Right before you go to bed, dampen your dome with a little warm water and then rub a quarter-size dollop of baby oil into your scalp. When you wake up, shampoo as usual. “Many times, people have thick, scaly dandruff that flales off in large pieces throughout the day,” says Andrew Pollack, MD, director of the Philadelphia Institute of Dermatology. “Baby oil penetrates and helps soften up the dandruff scales, loosening them so they fall right off in the shower the next morning.”

CAUSE :- Even baldies have the yeast Pityrosporum ovale growing on their scalp, but when it runs riot, the result is a dandruff downpour.

CURE :- Add honey. The European Journal of Medical Research says this bee byproduct contains anti-fungal properties that can work wonders on your mane when mixed with warm water. “For a more severe outbreak, use a prescription-only shampoo containing ketoconazole,” says Dr Keith Hopcroft, US-based MH medical editor. Try an anti- dandruff shampoo.

CAUSE :- Believe it or not, when your hair feels oily, it is actually cleaning itself, says Terry Roper, trichologist. “Follicles emit an oily sebum with an acidic pH that cleans the hair when it’s distributed evenly with a brush.”

CURE :- If you don’t want your locks looking like a garage mechanic’s clothes, stop stimulating the fat-producing glands. “That means massaging shampoo in with the palms of your hands when you’re washing your hair, not your fingertips, says hairdresser Trevor Sorbie. “And finish by rinsing with a blast of cold water.”

When hair is heavy with product buildup, add a tablespoon of baking soda to a dollop of shampoo; mix well in your palm, lather up as usual and follow with conditioner. Baking soda is a heavy-duty cleanser and also closes the hair’s cuticle, protecting it and leaving it shiny.

Fragrance Fix

If you’ve overdone the perfume, swab the area with ether, then wash.

Lemon Aid

Next time you draw a bath, make it a warm one (hot is drying and toss in lemon slices. The mild natural astringent revives your skin.

As temperatures creep up and your scarp becomes more oily, you may be tempted to banish the conditioner from your shower. Turns out that’s not a good idea. In fact, your hair’s more likely to dry out from the sun, swimming, and more frequent washing. How do you cope without creating an oil slick?

Condition only the ends of your hair — the oldest and most damaged part.

• Switch from a heavy conditioner to a lighter formula to avoid buildup. Look for a mousse or foam (e.g., Dove Foaming Conditioner) which feels like shaving cream and rinses completely clean.

• Use a leave-in conditioner that contains sunscreen; be sure to comb it through from roots to ends.

The ubiquitous kadi patta or curry leaf not only gives the much-needed flavour to South Indian dishes like sambar, rasam, dal and fried food items, but also keeps your hair strong and shining. Regular intake of kadi patta either through food or as a herbal concoction will help in fighting severe nausea, vomitting, dehydration, stomach upsets and piles.

The curry leaf, also called sweet neem, has one great medicinal property. It strengthens the roots of the hair and prevents hair fall. Practitioners of traditional forms of medicine invariably prescribe curry leaf for premature greying of hair and hair fall. It is considered as a good nutritious tonic for the scalp and hair.

Since the leaf is stiff and not tender, many people remove it from sambar, rasam, dal or upma before eating the dish. A popular saying has also emerged surrounding the curry leaf over a period of time. A person described as kariapak or curry leaf means that he has been used and thrown out.

Ayurveda and Unani doctors advise that one should not discard curry leaf while eating, as it is good for general digestion. It is also a mild laxative and gives relief from constipation. The roots and fruit of the curry leaf tree are also used in herbal medicinal systems.

Those who cannot take the whole leaves, may grind them and mix the paste with curries or buttermilk for good flavour and good health.

Home remedies

* On a hot summer day, consume buttermilk mixed with curry leaf paste, cumin (jeera) and fine pieces of ginger to beat the heat and sunstroke.
* Take fresh curry leaves, ground them to a paste, add lemon juice and honey to the paste. Take one or two teaspoons of the paste to keep away severe nausea.
* Those suffering from regular stomach upsets may try a teaspoon of paste made from fresh curry leaves, coriander and mint (pudina).
* If you want your hair to be black and strong, ensure you add curry leaf (or curry leaf powder in case you do not like the whole leaf) to your dishes.
* Diabetics may try a few fresh curry leaves every morning to keep sugar levels under check.

Melbourne, Nov 9  : Wondering why do some people have curly hair? Well, Australian scientists claim to have identified a gene responsible for creating such tresses.

Professor Nick Martin and Dr Sarah Medland from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have discovered trichohyalin gene that plays a vital role in development of the hair follicle.

They said that it is variation in this gene that determines the straightness or curliness of hair.

A group of Japanese researchers had previously found the genetic variations for the thick, straight hair that is predominant in Asian populations.

The differences in the EDAR and FGFR2 genes were identified last year and are thought to have occurred as part of the evolution of Asian populations following their prehistoric divergence from Europeans.

In the new study, the research team sought to determine a similar variation responsible for curly hair in those of European descent.

It is known that 45pct of European people have straight hair, 40pct have wavy hair and 15pct have curly hair.

They analysed data collected from a study of 5000 twins in Australia over a 30-year period. The twins had previously been asked if their hair was straight, wavy or curly and the lab then sought to match the reports with the 2.5 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) they had mapped on the twins” genomes.

Martin says it was a “Bingo!” moment when the results showed a big hit on chromosome one, right over the trichohyalin gene.

“This is a gene that has been known for well over twenty years as being involved in hair production and it”s a gene that sits in the sheath that”s around hair root bulbs,” ABC Online quoted Martin as saying.

The study appears in the latest edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Having three meals everyday keeps us warm and protects us from any kind of fungal attack, a new study suggests.

The research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Yeshiva University has revealed that just because humans and other mammals eat a lot, they are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens.

The research, showed that the elevated body temperature of mammals – the familiar 98.6o F or 37o C in people – is too high for the vast majority of potential fungal invaders to survive.

“Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as we move to mammalian temperatures,” said Dr Arturo Casadevall, chair and professor of microbiology and immunology at Einstein.

“Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases. And being warm-blooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs,” he added.

Fungal infections in people are often the result of an impaired immune function.

In the study, the researchers investigated how 4,082 different fungal strains from the Utrecht collection grew in temperatures ranging from chilly – 4o C or 39o F – to desert hot – 45o C or 113o F.

They found that nearly all of them grew well in temperatures up to 30o C.

Beyond that, though, the number of successful species declined by 6 per cent for every one degree centigrade increase.

Most could not grow at mammalian temperatures. Those that did well in hotter conditions were often from warm-blooded sources.

Dr Casadevall noted that the current study covered thousands of fungal strains and made use of a computerised database of the Utrecht collection.

“This was possible only because we could use bioinformatic tools to analyse the records in the culture collection. There is no way to do a study like this without such technology given the enormous numbers of samples and the labour involved,” he said.

The results of the study could help explain why mammals maintain a seemingly energy-wasteful lifestyle requiring a great deal of food.

On the other hand, reptiles need only eat once a day or even less often.

“The payoff, however, may be that mammals are much more resistant to soil and plant-borne fungal pathogens than are reptiles and other cold-blooded vertebrates,” he said.

The study has been published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

1 Paralysis of the arms or legs, tingling, numbness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble finding words, or weakness, especially on one side of the face or body.

These are signs of stroke — or a “brain attack” – in which arteries that supply oxygen to the brain become blocked or rupture, causing brain tissue to die.

2 Chest pain or discomfort; pain in the arm, jaw, or neck; breaking out in a cold sweat; extreme weakness; nausea; vomiting; feeling faint; or being short of breath.

These are signs of heart attack. If you get some of these symptoms, call the emergency immediately and go to the emergency room by ambulance. Patients chew one regular, full-strength aspirin (unless they’re allergic to aspirin) to help prevent damage to the heart muscle during a heart attack.

Not everyone who has a heart attack feels chest pain or pressure or a sense of indigestion. Some people, especially women, the elderly, and people with diabetes, get “painless” heart attacks, the doctors say. Being aware of “painless” heart attack signs is crucial: a very weak feeling, sudden dizziness, a pounding heart, shortness of breath, heavy sweating, a feeling of impending doom, nausea, and vomiting.

3 Tenderness and pain in the back of your lower leg, chest pain, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood.

These are symptoms of a potentially dangerous blood clot in your leg, especially if they come after you’ve been sitting for a long time, such as on an airplane or during a long car trip. These signs can also surface if you’ve been bedridden after surgery.

4 Blood in the urine without accompanying pain.
Anytime you see blood in your urine, call your doctor promptly, even if you have no pain. Kidney stones or a bladder or prostate infection are common causes of blood in the urine. But these problems are usually painful or uncomfortable, which sends people to the doctor promptly.

5 Asthma symptoms that don’t improve or get worse.
Asthma attacks are marked by wheezing or difficulty breathing. When an attack doesn’t improve or worsens, a patient should get emergency care.

6 Depression and suicidal thoughts.

Few people would put up with crushing chest pain or extreme shortness of breath, but many endure depression, even though at its extreme it can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of depression include sadness, fatigue, apathy, anxiety, changes in sleep habits, and loss of appetite. Depression can be treated with medications and psychotherapy.

Gray hair, according to new findings, is caused by a massive build up of hydrogen peroxide due to wear and tear on hair follicles. The peroxide winds up blocking the normal synthesis of melanin, your hair’s natural pigment. All hair cells make a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide, but as you age, the amount increases. Essentially, you bleach your hair pigment from within, and your hair turns gray and then white. Researchers made this discovery by examining cell culture of human hair follicles. They found that the build up of hydrogen peroxide was caused by a reduction of an enzyme that breaks up hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. They also discovered that hair follicles could not repair the damage caused by the hydrogen peroxide because of low levels of the enzymes MSR A and B, which normally serve this function. The high levels of hydrogen peroxide and low levels of these enzymes also disrupt the formation of tyrosine, another enzyme that leads to the production of melanin in hair follicles.