As white as they come

White gold is not silver. People often times refer to white gold as silver since it appear and feel like the latter. Partly it is true, since in reality white gold is an alloy of gold and another white metal usually silver or palladium. The combination of silver or palladium eliminates the yellow gold look and creates the rather white silver appearance. But even if it is an alloy, white gold is still measured in Karats just like ordinary gold. Other white metals used to combine with gold include nickel and platinum. Each metal used to combine with gold yield varying properties. A nickel based gold alloy, for example, creates a strong and hard metal which makes it ideal to be used for rings and pins. While, white gold-palladium alloys are relatively softer and flexible which make them great for gemstone settings. However, the disadvantage of using white gold-nickel alloy in body jewelry is that is could cause various skin reactions since nickel is not bio-compatible. Some may have very mild reactions to the metal with only mild itchiness and skin rashes. However, these reactions might turn uglier if they lead to infections. It is therefore best to consider your body chemistry first before buying any type of body jewelry. Nevertheless, white gold is quite popular as body jewelry. You could find white gold gemstone rings, ladies jewelry, nipple and navel rings, nose studs, earrings and tongue piercing. The reliability of the material has been proven. A lot of people compare white gold to platinum especially when both are used in body jewelry. Platinum is better as far as jewelry is concerned since it is more abrasive resistant than any other metal available. It has a real white color unlike white gold which is actually a grey steel-like color. Platinum is heavier than gold and last longer. However, the most disadvantageous part in platinum based body jewelry is the costs. Whether you believe it or not, pure platinum costs a lot more than gold. Actually, white gold was created exclusively for jewelry precisely to find less costly alternative for platinum. It was in the 1920s when the alloy was first manufactured for the jewelry and gem industry. Today, the alloy is a well established material for body jewelry and has its own fashion sense and value. White gold is often used as settings for diamonds and other gemstones enhancing their appeal. Like what was mentioned earlier, white gold is also measured by means of karats. However, white gold can only be produced up to 21 karat. Now when hear a higher karat white gold, it doesn't mean the gold is whiter. White gold is a combination of gold and other metals. The color is affected by the properties of the metals we add to gold and not the amount of gold. Basically, white gold can be either nickel-whites or palladium-whites. The main difference of which is that nickel-white gold have a colder white color wherein the palladium whites' color is a little warmer. Also it is very hard to achieve a good nickel white unlike with palladium whites which tends to be softer thus easier to process. Because of the price of palladium, however, palladium whites are a little more expensive. When buying white-gold, always remember that majority of white gold on the North American market are nickel-whites. The problem with nickel is that around 12-15% of people are allergic to the metal. Skin contact with nickel can cause red skin rash or irritation.

Which Health Plans Offer Pet Health Insurance

When pet owners purchase a pet they shop around at the various pet shops, breeders, pet rescues, and animal shelters until they find the dog, cat, or exotic pet that suits them, what very few pet owners do is consider the cost of veterinarian cost for their new pet. The oversight can prove financially devastating and emotionally heartbreaking. The cost of veterinary cost is on the rise. Technology, liability insurance, medications, and medical research have forced veterinary clinics to raise their cost. Veterinary clinics in rural areas of the country (especially ones that combine their small animal practice with a large animal practice) find it difficult to attract young vets who are graduating from vet school to their clinics; they are forced to offer higher salaries in order to compete with clinics located closer to major cities. The increase in the payroll is then transferred to pet owners. It was recently estimated that the average dog owner will spend about two hundred dollars a year at the vets office. Cats were a little cheaper; their owners only spent about a hundred and sixty dollars in veterinary bills. When you consider what the average life expectancy is for a pet, especially on kept inside, thats a lot of money. And what if the pet isnt your run of the mill dog or cat? What if the pet is something more exotic like a pot bellied pig, a ferret, a rabbit, a snake, or even a skunk? The more exotic the pet the more the pet owner is likely to spend on the veterinarian bills, especially if they have a pet such as a skunk which will probably require a vet with special skills. What happens to the pet if it suddenly gets sick or is injured in a freak accident? How much will it set the pet owner back if they have to take their family pet to a universitys veterinary school, will they be able to afford it or will they be forced to euthanize their pet for economic reasons? Many pet owners try to keep the unexpected veterinary bills at bay by providing excellent care for their pets. They make sure that the pet is kept well groomed to prevent insects and skin disorders. They only feed their pets foods that are very carefully balanced with a proper blend of nutrients. They make sure the pet maintains a healthy weight, not to thin and not to fat. Some pet owners wont let their pets out of the house, fearing a freak accident. While pet owners should take the best possible care of their pets and do everything in their power to keep their family pet safe, even the most careful, health conscious pet owner can not prevent everything. Pet health insurance is one way to prevent veterinarian bills from becoming overwhelming. Pet health insurance is insurance pet owners purchase to help cover veterinarian bills similar to human medical insurance. The chances of a pet owner being able to purchase a pet health care at the same health insurance company where they purchase their human health insurance is slim. Most pet owners will find that they have to go to a separate insurance company that specializes in pet health insurance.

What Exactly is Alzheimers?

As uncommon as the name of the disease sounds, its prevalence and incidence rates are not. In fact, almost four million people in the United States are affected by this problem. All can be affected, men or women, across all social status and economic position in life. Alzheimers is a progressive and degenerative problem under the umbrella of diseases called dementia. It is characterized by disorientation and impaired memory. It is apparently caused by an attack in the brain, affecting ones memory, thinking skills and judgment. Most patients will experience a change in language ability, in the way they use their mental processes and of course their behavior. While anybody can be affected by this problem, only those that are older than age 65 experience the lagging in their thinking skills. Still, there are some who gets Alzheimers even when they are just 30 years old but these cases are very rare and can only account for a small percentage of the total number of cases. One out of 10 people over the age 65 has Alzheimers and nearly half of these patients are over 85 years old. In a national survey conducted in the United States, almost 19 million Americans have one family member who suffers from this dreaded problem. In addition to old age, family history of dementia can also predispose someone to the disease. This is because Alzheimers is said to be caused by a problem in the genetic mutations. Still, when you study the cases, Alzheimers is commonly the result of a host of other factors besides genes. In fact, environmental factors such as hobbies and mental pursuits are things that can help prevent the onset of the problem. What is difficult with Alzheimers is the fact that its symptoms are basically the same with ordinary signs of old age. At the beginning, there will be some memory loss. The person with Alzheimers will also experience confusion and disorientation even with things that they are used to doing. The trick is to make sure that one can recognize what a normal memory loss is against something of Alzheimers caliber. Often, there will be a gradual memory loss. They will find it hard to read or to write or to think clearly. After which they will experience a decline in the ability to perform tasks that are already automatic and routinary. Believe it or not, in cases that are already in the terminal stage, the patient may even forget how to brush their teeth or how to use a spoon and fork, something that is really pretty basic with a lot of people. This is one example of the difference of Alzheimers from ordinary memory loss. Forgetfulness will not affect tasks that are routinary. There will also be difficulty in learning new things and in memorizing things. Some patients may even forget the language that they are speaking with while others will no longer recognize their family. Personality will change in terms of the way they communicate with other people and the way they behave. There is actually no change in personality per se but because of the problems in their memory, they may appear aloof and suspicious perhaps because they cannot recognize the people that they know before. Some may even become extremely fearful and passive for the simple fact that they cannot remember you. As the disease worsens, the patient will then become so incapable of taking care of themselves that they will require help even in eating and in sleeping.