DrSugar

DrSugar is in the house! To celebrate National Coffee Day, she's answering an age-old question about how your cup of java affects your day.

DrSugar,
I am confused about coffee. I remember reading somewhere that coffee is only a mild diuretic and doesn't contribute to dehydration. But after I drink a cup of coffee or an espresso drink, my mouth feels dry and I need to pee more frequently. So I am hoping you can clarify this. Is coffee a diuretic? And how exactly do diuretics work? Is coffee dehydrating, or is it the caffeine?
— Confused Coffee Lover

Don't worry, you are not the only one out there confused about coffee! For years, medical experts had been saying that the caffeine in coffee acts as a potent diuretic, which leads to excessive urination resulting in dehydration. But, like you mentioned in your question, recent research has been published on this topic and the results appear to contradict the prior notion about coffee. Most studies have shown that in moderate amounts, the caffeine in coffee only has mild diuretic effects and does not lead to dehydration. To learn why, keep reading.

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's explaining the condition known as hyperhidrosis, aka excessive sweating.

Even though Summer is winding down, it's still quite warm in many parts of the US, which inspired an explanation on excessive sweating, known as hyperhidrosis in medical terms. Hyperhidrosis can be a difficult condition to have and for some can be quite embarrassing or cause social anxiety.

The Mayo Clinic defines hyperhidrosis as frequent or constant excessive sweating. Sweating is the body's mechanism for cooling itself down, which is a normal response to an increase in body temperature. However, people with hyperhidrosis sweat in quantities above the amount needed to regulate and cool the body's temperature. According to Medicine Net, an estimated two to three percent of Americans suffer from hyperhidrosis, which typically affects the underarms, the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet. Underarm hyperhidrosis typically starts in puberty, whereas the hands and feet hyperhidrosis can begin even earlier in life. While some people with excessive sweating can have neurologic, metabolic, or other systemic medical conditions, most people with hyperhidrosis are typically otherwise healthy. To learn more about hyperhidrosis, keep reading!

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's explaining how mammograms work and why they're important.

This week on DrSugar, I'm going to discuss the hows, whys, and whens of mammograms. Inspired to research the topic given my positive family history of breast cancer in my grandmother, I wanted to share the information I found with FitSugar readers to help clear up any confusion you may all have on the matter.

The National Cancer Institute defines a mammogram as an X-ray picture of the breast. The actual procedure involves the breasts being compressed between two firm surfaces to spread out the breast tissue and then X-ray images are taken. There are two types of mammograms, screening and diagnostic. A screening mammogram is used to check for breast cancer in women with no signs or symptoms of the disease. Screening mammograms typically involve two X-ray pictures of each breast and can make it possible to detect tumors that cannot be felt. Diagnostic mammograms are obtained to check for breast cancer after a lump or other sign or symptom of disease has been found. These differ from the screening mammograms in that they take longer to perform because more X-rays are taken to obtain images of the breast from multiple different angles.

More information on mammograms after the break.

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's discussing mommyrexia and the implications of eating disorders during and after pregnancy.

I recently read an article from the New York Post on "mommyrexia," a phenomenon garnering a lot of public attention recently. Mommyrexia describes pregnant women obsessed with staying skinny during pregnancy and then doing whatever they can to get back, as quickly as possible, to their prepregnancy weight/size after delivery. According to the article, these women count calories, exercise excessively while pregnant, and sometimes even forgo breastfeeding after delivery to free their schedules for tons of personal training and exercise. Society today is so obsessed with celebrities and body image, and in my opinion, is placing unwarranted pressure on women to maintain their slim physique during pregnancy, like Victoria Beckham and Rachel Zoe, and to be bikini-ready three weeks after delivery like Bethenny Frankel. As if there isn’t already enough pressure on the general population to be ridiculously skinny, this pressure now extends to the sacred time of pregnancy?

I feel compelled to write about eating disorders and their potential implications in pregnant women. However, I must add that there is a large spectrum of what can be considered normal regarding weight gain and activity during pregnancy. Every woman is different and will gain differing amounts of weight. Both activity and weight gain in pregnant women depend on multiple factors and should be determined on a case-by-case basis between a woman and her OB-GYN. By no means am I here to judge anyone on how they behave during their pregnancy. The purpose of this week's DrSugar column is to provide information on how eating disorders can affect pregnancy. To learn more, keep reading.

DrSugar is in the house! This week she explains how best to minimize scars.

DrSugar,
About a month ago, I caught my leg on the corner of a metal daybed, and now have a nasty 3-inch scar below my knee. I have several weddings in the next few months where I wanted to wear a short dress, and was wondering if there is any natural or commercial product that would help the scar fade quickly.
— Scared of Scarring

I'm so sorry that you had an injury that has left you with a scar and that you asked this question. Scars are a natural part of the healing process after skin injury. However, various factors can influence how your skin scars. First and foremost, the depth and size of the wound and its location can affect how the scar looks. But, even your age, sex, ethnicity, and genetics can influence how your skin will react and ultimately what the scar will look like. Also, I must point out that scars will never completely go away, but there can be some treatments to minimize their appearance and size, if those are of concern to you. To learn more about scars and different treatments for scars, keep reading!

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's tackling a reader suffering from an allergic reaction to exercise.

Dear Dr. Sugar,
I work out regularly, but I have had a sort of reaction during my last two intense cardio workouts. My face turns bright red; I wheeze slightly, cough, and my eyes and nose itch. I have to stop and rest, but the symptoms go away after about 30 minutes. The symptoms seem to be similar to a food allergy, however I work out first thing in the morning and only have coffee before starting. What could be the cause of this reaction and how can I avoid it?
— Not Seeking a Workout Excuse, I Swear

Thank you for asking such an interesting question! Your symptoms that are brought on by exercise are actually quite concerning (especially the respiratory symptoms — cough and wheezing). I am glad that you stop and rest when these symptoms appear, as they could be a sign of possible allergic reaction to exercise. Yes, that's right, although rare, some people have an allergic response to exercise or physical exertion and their symptoms can range from a hives-like rash to a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction.

Allergic symptoms from physical exertion are called "exercise-induced anaphylaxis," according to Medscape. The most common symptoms present with this condition are itching, hives, angioedema (swelling of the eyes, lips, throat, hands, or feet), flushing, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, chest tightness, passing out (syncope), profuse sweating, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain), and choking, throat constriction, or hoarseness of the voice. Symptoms may occur at any stage of exercise, and stopping the exercise typically resolves the symptoms. However, Medscape does note that some people continue to have serious symptoms even after they stop exercising.

Learn more about an exercise-induced allergic reaction after the break!

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's offering advice on when you've missed a dose, or two, or three, of birth control pills.

We receive countless questions from women who have inadvertently skipped a birth control pill, so I will be giving a general overview on what to do when you realize you have missed a dose. While this week's column will have general information on oral contraceptives and how to manage missing doses, I stress that it is best to talk with your health care provider who prescribed the pills about what to do. Different brands of pills have varying hormonal formulations and thus different potential effects when pills are missed. In some cases, you may be able to simply resume taking pills at your regular time the day after missing a pill and move on with life. In other cases, skipping even one pill (or extending the placebo week) could result in a serious threat to effective pregnancy prevention; it really depends on the type of pill you take. An additional factor to be aware of is that some brands of pills are multiphasic, meaning that pills in a single pack of birth control have differing levels of hormones. Depending on which pill you missed (or which "phase" pill it was), your health care provider may have different recommendations about how to proceed. This column will provide information from Planned Parenthood on the most common type of birth control pills, the combination pill.

Keep on reading to learn what to do if you miss a pill.

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's answering a reader's question about cysts.

Dear DrSugar,
Recently I've been getting reoccurring, painful bumps in my armpits. I talked to my doctor about them, and she said they were most likely cysts, and as long as they go away, then I'm fine. I'm not concerned they're cancer or anything bad, but I'm just wondering if deodorants or antiperspirants can cause cysts? I also occasionally use "Certain Dri" antiperspirant for my excessive sweating, but I've recently stopped because I don't sweat as much anymore now that I've lost some weight. Could these deodorants/antiperspirants be the culprits?
Pitted Against Cysts

Learn DrSugar's answer when you read more.

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's schooling us on hypertension.

A recent study from the University of North Carolina found that about one in five young adults, between the ages 24 and 32, has high blood pressure, referred to as hypertension in medical terminology. The concerning part about this rise is that many of those at risk are unaware of this health issue, making this statistic extremely scary since hypertension is a medical condition that can have serious consequences. To learn more about hypertension and its medical consequences and how you can prevent hypertension, keep reading!

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's discussing possible causes for night sweats.

Dear DrSugar,
I have been having night sweats and waking up soaking wet about two nights a week. I am only 32, so it better not be menopause! This all started about two months, and interestingly enough I started training for a marathon four months ago. I have been steadily increasing my weekly mileage and have lost some weight and gained some muscle. My period has been a bit lighter too. I still get it, but it is shorter by two days or so. Any idea of what is going on?
— Sweaty Sleeper

First of all, congratulations on training for your first marathon; what an accomplishment that will be! To answer your question, there could be a lot of things going on, and I don’t think I can single in on even a couple of diagnoses, as there are so many things that can cause lighter periods/irregular periods as well as night sweats. Since you mentioned menopause specifically, I will discuss premature menopause today, as well as the common causes of irregular periods and night sweats. I suggest you be seen by your primary care provider for further workup, as there are many diagnoses that would need to be entertained for your constellation of symptoms. To learn more, keep reading.