Health Screenings Tips

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed

Stress is a normal part of life. While some stress is good, too much stress and anxiety is bad for your health. The National Institute of Mental Health issued a report in 2000 documenting the association between stress and the immune system. Apparently, people with chronic stress (couples with marital stress, medical students with exam stress, caregivers of the sick and elderly, etc;) experienced weakened immune systems and were more susceptible to viral infections like the common cold.
The National Institutes of Health provides these guidelines for stress control:
• First try to identify the things in your life that cause you stress: marital problems, conflict at work, a death or illness in the family; then find ways to control them
• If there's a problem that can be solved, set about taking control and solving it. For example, you might decide to change jobs if problems at work are making you too stressed.
• Some chronic stressors can't be changed. Stress relieving activities such as support groups, relaxation, meditation, and exercise are tools you can use for stress management. See your health care provider if you find that you worry excessively about the small things in life.

The Cause of Migraine headaches

Migraines are intense headaches. Sometimes they can be so severe that they interfere with work and life in general. Migraines are often caused by changes of serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin is a chemical that in high levels constricts blood vessels and in low levels causes them to swell. Some people describe a premonition or feeling hours before a migraine, signaling that one is coming. This feeling can take the form of tiredness, more energy, mood changes or cravings for food. There are different symptoms associated with migraines such as:

• Throbbing or dull aching pain on one side or both sides of your head
• Nausea or vomiting
• Changes in vision, including blurred vision or blind spots
• Increased sensitivity to light, noise or odors
• Feeling tired and/or confused
• Stopped-up nose
• Feeling cold or sweaty
• Stiff or tender neck
• Light-headedness
• Tender scalp

High Blood Pressure Remedies

Hypertension can be alleviated by through simple lifestyle changes. Here we will cover alternative medicine techniques to help you can control high blood pressure and even cure high blood pressure without prescription drugs.
Stress is often a contributor to hypertension, so relaxation therapy is a high blood pressure natural remedy.
• According to Harvard Medical School Consumer Health, applied relaxation often involves imagining situations to cause muscular and mental relaxation. The goal of progressive muscle relaxation is to teach people what it feels like to relax by comparing relaxation with muscle tension.
• Massage therapy became popular in the 1970s, among athletes as a way to improve muscle injury healing and pain reduction, relaxation, stress relief, and sleep enhancement. Touch is central to massage and is used by massage therapists to locate painful or tense areas. There are many types of massage such as Swedish, deep tissue, aromatherapy, Shiatsu, and others.
• The psychological benefits of regular exercise are numerous including an increase in endorphins which creates a greater sense of well-being. Everyone needs exercise and anyone can find an activity suited to their lifestyle. Exercising regularly is the simplest way to improve your life. Common forms of exercise include aerobic/cardiovascular (running, dancing, jump rope), Resistance (strength training with weights, push ups, resistance bands), and Flexibility (stretching). It is recommended you get at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week.

Health Risk Assessment: Evaluating Your Risk for Hypertension

High blood pressure increases your risk of death from heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. High blood pressure is also linked to diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 (one twenty over eighty) or less. The first number, 120, is the systolic blood pressure—the peak blood pressure when the blood is rushing out of the heart. The second number, 80, is the diastolic blood pressure—the pressure when blood is rushing into the heart. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher. If you are between 120/80 and 140/90 you are considered borderline or prehypertension. There aren't really symptoms to high blood pressure. The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked regularly by a health care provider.
Simple lifestyle changes can cure high blood pressure or help control high blood pressure such as:
• Losing weight if you are overweight
• Exercising regularly
• Eating healthy meals (especially more fruits and vegetables)
• Lowering your cholesterol
• Decreasing stress
• Avoiding salt, caffeine and alcohol
• Avoiding tobacco products and quitting smoking

It Could be Heartburn or it Could be Something More Serious

Heartburn is often described as burning in the chest with a bitter or sour taste in the mouth and throat. This usually happens after eating a large meal or lying down after eating. Heartburn occurs when stomach acid escapes the stomach and get into the esophagus—also known as acid reflux. This acid can irritate the stomach causing a burning sensation (heartburn). Hiatal hernia can also cause heartburn. Hiatal hernia is a medical condition in which the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm. If heartburn or acid reflux occurs regularly it may be a symptom of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), gastritis (inflamed stomach lining) or possibly a peptic ulcer. Some things can increase the chance of heartburn or make heartburn more severe such as:
• Being overweight
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Citrus fruits
• Tomato and tomato products
• Chocolate
• Fatty and spicy foods
• Smoking tobacco
• Aspirin and ibuprofen
• Other medicines

Persistent heartburn could be a symptom of heart disease. If you have persistent heart burn you should contact your health care provider. They can help you find heartburn relief and prescribe medication for your acid reflux symptoms.