Are you using these toxic substances on your skin?

Most skin care products are loaded with toxic ingredients that can cause everything from mild irritation to cancer!
Here are the eight most common ones you could accidentally be slathering on your skin:

1. Mineral oil -- A petroleum derivative. Because it causes toxins to build up in the skin, it can accelerate the aging process.
2. Petrolatum(petroleum jelly) -- The most familiar petroleum derivative. Prevents skin from being able to breath, traps toxins inside the skin's layers.
3. Sodium laurel (or lauryl or laureth) sulfate -- An industrial detergent that strips skin of its moisture barrier and has been linked to eye damage -- among many other harmful things.
4. Propylene glycol-- The main active ingredient in anti-freeze and brake fluid. It breaks down cell structure and has been linked to kidney damage as well as liver and brain problems.
5. Parabens -- Highly toxic preservatives used to extend product shelf life.
6. Talc (talcum powder) -- Shown to cause cancer in lab animals. It creates acute respiratory distress if inhaled and has been linked to ovarian cancer.
7. Fragrance -- Can contain thousandsof potentially toxic, ingredients! It is the most common cause of allergies and reactions to skin care products.
8. FD&C Colors -- Usually made from coal tar. They are often used in skin care products, and some are considered carcinogenic (cancer-causing).

Painkillers pose problems for people with heart disease

(Harvard Health Publications) As if people with the combination of high blood pressure and heart disease don’t already have enough to worry about, a new study suggests that common painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) pose special problems for them.

Among participants of an international trial called INVEST, those who often used NSAIDs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, and others), or celecoxib (Celebrex) were 47% more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke or to have died for any reason over three years of follow-up than those who used the drugs less, or not at all. The results were published in the July issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

Millions of people take NSAIDs to relieve pain and inflammation. They are generally safe and effective. The main worry with NSAIDs has always been upset stomach or gastrointestinal bleeding. During the last few years, researchers have raised concerns that their use may be hard on the heart as well.

This one study, and the handful that have come before it, don’t mean that people with high blood pressure and heart disease or other cardiovascular conditions should stop taking NSAIDs, especially if they are used to ease pain from a chronic condition like arthritis. But it may make sense to try an alternative first.

Talk with your doctor about taking aspirin instead of ibuprofen, naproxen, or other traditional NSAID. Aspirin eases pain and inflammation and also offers protection against myocardial infarction (heart attack) and the most common kind of stroke.

Try acetaminophen (Tylenol and many generic versions) instead of an NSAID. Be careful not to take more than 3,250 milligrams in a 24-hour period, and read medication labels—many combination over-the-counter products contain acetaminophen.

If aspirin or acetaminophen doesn’t give you enough relief, try a low-dose NSAID. Early studies suggested that naproxen it may be safer than ibuprofen, although this has been challenged.

If you take ibuprofen and aspirin, take the aspirin at least 30 minutes before the ibuprofen or eight hours afterward. Aspirin’s ability to protect the heart depends on its fitting snugly into the pocket of an enzyme known as cyclooxygenase. Ibuprofen can block aspirin’s entry into this pocket.

Stroke - silent killer of women

Stroke kills twice as many women than breast cancer each year. However a recent survey shows that most women think otherwise. Dr. Manny talks to a neurologist about why women need to listen up and know their risk

With PCI Education PCI Security Council - Courses, Title, Benefits

PCI Security Council is the establishment of standards and compliance training arm to a consortium of five card payment processor, Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover Card, Japan Credit Bureau and. Council role is to establish common standards for the security of online transactions is five founding companies approve and promote the bank that offers card payment with one of the 5 logo. The banks, in turn, may require PCI requirements that must be met by the vendors and online service providers that they have an account with.

To provide education for PCI security compliance services online which help the individual trader and online service providers set up their system to be secure and compliant, PCI Security Council provides a range of courses and an appropriate certificate. PCI training courses are named after the title participants gained after they pass the corresponding test at the end of the course. Each of these titles will allow participants to provide some components of the PCI compliance audit.

Title PCI educational training are available: QSA, PA-QSA, ASV, ISA.

QSA Training - Qualified Security Assessor to be

By attending and passing the final exam at this course, a person becomes a Qualified Security Assessor. QSAs are allowed during the course of the year to provide PCI DSS compliance audits, or PCI Data Security Standard compliance audits using the PCI compliance checklist with companies who process payment cards online. QSAs must be re-certified annually, and PCI DSS compliance audits must be executed annually as well. QSAs are allowed to run their own PCI compliance service business.

PA-QSA training - become a Payment Application Qualified Security Assessor

This course will prepare you to work with software companies who produce payment card processing software. You will be certified to assess compliance of such software companies with the PCI PA-DSS standard. Adherence of the software to this standard means that the software is designed to securely process payment cards. PA-QSAs must be re-certified yearly.

ASV training - become an Approved Scanning Vendor

Besides the annual PCI DSS compliance audits, companies must also perform quarterly scans of their internet-facing connections for security vulnerabilities of any sorts. These scans must be performed by ASVs, and you can become qualified to offer PCI scans to the companies by passing the ASV exam after receiving the ASM training. The ASVs must be re-certified yearly.

ISA training - become an Internal Security Assessor

This title makes sense for larger companies only. When your company has many PCI DSS certifications to pass, you can have an employee with IT experience attend the ISA training with the PCI Security Council and pass the ISA training exam. Very similar in scope to the QSA training exam, becoming an ISA will allow you to internally execute PCI security audits without needing to seek help from the sources outside of the company.