Natural stress remedies for moms

Life can be pretty stressful at times, especially if you’re juggling raising small kids with all kinds of other responsibilities. Are you looking for mom-friendly natural stress remedies? Try one of these.

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A jog in the sun

Low levels of vitamin D are linked to higher chances of being depressed, and most people in developed northern hemisphere countries are at least a little deficient. The best source is sunlight. Exercise, too, has been proven to increase happiness levels. Why not combine the two and take a jog in the sun? Brisk walks can easily be combined with small kids too, in a stroller or baby carrier.

Positive thinking

That sounds all new age-ish, doesn’t it? Well, all moms know it’s not hard to focus on the negative stuff when you have a whining toddler who doesn’t want to cooperate within anything you planned. This age group is known for driving parents insane, but you contribute to it yourself when you wind yourself up over it. Try seeing the positive instead — in the case of a toddler it may be growing independence and seeing that adventurous spirit develop — and you will certainly feel better.

Singing loudly in the shower

Having a nice warm shower while singing very loudly always makes me appreciate life. When you are raising a family, the shower may actually be the only place you get some privacy, so don’t feel embarrassed to stay in there for ages. Some moms love listening to pod casts in the bath tubs, and others like zen music, candles and some fancy bath salts.

Pick a fight

Join a book club. Or a political party. Or, if you have trouble getting out the house, an online discussion group  . Diapers, first grade maths, and self replenishing dirty dishes seem to break your brain cells down and perhaps to make you a little depressed, stressed, or both. Talking some competent adults can help you feel better. Debates can help you let go of that pent up anger. - www.trying-to-conceive.com

Think you could be HIV+?

HIV, which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is the virus that causes AIDS. Everyone knows about this scary disease, and most know that it gets progressively worse and can eventually be fatal. What should you do if you think you could possibly have HIV? What are the earliest symptoms?

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Symptoms

HIV doesn’t immediately cause AIDS, even in people who don’t know they are positive, and who therefore don’t seek treatment. It’s entirely possible to be HIV positive for several years without having any symptoms at all. Once symptoms do show up, they are very likely to be similar to other common diseases like the flu, common cold, or even vague abdominal symptoms that could also easily be caused by STDs like chlamydia. Fever, extreme tiredness, swollen lymph nodes and a headache are common first symptoms of HIV.

Later symptoms of HIV could include more serious warning signs like pneumonia, recurring fever, sores on the body, and extreme and constant fatigue. But people with an advanced HIV infection could also have a dry cough, diarrhea, and even depression and other psychological symptoms. But HIV does not always follow the same pattern, and once a patient develops AIDS, there will be opportunistic infections that reflect the weak immune system. Symptoms aren’t enough to diagnose HIV, though, and all of the symptoms we mentioned could also occur in people with other illnesses, or who are otherwise healthy.

Testing and diagnosis

HIV testing is recommended for everyone who could be at risk, which is almost anyone who has unprotected sex (you never do know if your partner is faithful!), and especially for people who regularly change sexual partners. There will soon be HIV home tests available, but if you head to a doctor, you may expect something like this:

1. The Elisa test detects antibodies to the HIV virus in the patient’s blood stream. If there aren’t any, the patient does not have a HIV infection. If there are some, there are further stages of testing.
2. The Western Blot testlooks for proteins associated with HIV.
3. The PCR  test examines the DNA and genetics of someone with positive Elisa and Western Blot tests, again to confirm the presence of changes that indicate HIV.

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Laryngitis symptoms and treatment

Laryngitis is a nasty inflammation of the larynx — the voice box — which results in a sore throat and often a hoarse voice or the total loss of your voice for a while. The best treatment for laryngitis depends on its cause, and there are a few possibilities when it comes to that. What are the symptoms, and what can you do to feel better?

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What is laryngitis?

The larynx is a small tube located at the bottom of the windpipe. It serves several purposes. Besides allowing us to speak, the larynx also plays a role in getting oxygen into the windpipe and closing the windpipe when you eat or drink. When the larynx is inflamed because of laryngitis, it can’t vibrate properly, which is why your voice will become damaged, or will disappear entirely. Depending how bad the inflammation is, you may also have pain when you swallow and even some trouble breathing.

Laryngitis can be acute, in which case it is usually over within two weeks, or chronic. It can be caused by a virus — and often strikes in combination with a cold or the flu — or by other factors such as smoking, singing or yelling. Acid reflux and allergies are other possible causes of laryngitis.

When to see a doctor

Most people with a sore throat don’t have symptoms for long enough to warrant seeing a doctor. If you are in severe pain, have trouble swallowing, or have had laryngitis for more than two weeks, seeing a doctor is advisable. Young children with symptoms of laryngitis should also see a doctor, particularly if they are in real pain and are drooling.

The diagnostic process will include an examination of your throat, as well as feeling the neck for any lumps and swelling, and questions about the symptoms you have been having and for how long. You’ll usually be sent away with some treatment advice and perhaps a prescription (we’ll get to that in the next section), but people who have been having laryngitis for longer than two weeks and who don’t react to treatment may be sent on to a specialist. Chronic laryngitis can be caused by more serious problems, including nerve damage.

Treating laryngitis

Laryngitis is most commonly caused by a cold or the flu. If you have a fever along with a sore, swollen throat, you may feel rather bad. There isn’t much you can do to get rid of a flu or even a cold, but laryngitis does go away with them without any special treatment most of the time. There are still many things you can do to feel more comfortable and to help the inflammation clear up. The steps you can take include:

• Gargling with a saline solution (a teaspoon or so of salt in a luke-warm glass of water).
• Drinking lemon tea with honey.
• Steaming over hot water, with herbs if you want to.
• Avoid smoking and a smokey environment.
• Rest as much as possible if you have the flu, and rest your voice.
• Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.
• Laryngitis caused by the flu or a cold is contagious. Wash your hands frequently, and don’t share a glass of water with your kids. You should also (obviously) cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing and encourage infected kids to do the same.
• Ibuprofen is the best pain killer for laryngitis — if you are allowed to take it and it works for your body. Ibuprofen reduces a fever and fights pain, but it also brings down the inflammation in your throat and will help you to swallow more easily.

Antibiotics or steroids like prednisone are sometimes prescribed for laryngitis as well, but your doctor is most likely to send you packing with the same advice we gave above, as well as the instruction to come back if the laryngitis does not go away within a few weeks. If singing caused your laryngitis, you’ll probably received the tip to see a vocal coach as well — you can sign without putting your voice box under that much pressure all the time. - www.trying-to-conceive.com

Weight loss does not increase fertility

Overweight and obese women will both increase their chances of getting pregnant if they manage to lose some weight, conventional wisdom says. Losing even a little weight helps, but reaching a healthy Body Mass Index offers the best chances. A newly published study into obesity and fertility has now shaken these believes. Being obese may not e healthy, but losing weight probably does not increase fertility.

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Researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine knew that obesity has a negative impact on a woman’s ability to conceive, largely because obesity reduces ovulation rates. Lead researcher Richard Legro MD said: “Obesity, especially centered in the abdomen, among infertile women seeking pregnancy is associated with poor response to ovulation induction and with decreased pregnancy rates.”

In reaction to that fact, most medical doctors would tell an overweight or obese woman who has been trying to conceive for a while without success to lose weight. Actually, an obese woman just going for a preconception health check would be told the same thing. Unfortunately, few studies suggest that losing weight improve pregnancy rates. Dr Legro and his team conducted their study to find out if it would. They followed 29 morbidly obese women (that means a BMI of 40 or more) who were of childbearing age. The study subjects underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost dramatic amounts of weight.

Their progress and ovulation were tracked over the course of two years. Daily urine checks were part of the plan — these tested the frequency and quality of ovulation. Before the gastric bypass operation, the ovulation rates were surprisingly high at 90 percent. The researchers did daily urine checks again (for the duration of one menstrual cycle) at one month after the operation, and two, three, six, 12 and 24 months. The results? There was no change in the women’s ovulation! 

The study team did find some other changes, however. Obese women are known to have longer menstrual cycles than those who are at a healthy weight. The main reasons for this is that their follicular phase of these women’s cycles are longer. The follicular phase is the stage of the cycle lasting from the end of a period up till ovulation. It is not clear why obesity lengthens this stage of the menstrual cycle. The research team found that losing weight shortened this part of the cycle, by 6.5 days within three months of the operation and nine days after two years.

Interestingly enough, the researchers did not ask the women who participated in the study if they wanted to get pregnant, and how often they had sexual intercourse. They did use a questionnaire to determine the women’s sexual desire, and found that the women’s libido increased after the surgery significantly. There was no need to ask how often the study subjects had sex; the team figured there would be more sex if there was more sexual desire. Increased sexual desire was not found to have any connection with the women’s hormone levels.

Dr Legro said: ”The effects of weight loss on reproductive function are more modest than we hypothesized. In terms of ovulation, there doesn’t appear to be a window after surgery where fertility is improved. The door appears to be open at all times. Other factors may be involved with infertility in obese women, such as diminished sexual desire and thus less intercourse. This study, to our knowledge, is the largest, most comprehensive and longest study of female reproductive function before and after Roux en Y gastric bariatric surgery.”

Keep in mind that 29 women is not that much, and that the results be be fascinating — but not necessarily relevant to you personally, if you are struggling with this problem. There are many reasons to lose weight that don’t involve your ovulation, and the researchers’ conclusion that libido improves with gastric bypass surgery is only a small part of that! The study results don’t apply to women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Primarily a hormonal problem, PCOS is a different beast altogether. Other studies have shown that gastric bypass surgery can help PCOS sufferers get pregnant.