Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 9-14-18

Health
HORMONE LEVELS
This is what's behind menopausal hot
flashes. As the estrogen in her body de-
clines, a woman's thermostat resets and
cooling measures start to kick in sooner.
But a man might get hot flashes as his
testosterone level drops in middle age, es-
pecially if he's had a certain kind of
prostate cancer treatment. An overactive
thyroid gland, perhaps from Graves' dis-
ease or after giving birth, or something
else that's causing high levels of thyroid hormone may also do it.
MEDICATIONS
Flushing can be a side effect of many drugs. Some heart and blood pressure medicines, including calcium channel blockers and nitroglycerin, and ED pre- scriptions, like sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Levitra), open up your blood vessels. High doses of steroids can affect your hormone balance. Chemotherapy drugs and painkillers from aspirin to opiates are also culprits.
MIGRAINES AND HEADACHES
These painful and some-
times disabling headaches can
also mess with your autonomic
nervous system. Your brain
isn't processing messages from
the nerves in your head and
neck about touch, pain, tem-
perature, and vibration cor-
rectly. Your "fight or flight" response may kick in, which gets your blood pumping and widens your airways.
EXERCISE
Your body temperature nat-
urally rises when you work
hard. To keep up, your cells
burn more fuel, which makes
extra heat. Your body sends
more blood closer to the skin to
cool it off, and evaporating
sweat helps bring your temperature down. That's why it's important to drink water when you work out. If you ex- ercise regularly, your body gets used to that heat you make, and your core temperature can get a little higher before you react.
FEVER
Your body fires up
when it's fighting germs.
And that rising body tem-
perature will trigger a
part of your brain called
the hypothalamus to start
the cooling process and
bring your temperature
back to normal. Call your doctor if your fever is more than 103 or if you also have a bad headache, breath- ing problems, or can't stop throwing up.
ALLERGIC REACTION
A hot flash is common
with a serious reaction
called anaphylaxis as your
immune system releases
cells to try to fight off some-
thing that's actually harm-
less. You'll usually have
other symptoms like stom-
ach pain, hives, and breathing problems, too. And you need a shot of epinephrine -- fast.
Your autonomic nerv-
ous system controls things
you don't have to think
about, like your breathing,
heart rate, blood pressure,
body temperature, and
sweating. Anything that
throws off how it works can
cause flushing. That includes Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, MS, and spinal injury and nerve damage.
FOOD ADDITIVES
Your five-alarm, extra-spicy meal probably gets its kick from red peppers. They have capsaicin, which confuses your nervous sys- tem to react like you're being burned. Sulfites and sodium ni- trate (in meats like salami and cured ham) may cause flushing. Too much MSG (monosodium glutamate), often used in Asian cooking, may set off a hot flash in people who are prone to them. A hot drink can raise your body temperature and start one, too.
ALCOHOL
Both alcohol and one of the chemicals that results when your body breaks it down will widen the blood vessels that supply your skin. Fermented drinks like beer and wine may have other chemi- cals -- histamine, sulfites, or tyra- mine -- that have a similar effect. If your liver doesn't process alco- hol well, or if you drink while you're taking certain medications, your hot flashes may be worse.
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
PAGE 8-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2018