Can a Melanoma Be Smaller than Six Millimeters?
Though six millimeters is the measurement that often comes up in the “signs to look for” lists for melanoma, it can be the size of a pinpoint.
The picture above shows a four millimeter tumor. (more…)
Can Getting Lightheaded when Standing Harm Your Brain?
Ever rise from a chair after sitting for a while and feel lightheaded or that the room is blacking out? Could this eventually harm your brain?
You then must pause in your tracks with your head down until the feeling passes.
The experience is described several different ways: feeling faint, feeling like one is about to pass out, feeling dizzy or seeing the room go dark.
“This is diagnosed by a drop in systolic blood pressure of over 20 mmHg when standing up from a sitting or lying position,” says Dr. David Beatty, MD, a retired general practitioner with 30+ years of experience and an instructor of general medicine for 20+ years.
“Most people will begin to feel lightheaded if the systolic pressure is below 80 mmHg.
“On standing, blood drains to the feet, and there’s a short-term lack of blood to the brain.”
And this begs the question: Can repeated episodes of standing up and getting faint eventually harm one’s brain — as in — causing a cognitive problem?
Oxygen and the Brain
A study found a link between this common phenomenon in middle age and the development of dementia 20 years later.
A change in position that causes blood pressure to drop is called orthostatic hypotension.
The research comes from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• The study began in 1987 involving 11,503 people between 45 and 64.
• The participants did not have a history of heart disease or stroke.
• They lied down for 20 minutes, then upon standing their blood pressure was recorded.
• 703 of the subjects had orthostatic hypotension.
• The subjects were followed for 20+ years.
• Those who had shown orthostatic hypotension at the initial visit were 40 percent more likely to develop dementia than were subjects who had not.
However, the researchers were not able to establish cause and effect; only an association.
Two explanations exist for the association.
One, the condition indicates the presence of another disease process that ultimately leads to dementia.
Two, the orthostatic hypotension itself leads to dementia – because the brief episodes of deprived blood flow to the brain have a cumulative effect.
There may be a third — but yet unknown — explanation for the association.
Study Limitations
• It’s not known if the subjects went on to have continued bouts with orthostatic hypotension in the ensuing years.
• Other factors were not adjusted for such as exercise habits and well-known risk factors for cognitive decline.
How to Prevent Orthostatic Hypotension
“Get up slowly,” says Dr. Beatty. “This is probably all most people need to do — especially when getting out of bed in the morning.
“Get the legs moving while still lying down.
“Slowly move to a sitting position and hold that for a while, still moving the feet and bending the knees. Gradually stand.
“Keep well-hydrated.
“Occasionally increasing the dietary salt might be needed, but discuss this with your doctor first.
“Compression stockings may reduce blood pooling in the legs, and this might be particularly helpful with bad varicose veins.
“Compression stockings would not be a good idea in someone with peripheral vascular disease.
“If you have any cause of blood loss, such as heavy periods, a blood test to exclude anemia might be worthwhile.
“If the lightheaded feeling persists it’s best to sit, or preferably lie down.
“Raise the legs and move the muscles of the legs to pump blood back to the core of the body.”
Another trick is to clench the fists for 30 seconds before you stand up and keep them clenched while your blood pressure is adjusting to the change in position.
Are you already on a medication?
“If you are on tablets that lower blood pressure discuss the postural hypotension with your doctor,” says Dr. Beatty.
“People usually take blood pressure tablets in the morning.
“If you take two or more tablets for this they may be having an additive and maximal effect late morning, causing the blood pressure to drop too much at that time. Sometimes staggering the doses helps this.
“The ACE inhibitors can have a ‘first dose effect’ when the BP is drastically lowered after the first exposure to the drug.
“The initial dose of these drugs is usually best taken when lying down at night.
“In extreme cases a tablet, such as fludrocortisone, is used to keep the BP from dropping.”
Dr. Beatty has worked in primary medicine, surgery, accident and emergency, OBGYN, pediatrics and chronic disease management. He is the Doctor of Medicine for Strong Home Gym.
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: Brain Freepik.com/kjpargeter
Source: jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2017/rapid-blood-pressure-drops-in-middle-age-linked-to-dementia-in-old-age.html
Ingenious Way to Reduce LASIK Starbursts when Night Driving
You will kick yourself for not having thought of this brilliant solution to reducing LASIK starbursts when you drive at night.
I had a Eureka! moment when I was staring out my kitchen window at night, eyes affixed to the dandelion-fuzz-like starbursts of streetlights in the distance.
Thirteen months prior I’d had LASIK. I’d had starbursts while night driving since then, though they’ve gotten better (I don’t know at what point though).
I’ve been driving at night all this time, having habituated to what I consider to be a mild degree of starbursting — which is much more pronounced in the distance, and oddly, pretty much clears up as vehicles become closer.
After six months post-LASIK I had resigned to the fact that this side effect was permanent.
• Average diopter for both eyes: -8
• Astigmatism
• 8.5 mm pupils at max dilation
Inspiration for Ingenious Solution to Reducing Nighttime Driving Starbursts
One evening I was diving along a lengthy and winding mountain road for which there was no barrier or median separating oncoming traffic; it was simply in the next lane.
It was intimidating due to the starbursts which were much worse at that time, as that had been four months out from the procedure.
I was driving my elderly parents and brother home from a college volleyball match featuring his daughter.
He wanted me to drive so that he could enjoy some pre-trip drinks.
I wanted to drive, too, because I’m protective of my elderly parents.
Nobody other than the LASIK surgeon and his optometrist know that I see starbursts at night. My mother would have a fit if she knew and would never sleep the same again.
My brother would feel safer driving after five drinks than by a sober person with post-LASIK starbursts.
This trip will be repeated in a few months when my niece comes out here for a volleyball match against the same college.
I was thinking about having to drive again under those circumstances.
So there I was, staring out the kitchen window at the dandelion lights at night (distant street lights are the worst), while inside my home was dark.
I then flipped on the dimmer switch for some low lighting and instantly saw the starbursts shrink.
I increased the lighting, and the starbursts shrunk more.
I turned the dimmer all the way up and the distant street lights now actually looked like normal lights.
Eureka!
After spending inordinate amounts of time searching for solutions online – Alphagan drops, anti-glare glasses, pinhole glasses, “over minus” glasses, macrolenses (are you kidding me?!) and enhancement surgery – it dawned on me:
Mount a flashlight in my car and point it towards my face!
Now I don’t mean directly – but from below chest level and somewhat to the side, so that it’s not a direct shine into the face.
This solves the problem of nighttime starbursts when driving because the illumination of my face forces continuous constriction of my pupils.
Again, do not have the flashlight shining directly into your eyes. It must be in your peripheral vision, aiming at your face. It will not “blind” you if it’s set up just right.
I need to point out that this technique may not diminish starbursts in severely affected people enough to make night driving possible again.
But for those with a milder degree of starbursting, I’m betting you’ll be overjoyed.
My initial experiment involved just holding the flashlight at varying points about the car while I drove, and immediately it worked.
The challenge was then to mount it somehow in the perfect spot. So next day I went to Home Depot and purchased industrial strength sticky pads.
It took some time before I was able to figure out just where to mount the flashlight, and by golly, this son-of-a-gun hack is ingenious!
Make sure it’s a bright flashlight. The one I purchased did not say how many lumens it is, but it’s pretty bright.
Experiment with various positions. I am confident that, at least for those who can still drive despite starbursts, this solution will work wonders.
UPDATE: Nighttime starbursts have diminished; I no longer use a flashlight and feel quite confident driving at night no matter how many oncoming headlights there are.
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.com/ ikatod
What Percentage of Acoustic Neuromas Are Malignant?
Yes, there are cases in which an acoustic neuroma, a normally benign brain tumor, starts out as malignant. (more…)
Time Span Between Tinnitus of Acoustic Neuroma & Hearing Loss
Tinnitus and hearing loss that are caused by an acoustic neuroma don’t always come on at the same time, even though this symptom duo is rather common among those with an acoustic neuroma. (more…)
Small Acoustic Neuroma: Watchful Waiting vs. Transcanal Removal
Why suffer the ongoing anxiety of watchful waiting for a small acoustic neuroma when you can just have it be done and over with via transcanal removal?
Watchful waiting may sound like a brilliantly conservative approach that’s risk-free. (more…)
How Soon After Tinnitus Is Hearing Loss from Acoustic Neuroma?
Tinnitus is a common symptom of an acoustic neuroma. So is hearing loss.
And in fact, when both tinnitus and hearing loss occur in only one ear, this is highly suspicious for an acoustic neuroma. (more…)
Do All Acoustic Neuromas Cause Hearing Loss?
An acoustic neuroma is a benign brain tumor that frequently leads to hearing loss before it’s diagnosed.
In some cases of acoustic neuroma — which is a benign brain tumor — the first symptom to appear is that of tinnitus – a subjective experience of hearing a hissing, buzzing or high-frequency steady tone in an ear. (more…)
Causes of Unilateral Tinnitus Other than Acoustic Neuroma
Acoustic neuroma is diagnosed at the rate of one out of about every thousand cases of unilateral (one-sided) tinnitus.
But the causes of the remaining 999 cases are not as varied as you may believe. (more…)
Can the Tinnitus of Acoustic Neuroma Be Subtle?
