Here’s an interesting set of findings: Researchers have discovered that long-term allergy exposure in mice causes measurable changes in the brain. The observed effect was twofold: an increase in new neuron production in the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory; and a decrease in brain activity in the microglia, which regulates immune response: “It was … Continue reading The Long-Term Effects of Seasonal Allergies
View More >>Snoring has nearly as many causes as there are articles on the subject. Snoring has been blamed on everything from slack tongue to inflamed sinuses, deviated septum, enlarged turbinates, poor posture, and body weight. In fact, every one of these factors may play a role in snoring, which at its simplest is caused by an … Continue reading A Primer on How to Stop Snoring – Including Side-Sleeping
View More >>Sleep apnea can be caused by a number of issues, from anatomical blockages to genetics, disease, trauma, even ethnicity. This article discusses some of the most common culprits behind obstructed sleeping, and includes this valuable point about the role of a deviated septum: A condition characterized by repeated stoppages of breathing during sleep because the … Continue reading The Different Causes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
View More >>Viral is a word whose meaning far predates its current Internet usage. A health issue is viral when it’s caused by a virus, which means that the inactive population in your body is a sort of self-replicating molecular machine, not a bacterium. Why does this matter? Viral symptoms cannot respond to antibiotics, as there is … Continue reading Sinusitis is Usually Viral
View More >>The Washington Post has published another analysis of the study I mentioned earlier this week, but the new article offers an important caveat which should be noted before readers begin using the neti pot dozens of times a day: Data on sinusitis symptoms came from the participants’ responses during periodic assessments. Whether more frequent use … Continue reading Even More Support for the Neti Pot
View More >>The world is generally divided up into two parts: those who use nasal irrigation faithfully, and those who have never heard of it. Although the second group is larger, the first group is stridently vocal in its support of this home remedy. What is nasal irrigation? The term refers to any practice, such as using … Continue reading A Study That Supports Nasal Irrigation
View More >>I read with some interest this fascinating Guardian article on “environmental illness,” a sort of pan-allergic reaction to many of the chemicals and signals of modern life. The disorder has has alternately been described as a physical curse and a mental illness. See for yourself. Given the broad range of “triggers” experienced by these people, … Continue reading When Allergies Extend Beyond Science
View More >>Sinus balloon surgery, also known as balloon sinuplasty, changes the way you breathe. The procedure involves threading a very small balloon up into your sinuses by way of the nostril, positioning it where the mucus has become blocked from draining, and then inflating the balloon. The balloon pushes out on the walls of the obstruction … Continue reading The Sinus Balloon Speedy Recovery
View More >>Headaches are temperamental and hard to define. The criteria that define them tend to blur and mix, leaving many patients unsure which is cluster, which is sinus, and which is migraine. (Or is it just brain freeze?) Headaches can arise from many sources, but each of them has something to tell you. This article cleverly … Continue reading Diagnose Your Headache
View More >>I don’t talk about Slurpees enough in this space, and that’s a crying shame. But this week I am grateful to get an opportunity to write about frozen drinks and their discontents, including the sudden, stabbing headache known as “brain freeze.” Very cold things cause us pain; this much is painfully self-apparent. The ice cube … Continue reading Brain Freeze and the Mysteries of Referred Pain
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