Influenza-related stress on your body can launch a negative chain of events that builds toward a heart attack. This video shares how getting a seasonal flu shot can significantly lower your risk of having a heart attack or cardiac arrest, especially if you’re in a high-risk group.
Chapters: 0:00 Can flu shots lower risk of heart attacks? 0:37 How does the flu shot lower risk of heart attacks? 1:08 Who is most at risk of having a flu related heart attack? 1:30 Why else should you get a flu shot?
Researchers say men are more likely to die from melanoma than women. And by the time a man is 50, the likelihood of developing melanoma increases every year, compared with women.
“The main risk factors for melanoma are sun exposure, amount of sun exposure, high-level sun exposure — meaning sunburns — but also light skin color,” says Aleksandar Sekulic, M.D., a Mayo Clinic dermatologist.
The most common places for melanoma to occur are body parts exposed to the sun, including the face, back, arms and legs. The first signs are often a change to an existing mole or an unusual-looking growth on the skin.
“The big problem with melanoma is not only that it starts in the skin, but that it can spread. And it can be deadly,” says Dr. Sekulic.
Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, especially in the middle of the day to prevent sunburns. Wear protective gear outside, such as a broad-brimmed hat, tightly woven clothing that covers your arms and legs, and sunglasses to protect your eyes. And use sunscreen generously with a sun protection factor of 30 or higher on exposed areas of skin. Reapply at least every two hours. And if you’re swimming or sweating, use water- and sweat-resistant sunscreen.
Tendinopathy is the broad term for any tendon condition that causes pain and swelling. Your tendons are rope-like tissues in your body that attach muscle to bone. When your muscles tighten and relax, your tendons and bones move. One example of a tendon is your Achilles tendon, which attaches your calf muscle to your heel bone and causes ankle movement. If you have pain and/or swelling in that area, you might have Achilles tendinopathy.
The pain from tendinopathy can interfere with your daily life. For example, it can keep you from playing sports and from doing housework. So, if you have pain or swelling, make sure to contact your healthcare provider for help.
A weekly podcast on the latest medical, science and telehealth news.
Since ulcerative colitis (UC), a condition that causes inflammation in the colon and rectum, is never medically cured, certain lifestyle behaviors can help you manage symptoms and better cope with your condition. In addition to managing stress, paying attention to what you eat can have a big impact on your quality of life.
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You should eat a well-balanced, healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, such as a Mediterranean style diet. Avoid preservatives and emulsifiers, such as carrageenan, carboxymethylcellulose, and polysorbate-80.
If you have inflammatory bowel disease and also irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a low-FODMAP diet may be helpful. FODMAP stands for the short-chain carbohydrates known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. Some people who eat high-FODMAP foods have an increased risk of problems like diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, and flatulence. FODMAPs include the following:
A low-FODMAP diet can help reduce abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea and improve stool consistency in people with IBS who also have well-controlled IBD. Consult with your doctor and a nutritionist about how FODMAP reduction may fit into your dietary plan.
#DegenerativeDiskDisease is a common disorder linked to aging and years of wear and tear on the spine. Long-term therapies have so far eluded medical science.
Laminectomy is surgery that creates space by removing the lamina — the back part of a vertebra that covers your spinal canal. Also known as decompression surgery, laminectomy enlarges your spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
This pressure most commonly is caused by bony overgrowths within the spinal canal, which can occur if you have arthritis in your spine. These overgrowths sometimes are referred to as bone spurs, but they’re a normal side effect of the aging process in some people.
Some patients are able to have a same-day laminectomy, which means they do not need to stay in the hospital following surgery and are able to go home to recover. The procedure is performed using minimally invasive techniques resulting in smaller incisions, lower risk of infection and, for many people, a quicker recovery.
Spinal fusion is surgery to permanently connect two or more vertebrae in your spine, eliminating motion between them. Spinal fusion involves techniques designed to mimic the normal healing process of broken bones. During spinal fusion, your surgeon places bone or a bone-like material within the space between two spinal vertebrae. Metal plates, screws and rods may be used to hold the vertebrae together, so they can heal into one solid unit.
Because spinal fusion surgery immobilizes parts of your spine, it changes the way your spine can move. This places additional stress and strain on the vertebrae above and below the fused portion, and may increase the rate at which those areas of your spine degenerate.
Learning about insulin resistance, or prediabetes, can be intimidating. Eleanna De Filippis, M.D., Ph.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic, walks you through the facts, the questions, and the answers to help you better understand this condition.
Video timeline: 0:00 Introduction 0:41 What is insulin resistance? 1:32 Who gets insulin resistance? / Risk factors 2:38 Symptoms of insulin resistance 4:04 How is insulin resistance diagnosed? 4:34 Treatment options 5:21 Coping methods/ What now? 5:41 Ending
COMMENTARY:
The (developed) world just has too much food. Food producers race with each other to make It tastier, to advertise it widely, and make it available on demand. As a consequence of their success, at least 1/2 of the developed world is overweight and has decreased insulin sensitivity, prediabetes or diabetes. This leads to severe health consequences in the form of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, brain disease, liver disease, and a variety of back and joint problems.
Mankind did not evolve in an environment of chronic nutritional oversupply, but rather it’s reverse. Mankind did not develop in a sedentary environment, but rather it’s reverse.
Insulin resistance is caused by overfilled energy stores (excess fat), increased inflammation from distended, dying fat cells, excess fatty acids and stresses to some of the important micro structures in our cells, such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, not to mention metabolic pathways such as the mTOR and Sirtuin systems.
Eating is a pleasure, and turning down food takes self-discipline, which is a pain, and is becoming increasingly unpopular. “Maybe a pill will come along to get rid of fat and prevent its accumulation”. but don’t count on it. The main hope for avoiding the danger of overnutrition is being discriminating about what and how much you eat.
Exercise is inconvenient and uncomfortable, but is the second necessity for a healthy life. Two of its many benefits is to increase adiponectin, which increases burning of the fatty acids which are so toxic to the body, and to increase insulin sensitivity, counteracting type two diabetes.
The third necessity is getting enough sleep.
Replay the old record. Diet, exercise and sleep, sleep diet and exercise.
Please excuse me, it’s time for my evening exercise.
—Dr. C.
For more reading visit: https://mayocl.in/3waShVV.
Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp.
Psoriasis is a common, long-term (chronic) disease with no cure. It can be painful, interfere with sleep and make it hard to concentrate. The condition tends to go through cycles, flaring for a few weeks or months, then subsiding for a while. Common triggers in people with a genetic predisposition to psoriasis include infections, cuts or burns, and certain medications.
Treatments are available to help you manage symptoms. And you can try lifestyle habits and coping strategies to help you live better with psoriasis.
COMMENTS ON ‘PSORATIC ARTHRITIS’:
My practice was restricted to allergy, but I saw many patients with psoriasis. The red scaly patches made them think they had allergic dermatitis, eczema. Psoriasis on the arm is usually located on the elbow, and atopic dermatitis on the opposite side, in the flexural area. Thick, pitted fingernails are also common in psoriasis. It’s combination with arthritis is worrisome.
Psoriasis will usually develop first, and the psoriatic arthritis will follow years later, but 10% of the time the arthritis Is the first problem. This form of arthritis can be very painful, and cause deformities. It is often worse than rheumatoid arthritis, although does not affect as many joints, and is often asymmetrical. It inflames the area where tendons attach to the bone, which is one of the reasons that it can be more painful than rheumatoid arthritis.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune problem and can involve practically any organ in the body.
It is often associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Psoriatic arthritis does not have the rheumatoid serum markers that can help diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, and unless psoriasis is also present on the skin, it can be hard to diagnose.
Symptomatic treatment with NSAIDs, physical therapy, phototherapy and topical treatments can be helpful, but very expensive biologics are sometimes needed to help out methotrexate and other first line DMARDs (Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs).
This condition can be progressive. If you develop scaly red patches on your skin, be sure to check with the doctor about the possibility of psoriasis.
—Dr. C.
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that attach via tendons to the head of the upper arm bone (the humerus). The function of the cuff is to center the head of the humerus in the socket and move the arm. These tendons are in a constant state of rebuilding and breaking down.
When the rate of breaking down exceeds the ability of the tendon to rebuild, micro tears occur causing pain and inflammation. This inflammation is known as tendonitis. In the extreme case, this inflammation can result in the failure of the tendon known as a rotator cuff tear. Repetitive overhead activity or heavy lifting can irritate or weaken the tendon.
Sometimes this can also lead to a gradual tear in the rotator cuff tendon making it difficult to raise or rotate your arm. Acute tears can also happen with a sudden force that overwhelms the tendon such as a shoulder dislocation. This results in an immediate inability to raise or rotate the arm.
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