Neurofibromatosis

The dominant autosomal genetic disorder that causes the growth of tumours or neurofibromas on the nerve tissues is known as neurofibromatosis. These neurofibromas are soft in texture and are found throughout the body. These tumours are generally non-cancerous. The non-nerve tissues like that of the skin and the bones are also affected sometimes as a result of this neuraofibromatosis. This is a rare disease and both sexes are affected equally.

German pathologist Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen was the first to discover neurofibromatosis in the year 1882.
Types of Neurofibromatosis

Neurofibromatosis is a rare disease that is generally seen in its common form. But in some cases, it can be seen in some rare forms too. They are:

Neurofibromatosis types I or the “Von Rec klinghausen disease”. The occurrence is one among 3500 cases.

Neurofibromatosis type II or the “MISME Syndrome”. This is as rare as one among 40,000 cases.

Schwannomatosis is genetically and clinically different from neurofibromatosis types I and II. This also occurs in one among 40,000 patients.

Apart from these also there are five more rare forms of neurofibromatosis.
What are the Symptoms of Neurofibromatosis
The symptoms differ more or less according to the type of neurofibromatosis. They are as follows:

Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Presence of birthmark that is coffee-colored, commonly termed as “cafe-au-lait” spot. These spots would be at least six in number from the time of birth or they tend to develop within five years of age.

Formation of lumps under the skin is seen after puberty. These lumps grow in size.

High blood pressure also is common among the victims.

Spinal curvature of the afflicted person is often abnormal.

Speech problem as well as auditory problem is common occurrence.

Learning disability

Epilepsy

Neurofibromatosis Type 2

Formation of benign tumours internally

Hearing disability is also a common occurrence.

Tumours down the spine as well as brain tumours are a common occurrence in this malaise.

Cataracts

Skin tumours

Facial paralysis .

What are the Symptoms of Neurofibromatosis
The symptoms differ more or less according to the type of neurofibromatosis. They are as follows:

Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Presence of birthmark that is coffee-colored, commonly termed as “cafe-au-lait” spot. These spots would be at least six in number from the time of birth or they tend to develop within five years of age.

Formation of lumps under the skin is seen after puberty. These lumps grow in size.

High blood pressure also is common among the victims.

Spinal curvature of the afflicted person is often abnormal.

Speech problem as well as auditory problem is common occurrence.

Learning disability

Epilepsy

Neurofibromatosis Type 2

Formation of benign tumours internally

Hearing disability is also a common occurrence.

Tumours down the spine as well as brain tumours are a common occurrence in this malaise.

Cataracts

Skin tumours

Facial paralysis
Causes of Neurofibromatosis

The factors leading to neurofibromatosis are as follows:

Genetic factors—Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is caused by disorder in chromosome 17, and that in Type 2 is caused by chromosome 22.

Heredity—Neurofibromatosis can be in the family.

Regardless of sex, age, or ethnicity, neurofibromatosis can occur to anyone. But this is a rare disease, having a rate of one among 2500 individuals.
Diagnosis of Neurofibromatosis

The form of diagnosis of neurofibromatosis is as follows:

Lab Studies of mutation analysis using better and more sophisticated machines.

Imaging Studies, like the MRI scan of the brain and the spinal chord

Wood lamp examination to examine the spots in patients with pale skin

Slit lamp examination for children to examine the Lisch nodules.
Treatment for Neurofibromatosis

In most of the cases on neurofibromatosis, the tumours are benign, and thus do not need any special treatment that are generally recommended for malignant or cancerous tumors. But surgery is sometimes needed to remove the tumours. Other general treatment procedures are as follows that can be rendered as and when needed in accordance with the symptoms and complications:

Surgery to remove tumours

Treatment for epilepsy, if it occurs

Regular testing of vision and auditory abilities

Speech therapy

Special education fro students with learning disability

Counseling and genetic screening for families that have a history of neurofibromatosis

Biopsy of the tumours to make sure that they are non-cancerous

Constant monitoring of the tumours to detect growth changes and pain

Due to the wide range of complications involved in neurofibromatosis, a wide range of medical consultants are also needed for proper treatment of this disease. They are

Orthopedic consultants

Surgeons

Oncologists, if the growth is found to be malignant after biopsy

Psychiatrists for genetic counselling.

Coughsymptoms & causes

what is cough ?

Coughing is an important way to keep your throat and airways clear. However, excessive coughing may mean you have an underlying disease or disorder.

Some coughs are dry, while others are considered productive. A productive cough is one that brings up mucus. Mucus is also called phlegm or sputum.

Coughs can be either acute or chronic:

• Acute coughs usually begin suddenly. They are often due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection. They usually go away after 2 to 3 weeks.
• Chronic coughs last longer than 2 to 3 weeks.

Common symptoms.

Besides recent upper airways infections, such as the common cold and flu, other common causes of coughs include:

• Allergies and asthma
• Lung infections such as pneumonia or acute bronchitis
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema or chronic bronchitis)
• Sinusitis leading to postnasal drip
• Lung disease such as bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease, or tumors
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Cigarette smoking
• Exposure to secondhand smoke
• Exposure to air pollutants
• ACE inhibitors (medications used to control blood pressure)

If a child has a barking cough, see croup.

self Care

Although coughing can be a troubling symptom, it is usually your body's way of healing. Here are some tips to help ease your cough:

• If you have a dry, tickling cough, try cough drops or hard candy. NEVER give these to a child under age 3, because they can cause choking.
• Use a vaporizer or take a steamy shower. Both these things increase the moisture in the air and can help soothe a dry throat.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Liquids help thin the mucus in your throat and make it easier to cough it up.

NOTE: Medical experts have recommended against using cough and cold drugs in children under age 6. Talk to your doctor before your child takes any type of over-the-counter cough medicine, even if it is labeled for children. These medicines likely will not work for children, and they may have serious side effects.

Medications available without a prescription include:

• Guaifensin helps break up mucus. Drink lots of fluids if you take this medicine.
• Decongestants help clear a runny nose and relieve postnasal drip. Do NOT give children under age 6 an over-the-counter decongestant unless specifically told to do so by your doctor. You should not take decongestants if you have high blood pressure.

Do not expect a doctor to prescribe antibiotics for viral infections like colds or flu. Antibiotics do not work on viruses. Antibiotics also will not help coughs from allergies.

Hand Eczema

• What is it?

Irritant contact hand eczema is a frequent disorder of the skin. In lay terms this disorder is sometimes known as "housewives eczema". It can occur at any age. Typically it appears as small fissures and cracks on the tips of the fingers. In severe cases the may be redness, scaling, crusting, and the palms may be involved. If the skin around the edges of the nails is involved the nails may become irregular.

• What causes it?

Sensitive hands when in contact with irritants become inflamed, and it is repeated minor irritations that cause your hand eczema. This is very difficult to tell from allergic contact hand eczema and patch testing may be needed to tell the two conditions apart. Sometimes allergic and irritant reactions occur together.

• Is it dangerous?

For the typical healthy person hand eczema is a harmless disorder. It is not related to cancer and it does not involve internal organs. Severe cases may be temporarily disabling.

• Can it be cured?

The treatment program I put you on will help control or clear the disorder, but it is not a cure. Even if the hand eczema is totally cleared, you will still be predisposed to have repeat episodes if re-exposed to the inciting factors. Repeat treatments may be needed and some individuals may require continuous therapy.

• Will it spread?

It generally stays localized to the hands.

• Is it contagious?

It is not contagious and you can not "catch" it from anyone.

There are various types of eczema, which include allergic eczema, atopic eczema, hand eczema, discoid eczema, infantile eczema, nummular eczema, seborrheic eczema, stasis eczema, tropical eczema, xerotic eczema, dyshidriotic eczema, baby eczema, etc.

Although there are different types of eczema, all eczema types cause itch, except seborrheic eczema.

There are some common symptoms of eczema, which can help treating in early stages. Itching of the skin is the first symptom and this itching can vary from tingling sensation to painful itching. Redness with dry and flaky skin is another symptom of eczema, which later becomes itchy.

Adults usually have raised and thick brown patches of eczema, which slowly heals, but forms a scar on the affected area.

health tips for eczema

What is eczema?

Eczema is a common skin condition that can cause mild to extreme irritation. When eczema is mild, it often causes dry, hot and itching skin. In more severe forms, eczema causes raw, broken and cracked skin.

Treatment of eczema

Eczema cannot be cured; however it can generally be controlled. It is often useful, in the cases of atopic eczema and contact dermatitis, to determine what allergens are irritating the skin. While it can be difficult to isolate specific allergens, it can be helpful since the first course of treatment is to avoid the offending substances. In addition, the sufferer should avoid exposure to abrasives including dust and sand, perfumes and cosmetics, soaps and detergents, wool and synthetic fibers and cigarette smoke as these can all exacerbate the condition.

A doctor can prescribe medicine for treating eczema. In treatment the goal is to heal the skin and to prevent flare-ups from recurring. Over-the-counter creams and ointments such as corticosteroid cream can be used to treat mild eczema symptoms, but in some cases these medications can further irritate the sensitive skin. Over the counter and prescription antihistamines are also used to treat the itching. Extreme or long term cases should always be seen by a doctor. Newer medicines called immuno-modulators help control skin inflammation by reducing immune system reactions. If there is any sign of skin infection, it will be treated with antibiotics, which may be taken orally or may be topical.

Eczema can vary widely, so each person's treatment regimen must be custom-tailored to adapt to his or her personal condition and lifestyle.

health tips for eczema

What is eczema?

Eczema is a common skin condition that can cause mild to extreme irritation. When eczema is mild, it often causes dry, hot and itching skin. In more severe forms, eczema causes raw, broken and cracked skin.

Treatment of eczema

Eczema cannot be cured; however it can generally be controlled. It is often useful, in the cases of atopic eczema and contact dermatitis, to determine what allergens are irritating the skin. While it can be difficult to isolate specific allergens, it can be helpful since the first course of treatment is to avoid the offending substances. In addition, the sufferer should avoid exposure to abrasives including dust and sand, perfumes and cosmetics, soaps and detergents, wool and synthetic fibers and cigarette smoke as these can all exacerbate the condition.

A doctor can prescribe medicine for treating eczema. In treatment the goal is to heal the skin and to prevent flare-ups from recurring. Over-the-counter creams and ointments such as corticosteroid cream can be used to treat mild eczema symptoms, but in some cases these medications can further irritate the sensitive skin. Over the counter and prescription antihistamines are also used to treat the itching. Extreme or long term cases should always be seen by a doctor. Newer medicines called immuno-modulators help control skin inflammation by reducing immune system reactions. If there is any sign of skin infection, it will be treated with antibiotics, which may be taken orally or may be topical.

Eczema can vary widely, so each person's treatment regimen must be custom-tailored to adapt to his or her personal condition and lifestyle.

Myths about hair loss in women

1. It means you're not a proper women with two X chromosomes
2. It's caused by washing your hair too often
3. It's caused by too much brushing or combing
4. Hair dyes and perms can cause permanent loss
5. It may result from wearing hats and wigs
6. Shaving your hair will make it regrow thicker
7. Standing on your head will help it grow back
8. It's a sign of an overactive brain
9. There's a miracle cure out there waiting for you

Medical treatments

The drug minoxidil was first developed for treating high blood pressure, which was found to have the side effect of thickening hair growth in some people. It's now available as a lotion to apply directly to the scalp.

No one really knows how it works, however, and it's not effective for everyone. Studies show that only about 20 per cent of women between 18 and 45 have moderate regrowth using the drug, while another 40 per cent experience minimal regrowth.

It works best on younger people with early hair loss. A big disadvantage is that you have to carry on using minoxidil indefinitely or the new hair will fall out.

Another drug, finasteride, which was developed for treating prostate cancer, has also been found to be effective but is only available for men.

Surgery

Surgical techniques for restoring hair have improved greatly in the past couple of decades, but this is still an option that requires careful consideration.

There are two main options:

• Hair transplantation - tiny punch-holes of skin containing a few follicles of hair are taken from elsewhere in the body (such as the back of the head, if this is still well covered) and implanted into the thinning areas. Some surgeons use a needle to sew in just one or two hairs. However, as women are more likely to have diffuse loss of hair all over the scalp, this technique may not be possible. There has been little success with implanting artificial fibres.

• Scalp reduction - devices are inserted under the skin to stretch areas of scalp that still have hair, then the redundant bald areas are removed. Alternatively, flaps of hairy scalp can be moved around the head.

Main points

• Many causes of female hair loss are temporary - check your general health and be patient
• Take a look at your family for an idea of your risk of female pattern baldness
• Don't be taken in by claims for wonder products - there's no cure for female pattern hair loss
• Many women cope well by using cosmetic products, hats and wigs, so persevere until you find your own style

Women's pattern of hair loss is different to the typical receding hairline and crown loss in men. Instead, androgenetic alopecia causes a general thinning of women's hair, with loss predominantly over the top and sides of the head.

Another important cause of hair loss in women is a condition called alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that affects more than two per cent of the population. In this, the hair follicles are attacked by white blood cells. The follicles then become very small and hair production slows down dramatically, so there may be no visible hair growth for months and years.

After some time, hair may regrow as before, come back in patchy areas, or not regrow at all. The good news is that in every case the hair follicles remain alive and can be switched on again; the bad news is that we don't yet know how to do this.

HAIR LOSS PROBLEM

More than half of men and women in the United States experience hair loss. About 30% of people have hair loss by age 30 years, and about 50% have hair loss by age 50 years. Hair loss is so common that most of the time it is considered a normal variation and not a disease. Other animals closely related to humans, such as the chimpanzee, also lose their hair.

One of the commonest forms of hair loss in women (and men) is a condition called telogen effluvium, in which there is a diffuse (or widely spread out) shedding of hairs around the scalp and elsewhere on the body.

This is usually a reaction to intense stress on the body's physical or hormonal systems, or as a reaction to medication.

The condition, which can occur at any age, generally begins fairly suddenly and gets better on its own within about six months, although for a few people it can become a chronic problem.

Because telogen effluvium develops a while after its trigger, and causes generalised thinning of hair density rather than a bald patch, women with the condition can easily be diagnosed as overanxious or neurotic.

Fortunately, it often gets better with time. Telogen effluvium is a phenomenon related to the growth cycles of hair.

Hair growth cycles alternate between a growth phase (called anagen, it lasts about three years) and a resting phase (telogen, which lasts about three months). During telogen, the hair remains in the follicle until it is pushed out by the growth of a new hair in the anagen phase.

At any one time, up to about 15 per cent of hairs are in telogen. But a sudden stress on the body can trigger large numbers of hairs to enter the telogen phase at the same time. Then, about three months later, this large number of hairs will be shed. As the new hairs start to grow out, so the density of hair may thicken again.

Many adults have had an episode of telogen effluvium at some point in their lives, reflecting episodes of illness or stress.

Another common type of hair loss in women is androgenetic alopecia, which is related to hormone levels in the body. There's a large genetic predisposition, which may be inherited from the father or mother.

Androgenetic alopecia affects roughly 50 per cent of men (this is the main cause of the usual pattern of balding seen as men age) and perhaps as many women over the age of 40.

Research shows that up to 13 per cent of women have some degree of this sort of hair loss before the menopause, and afterwards it becomes far more common - one piece of research suggests that over the age of 65 as many as 75 per cent of women are affected.

The cause of hair loss in this condition is a chemical called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, which is made from androgens (male hormones that all men and women produce) by the action of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase.

People with a lot of this enzyme make more DHT, which in excess can cause the hair follicles to make thinner and thinner hair, until eventually they pack up completely.

10 hair myths exposed( HOW APPLY SHAMPOO OR OTHER PRODUCTS)

• If I shampoo my hair every day it will start falling out.

False. If your hair is susceptible to dirt and grime, do shampoo it every day for that squeaky-clean look. Use a mild shampoo and rinse it off completely.

• A hundred brush strokes are good for hair.

False. Excessive brushing can put such stress on your hair that it splits, breaks or gets uprooted more easily. Brushing also stimulates the sebaceous glands, which produce sebum or natural oil, and can make your hair lank and greasy.

• A shampoo should be changed every now & then.

Not necessarily. Many people feel that they must change their shampoo regularly because the hair 'gets used to it', but there's no evidence for this. It's more important to find a shampoo that suits your hair.

• Hair shouldn't be combed when it's wet.

False. When hair is wet, water penetrates its shaft, so it swells and starts tangling with other hair. If wet hair is not combed, it will dry out tangled, and will be unmanageable and difficult to style. To set the hair and give it a smooth look, you must comb it when it is wet. But do it gently and be sure to use a wide-toothed comb.

• Washing hair frequently is harmful.

False. You should wash your hair before it gets dirty. Otherwise, particles of grime could damage your hair when you comb it. Harsh products like soap can damage your hair, but a good shampoo with conditioner will not only clean your hair, but will actually improve its condition – however often you wash it.

• Shampoos must be diluted before being used.

You should never dilute any shampoo, least of all one with conditioner, because it will lose its effectiveness. On dilution, the conditioner separates from the shampoo and sticks to the sides of the bottle. So it never gets onto the hair.

• Cutting hair will make it grow faster.

No! Hair will grow at the same rate whether it is cut or not. However, trimming the tips of the hair every eight weeks will get rid of split ends and makes you hair growth smoother.

• Hair oil nourishes hair & makes it grow longer, thicker & blacker.

This is not true. Nothing that is applied externally can nourish hair, or make it grow longer than it can.

• Hair oil adds a shine & luster to hair.

Yes and no! The oil coats each shaft of hair, but it’s only the oil that is shining and not your hair. So it doesn’t mean that your hair is any healthier. In fact, oil tends to attract dust and dirt and becomes a breeding ground for infections. It is much better to use a shampoo and conditioner: this will not only keep the scalp clean but will also make your hair more manageable. Oil massages are good for your hair and they relax you. They also soothe the nerves, cool the brain and are good for the eyes. It's the massage that relaxes you and not the oil. It stimulates the circulation in the scalp and that’s what makes you feel relaxed. There’s no basis for any of the other claims.

How dry skin can fight back

QUE .....Very dry skin has a new way of fighting back. New Vaseline Intensive Rescue is a range of products that goes beyond instant relief and provides long-lasting moisture, promoting the proper environment for your skin to do something amazing: repair itself.

Intensive Rescue.

Over 130 years ago, Vaseline successfully launched the first branded skin care product in the market. Today, we’ve taken our expertise and passion for skin and developed a new range of products to help “very dry skin” consumers control their troublesome dry skin.

New Vaseline Intensive Rescue is a range of products specifically designed with all of your different dry skin needs in mind.

Moisture Locking Lotion:

Healthy skin naturally repairs itself, but many factors – from the environment to heredity – can negatively affect this ability and lead to severe dryness of your skin. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Lotion triples moisture reserves in your skin instantly, then fills in the gaps found in dry, damaged skin to lock moisture in all day, promoting the proper environment dry skin needs to repair itself.

Heal & Repair Balm:

Healthy skin naturally repairs itself, but very dry skin flare-ups are skin’s way of signalling that its normal moisturization processes have severely broken down. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Heal & Repair Balm – with Vaseline brand’s powerful combination of moisturizing ingredients - works within seconds to help relieve severe dryness. It promotes the ideal long-term environment for even severely dry skin to repair itself within 5 days.

Healing Hand Cream:

Healthy skin naturally repairs itself, but the constant activity and exposure of hands may disrupt this natural process, leading to severely dry and rough skin. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Healing Hand Cream’s unique formula infuses dry skin with intense moisturizers and sinks in within seconds, yet lasts all day to promote the ideal environment that skin needs to repair itself.

Healing Foot Cream:

Healthy skin naturally repairs itself, but the constant pounding feet take puts intense pressure on this natural process, leading to severely dry and rough skin. Vaseline Intensive Rescue Healing Foot Cream softens dry skin on contact. It then deeply moisturizes to promote the environment for skin’s natural healing processes to occur, reducing roughness within five days.

Natural Health and Beauty

embodies a trend to go back to the basics. More women are realizing the harsh affects that chemical laden products can have on their skin. They want to see results, but the side effects often cause worse problems than what they are trying to cure. Why you could be using products that are harmful to your skin and the environment. Find out about which raw materials are good for you and how the natural skin care will benefit you.
Skin can certainly benefit from from natural products, but don't forget hair. Hair products cost a lot, and we are always tempted by new, laboratory-tested brands in new bottles. A lot of them are very good, but they are expensive and they often smell of chemicals. Try some of hair products and enjoy the fresh smells of fruit and other good things.
It is equally important to pay attention to what you put ON your body as well as what you put IN your body. Fortunately for us, nature has provided an abundance of plants, roots, flowers and herbs rich in vitamins, enzymes, proteins, minerals and other biologically active compounds that have been used in the care of the body, skin and hair for centuries. Knowledge of the healing power of herbs and their special effects on the skin is used in the formulation of natural cosmetics.

important of gud look

I thought gud looks are not important, that the important thing is inner beauty. But as I grow older, I am beginning to feel good looks are a very important factor for success.

For a few years, the Korean economy has been decreasing sharply. Many companies have closed, and many people have been fired. Big companies are not hiring new employees. In this serious situation, few young people can find jobs.

Maybe most people think they can get jobs because they are very smart or have special skills, but according to an article that was published in Korean newspapers, the common point for newly-hired employees is that they are good-looking. Since that article was published, cosmetic surgery has come to be a hit among graduating seniors in Korea.

Why do the big companies choose the good-looking man? When they were asked this question, one official at a large, well-known company said most people tended to relate the company's image to the employee's image, so to give a good image of their company, they had to choose a good-looking person.

I think this shows how important good looks are nowadays. If people are not good-looking, they don't find jobs as easily. If they don't find jobs, they can't marry, have a house, or have a car. So, in my opinion, good looks are very important in modern life.

my own thinkings

When I was young, I read many kinds of books, including fairy tales. Most of the books described heroes who were handsome and heroines who were beautiful. So, I believed I had to be beautiful if I wanted to become a great person. It was a hard time for me. Whenever I looked at someone who was more beautiful than me, I was stressed.

As I grew up, I began to realize outer beauty was not so important to make someone good. I remember a friend of mine who was so beautiful that every classmate wanted to talk with her, but she was very arrogant.

She believed that she could do everything she wanted because she was so beautiful, but she lost friends one by one. My poor friend! But she learned a good lesson: inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. After she learned that, she changed her attitude and made friends again.

In the Korean version of the story Cinderella, there are two stepsisters. One was very beautiful and very kind. Another was very stingy and bad. Because the prince wanted to find the girl with a missing shoe, the prince and the beautiful sister of the two stepsisters got married and lived happily ever after.

In many novels and fairy tales, as in Cinderella, the main characters are usually beautiful or handsome. Beauty is representative of good deeds and kindness.

In our society, beauty also gives us many advantages such as having a good social life, making friends, getting a job, and getting a promotion. Whenever, we look at good-looking guys and girls, we usually form stereotypes. We think he or she is a good and kind person. This is why cosmetic surgery is so popular in our society

Whenever I see TV advertisements, I feel that these things make us believe beauty is very important--especially physical attractiveness. Although we say that inner beauty is more valuable, we often look to plastic surgery to make us more beautiful. There seems to be a boom in plastic surgery. It is surprising to realize the number of people who try it is increasing day by day.

It is true that attractive people get a job easily. For example, we know good-looking guys usually get higher scores on job interviews. So, what is real beauty? I want to say that inner beauty is the real one because if someone has beauty in his soul, he looks like a really beautiful person.

The beauty looked at with eyes doesn't last forever. Instead of concentrating on outer beauty, we should concentrate on inner beauty. The point is that inner beauty is more important than outside beauty. So, if we make the effort to make our minds beautiful, we'll be happier.

when asked what is beauty, men would say that a beautiful woman boils down to two characteristics: 1. Happy. 2. Healthy. Notice in the characteristics’ description, there is no specific mention about bums and boobs; perhaps they fall somewhere in the healthy category! Is this answer to "What is beauty" too simplistic? Let’s take a close look. There is more to the definition of beauty than meets the eye.

Happy

Babies are naturally attracted to happy faces. This is why when you smile they would smile too. They are natural reflectors of how you feel, and they help define what is beauty. When we are happy, our brain let off adrenalin, there is light in our eyes, we walk with vigor, and we have hope for living. When we are down, our eyes are naturally downcast, our face tense up, we slouch and our mind is elsewhere. We tend to wear darker colors too, so as not to bring attention to ourselves. Happy people attract others, while sad people tend to pull people away.

Healthy

Being healthy doesn’t mean that we have to have the figure of Tomb Raider to meet the definition of beauty. Looking healthy means having good skin, being energetic and having no obvious disability or disfigurement. We all know the ways to achieve healthiness to various degrees--Eating right, sleeping well, exercising regularly and learning to manage stress in a appropriate manner.

Multiple studies done by researchers independent of one another show that an overwhelming amount of what is considered beautiful also correlates to how symmetric the face and body are. Humans seem to have a natural averaging selection when determining the definition of beauty.

Most of us are born more symmetric than we are right now. As we grow older, we pick up bad habits unknowingly, like tilting our head to our side, holding tension on one side of the shoulder, which causes imbalances with our bodies. However, the good news is that we can change our bodies by being more aware and through stretching and strengthening exercises.

What is important is that for these characteristics of beauty, we can make positive changes to them. True, all of us might wish that we have the eyes Milla Jovovich and the body of Madonna; however, there are a lot of things that we can do to be happy and healthy and to offer the answer to what is beauty for ourselves. The major deterrent to becoming beautiful is the poor self images that we have of ourselves and the fact that we look outward for the definition of beauty. When we think ourselves poorly, we wish to be somebody else and looking for a quick fix when really we have the capability within ourselves for better change. You are beautiful, you just need to get it out.

Definitions of real beauty

Dove recently set out across 10 countries and interviewed 3 000 women to find out. Our findings? Only 2% of these women describe themselves as 'beautiful'. Additionally, 3 minutes spent looking at a fashion magazine caused 75% of women to feel depressed, guilty and shameful and 80% of women say these images of 'perfect' beauty lower their self-esteem and makes them feel insecure and depressed.

For too long, beauty has been defined by these narrow, stifling stereotypes. Women have told us it's time to change all that. Dove agrees. We believe real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes and ages. That is why Dove has launched the Campaign for Real Beauty.