other hand it was not the doctors fault ,in fact it was kind of silly of me to have wasted her time with other oncology patient . 

Bugger . Bugger . Buggeraghhh ! 

Horrible pimple that had made me sleepless for 2 nights and kept me awake thinking what I needed to do if it was really cancer and I have no more than 2months to live . But I am glad that it did reminded me that I should waste no more time in pursuing what I always wanted to do , which is to write a blog and live the life that you love  . 

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 .