Urine Leakage & How to Get Rid of It

According to an article in Gulf News, published in June 2016, a study revealed that about 42 percent of the women above the age of 38 years in the UAE suffer from urinary incontinence. Of these, about 80% complained that their daily activities, including social and physical engagement, were affected by it. Most of these women do not seek medical help because they consider this situation to be socially embarrassing and the cultural barrier makes it worse for them.

Urinary incontinence, which is basically a medical condition in which the urine is leaked from the body accidentally, is very common problem affecting about 400 million women worldwide. This condition can be temporary or chronic and is more commonly found in women above the age of 50 years.

Urine leakage can be triggered by small activities such as sneezing and laughter but can be managed with proper information and guidance.

How to Manage it

• Take Care of your Skin: More leakage means that there could be greater risk of skin infections and rashes. Dampness from the urine makes the skin moist, which leads to the growth of bacteria and yeast. So, make sure you wash regularly with soap and apply a cream to keep the urine away. Avoid hot water, since it could increase the irritation level.

• Using the Right Absorbent: Using the right tools of protection makes it much easier to cope with this problem. You can opt for products like panty liners, absorbent adult briefs and reusable incontinence undergarments. The urine holding capacity varies across products, so make sure you check for absorbency before making a purchase.

• Odour Prevention: This is often one of the biggest concerns of incontinence. One way to prevent odour is by staying hydrated. However, it is important not to drink too much of anything, since it would lead to greater urine production and therefore leakage. To remove the smell from clothes, wash them with baking soda and apply deodorant a before leaving the house.

• Monitor the Urinating Patterns: Consumption of caffeine, acidic foods, alcoholic drinks and hot spices can irritate the bladder and force it to behave abnormally. So, monitor your urine patterns to understand the amount and frequency of the flow. There is a possibility that you feel the urge after specific intervals of time. Change your diet and lifestyle accordingly.

Things to Be Kept in Mind

• When you are at home, make sure that bathroom is always available.
• Wear clothes that are easy to remove.
• Remember to empty your bladder before going to sleep or leaving the house.

How to Feel Better During Your Periods

According to a study conducted by Ibn Sina National College for Medical Sciences, Jeddah, about 36.4% women in Saudi Arabia have irregular menstruation, 21.6% have oligomenorrehea and 21.3% had polymenorrehea. About 19.5% of the women use less than 3 pads during one menstrual cycle, while 12.5% use more than 5 pads.

Another study revealed that about 68% of the girls experienced PMS and 59% were unable to attend school because of it. Dysmenorrhea was the most common problem, resulting in 60% to 90% the cases of absenteeism from school. 

However, most of the women continue to ignore this as general pain, without realising that they can control it and stay energized throughout the day even during their periods. Here is what you need to do to feel better.

Choose Your Food Wisely

This is a time when you crave for food items such as sugar, salt, coffee and alcohol, but, sadly, they only make the condition worse. Salt causes greater water retention, sugar causes rise and fall of blood sugar and caffeine increases the production of estrogen, leading to mood swings. Instead, opt for foods that are rich in vitamins and drink plenty of water and fluids.

Avoid Painful Activities but Indulge in Light Exercises

During periods, girls are more physically sensitive and painful activities, such as waxing, body piercing or getting a tattoo can be more painful than they otherwise would. On the other hand, simple exercises like yoga, stretching and walking can help maintain good blood flow and avoid cramps.

Meet Your Friends

A lot of women do not like to socialise during this time. However, the reality is that when you go out and meet friends, you get less time to think about how miserable you feel. So, try going out with your friends or organize a small party with them at home, it will really help in elevating your mood.

Get Adequate Rest

Needless to say, sleeping is the best solution for most problems. Getting enough sleep, especially at night, will help you to stay refreshed and rejuvenated.

Use the Right Protection

Most sanitary pads and tampons available in the market use chemicals that can cause rashes and the material used may cause problems of breathability. Choose products according to the materials used, absorbency and your skin type, and change them every 4-8 hours, depending on the flow.

Also, remember to take special care of your skin in the week leading to your periods, sicne injuries at that time can increase the irritation levels later.

Menstrual Cycle: A Simple Guide to Understanding the Phases

A woman is expected have 450 menstrual cycles on average during her lifetime. It starts on the first day of her period and ends one day before the next period is due to start. So, ideally the menstrual cycle lasts for 28 days but it can vary from person to person, lasting anywhere between 20 to 40 days.

Any cycle that lasts for more than 6 weeks is considered to be unusual, and irregular periods are common among adolescent girls when they are stressed, or experiencing extreme emotions and weight changes. Women often look at this phase as a burden and some of them even consider the pain as a curse.

However, it is actually their lack of knowledge regarding menstruation that makes matters worse. Here’s a look at the different phases of menstrual cycle and how it works.

The Follicular Phase

This is the first stage of the cycle, in which a hormone called the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is released by the pituitary gland. This causes the immature egg-containing cells or follicles to develop in the ovary.

These cells produce oestrogen, a hormone that results in the lining of uterus (the endometrium) to become thick. This phase starts on the first day of the cycle and ends with ovulation.

The Ovulatory Phase

During the follicular phase, a rise in oestrogen levels leads to the release of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which makes you feel better and confident, making this the ideal time to go for job interviews and networking.

During this phase, the sex drive is also high, so one usually enjoys physical activities at this time.

The Luteal Phase

The follicle that released the egg during the ovulation transforms into a corpus luteum, a structure that produces progesterone, the pregnancy hormone. This leads to the thickening of the uterus as a step to make space for the fertilized egg to be implanted and to develop for the next nine months.

In case conception occurs, then it keeps on producing the hormone in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. However, if the egg is not fertilized, the production stops in two weeks.

Menstruation

The drop in progesterone levels is the beginning of menstruation. It signifies the end of the opportunity for the egg to be fertilized and the beginning of the development of the next egg. The end of ovulation leads to the uterine lining to be shed, along with some blood.

The duration and intensity of this period differs from woman to woman and from cycle to cycle, but on average, it lasts for 4-6 days.

Deft handling steers the capital markets on the right course

Renowned financial investment companies in Kuwait have widened the scope of the equity capital markets to strategic advantage for businesses.

A dominant trend seen in previous years was the lack of an organised equity capital market and derivatives products in the GCC markets – except for Kuwait. With a stronger reach and better control over the volatile GCC stock markets, Kuwait has a comprehensive market structure that encourages companies to raise equity and debt capital in a low risk, cost-effective environment. Unlike in other GCC countries, Kuwait’s capital market is also strong on the derivatives, futures contracts and options segments.

Deft handling of the capital market by reputed investment companies has also debunked the myth that businesses based here prefer to follow a ‘long-form’ asset liquidation strategy that prompts them to close when the markets decline and buy aggressively when they rise. Companies have been successfully dabbling in the Equities Capital markets (ECMs) with correct processes of raising capital through short sale activities and the right exposure to listings, both private and public.

How investment companies can help

The ECM is essentially the bridge between businesses and the financial institution. It is an environment that facilitates the raising of business funding for businesses with professional handling by financial institutions. This funding, in the form of equity capital, is raised through a range of solutions: from new issue allocation to distribution, and private to public placements or listings.

Similarly, financial companies’ and banks’ large investor base is instrumental in building the debt markets into one of the strongest in the GCC region.

Several successful companies in Kuwait have leveraged the expertise of reputed investment companies to make a mark in the capital market space. Businesses in the country have been able to maintain liquidity despite several downturns only with the correct handling of the ECM and debt market exposure offered by financial companies across a wide diversity of sectors.

Adroit management of ECMs helps bring more investment and investors into the capital market arena. In recent years, reputed financial institutions in the country have helped the domestic ECM space mature well.

The best services in the debt capital markets

The debt markets ecosystem has certainly shaped up well in Kuwait and contributed immensely to companies’ financial success in several ways. Reputed financial companies in Kuwait have been instrumental in arranging fixed income securities for MENA-based businesses, offering advisory roles to organise Sharia-compliant and conventional debt solutions for clients’ capital requirements.

How to remove chocolate stains from your carpet!

Chocolate coffee is the most desired drink during winters and spring season. What is better way than spending your spare time while watching TV and sipping a hot chocolate coffee in your living room? While this condition is comfortable and cozy, it can turn in to panic all of sudden when you’re hot chocolate spills on the carpet accidently! Now you become worried and look for various ways to remove those stains. It is quite difficult to remove the hot chocolate stains from the carpet.

Accidents can happen anytime and with anyone:

Accidents like mentioned above aren’t uncommon and takes place every now and then.  Chocolate spills are something, which you definitely don’t want to happen. It creates quite nasty and dark stain on your carpet that is difficult to wash from simple detergent or soap. Now you will search for various methods on how to remove chocolate stains thoroughly.

Do not give up on the stain:

When you’re confronting a tough situation of hot chocolate stains on the carpet, it is not time to leave the job in between instead carry on your trials or call an expert. You need to find different ways through which you can eradicate these ugly stains and get the shine of the carpet back and make it look clean and clear gleaming just like before. Here is some helpful guide to clean the carpet that has stains especially chocolate stains.

·         You need to start by taking some clean sponge and a cleaning cloth by marking the blemishing dribbled chocolate on the carpet. One should always clean the stain quickly as clearing the excess chocolate can actually assist in averting a stubborn spot on the carpet. Meticulously blot the dribble until you will find no more water transferring on to the cloth or sponge.

·         Secondly, you’ll need to prepare cleaning solutions that you’ll be using on the chocolate stain. You can make very effective solution for cleaning such type of stain by using ammonia available in the house. You simply need to mix a tbsp of ammonia with one cup of lukewarm water to make a powerful cleaning mediator, which will assist in tearing down the stain from the carpet. Just fill the spray bottle with this blend and continue with your next step confidently.  

·         You need to spray the chocolate stain numerous times with cleaning mixture. Keep it for around two minutes and keep spraying on the blot with dirt free white cloth or sponge.  You’ll notice that stain will turn in to lighter version of it when you blot continuously, this means this method of cleaning is working quiet well. Just continue blotting till all the chocolate stains are gone though it may take numerous tries but you will get the amazing result for sure. 

You can even try a cup of lukewarm water and rinse-off the space where there is stain. This assists in curing any build up of chocolate or excess remains from happening that can harm the carpet in long run. You need to dry the area thoroughly by using dry or wet vacuum to complete the job.