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Spots, Scars, and Stretch Marks: Lasers Can Treat Them All

Smooth, flawless skin rarely comes naturally. For most of us, stretch marks, and spots are a common consequence of daily living and the injuries and exposures that go along with it. Fortunately, we don’t have to live with those flaws if we don’t want to. Laser treatments provide a simple, safe, effective remedy that can dramatically reduce the appearance of these common defects so our skin looks and feels smoother, younger, and rejuvenated. To understand how laser treatments work to reduce the appearance of all these issues, you need to know what causes them in the first place.

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Spots

Age spots, liver spots, sun spots – no matter what you call them, they’re all caused by an overproduction of melanin, the pigment that gives your skin color. Normally, even levels of melanin are spread throughout the skin to protect it from some of the damaging effects of the sun’s UV rays. But as years of sun exposure combined with age-related changes in your skin, it causes those tiny melanin pigments to “clump” together. It’s these clumps of pigment that form the age spots and some other types of hyperpigmentation we see on the skin’s surface.

Scars

Scars from as part of your body’s healing process. When you have a cut or other skin injuries, your skin sends signals to special “messenger” cells, which in turn trigger your body to initiate a specific sequence of healing responses. One of the main responses is increased production of collagen, a dense fiber that helps “seal off” injuries to prevent dangerous germs from entering the body. Normally, collagen networks help skin stay resilient and firm. When you press your skin, it’s collagen that helps it “bounce back.” In healing, excess collagen fibers form at the site of injury, forming unusually dense networks or scars. A scar typically is much tougher than surrounding tissue; it’s your body’s way of repairing an area that’s been weakened by trauma. As a result of their tougher structure, scars tend to look and feel different from surrounding tissue, looking lighter or darker and sometimes looking raised or depressed.

Stretch Marks

Stretch marks form when your skin is stretched beyond its elastic capacity. That is, while your skin is able to “snap back” after some types of stretching when the skin is stretched for a prolonged period of time, it can lose some of that natural ability to re-conform. That’s when stretch marks form. Stretch marks are more common during and after pregnancy, during adolescence (specifically, during “growth spurts”), and after gaining or losing a significant amount of weight. Certain types of medication, including corticosteroids, can cause the skin to lose its elasticity, so stretch marks are more likely to form. In addition to their different color, stretch marks also tend to feel slightly ridged compared to the surrounding skin.

Laser treatment: How it works

Even though each of these issues has a different underlying cause, laser correction works in a similar way in all three: As the laser energy penetrates your skin, it first acts to break apart unhealthy or “unusual” tissue, like scar tissue or clumped pigments, turning the material into tiny fragments that can easily be carted off and eliminated by your body. Then, the deep, focused heat of the laser creates a sort of “controlled injury” that stimulates your skin’s natural healing processes. Because the laser creates a very specific type of injury, it can be adjusted to modulate the healing response. That means that instead of laying down a layer of tough, fibrous collagen this time around, your skin renews itself by replacing damaged tissue with healthy, new skin cells. And finally, the laser’s heat helps gently firm your skin so the treatment area looks firmer and more resilient.

Laser treatment is performed right in the office without any need for needles or anesthesia; a topical numbing cream can be applied to prevent discomfort in large treatment areas, and a cooling feature helps your skin comfortable. Afterward, there’s no downtime; you’ll just need to wear sunscreen and avoid direct sun exposure while the area heals.

Rejuvenate your skin with lasers

Lasers don’t just treat these common flaws. They’re also really effective for fine lines and wrinkles, loose skin, and scars, including acne scars. To learn more about the laser treatments we offer at Lasting Impressions and how they can help restore and rejuvenate your skin, book an appointment online today. bergencountymedicalspa.com

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Helping an Older Adult With Getting Into or Out of a Vehicle

Whenever you are helping an older adult into the car, transferring them from a wheelchair to a car, or assisting with a mobility device such as a wheelchair or walker, it is important to use proper body mechanics.

Helping a Senior In/Out of a Car (Basics):

  • Check the surrounding area for possible slip or trip risks
  • Wear appropriate non-slip footwear, which are safer for both you and the older adult
  • Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.
  • Keep your head and body as upright as possible.
  • Lower your hips to the height of the older adult by bending your knees and hips rather than your back.
  • Carry weight as close to your center of gravity as possible.
  • Get close to the older adult. Bear weight on your forearms rather than your hands.
  • Lift with your legs, not just your back.
  • When lifting, do not rotate your spine. Change the position of your feet to turn.
  • Push or pull an object instead of lifting whenever you can.
  • Know your limits

Basics of Wheelchair Transfers.

When transferring, positioning, and helping elderly adults get from a wheelchair to a car:

  • Have the older adult you are helping wear a gait belt during transfers, if one is available. A gait belt is a safety device used for moving a person from one place to another. The belt may be used to help hold up a person while she walks and decreases the chance of injury of a helper hurting her back while transferring a passenger.
  • Open the car door and move the car seat back to make more room
  • Stand with your back to the inside of the car door and pull the wheelchair toward you between the car door and seat.
  • Talk the older adult through the transfer process step by step, so that he or she can assist if possible.
  • Use your legs to pull up for strength.
  • Have the older adult lean forward and push themselves up from the arms of the wheelchair. Discourage them from  pulling on the car door to stand because it is not stable.
  • Carefully pivot yourself and the older adult so that his or her backside is toward the inside of the car.
  • Help them sit on the seat with their legs still out of the car. Be careful that their head clears the door frame while they are sitting down.
  • Help them move their legs into the car once they are sitting and have been given a moment to gain their balance. Use a swivel cushion to swing the legs while in a sitting position on the car seat. If you don’t have a swivel cushion, place a towel on a heavy duty plastic bag on your cloth seat or directly on your leather seat. Then, help the older adult sit on the towel-covered seat. Next, go to the other side of the car and pull the towel toward you. The plastic bag makes it easier to slide the person further into the car. Finally, turn his or her legs into the footwell of the car.
  • Assist with the seat belt, and close the door before going to your own seat.

Assisting elderly adults with mobility and transportation is important. Car travel is a part of everyday life for most people, including older adults.

Gadget that Can Help 

A handy bar device can be helpful when moving from sitting in the car to standing outside the car. Once the helper has removed the seatbelt, the handy bar is placed on the latch of the car where the door would normally lock on to enclosed. Test the bar to make sure it is securely in place. Now, lift one leg at a time out of the car and turn the patient. Help them to slide as far forward as possible to the edge of the car. The person in need should place their left hand on the dashboard while you grasp their right hand with your right hand. Place your left hand on the back of their head to help them remember to lean forward and avoid hitting their head. Once standing, pause for a moment to be sure you are both balanced then begin to walk. This transfer would be the same if using a rolling walker. Once the person in need is positioned to stand, the walker would be placed in front of them with the breaks on. 

Seniors require extra care to keep them safe and comfortable. This is why it’s important to choose a trusted Senior Healthcare Facility to ensure they are well taken care of. Bridgeway Senior Healthcare has a reputation for providing extra care to seniors to keep them safe and comfortable.

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5 Easy Tips To Keep Your Car Carpet Clean

keep car carpet clean

Purchasing a car can be easy as a click if you have the money and resources. But owning a car could be hard. As we all know, problems may come or may not. You won’t have problems if you take of a thing. Just like our house, we should always take care of it, we should perform proper maintenance, and we should conduct a frequent inspection of our house’s systems and parts. If all of these isn’t done, problems would come to our house like, leaking pipes, contaminated water supplies, pest infestations, and many other household problems that could even be life-threatening.

Our cars, just like our house should also be taken good care of, because if not, problems would arise. One of the most common problems we could have in our car is the interior, the cleanliness of our car. Of course, you would not want friends of yours to see your car nasty right? Just imagine having a date and you use your dirty car, that wouldn’t be a nice first impression, right? The most common parts of your car that gets dirty are its carpets. Since it is the one that always has contact with our dirty shoes, our car’s carpet is the most common to get dirty.

Now, it would be such a waste of time to clean your carpets especially if you don’t know how to. But just like most problems, it could be avoidable. And if you want to know how to avoid getting your carpets filthy, just continue reading this article.

Avoid bringing dirt in your car

There are a lot of ways to let dirt in our cars, but since we’re talking about the carpet, one way of avoiding this dirt in our car is by making sure our shoes are clean. Imagine being with your friends at a park where all of you were able to pick up some dirt in the soul of your shoes or sandals, and when all of you went in the car, immediately you see a lot of soil, rock, or pieces of leaves in your carpet, well that’s not nice. Set a rule that if anyone will enter your car they should shake their feet first before entering, and tell them to check first if they’re free of dirt. This may not stop your carpet from having dirt, but it would prevent and lessen the possibility.

Be organized

Having a car is just like having your own house, and if you’re a lazy person, you don’t see organizing as an important thing. Well if you want to keep your car clean, you should keep in mind of organizing. Being organized would avoid having a clutter in your car. Make use of your compartments and other drawers.

Vacuum regularly

Vacuum your car’s carpet at least once a week. This would avoid making your car more filthy. It would avoid dirt build up that would be hard to remove later on.

Have a trash bag

Always have a trash bag inside your car. If you have night outs with friends like road trips or etc. For sure you will be buying things that later on will become trash. So make sure you have a trash bag in hand to keep off litter in your car. There are also trash bins for cars available in the market. It’s your choice if you want a trash bin or just a trash bag.

Set rules

Set rules for your passengers and yourself too. Set rules like no one should eat inside the car. Avoid eating inside your car because it could cause crumbs or litter to end up in your carpets. Make sure to set rules, if your friends don’t want to comply then don’t let them ride your car. It’s your car, it’s your rules.

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7 Undeniable Benefits Of Owning A Car

guy driving his own car

In our society today, we all have busy and hectic schedules, and problems could boom if we don’t make it in time for tasks we have to do. Owning a car can ease all of that – having a car is highly beneficial. Many people still hold on to the idea of owning a car is not necessary. This mode of transportation can provide us with a wide variety of advantages. We have here below the 5 undeniable benefits of owning a car.

Public transportation is not always reliable

As we all know public transportation could be easy and give us more advantages since we don’t need to drive – we just pay and we get to our destination. But public transportation is not reliable, what if an emergency happens? what if the vehicle breaks down? or what if you have missed it? Owning a car is now becoming a  necessity. If you have a car, at least you know that you always have a vehicle to use anytime, at your own convenience.

Short errands

Having a vehicle could be essential for solving short errands – you don’t need to take a bike, a taxi, or a bus just to do errands. You just go hop into your vehicle and drive off, no more waiting for the taxi or bus – just to hop in and go to your destination. At least you can leave anytime you want.

Independence

When you have your own car, you do not need to rely on public transportation. You don’t need to adjust your time or your schedule just because of their schedule. You can leave anytime at your own preference and convenience.

Saves time

When you have your own car, you can go to any place you want to, you can pass through any path you want to take – unlike taking public transportation, like buses, they will stop from place to place and pass through different other paths before reaching your destination, which consumes a lot of time. But if you have your own car you can just go through one path or one route, which will save you a lot of time.

Chill in your car

No one can deny the fact that during traffic, it really gets boring – but if you have your own car you can beat that by listening to music in comfort. Another thing is, when you’re at a certain place and are waiting for someone, you can just chill in your car. You can also go to places with great views with friends and enjoy a sumptuous picnic in your car, with good music and a great view.

Personal space

If you have your own car you have your own personal space, where you can do anything you want. Unlike when in public transportation you don’t have that much of personal space because you have to take consideration of the people around you.

Self-satisfaction

If you have your own car, you can dress it up, you can repaint it, you can upgrade it, you can buy gadgets and accessories to make it smarter, cooler and better. It becomes a hobby where you feel satisfaction and happiness.

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6 Effective Car Care Tips Every Responsible Owner Should Do

man cleaning car dashboard for car care

Whether you are a car lover or not everyone wants our vehicles looking neat, clean, tidy, and running well. Cars are expensive and having a small problem with your car might cost you a lot of money. A small problem can lead to a huge problem making you spend much more. But you can avoid that just like how you avoid getting sick, you take care of yourself to take care of it too. Taking care of it will really avoid problems for your ride, making it last longer and drive smoother. So below are provided tips for your car care.

Get to know your vehicle

Knowing your vehicle will familiarize you with its parts.

You will be able to know the appropriate parts or elements of your car, making it safer, better, and avoid problems. When you get to know your vehicle or anything about automotive mechanization and when problems suddenly occur, at least you are knowledgeable and you know what actions to perform to fix even a simple problem. For example, having a flat tire in the middle of a highway will just be a simple thing for you if you know how to change it.

Have your oil changed

Cars should get their oil changed every 3000 to 5000 miles but that still depends on what type of car you have or the build of your vehicle. If you don’t know when to change the oil,  refer to your vehicle’s manual, the answer may be there or just search on the internet. Vehicles do not need a frequent change of oil, but having old oil will not be effective in lubricating the engine, in addition having old oil could cause major engine problems.

Drive properly

Avoid your bad driving habits like going strong on road humps. It can cause major interior problems for your vehicle. If you are driving an off-road then you can drive to mountains or rough roads but if you just have a sedan it is better to avoid going on trips to rocky mountains or passing through rough and rocky roads.

Pay attention to the weather

In a hot weather avoid leaving your car in the scorching heat of the sun as your cars dashboards, upholstery, the steering wheel can suffer from the sun’s scorching rays beaming at them regularly. It can cause them to deteriorate especially if it has rubber parts. The sun’s scorching heat can also damage your cars car paint making it look not as sleek as before.

Purchase car covers to protect it from the sun or buy a tent or park it where there is shade enough to cover up your car. In the winter, always carry a shovel to shove of the ice when you park your car under the flowing snow.

Care for its exterior

Clean or give your car a bath regularly to wipe off all the dirt that could damage your vehicle. Insect waste or birds poop have acid that could damage your car‘s paint job when you leave it uncleaned. So it is better to keep regularly wipe or wash your car. Look for a nearby automotive spa and have your car detailed to keep your paint from deteriorating and to apply protection for years to come. Experts at the auto spa might even give you advice on how to care about your car’s exterior.

Conduct a regular tune-up    

Having regular tune-ups for your car is a good habit because it will always be running effectively just like how it should be. Having tune-ups also can let you discover if your car has some interior problems so you can make a solution to those problems ahead of time before it escalates to a bigger problem that could cost you a lot of money.

 

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10 Effortless Ways to Keep Your Car Clean and Organized

We will always encounter a dirty, filthy car that will need some time for clean up. But what if there’s a path you can take to keep your car clean and organized for a long period of time? Just a little practice and habit will do some trick. These effortless car maintenance hacks will keep your auto clean, organized and save you time and lessen the hassle you may encounter due to a dirty, unorganized car.

1.Keep Small Plastic Bags

Irritated with people throwing trash out of your car window? Or maybe putting their trash away in between your car seats, pouches or elsewhere? Having a plastic bags stored and ready in your car will be very useful. It can be used for collecting trash, or any other emergencies you’ll be needing that plastic bag for.

2.Have a Multi-Purpose Cleaning Wipes

Cleaning Wipes can be used for wiping off dirt on your dashboard and other surfaces. People tend to eat in cars, and you don’t want all that greasy, icky stuff on their hands to be touching your car’s interior, right? Handing them some wipes can help keep the hygiene in your car, and theirs as well.

3.Clean the Car with Baking Soda

As we all know, Baking Soda has a lot of uses. Here are the best uses of Baking Soda in the means of keeping your car clean:

  • Removes odor from your carpet

    Any biological substance, like juice, milk – will develop a nasty smell, eventually. Get your carpet out and sprinkle lots of baking soda. Leave it and Vacuum it the following day.

  • Cleans mirrors, windshield, license plate 

    A little sprinkle of baking soda and combined with the power of light brushing will do the trick!

  • Removes grime on seat belts

    Keep the integrity of the material with this harmless trick. Mix one part baking soda and one part hot water – this will produce a paste. Gently rub the paste on the seat belt with a small toothbrush, and clean up with a damp cloth.

  • Cleans Faux Leather

    Use a damp towel with baking soda and start rubbing on the leather, focusing more on the stains, and you’ll slowly see some progress. Leaving you with a much cleaner and fresher looking interior.

4.Invest in a Car Wax

Car Wax prevents dirt from sticking on your car for a long period. If you want an easy way to maintain your clean exterior, car wax is the way to go! And whenever your car gets dirty, the wax helps the dirt come off easily when washed.

5.Vacuum

Suck up all the dust and other debris in your car. Vacuum everywhere as long as the nozzle fits. Aim for the carpets, dashboards, consoles, seats, and panels – these are the usual places dust and debris can accumulate.

6.Have an Emergency Kit

You aren’t that organized if you aren’t ready for some future incidents. Thinking ahead is also part of being organized. This emergency kit can be kept inside your glove compartment.

7.Keep some Car Seat Hangers

Here’s a helpful tip, especially for you who does the grocery shopping. Hang them on the back of the seats and hang those bags filled with groceries. This will save you from a lot of hassle and worries like your eggs and bread getting crushed!

8.Have an Organizer in the Backseat

Family Travels and Kids will be needing a lot of things to be brought. Effortlessly reduce some clutter, be hassle-free, and conveniently keep those essentials in a car organizer that can be hanged on the back of a seat.

9.Put Cupcake Liners in the Cup Holder

It’s impossible to not spill any soda or coffee in your Cup-holder – and cleaning them up can require more effort. Reduce the hassle and put in some silicone cupcake liners in there – when it’s time for some cleaning, just toss the silicone liners in the dishwasher for reuse.

10.Have a Storage Bin in the Back

You may have stuff in the back that may roll around when the car is moving. Opt for a bin with dividers to make it easier to organize those oil, fluid, and tools.