Tag: symptoms

Is ‘Man Flu’ a real thing?

Today’s post is about ‘Man Flu’.

One of my work colleagues was making comments about catching man flu and how bad it was, so I thought I would investigate and share.

So, about Man Flu

We have all heard of the notorious “Man Flu”. It can affect men from all walks of life and render them miserable for days. They claim that they are ‘dying’ and ‘it’s the worst flu ever’. Many women, myself included, tend to consider “Man Flu” an exaggeration of the common cold.

Are women just more resilient and able to cope with this common ailment or is there really such a thing as “Man Flu”?

What do the scientists say?

A research paper published in December 2017 explored whether men exaggerated the severity of symptoms or their immune system is actually inferior.

The researchers found that there is some evidence clearly supporting men suffering more symptoms and dying from viral respiratory illness than women. They found that men do have a less robust immune system.

Since flu symptoms are in large part due to the body’s immune reaction, a lessened immune response in women may translate to milder symptoms.

Other studies have found that an Influenza vaccination tends to cause more reactions and better antibody response in women. Testosterone may play a role, as men with the highest levels tended to have a lower antibody response. A better antibody response may lessen the severity of flu. Therefore it’s possible that vaccinated men get more severe symptoms than women because they don’t respond to vaccination as well.

Another possibility is that men actually experience respiratory viral illnesses differently than women. This is supported by scientific data for other conditions. Pain due to coronary artery disease (as with a heart attack or angina) is a good example. Men tend to have “classic” crushing chest pain, while women are more likely to have “atypical” symptoms such as nausea or shortness of breath.

 There’s more…

In several studies using mice, the adult male mice displayed more symptoms of sickness than females when they were exposed to bacteria that cause an illness with symptoms similar to the flu. The males also had more fluctuations in body temperature, fever and signs of inflammation, and took longer to recover.

A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge conducted a study in 2010. They put forward a theory that men have evolved to have weaker immune systems and lower immunity because of their tendency for risk-taking behaviours. Still other research suggests that because women more easily pass pathogens onto their children, they’ve built up more natural defences against them.

The scientific evidence for this is far from conclusive, but some research has shown that male and female immune cells do react differently to invading viruses.

 Whichever theory rings true for you, it seems that there is some scientific basis to “Man Flu” after all.

Will we ever hear the end of it now?!

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

Sources – Harvard Medical Publishing – BMJ Resource Centre 

A bit about Histamines

Todays post is about histamine or histamines.

You’ve most likely heard of antihistamines. They’re medicines that tame the symptoms of an allergic reaction. But what are histamines?

Histamine is a biologically active substance found in a variety of living organisms. It is found throughout the animal kingdom and is present in many plants, bacteria and in insect venom.

Histamines are actually chemicals made by the body’s immune system. They serve as neurotransmitters, carrying chemical messages between nerve cells. Therefore they are also part of the body’s defence system. They assist the body to eliminate something that’s irritating it, such as an allergy trigger, or “allergen.”

Histamines start the process that hustles those allergens out of your body or off your skin. Once your immune system identifies the allergens as a threat, it responds. Such as sending histamines which cause you to sneeze, tear up, or itch.

How does this happen?

First, it sends a chemical signal to “mast cells” located in the skin, lungs, nose, mouth, gut, and blood. The message is, “Release histamines,” which are stored in the mast cells.

Once they leave the mast cells, histamines boost blood flow in the area of the body affected by the allergen. This causes inflammation, which allows white blood cells and blood plasma proteins, to leak from the bloodstream to the site of injury or infection. Once there they begin to fight the infection.

In an allergic reaction, the immune system gets caught in a viscous cycle. Immune system proteins called antibodies, which are bound to mast cells, bind to the antigens to remove them. In the process, the mast cells are stimulated to release more histamine. The result is histamine in excessive amounts creating the visible symptoms of a localised allergic reaction. These include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, watery or itchy eyes and hives.

Contact reactions

Allergic contact dermatitis, or hives, is a common skin condition that causes an itchy and weeping rash. The rash is usually localised to the area in contact with the allergen. It lasts as long as contact continues and typically one to two weeks afterwards. Even if the contact was very short, a rash can actually develop two or more days after contact.

Nickel metal is the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis. Other causes include plants, chemicals, creams and ointments.

Foods and Histamines

If you have a food allergy, histamines are in on that response process, too. When you accidentally eat or drink something you shouldn’t, they’ll work in your gut to trigger your allergic reaction.

The most common foods known to cause a reaction are – nuts, shellfish, food additives, eggs, strawberries, and wheat products

Some foods are also naturally high in histamines. These include aged and fermented foods and alcohol (especially red wine). 

(Sources –https://www.webmd.com,https://www.allergy.org.au,  https://www.britannica.com)

On a personal note

I recently suffered from a contact allergic reaction on my arm. I am still not exactly sure of the cause, though possibly plant or insect. The result was an incredibly itchy patch of hives, which persisted for 10 days. Alternating between liberal applications of Rosemary oil and Calamine lotion helped immensely.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosperAs a 

A condition called ‘Dry Eyes’

[Today’s post is about an eye condition called Dry Eyes.

Recently I was talking to a work colleague about this condition. It is a condition that I have also experienced.

For me it presented as really watery eyes in the morning, so much so that it looked like I was crying. When I spoke to the Optometrist I thought it really weird that the condition was called “Dry Eyes” because they were far from dry.

At the time I did a little research to learn more about the condition. It wasn’t until recently that I thought that others would also be interested in what I learned.

So, as most of us are aware, the tears provide moisture and lubrication to help you see and to keep the eyes comfortable.

What’s in a tear?

Tears are a mix of water, oils, mucus and 1500 different special proteins and antibodies that protect the eyes and keep infection at bay. All these ingredients come from special glands around the eye.

So, what is the condition ‘Dry Eyes’?

The condition ‘Dry eyes’ occurs when your tears aren’t able to provide adequate lubrication for your eyes. Tears can be inadequate for many reasons.

What Causes it?

Sometimes, there’s a lack of balance in your tear-flow system. Items such as your air conditioner, heater, or other things around you could dry out your tear film. Other common causes include:

  • Certain medical conditions that affect your ability to make tears, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disorders and vitamin A deficiency
  • Side effects of certain medications including antihistamines and decongestants.
  • The natural ageing process, especially menopause
  • Laser eye surgery, though symptoms of dry eyes related to this procedure are usually temporary
  • Tear gland damage from inflammation
  • Or increased tear evaporation, which may be caused by; Wind, smoke or dry air, Blinking less often, for example, while reading, driving or watching a screen, or an imbalance in tear composition
There are several different symptoms.

For some it creates a scratchy sensation or the feeling that something is in the eye.

Sometimes, dry eyes create too many tears. This confusing condition is called reflex tearing. It happens because the lack of moisture irritates your eye. It sends a distress signal through your nervous system for more lubrication. Your body sends a flood of tears to try to make up for the dryness.

Other symptoms include stinging or burning, discharge, pain, and redness in the eye. People with dry eye may also feel as if their eyelids are heavy and may experience blurred vision.   

 How Are Dry Eyes Treated?

There are a number of options. Mild dry eye symptoms may be treated with over-the-counter medications such as artificial tears, gels, and ointments. Many types of drops are available over the counter. No one product works for everyone, so you might have to try a few to figure out the one that’s right for you.

There are also environmental and lifestyle changes you can make. Changes like reducing screen time and taking periodic eye breaks may help. Closing the eyes for a few minutes, or blinking repeatedly for a few seconds, may help to replenish tears and spread them more evenly across the eyes.

(Sources  – www.nei.nih.gov, www.webmd.com, www.mayoclinic.org)

I hope that you also found this information helpful. If you find you have ‘dry eye’ symptoms, it’s best to ask your eye care professional what to do. My own condition improved after just a couple of weeks using an over-the-counter eye drops.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper