Just as we have learned how important kegels can be for the ladies, but fellas, did you know that they can benefit you as well?  There are plenty of benefits, some of which may be things that you are too embarrassed to talk to your HCP about but maybe you can try to work your kegels and be proactive!  Kegel exercises are aimed at toning and strengthening the pubococcygeus muscles, which are the muscles of the pelvic floor.

What are the benefits?
Kegel exercises can help men by decreasing prostate pain that is associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis, along with preventing urinary incontinence, and can help to prevent premature ejaculation and increase intensity of orgasms.  Also, it can make your erections stronger and for longer.  I am not a man, but I see no negatives here!!

When should I start doing Kegels?
Any male at ANY age should be doing kegel exercises, especially because approximately 1 of every 10 men over 60 years old has some form of urinary/prostate problem that would be benefitted by strengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor!  And, with those benefits, I can’t see why any man wouldn’t want to start their toning, a more intense orgasm should entice anyone!

How do I do them?
So, basically you have the squeeze the same muscles that you would squeeze as if you are holding in urine or a bowel movement, when you really have to go, but have to wait.  It is best to actually do these exercises with an empty bladder, but try to contract and relax these muscles 15 times a day, and work up to 75 times and them start holding the contraction for 3-5 seconds and try to get in two sets of 50 per day while holding the contraction.

I know it seems like a lot BUT you can do them anywhere at any time without it being noticed: while driving, in the shower, at work, watching TV, etc. No one has to know that you are exercising, and really the benefits to you out weight the few minutes a day you will be strengthening your pelvic floor muscles and doing something positive for your body!  You will start to see the benefits in 4-6 weeks after starting the exercises and, I promise you, you’ll thank me!!!

Give it a go, and I’ll wait the 4-6 weeks until my inbox blows up with thank you’s!

Yours in Good Health
B

I know that this topic is mentioned a lot, and people joke about it, but ladies, you really should be doing them!  Kegel exercises strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor, which supports your uterus, bladder, and bowel.  The muscles can be weakened due to pregnancy and childbirth, age, being overweight, and sometimes….just because you don’t strengthen them!  Sometimes this weakening can cause organ prolapse, where your bowel droops down and puts pressure on your bladder causing leakage and urgency. Kegels are muscles just like any other muscle, and they need to be worked out, and the good news is that you can do it at ANY time and no one has to know…and it can make sex more enjoyable and orgasms MUCH better!

How do I do kegels?
So, you need to get pretty comfortable with your body, just to find the right muscles and make sure that you are doing it the right way, but I promise you will thank me!  Insert a finger into your vagina and try to squeeze the muscles around your fingers, and your fingers should feel the muscles tighten and the pelvic floor should move up.  OR you can always try and stop your pee mid stream, the same muscles help to stop the urine flow are your kegels, but I don’t like to encourage people to do that, in case they are prone to UTI’s and if you do that a lot it can cause incomplete emptying of the bladder.  So NEVER DO KEGELS WITH A FULL BLADDER; you want to make sure that you are empty before exercising!

Once you’ve learned your muscles, you need to start working them!  A great way to start is to contract the muscles for 5 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds and try to do that 4 to 5 times in a row, and work up to 10 second contractions with 5 second breaks.  And you can even get weights: Kegel Exercise Weights and GyneFlex with VTP (R) – Regular Strength to help and really work those muscles, starting slow with lower weights and working your way up!   Remember to breathe while doing the exercises, and try to work yourself up to 10 sets three times a day- seems like a lot, but you can do them while sitting at your desk at work, laying in bed, sitting in traffic, really ANY time!

What are the benefits?
As I said earlier, strengthening the kegel muscles can help with urinary incontinence and urgency and it can help with prevention of pelvic prolapse, where the organs droop into the pelvic area.  And, strengthening of the pelvic muscles can also increase the sensitivity during sexual intercourse and your orgasms can become more intense and enjoyable.

How long will it take to see results?
If you are starting your kegel exercises because you have urinary leakage or incontinence and you are hoping to change that, it may take 8 weeks up to 12 weeks to see a significant change, because you are strengthening very weak muscles, and think of how long it takes to see a change in your biceps, muscles that already have some tone.  Sex and orgasms can be effected sooner after starting the exercises.

Start working out your kegels even if you don’t have any of these problems to prevent them from occurring.  And, if you are having trouble locating them, or performing the exercises, I know you might feel awkward, but talk to your HCP or email me, your HCP can help you to locate the muscles.  Give it a try, I promise you will thank me, and so will your partner 🙂

Yours in Good Health
B

Sitting at a computer all day can cause neck and back pain…that searing pain that goes down the middle of your back between your shoulder blades? Yup.  All caused by posture, stress, and how you crane your neck to view your computer screen.  Desktops are a problem, but laptops cause even MORE of an issue, because people tend to scrunch up their bodies and hold their heads forward when viewing the screen.  Funny story, while I was getting my Masters Degree, I didn’t understand why my left shoulder hurt so much and I had such back pain on that side, until one day a friend took a picture of me, with my 6lb dog sitting on my shoulder (like a parrot) and I realized that he did that EVERY time I sat down to write a paper…DUH!  Your body posture becomes habit, just like anything else!

What can we do?
A recent study from the American College of Sports Medicine actually studied this exact issue, and ways to prevent the pain and discomfort. In 10 weeks, people who worked primarily in offices at computers for the majority of the day, in just doing 2 minutes of exercising a day, significantly decreased their neck and shoulder discomfort.
There were 198 people studied, that had no other medical problems other than the neck/shoulder pain that was job related. They were asked to do 2 to 12 minutes of stretching using resistance tubing and doing what is known as a lateral raise.  A lateral raise is when you lift your arms up from a side position until your upper arms are horizontal:

Lateral Raise

After just ten weeks of these exercises before work, when they would be without much exercise for a long period of time, they reported a decrease in shoulder and neck pain.  The people who performed the 12 minutes of exercises reported a bigger decrease in pain BUT it wasn’t totally correlated; like 2 minutes meant 10% less pain and 12 minutes meant 60% less pain…they just reported less discomfort than those who performed only 2 minutes.

What works best?
The researchers found that it wasn’t the length of time the exercises were performed that made people more comfortable, but the frequency with which they did the exercises.  So maybe doing two minutes of lateral raises a few times a day might ease your neck and shoulder pain more than performing 10-12 minutes straight at one time.

What does this mean for me?
Be aware of how you hold your posture when you are sitting in front of a computer at work; shoulders back, head straight, and try not to lean it forward.  If you use a laptop, raise it up on a thick book so that you aren’t craning over to look at it, your head staying in a neutral position will prevent pain later.  Also, make time to stretch and perform lateral raises a few times a day to warm your muscles and allow them to get worked out, so there will be less pain from holding your head and neck in one position.  Also, make sure that your chair that fits your body; is it at the right height? tilt? Do you feel like you are straining to reach your desk from a sitting position? If so, see if there is an alternative chair for you to use, or ask your boss for another chair, desk, etc. in the long run, some new office equipment is cheaper than you being out on workers comp from injuries sustained at work!

So, keep your head up, literally, and do some lateral raises….you can totally be a “lat” guy/gal!  Your neck and shoulders will thank you 🙂

Yours in Good Health
B

There are roughly 4.3 million calls to the poison control center every single year, and approximately half of those are due to children ingesting pills by accident.  There are some things that are completely benign for adults and actually helpful in treating many medical issues, many are even over the counter (OTC) treatments, but they can be deadly for children, even with one lick, never mind actually ingesting the pill.

What are common meds that are deadly to kids?
Salicylate: a compound found in Pepto-Bismol, Alka seltzer, Icy Hot, and Maalox. Depending on the child and the amount of medication ingested, it can cause swelling in the brain, fluid in the lungs, and can lead to seizures and death.
Camphor: found in Vicks Vaporub, mothballs, and Tiger Balm.  Initially it can cause nausea and vomiting, but lead to delirium, hallucinations, seizure, and death.
Buprenorphine: Suboxone or Subutex which is used to help prevent opioid addicts from taking their drug of choice by making them very ill, and one lick of this drug can cause respiatory distress to the point that a child can die.
Loperamide: the active medicine in Immodium that prevents diarrhea. Ingestion by children can cause a decreased mental status and respiratory depression.
Oxycodone: or drugs containing oxycodone such as percocet, vicodin, oxycontin, etc can cause severe respiratory depression and quickly lead to death without quick treatment.
Antidepressants: can cause heart arrythmias and seizures, leading to brain damage, cardiac damage, and death without treatment.
Beta Blockers: medications commonly prescribed to adults to maintain appropriate heart rate and prevent arrythmias can cause a child’s heart rate to become too slow and can be difficult to treat.

What can I do?
-Keep medications out of a child’s reach, high up.
-Always keep an idea of how many pills you have in each bottle- that way you know if your child got into the bottle, you can have a rough estimate to tell your HCP how much they ingested.
-Know the risks of medications you have in the house on your kids
-Inform babysitters and others that care for your kids of the risks and when they should call poison control.

Accidental ingestion of medication is obviously an accident, but we need to make sure that we do everything to prevent it, and know the risks of the medications that we have in our cabinets.  Accidents happen, but know the number to poison control, in the US the number is 1-800-222-1222 make sure it is readily available for everyone taking care of your kids, and  if they do ingest something, get them emergency medical care ASAP!  And, if you aren’t sure about the effects of what they ate, call poison control and ensure that you are treating them appropriately.

Yours in Good Health
B

As a nurse that worked the night shift basically permanently for 6 years, this new research based upon Norwegian nurses, makes me pretty nervous.  There has been speculation for ages that working nights is not good for your health, and clearly being sleep deprived lowers your immune resistance, but for the last ten years there  has been loads and loads of research showing that working night shifts can increase your cortisol levels (which increase with a stress response) and insulin levels, leading to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.  None of this is good, especially because healthcare is a 24 hour field, just like many other fields, such as police work, and other emergency services, pilots, etc.

What was the newest research?
Unfortunately, ladies, this one hits close to home for us.  Around 50,000 female nurses were studied, over a course of 17 years, looks for rates of breast cancer directly associated with night work. The findings were pretty scary, considering how many night shifts the average RN works! Nurses that worked around less than 4 night shifts a month had a minimal increased risk of breast cancer, and even nurses with 30 years working in hospitals (where we are exposed to radiation and chemotherapy agents) were at a minimal risk.  Nurses that worked five or more years with 4 consecutive night shifts had a much higher rate of breast cancer, and the highest group is nurses with 5 or more years of working with 6 consecutive nights of working.

What does this mean?
I’ll be honest with you, 6 night shifts in a row would make anyone feel completely gross, and more than a little off your game.  But it appears that the number of consecutive night shifts worked, is what has the biggest effect on you, which makes sense, right?  Most people do not sleep normally during the daytime, because we aren’t supposed to, so people medicate themselves to sleep, watch TV, or are just like me and just power through on only 3 hours of sleep.  Not only is this totally not a normal way to go through life, but it really isn’t healthy. Just like when people who work during the day (in any job) have to work long hours for a few weeks, or have added stress at work (or at home), when it is over, you “crash” and catch up on sleep.  People who work nights a lot mess with their bodies normal rhythm and it has obviously huge effects on our ability to sleep normally (even when not working), our immune system, and obviously our long term health as well.

Now, everyone cannot stop working overnight shifts in every field, or our world would turn to chaos and patients in the hospital would not be very happy (to say the least) but these are really dramatic results and I think that they are something that we should be cognizant of and keep in the back of your mind.  Go to see your HCP and get check ups, do SBE’s (self breast exams), and be aware of the effects that staying up all night might have on you.  Those shifts might get you some extra cash, but at what cost?

Just be aware of the effects of long term sleep and poor health outcomes, and try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible; this study hit home for me, but whether you are a man or woman, working nights, or just odd hours, think about what might be happening to your body in the long term and how you can hopefully offset the bad with and otherwise healthy lifestyle. So get some sleep, eat something healthy, and get some exercise!

Yours in Good Health
B

For years people have lived under the impression that if they substituted fake fat for real fat, i.e. using Olean (AKA Olestra), they would lose weight, but a Study from Purdue University may have proved the exact opposite!  I have never eaten something that says it can cause anal leakage on the label, but I know that some people swear by eating “fatty” foods made with fat supplements to get a snack without all the extra fat.

What is Olean?
It is a fat substitute that adds no fat, calories, or cholesterol to foods.  It came out in the late 90’s, gained a lot of popularity, then lost its luster a bit because people starting falling prey to the horrible side effects because they weren’t reading the label!  So, the label stated that the product may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools, along with the loss of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,&K.  Because Olean is a “fat” made from sucrose and the molecules can bind with many different fatty acids, it becomes too large for our digestive tracks to absorb, so we don’t absorb it, and it comes out….and boy does it!  Apparently it was created to taste/feel the exact same as regular fat in our mouthes, i.e. WOW potato chips (made with olean) taste the same as regular. Hmmm….

So why might you GAIN weight?
Well, I have discussed in pervious blogs about sugar substitutes, and these substitutes work the same way; our bodies are really smart, and when we put food in our mouths, it gears up for digestion based on taste. How amazing, right?  We put something super fatty in our mouths, start chewing, and based on taste and feel of the food, the digestive system gets ready by stimulating our metabolism and hormonal reactions to break down the fats, calories, and absorb all nutrients.  So, when you try to “trick” your body by eating fake fat, it gets revved up to burn lots of calories and fat….but then it’s left unable to burn anything because no calories or fat are absorbed. So, it begins to learn that when you eat stuff that tastes and feels like fat, it doesn’t need to work or kick into high gear as it perviously would.  Now, most people think “no big deal” but it is a big deal because we NEED fat to live, there are fat absorbed vitamins, and they are needed for energy to stimulate your cells/muscles/etc.  SO when we eat fats in meat, avocados, milk, etc. our body doesn’t efficiently break them down or stimulate our digestive systems as much, because we were like the boy who cried wolf with fats previously and tricked it into getting ready to break down fat and nothing was there, so why would it work efficiently when we really do eat fat?  The problem is, it won’t react the same way if you use those supplements.

There is no such thing as a free meal!  You may feel like you are getting a freebie of eating a “high fat” snack without the fat and calories, but it will catch up with you in the long run, and your body will hold onto the real fat that you eat and try to store it in case you don’t eat lots of fat again; the body is always looking out to protect itself, wether you want it to, or not!   Plus, the study from Purdue found that rats that ate a “high fat” diet with fat substitutes ate much more food and gained more weight than those that ate a high fat diet with regular fats. Fats (real ones) slow the digestive system, so you fill fuller faster, and it is a longer period before your body feels hungry again, but this doesn’t appear to happen with the fat substitutes.

What should I do?
You should eat a  healthy diet, and when you do feel like a fatty snack, eat a fatty snack, just don’t make it a habit!  If you deprive yourself of something, you are going to crave it and eventually cave in and basically binge on it.  So, allow yourself a treat every now and again, and remember that if you are truly craving something, your body is usually telling you that you are missing something in your diet.  So eat real fats, in small portions, and ditch the substitutes!

I have a personal mantra: If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it!  Maybe more people should adopt that and we wouldn’t be faked out by new products….if you want to lose weight, don’t eat and excess of fatty foods, do eat fakey foods!

Yours in Good Health
B

So many people live their lives daily with some sort of pain.  Some people have chronic pain from a past injury, either from work, car accidents, or chronic medical conditions (arthritis, tendonitis, etc) and others have acute pain from being post-operative (having surgery), a new injury, or because they just slammed their finger in a door! No matter what the reason is, people are living with some form of chronic pain, and how they choose to treat it, can have huge effects on their lives.

How do we treat pain?
Pain is all very subjective to the person who has it; I mean, I might think that stubbing my toe hurts very much, but someone might obtain the exact same injury and be yelping out in pain, because it hurts them more- they actually feel more pain.  I have one friend that takes a percocet before she gets a bikini wax, really?!?!? So, how one treats their pain can be very different, but I want people to think how their choices can effect them:
OTC (Over-the-counter) medications: there are NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol) that are taken orally 4-6 times a day.
Prescription Medications: Opioids (i.e. oxycontin, percocet, hydromorphone/dialudid) which act centrally to decrease pain and are also to be taken orally usually 4 times daily.
Alternative therapies: heat and cold, deep breathing exercises, and distraction techniques.

What are the side effects?
The problem with always taking pharmaceuticals is that there are side effects to each medications that we take, no matter what it is.
OTC Medications:
Ibuprofen: can cause nausea/vomiting/stomach pain, bleeding ulcers, may impair blood flow to kidneys, leading to fluid retention.
Acetaminophen: low fever, stomach pain, nausea, dark urine, liver failure leading to jaundice (a yellowing of skin and eyes).
Prescription Medications:
Opioids: Nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, constipation, delirium, and compromise of the immune system.
*As with any medication, you may also experience a form of an allergic reaction which can be in the form of hives, difficulty breathing, or anaphylaxis.

Do Alternative Therapies work?
Many people skip alternative therapies and head right for medications to treat their discomfort, always forgetting about the fact that there are other things we can do to help with our discomfort. In the case of chronic pain, there are options of using heat and/or cold therapy for muscle and joint pain, Physical Therapy for long standing injuries or arthritis, or learning to live with the discomfort and how to deal with your pain.  And in the case of acute pain, heat and/or cold can also be used, distraction techniques, and deep breathing exercises can assist with pain.  A recent study in Pain Management in Nursing looked at non-drug therapies for older adults in rural areas, that usually reach for pharmaceutical treatments for their pain, found that these older adults that don’t usually start with alternative therapies, reported a significant decrease in pain/discomfort with the use of heat/cold and breathing techniques that were taught to them.  These adults had never been shown or educated in regards to the use of heat and cold with pain tolerance and found it to be extremely helpful, many stopped using daily medication therapy.  They reported significant decrease in pain, just by making a few simple changes, that anyone can do!

Now, I realize that there are some pains that putting a heat pack on is not going to fix (i.e. a broken arm) but it can help with chronic back pains, arthritis, etc.  I am not saying that people shouldn’t ever take pain medication, that is ridiculous, but the more we take medications to mask our pain, we become dependent upon them; it can become a habit to take medications, and your pain might not even be tat bad on a certain day, and long term effects of pain meds can be detrimental to your overall physical and mental health. But heat and cold can help and taking deep breaths in to relax your mind, and breathing the pain out with each breath can relax you and help to diminish some pain because your muscles are also relaxing.  Anxiety makes pain worse, and being worried about pain is not a good way to go through life; try to use some of these alternative therapies before reaching for your usual pain medication next time, your body will thank you and you will feel more empowered that YOU have the control, not your pain!

Yours in Good Health
B