Health & Wellness - December 2015 Archives

MEDIA ADVISORY: Under the federal spending bill, released early Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive $200 million for President Obama’s Precision Medicine initiative ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’ve had persistent headaches for about six months. Medication sometimes helps, but not always, and the pain just keeps coming back. My doctor checked to see if another medical problem could be causing the headaches, but she didn’t find anything. She now recommends I see a pain management specialist. What can they offer other than more medication? I’m missing a lot of work, and I’m afraid I’ll never get this under control. ANSWER: Chronic pain such as yours can be debilitating and, as you’ve seen, pain relievers aren’t always the solution. A specialist in pain management can assess your situation, give you alternative treatment options, and help you find ways to cope with the chronic headaches, so you can get back to living your life the way you want. As in your situation, when no underlying condition is found that’s causing chronic headaches, then treatment focuses on lowering the frequency and severity of the headaches, as well as reducing the disruption they cause in your daily life. One of the best ways to identify the type of headache you have, along with examining specific headache therapies, may be to consider seeing a headache specialist such as a neurologist.

ESTIMADA MAYO CLINIC: Soy una mujer de 57 años y como siempre tengo calor, ni siquiera uso abrigo en el invierno, sino apenas un suéter grueso. Sudo tanto que a veces me chorrea por la nariz, y cuando hago cualquier tipo de actividad física —aunque sea dar un paseo corto— empiezo a sudar. Es incómodo, pero también es vergonzoso y por eso evito las situaciones sociales. ¿Hay algo que pueda hacer al respecto? No veo que otras mujeres tengan el mismo problema. RESPUESTA: El sudor excesivo como el que usted describe se conoce con el nombre de hiperhidrosis, pero tranquilícese porque existe tratamiento. A fin de decidir la mejor alternativa de tratamiento para usted, es necesario que el médico le realice una evaluación minuciosa para revisar los síntomas y cualquier enfermedad subyacente que pueda contribuir al problema. El sudor es el medio que tiene el cuerpo para enfriarse. Cuando la temperatura corporal sube, el sistema nervioso automáticamente pone a funcionar a las glándulas sudoríparas. El sudor también se presenta de forma normal cuando uno está nervioso o estresado. Otros factores que pueden repercutir sobre cuándo y cómo se suda son la edad, el sexo, la postura y la alimentación, así como el clima del lugar donde uno se encuentra. De igual manera, el ritmo circadiano del cuerpo, o sea el reloj interno que regula durante las 24 horas los patrones de sueño y vigilia, también puede afectar el sudor.

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES Winter fitness: Safety tips for exercising outdoors Chilly temperatures don't have to put your fitness routine on hold. Stay safe and warm with these cold-weather exercise tips. Polycythemia vera Getting older increases the risk of having this blood disorder. The good news? Proper treatment may ease symptoms. Find out more. EXPERT ANSWERS Acupuncture for back pain? Find out what the research says about easing chronic low back pain with acupuncture. Flu symptoms: Should I see my doctor? If you're at high risk of flu complications and have signs of the illness, see your doctor. PLUS ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ... Essential thrombocythemia Chronic hives: When should I see my doctor? Myelofibrosis Protect your joints as you clean when you have rheumatoid arthritis Receive a free e-subscription to Housecall and other health newsletters.

It's estimated that about 30 percent of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. An important part of managing hypertension is blood pressure monitoring. On the next ...

Earlier this month, the CDC reported that between 2008 and 2014, the number of new cases of diabetes in the U.S. declined by 20 percent. ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am a 49-year-old man with a strong family history of coronary artery disease. Although I used to compete in triathlons, I just don’t have that kind of stamina anymore, and I become short of breath pretty easily. Should this be cause for concern? I also don’t have much time to exercise, so I run five or six miles just once or twice per week. Would another type of exercise be better for someone in my situation? ANSWER: With a family history like yours, along with what sounds like a loss of exercise capacity, it would be a good idea to see a cardiologist and have your situation evaluated. Testing may be able to show if you have any heart issues that need to be addressed. A cardiologist can also assess your exercise routines and other lifestyle issues that could have an impact on your heart health. Coronary artery disease happens when the major blood vessels that lead to your heart — your coronary arteries — become damaged or diseased, often due to a buildup of cholesterol-containing deposits, known as plaque, or inflammation.

Watch today's Mayo Clinic Minute It's the time of year when we often find ourselves at holiday parties where plenty of alcohol and high-fat ...

Earlier this month, the CDC reported that between 2008 and 2014, the number of new cases of diabetes in the U.S. declined by 20 ...

Watch today's Mayo Clinic Minute Influenza can cause severe illness and life-threatening complications in many people, especially those with other health conditions ...

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its updated list of recommended health care screenings for children, that include checking for depression, high cholesterol and HIV. Mayo Clinic Children's Center pediatrician Dr. Angela Mattke says the revised recommendations are a "firm affirmative to pediatricians that doing these screenings or testing will be beneficial to the child’s health." What are well-child visits? Well-child visits are another name for routine checkups or physicals. "Much of the AAP Preventive Health Care Screening and Assessment Schedule for Children's Checkups includes screening as opposed to skipping straight to testing. Screening usually involves asking questions pertaining to the subject or using a validated screening tool such as the CRAFFT (Car, Relax, Forget, Friends, Trouble) for drug and alcohol use or PHQ-9 Modified (depression screening tool) to make sure questions are asked in such a way that have been shown to pick up children and teens at risk for whatever they are screening for," says Dr. Mattke. She stresses that screening children is necessary because some children are at risk for these health conditions, the rate of the conditions is increasing in younger age groups, and without screening, they may go undiagnosed and suffer serious health consequences.

Women with a history of false-positive mammograms have a modest increase of breast cancer later in life, according to a recent study. The study author says over the course of 10 screening mammograms, the chance of at least one false-positive result is 61 percent for women screened annually and 42 percent for women screened every two years. But what does this mean? Mayo Clinic radiologist Dr. Amy Conners says false-positive mammograms are common and an expected part of the screening process. She offers this insight on the study. False-positive mammograms "When radiologists interpret a mammogram, they are trying to find cancer early, so they must look for subtle changes. If we identify an area of concern, we then will perform additional targeted mammogram pictures and sometimes, ultrasound, and less often, a needle biopsy. A false-positive means that the radiologist saw an area of concern on a screening mammogram which turned out not to be cancer on the extra pictures or biopsy. The radiologist is looking for small changes that could be cancer. Sometimes normal tissue can have the same appearance as a subtle cancer, so those extra pictures help us sort it out. Because mammography has been offered across the country for several decades, people have studied how often false-positives happen in the course of finding small cancers. We know that  5-12 percent of those screened will have a positive result: About 0.5 percent have cancer (which is a true-positive), while the rest fall into the false-positive category." Modest increase of cancer