The Secrets Behind Cold Sores and What Causes Them

                                                           

It starts as a slight tingling sensation on the outside of your lips, and within a few hours, it’s become a full-blown blister. While cold sores aren’t the worst virus known to man, they’re incredibly common, sometimes painful, and totally embarrassing. But, what exactly are they, and are they preventable?

What Cold Sores Are and How They Spread
Bad news: technically, cold sores are a type of herpes – specifically, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2. While you might think that herpes is spread only through sexual contact, that’s not always the case. It can also spread through kissing or any other way you might come into contact with herpes-infected saliva, such as by sharing a drink or eating utensil. Cold sores are usually contained to the area around the mouth, but they can spread to other parts of the body, so if you have an outbreak, be careful not to touch the infected area.

What Happens When You Have Cold Sores
So, what’s the physical science behind cold sores? Well, you’re more likely to face an outbreak when you’re not feeling well. When your immune system is busy fighting a cold, flu, or another sickness, the mucous membrane around your mouth become inflamed and the virus spreads, leading to the blisters so common to cold sores. These blisters grow and grow until the fluid contained within them becomes so much that the blisters break, leaving scabs.

Are They Preventable or Treatable?
More bad news: If you’ve got cold sores, you’ve got cold sores, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. There is no cure for them. However, there is a glimmer of hope for those afflicted with this uncomfortable condition. While cold sores can never truly go away, you can reduce the risk of them popping up. For one, help out your immune system by practicing cleanliness and reducing stress, which can help bring cold sores on. Also, avoid contact with others who are suffering from cold sores. You’ll be more likely to suffer an outbreak, even if you already have the herpes complex.

Dealing With Cold Sores
While there’s nothing you can really do about getting rid of cold sores once you’ve got them, you do have some control when you feel an outbreak coming on. As soon as you feel the familiar tingling sensation on your lips, apply a topical medicine designed for cold sores. Doing so can make the blisters less acute and shorter lasting. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait the standard time for the condition to run its course, which can be anywhere from a few days to two weeks.

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5 Essential Things You Should Know About Postpartum Depression

                                                             

You’ve just brought home your new baby and are feeling the excitement and joy over this new addition to your family. Shortly after though, you can’t deny the blue mood you are feeling. Nothing seems to pick you up anymore and you may even find yourself crying for stretches of time. What’s going on? Could it be postpartum depression? This condition occurs more often than many women would like to admit, so it’s important that you arm yourself with a few facts about this so you can get the help you need.
Here are five things to know about postpartum depression.
No Two Women Experience This The Same
Know that there is no ‘standard’ for how you will be feeling when suffering from postpartum depression. Some women feel very sad, others feel anxiety. Yet others may simply feel a fogginess in their brain and not feel quite like themselves. Don’t compare yourself to others. If you aren’t feeling quite right, you need to address these feelings.
Support Will Make A Difference
As much as you can, get support from others around you. Whether this is your significant other, your parents, or your friends. Ask people to help you. If you are trying to take on everything on your own, this can lead to an increased risk of postpartum depression because not only will you feel overwhelmed, but you may feel socially isolated as well.
Seek Support
In many cases, medication may be required for those suffering from severe postpartum depression. Don’t feel ashamed to see a mental health counselor. Remember, you are doing this not only for you but also for your baby. You want to be in your best shape to care for this newborn and you can’t do that if you aren’t healthy.
Exercise Can Help
Another thing to consider is the fact that regular exercise can provide mood-boosting benefits and help get you out of your funk. While you shouldn’t avoid medication thinking exercise will cure everything, if you aren’t getting active, try and get outside for a walk with your baby at least once per day. The sunshine will also help ensure you are producing enough vitamin D, which is also important for warding off feelings of depression as well.
Take Time For Yourself
Finally, work on not feeling guilty for taking time for yourself. You need to care for your own body if you can care for that of another. This means eating right, sleeping enough (or as much as you possibly can!) and getting the exercise as just noted. Put these things on your top priority list so that you can feel your best at all times. While it may be hard to bring yourself to eat right – or anything – if you are experiencing postpartum depression, for example, it’s a must that you try. It will only help you feel better in the end.
So keep these few points in mind and know that you aren’t alone. Millions of women suffer from this and it doesn’t’ make you a bad mother. It just means you need to seek proper treatment to care for your situation.

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This is What Staring at a Screen All Day Does To Your Eyes

By now, you’re probably well aware that your desk job is slowly killing you. As if that weren’t depressing enough, spending day after day sitting and staring at a computer screen can cause other serious health issues.
Eye strain is often overlooked. Though researchers don’t yet know whether prolonged screen time can cause permanent eye damage in the long-term,
Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a collection of vision-related symptoms caused by too much screen time.
Also known as Digital Eye Strain, common symptoms include blurred or double vision, dry or red eyes, eye irritation, neck or shoulder pain, and headaches. Research suggests that between 50 and 90 percent of people who work on a computer show at least some symptoms.
We Spend More Time Glued To Screens Than We Do Sleeping
Americans spend most of their waking hours staring at screens. According to a report, adults in the U.S. logged an average of nearly eleven hours of screen time per day in early 2016. Those ten hours and 39 minutes included time devoted to computers, tablets, smartphones, video games, televisions, and other multimedia devices.
Of course, you don’t have to be a working adult to be affected by CVS. Kids who get too much screen time at school or at home are susceptible too, especially when poor lighting or posture are factors.
Here’s What Happens When You Stare At A Screen
When you’re looking at a screen, your eyes have to constantly focus and re-focus. The longer you repeat this movement, the worse it is. Like any other repetitive motion, reading information or looking at images on a screen requires continuous effort on the part of your eye muscles.
And unlike other things — such as newspapers or books — factors such as flicker, contrast, and glare can make reading on a screen more strenuous.
Though long-term studies have yet to back up the claim, some eye care providers have reason to believe that the blue light from screens may even cause permanent damage to the eyes.
Why? Blue light, also known as high-energy visible (HEV) light, is made up of short-wavelength light. Animal studies have shown that exposure to high levels of HEV light can damage retinal tissue in a way that appears similar to age-related macular degeneration. Researchers still don’t know whether digital devices emit enough blue light to cause vision loss over time.
Quick Fixes For Your Eyes
Reduce glare. Dimming your lighting or closing the shades can reduce glare. If you can’t change the lighting in your office, consider installing a glare filter on your monitor.
Use the 20-20-20 rule. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends staring at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
Adjust your screen settings. Play around with the contrast, font size, and brightness, of your screen. Invert your screen colors if you’re not doing color-sensitive work.

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3 Ways the Movies Lied to You About Your Health

We all know that movies require a degree of razzle-dazzle, meaning we should watch them with a grain of salt. However, the line between fact and fiction in movies, especially when it comes to health, isn’t always cut and dry. Whether the writers made a shortcut to advance the plot or create some extra drama, a word of warning: don’t always trust what you see in the pictures, including these guilty repeat offenders.
Progress Isn’t as Easy as a Montage
The montage is one of the most popular filmmaking techniques to show that time’s passed and some kind of progress has been made. It’s been around forever, perhaps most memorably depicted in “Rocky” and most ruthlessly skewered in “Team America: World Police.”
Well, as anyone who’s spent some time working out can tell you, progress is never as easy as a montage. What we don’t see in “Rocky” is all the times he fell on his face trying to do a one-armed push-up or tripped over himself while running around the city. No, real-life progress takes time, effort, and a whole lot of mistakes, which is something that montages can never accurately portray.
You Look Great When Working Out
When movies depict fitness, we’ll usually see our characters in the proper attire: a workout top, gym short, sweet kicks, and maybe even a sweat band or music player accessory. But how come, even when they’re in the middle of a workout, they look so good doing it?!
As you probably know very well, you’re not at your best when working out. You’re sweaty, your skin is discolored, your clothes might not fit right — basically, you’re a hot mess. Hollywood has a habit of sprucing up their film characters, but nowhere is this more apparent than in scenes showing fitness.
It’s Not Just a Flesh Wound
Action movies usually require a greater suspension of disbelief than other movies. After all, who wants to see the action star sidelined when he’s been shot in the shoulder? Of course, in real life, this isn’t how things usually play out.
As “Monty Python at the Holy Grail” so famously immortalized, “‘Tis but a flesh wound!” Usually, though, it’s not just a flesh wound. Whether it’s from a bullet or a katana, a wound in any non-critical area of the body can still be fatal due to blood loss. Even then, so-called “flesh wounds” can have effects such as lasting pain and immobility. That doesn’t sound like a fun movie to watch, but thankfully, that’s why movies can get away with things like that.

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6 of the All-Time Cringiest Fitness Fads Oof

Have you ever looked up the definition of the word "fad?" It's defined as "an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object's qualities; a craze." Pretty much sums up some of the insane things that have become "popular" in the fitness world, doesn't it?
Fitness fads come and (thankfully) go, often leaving little more than a sour taste in our mouths and an eye-roll at "how could we have believed that?" Here are some of the cringiest fitness fads to pop up in the last few years:
Shake Weight – Just one look at the demo videos for this unique weight, and you can understand why it's at the top of this list. It's a highly suggestive movement that never really delivers real resistance training. Just a weird one, all around!
Toning Shoes – These shoes are made with an oddly-shaped heel/forefoot design that is intended to place all the strain of walking on your calves, thus giving you sleek, strong lower leg muscles. They also promote instability, forcing you to recruit stabilizer muscles all over your body. All they really do is look goofy, prevent you from walking properly, and increase your risk of falling/injuring yourself.
Power Balance Bracelets – Do they work? No one knows for sure, but most experts consider these to be little more than gimmicks. While quite a few professional athletes wear them, there's no real science to explain why — or even
if — they work.
Toning Clothes – A pair of pants that can tone and tighten your legs, or a shirt that can give you six-pack abs — how realistic does that sound? Toning apparel is a highly popular form of sportswear, but they're basically just pricier, sportier versions of Spanx. They do nothing for your muscles — they just make things look more toned.
Stability Balls/Chairs – Let's get one thing clear: stability balls CAN help to tone your core. However, they're not good for long periods of sitting. If you spend a lot of time sitting down, you need the sort of lower back support offered by a chair. While stability balls are good for watching an episode of TV or playing a game with friends, they're not a replacement for your office chair.
Electric Ab Belts – It seems more and more of these are coming out every year! New "toning ab belts" that send electric shocks into your ab muscles are touted as being revolutionary, but they're hardly effective. In fact, they can even be dangerous (hate to see what happens when one gets wet!). You're better off doing actual crunches or Planks than wearing one of these belts.
People are always looking for ways to make fitness easier and less work. These fitness fads come and go, but what never changes is the effectiveness of resistance training, aerobic exercise, and HIIT training. Spend your time and money on these types of workouts, and you'll see the fitness results you want.

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How Sleep Deprivation Alters Your DNA

You may know that not getting enough shut-eye is bad for you, but a recent study has revealed just how bad.
British researchers published a study that showed how just a week of missed sleep screwed with more than 700 genes, triggering a cascade of negative health effects.
Conducted at Surrey University, the study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
.
It was the first experiment to investigate the direct effects of sleep deprivation on the human “transcriptome.” The transcriptome comprises all the messenger RNA molecules tasked with transcribing genetic information from DNA to form proteins.
The study featured 26 healthy volunteers. Half of those participants were allowed only six hours of sleep per night for seven consecutive nights, while the other half were allowed 10 hours — that's generous, if you ask us.
Throughout the week-long study, the quality of participants’ sleep was evaluated on a nightly basis. Cognitive tests and questionnaires were given throughout the day. Researchers also measured participants’ levels of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating our day-night cycles.
By the end of the week, both groups were kept awake for a 40-hour period. Blood RNA samples were collected, and participants were allotted a full 12 hours of sleep to recover.
Analysis revealed that the regular activity of 711 genes either intensified or decreased for participants who had sustained the week of insufficient sleep. These changes in gene expression can have wide-ranging and dramatic effects in the body.
The genes altered played a role in regulating stress responses, metabolism, and the biological clock. Many were involved in maintaining circadian rhythms — that is, the timing of common biological functions such as sleeping and digestion. Others had a hand in gene regulation, meaning that chronic sleep deprivation could cause even greater genetic changes over time.
Researchers also found that sleep-deprived participants performed poorer when tested for memory, cognition, and attention. They may call it beauty sleep but clearly it has other functions.
Scientists have long known about the connection between long-term sleep loss and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other chronic health conditions.
Poor sleep is even associated with lower life expectancy. Meta-data from several studies revealed that getting less than five hours of sleep can increase the risk of mortality — from all causes — by a whopping 15 percent.
But the English study was the first of its kind to suggest that short-term sleep loss can have a profound impact on gene expression.
The takeaway? Think twice the next time you decide to pull an all-nighter.

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6 Diseases You'll Get at Music Festivals

Attendance at big-name summer music festivals — like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Glastonbury — have skyrocketed in recent years, making these events among the most lucrative in the entertainment industry.
Music festivals are a known hotbed for excessive boozing, drugs, and casual hookups. But they’re also a hotbed for something else: diseases. Given that attendees are often sweaty, sleep-deprived, dehydrated, and grimy, it’s not exactly surprising that people are coming away from music festivals with something much worse than a week-long hangover.
Read on to find out what you’re risking.
1. Zika
Chicago-based Lollapaloza has been around since 1991, with its first-ever South American incarnation taking place in Chile in 2011. But just last year, this popular music festival’s first Colombian edition, which was set to take place in September, was cancelled after an unnamed headliner pulled out of the festival. At the time, rumor had it that that headliner was Rhianna, and Zika virus fears had spurred her to withdraw.
2. Norovirus
Also known as acute gastroenteritis, norovirus is actually a group of viruses that tend to cause nasty digestive system symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. In the spring of 2014, the Health Center at California Polytechnic State University saw 27 cases of norovirus . Nearly all of the students had attended the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, California, while two had been in close contact with those who went. A nurse practitioner commented that it was possible that the virus had started at Coachella, which was held at the same venue only a week earlier.
3. Measles
Meanwhile in the U.K., Public Health England released a statement in August of 2016, just prior to the long-popular Glastonbury Music Festival. The statement warned attendees to make sure they were vaccinated against measles after the number of cases had more than quadrupled compared to the previous year, jumping from 54 to 234. Most of the cases were linked to festivals and other large public gatherings.
4. Hepatitis A
Rewind back to July 2003, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an influx of hepatitis A cases related to “outdoor concert and camping events.” Though the report didn’t specify which festivals might have been responsible, they did say that “crowded conditions, a lack of hand-washing facilities, and poor sanitation” had likely contributed to the spread of hep A, which is transmitted when water or food that has come into contact with contaminated feces is ingested.
5. Influenza
“Festival flu,” as its widely known, hasn’t been documented by researchers, but according to those in the music festival industry, it’s very real. Lorena Cupcake, a writer and social media manager, looked back on a summer of festivals in 2016 only to realize she’d been sick for nearly two months straight after attending Mamby on the Beach, Pitchfork, and Lollapalooza one after another. Though festival-goers are less likely to come away with the flu — a common cold is more likely — that doesn’t mean that the influenza virus isn’t present. Not to mention, a perfect storm of factors, including poor hygiene, fatigue, and dehydration, make attendees more susceptible to falling sick.
6. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Though outbreaks of common sexually transmitted diseases following music festivals are far more difficult to trace, in all likelihood, they're happening. According to a 2013 research paper published in one of Europe's foremost public health journals, "Sexual transmission of infectious diseases may also occur and is likely to be underestimated and underreported."

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5 Ways to Feel More Confident While You're Working Out

One of the toughest parts of working out isn’t the sheer physicality of getting your reps in. Rather, it’s dealing with your confidence, especially when you’re new to working out and surrounded by people who seem to know what they’re doing. If a lack of confidence is keeping you from getting your exercises in, give these strategies a try to get your groove back.
Have a Plan
One of the biggest reasons for feeling unconfident is not having a good idea of what you’re doing. It’s one thing to fail at meeting your goals, but it’s another thing entirely to be looking around cluelessly while everyone else is hard at it. Before you head out, come up with a routine that works for you and stick to it. If you’re a total beginner, you can always enlist the help of a trainer, who will help you develop a plan and teach you how to use the equipment.
Don’t Overdo It
It’s hard not to compare yourself to the fit girls and musclehead guys you see around you at the gym. But while you might think it’s uncool to not be able to lift as much or run as far, what’s really uncool is overcommitting in an effort to impress everyone else and failing hard in the process. What’s worse is that you could also end up hurting yourself, which is seriously uncool. Don’t try so hard to impress everyone. You’ll get there eventually.
Work Out Consistently
One gym session every few months is not going to do anything except tire you out. The only way to see results is to stick with it regularly. That’s not the only good thing about hitting the gym often. Humans have this funny ability to get used to new things pretty quickly, and it’s the same for exercising. The more often you go, the more you’ll improve and the more you’ll be used to being around other people while you work out.
Go With a Friend
It’s good to have a little moral support. If you enlist the help of a friend, you’ll have someone to share any potential embarrassments with. Everything’s a little easier when you’ve got someone on your side. Besides the confidence boost, working out with a friend has a lot of other great benefits. You can keep each other accountable, motivate one another to finish your reps, and achieve success together. Plus, a little competition never hurt anyone.
Realize That People Don’t Care That Much
If the silent judgment of others is keeping you from hitting the gym, you need to take another look around. Most of that judgment is only in your own head, created by and directed at yourself. The truth is that everyone feels a little insecure about themselves; it’s human. These people are more focused on their own goings-on than they are about you. And if, by chance, someone is judging you, who cares? The kind of person to make a judgment is the very person whose judgement shouldn’t matter to you. Focus on why you’re at the gym–to improve yourself.

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