Can You Recognize Age Dementia Symptoms?

Every time you forget something, do you worry about dementia?

When you start creeping up there in age, it’s easy to be a little nervous about memory loss.  Losing your memory is like dying before you die.

Your memory doesn’t work quite as well as you age, but a little forgetfulness is no reason to worry about age dementia symptoms.

Many things other than aging alone can cause memory problems. Read more

Could Your Persistent Cough Have Anything to do With Your Antihistamine?

Do you have a persistent cough that doesn’t want to go away?

Is it driving you nuts?

Lena had sinus issues.

She said her family doctor had made the comment years ago, that her nose was …  “not a white man’s nose”.

Though a funny story, she was at a loss for exactly what that meant, and wondered if the doctor had racial issues.

All Lena knew was that her nose was always stuffed up.

She accepted the daily use of antihistamines as her lot in life.

They seemed harmless enough.  Lena really didn’t notice any side effects, but then she had been using them for so many years she had lost count.

When I began to question Lena about her re-occurring persistent cough, I was actually hopeful that it could be caused by sinus issues.

Lena insisted that the cough was coming from her lungs.

Persistently coughing up clear mucus is indicative of fluid in your lungs. I was hopeful that Lena was wrong.  Fluid in your lungs is a serious issue.

You can often verify fluid in the lungs by listening with a stethoscope, though that fluid will not show up on x-ray early on in the disease process.

In Lena’s case, when I listened to her back over the lowest three ribs on each side for the tell tale popping sounds of fluid, I heard nothing at all.  I heard no air flow in or out.

If Lena had fluid in her lungs it was not audible.

I encouraged Lena to inquire with her doctor about getting an inhaler. Whether or not she had fluid in her lungs, Lena needed to ventilate better.

Lena’s doctor wouldn’t give her an order for an inhaler because she wasn’t wheezing.

After purchasing an over the counter inhaler and giving it a try, Lena was surprised how much more deeply she could breathe.

When I took a listen to her lungs she had little squeaks all over the place, but not necessarily fluid.  This solved the problem of the lack of a prescription inhaler.  Her doctor gave her one right away when she showed up at his office wheezing and squeaky.

However, the persistent cough continued.

I had mentioned to Lena that her daily antihistamine dosing might be problematic many times before.  Shear sleep deprivation and fatigue ate away at her resistance until she was ready to take absolutely any advice and give it a try.

“How can I stop this cough?”

When I brought up the subject of antihistamines with Lena, she protested yet again.  She couldn’t fathom the possibility that her harmless daily antihistamine could possibly be the culprit.

I had to pull out documentation of the side effects to stifle her argument, but that certainly GOT her attention.

She was shocked and in a state of disbelief so I gave her some time to digest the information.

Do you know the side effects of antihistamines? Read more

How Soon Will COPD Stages Damage Your Quality of Life?

If you know what COPD stands for, you probably heard it from your doctor, or someone you know who has COPD.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is code word for can’t exhale.

If you can’t get the stale air out, you can’t reload with fresh air.

Lung disease is progressive.  It sneaks up on ya.

COPD stages happen a little at a time.

Pam called me when she came home from her doctors office with a “mild copd” diagnosis.

“How can I have copd?” she asked.

“I don’t smoke.”

“They said it might be all the years I lived with a wood stove as my heat source.”

I told Pam that I could hear her upset, and just wanted to encourage her to make the most of her lung health.

“After all, mild copd means that you have time to optimize your lung function and minimize damage.”

“How in the world do I do that?” she asked. Read more

Is Your Screen Time Causing Your Early Signs of Heart Disease?

How much time do you spend every day staring at a screen?

That is tele-vision, computer, text messaging … all of those screens.

You may spend more time than you think you do.

Did you know  …

Researcher Professor David Dunstan told London’s The Independent that even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats.

A study from Australia reports that every hour you spend watching television increases your risk of heart disease by 18%.  I’m no math wiz so I won’t tell you what that adds up to, but suffice to say

Your Screen Time Could Most Definitely Be Causing Your Early Signs of Heart Disease!

That same study found that people who spent hours watching television greatly increased the chances of dying early from heart attacks and strokes.

TV increases your risk of cancer death, and your risk of death from all causes.

A lot of the normal activities of daily living that use to involve standing up and moving the muscles in the body have been converted to sitting.

Sitting and reading a book for an hour, could also increase your risk of death.

Is your work increasing the chance of death?  If you have to sit at a desk for long hours … Yes.

Do you know what the early signs of heart disease are? Read more

Is Heart Bypass Surgery Over Kill For a Simple Health Challenge?

When you hear a simple suggestion for a HUGE problem, do you dismiss it?

If it’s a HUGE problem, it probably needs an equally big solution, wouldn’t you say?

What if you are dead wrong?

What if the simple solution you just dismissed is the answer to your prayers?

“No thanks, simple solutions really aren’t my style, I like the drama of heart bypass surgery.”

Are you serious?

If there is a simple solution to your health challenges, then why would your doctor offer you such in invasive solution?

Maybe because it doesn’t require you to do anything but show up?  Problem is, you need to show up again in 10 years for a repeat performance of “Slicing You Open”.

Perhaps the even bigger issues are the ones your doctor doesn’t have a quick fix for.  In fact, unless your doctor is knowledgeable about a specific “simple solution”, he/she does not know how to help you with a laundry list of health problems!

Are You Suffering From Any of the Following Conditions? Read more

Are There Symptoms Before a Stroke?

Don’t expect to have symptoms before a stroke.

If you are observing symptoms of stroke, it is best to assume that a stroke is presently occurring, and call 911.

There are, however, risk factors for stroke that you should be aware of:

Controllable or treatable risk factors:

• high blood pressure
• atrial fibrillation
• high cholesterol
• diabetes
• tobacco use and smoking
• alcohol use
• physical inactivity

Uncontrollable risk factors:

• family history
• fibromuscular dysplasia
• patent foramen ovale
• previous stroke or TIA

What is a TIA or transient ischemic attack? Read more

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