Saunas have been known to provide some great health benefits. Partaking in the heat can help with arthritis, asthma, chronic fatigue, and can flush toxins from your body. Some studies have even found that sauna use can decrease your blood pressure, despite the fact that your heart rate jumps from an average of 100 beats per minute to 160. (This is with normal usage, which is about twenty minutes.) However, it can also be dangerous. Don’t consume alcohol in a sauna, and try to avoid going in if you have recently had an alcoholic beverage. Dehydration can be a real issue here, so no matter what you’ve been doing, make sure you rehydrate afterward with two to four glasses of cool water.And men, beware: sperm motility and quality can be affected directly after a sauna visit. So if you’re trying to become a dad, maybe you should avoid the steam. Read more…
The difficulty with self-diagnosis is that some symptoms of serious health problems are seemingly innocuous. Here are some signs that women over 40 shouldn’t ignore:
Symptom: Pain and swelling in your calf
Likely cause: Pulled muscle
Worst-case scenario: Blood clot in the legSymptom: Flu-like feelings (fatigue, nausea, sweating, chills)
Likely cause: Virus
Worst-case scenario: Heart attackSymptom: Burning, tingling, or numbness in your feet
Likely cause: A tight-fitting pair of shoes
Worst-case scenario: Prediabetes (elevated blood sugar levels)Symptom: Bloating and pelvic pain
Likely cause: Gastrointestinal bug
Worst-case scenario: Ovarian cancerSymptom: Persistent cough
Likely cause: A cold
Worst-case scenario: Adult-onset asthma, a condition that can worsen as women enter midlifeSymptom: No matter how much you sleep, you don’t feel well-rested
Likely cause: The flu
Worst-case scenario: Sleep disorderSymptom: Trouble finding the right words
Likely cause: Sleep deprivation
Worst-case scenario: StrokeSymptom: A new mole
Likely cause: Harmless skin growth
Worst-case scenario: Skin cancer
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