Clogged arteries are a dangerous business. They can cause many health issues, the most dangerous of those being high blood pressure and heart attack.

But how do you figure out that your arteries might be clogged before things get bad or need medical intervention? Pay attention to your body: These are the signs of clogged arteries that you might not be noticing.

10 Warning Signs of Clogged Arteries

Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood throughout your body. They carry this blood to your brain, to all the major and minor organs of your body, to your muscles, and even all the way down to the tips of your fingers and toes.

In healthy arteries, the blood flows freely through them because they have smooth walls and are free of obstructions.

Clogged arteries, however, have built-up plaques on their walls. These plaques reduce blood flow and can even block it altogether, leading to a heart attack.

Knowing the Signs

Knowing the early signs of clogged arteries is crucial to resolve the problem before it poses such a significant risk to your health.

Thankfully, you can improve clogged arteries with some simple diet and exercise interventions.

If they are quite heavily clogged or you have a family history of heart problems, your doctor may also put you on some medications to help keep your arteries in check.

If you have any of these ten warning signs of clogged arteries, see your doctor right away to come up with a plan to improve them.

Nausea

Realistically, what condition isn’t nausea a symptom of? One of our body’s most astute ways of telling us something is wrong is by making us nauseous.

Of course, just because you’re feeling nauseous doesn’t mean you have clogged arteries. Still, if it is ongoing you should go talk to your doctor about it.

Chest Pain

Chest pain is also known as angina. It results from reduced blood flow to the heart because of built-up plaque in the arteries that lead to it.

Angina usually begins in the chest by the breast bone and then can extend into your left arm or shoulder, jaw, and upper back.

If you are experiencing ongoing chest tightness and pain, speak with your doctor immediately.

Shortness of breath

If you are experiencing shortness of breath, this could be because your pulmonary arteries are clogged.

While it is normal to feel short of breath after climbing the stairs or a physical effort, if it is more than usual, ongoing, and especially if it is when you are sedentary, you should have it looked at.

Weakness or numbness in one side of your body

If blood flow is restricted or cut off in your carotid arteries, it could cause you to experience weakness or numbness on one side of your body.

The carotid arteries are those that carry blood from the heart to the head and are located on either side of the neck.

They both split into two branches, one that carries blood to the brain and eyes and the other that takes it to the face, tongue, and outside parts of the head.

Slurring of words

Slurring your words could be a symptom of a number of conditions. One of those is that your carotid arteries are blocked.

This could either be the interior branch that carries blood to the brain, or the exterior branch that takes it to the tongue.

Vision Loss

Vision loss is a symptom of a clogged exterior branch of the carotid artery. This could be in one or both eyes.

If you are experiencing sudden decreased capacity to see or blurred vision, see your doctor right away.

Leg pain

There are a million and one reasons why you could be experiencing leg pain. One of these reasons could be clogged peripheral arteries.

These are the arteries in your legs and arms. Pain in one leg with no other explanation such as an injury could mean you have a clogged artery.

Cold feet

When blood can’t travel freely through your body, your extremities will get cold. Cold feet could mean that blood flow is blocked or restricted in your legs so that it is not reaching your feet properly. This could be a sign of a blocked peripheral artery.

Delayed healing of injuries of the feet

This goes along with the unexplained cold feet. Injuries need blood to heal. If the blood is not flowing there, or not flowing there sufficiently, these injuries will heal slowly or not at all. If you notice that injuries in your feet or lower legs are not healing as they should talk to your doctor.

Heart palpitations

Truthfully, anytime you notice changes in your heart rate, you should see your doctor. When your heart beat suddenly becomes noticeable, heart palpitations could be a sign that blood is not flowing the way it should.

This can feel like a heart pounding, fluttering, or beating irregularly. It will usually last for just a few seconds or minutes. It is possible that you will feel these sensations in your neck or throat, as well.

The Bottom Line

Being aware of the symptoms of clogged arteries, as well as other health conditions, isn’t to make you into a hypochondriac. Rather, it is to protect you. Awareness and being brave enough to seek medical advice when you notice signs and symptoms can save your life or that of someone you love. Take your symptoms seriously and talk to a doctor.

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and is for information only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition and/or current medication. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll regularly check your body over for lumps, bumps, bruises and all else that’s out of place.

Call me paranoid or overcautious, but I like to know what’s going on with my body, and I like to be ready to seek medical advice if I ever find something that suggests an inexplicable change.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when I found a cluster of red dots on my shoulder one morning.

As is so often the way these days, I immediately took to the internet to see what I could find in the way of an explanation.

And it turns out red dots on the skin aren’t all that uncommon. In fact, there’s a number of causes, so I thought it would be helpful to list them here for anyone who might find themselves in the same situation.

Now, it’s important to note that red dots on the skin can come in a number of sizes, shapes and hues, and what they denote can be equally broad. Some are completely harmless; others can have potentially serious causes.

Petechiae and Purpura

Taking the appearance of tiny red dots on the skin, these are the result of damaged blood vessels or capillaries. Causes can include stress, coughing, or certain medications. They are typically harmless, though can indicate underlying medical conditions such as platelet disorders.

Cherry Angiomas

These are seen as small, raised, bright red bumps, and come from an overgrowth of blood vessels. Cherry angiomas are completely harmless in the main, and are often more common as we age.

Heat Rash

Simple and fairly common depending on the environment. The ‘rash’ occurs when sweat becomes trapped in sweat ducts, producing a pattern of itchy, red dots on the skin.

Allergic Reactions

Self-explanatory. A result of an allergic reaction to food, substances, medications, or insect stings or bites, leading to skin redness and an itchy rash.

Folliculitis

An inflammation of hair follicles usually triggered by bacterial or fungal infections. The result is red, pus-filled dots that can cause discomfort.

Cellulitis

A bacterial skin infection that produces redness and skin swelling that feels warm to the touch. Cellulitis often requires medical attention and treatment via a course of antibiotics.

Impetigo

A contagious bacterial infection that is often easily spread between children. Impetigo is characterized by red sores that open, ooze fluid, and later form a crust.

Vasculitis

A condition involving inflammation of blood vessels. Vasculitis causes red dots to appear on the skin and can be linked to autoimmune disorders or infections.

Hemangiomas

These are birthmarks resulting from the abnormal growth of blood vessels. Occasional medical intervention may be needed, though they are generally harmless.

In conclusion, the appearance of red dots on the skin doesn’t necessarily signify anything to worry about. That said, it’s important to seek medical advice/attention if:

• Red dots are accompanied by fever, pain, or other discomfort.
• The dots rapidly increase in size, number, or intensity.
• These dots come with other symptoms like fatigue, weakness, or dizziness.

Marijuana is slowly becoming more accepted around the world. Whether it’s for medical reasons, anxiety, or recreational use, more and more people are becoming fans of the plant.

However, more recent study questions whether or not it is a good idea for adults to use it. Specifically, adults who are 30 years old or above. The implications are that people in this group may want to reconsider the habit.

Smoking Marijuana After 30 Might Not Be A Good Idea

Are you 30 years old or older and enjoy the occasional (or regular) joint? Well, research conducted in Australia is suggesting you may want to curb the habit.

They studied life outcomes of marijuana users and the results for adults over 30 didn’t look so good.

The team of researchers from The University of Queensland examined what are called success outcomes for both amphetamine and marijuana users.

They looked at data from over 8000 mothers and 2000 children about drug use at ages 21 and 30. The team discovered that usage resulted in lower success rates based on nine specific criteria, including:

• Education
• Income
• Home ownership
• Relationship status
• Reported happiness

More importantly, however, is that these lowered success rates only applied to those who continued smoking marijuana after the age of 30.

The Study’s Limitations

Now, before you get upset thinking that you have to kick the habit by the time you reach 30 (or that you should’ve already), don’t stress too much.

There are a variety of limitations to this study that suggest that their results may or may not really apply.

1. Strange Data

The first one is that this is Australian data and is made up entirely of female mothers. It is also very local so it may not represent other countries well.

Some of the data even goes all the way back to 1981. Naturally, this may not apply to a modern, contemporary, global population.

2. Markers of Success

Another limitation is what markers they have set out to determine whether or not one is successful. For example, two markers are homeownership and relationship status. These both have many cultural and geographical factors at play.

Owning a home, for example, has more to do with personal priorities and also where you live than it does with your success.

It also is influenced by whether or not you have a family or have to decide to establish roots in a place. Especially with the digital nomad lifestyle that is taking off, homeownership does not necessarily equal success.

Relationship status is another tricky one when considering what it means to be successful. This could also have many cultural and geographical influences.

After all, there are plenty of highly successful single people in the world, just as there are plenty of couples who are struggling in many other areas of life.

Being in a relationship might be important to you, and therefore part of your personal life success may include it. It does not, however, necessarily mean success for everyone.

3. Other Drug Use

The study also didn’t look to see if those on the end of highly un-successful were using other drugs as well as marijuana and/or amphetamines.

“We do not have adequate data on other illicit drugs that may be being used, for example, ecstasy, opiates and even synthetic drugs,” the researchers admitted in their paper. “A subset of those using cannabis as well as amphetamines may also be using a range of other drugs and it may be that our findings reflect polydrug use generally rather than the specific use of cannabis and amphetamines.”

What Does This Mean For You?

Truthfully, what the study points out is that, if you experiment a bit with drugs in your youth, it doesn’t mean you will turn out to be an unsuccessful adult.

What it does suggest, however, is that one needs to be sure that it doesn’t become something you’re dependent on as an adult.

If you overuse drugs such as marijuana as an adult, it may, in some people, affect your performance at work, your relationships, and your ability to maintain a stable life.

So if you want to use marijuana, go for it. Just don’t overdo it and make sure it isn’t taking over your life.

If you find yourself lacking motivation, spending too much money on it, or it is getting in the way of your work and personal responsibilities, you may want to consider quitting the habit.

Kidney disease is a serious condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the kidneys are damaged and are unable to function properly.

The kidneys play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of fluids and electrolytes in our bodies, as well as filtering waste products from our blood.

Early detection and treatment of kidney disease are vital to prevent further damage and complications.

Thankfully, your body does send you signals that there could be something wrong with your kidneys. Learn what they are and listen to your body so that you can receive medical help as soon as possible.

Understanding the Role of the Kidneys

The kidneys are two small bean-shaped organs located on either side of the spine, just below the ribcage. Their main function is to filter the blood, removing waste products, and excess fluids from the body.

The kidneys also help control blood pressure, produce red blood cells, and maintain the balance of electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. When the kidneys are healthy, they filter around 120 to 150 quarts of blood daily, producing about 1 to 2 quarts of urine.

What is Kidney Disease?

Kidney disease, also known as renal disease, occurs when the kidneys sustain damage and are no longer able to function optimally. There are various causes of kidney disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes, infections, autoimmune disorders, and genetic factors.

Over time, kidney disease can progress and lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. Early detection is critical to prevent further damage and manage the condition effectively.

Signs of Kidney Disease

One of the hardest parts about kidney disease is that many people don’t catch it until it is already quite advanced. Thankfully, the body does send signs that the kidneys are in trouble.

If you notice these, you can go to your healthcare practitioner to hopefully solve the problem before it becomes worse. These are 10 signs your body is telling you that your kidneys are in danger.

1. Changes in Urination

One of the earliest signs of kidney disease is changes in urine production. You may notice increased frequency of urination, especially during the night. On the other hand, you may experience decreased urination or foamy urine.

2. Fatigue and Weakness

Kidney disease can lead to anemia, a condition characterized by low red blood cell count. This can result in persistent fatigue, weakness, and difficulty concentrating.

3. Swelling

Excessive fluid buildup in the body, known as edema, commonly occurs with kidney disease. Swelling can affect the legs, hands, face, and even the abdomen.

4. Persistent Back Pain

Kidney disease can cause back pain, usually felt just below the ribcage. The pain may be severe and persistent, often accompanied by tenderness. This will often accompany a urinary tract infection that has gone untreated.

5. Unexplained Weight Loss or Loss of Appetite

If you experience unexplained weight loss or a decrease in appetite, it may be a sign of kidney disease. This occurs due to the build-up of waste products in the body and a loss of appetite.

6. Nausea and Vomiting

Kidney disease can cause a feeling of nausea and may lead to episodes of vomiting. This can be especially prominent in the morning or after meals.

7. Difficulty Sleeping

People with kidney disease often report trouble sleeping. This may be attributed to nighttime muscle cramps, restless leg syndrome, or frequent urination.

8. Metallic Taste in the Mouth

A persistent metallic taste in the mouth can be indicative of kidney disease. This is due to the build-up of waste products in the blood.

9. Muscle Cramps and Twitching

Electrolyte imbalances, such as low potassium and calcium levels, can cause muscle cramps and twitching. These symptoms may be associated with kidney disease.

10. Itchy Skin

Kidney disease can lead to an accumulation of toxins in the blood, causing itchy skin. This is often generalized and not limited to a specific area.

It is important to note that these symptoms may vary depending on the stage and severity of kidney disease. If you experience any of these signs, it is essential to consult with a healthcare professional for further evaluation and appropriate management.

Prevention is Key

There are several things you can do to help keep your kidneys healthy and prevent kidney disease before it happens.

The number one is, as always, living a healthy lifestyle. That means eating well, exercising regularly, drinking plenty of water, moderating alcohol consumption, and sleeping well.

If you smoke, consider quitting. Be mindful of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs and how you are taking them. Always follow your doctor or pharmacist’s directions, or follow the directions on the bottle.

Finally, get your kidneys tested if you are unsure or if you are at a higher risk for developing the disease. Remember, early detection and timely treatment hold the key to preventing kidney disease from progressing and improving overall health outcomes. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Everyone eagerly anticipates spending time outside and taking advantage of the beautiful weather as summer draws near. But the season can be difficult for people with eczema, especially dyshidrotic eczema.

Little, itchy blisters on the tips of fingers, toes, palms, and soles are a common springtime flare-up for this kind of eczema.

Eczema cannot be healed, but it can be controlled, so you can enjoy the sun without worrying all the time.

Dermatitis, another name for eczema, is a disorder that results in skin irritation. About 35 million Americans suffer from it, making it a problem for millions of people in the country.

Although it usually first appears in children under five, eczema can persist until adulthood. A flare-up is characterized by swollen, red, and itchy skin along with fluid-filled pimples that may ooze and crust over.

Eczema is not communicable, however it can run in families. It is frequently brought on by an allergic reaction.

A particular kind of eczema called dyshidrotic eczema creates tiny, excruciatingly irritating blisters on the tips of fingers, toes, palms, and soles of the feet.

These blisters may take weeks to cure and are quite painful. The illness is more prone to flare up in the spring and is linked to seasonal allergens.

Several names are used to refer to dyshidrotic eczema, including:

• Pedopompholyx (affects the feet)
• Cheiropompholyx (affects the hands)
• Vesicular palmoplantar eczema
• Dyshidrosis
• Foot-and-hand eczema
• Dyshidrotic dermatitis
• Vesicular eczema
• Pompholyx

Dyshidrotic eczema symptoms include deep-set blisters on the hands and feet, intense itching, redness, flaking, pain and scaly, damaged skin.

This kind of eczema usually affects adults in their 20s to 40s and is more common in women than in males. Atopic dermatitis, hay fever, and contact dermatitis increase an individual’s risk.

Dyshidrotic eczema can run in families, thus the likelihood of you getting it increases if you have a family member who has it.

It’s crucial to get medical assistance if an infection develops because the problem can also become infected, which can postpone healing.

With the right care, dyshidrotic eczema can be controlled even though it cannot be cured.

In severe situations, corticosteroid injections, lotions, ointments, or pills may be necessary. Additional therapies consist of:

• UV light therapy
• Draining large blisters
• Antihistamines
• Anti-itch creams
• Immune-suppressing ointments like Protopic and Elidel

To assist manage dyshidrotic eczema, there are a few choices available for people who prefer natural remedies:

1. Cold Compresses: You can relieve pain and reduce inflammation by applying cold compresses to the affected area several times a day for 15 minutes each time. For optimal effects, use a moisturizer after.

2. Aloe Vera: The plant’s gel helps relieve irritated skin and hasten the healing process. Use a natural aloe vera lotion or apply the gel directly to the regions that are irritated.

3. Oatmeal: Oatmeal, which has anti-inflammatory qualities, can be applied topically to the skin to reduce symptoms and support skin health.

Effective management of dyshidrotic eczema begins with recognition and comprehension of the condition.

You can lessen flare-ups and enjoy the summer without having to deal with the discomfort of eczema with the right care and treatment.

You can manage your symptoms and maximize your time in the sun by being more knowledgeable about your condition.