Headaches, Dizziness, Eye Pain, Blurry Vision: Likely Cause
If you’ve been suffering from headaches, dizziness (vertigo), eye pain and blurred vision, and have seen a dozen specialists who’ve failed to figure out the cause, let alone an effective treatment… (more…)
Can Night Sweats Be Caused by TMJ Disorder?
Before you panic that your night sweats are caused by lymphoma or HIV, there’s a possibility they’re caused by TMJ disorder.
Night sweats can be bad enough to require changing one’s clothes.
“Patients with TMJ disorders frequently have a destructive bite with worn down teeth that forces their lower jaw backwards,” begins Jeffrey Haddad, DDS, of Doolin Haddad Advanced Dentistry in Rochester, MI.
“This backwards positioning can cause narrowing of a person’s airway while they sleep, which leads to obstructive sleep apnea.
“Conversely, a person with an obstructed airway may clench and grind their teeth, which can wear down the teeth and deteriorate the bite, leading to TMD symptoms and pain.”
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of patients we treat for combined obstructive sleep apnea/TMD since our practice began monitoring and treating sleep apnea in our practice.
“In fact, it is now protocol to have every one of our TMJ patients utilize our sleep monitor to determine if a sleep breathing disorder is present.
“Night sweats are a very common symptom of a sleep breathing disorder. Therefore if a patient is experiencing this, it could be a result of a combined TMJ/sleep breathing disorder.”
Night Sweats and Sleep Apnea Link
“Night sweats are associated with several sleep symptoms,” says a paper in the Annals of Family Medicine (Sept. 2006).
“Both night sweats and sleep disturbances are commonly experienced by adult primary care patients,” continues the paper.
“When their patients report night sweats, clinicians should consider asking about sleep quality and sleep-related symptoms.”
A report in the British Medical Journal Open states: “The prevalence of frequent nocturnal sweating was threefold higher in untreated OSA [obstructive sleep apnea] patients than in the general population and decreased to general population levels with successful PAP therapy. Practitioners should consider the possibility of OSA in patients who complain of nocturnal sweating.”
TMJ, Night Sweats, Sleep Problems
“Recent data indicates an estimated 75% of people with TMD also have sleep breathing disorders, and 52% of people with sleep disorders have TMD problems or are prone to them in their lifetime,” says Dr. Haddad.
“These are essentially the same patients with poor jaw posture, resulting in either pain and discomfort and/or a compromised airway.
“We have refined our treatment approaches and the design of our oral therapy appliances as more and more research connect TMJ and sleep disorders.”
Dr. Haddad lectures nationally on cosmetic dentistry, TMJ disorders and practice marketing, and utilizes the latest technology to ensure the utmost in patient comfort and care.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Damir Khabirov
How TMJ Disorder Can Affect Your Eyes and Vision
If you’re having problems with your eyes that doctors can’t figure out, it’s possible that a TMJ disorder could be the cause. (more…)
How Well Can a CT Scan Identify Ovarian Cancer?
Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers because it’s usually not discovered until it has spread.
A CT scan is sometimes taken in women who have symptoms suspicious for ovarian cancer. (more…)
How Does Ovarian Cancer Affect Menstruation?
“Menstrual irregularities are a reported symptom of ovarian cancer,” says Robin Cohen, former oncology RN and currently the CEO and co-founder of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. (more…)
Why Does Ovarian Cancer Cause Frequent Urination?
“Frequent urination and the feeling of having to urinate are two of the symptoms most commonly reported in women with advanced stages of ovarian cancer,” says Robin Cohen, former oncology RN and currently the CEO and co-founder of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
A number of conditions can cause either frequent urination or a frequent feeling that one needs to void, even though nothing actually comes out.
These symptoms should not be ignored. The cause needs to be investigated.
Of course, advanced ovarian cancer is one possible cause. But just why is this?
Cohen adds, “Typically, it is caused by a mass pressing against the bladder, causing the feeling of having to go to the bathroom frequently.”
However, this does not increase the total urinary output or volume come end of day.
The frequency of the bathroom trips is caused by the sensation of a full bladder, rather than a higher than normal volume of urine sitting in the bladder.
A woman with ovarian cancer will find that despite frequent trips to the toilet, her total urinary output isn’t much more than it has always been, relative to the number of all those trips — and in fact, there may be times when nothing comes out despite the urge to urinate.
Again, it’s the tumor pressing against the bladder that causes this sensation.
Urine is produced by the kidneys. Ovarian cancer does not make the kidneys produce more urine. A diuretic or “water pill” does.
The urge to void in the absence of a corresponding volume of urine can also be caused (and far more commonly) by a urinary tract infection.
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- Abdominal bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Appetite suppression or feeling full after eating only small amounts of food
- Back pain
- Constipation
- Expanding belly despite no increase in food intake
- Fatigue or gas without explanation
- Nausea or vomiting
- Pain during sex or bleeding afterwards
- Pelvic heaviness, especially on one side
- Pelvic pain, especially on one side
- Urinary frequency
- Vaginal bleeding
- Weight loss despite not dieting
Robin Cohen
The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Inc., strives to fight for women who are fighting, speak for those who have fallen silent and provide for those working towards the end of ovarian cancer.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Shidlovski
Can Spotting After Sex Be Caused by Ovarian Cancer?
A woman is not supposed to bleed or spot after having sex, and many women wonder if this could be a sign of ovarian cancer.
The more common symptoms of ovarian cancer include abdominal bloating or fullness, loss of appetite, pelvic pain or heaviness, and a frequent urge to urinate.
Two other symptoms that can be caused by ovarian cancer are back pain and leg pain.
Currently there is no reliable screening tool for this disease. Every year in the U.S. about 22,.200 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which has a five year survival rate of 47.4 percent, says the National Cancer Institute.
But what about bleeding or just a little spotting after engaging in sexual relations?
“Pain with intercourse is a reported symptom of ovarian cancer,” says Robin Cohen, former oncology RN and currently the CEO and co-founder of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
Cohen continues, “However, spotting after sex is not. It is also a symptom that is found frequently in the general population of women without cancer.”
Cause of spotting after having sex?
When a woman’s estrogen levels begin dropping due to the premenopausal phase in her life, she may start developing dryness in the vaginal tissue.
The dryness means that the natural lubrication that occurs during sex is not present in sufficient quantity.
Penetration, then, can cause tiny tears in the dry and unlubricated vaginal tissue, leading to spotting.
In postmenopause, a woman commonly experiences vaginal atrophy (shrinkage) due to the very low levels of estrogen.
Vaginal atrophy is characterized by dryness, lack of cervical mucus (the lubricant), sometimes pain during intercourse, and occasional spotting due to the tiny tears in the dry vaginal tissue.
Certainly, if you’ve been spotting during or after sex, you’ll want to get an examination by a gynecologist, but at the same time, there is no reason to panic about ovarian cancer.
Robin Cohen
The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Inc., strives to fight for women who are fighting, speak for those who have fallen silent and provide for those working towards the end of ovarian cancer.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
Can an Ultrasound Detect Stage 1 Ovarian Cancer?
“An ultrasound can occasionally identify a mass as ovarian cancer but should not be used to rule out ovarian cancer if a mass is not detected,” explains Robin Cohen, former oncology RN and currently the CEO and co-founder of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. (more…)
Food Poisoning without Vomiting, Nausea or Diarrhea?
Does food poisoning always cause nausea, vomiting or diarrhea or can all of these symptoms be absent in a case of food poisoning? (more…)
Do All Head Injuries Show on an MRI or Can They Be Missed?
How reliable is an MRI at showing a head injury?
Is it possible for a head injury to get missed on an MRI?
Have you been in the emergency room recently to get checked out for trauma to your head?
“Some head injuries may show on MRI’s but it depends on the types of injuries,” says Yvette McQueen, MD, emergency medicine physician and CEO of MedQueen LLC, through which she offers travel medicine, urgent care and nutritional consultations via telemedicine to individuals, executives and travel groups.
“When someone presents to the emergency department (ED), an MRI is not the first test done,” says Dr. McQueen.
“Typically, we will order a CT scan of the head to determine the most immediate life threatening causes in a head injury.”
The quick identification of a serious head injury outweighs the radiation exposure from the scanner.
“A CT scan will reveal the bony structures and a break in the skull bones (skull fracture). It will also show us if there is an immediate bleed underneath the skull or within the brain.
“The bleeding is caused when blood vessels are broken during the injury. The density (brightness) of the blood and shape of the blood will tell us what type and time of the injury also.
“Immediate and fast bleeding is an epidural bleed or hematoma. The bleeding is lens shaped and presses against the brain, causes swelling of the brain.”
This is an acute brain injury; the resulting symptoms are swift and major.
“The person will have become unconscious, ‘knocked out’ or dazed, have a period of return awareness; but soon passes out again as the bleeding continues and pushes on the brain.”
Not all brain bleeds, though, occur immediately after the injury. Sometimes there is a delay.
“The slow bleed, subdural hematoma, conforms to the shape of the brain,” continues Dr. McQueen.
“Both of them will cause nausea, vomiting, confusion, sleepiness, changes in pupils, headache, dizziness, sometimes seizures. The CT scan is the most immediate way to determine a bleed within the skull or brain.”
The MRI and Head Injury
“MRI is typically used to evaluate the brain tissue for injury, bruising, contusion or disruption of the nerve cells,” says Dr. McQueen.
“If someone has prolonged symptoms of a contusion or concussion (bruising) of the brain, then an MRI is ordered and generally not from the ED.
“The concussion will cause nausea, vomiting, mild confusion, unable to get the thought processes together quickly, recent memory deficits.
“An MRI will determine if the nerve cells have been disrupted and not communicating with each other to process the actions.
“Like any bruise on your body, it takes time to heal and that’s why concussions may take 1-3 weeks to recover.
“They determine the severity of the concussion as mild, moderate or severe by a physical evaluation and actions we have the patient perform.
“The immediate danger is disability or worsening of the concussion due to reinjury of the same; the reasoning why players with concussion should not have contact sport for 1-3 weeks after a head injury.”
Dr. McQueen is an emergency physician and “The Travel Doctor.” She is a speaker, author and consultant, provides wilderness emergency care training, and international teaching for the American Heart Association.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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