CNN – Breathe easier all season – By Betsy Stephens – (Tuesday, February 19, 2013) – From a stuffy head to that whistling in your nostrils, breathing’s no breeze this time of year. “When your nose is exposed to cold, it runs,” period, explains Dr. Michael Benninger, chair of the Head and Neck Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. That’s because our nasal passages are designed to warm and humidify air before it gets to the lungs. In colder temperatures, the nose overcompensates by producing extra mucus. It can thicken when exposed to the dry air outside and irritate your throat or your sinuses, those hollow cavities behind your nose and forehead.
Topic: Headaches
ABNORMAL SLEEP PERIODS INCREASE CARDIOVASCULAR RISK: A study has shown that, even among healthy people, those who regularly get five hours or less sleep a night have more than double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Also, people who regularly get nine or more hours of sleep a night have a greater than fifty percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Perhaps more surprising, people who get six or eight hours sleep also have a higher – but far less dramatic – increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The study advised that seven hours sleep per night, not six or eight or anything more extreme, was the ideal regular sleep period for cardiovascular health. But how could sleep period affect heart health? The researchers suggested that shorter sleep times can cause “impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, increased sympathetic [nerve] activity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening of the arteries. And longer sleep duration may be related to an underlying sleep-related breathing disorder or poor sleep quality. The study was published in the August 1, 2010...
VITAMIN D MAY BOOST HEART FAILURE SURVIVAL RATES: A study has found that heart failure patients with reduced levels of vitamin D have lower rates of survival than patients with normal vitamin D levels. As a result, researchers suggest that a low intake of vitamin D may be a factor in the development, and outcome, of heart failure. Vitamin D is produced by the skin when it is exposed to the natural ultra violet-B, or UV-B, radiation from the sun. Most tissues and cells have a vitamin D receptor; and evidence suggests vitamin D reduces the risks of several chronic illnesses such as common cancers, autoimmune diseases, kidney diseases, chronic infectious diseases, high blood pressure and apparently, heart failure. The study team described the evidence of a protective effect from vitamin D as “compelling,” and recommended that heart failure patients should be advised to take vitamin D supplements and eat oily fish or eggs. The study was presented August 31, 2010 at the annual congress of the European Society Cardiology. It has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal....
Vertigo is a feeling of spinning even though you are on solid ground. Sometimes the sensation is strong enough to cause nausea and loss of balance. It’s different from dizziness, which is more like feeling you’re going to faint. Vertigo may last for a few minutes, or hours, or even days. The first consideration with vertigo is dehydration, although, ironically, vertigo can also be caused by fluid retention in the inner ear. Make sure you have been drinking adequate amounts of fluids, preferably water, especially if you’re working out or in a warm climate. Vertigo is a side-effect of some prescription drugs, notably steroids. If symptoms such as headaches, slurred speech, double vision or weakness in an arm or leg are also present, this is more serious and could mean multiple sclerosis, a mini-stroke or a brain tumor and you should see a neurologist (nerve doctor).
This frequently debilitating, recurring problem, more common in women, can often be helped by complementary health care approaches. The prognosis for migraine headaches is favorable if your doctor takes the time to perform a thorough assessment and helps you learn to avoid migraine triggers, along with developing an individualized program for you which addresses the underlying biochemical factors in your system which increase the likelihood of migraines. With proper understanding of your nutritional status, your hormonal status, the stressors in our life, and your personal history with migraine (including therapies tried), your “alternative” health care provider will be able to develop a course of metabolic therapy for you. If you have frequent and severe migraines it is important to “rule-out” certain conditions.