Author Topic: The health and fitness thread about random things (Read 476017 times)

Kim · « **Reply #4200 on:** 23 January, 2023, 10:48:19 pm »

Quote from: orienteer on 23 January, 2023, 10:11:15 pm

I've suffered from blocked nose on and off for years. Sometimes had a spray which might relieve it for a while. Recently I read a drink recipe which has worked well after two or three doses. Hot water with honey and half of squeezed lemon, then add one tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Might be worth a try?

Assorted hopeful ENT surgeons armed with a) drills and b) FRIKKIN LAZERS have failed to unblock barakta's nose over the years (these days they just look at the CT scan and run away). It seems unlikely that a hot drink will manage it.

barakta · « **Reply #4201 on:** 24 January, 2023, 02:55:54 pm »

I even have the bomb of nasal sprays called Avamys which most GPs won't prescribe at all nevermind long term (mine did, she agreed it was better than episodic use post infections) and while hot drinks help, it's pretty deep damage.

ENT wrote to my GP (they used to work together) and effectively said "It's fucked, nothing we can do, fuck off and manage in primary care cos we aint got any better answers!". GP always used to laugh at my paraphrasing as such while I directed her to where to find it and would say "yeah, you're not wrong". Am lucky the GP practice as a whole groks that I have a very unusual history and work with it.

I'm giving it till tomorrow, and if no improvement, will see a GP. I usually leave it slightly too late, but it's a tricky balance when they're supposed to follow NICE reccs and my case isn't ideal for that.

cycleman · « **Reply #4202 on:** 24 January, 2023, 06:27:20 pm »

I have running sinuses for a number of years but in September last year it got worse. The doctor sent me to ent and they prescribed some drops and spray. They have not been as effective as I hoped and I have been having disturbed nights of coughing and wheezing. I contacted the doctor on Monday and she prescribed me a inhaler which seemed effective on Monday but I am coughing and wheezing again today. There is a bit of improvement and I slept better last night but coughing woke me up this morning. The doctor said that I needed a chest x ray which I did this afternoon. When I got to the hospital I put a covid mask on but by the time I had walked to x ray, I was panting and felt a bit sick. The receptionist said to remove the mask and within a few minutes I felt better. X ray results should get to the doctors in the next 3 days. I'm beginning to fear that I am on the way out. In my 30s I had fears of dying which turned out to be a part of depression. Now I am not frightened of dying but how I die. Slowly suffocating is one of my fears. Hopefully I am just being melodramatic

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #4203 on:** 25 January, 2023, 08:25:09 pm »

Covid masks do cut a lot of airflow. Way back in the early days, I tried cycling in one. Very bad move. So I don't think getting out of breath and feeling sick while wearing one, when you've already got a sinus infection, means you're about to slowly (or even quickly) suffocate.

cycleman · « **Reply #4204 on:** 27 January, 2023, 07:29:08 am »

I know the mask won't suffocate me but during covid I cycled on a number of occasions masked. Although I had to breathe harder the main problem was my glasses misting up. Now I had problems walking with my walker 800 feet. I appear to have lost a fair amount of lung capacity

. I am worried about that decline continuing 😢. Might get some results today.

cycleman · « **Reply #4205 on:** 30 January, 2023, 06:58:24 pm »

Update time. I had some peak flow tests at the doctors today on 2 different gadgets. The results showed that I am borderline asthmatic which the doctor will confirm next week. The chest x ray showed no problems which is a relief. I am hoping the doctor can find a way to stop my sinuses running which will hopefully reduce or stop the coughing.

barakta · « **Reply #4206 on:** 30 January, 2023, 07:00:18 pm »

Hopefully treating asthma will help, some kinds of asthma can cause snottiness too I believe. Sometimes antihistamines and nasal sprays can help with constant snottiness, so hopefully doc can try some of those.

cycleman · « **Reply #4207 on:** 31 January, 2023, 08:40:17 am »

Thanks barakta, I hope you and Kim are doing well. Doctor will phone on the 9th February so hopefully after that I can hope for some improvement 🙏

chrisbainbridge · « **Reply #4208 on:** 31 January, 2023, 09:00:35 am »

If you do have asthma then ask about the dry powder inhalers. My wife has struggled for years with her asthma control but we eventually managed to get her a dry powder inhaler rather than the spacehaler thing and it was a game changer. her respiratory rate halved and depth increased when sleeping almost literally within 24 hours of changing.

We also cut out milk unless cooked. The research evidence is equivocal but again she felt it made a big difference.

The other thing to ask about is reflux especially when asleep and whether some omeprazole out similar would be worth trying. Certainly coughing at night would be a symptom of reflux getting into the airways. https://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/heartburn-asthma

A really good GP will probably ask and test all of these but some highly stressed GPs may opt for the simple, 'try an inhaler"

Always worth writing down your symptoms and take print outs with you. Try to get ones from reputable sources such as webMD.

cycleman · « **Reply #4209 on:** 31 January, 2023, 06:53:07 pm »

I have suffered gastric reflux on and off for years and omeprazole has been effective in it's control. Thanks for the heads up on dry powder inhalers. I was unaware of their existence. I hope that milk is not going to be a problem as I do enjoy it. I will have a lot of questions now to dicuss with the doctor. Thank you again for the information

chrisbainbridge · « **Reply #4210 on:** 31 January, 2023, 07:09:16 pm »

If you have a history of reflux I would suggest pushing for a referral for an endoscopy to check out your oesophagus and make sure something unpleasant isn’t happening

cycleman · « **Reply #4211 on:** 01 February, 2023, 07:05:06 am »

That was done 2 years ago and found that I small hernias in my stomach which are not repairable. No fun getting old 😕

Wowbagger · « **Reply #4212 on:** 01 February, 2023, 09:43:31 pm »

Bugger.

I am wont to indulge in Waitrose Own Brand dark chocolate with hazelnuts. A toothy comestible par excellence, especially since a day or two ago I broke my left second bicuspid on some, and today have dislodged a bit of filling. Dental appointment for next week...

L CC · « **Reply #4213 on:** 03 February, 2023, 10:14:50 am »

I too broke a tooth (mine was on soft licorice, clearly not so soft) but I'm not allowed to get anything done by a dentist for another 36 days. Not that I'm counting.

In other news, bruising now extends from my ankle to the hip. Niiiiice.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #4214 on:** 03 February, 2023, 10:21:40 am »

Quote from: L CC on 03 February, 2023, 10:14:50 am

I too broke a tooth (mine was on soft licorice, clearly not so soft) but I'm not allowed to get anything done by a dentist for another 36 days. Not that I'm counting.

In other news, bruising now extends from my ankle to the hip. Niiiiice.

I think we need pictures.

Plus . . .
Did they do the correct leg?
Did they put it back on the right way round?

T42 · « **Reply #4215 on:** 03 February, 2023, 04:43:33 pm »

After realizing that my coffee machine really was beeping I found this frequency test on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/qNf9nzvnd1k

It's simply a tone rising in frequency from 20Hz to 20 kHz. Useful because if you're not certain you can go back and repeat bits.

It was on here: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/how-high-can-you-hear-video-frequency-hearing-test/

I top out just short of 5 kHz. I used to be able to hear bats.

barakta · « **Reply #4216 on:** 03 February, 2023, 04:47:10 pm »

Sounds like you might benefit from a proper audiogram and hearing test. Age related hearing is the higher frequencies going first. Hearing aids usually take you up to 8k covering full speech frequencies and modern programmable ones are quite clever these days.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #4217 on:** 03 February, 2023, 05:28:16 pm »

Quote from: T42 on 03 February, 2023, 04:43:33 pm

After realizing that my coffee machine really was beeping I found this frequency test on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/qNf9nzvnd1k

It's simply a tone rising in frequency from 20Hz to 20 kHz. Useful because if you're not certain you can go back and repeat bits.

It was on here: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/how-high-can-you-hear-video-frequency-hearing-test/

I top out just short of 5 kHz. I used to be able to hear bats.

I lose it just over 10kHz

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #4218 on:** 03 February, 2023, 06:37:00 pm »

About 12kHz for me, which still doesn't mean I can always hear useful things like what people are saying to me.

Pingu · « **Reply #4219 on:** 03 February, 2023, 07:17:42 pm »

10kHz for me.

rafletcher · « **Reply #4220 on:** 03 February, 2023, 07:38:50 pm »

8kHz for my wife, around 12.5kHz for me. 79 and 66.

hellymedic · « **Reply #4221 on:** 03 February, 2023, 07:39:07 pm »

Quote from: Cudzoziemiec on 03 February, 2023, 06:37:00 pm

About 12kHz for me, which still doesn't mean I can always hear useful things like what people are saying to me.

Much the same.

'Masking' is a problem for me. I can't hear what D is saying when:
The kettle is on.
The fridge is purring.
The washing machine is spinning.
D is mumbling/walking away/in another room.

D says I'm deaf; that test says my hearing is 'under the age of 25'.

I'm 64.65 and think my hearing's OK.

Kim · « **Reply #4222 on:** 03 February, 2023, 07:53:36 pm »

I start to hear a tone^[1] at around 47Hz and lose it around 14.3kHz, closer to 14.5 if I turn the volume all the way up. I know I lost most of my sensitivity to 15.7kHz some years ago, at around the time it stopped mattering.

Of course, in a proper hearing test, the amplitude is calibrated. Playing a YouTube video tells you at least as much about people's audio equipment as it does about their hearing.

Not that a hearing test tells you anything above 8kHz, because Audiology considers hearing anything other than speech to be unimportant.

_{[1] There are some artefacts below that, audible as a cracking sound, which I don't count for these purposes.}

Kim · « **Reply #4223 on:** 03 February, 2023, 08:02:14 pm »

Quote from: hellymedic on 03 February, 2023, 07:39:07 pm

'Masking' is a problem for me. I can't hear what D is saying when:
The kettle is on.
The fridge is purring.
The washing machine is spinning.
D is mumbling/walking away/in another room.

D says I'm deaf; that test says my hearing is 'under the age of 25'.

I'm 64.65 and think my hearing's OK.

Auditory processing, innit. Apparently this is common amongst people who had hearing problems as a child. My ability to hear arbitrary sound is pretty good. My ability to understand speech with a poor signal-to-noise ratio significantly less so. I seem to require more bandwidth to decode speech than most people, as evidenced by wanting people to face me while speaking (even though I'm not lipreading), finding µ-law/A-law telephony^[1] Hard Work, and GSM^[2] frequently unintelligible (exacerbated by the poor telephone habits enabled by mobile phones).

Particularly galling is that barakta's hearing aid performs assorted DSP witchcraft to filter out background noises. Which means she fails to raise her voice to make herself audible over the sounds she can't hear. So in the kitchen it tends to be me whatting at her, rather than the usual way round. She gets particularly offended when I leave the room in order to hear her better.

_{[1] The PCM codec you get on a landline phone.
[2] Codec that mobile phones use to throw away most of the information so they can fit more calls in, because that's probably fine.}

T42 · « **Reply #4224 on:** 04 February, 2023, 07:53:33 am »

Quote from: barakta on 03 February, 2023, 04:47:10 pm

Sounds like you might benefit from a proper audiogram and hearing test. Age related hearing is the higher frequencies going first. Hearing aids usually take you up to 8k covering full speech frequencies and modern programmable ones are quite clever these days.

Had one when I was 50: the bloke took 500 frs to tell me that my hearing was that of a 75-year-old. On that reckoning my ears are now 112 years old.

With me I reckon diabetes takes at least as big a toll as age: glycation stiffens cilia. The amusing thing is that it affects balance too: on one 1000k I did with a chum I got Shermer's neck and couldn't keep my head up enough, and looking straight down at the road didn't provide enough visual clues to establish a horizon. I managed OK by heaving it up far enough for a glance forward every 20-30 seconds, but going up steep hills in the dark was unpleasant.