Archive for the ‘Hormone Clinic’ Category

Share thisinformation with your clients, in your newsletter and social media, to educatethem on the benefits of your massage therapy. They will need healthy touchsoon, once the pandemic is over and your practice is back online.

Editors note: A healthy immune system is important at any time. This article is not suggesting that massage therapy, or any other known health care practice, can prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other illness.

The healthbenefits of massage are well-known, and according to the MayoClinic include the treatment of soft tissue strains or injuries; headache relief;and help with digestive disorders.

Massageis also great to increase circulation within the body, which improves tissuequality and allows people to move and function better, Kipp Dye, MSPT,owner of OrthosportsMED PhysicalTherapy, told MASSAGE Magazine.

Crucially,massage therapy also relieves pain, which can significantlyaffect your immune response. Research confirms thatpain has a significant immunosuppressive effect on the human body. Scientistshave also found strong evidencethat pain reduces the levels of important parts of the immune system that dealwith infection and even help fight cancer.

Clinicalresearch also suggests that regular massage naturally increases the healthy immunesystems ability to kill certain cells, while decreasing the number of T-cells,for an improvement of the bodys overall immune function.

In this study, 20 HIV-positivemen received five 45-minute massages per week, for a month. The participantsshowed both an increase in serotonin and in the cells that comprise the immunesystems initial defense against infection and disease.

Theoretically,said Dye, [massage] allows for faster recovery due to increased circulation ofthe lymph and blood vascular systems, said Dye.

A randomizedcontrolled trial involving 52 healthy pregnant women examined whetheraromatherapy massage offered immune-boosting benefits.

The womenwere split into two groups: one receiving 70 minutes of aromatherapy massagewith 2% lavender essential oil every other week, the other no massage at all.

Researchersfound that the group receiving aromatherapy massage showed significantly reducedlevels of the stress hormone cortisol, and improved levels of other immune markers.

Accordingto researchers, this study presents evidence that aromatherapy massage couldsignificantly decrease stress and enhance immune function in pregnant women.

Thefindings can guide clinicians or midwives in providing aromatherapy massage towomen throughout the pregnancy, the studys authors wrote.

Recent research from Cedars-Sinai findsthat people who undergo even one session of massage experience significant changesin their immune and endocrine responses. The researchers compared the effectsof either a 45-minute session of Swedishmassage or light touch.

Participatingmassage therapists were trained in the delivery of Swedish and light touchusing specific and identical protocols.

Massageis popular in America, with almost 9% of adults receiving at least one massagewithin the past year, said Mark Rapaport, MD, chairman of the Department ofPsychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences and lead study author, said in a statement.

He emphasized,People often seek out massage as part of a healthy lifestyle but there hasntbeen much physiological proof of the bodys heightened immune responsefollowing massage until now.

Bloodsamples were collected at various intervals before and after each session, andresearchers found that those who received Swedish massage experiencedobservable changes in lymphocytes,which play an important role in a healthy immune system that protects us fromdisease.

TheSwedish massage group also had decreased levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP),a hormone associated with increased stress hormone (cortisol) levels, and adecrease in inflammatory cytokines,which are produced by infection-fighting white blood cells.

Thisresearch indicates that massage doesnt only feel good, it also may be good foryou, said Rapaport. More research is ahead of us but it appears that a singlemassage may deliver a measurable benefit.

Does thismean a relaxing massage session can help reduce your risk of catching a cold orflu?

Massage offers relaxation and stress relief, and when people are less stressed, theyre much less likely to fall ill. This is because chronic stress impairs your bodys inflammatory immune response, increasing your susceptibility to infection, according to research published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchersrecruited 34 post-surgery breast cancer patients, diagnosed with stage 1 or 2breast cancer, to a massage therapy group receiving 30-minute massages threetimes per week for five weeks, or a control group.

On thefirst and last day of the study, participants were assessed for both theirpsychological state and levels of immune system markers in their urine samples.

Accordingto the studyfindings, immediate effects of massage therapy included reduced anxietylevels, depression and anger, while longer-term benefits showed direct impacton the bodys immune markers such as increased dopamine, improved serotoninvalues and better lymphocyte levels.

Theresearchers concluded that breast cancer patients experience significantlyimproved immune, NK-cell(natural killer cell) and neuroendocrinefunction after receiving massage therapy.

There is still so much unknownabout the coronavirus, but having a healthy, functioning immune system willalways be helpful in reducing the effects of the virus, if contracted, and,could possibly be helpful in prevention of even contracting the virus at all,said Vicky Karr, LMT, aCE provider and owner of Spa Success.

Becausemassage therapy aids in improving the immune system, it is generally assumedthat it could help reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, she added.

However, accordingto Karr, because of the close bodily proximity between a massage therapist andtheir client, all of us should be following the social distancing guidelinesthat have been put into place, and not seek massage therapy until the pandemichas subsided.

Even after the pandemic is over, Karremphasizes the important of frequent hand-washing and that whenever yourenot feeling well, the best course of action is always to reschedule a massageappointment.

George W. Citroneris a freelance health journalist and author who covers breaking news in medicine and healthfor a broad range of publications. His articles for MASSAGE Magazine include Bill Introduced to License Minnesota Massage Therapists.

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This is How Massage Helps Build a Healthy Immune System (Share This with Your Clients Now) - Massage Magazine

You have seen the packages of low-fat bologna or hot dogs in the grocery aisles. The food industry has long altered the content of fats and other nutrients in meats, dairy, and eggs to promote them as healthy choices. To date, manufacturers of such products have not been permitted to label these foods as healthy but that may change soon. Under a proposed rule, USDA-inspected products will be able to use the word healthy on labeling and advertising if their fat content consists mostly of mono- or polyunsaturated fats, as opposed to saturated fat. This labeling would apply even if the total fat content is higher than what FDA guidelines allow.

Can meat that is altered to be high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats really serve as a healthy choice? If we focus on eating meat and the reactions it causes, it is quite clear that whatever the fat content, meat is not a healthy choice. Here are nine reasons why this is true that go beyond fat alone.

Elevations of hs-CRP predict the development of serious illness including cardiovascular disease. Multiple studies have found that, even after correcting for confounding factors, meat consumption associates with increased hs-CRP. A recent basic science study performed in mice demonstrated that an amino acid found in high levels in meat, methionine, increased oxidative stress and inflammation and actually reduced heart strength too. A human study just published related meat intake to higher levels of arachidonic acid, another mediator that promotes inflammation and aging, and a diet low or absent in meat was recommended for optimal health.

Another route by which cellular aging may progress is the development of insulin resistance. Scientists looked at how eating certain foods affects the release of insulin. Surprisingly, some protein-rich and fat-rich meats induced as much insulin secretion as did some carbohydrate-rich foods (e.g., beef was equal to brown rice). The researchers found that fish, beef, cheese, and eggs had larger insulin responses per gram than many carbohydrate foods. The scientific fact that meat is insulinogenic is rarely mentioned and may contribute to aging.

IGF-1 is a peptide hormone stimulating cell growth. Its also linked to higher risk of breast and prostate cancers. Meat eaters consistently have higher levels of IGF-1 than vegetarians or vegans. Breast and prostate cancers are rare in traditional Asian communities, which have a very low intake of meat products. Okinawans, some of the longest-living people on the planet, eat a diet with less than 10 percent of their daily calories from meat. A plant-based fasting-mimicking diet has been shown to reduce levels of IGF-1, which has an anti-aging effect.

In 2011, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic demonstrated that meat eaters produced a metabolite that promotes heart disease, called TMAO. Of great interest, TMAO was not elevated in vegans who were asked to eat a meat meal for the purposes of the study. Egg yolks cause the same reaction. In my clinic, I routinely measure levels of TMAO, and my patients eating meat and egg yolks on a regular basis have elevated measurements. I worry they are aging prematurely and counsel them to substitute beans for beef and chickpeas for eggs.

POPs are toxic synthetic chemicals that accumulate in fat. Some of the POPs are PCBs, dioxins, DDT, and flame retardants used in clothing and furniture. They disrupt endocrine pathways and are linked to cancer, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. POPs enter our body largely from animal products that we eat. For example, levels of PCBs in animal fat found in meat is much higher than the levels found in vegetables, fruits, and cereals.

AGEs are naturally occurring compounds in food and can be increased by cooking on dry heat, such as on a grill. AGEs are associated with a variety of diseases including brain inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Levels of AGEs found in meat are many multiples higher than in any fruit or vegetable. The irony of the chemical term AGE is not to be missed as increased levels of AGEs lead to premature aging and are best avoided by skipping the meat entirely.

Recently, a bizarre addition to the tale of meat and inflammation has been described and a tick is to blame. New data exists that the bite of the lone star tick, quite common in certain areas like Virginia, can cause an antibody to form that reacts to a carbohydrate in meat (yes there are carbohydrates in meat from the blood groups in the flesh) called alpha-gal.

These antibodies can cause a severe allergic reaction the next time and every time red meat is eaten after the antibody forms. In an even newer research study, over 25 percent of heart patients tested had the antibody for alpha-gal, a component of red meat, and those that had the antibody had more advanced heart disease than those that did not have the antibody.

Although studies have linked the consumption of animal foods in general, and red meat in particular, with heart disease in humans, we are still learning new pathways. One new route to develop damaged heart arteries was described in detail in a new animal research study. In most species, a compound called Neu5Ac is produced and converted by an enzyme to Neu5Gc which can be found on blood vessels and other tissues. It turns out that humans lost the enzyme and therefore cannot produce Neu5Gc.

Red meat is rich in Neu5Gc. In this new study, an animal model was created that mimicked humans, unable to convert the A to the G version of the compound. When the lab animals were then fed a diet rich in Neu5Gc and fats (like meat), they developed 2.4 times the atherosclerosis of arteries of the control animals. This elegant science indicates that another biological pathway makes humans poorly suited to depend on red meat for nourishment.

Methionine is an essential amino acid found in animal and plant foods, but it exists in much higher concentrations in red meat, pork, poultry, fish, and eggs compared with plant foods. A theory that a low methionine diet (plant strong) may slow aging and improve insulin responsiveness has been proposed. Researchers at Duke University studied two models of cancer in mice fed on an average and a low methionine diet.

They reported that there were differences in the one carbon metabolism and cancer growth and responsiveness to therapy was enhanced by the low methionine diet. They then showed in healthy human volunteers that eating a low methionine diet for three weeks produced the same changes in one carbon metabolism as the mice. The easiest way to achieve a lower methionine intake is to limit or eliminate animal foods on the plate.

Based on the multiple ways in which animal foods, particularly red meat, initiate adverse reactions that are far from healthy, labelling meat that has a reduced saturated fat content may be and advance, but it is a long way from earning labelling as a healthy food choice.

Dr. Joel Kahn is Professor of Cardiology, Summa cum Laude grad, Kahn Center for Longevity and GreenSpace & Go, author, The Plant Based Solution.www.drjoelkahn.com@drjkahn.

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Article Name

Healthy Labels on Meat Are a Really Bad Idea

Description

Can meat ever really have a "heathy" label? Meat, particularly red meat, is linked to health risks including heart disease and certain forms of cancer.

Author

Dr. Joel Kahn

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LIVEKINDLY

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Healthy Labels on Meat Are a Really Bad Idea - LIVEKINDLY

Has your skin been breaking out like crazy or drier than usual since we all started self-isolating? Because mine certainly has. And after talking to other POPSUGAR editors and posting about it on Instagram, we've learned that a lot of people feel like their skin is freaking out right now. Much of it can be attributed to higher levels of stress and anxiety, sure, but we couldn't help wondering if there might be more to it. Turns out we were on to something. As dermatologist Shari Marchbein, MD, explained: "I do think a lot of it is stress, although many of us have altered sleep, work, life, and skin-care routines right now, so there's no way to pinpoint just one reason."

Obviously, we can't generalize everyone's situation, because there are a million and one factors that go into why someone's skin might be flaring up or acting like a moody teenager. But it seems to be too much of a coincidence that almost everyone is having the same problem since lockdown began even dermatologists. "I have to be honest; my skin just has a mind of its own and lifestyle factors make relatively little difference to what it wants to do," admitted London-based consultant dermatologist Anjali Mahto. The same might be true for a lot of us, but we still wanted to find out if there is anything specific causing our isolation breakouts and if there's anything we can do to help clear them.

By no means are we telling you that you need to "fix" or "improve" your skin right now. We'll lay out all the expert opinions for you, so you can take the advice you want and need whether that's all of it or none of it. We know the appearance of your skin may not be your top priority right now, but as beauty editors, we found the number one question we're being asked right now isn't how to perfect our at-home facial massage technique but: "why is my skin breaking out so badly since lockdown?" So, we're going to help answer it.

To get to the bottom of it, we spoke with six dermatologists and skin experts who listed six possible reasons spots are popping up quicker than we can control. These include humidity levels, lack of vitamin D, protective mask friction, and the inevitable stress.

Listing stress as a reason for increased breakouts feels both helpful and unhelpful right now. Given it's such an unsettling time, we're all stressed to some degree, and while practicing mindfulness or meditating can help, telling us to chill out is easier said than done. But here's the thing, nearly every expert we spoke to mentioned stress as one of the main reasons we're all seeing more spots than usual.

Stress can trigger elevated levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), causing an overall metabolic imbalance in the body (which also affects sleep). For women specifically, this decreases our oestrogen production, which subsequently means we have a higher amount of androgen (male hormone). "Androgen, when in abundance, will send messages to our sebaceous glands to produce more oil. The reaction makes our pores unhappy, causing them to swell internally, creating an inflammatory response on the skin, therefore producing a spot," explained Pamela Marshall, clinical aesthetician and founder of London-based clinic Mortar & Milk.

So, how do you avoid this happening? Well, we're not going to tell you to meditate and do yoga because, honestly, in these times, you do you (although, if you want help relaxing, we have talked to experts about how to do that right). But take some comfort in knowing that these unusual times aren't forever, nor is your skin freakout. While the condition of your skin might not be your usual, it's probably happening due to this totally normal response.

Stress leads us onto the next possible factor, differing sleep patterns. "When sleep deprived, the body makes more cortisol, which causes inflammation and can worsen skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis," Dr. Marchbein explained. Trying to keep your sleep as consistent as you can will only do good things for your overall well-being and skin.

Another big reason for your skin taking a turbulent ride since lockdown could be the changes in humidity levels, especially since most of us have been indoors a lot more. "Heated indoor air loses a lot of moisture, typically containing just 10 percent of the moisture your skin needs," said Anne Wetter, MD, dermatologist and cofounder of Alll DNA skincare. "When you are inside in the dry air, the moisture transfers through your pores in the skin, giving you a very dry skin surface, even though you might normally have oily or combined skin. This will put your skin into a sort of 'turbo mode' where it tries to remoisturize, but instead it gives you irritated and red skin, or even acne."

To combat the low humidity level, Dr. Wetter recommends making sure you're keeping your skin hydrated with moisturizers containing the ingredients urea or glycerin. In addition to this, if you have access, use a humidifier. If you don't, she advises leaving bowls of water in your house and next to the computer or the place you're working/spending most of your time. It might seem strange and a bit precarious (make sure the bowls aren't close enough to spill on your computer), but it's worth a shot, right?

You've seen the pictures of doctors and nurses with their faces dry, chapped, and irritated from wearing multiple masks all day long. But wearing a mask can mess up your skin even if you're just wearing it to the supermarket or on your commute to work if you're an essential worker. This is because continual use of masks and protective equipment can cause friction on the skin, which can lead to sensitivity and irritation. Dr. Marchbein explained that this is basically a form of acne mechanica, which can be triggered by excessive pressure, friction, heat, or rubbing of the skin. "We see this with helmets, chin straps, and anything the rubs the face or occludes it." This can start out as smaller patches of irritated or bumpy skin but then form into larger spots. Now, to be clear, we are by no means telling you not to wear a face mask when going out in public (editor's note: while the UK government advises not to wear one unless you're sick, other areas around the world are encouraging it, including New York City); we're just noting that this is another factor to consider when trying to figure out what's going on with your skin.

To treat this form of acne, do not excessively scrub the area; this may cause further irritation. Instead, cleanse the affected area gently to remove any grime and sweat, and treat with a mild alpha hydroxy acid like salicylic acid and an oil-free moisturizer.

While discussing this article in our morning edit meeting, I told my fellow editors how many experts mentioned alcohol as a factor but that I didn't think I was drinking more than usual. My teammates agreed, but then 15 seconds later, we all copped to the fact that, yes, we have been drinking a lot more wine in lockdown. And based on our Instagram Stories, I don't think we're alone in that practice.

"When we drink alcohol, our skin becomes dry and can look wrinkly, in addition to causing puffiness in the face." said Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic in London. While drinking likely won't be the root cause of your skin woes, it probably isn't helping. It's up to you whether that extra glass of wine is worth it for dry and puffy skin in the morning. But if I'm being totally honest, for me, that extra glass is absolutely worth an extra spot or two right now.

An hour outdoors, at most, is a dramatic decrease in what most of us and our skin are used to. Our dry, dull, and angry skin could be due to a "lack of vitamin D synthesis from not spending much time outdoors," Marshall said. "Vitamin D is crucial to cell differentiation and development." Dr. Wetter agreed, noting that "UV light in moderation has a beneficial effect to some skin conditions like acne. Staying inside will prevent this." According to the NHS, "your body can't make vitamin D if you're sitting indoors by a sunny window because ultraviolet B (UVB) rays (the ones your body needs to make vitamin D) can't get through the glass." For this reason, Marshall and the NHS both recommend increasing your intake of vitamin D from food sources and potentially taking a vitamin D supplement (although, please consult your GP before adding any nutritional supplements into your diet).

Now that we understand a little bit more about what may be causing our breakouts, we wanted to know exactly why our skin is full of both spots and dry patches.

Acne occurs when the hair follicles in your skin get clogged, which is usually caused by oil, dead skin cells, leftover makeup, and dirt. "The skin relies on its lipid layers to keep out potential irritants, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and to maintain a consistent cell turnover," Dr. Wetter explained. "When your skin becomes dry, its ability to perform these tasks is limited, causing buildup of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin, which can easily become irritated and inflamed, creating a potential breeding ground for acne." To combat this, she stresses the importance of still cleansing morning and evening, even if you aren't wearing makeup as normal.

Having said that, don't be tempted to run to your beauty stash and apply every chemical exfoliator and foaming cleanser you own to try to clear your skin. "I believe less is more when it comes to skin care," Dr. Mahto said. "It's about picking ingredients wisely that have multipurpose ingredients." For acne, she recommends using evidence-based ingredients such as AHAs and retinoids in your routine to control oil production and blemishes. Board-certified dermatologist Erin Gilbert's view also reflects this: "Harsh exfoliation can worsen the inflammation you are experiencing with an acne breakout. This is why you want to use a mild AHA," such as salicylic acid. She likes the Skinceuticals Blemish + Age Cleanser ($92) and Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution Purifying Cleanser ($18).

"Be judicious, and don't overuse these to the point of excess dryness. I see so many patients who have overused harsh antiacne regimes and complain of severe irritation and redness," Dr. Gilbert said. "If that happens, you'll be tempted to apply a heavy moisturizer, but then the cycle of breakouts will start all over again." For moisturizers, she recommends creams with the ingredient niacinamide as it has anti-inflammatory properties, such as CeraVe Hyaluronic Acid Face Moisturizer ($14), and we like Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Moisturizer ($29).

Another treatment, recommended by Dr. Marchbein, are spot patches. These are "hydrocolloid adhesive stickers that contain certain active ingredients such as salicylic acid and/or tea tree oil, which are delivered to the spot while it's in place. By covering the pimple, these active ingredients are able to penetrate the skin more deeply, allowing them to potentially work better." We love Zitsticka Killa Patches ($29), which uses 24 microdarts to dispense the ingredients (don't worry, it doesn't hurt), and the pack also contains antiseptic wipes. We're also using Starface Patches ($22), which come in the most adorable box ever.

More:
6 Dermatologists and Skin Experts Explain Why Your Breakouts Are Out of Control Right Now - POPSUGAR

Has your skin been breaking out like crazy or drier than usual since we all started self-isolating? Because mine certainly has. And after talking to my fellow POPSUGAR editors and posting about it on Instagram, we've learned that a lot of people feel like their skin is freaking out right now. Much of it can be attributed to higher levels of stress and anxiety, sure, but we couldn't help wondering if there might be more to it. Turns out we were on to something. As Dr Shari Marchbein, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, explained: "I do think a lot of it is stress, although many of us have altered sleep, work, life, and skin-care routines right now, so there's no way to pinpoint just one reason."

Obviously, we can't generalise everyone's situation, because there are a million and one factors that go into why someone's skin might be flaring up or acting like a moody teenager. But it seems to be too much of a coincidence that almost everyone is having the same problem since lockdown began even dermatologists. "I have to be honest; my skin just has a mind of its own and lifestyle factors make relatively little difference to what it wants to do," admitted London-based consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto. The same might be true for a lot of us, but we still wanted to find out if there is anything specific causing our isolation breakouts and if there's anything we can do to help clear them.

By no means are we telling you that you need to "fix" or "improve" your skin right now. We'll lay out all the expert opinions for you, so you can take the advice you want and need whether that's all of it or none of it. We know the appearance of your skin may not be your top priority right now, but as beauty editors, we found the number one question we're being asked right now isn't how to perfect our at-home facial massage technique but: "why is my skin breaking out so badly since lockdown?" So, we're going to help answer it.

To get to the bottom of it, we spoke with six dermatologists and skin experts who listed six possible reasons spots are popping up quicker than we can control. These include humidity levels, lack of vitamin D, protective mask friction, and the inevitable stress.

Listing stress as a reason for increased breakouts feels both helpful and unhelpful right now. Given it's such an unsettling time, we're all stressed to some degree, and while practising mindfulness or meditating can help, telling us to chill out is easier said than done. But here's the thing: nearly every expert we spoke to mentioned stress as one of the main reasons we're all seeing more spots than usual.

Stress can trigger elevated levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), causing an overall metabolic imbalance in the body (which also affects sleep). For women specifically, this decreases our oestrogen production, which subsequently means we have a higher amount of androgen (male hormone). "Androgen, when in abundance, will send messages to our sebaceous glands to produce more oil. The reaction makes our pores unhappy, causing them to swell internally, creating an inflammatory response on the skin, therefore producing a spot," explained Pamela Marshall, clinical aesthetician and founder of London-based clinic Mortar & Milk.

So, how do you avoid this happening? Well, we're not going to tell you to meditate and do yoga because, honestly, in these times, you do you (although, if you want help relaxing, we have talked to experts about how to do that right). But take some comfort in knowing that these unusual times aren't forever, nor is your skin freakout. While the condition of your skin might not be your usual, it's probably happening due to this totally normal response.

Stress leads us onto the next possible factor, differing sleep patterns. "When sleep deprived, the body makes more cortisol, which causes inflammation and can worsen skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis," Dr Marchbein explained. Trying to keep your sleep as consistent as you can will only do good things for your overall well-being and skin.

Another big reason for your skin taking a turbulent ride since lockdown could be the changes in humidity levels, especially since most of us have been indoors a lot more. "Heated indoor air loses a lot of moisture, typically containing just 10 percent of the moisture your skin needs," said Dr Anne Wetter, dermatologist and cofounder of Alll DNA skincare. "When you are inside in the dry air, the moisture transfers through your pores in the skin, giving you a very dry skin surface, even though you might normally have oily or combined skin. This will put your skin into a sort of 'turbo mode' where it tries to remoisturise, but instead it gives you irritated and red skin, or even acne."

To combat the low humidity level, Dr Wetter recommends making sure you're keeping your skin hydrated with moisturisers containing the ingredients urea or glycerin. In addition to this, if you have access, use a humidifier. If you don't, she advises leaving bowls of water in your house and next to the computer or the place you're working/spending most of your time. It might seem strange and a bit precarious (make sure the bowls aren't close enough to spill on your computer), but it's worth a shot, right?

You've seen the pictures of doctors and nurses with their faces dry, chapped, and irritated from wearing multiple masks all day long. But wearing a mask can mess up your skin even if you're just wearing it to the supermarket or on your commute to work if you're an essential worker. This is because continual use of masks and protective equipment can cause friction on the skin, which can lead to sensitivity and irritation. Dr Marchbein explained that this is basically a form of acne mechanica, which can be triggered by excessive pressure, friction, heat, or rubbing of the skin. "We see this with helmets, chin straps, and anything that rubs the face or occludes it." This can start out as smaller patches of irritated or bumpy skin but then form into larger spots. Now, to be clear, we are by no means telling you not to wear a face mask when going out in public (editor's note: while the UK government advises not to wear one unless you're sick, other areas around the world are encouraging it, including New York City); we're just noting that this is another factor to consider when trying to figure out what's going on with your skin.

To treat this form of acne, do not excessively scrub the area; this may cause further irritation. Instead, cleanse the affected area gently to remove any grime and sweat, and treat with a mild alpha hydroxy acid like salicylic acid and an oil-free moisturiser.

While discussing this article in our morning edit meeting, I told my fellow editors how many experts mentioned alcohol as a factor but that I didn't think I was drinking more than usual. My teammates agreed, but then 15 seconds later, we all copped to the fact that, yes, we have been drinking a lot more wine in lockdown. And based on our Instagram Stories, I don't think we're alone in that practise.

"When we drink alcohol, our skin becomes dry and can look wrinkly, in addition to causing puffiness in the face." said Dr Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic in London. While drinking likely won't be the root cause of your skin woes, it probably isn't helping. It's up to you whether that extra glass of wine is worth it for dry and puffy skin in the morning. But if I'm being totally honest, for me, that extra glass is absolutely worth an extra spot or two right now.

An hour outdoors, at most, is a dramatic decrease in what most of us and our skin are used to. Our dry, dull, and angry skin could be due to a "lack of vitamin D synthesis from not spending much time outdoors," Marshall said. "Vitamin D is crucial to cell differentiation and development." Dr Wetter agreed, noting that "UV light in moderation has a beneficial effect to some skin conditions like acne. Staying inside will prevent this." According to the NHS, "your body can't make vitamin D if you're sitting indoors by a sunny window because ultraviolet B (UVB) rays (the ones your body needs to make vitamin D) can't get through the glass." For this reason, Marshall and the NHS both recommend increasing your intake of vitamin D from food sources and potentially taking a vitamin D supplement (although, please consult your GP before adding any nutritional supplements into your diet).

Now that we understand a little bit more about what may be causing our breakouts, we wanted to know exactly why our skin is full of both spots and dry patches.

Acne occurs when the hair follicles in your skin get clogged, which is usually caused by oil, dead skin cells, leftover makeup, and dirt. "The skin relies on its lipid layers to keep out potential irritants, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and to maintain a consistent cell turnover," Dr Wetter explained. "When your skin becomes dry, its ability to perform these tasks is limited, causing buildup of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin, which can easily become irritated and inflamed, creating a potential breeding ground for acne." To combat this, she stresses the importance of still cleansing morning and evening, even if you aren't wearing makeup as normal.

Having said that, don't be tempted to run to your beauty stash and apply every chemical exfoliator and foaming cleanser you own to try to clear your skin. "I believe less is more when it comes to skin care," Dr Mahto said. "I think it's about picking ingredients wisely that have multipurpose ingredients." For acne, she recommends using evidence-based ingredients such as AHAs and retinoids in your routine to control oil production and blemishes. Board-certified dermatologist Dr Erin Gilbert's view also reflects this: "Harsh exfoliation can worsen the inflammation you are experiencing with an acne breakout. This is why you want to use a mild AHA," such as salicylic acid. She likes the Skinceuticals Blemish + Age Cleanser (40) and Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution Purifying Cleanser (13).

"Be judicious, and don't overuse these to the point of excess dryness. I see so many patients who have overused harsh antiacne regimes and complain of severe irritation and redness," Dr Gilbert said. "If that happens, you'll be tempted to apply a heavy moisturiser, but then the cycle of breakouts will start all over again." For moisturisers, she recommends creams with the ingredient niacinamide as it has anti-inflammatory properties, such as CeraVe Hyaluronic Acid Face Moisturiser (13), and we like Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Moisturiser (28).

Another treatment, recommended by Dr Marchbein, are spot patches. These are "hydrocolloid adhesive stickers that contain certain active ingredients such as salicylic acid and/or tea tree oil, which are delivered to the spot while it's in place. By covering the pimple, these active ingredients are able to penetrate the skin more deeply, allowing them to potentially work better." We love Zitsticka Killa Patches (27), which use 24 microdarts to dispense the ingredients (don't worry, it doesn't hurt), and the pack also contains antiseptic wipes. We're also using Starface Patches (17), which come in the most adorable box ever.

See the article here:
Is Your Skin Breaking Out Like Crazy? 6 Experts Explain Why This Might Be Happening - POPSUGAR United Kingdom

If youre struggling to sleep during the virus outbreak, experts have some advice on how to get more shut-eye. (Rawpixel pic)

You might find yourself struggling to sleep during the current Covid-19 outbreak, as stress, uncertainty and changes in our usual routine make it more difficult to relax at night and drop off.

Here, we round up some expert advice on how you can try to maintain a regular sleep pattern and get a more restful nights shut-eye.

1. Try to stick to the same bedtime and wake-up time

Waking up and starting your day at the same time every day is the most important way to stabilise your body clock, says Professor Greg Murray, at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.

He advises sticking to consistent sleep and wake times which fit your natural rhythm. If youre a night owl, its okay to stay up a little later and get up a little later, just make sure these bedtimes and wake up times are the same every day, he says.

Dr Elizabeth Cozine, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, agrees, Try to go to bed at the same time every night, maybe sleeping in a little bit later than you normally would because youre not rushing to get to the office.

And see if you can try to get somewhere between seven and nine hours of sleep, which is what most adults need, and make that a regular part of your day.

2. Avoid napping

Professor Murray also advises trying not to nap during daylight hours, as it can make it hard to fall asleep at night. If you must nap, he says to restrict your sleep to just 30 minutes.

3. Get some sunlight during the day

Professor Kevin Morgan, who is a sleep expert at the University of Loughborough, UK, says that staying indoors means we dont soak up enough sunlight, and this can affect our sleep patterns and our need to nap during the day.

To help synchronise our body clock, we should try to get enough sunlight during the day, particularly in the morning, to let our body know its daytime. He recommends exercising outdoors, if you can, or at least just walking to the grocery store or sitting in the garden.

4. And avoid bright light in the evening

In the evening, Professor Murray says we should avoid bright light, as this suppresses the production of the hormone melatonin, which makes us feel sleepy.

This also includes avoiding the blue light from computer screens and smartphones, so try to read a book or take a bath instead of watching TV to help you relax.

5. Avoid alcohol and caffeine

Be careful how much caffeine you have every day, says Professor Morgan, who adds that working from home, or just being at home, offers more opportunities for tea and coffee breaks.

Caffeine suppresses the chemical adenosine which contributes to sleepiness and promotes sleep. He also advises limiting your alcohol intake, as although it can help you fall asleep it can also cause you to wake up early, as well as affect the quality of your sleep so you actually feel more tired the next day.

6. Try to relax

Psychiatry professor Adam Abba-Aji at the University of Alberta, Canada, says that if youre feeling anxious during the Covid-19 outbreak, usually the first sign of it will be a lack of sleep.

It becomes difficult to switch our brains off, he said. Where theres a lack of sleep, people sometimes resort to alcohol or some other sedatives.

Instead, Abba-Aji suggests trying to relax and switch off with some yoga before you head to bed.

7. Try meditation

You might not have tried meditation before, but Dr Cozine says theres a lot of evidence to suggest it can improve sleep, as well as help ease stress and anxiety.

Ive found that it helps me turn off those hamster wheels of thoughts that are rolling in my brain, and it also helps me to get ready for the next step, she says.

Im not talking about sitting Zen, cross-legged for three hours thinking about I dont know like a desert or something. Im talking about maybe five minutes where you just reset.

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7 ways to sleep better during the Covid-19 outbreak - Free Malaysia Today

A man who spent 11 years living as a trans woman having treatment including hormone therapy and breast implants has trained as a counselor to help people accept their gender, after 'detransitioning' back to being male.

Constantly mistaken for a girl, from childhood onwards, Brian Belovitch, 63, decided to transition to a woman when he was just 19 years old, instead of embracing his "effeminate gay identity" as he does today.

Brian, of Brooklyn, New York, said:

She continued:

Brian is speaking out about his extraordinary life, which has seen him battle addiction as he tried to fathom who he really was, just as a British woman has been given the go-ahead to pursue legal action against an NHS gender clinic, saying they should have challenged her more ardently before allowing her to transition from female to male.

Brian aged three in 1959 (PA Real Life/Collect)

Known as a 'detransitioner' a trans person who has reverted back to the sex they were assigned at birth Brian believes we are seeing "the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to people making the decision to change gender in this way.

He said:

He continued:

Brian certainly enjoyed a colorful existence after transitioning living as the showgirl Natalia 'Tish' Gervais, through the late 70s and early 80s and performing in legendary New York nightspots like Dancetaria, the Limelight Club, and Studio 54, made famous by artist Andy Warhol.

But beneath the glamorous surface was a seedy underbelly that saw Brian, who is now happily married to horticulturist Jim Russell, 61, develop crippling drug and alcohol addictions.

Hitting rock bottom in the 1980s and seeking therapy, in 1986 Brian decided he was fundamentally unhappy in his own skin and decided to transition back to being male.

"It was such a relief," he said. "I finally felt at peace in myself for the first time."

"It felt like my world had become a lot simpler by the decision and I could finally live the life I wanted to."

Brian aged five, with his parents Dolores and Isadore (PA Real Life/Collect)

Brian became confused about his gender as a tiny child, when he remembers strangers mistaking him for a girl to his mother's chagrin.

"One of my first memories is being out shopping with my mother and a group of women gathering around and saying, 'Oh how cute, how sweet. Where does she get those curls and thick eyelashes from?'" he said.

"My mom didn't deal with it very well and pulled me away shouting that I was a boy."

He continued:

Targeted by his peers throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, Brian says he was lucky to have survived the experience.

"Kids would follow me home and throw rocks at me," he recalled. "They'd call me 'f***** and queer.'"

He continued:

Exploring the local gay scene at age 16 brought Brian some solace, especially when he made a like-minded friend in Paul Bricker, then 17, who tragically passed away from an aneurysm, aged just 27.

Brian in 1972 (PA Real Life/Collect)

Describing Paul as his 'mentor,' Brian said:

Soon after, Brian moved in with Paul and his mother, Gloria Walker, now 93.

In the bohemian household, he could be open about his sexuality and he and Paul began dabbling in the world of drag.

"By today's standards, I was what would be called a 'gender non-conformist,' meaning that I trod the line between what is seen as male and female," Brian explained.

"It was a mixed bag. We called it 'scare drag,' because we were scaring the straight people that couldn't put us into one of their boxes."

Outgrowing his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Brian moved to New York City with $100 in his pocket and started performing with drag queens to "earn an extra buck," alongside working in a thrift store.

Taken under the wing of a group of trans women, Brian was still struggling with his own gender identity and began to question if transitioning from male to female might be the answer to his problems.

So, less than a year after arriving in New York, aged just 19, he was given the name of a "no questions asked" doctor who could help him to transition.

Brian and Paul Bicker in 1973 (PA Real Life/Collect)

"I turned up at this doctor's office no questions asked and handed over $10," he recalled.

"It was pretty much, 'Come in, drop your pants, I'll stick you with a needle.'"

Describing how the hormone therapy worked "very effectively," within a matter of months Brian developed small breasts, had a "softened" appearance and his voice sounded more feminine.

Changing his name legally that year, Brian officially became Natalia going on to spend the next 11 years living as Tish.

In 1979, four years into his hormone therapy and still not feeling like his "authentic self," Brian took the next step in his transition, spending $500 having silicone breast implants fitted.

"It felt like the right thing to do at the time," he said. "In hindsight, it wasn't very well thought out, but none of my decisions were back then."

He continued:

Natalia in a 1977 beauty pageant (PA Real Life/Collect)

Although struggling personally, Brian's professional life as Tish went from strength to strength.

Working seven nights a week, he would run the gauntlet of New York's hottest clubs, performing as a "big, busty showgirl."

"At the height of the 80s, I was a club personality," Brian said. "I had a band and would do a live show with a mix of comedy and musical numbers."

He continued:

Living both as a man and then as a woman also gave Brian a rare insight into the way society treats people based on their gender.

Discussing the downside of life as a woman, he said:

He continued:

Natalia performing at Dancetaria in 1986 (PA Real Life/Collect)

But life as a member of the 'gentler sex' also had benefits, according to Brian.

He continued:

He continued:

But the party scene and life as a showgirl eventually took its toll on Brian's physical and mental health and, in 1986, he hit an all time low.

"I was relying on drugs and alcohol to get through each day," he said.

He continued:

Putting his life back together, with the help of friends, he kicked his alcohol and drug addiction.

But being stone cold sober meant he could no longer ignore what was staring him in the face that he was not happy living as Tish.

Brian at Miami Beach in 1990 (PA Real Life/Collect)

"I was as sober as a judge and that really was the beginning of the end for Tish," Brian said.

"I always wanted to be my authentic, true self and I realized I wasn't."

After having therapy in which he discussed gender issues and what constitutes a male and a female identity, Brian felt his only option was to revert back to the gender he was assigned at birth.

"I was beautiful and young, but I wasn't happy as that person," he said. "I was at a crossroads. I knew I had to have surgery on my genitalia or go back to being Brian."

"There was no question which path to take. Times had changed a lot since I'd made the transition and there were more gay men embracing their effeminate side."

"I was in the gym one day and saw a fellow who reminded me of myself before I transitioned."

He continued:

So, Brian decided after much consideration, to make the transition back to being male, stopping his hormone therapy and cutting off his shoulder-length hair.

Then, six months later, in February 1987, he spent $750 having his silicone implants removed.

Brian and his husband, Jim, in 2002 (PA Real Life/Collect)

"I felt a great sense of relief after the operation," he said. "I woke up crying not from the pain but because it felt like a huge burden had been lifted."

Visiting the gym up to five times a week, Brian slowly built up his muscles and, with his hormone replacement "out of the window," he started growing more body hair and his shape filled out.

He also 'came out' for the third time.

"I've come out as gay, I've come out as a trans woman and now I was coming out as a detransitioner," he said.

"People would come up to me in the street and say, 'Hi Tish,' and I'd have to tell them, 'No it's Brian now.'"

"The whole thing just clicked this was who I was always meant to be."

Saying goodbye to Tish meant leaving the glitz and glamour of the New York drag scene, after which Brian established himself as a successful photography agent and editor.

But, after the economic crash of 2008, he decided to re-train again as a counselor, specializing in drug and alcohol addiction.

Describing his "second time around" at being Brian as the "the best years of his life," recently he has become alarmed about the amount of trans people following in his footsteps, by reverting back to the gender they were assigned at birth.

Brian now (Jay Mathews Photography/PA Real Life)

Hoping to shine a light on the issue, Brian released his autobiography, Trans Figured: My Journey from Boy to Girl to Woman to Man, in 2018.

He said:

Now, Brian who met his husband while walking his Jack Russell Terrier, Bricker, 18 years ago and married in 2013 is hoping to specialize in gender identity counseling, to help other detransitioners with their journey.

He concluded:

Brian now (Jay Mathews Photography/PA Real Life)

He concluded:

See the original post:
Man Who Lived For 11 Years As A Trans Woman Explains Why He Decided To 'Detransition' To Live As A Man Once Again - Comic Sands

BRADFORD singer Abi Otway has turned to music to highlight how her husband saved her life.

Abi discovered she had a lump the size of a pea in her breast after her husband Marc felt it as they cuddled. She was diagnosed with Grade 2-3 breast cancer and had recent surgery to remove the lump.

Now recovering, in self isolation, at her Low Moor home, she and Marc, who are in local band Mookie + the Bab, have posta Cheeky Fondle song on Facebook - to the tune of Matt Lucass Thank You Baked Potato internet hit.

Abi, 34, says that, although their song is fun, it has a serious message. I never checked my boobs because, like a lot of women, I was scared of what I might find. If Marc hadnt found the lump, it might have been too late, she said. I couldnt feel it at all when I was sitting down or standing up. I only felt it while lying down, on my side. When Marc found it I knew it was something sinister, but the doctor initially struggled to find a lump and told me to go back in 14 days. Im young and healthy, with no family history of breast cancer.

Abi was referred to the breast clinic at St Lukes Hospital. I had an ultrasound then a biopsy and a mammogram, which didnt show up the lump. It was under the breast, quite far back. I had to wait a week then I was diagnosed, on February 27.

The next day, she and Marc had a concert booked in Bradford. That was a very hard gig to do, said Abi, who managed to have surgery shortly before the Government put the UK on lockdown. I feel lucky that I had my operation on March 10, because so many people with cancer are now having their treatments put on hold. Its a horrible situation to be in, she said. I was already isolating, as I didnt want to catch the virus from anyone ahead of my surgery. But its at times like this that you really want to see family and friends, and that cant happen right now.

But then I think Im lucky because Marc and I were meant to be spending March singing on a cruise ship in Tahiti. Its something we dont normally do, but we were being paid and thought wed treat it as a holiday too. We could have ended up stuck on a ship, with my lump going untreated.

While Abi doesnt need chemotherapy, because the cancer hasnt spread to her lymph nodes, she is due to start radiotherapy later this month. Thats unless I get the virus, or they dont have enough staff, she said.

She is urging women to check their breasts for lumps or other abnormal signs. If your partner is checking, that helps, but if youre on your own Id say schedule a check into your diary, said Abi. And dont just do it standing up or sitting down - you need to check yourself lying down and on your side too.

I try to eat healthily and Im generally careful about my lifestyle. My cancer was hormone-related, so Ive been looking into what kind of things can affect hormones.

Fitness instructor Abi has worked as an actor, appearing in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, as well as a singer. As Issimo, she and Marc gained a UK-wide fanbase and now they have a new band, Mookie + the Bab, and plan to release a single shortly.

Were a four-piece, with a stripped back, acoustic folk sound, said Abi. We cant get in the studio at the moment but were going to release a live single, called I Will Be. Its an upbeat song, which I think we all need right now.

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Abi Otway's 'Cheeky Fondle' song highlights breast cancer ordeal - Bradford Telegraph and Argus

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) According to the Mayo Clinic, a leader in healthcare, acts of kindness arent just good for the soul, they are good for the body too, so the Oklahoma State Department of Health is sharing some ideas to spread the love.

When we participate in acts of kindness our body releasesoxytocin, a hormone that helps regulate our social and emotional response.

The more oxytocin released, the more generous, kind and peaceful you are likely to feel.

In addition, higher amounts of oxytocin is associated with less stress and better sleep.

The best part? It is so easy for each of us to participate in acts of kindness. Here are a few ways to get that oxytocin boostand still follow social distancing guidelines:

Are you picking up dinner at a local drive thru? If you have the extra cash, pick up the tab for the person pulling up behind you.Did you run to the grocery store to pick up some rolls of toilet paper or get the last few boxes of tissues? Leave your extras on a neighbors doorstep or in a mailbox.Get your kids involved in acts of kindness and create springtime version of Secret Santa by leaving small arts and crafts or drawings for randompeople in your community.

Everyone will smile a little more and sleep a little better, with a bit more kindness in the world.

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Acts of Kindness are good for your health - KFOR Oklahoma City

Infantile Spasms Therapeutics market report:

The Infantile Spasms Therapeutics markets business intelligence research comprehensively provides a quick of crucial facts consisting of the merchandise catalogue, analytical elaboration, and other industry-linked information.

The study also covers the key aspects related to the on-going events such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, and synergisms. The study further harmonies a rigid preliminary for gaining loads of insights that potential buyers can use for ensuring better profits at low capitals. The demonstration of information on market segmentation by type, application, and geography delivers a critical viewpoint of, what manufacturers are seeking for the stipulated timeframe, 2020 2026.

Scope of the Report:

The global infantile spasms therapeutics market is growing at a slow pace. This is due to the increased availability of generic drugs and less approved therapies in the market and the less awareness of the disease and the available treatment options, especially in the low- and middle-income countries.The classification of Infantile Spasms Therapeutics includes Oral, Injection. The proportion of Injection in 2016 is about 45%, and the proportion of Oral in 2016 is about 55%.Based on application, the nitinol medical devices market is segmented into Hospital, Clinic and others. Clinic segment accounted for larger market share in terms of sales in 2016, Clinic segmented accounted for more than 45% of the market share in 2016.United States is the largest consumption place, with a consumption market share nearly 83% in 2016. Following United States, Europe is the second largest consumption place with the consumption market share of 12.6% in 2016.The US market is dominated by two approved products H.P. Acthar Gel (adrenocorticotropin hormone) and Sabril (vigabatrin). Sabril was the first drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009 and H.P. Acthar Gel (adrenocorticotropin hormone) was approved for infantile spasms in 2010. Both have Orphan Drug Exclusivity (ODE) in the US.In the future, the Infantile Spasms Therapeutics will have a good future; the price fluctuation has relationship with the raw material. The technology will more mature and the industry is more dispersion.

The worldwide market for Infantile Spasms Therapeutics is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 3.0% over the next five years, will reach 150 million US$ in 2024, from 130 million US$ in 2019, according to a new Globalmarketers.biz Research study.

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An in-depth list of key vendors in Infantile Spasms Therapeutics market includes:

MallinckrodtH. LundbeckInsys TherapeuticsOrphelia PharmaValerion TherapeuticsCatalyst PharmaceuticalsAnavex Life SciencesRetrophinGW Pharmaceuticals

Infantile Spasms Therapeutics Market segment by Type, the merchandise are often split into

OralInjection

Market segment by Application, split into

HospitalClinic

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers

North America

Europe

China

Japan

Southeast Asia

India

Central & South America

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The study objectives of this report are:

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Infantile Spasms Therapeutics are as follows:

For the info information by region, company, type and application, 2019 is taken into account because the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the bottom year, the prior year has been considered.

The market study discusses the highlighted segments on the idea of BPS, market share, profit, and other vital factors. Our business report elaborates the impact of various subdivisions to the growth of the global Infantile Spasms Therapeutics market. It also delivers information on key trends associated with the subdivisions covered in the report. This aids market participants to address worthwhile areas of the global Infantile Spasms Therapeutics market. The marketing study also delivers analysis on the subdivisions supported absolute dollar opportunity.

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Infantile Spasms Therapeutics Market Size, Share, Trends and Competitive Outlook during forecast period 2020-2026 - Curious Desk

Global Bone Marrow Transplant Rejection Treatment Marketreport contains exhaustive data on the most important factors the growth of the company. The report contains a study on the change in the dynamics of competition. It also delivers specific awareness that helps you choose the right business executions and steps. The Bone Marrow Transplant Rejection Treatment Market report systematically presents information in the form of organizational charts, facts, diagrams, statistical charts, and figures that represent the state of the relevant trading on the Global and regional platform. Additionally, the report comprises the overall business chain, through which the growth rate and decline rate of the specific industry in the market can be analyzed. The total cost spent on manufacturing the product and analysis of its assembling procedure is also described in the report.

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As Krista Petruzziello puts it herself, she picked a hell of a time to get cancer.

She got the diagnosis early last month: Breast cancer. An early stage with an excellent prognosis, but still, shed need surgery and then hormone treatments. The surgery was scheduled for mid-April.

Then the coronavirus hit full force and turned the world upside down and her treatment plan as well. Her surgery was postponed indefinitely.

Right now, the risks outweigh the benefits for me, says Petruzziello, 48. The risk of infection and they need the ventilators in the OR.

Instead, shell start hormone treatment first, not a bad option because it could shrink the tumor in advance of surgery, she says, and is often used first in women with larger tumors. But its still disconcerting to know this is not the usual order.

Its like, 'Here's what we'd be doing in a normal world. But we can't do that for you, " she says. "So there are just concerns that come with that, obviously.

And I tend to be an anxious person anyway, she adds. So, you know, your mind just spins. And with her job as a licensed insurance agent also taken by the pandemic, there's nothing else to do but think about it right now.

Petruzziello is far, far from alone in grappling with concerns about a postponed procedure and wondering what the consequences will be.

In Massachusetts and around the country, hospitals are putting off all but the most urgent treatment to free up space and staff for coronavirus care and to keep vulnerable patients out of buildings that are documented infection hot spots.

Postponing elective procedures may sound like the care is optional, like cosmetic surgery. But the category comprisesmany much-needed treatments. They include hip and knee replacements for patients living in constant pain, mammograms and colonoscopies to screen for cancer, hernia surgery, kidney donation and much, much more.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, the orthopedics department which has 45 surgeons whose patients include sports stars is uneasily quiet now, running at only 3% to 5% of its usual volume, says its chief, Dr. Mitchel Harris. It has even given up its entire sports medicine clinic to be transformed into a respiratory care clinic, where the X-ray machines can serve COVID-19 patients instead of athletes.

Its treating only patients with urgent, time-sensitive issues," he says: broken bones and other trauma-related injuries, infections and spinal surgery where delay could lead to permanent damage.

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, who recently underwent elbow surgery in Los Angeles despite the pandemic, would not have been able to have surgery done here, Harris says.

Challenging Conversations, Uncomfortable Decisions

Across health care, disciplines from orthopedics to cardiology are having to figure out whats best for non-coronavirus patients during the pandemic.

These are complex adjustments, and they can be tricky to present to patients, says Dr. Harold Burstein, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who has been working on national guidelines for breast cancer treatment during the pandemic.

We often map out a roadmap for patients, and we say something like, The first step is surgery, and then you'll get radiation, and then you'll get these hormone therapies, he says.

These days, with most surgeries canceled, many women will begin treatment with hormone therapies first, like Krista Petruzziello. Extensive evidence shows that for many patients, the outcomes can be just as good whether surgery comes first or second, Burstein says.

So for our patients, it's a real win-win, he says, in the sense that we can preserve these precious health care resources at a time of crisis, but we can also deliver very effective therapy without compromising long term results.

The trick is getting that across, he says: I liken this sometimes to going into a three-star Michelin Guide restaurant and saying, 'Instead of the appetizer and then the salad and then the main course and then the dessert, tonight we have a special: We're going to do the main course first and then we're going to have a salad and then an appetizer afterwards, then finish with a dessert. The point is, it all ends up in the same place, .

Overall, Dr. Burstein says, I think it is fair to say that we can come up with a good plan so that the vast majority of patients will have outcomes every bit as good as otherwise.

Thats particularly true for patients with early cancer, whether breast or prostate or other types that lend themselves to re-ordering the treatments. Theres more concern about patients with more advanced cancers who need to continue intensive treatment.

And research on disasters like Hurricane Katrina does suggest that they take a toll on how cancer patients fare, says Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

When we start postponing screenings for cancer early detection, when we start postponing chemotherapy, when we start postponing surgeries, I unfortunately have no doubt that we're going to see impact when we look back at this, he says. Obviously, patients who have more advanced disease, if any of their treatments are delayed, the impact is going to be more severe.

Normally, patients caught in a disaster area can be sent somewhere else for care, but there is no somewhere else for American cancer patients right now. And the disruption is likely to continue for months, Lichtenfeld says.

We're in uncharted territory, he says of treatment adjustments and delays. We don't know the impact of these changes. These are not things we want to do. These are delays that we have to do.

Hospitals will undoubtedly still treat severe, serious cancers, Lichtenfeld says, but may say no to some last-ditch treatments with low odds of success.

Right now, we're in a situation where we're going to have to make decisions that are not comfortable, he says.

It Doesnt Feel Elective To Them

Researchers have looked at the impact of delayed treatment in other contexts particularly long waiting lists and inability to afford care.

In the VA system, we found that longer appointment wait times negatively impact health care outcomes for very frail, geriatric populations, says Julia Prentice, who is now research director for the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety. But these effects were not seen for less frail populations.

Not enough is understood about the impact of delays to be able to predict what effect the pandemic-related deferrals will have, she says.

But it is clear that telemedicine care is critical to make up for what would normally be office visits to monitor chronic conditions like diabetes. In the VA system, Prentice says, people with diabetes who had to wait longer to see doctors tended to have worse blood sugar control.

She has several extended family members whose elective procedures joint replacements and other orthopedic surgeries have been delayed, And it doesnt feel elective to them right now, she says.

But I will emphasize that the health care system is still doing the right thing by canceling these elective care procedures to protect the capacity, she says. It is just a very difficult tradeoff that we're grappling with.

And there could be an upside: The pandemic is creating an unfortunate but potentially illuminating natural experiment, says Dr. Bapu Jena, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. It could be that in some cases, people who must delay treatment end up better off, because their medical problem resolves on its own and treatment could have caused more harm than good. The widespread delays could bring such benefits to light, he says.

Krista Petruzziello, whose breast cancer surgery is on hold, is doing her best to find upsides, too. She has confidence in her doctors, including Dr. Burstein.

I'm lucky that I'm not a case where it's like if I don't get this surgery, I'm going to die, she says. No one is saying that. And they are telling me it's treatable and curable.

And luckily, I have a great support system at home and all my friends, she adds. One thing, though: I just miss hugging my friends.

Original post:
'A Heck Of A Time To Get Cancer': Hospitals Defer All But The Most Urgent Treatments - WBUR

A little bit of stress can push you to perform at your best. Let it get out of control, and you're at risk of burnout and serious health issues. While it's a simple enough concept to understand, effectively managing stress is much harder in practice. Case in point: 30 percent of Americans that visited a doctor between mid-2017 and mid-2018 went for stress-related issues, according to a survey conducted by media company Everyday Health.

Finding that Goldilocks-esque middle state--enough pressure to encourage mental sharpness, not enough to wear out the body and mind--is where most leaders want to be most of the time. Fortunately,psychologists and performance coaches say you can train your brain to get there--and even leverage stress in high-stakes situations.

It starts with understanding the roles that two hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, play in stress. Here's what you need to know:

Adrenaline and Cortisol

Whenever your body perceives a threat, like receiving an angry email or one more assignment on top of anoverwhelming workload,it releases a surge of adrenaline and cortisol into your system. A March 2019 article published by the Mayo Clinic effectively sums up each hormone's function:

Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure, and gives you an energy boost.

Cortisol suppresses functions that are unhelpful in fight-or-flight situations, like the digestive and reproductive systems, and sends signals to the parts of your brain that control mood, motivation, and fear.

Together, they can be a game-changer in high-stakes situations, says Jarrod Spencer, a sports psychologist and author who has worked with college athletes at the University of Maryland and Princeton University, among others. Stress, he says, can sharpen your focus to an extreme degree. That's why deadlines and time pressure can be so effective for performance: Cortisol enables above-average productivity, while adrenaline gives you energy to push your physical and mental capabilities.

A Double-Edged Sword

At the same time, staying levelheaded while stressed can be a challenge--and the same two hormones are to blame. "Your body is kicking into survival mode, and 99.9 percent of the time, you're not actually in a life-or-death situation," explains Graham Betchart, a mental skills coach who has worked with basketball stars like Ben Simmons and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as staffers at venture capitalfirm True Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. "You might just be having a talk with someone you work with, and all of a sudden, bang, you're in this very limited, primal state of thinking. You're basically dealing with old, hardwired instincts."

If you don't find ways to recover from stressful situations, you're subjecting your body to overexposure to adrenaline and cortisol, according to the Mayo Clinic. Over the long term, chronic stress increases your risk of anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, heart disease, sleep issues, memory and concentration impairment, and other conditions.

Strategies for Stress

Humans have a built-in mechanism for managing stress as it's happening: The ability to breathe deeply. It's a short term, temporary fix--but a powerful one, says Louisa Sylvia, a staff psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School professor who often works with military veterans and service members. Sylvia explains that taking "big, deep belly breaths" helps with cardiorespiratory coupling--the synching of your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing--which, in turn, helps you stay clearheaded under pressure.

Long term, Betchart adds, you can train your brain totake advantage of stress's positives while ignoring its negatives. He refers to his favorite method as the MVP technique:

Meditation, which trains your breathing and ability to stay mentally grounded in tough situations.

Visualizing yourself overcoming obstacles, which gives you the perspective you need to consistently realize that your stressors aren't life-or-death situations.

Positive self-talk, which motivates you to work hard at regularly managing your stress.

Practicing all three daily, Betchart says, can help you reframe the very nature of stress. "Stress is just energy, right? It's stress when you don't want the energy there, or you can't handle it," he says. "The person who understands how to reframe it into energy and opportunity already has a massive advantage--but you need that training on how to harness it. If you don't, it can overwhelm you."

Published on: Apr 1, 2020

Continue reading here:
How Stress Hormones Work--and How to Harness Them - Inc.

Your thyroid gland plays a key role in making sure that yourbody operates at peak performance. It releases just the right amount of thyroidhormone to help regulate the bodys functions.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

But if something is out of whack with your thyroid, you mayexperience:

Thyroid diseases generally arent preventable. (If youve been avoiding soy or cauliflower to decrease your risk thats just a myth.) But according to endocrinologist Christian Nasr, MD, many thyroid diseases do run in families.

Knowing your family history can help you stay one stepahead of complications from a thyroid disorder and related conditions, he says.

More than 75% of the time, patients with thyroid disease tell me that someone on one side of their family has thyroid disease, says Dr. Nasr.

The more family members that have thyroid disease, the greater the likelihood that there is a hereditary root. And the higher the chances the patient will experience a thyroid problem.

Autoimmune disorders seem to be a genetic link for some of the familial thyroid disorders, he notes. Autoimmune disorders occur when white blood cells go haywire and attack the cells that regulate body functions. The immune systems foul play could cause the thyroid gland to produce too much or too little hormone. So having an autoimmune disease may increase your risk for thyroid disease, Dr. Nasr says.

But this same action the white blood cells attacking bodycells could result in other autoimmune disorders like diabetes, lupus orrheumatoid arthritis, too.

In a family, the same person could have an autoimmunedisorder that causes hypothyroidism and another that causes diabetes, says Dr.Nasr. And you may have a different family member who has diabetes, but notthyroid disease.

The takeaway: Inform your healthcare provider if any autoimmune diseases run in your family, even if there isnt an obvious thyroid connection.

Dr. Nasr has found that even thyroid cancers that arentconsidered hereditary can have a family link. Ive had situations wheremultiple family members have had the type of thyroid cancer thats usually nothereditary, he says.

Clustering of cancers in families isnt unique to thyroidcancer. Some families carry a mutation that suppresses good genes in thebody, which can put them at risk for a variety of cancers.

Different syndromes can increase someones risk for certain types of cancer, Dr. Nasr explains. Cowdens syndrome, for example, increases your risk of thyroid, breast and uterine cancers. Your family history may not include thyroid cancer, but if we see a lot of breast and uterine cancers, we may want to investigate whether there is a syndrome that puts you at risk for thyroid nodules or cancer.

The takeaway: As with the autoimmune disorders, knowyour family history. This information helps your healthcare team find patterns thatmight indicate thyroid disease-causing gene mutations lurking in the background.

What if you dont know about your familys history withthyroid disease? These symptoms may indicate its time to seek medical care:

Once youve addressed your symptoms with your provider, theywill likely perform a neck exam and a simple blood screening test. If allsystems appear to be operating well, your doctor may recommend monitoring overtime. If any of the results are concerning, your doctor may refer you to anendocrinologist or order an imaging test. And if you have a strong family history, genetictesting may help you make important healthcare decisions.

See the rest here:
Thyroid Disease May Run in Your Family and You Might Not Know It - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) therapy has been around for decades but has been reserved for specific patients. Those with HIV or children with a hormone deficiency were some of the patients who benefitted. However, in recent years, a new focus has targeted therapy to help adults with hormone deficiencies.

HGH is aproteinproduced by the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus and hormones in the intestinal tract and pancreas help to balance it. It thrusts into production during sleep, exercise or trauma with more produced at night than in the daytime, given rising to the term beauty rest as the hormone is also linked to anti-aging.

Production of the hormone decreases as we age and that can lead to problems typically associated with getting older like:

The purpose of the growth hormone in children is to help bones and muscles grow. It also helps with organ function. Hormone therapy in adults is linked to:

Manycelebritiesare reportedly using hormones, but many are doing it illegally. They do it for anti-aging or for muscle mass. This is something all doctors warn against because the growth hormone has some possible side effects including water retention, high blood sugar, and joint and muscle pain. Plus, for those who have normal hormone levels, illegal use of it and then stopping will cause your body to produce less. That leaves you worse off than before.

Most celebrities who take legal hormone therapy dont like to talk about it for a variety of reasons. Its a controversial subject and many deem it private. However, a handful of aging stars have come out to talk about their decision to go on legal hormone therapy.

Benefits of therapy were noted in a New EnglandJournal of Medicine study. Men on six months of therapy increased their muscle mass 8.8 percent and reduced body fat by more than 14 percent. While it is linked to anti-aging, there are no conclusive studies to prove that.

Those considering hormone therapy must get a prescription in order to go to Hormone Clinic. That includes going to a doctor, getting a blood test and probably some specialized testing on the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. Or, you can just call for free consultation toHGH Therapy Clinicand get all the instructions. This clinic, as long as other top-rated clinics, does not provide therapy for bodybuilders and only provides it to those with a hormone deficiency.

This therapy is administered by injection and should be part of a routine health management plan under a doctors care to avoid side effects. For more information about hormone therapy, fill in the contact form and the knowledgeable advisor will call you back.

Link:
Celebrities that take HGH: Why do they need it? - - VENTS Magazine

MD Medical Group now has drive-thru COVID-19 testing facilities at seven Dallas-Fort Worth locations. (Courtesy MD Medical Group)

The drive-thrus are open to adults and children age 2 and older from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. According to MD Medical Group, select locations have the ability to administer 1,200 tests per day.

Those looking to get tested must schedule an appointment by calling or texting 888-776-5252. Same-day appointments are available.

The drive-thru sites are intended to allow people to get tested for COVID-19 while reducing demand at local hospitals, according to the medical group.

Julia Robles, lead medical assistant at Clinicas Mi Doctor, said the health professionals at the clinic start by assessing whether a patient is showing symptoms of COVID-19 and whether they have been exposed to the disease.

We do a quick questionnaire, and then, we will test them for flu and strep first, Robles said. And then, if they meet the criteria, well go ahead and do COVID-19 testing on them as well.

MD Medical Group has drive-thru testing facilities at the following Dallas-Fort Worth locations.

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MD Medical Group opens COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites at 7 locations in Dallas-Fort Worth - Community Impact Newspaper

Young and Clement [3] reported the first case of mllerianosis in the urinary bladder in 1996 and defined this disease as a lesion seen at any site containing admixtures of endosalpingiosis, endometriosis, and endocervicosis. Twenty-one cases occurring in the urinary bladder have been documented in 19 articles (Table1) in the English literature, accounting for the majority of cases of mllerianosis [18]. Some sporadic cases have been reported in the ureter, spinal cord, inguinal lymph nodes and mesosalpinx [2]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe mllerianosis of the umbilicus. Due to its rarity, the prevalence of mllerianosis is unknown.

Several hypotheses of the pathogenesis of mllerianosis of the urinary bladder have been proposed; however, the mechanism is not clearly understood. Implantation, one of the most discussed theories, suggests that mllerian tissue implants into the urinary bladder wall during pelvic surgery [3]. However, this cannot explain why mllerianosis is found in surgery-nave patients or in organs other than the urinary bladder. Ten of the 19 cases (52.6%) with detailed surgical records, the present case included, had not experienced any pelvic surgery such as hysterectomy or cesarean delivery. Another theory, metaplasia, advanced by Donne et al., [4] is based on the presence of two or more mllerian-derived tissues, which implies the potential of mllerian epithelium to differentiate rather than the implantation of a single type of the tissue. Moreover, of the 20 cases with marked tumor locations, a total of 16 tumors (80%) were situated on the posterior wall or the dome of the urinary bladder, a place adjacent to the peritoneum and more sensitive to female hormones. Koren et al. [9] in 2006 reported a case supporting the metaplasia theory with the metaplastic epithelium in continuity with the urothelium. The present case is also supportive of metaplasia because of concurrent occurrence of the bladder and the umbilical masses.

Mllerianosis of the urinary bladder mainly affects women of the reproductive age, with a mean age at diagnosis of 44.6years (range 27 to 70years). Of the total 22 patients with mllerianosis of the urinary bladder, five were postmenopausal females. The most common symptoms have been reported to be irritative voiding symptoms (54.5%) including frequency, urgency, urge incontinence and dysuria, abdominal/pelvic pain (45.5%) and gross hematuria (36.4%). These symptoms occurred cyclically in six cases (27.3%), mostly during the menstrual period. One patient with a tumor on the ureterovesical junction presented with renal colic [13]. Our case had none of the symptoms associated with bladder lesions, and only had umbilical bleeding.

Grossly, mllerianosis of the urinary bladder has been described as sessile polypoid, [17] submucosal, [6] or smooth with normal appearing overlying mucosa [14] on cystoscopic examinations. The gross appearance of the bladder tumor in our case revealed the similar findings as a mass with hemorrhage underneath the intact epithelium. Histologically, it revealed multiple foci of glands with variable size lined by tubal, endocervical, or endometrial epithelium situated in the lamina propria and muscularis propria [2, 15]. These glandular cells were immunohistochemically positive for ER and progesterone receptor (PR) [9]. In addition, the stroma surrounding the endometrial glands diffusely expressed CD10, and the epithelia showed positive staining for Ca-125 [15].

Both medical and surgical treatments can be used for mllerianosis of the urinary bladder. Regardless of the lack of consensus on the choice of therapy, most physicians and patients chose the surgical intervention in the reported cases, and most of the patients had a favorable prognosis. Sixteen patients underwent TURBT, only five of whom required subsequent medical treatment, [12, 13] or partial cystectomy [16, 18, 19] due to persistent symptoms or tumor recurrence. None of the four patients who underwent partial cystectomy had recurrence; by contrast, in two cases using gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues to inhibit pituitary and gonadal function to reduce the tumor volume as medical treatment, cystoscopy showed smaller but persistent tumors at 3months and 2years of follow up. There was no documented distant metastasis or mortality in the cases with short-term follow-up (124months).

Mllerianosis of the urinary bladder mimics several bladder neoplasms such as cystitis glandularis and nephrogenic adenoma [9]. It is most important to differentiate between mllerianosis and invasive adenocarcinoma, both of which exist in the lamina propria and muscularis propria. A case of bladder endometrioid adenocarcinoma complicating mllerianosis has been reported [8].

In conclusion, mllerianosis is a rare neoplasm which mainly affects women of reproductive age. The common presentations of mllerianosis of the urinary bladder include irritative voiding symptoms, abdominal/pelvic pain and gross hematuria. In our case, multifocal mllerianosis were separately located on the urinary bladder and the umbilicus, which implies that the possibility of concurrent bladder mllerianosis should be considered when mllerianosis is found at other location. Despite a favorable prognosis in the majority of patients, in view of the importance of establishing the correct pathological diagnosis, we suggest treatment with a surgical intervention consisting of TURBT and partial nephrectomy if recurrence occurs with persistent symptoms.

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Concurrent mllerianosis of the urinary bladder and the umbilicus presenting with umbilical bleeding: a rare case report and review of the literature -...

Even as Lorena Borjas was feeling ill and waiting on Covid-19 test results, she was worried about how transgender immigrants would cope with the pandemic.

That, according to her friends and chosen family, was typical of Borjas, a transgender Latinx activist from Queens who spent decades advocating for people from marginalized communities. Despite numerous challenges and traumas she faced in her personal life, she never took a rest from fighting for transgender women, undocumented immigrants, sex workers and those living with HIV/AIDS.

On Monday around 5:22 a.m., Borjas, 59, died from complications due to Covid-19 at Coney Island Hospital, according to her close friend Cecilia Gentili.

"Lorena spent her life tirelessly fighting and supporting our trans sisters, making sure they were treated with dignity and respect they deserve," Make the Road New York, an organization that fights for immigrant and working class communities, said in a statement. "We will truly miss her. May she rest in power and love."

She was a fighter and a leader

Borjas was like a mother to Gentili, she said -- one of many people in Queens' transgender Latinx community who shared that sentiment.

"You could aspire to be like her but you clearly know you won't be like her because you are not as selfless as she is," Gentili told CNN.

For more than 25 years, Borjas spent her days serving people in marginalized communities in whatever ways she could.

"Lorena brought light to us when we were living through a very dark time here in New York," said Cristina Herrera, founder and CEO of Translatina Network and a friend of Borjas' since 1987. "She brought us light when we were dealing with the crack epidemic, when we were dealing with the AIDS crisis, dealing with changes in immigration policies."

Borjas walked up and down the streets in her neighborhood of Jackson Heights, handing out free condoms to sex workers. She set up syringe exchanges to protect transgender people who were undergoing hormone therapy. She set up an HIV testing clinic in her own home.

Gentili recalled a time when she was tasked with connecting transgender patients to mental health services at a clinic she worked at. Borjas offered to introduce her to people in the community who could benefit from those services, asking Gentili to accompany her late one night while she was distributing condoms to sex workers.

"She wasn't expecting people to come to her," Gentili said. "She was going to them."

Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the LGBT & HIV Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he first met Borjas in 2009 and started working closely with her in 2010 through his role at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, where he was working on immigration and criminal justice issues.

At first, Borjas was a client, but "quickly she became a colleague and co-conspirator," he said.

"She brought people into the office every week who needed legal support and made sure that I was paying attention to the crisis of policing and deportation facing her community," Strangio wrote in an email to CNN.

The two worked together to support transgender Latina immigrants and others who were dealing with arrests, convictions and court appearances, he said. Eventually, they co-founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund, which helps transgender people and others pay for legal costs and bail.

Bianey Garcia, an activist at Make the Road New York, said she first met Borjas when she was 17 -- during a time when she lived "a crazy life." One of her earliest memories of Borjas was when she invited her to a support group.

Later, Garcia, who was previously a sex worker, said she was arrested and incarcerated at Rikers Island. Borjas visited her at the jail complex, listened to her fears about deportation over the phone and eventually found an immigration lawyer to fight for her release.

"I really appreciated her for everything that she did when I most needed," Garcia said.

She faced her own challenges

Borjas came to the United States from Mexico in 1981 when she was 20, according to a short film called "The Story of Lorena Borjas." She considered herself a gay man at the time and didn't see a future for herself in Mexico, Borjas says in the film. So she emigrated in order to transition -- and to find professionals who could help her do so under medical supervision.

Though she successfully transitioned, she remained undocumented until 1986, when she was granted amnesty under a law enacted by President Ronald Reagan. She became a legal permanent resident in 1990. That same year, however, she was arrested on charges of prostitution and trafficking -- though she was a human trafficking victim herself.

Borjas' subsequent convictions meant she could not renew her status as a permanent resident or become a US citizen. Despite her circumstances, she began her life as an activist in 1995, organizing a transgender march to protest "police policies and systems" and helping transgender women with HIV/AIDS.

In 2017, Borjas was granted a pardon by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, finally easing her long-held fears of deportation.

"Lorena has done more than anyone else I know to shine a light on the epidemic of trafficking in transgender communities and to help other trans women escape exploitation," Lynly Egyes, who represented Borjas on behalf of the Transgender Law Center, said at the time.

She wanted to people to share joy

Borjas took care of people in ways big and small, friends said.

Aside from helping transgender immigrants navigate the legal system, she also made sure they had food to eat, a roof over their heads and a cell phone, according to Strangio.

Herrera added that Borjas would provide new immigrants with Metrocards so they could use the subway. She stayed up late talking to people and helping them deal with their problems. She'd call people to remind them about medical appointments -- and follow up to see whether they had made it and how things went.

"She just wanted people to be OK," Herrera said.

It was important to Borjas that people not only survived, Strangio said, but thrived and shared joy with each other.

In May 2012, a few months before Strangio was expecting a child, Borjas threw his family a surprise baby shower and bought them a car seat and a stroller.

"We had so much more access and privilege and yet she found a way to demonstrate that she was going to provide love and support to our growing family," he said. "This is what she did for everyone."

Monday night, about 250 people gathered for a virtual vigil to honor Borjas' life and legacy.

CNN's Maria Santana contributed to this report.

See the rest here:
Lorena Borjas, a transgender Latina activist who fought for immigrants and sex workers, has died of Covid-19 - The Albany Herald

A healthy sex life is beneficial for the body and mind. In fact, it can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep.

While research is extensive on the benefits of a healthy sex life, there aren't as many studies to determine whether the benefits of masturbation match those of sex with a partner.

However, masturbation is the safest way to achieve sexual pleasure, and some research has suggested that solo sex can be just as healthy. Here's what you need to know.

Older research has connected orgasms with increased immune function. In 2004, a study of 11 men published in the journal Neuroimmunomodulation found that sexual arousal and orgasms activated components of the immune system.

Though the study was very small, the researchers found that masturbation increased the number of inflammatory mediators called leukocytes (white blood cells) and natural killer cells. Both of these fight infection as a part of the body's immune response.

Jennifer Berman, MD, a sexual health expert, also notes that the research was focused on the male experience, and sexual arousal may affect women's bodies differently. But overall, orgasm whether with a partner or without has other known health benefits.

"Sex reduces stress," says Britney Blair, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and founder of The Clinic, a sex therapy clinic in Northern California. Blair clarifies that when she talks about sex, she includes both sex with a partner and solo sex, or masturbation.

"Sex can be like exercise, which is great for your heart, your lungs, and your immune system," Blair says. "Sex is also great for improving sleep and allowing you to fall into deeper sleep more quickly, so overall, masturbation is great for health."

There isn't research that compares the immune benefits of masturbation versus having sex with a partner, but Blair does note that sex may have the additional benefit of boosting oxytocin also known as the cuddle hormone and improving bonding with a partner.

But masturbation has also been found to stimulate the production of endocannabinoids, according to The Journal of Sexual Medicine. These neurotransmitters are a part of the endocannabinoid system, which plays a critical role in regulating the body. Stimulating the endocannabinoid system like through an orgasm may have positive effects on the immune system, inflammation, and the stress response.

Frequent orgasm can also have long-term health benefits, whether through masturbation or partner sex. Men who ejaculated between 4 and 7 times a week between the ages of 20 and 29 were at a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer, according to Harvard Health Publishing. This research included ejaculation through masturbation, intercourse, and nocturnal emissions.

While there isn't equivalent research for women, Blair recommends that women should masturbate or orgasm daily.

A healthy sex life, either with a partner or with yourself, is certainly good for you but there doesn't appear to be an exact number for staying well. Instead, Berman suggests choosing a frequency that is most comfortable for you personally.

"It's individually defined for the person and the couple," says Berman. "There isn't a number of times that you should be having sex. It's what's right for you."

Read the original:
Does masturbation help your immune system? An orgasm may have benefits - Insider - INSIDER

captionMr. Tatyana Bellamy Walker worries his gender confirmation surgery will be canceled.sourceCourtesy Tati Bellamy Walker

I took the subway two weeks ago to one of the few transgender healthcare centers in New York City to retrieve my last psychological letter for gender-affirming surgery.

Yet, when I arrived at the center in Manhattan, the psychiatrist wasnt there. I was told she was adhering to the states mandates and began social distancing.

Outside the office, it was a ghost town.

The streets that are normally filled with halal trucks and people selling knockoff purses were nearly empty. And then there was me: a guy who left his house and essentially risked coming in contact with coronavirus for no reason.

This was one of the last letters I need for Medicaid to begin approving my gender-affirming procedure more simply known as bottom surgery. Without these letters, my health insurance will not deem the surgery medically necessary. And as a result, I will not be able to afford it.

This comes just a week after the US Surgeon General requested that health systems consider pausing elective surgeries. Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that medical centers pause elective surgeries. Whats more, a staff member at the health center warned me that because of the outbreak my surgery could be postponed.

I am not alone: Transgender and nonbinary people face many barriers when it comes to finding access to gender-affirming healthcare. In 2015, the US Transgender Survey found that one-third of trans and nonbinary people face discrimination at the doctors office. Their findings also show that 33% of trans people postponed medical care because of the cost.

On the other hand, research shows gender confirmation surgeries improve the overall mental health and wellbeing of trans and nonbinary people.

For many people, when they hear elective surgery they assume cosmetic surgeries. Ive waited nearly a year for SRS and now the growing coronavirus pandemic is threatening to take it away.

I am scheduled to have bottom surgery or metoidioplasty in July 2020, but because of the delay in elective procedures, its likely that my pre-op appointment and surgery will be rescheduled. Before then Ive had to go through a number of psychological evaluations to be deemed sane for the procedure.

According to national trans health guidelines from WPATH (The World Professional Association of Transgender Health), trans and nonbinary patients who want bottom surgery must have gender dysphoria, have their mental illnesses under control, receive hormone replacement therapy for a year, and live consistently as their gender (whether male, female, or nonbinary). Also, you need letters from a doctor, psychiatrist, and counselor that prove this procedure is medically necessary.

Not only do we face strict requirements for treatment, but this system is backlogged with patients. Last September, I called Mount Sinais Transgender Health Clinic, was put on a waitlist, and then scheduled for my first appointment in November.

At the appointment, I didnt make the weight requirement. All transgender and nonbinary patients are required to have a BMI of 33. At the time, my BMI was closer to 34. Business Insider has previously reported that BMI is an outdated system that doesnt measure body fat. According to health experts, physicians can yield a more accurate result of your health by measuring your waist circumference.

Yet, the facility did not allow me to schedule surgery until I lost the weight. I lost 10 pounds through a crash diet. Hours before I graduated from the Craig Newmark School of Journalism, I weighed in at Mount Sinais Transgender Health Clinic. Then, I had my first consultation with the doctor in January.

I also faced bias from mental health counselors who could write a letter. The first therapist I went to for a letter for bottom surgery told me she didnt feel comfortable advocating for me to get surgery. So, I had to look elsewhere. And my former psychiatrist who is covered under Medicaid calls me Mrs. at every appointment, despite knowing I am male. Therefore, receiving a letter from him was not an option. Now, social distancing has delayed me even further. To this day, I have not received a letter.

In August of 2018, a doctor officially diagnosed me with gender dysphoria, the debilitating distress I feel because of a disconnect between my brain and how the world perceives my body. Since then, Ive received treatment through hormone replacement therapy or injecting my stomach every week with testosterone. This has relieved a lot of my symptoms, such as depression and anxiety.

Much of my dysphoria comes from not feeling socially included in male spaces. On a day-to-day basis, this means finding another bathroom at work because there are no open stalls. At a former internship and graduate school, this meant people intentionally calling me by my dead pronouns and grouping me in with women or ladies.

Its only recently that Ive started to be read as male in public (for example, grocery store cashiers calling me sir, people on the street calling me brother and guy). While this is a relief, its also scary. I avoid public gyms because I fear the potential violence and stigma Ill face in the mens locker. Receiving this surgery as soon as possible will allow me to avoid potential violence and live my life safely.

Now, I am waiting for a call from my surgeons office on whether or not my surgery and pre-op appointment will be rescheduled or canceled. Bottom surgery is one of the final steps Im taking in my gender transition. Most of my legal documents are male. My mail is addressed to Mr. Tatyana Bellamy-Walker and I have an M on my drivers license, social security records, and birth certificate.

And although transgender people are banned from the US military, I managed to be registered into the US Selective Service System, a military draft system for all males under the age of 26.

Yet, somehow, the pandemic is becoming my latest obstacle to participating in public life.

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Elective surgeries are being postponed during the coronavirus outbreak. But my gender-affirming surgery isnt optional its life-saving. - Business...

Coronaviruscure is still not found by health experts around the globe. Thankfully, there were already a lot of hospitals testing their versions of COVID-19 cure for a faster way of solving the viral disease. On Sunday, Mar 29, a U.S-Israeli pharmaceutical company found a medicine that may lead us to flatten the curve to this disease. The US Food and Drug Administration also wants this medicine to have its test trials starting next week. Will it be the long-awaited solution we're looking for?

(Photo : BRENDAN MCDERMID on Reuters )FDA Says Yes to Coronavirus Cure From Israel; US Gov't Ready to Test Trial Medicine Starting Next Week

As of today, Mar 30, more than 700,000 people were already infected with COVID-19, while over 35,000died. With this, everyone is now more determined to find a way to solve this pandemic. Interestingly, the US FDAfinallyapproved medicine that may be one of a potential cure against the virus.

On alocal reportin Israel, NeuroRx, a US-Israeli pharmaceutical company, and Relief Therapeutics, a Swiss drug development company, had finally got approval from the FDA. The companies explained that they are not yet approved to market the medicine. They are only allowed for test trials. The companies are currently approved to create phase-two testing trials starting next week of a possible cure from COVID-19 called Aviptadil.

The drug called Aviptadil is a synthetic form of a neuropeptide hormone that works to enable communications between neurons in the human nervous system. Since COVID-19 patients mostly experience difficulty in respiratory function-- which kills diagnosed patients, the substance is expected to be the solution for this problem.

Specifically, Aviptadil is said to cure Acute Respiratory Distress in most coronavirus patients.

(Photo : JEENAH MOON on Reuters )FDA Says Yes to Coronavirus Cure From Israel; US Gov't Ready to Test Trial Medicine Starting Next Week

However, to clarify, both companies reiterated that they still have no assurance that Aviptadil cures Coronavirus. On the other hand, with the help of the go-signal from the FDA, they are now legally capable of testing the substance to COVID-19 patients.

Just like Aviptadil, US FDA also approved other possible Coronavirus cure from the past. The Trump administration, according to theWashington Post, had also given directives from the agency to legally distribute anti-malarial drugs across the country. Drugs, including hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, were part of the distribution.

"It is reasonable to believe that chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate may be effective in treating covid-19,'' the FDA's chief scientist, Denise Hinton, wrotein the lettergranting emergency approval.

However, other health expertsexpressedtheir dismay with the FDA. Most of them say that the FDA might be rushing things out by allowing the distribution of 'off-label' drugs for rapid testing without proper studies.

"The concern really is if we're talking millions of patients, then this issue of drug-induced sudden cardiac death is absolutely going to rear its ugly head,'' said Michael Ackerman, a pediatric cardiologist, and professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, who last week co-authored akey paperabout the risks in response to the surge in the drugs' use.

For now, let's see what will happen.

2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Some cancer patients are angry that athletes, including Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, are having elective surgery while theirs have been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale went under the knife in Los Angeles to repair the ligaments in his throwing arm.

A few days earlier, on March 24, Shelly Stevens had been scheduled to be on the operating table in Boston for the removal of a mass from her left lung.

But on March 15, Gov. Charlie Baker had ordered hospitals to postpone or cancel all "nonessential elective procedures" to free up resources, such as protective gear, for treating COVID-19 patients. Three days later, Stevens got a call from her surgeon at Mass General, saying they had to postpone the surgery for four weeks, if not more.

After some anger and tears, Stevens accepted her delay, calling it the "right decision." She didn't want to infect anyone, nor did she want to get infected with the highly contagious disease.

But the Brewster woman said she was angered by Sale's surgery as discussions began about the ethics of his "Tommy John" procedure during the global pandemic, when protective equipment for health care workers and testing kits are in short supply.

Now, as the country tries to fight the spread of the virus, Sale is recovering from his surgery while Stevens is fighting the potential spread of cancer inside her lungs.

"(My doctor) said, 'Its not that your (procedure) isnt urgent, or that its not important, but with everything going on, for your own health and safety, the best thing we can do would be to wait,'" said Stevens, 51. "He said they don't have the equipment or staff that they need and that exposing me to the virus would be very detrimental."

Nonessential, elective procedures, as defined by the state Department of Public Health, include, but are not limited to, incision of the skin, orthopedic surgery, endoscopy, oral procedures and podiatric procedures.

The department defines "elective" and "nonessential" as procedures scheduled in advance, since they do not involve a medical emergency. The state recommends providers use their clinical judgment on a case-by-case basis, and the order does not apply to life-sustaining care.

While this is what Baker ordered and what the American College of Surgeons has recommended governors elsewhere, including in California, have issued different orders or none at all regarding canceling elective surgeries during the pandemic.

Sale isn't the only athlete having elective surgery during the pandemic. San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Beede had arm surgery last week, and Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is scheduled to have it Thursday, according to USA Today.

Although Sale was treated in a private clinic, people took to social media to argue that his surgery used protective equipment that could have been routed toward hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

"People in Los Angeles were begging for people to bring in masks, gloves, gowns, face masks, and here (Sale) is having surgery that could have waited," said Stevens. "My sister-in-law is a nurse in New York ... and they were given one face mask to wear for an entire week, so it just really made me angry."

Stevens was first diagnosed with cancer in 2010 when doctors found it in her hand. Her type is called leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer that affects smooth muscle tissue.

Surgeons removed it, but after years of frequent CT scans, doctors found masses in her lungs in November 2018. She underwent more surgery and radiation. About a year later, doctors found a small spot in her lungs. When she returned in February for a follow-up scan, her doctors determined the mass had grown.

Surgery was scheduled. But then COVID-19 reached new levels.

"Every day I wake up and I'm scared. I don't know what's going on inside of my body," Stevens said. "You kind of feel like someone is holding a gun to your head and (you wonder) when are they gonna pull the trigger. Every little ache, every pain, every bump, you think, 'Is this more cancer?' "

Stevens has four daughters from 15 to 20 years old who have been helping her, along with her husband, Ryan. She has started a gratitude journal, in which she writes every night before bed. Tuesday night's topic was the Red Sox.

"Last night I had to try to get over being angry at these baseball players. It's not anything personal. ... but it's something I had to let go of."

The pandemic has had similar implications for another Brewster woman, Raquel Ellis, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in February after visiting the Dana-Farber cancer center in Weymouth. Her double mastectomy was scheduled for April 30, but it has been postponed.

Overall, Ellis said she's been coping. "I live with two teenage boys, so we kind of deal with everything with a lot of humor and silliness," she said.

More than her health, she's worried about how her delayed surgery will affect her ability to take her eldest son to college and teach her students at Ezra Baker Elementary School in Dennis in the fall. "In some ways, those are bigger losses for me," she said.

Her doctors concluded the cancer is related to her hormones, so they started her on hormone blockers to prevent further cancer growth as she awaits surgery. They also told her the mass won't kill her, but she's still eager to get it out.

"It's that feeling of knowing it's there and just wanting to get rid of it because it doesn't belong," she said.

Ellis didn't know much about Sale and the other athletes until her friend, Stevens, shared articles on Facebook, but she now agrees it might not have been a responsible decision.

"I was told (my doctors) don't want to do surgery right now because they don't want to bring a healthy person into a hospital and get them infected," Ellis said. "So it really doesn't make sense whether you're a professional athlete or a teacher or an electrician, that the standards would be any different for a human being."

Sale's surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, told the San Fransisco Chronicle, "I know that I'm going to get criticized for taking care of these kinds of guys, but it's essential to their livelihoods."

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With approximately 1 in every 18 people in the world using drugs, theres a growing global prevalence for substance use, according to the latest World Drug Report by the United Nations. While many people are able to use certain substances recreationally, some abuse substances, and others fall into the addiction category.

Addiction, however, doesnt come down to a lack of willpower or a series of bad choices. Whether you become an addict or not depends on a combination of factors, including genetic loading, early childhood trauma, an adverse home environment, and specific personality traits such as impulsivity, poor emotional regulation and distress tolerance. These all increase your risk dramatically, says Jean Coetzee, the Clinical Manager at the Harmony Addiction and Psychiatric Clinic in Hout Bay.

At the basis of every addiction, regardless the type, lie similar drivers, as just mentioned. The drug of choice is just the symptom, but the addiction is the actual disease, says Siobhan Alford, Hospital Manager at the Harmony Addiction and Psychiatric Clinic.

Neuroplasticity: The hope in the fight against addiction

Addictive behaviour is a result of the brains ability to adapt and form patterns, according to a study published in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Most drugs that are abused activate dopamine (the happy hormone) in the brains reward system. This novel experience produces patterns in the brain that link external cues; to the use of drugs; to the reward system. Over time, the reward system is automatically triggered by these cues alone, leading to an urge to take drugs.

Luckily, every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. Coetzee explains that when you start adopting healthy coping mechanisms, rather than unhealthy ones like substance abuse, positive neural pathways can also become entrenched in the brain. The two ways in which you can rewire the brain and entrench positive coping mechanisms is through repetition and novel experiences, Coetzee says. There is hope in recovering from addiction because it is possible to change the real estate (physical structure) of your brain and consequently your behaviour and thinking too.

How to identify addictive behaviour

Addictive behaviour usually develops in vulnerable individuals, but how do you know if you or a loved one is at risk of addiction? Although using substances that activate the reward system can contribute to the development of addiction, vulnerability to addiction is influenced by a complex set of variables such as genetic predisposition, environmental circumstances, psychological factors, social pressures or trauma. A strong connection between trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction has been found in studies by renowned expert Prof. Alexander McFarlane.

A simple way of identifying addictive behaviour in a loved one or yourself is through the presence of the 4 Cs:

In South Africa, alcohol is still the number one abused substance followed by cannabis, methamphetamine and then opioids (which includes codeine, heroine, nyaope and wonga), according to the SACENDU Project. Besides substances, process addictions like gambling, gaming and sex are also very prevalent and treated with the same gravitas as any other drug.

The road to recovery

The first step to recovering from addiction is taking responsibility to become clean. You dont choose to be an addict, but you can choose to become sober, Alford says. Making an appointment at a registered rehabilitation centre is one of the first steps that you can take to come clean. Some centres, like Harmony Clinic, work with medical aids to cover drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment.

Harmony Clinic takes an evidence-based scientific and medical approach to treating addiction through a biopsychosocialspiritual model. As a dual diagnosis hospital, patients who are admitted to the clinic see a psychiatrist within 48 hours and a general practitioner within 24 hours of their admission, Alford says.

Alongside the medical approach, DBT (Dialectal Behavioural Therapy) skills such as mindfulness are a strong foundation of evidence-based addiction treatment. After eight weeks of daily mindfulness practice, the real estate of the brain can already start to change, Coetzee says. Although the brain rewires quite rapidly, individuals can still be vulnerable years after theyve started their recovery process which is why abstinence (or harm reduction where abstinence is not possible) is strongly recommended.

The road to recovery is equally as important for family members as for addicts themselves. Patients usually show significant progress in therapy and then they go home to where circumstances havent changed, Alford says, which is why experts advise family members of recovering addicts to get their own therapy and to join support groups. Popular networks for family support groups in South Africa include Al-Anon and Nar-Anon.

This post is sponsored by Harmony Clinic produced by Brandstudio24 for Health24.

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This article was medically reviewed by Carolyn Swenson, M.D., an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and member of the Prevention Medical Review Board, on March 27, 2020.

Menstrual cycles have a long list of nicknames that are charmingly dark: the curse, shark week, the blob, crimson tide, and so on. But when it comes to periods getting heavier than usual, the term that should be used most is potential problem.

Heavy menstrual bleedingmedically known as menorrhagiaisnt always cause for alarm, but in some cases, the situation can be a red flag (pun totally intended) for underlying issues that may need attention. Here, OB/GYNs explain the most common causes for a heavy period, along with some thoughts on when to see your doctor about it.

Heavy periods fall on a spectrum. For some women, it can simply be defined as having a heavier flow than usual, causing you to soak through pads or tampons at a more rapid pace. Menorrhagia, on the other hand, is a serious diagnosis and can result in significant blood loss. Per the Mayo Clinic, some signs to watch out for include:

An overactive or underactive thyroid are two of the most common culprits for menstrual difficulties, according to Sherry Ross, M.D., an OB/GYN at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. Thats because your thyroid actually helps control your menstrual cycle, she says.

Although thyroid disease can cause your periods to stop for several months, it can also lead to heavy and irregular periods, Dr. Ross says. Its an underactive thyroid that tends to be the heavy period producer, because your ovaries are not making enough progesteronethe hormone that helps lower your flow.

Known as PCOS, this condition affects how the ovaries work, Dr. Ross says. Although it can cause loss of periods or irregular cycles, it can also lead to heavy flow due to hormonal shifts, and can be exacerbated by weight gain.

Excess estrogen leads to a thickened uterine lining that isnt shed by the production of progesterone. (Those with PCOS usually dont ovulate, which kicks off progesterone production.) That can lead to heavier flow as well as more clotting.

Almost always benign, fibroids are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus, and Dr. Ross says theyre common, especially as women age. Having a family history increases your risk, and so does being African American.

In addition to heavy bleeding, youre likely to experience pain along with some bloating and lower back pain, which is why the issue is often mistaken as a heavier-than-usual period. Fibroids are often detected in a regular pelvic exam, but your doc may suggest imaging like an ultrasound or MRI to get a better idea of where theyre located.

Hormone changes leading up to menopause creates a situation where periods become non-predictable, says G. Thomas Ruiz, M.D., OB/GYN lead at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA.

Instead of the standard 28-day length of time for a cyclewhich can vary between 21 to 35 days and still be considered normal, Dr. Ruiz notesa change in estrogen as the body prepares for menopause may mean the body is still creating a thicker uterine lining but not shedding it yet. A missed period or two during this time means that lining continues to increase until gravity does its part.

The lining starts to fall off from getting too thick and thats when youll see a heavy menstrual flow, often with significant clots, he says. Some of these patients can bleed for weeks like this, which is not good, because then theres an anemia risk.

In the first trimester, signs of a miscarriage can mimic a menstrual period, because there will be bleeding and clotting, says Dr. Ross. For some women, they may not have even known they were pregnant. According to Penn States Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, as many as 30% of women will experience this at least once, and causes can include chromosomal abnormalities, autoimmune disease, infections, and structural issues with the uterus, among other factors.

If you suddenly try to go from couch potato to triathlete, it can cause a hormonal imbalance as your body attempts to adjust, Dr. Ross says. Although amenorrhea can happen, which means you lose your period, your body could decide to swing in the other direction and go heavy instead.

This causes physical stress, which influences your periods, and that can happen over weeks and months, she notes. As you keep intensifying your training, your periods may become increasingly heavier, she says.

Again with the estrogen: Extreme weight gain can increase body fat, particularly in the abdominal region, which is where the majority of your estrogen is produced. Dr. Ross says that as estrogen increases, that can lead to thicker uterine lining and generally heavier periods. Women who have obesity also tend to experience periods that are longer than seven days and come with blood clots.

Significant weight loss can reverse this effect, she says. That causes a decrease in body fat and estrogen production, making your periods lighter.

Certain coagulopathies, known as bleeding disorders, like von Willebrands disease, platelet function defects, thrombocytopenia, and clotting factor deficiencies can also lead to a heavy flow. Among women with heavy menstrual bleeding, coagulopathies may be the cause in up to 24% of themespecially young women, says Carolyn Swenson, M.D., an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan.

The average woman with a bleeding disorder could first experience prolonged bleeding as young as six years old, but may not receive a diagnosis until 23, per the National Hemophilia Foundation. Other symptoms to look out for include excessive bleeding after an injury, prolonged nosebleeds, blood in urine or stool, and bruising easily.

Certainly, this is not the potential cause that should be your first thought during a heavy period, but it's a small possibility. Heavy bleeding is one of the biggest early signs of uterine, cervical, and endometrial cancer, especially if a woman has already been through menopause and no longer has periods.

But even for those who regularly have menstrual cycles on the heavier side, getting annual screenings is important to make sure cancers like these are caught early if they do develop.

Again, whats considered heavy varies by person, according to Lucille Russo, M.D., an OB/GYN at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Illinois. For example, if youve had heavy periods all your life and been checked about it, that would be far less of a concern than if your periods suddenly became much heavier than usual.

1 out of 5 women deals with heavy periods, per the CDC.

Typically, I tell patients if they are soaking through a maxi pad or super tampon every hour for a few hours, they should call, says Dr. Russo. Also, if their periods are heavy and long, like lasting more than 10 days, or they are persistently bleeding between periods, they should contact their doctor.

Two other signs to make the call include seeing multiple clots that are bigger than 1-inch wide, and needing to us both pads and tampons at the same time, she adds.

Even if you dont have any of the underlying issues mentioned here, its worth speaking with your doctor about potential treatments, Dr. Russo says, because persistently heavy periods can often cause anemia, a condition where there arent enough healthy red blood cells to carry needed oxygen to your bodys tissues. That can lead to fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and rapid heartbeat with exercise.

Bottom line: In general, its likely you know when something seems wrong down thereget it checked to be safe.

Like what you just read? Youll love our magazine! Go here to subscribe. Dont miss a thing by downloading Apple News here and following Prevention. Oh, and were on Instagram too.

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We live in a world of verbs. We eat and drink. We work. We play. We scroll. We run, read and riff about the latest news coming out of D.C. We love, listen and learn. Every moment of every day is about doing. These verbs no matter which you engage in form and define our lives.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Yet, wellness expertMichael Roizen, MD, says we treat one of the most vital verbs of every 24-hour cycle sleep as a footnote, rather than the main text.

Sleep has become a cultural sacrificial lamb, Dr. Roizen says. Wed rather work late than get enough ZZZs. Wed rather binge on Bravo. Wed rather stalk social media. Or maybe our bodies just cannot shut down, or health problems make it hard to fall or stay asleep.

In any case, the reality is a harsh one, he says. Our lack of sleep isnt just a boon for the coffee shop industry. Its slowly killing us, Dr. Roizen says.

Dr. Roizen doesnt take a lack of sleep lightly. In fact, he says people dont put lack of sleep in the same category as cigarettes or obesity because fatigue is more of a behind-the-scenes health threat one that has a steady, creeping effect on our bodies. But the risks associated with lack of sleep are big.

Heres how it works: While youre sleeping, your body and brain cycle through various stages ranging from light sleep to deep sleep. You go through that cycle several times a night. It sure feels like nothing is going on after all, youre not aware of anything, except maybe that wacky dream about a tornado, a marching band and your seventh-grade math teacher. Thats maybe one of the reasons people dont give sleep as much attention as they should: They dont feel anything the way they feel exercise or a change in eating habits. So its easy to think that sleep is, well, just a whole lot of nothing.

But thats not the case. When youre closed for business, your bodys cells start their work. Think of the inside of your body as a big factory of shift workers, Dr. Roizen says. Cells clock in when you shut down. All day long, your body at work, during exercise, while youre going about your day has been put through a series of cellular stresses. For example, when you use your muscles, they can experience little microscopic tears. That same kind of stress happens all over your body in all kinds of organs, tissues and systems throughout the day.

To maintain itself and recover from these cellular insults, your body needs a repair crew. Enter your shift workers. While youre sleeping, theyre repairing your muscles, growing and strengthening neurons in your brain, fortifying your bodys damaged cells, he explains. These cells cannot do their jobs optimally unless your body is shut down and in deep sleep.

So you can imagine what happens if you dont give these cellular fixers enough time to work. Your body never gets fully repaired, making you weaker, more susceptible to further insults, and a lot less healthy. In practical terms, Dr. Roizen says, that means lack of sleep can contribute to immune problems, memory issues, higher stress levels and even obesity. Because your brain never fully rids of its waste products (the poop from your brain cells is removed at night, and is done more efficiently the longer you sleep), you can develop inflammation in your memory centers as well.

Yes, perhaps one of the greatest effects of lack is sleep is a high inflammatory response, which is your bodys way of fighting problems. When this response is at high levels all the time because it never shuts down, Dr. Roizen says that leads to a sort of friendly fire within the body: Your attacking immune cells begin to damage the healthy ones (and not just in your brain) putting you at an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. (Heck, research has even shown that lack of sleep even increases hostility in relationships; the fallout can trigger higher stress, which has damaging effects on overall health).

These bodily damages work in various ways, Dr. Roizen says. But if you think about your bodys function as a massive game of dominoes, you can see how it plays out. When you dont get enough sleep, you feel fatigued. When you feel fatigued, your body wants to raise energy levels, so it reaches for the fastest solution: sugar. When you reach for sugar, you gobble up stacks of cookies. And when you do that day after day after day, you gain a lot of weight.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you say. Youve heard it all before. Get more sleep. Sleep eight hours. Easier said than done, especially if you have a complex cocktail of problems that make is difficult to sleep (pain, hormonal issues, obesity, urge to urinate, and so many other things can disrupt sleep cycles). Like many other health issues, Dr. Roizen emphasizes that sleep is one in which you may need to consider lifestyle and medical tactics to determine what will work best for you.

But you can also use food and nutrients to ease into some possible solutions to help change your verbs from tossing and turning to sweet dreaming. (As long as that sweet dreaming doesnt actually include sweets!)

MVPs: No magic sleep-inducing piece of fruit or secret ingredient will induce drowsiness (though, as youll see in the following, some are better than others). But Dr. Roizen says setting yourself up with a good last meal of the day can help prepare your body for sleep. Research shows that having meals high in fiber and low in foods with saturated fat and simple carbs (sugar) should help. So thats why a dish like beans, grilled fish or chicken, and a large side of vegetables is the best meal choice to help your body prepare to shut down (and as weve learned, the earlier you eat it, the better).

One recent study in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that this kind of meal was associated with people falling asleep faster in less than 20 minutes, in fact. When subjects consumed more saturated fats and sugar, the process took closer to 30 minutes. If you have the choice (and you do!), make your protein fish, which, when eaten regularly, has been linked to helping prevent poor sleep.

Key Players: The two nutrients most associated with better sleep are magnesium and tryptophan. Youve heard of tryptophan; its all over the headlines in late November as the reason why you want to zonk out after eating a big plate of Thanksgiving turkey. Although tryptophan may not actually make you tired after a big holiday meal, the food that contain it, or magnesium, are certain good options if youre trying to improve your sleep quality. Tryptophan is an amino acid that converts to the body clock regulating hormone and melatonin. Foods that contain it include egg whites, soybeans, chicken and pumpkin seeds. And when you choose your vegetables for dinner, consider a leafy green like spinach that contain magnesium.

Cut From the Team: Feeling cravings at night? Dont be tempted by a midnight snack. Research on circadian rhythm and eating cycles reveals that midnight is actually the worst time to eat even if you think you just need a little something to make yourself more comfortable. Instead, have a fiber-rich dessert before the sun sets for example, a big bowl of berries or a pear. The fiber will slow things down so you feel full longer and thus less likely to crave something later at night.

The Sub Shop: Snooze Foods

This article was adapted from the best-selling book What to Eat When by Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Micheal Crupain, MD, MPH with Ted Spiker (2018 National Geographic Books)

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Advanced Age Management offers Testosterone Replacement Therapy. This mens clinic is located near Cleveland, OH, and it gives men the perfect solution if they are feeling sluggish, low energy, gaining weight, or they have a decreased sex drive. Advanced Age Management says if youre over the age of 35, you could have low testosterone, and this is normal as you get older, but you will start to notice issues more and more as you age.

This mens clinic in Cleveland, OH, says it is due to a condition called Hypergonadism, yet, they want to reassure individuals who may be concerned and worried that their testosterone production level is low, that is why they are now offering testosterone replacement therapy in their clinic. If you are suffering from one of the issues mentioned above, definitely consider scheduling an appointment with your doctor and get your testosterone levels checked. Contact Advanced Age Management, and they will advise you on your next step and get you in for a free testosterone assessment.

At Advanced Age Management, their goal is to help men build up their testosterone levels by testing testosterone levels and creating a treatment plan to get the testosterone levels back to an appropriate level so that each individual does not have to suffer anymore and can carry on with their life. This is all done through the testosterone replacement therapy at their mens clinic.

It would be best if you got in touch with Dr. John Kocka at Advanced Age Management, a low testosterone expert who carries out a series of assessments and testosterone replacement therapy for men and women in and around Cleveland Ohio. According to Advanced Age Management, the cost of the testosterone replacement therapy varies from each patient to the next, as each person will require a different treatment plan. You can, however, schedule a free consultation and also review your financial information with Dr. John Kocka once you get in touch.

Advanced Age Management emphasizes that the therapy offered to men is only for those with testosterone deficiencies, which is why this mens clinic is the best to consult with if you have found out that you have low testosterone. If needed, Dr.Kocka can offer you a same-day consultation.

If you have been given the go-ahead for testosterone replacement therapy, Advanced Age Management assures you that there are many benefits of testosterone treatment. There is evidence to suggest the therapy can improve your cardiovascular health by removing cholesterol from your arteries, a common issue that many men suffer with as they get older.

The mens clinic in Cleveland, OH, assists men for other hormone treatments as well, such as DHEA, cortisol, thyroid, natural growth hormone, insulin, and more.

Contact Advanced Age Management today at (330) 439-6591 and schedule your free consultation with one of their low testosterone doctors. This mens clinic is offering you the chance to increase your testosterone levels and, in turn, improve your health and overall well-being. At Advanced Age Management, the doctors use injection therapy for men who need more testosterone production. You can read more about low testosterone and the testosterone replacement therapy on their website at https://www.lowtohio.com.

Source:https://thenewsfront.com/advanced-age-management-offer-testosterone-replacement-therapy/

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