POSTS WITH TAG: allergies

Healthy Living

Cats Do Not Belong in Your Bedroom

Posted by Amy Reiter
on Dec 28, 2011 at 5:09 PM

CatThe health benefits of owning a pet are well known: Having a furry friend around the house can lower your blood pressure, help you maintain healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and make you feel less lonely, boosting your mood and sense of well-being. But as anyone who finds herself wheezing, sneezing, and rubbing her itchy, itchy eyes at the first whiff of dander can tell you, pets can make you miserable from a health standpoint as well.

Sadly, a new study adds a new health twist for people who are longing to adopt a cat for the first time: If you've never owned a cat and you adopt one as an adult, you are almost twice as likely to develop an immune reaction to your kitty than people who owned cats when they were kids. The rates of response are even higher in people who have other allergies, prompting the researchers to recommend that those people consider avoiding cats altogether.

Read More
Healthy Living

Giuliana Rancic's Breast Cancer Is a Blessing in Disguise

Posted by Maressa Brown
on Nov 23, 2011 at 4:01 PM

Giuliana RancicWhen E! News host Giuliana Rancic announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, many of us were seriously dumbfounded by the news. This poor woman! Given her struggles with infertility and all the attention that's been paid to her weight, it seemed like she had already been through enough already!

But after having gone through a double lumpectomy as part of her breast cancer treatment last month, it turns out she's in really high spirits. She says she has "good days and bad days," but she's "hanging in there," and she credits her fans for that. She says she's grateful they've continued to tell her through blogs, tweets, and emails, "'Be strong. You're strong.'" I could see why that would make an amazing difference. In fact, it seems her entire experience -- from announcing the diagnosis to recovering from her surgery -- has ironically done a very positive number on Giuliana.  

Read More
Healthy Living

New Hand Towels Mean Germophobia Is Out of Control

Posted by Jacqueline Burt
on May 24, 2011 at 4:50 PM

kid dirty handsWhen I saw the new Kleenex commercial about the disgusting array of germs that can hide in the average home's hand towels, I couldn't resist going online and putting my own set under the microscope of the Kleenex Hand Towel Analyzer. It's easy enough: Answer a few questions about how many people live in your home, your family's handwashing habits, and whether or not you have pets, and voila! The Analyzer instantly tells you where your home's hand towels fall on the gross-out spectrum.

As a germaphobe with less-than-great housekeeping skills, I was neither pleased nor surprised with the Hand Towel Analyzer's results.

Read More
Love & Sex

Not Tonight, Dear, I'm Allergic to Your Sperm

Posted by Jennifer Cullen
on Jan 20, 2011 at 9:40 PM

Man fluDoes your partner ever claim to feel sick after he ejaculates? I mean really sick, with fever, fatigue, and itchy eyes, like he has the flu.

Well, he may be telling the truth, that he has the man-flu, and not just trying to find an excuse to lay around in bed because he’s worn out from your love-making session. He may actually be allergic to his own semen.

Huh? Come again?

The results of a new Dutch study of this semen allergy, known as post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), confirms the cause of this sickness. The study was conducted by pricking the subjects' skin with their own diluted semen and recording their bodies' reactions, which ran the gamut of flu-like symptoms.

Read More
Healthy Living

3 Dangerous Symptoms Disguised as the Common Cold

Posted by Maressa Brown
on Nov 17, 2010 at 7:55 PM

On last night's Glee, Mr. Shue came down with a nasty virus that almost led to him losing his gig as club director of New Directions. When he first starts feeling hot and woozy, he tries to shrug it off and "power through" teaching the glee kids. But it doesn't work. He ends up sick as a dog, in bed, being taken care of by his looney-tunes ex-wife.

We've all been there, right? The feeling of "coming down" with a bug is disgusting. Usually we're quick to conclude that we have a cold or the flu, but what if it's not?

Here, a few sneaky symptoms that pose as a cold or the flu ... but are really something else completely. 

Read More
Healthy Living

You Don't Have Eczema

Posted by Jeanne Sager
on Nov 8, 2010 at 6:55 AM

skinWelcome to winter, when everyone and their sister start scratching that red spot on their elbow and declares they've had it up to here with this blasted eczema.

Excuse me while I cough a little something into my napkin that rhymes with "mull bit."

Sure, you itch. But the chances are you don't have eczema.

Read More
Healthy Living

The World's Oddest Allergies

Posted by Sasha Brown-Worsham
on Aug 9, 2010 at 9:00 PM

If you've ever joked that you're allergic to working out while huffing and puffing through a class at the gym, you're in luck: Both sweat and exercise are among a number of strange and unusual allergies that people actually have.

An allergic reaction happens when our immune system decides that some neutral substance, called an allergen, is actually harmful. As we inhale, swallow, touch, or inject, we take in allergens and our immune system responds by attacking.

Read More
Healthy Living

Mold: Did It Contribute to Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack Deaths?

Posted by Julie Ryan Evans
on Jul 25, 2010 at 12:57 PM

Brittany MurphyWhen Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack died within months of each other, it was widely suspected that drugs were involved. Then last week a report came out that determined they both died from the same cause -- pneumonia and acute anemia -- which was curious.

Now officials are investigating if mold in their Hollywood Hills home might have played a role in their deaths, according to TMZ.

Read More
Healthy Living

How To Tell If It's Just a Summer Cold

Posted by Jeanne Sager
on Jul 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM

summer coldIf you've been sneezing and coughing all week, chances are someone has bemoaned the curse of the summer cold.

But with all those warnings that this year's was expected to be one of the worst allergy seasons ever, how do you know if you really have a cold or if your body is simply reacting to all the time you're spending outdoors?

 

Read More
Healthy Living

Are Your Taste Buds Male or Female?

Posted by Amy Kuras
on Jul 9, 2010 at 7:56 AM

ice creamHere's a pretty common scenario when my husband and I head out for a date night that includes a cocktail: The waitress arrives at our table with a Cosmopolitan and a Manhattan. She sets the Cosmo down in front of me and the Manhattan in front of my husband. We smile resignedly ... and switch the drinks back to their rightful owners.

I can see why she'd assume the Cosmo is mine, because it's pink, fruity, and strongly identified with Sex and the City. (Not mocking you, honey! Okay, maybe just a little teensy bit.) But food is gendered in all sorts of ways. If I write, "Chris is totally jonesing for some chocolate" you're picturing a female, right? If I substituted "nice bloody rare steak" for "chocolate," you'd most likely think Chris is a guy.

Read More
Advertisement
The Stir on Twitter

Will you tune in? Secrets of Monica Lewinksy Scandal Revealed in Upcoming Bill Clinton Documentary: http://t.co/SltRmELB via @WWLD_jburt 5 hours ago
#BreakingDawn, Part 2 Success Depends on Rob & Kristen Staying Together: http://t.co/EPbzIJ5G via @The_Stir + @TheMommyologist #Twilight 6 hours ago
Republican Candidates Don't Support Women -- So How Can They Represent Us?: http://t.co/vmuOuwjW via @momsmatter2012 + @IlinaP 7 hours ago
Follow Us On Twitter Follow The_Stir on Twitter
Advertisement