Valen’s Vanity Square

Remember about the cancer, mesothelioma (see some information below), that I mentioned in my previous post? I found out that in the US, if one is diagnosed with mesothelioma, he or she may actually file a legal claim so that he or she can be compensated for this form of health injuries. The compensation can be of great help to address the medical and financial problems arisen from this asbestos-related disease.

The legal claim can be directed to the manufacturers, sellers and installers of asbestos products. Of course, before you take any legal action, you would first need to consult one of the professional Mesothelioma lawyers to investigate your case and handle your mesothelioma lawsuit if it is a valid case.

What is mesothelioma?

• A form of cancer of the mesothelium (membrane that forms the lining of several body cavities), in which cells of the mesothelium divide abnormally
• Occurs in individual exposed to asbestos
• Starts most commonly in the pleura (membrane the surrounds and protects the lungs), next common site of mesothelioma is the abdominal area of the body
• Cancer cells can spread from their original site to other nearby tissues and organs

If you want to learn more about filing legal claims on asbestos-related illnesses, you can find lots of information on MesotheliomaHelp.net.

Argggh! More signs of aging and tired skin!

Went for my facial yesterday and my beautician pointed out to me that I’m starting to have skin tags (little non-whitehead bumps) around my eye area. This arises from poor blood circulation around the eyes, or may be due to certain health conditions such as high cholesterol. (Okay, that reminded me to go for a body check-up.) If I don’t do anything about it, it may start to appear in other areas of my face and get bigger over time.

I did notice the skin tag thing on my right eye lid and under my left eye since weeks ago, and there are also some on my neck. I had these before and somehow they disappeared after a while. So I don’t know if this is a temporary problem, or can be as serious as what I saw in a photo my beautician showed me.

My beautician also told me that my skin cells are sluggish, the cells regrowing cycle is slow. So my skin loses nutrients faster than it could absorb. I know, I know, I also realized that my complexion looks kinda dull and darkened and oily these couple of weeks, despite all the sun-protective creams I used daily.

My beautician strongly suggested me to sign up for their ultimate facial treatment that is able to remove the aging skin and produce new young and healthy skin cells faster. I can’t afford it, of course. Perhaps what I need most is simply more hours of sleep and a bottle of eye cream. Haha!

Oh man, this morning I woke up with a swollen right shoulder and painful neck!

I must have done something (or many things?) that ‘overpulled’ the muscles of my right shoulder over the weekend. I started to feel nagging muscle soreness since yesterday morning, but it became worse at night. Although I got hubby to massage my shoulder before I went to bed, I found myself having trouble turning my neck or lifting my head in the middle of the night!

Well, this is not the first time I am suffering from stiff neck and shoulder, haha! I think my movements or the things I do are very not ‘ergonomical’, haha! My muscles got hurt repetitively, and now I suffer.

I think I’d better ask hubby to get me muscle pain relieve sticky patches or ointment on his way home from work. I don’t know if it will work, but I suppose some ‘minty-like’ ingredients contained in the muscle pain reliever partially help to cool down the muscle inflammation. Well, never really find out what ointments like this are made of. Not sure if I can find a website that details all the ingredients and pros and cons of muscle pain relieve products. Unlike for weight loss products, such as phenphedrine, information on their ingredients, mode of action, pros and cons, etc are abundance on the internet.

Anyway, I don’t care what’s contained inside the sticky patch or ointment, as long as they make the pain and stiffness go away!

As a woman, not only you need to take good care of your skin complexion so that you look good, you also need to make sure your body is in good health so that you feel good. You do monthly self breast check and go for PapSmear once every 2 or 3 years. After 40, you have to be careful of your respiratory and digestive systems.

You also have to be observant of any unusual signs and symptoms of your body, because sometimes early detection and examination of these signs and symptoms may help prevent diseases, particularly cancers common to women. That’s why self breast check is important so as to help to pick up breast cancer at an early stage, while PapSmear helps detect cervical cancer. Things like stop smoking also helps to reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Other rare cancers may be associated with environmental factors, for example mesothelioma, which is related to long-term exposure to asbestos. While the ratio of men to women with mesothelioma is about three to one, record shows that the incidence of mesothelioma among women is rising. Mesothelioma in women is mainly due to second-hand exposure, i.e. from the microscopic fibers of asbestos brought home on the work clothes of men working in asbestos-related job.

If want to read more about mesothelioma and its symptoms, you can visit www.mesothelioma-data.com.

I suppose I’m not good at taking care of other things besides my face and body, haha!

I’m talking about plants. I am no green fingers (’fingers of death’ may be), I know. Never really got interested in gardening. My one and only pot of orchid is a gone case very soon. From around 10 blooms on the day hubby bought it back for me in January, to only one flower hanging on a withering branch today, hahaha! Heard that orchid is not easy to take care, should have bought a pot of plastic plant instead.

I don’t think I can even handle knock out roses, which are relatively easy to grow, do not require special care, and are the most disease resistant roses compared to normal ones. Anything green, bright and lively will turn sick, brown and soon dieing after being touched by my ‘fingers of death’. Haha!

May be I should ask my neighbor, how does she manage to keep her plants and flowers growing happily all this time…

I have been using Elianto Duo Wear Pressed Powder for more than a year and like it very much. Its powder is light, soft and provides certain extent of shine control. Although its coverage is consider light, I’m fine with it because it does help to brighten up my complexion naturally and does not look like I have put on any make up.

The only problem I have with it is, I tend to break its casing; all three that I’ve used!

Should I blame their design, casing quality or myself? I don’t know! Haha! May be I’m just a rough gal.

To avoid more ‘casing casualties’ (that’s my excuse) I decided to try a new product - Maybelline’s Clear Smooth Minerals Powder Foundation (current price: RM49.90).

I’ve never used any mineral face products before, but since they are generally claimed as the most natural and healthy products for the skin, so I thought I could give it a try. Using Elianto has not triggered any pore clogging or blemish problems (also one of the reasons why I like it). I hope this mineral powder one won’t, too.

So far, I’ve used it once. The coverage is considered satisfactory, but one has to be careful when applying. Start with just a little amount of the powder on the brush and slowly add on if you need heavier coverage. In fact, the point of using this mineral powder is to be able to use the least amount of powder to achieve the intended coverage. The result looked pretty natural if applied correctly (remember to read the instruction first).

Make sure your face is dry or not oily when applying. Otherwise the powder will stuck at those areas and makes your face looks patchy.

Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals Powder Foundation comes with a kabuki brush. I also got a casing to contain the powder and the brush because there was a promotion 2 weeks ago at one of the pharmacies.

The kabuki brush - made from soft goat hair - is, well, not as soft as I interpreted from its name. It’s rather ‘pokish’, haha! (is there such a word at all?) But may be it is supposed to be in such a way so that the application is more even.

Anyway, I will be using this mineral powder foundation often from now onwards. If I don’t update any further about this product, that means everything is fine. If there’s bad news, I will let you know!

Jeez, my bowel movement seems to be quite active recently, haha! I started seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor a month ago, as part of my overall health maintenance program. He knew that I have had constipation problems, so may be the ‘prescription’ he gave me contains natural herbs that helps me to pass. I felt so much lighter these days.

Thank goodness I don’t have to go for a colon cleansing program, haha! I read that colon cleansing is quite an effective detoxification method to get rid of those nasty things that piled up in the body due to frequent constipation problems. You know, constipation can cause toxins to accumulate in the body. Overtime, those toxins can lead to various undesirable health symptoms such as fatigue, headache, weight gain, low energy, indigestion, bad breath, skin problems, etc.

Some people really believe in colon cleansing as a way to detoxify the body’s internal system. Some would prefer to use a colon cleanser, such as strong herbal teas, enzymes, enemas and laxatives. The purpose is to help force the colon to expel its contents.

For the more courageous lot, well, they would probably go for a colon irrigation. (Imagine 20 gallons of water flushed up through a tube inserted into your rectum, and then flushed out again together with wastes from your colon… eeeeeks!)

I don’t know which colon cleansing method you prefer, but I will certainly stick to my Chinese medicine for the time being!