That's Fit

I used to work on a computer support line. For some reason, I'd get hiccups very often back then. So I'd be on the phone with a client holding my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound or pressing the mute button so they didn't hear my hiccups. Part way through my hiccupy calls, the guy in the cube next to me was doing the same muffle/mute routine -- but not to block his own hiccups ... instead he was trying to cover up his laughter over my predicament.

Everybody gets hiccups from time to time. There are many causes for a case of the hiccups, ranging from stress, to a large meal, to a sudden change in temperature. A hiccup is just a involuntary contraction of the diaphragm (a muscle involved with respiration).

So what do you do to cure hiccups? There are plenty of home remedies for hiccups, but most are pretty ineffective. Taking a spoonful of sugar, holding your breath, being startled, or drinking cold water quickly are just a few. For some people, taking slow, controlled breaths can help the hiccups. For most people, however, you just have to let them run their course. Though very rare, some people do get cases of prolonged hiccups. If you have a case of hiccups that lasts for a long time, call your doctor for advice.

By now, we should all be aware of the importance of breathing. After all, it's what keeps us alive, right? So why is it that when we work out our hardest, we sometimes forget to breathe? That's when our bodies need it the most--when we're pushing our limits and challenging ourselves to the max.

So how's your breathing during your workout? For me, it's the weights that make me forget my breath. I take a weight-lifting class a few times a week and funny though it sounds, I usually need to be reminded by the instructor to breathe--otherwise I'll hold my breath until I get a short break. No wonder I get dizzy sometimes!

It's a fact: most kids love sugar. Candy could be a food group all by itself for young children and teens, which goes a long way in explaining why certain asthmatic symptoms show up when a diet rich in sugar is consumed.

The theory behind the sugar and asthma connection comes from the Nestle Research Center of all places. Not a bad location to try testing this idea! What researchers found was that ingesting lots of sugar results in mucus production and narrowed airways due to inflammation.

In turn, asthmatic wheezing is produced. This priming of the immune system was a hypothesis presented by Dr. Sonja Kierstein. Testing began on mice, which reacted to the sugar much like kids (in other words, they couldn't get enough of it). By the end of the procedure, the sugar-fed mice had twice the airway inflammation as their tested counterparts. If you're interested in reading more, check out the report here.

Fortunately for THIS LADY, being allergic to cats is not a problem (although living in a house filled with 130 cats clearly is). However, it turns out that even if you're not allergic to cats, their dander can still cause some breathing difficulties for people with asthma and other types of allergies.

A European study found that the dried skin and shed fur of cats, which is basically what makes up dander, can cause breathing problems in people who don't have feline allergies. If you happen to have such similar symptoms around cats, the obvious solutions would be to just stay away from cats. Also, closing your windows may be a good idea if your neighbor is a cat owner, as dander can travel from their home to yours.

Now, go enjoy the clip I linked to above, will ya!! 130 cats??? That's just ridiculous. It looks like a cat mosh pit in that house!!

Ever heard of metronomes? We all have one and if we'd like to make our exercise walks a bit more pleasant, we'd be wise to tune into these internal pace-setting mechanisms in our bodies.

When we walk, we pay attention to all sorts of messages sent from outside our bodies -- like beautiful scenery, crosswalk signs, bikes that pass us by, and cars zipping around. But paying attention to what comes from inside our bodies can lead to smoother, more enjoyable walks.

We all have two forms of rhythm -- breathing and heart rate. Let's start with breathing.

We have a natural breathing pattern we may not even be aware of. When we exercise, breathing becomes very important because our bodies need more air to move us long. Next time you go out for a power walk, try to coordinate the rhythm of your steps with the rhythm of your breathing. Breathe in for two steps and breathe out for two steps -- or use whatever count works best for you. Regardless, you'll see what a difference this makes for your walking.

Now for heart rate. When we exert ourselves physically, our hearts pump blood at a faster rate than when we're resting. The harder we work, the faster our hearts pump. Get a sense of your own personal pump as you walk and then try to coordinate this beat with your steps. Coordinating your three rhythms -- steps, breath, and heart beats -- will make you feel a whole better.

Hot flashes. Probably the most famous of all the menopause symptoms. But what if you could do away with them just by breathing a certain way? No pills, no hormones, just breathing.

It's called paced respiration, and the women who practice it can usually cut their number of hot flashes in half. Nobody really knows how or why this breathing technique works, but it does.

Some people experience it more than others, but I think most of us have gone through it at some point in our lives: that frustrating inability to get a deep breath when you're really nervous or anxious about something. This article I came across was published awhile ago, but it's got a great set of tips (complete with stick man illustrations!) on how to "reboot" your lungs and get over that annoying shallow breathing pattern we sometimes get stuck in.

If nervous breathing happens to you often how do you deal with it?

As most asthmatics probably know, there is no special diet for curbing asthma. Asthma's inflammation can't be hobbled by that certain fruit or beverage, according to sources.

Is asthma associated with obesity? In some, it is. The failure of many asthmatics to be able and work up heavy breathing during exercise can lead to a lack of it -- and that deficiency can lead to more fat being stored instead of burned.

For asthmatics in particular, watching a diet and trying to find ways to exercise that won't overstimulate your breathing should be part of a healthy daily routine. Every try Pilates? Works wonders for many, and you control the heavy breathing.

Asthmatics usually feel like their goal is to breathe more, because attacks can leave us feeling breathless. But according to practitioners of the Buteyko method, what we all should be doing -- asthmatic or not -- is breathing less.

Over breathing, or chronic hyperventilation, has been linked to a litany of health problems, including asthma, but also conditions like allergies, snoring, sleep apnea, and heart palpitations, among others. The Buteyko method teaches patients to breathe less through reduced breathing exercises, slowly and naturally raising body's CO2 set point. In clinical trials, asthmatics saw a 90% drop in the use of bronchodilaters and reduced the use of inhaled steroids by about 50%. (Buteyko practitioners do not recommend stopping any asthma medications and encourage patients to use emergency inhalers when necessary. When symptoms improve, patients are taught only to reduce the use of preventer medication ONLY with the help of their doctor.)

My own asthma flared this spring and refused to respond to an increase in medications, which led me to Buteyko. I read a book and ordered a DVD, but ultimately ended up meeting with a trainer anyway and was glad I did. In the month that I've been learning the techniques, I've seen my own reduction of bronchodilater use and hope that as I get better and more consistent with the reduced breathing exercises, I see an even bigger reduction of symptoms.

For more information about Buteyko or to find a practitioner, visit the Buteyko Institute of Breathing and Health.

The body has an infinitely intricate set of mechanisms that all work together for your body to function on a day-to-day basis. Most of the time we're completely unaware of all these small adjustments our bodies are making, and, subsequently, wouldn't know how to replicate them on purpose. But by understanding these mechanisms, you can manipulate, or "trick," your body into better performance.

Eco Dialogues has created a list of 18 useful "tricks" -- such as how to "make your heart stand still." Apparently, you can calm a racing heart simply by blowing on your thumb. They interviewed an emergency medical services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh who says the vagus nerve -- which governs heart rate -- can be controlled by breathing. So when you're nervous before a big speech, or on a first date, breathing on your thumb can get things back to normal.

Other interesting "tricks" include how to tickle your throat by scratching your ear, experience supersonic hearing, unstitch your side and breathe underwater. Some are more useful than others, but all of them are certainly interesting!

I was in a minor car accident when I was younger, and because I'd hit my head the paramedics insisted on taking me to the hospital to get checked out. It was the only time I've ever been in an ambulance, and one of the things that stands out in my memory is the EMT putting the oxygen on my face and apparently trying to lighten the mood by smiling and saying "breathing this pure oxygen is totally going to give you a natural high."

Well it didn't give me a natural high, and according to this new research it may have actually done some damage instead. Testing shows that inhaling pure oxygen has exactly the opposite effect than intended: it triggers the release of hormones and chemicals that can potentially hurt the brain and heart, and that interfere with normal blood flow and oxygenation of vital organs. It seems a mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen proves to be much better, or even just plain old room air -- which they already use for patients in Europe. Who knew?

Although pleurisy is most commonly caused by viral infections, other underlying diseases can cause it such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, and other diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, liver and kidney disease, heart failure and pulmonary embolism. Other causes include chest injuries and drug reactions.

Pleurisy, also called pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, which is the moist, double layered membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the rib cage. The condition can make breathing extremely painful, and sometimes it is associated with another condition called pleural effusion where excess fluid fills the area between the membrane's layers.

The pain of pleurisy is usually treated with analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and indomethacin. Pleurisy from a bacterial infection can be successfully treated with antibiotics, while no treatment is given for viral infections that must run their course. Alternative treatments can be used to help heal pleurisy. Acupuncture and botanical medicines are alternative approaches for relieving pain and breathing problems. An herbal remedy commonly recommended is Asclepias tuberosa otherwise known as pleurisy root. It got that name by early American settlers who learned of this medicinal plant from Native Americans. Pleurisy root helps to ease pain, inflammation, and breathing difficulties brought on by pleurisy.

Toxic shock syndrome is a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection that has been most often associated with the use of super absorbent tampons and occasionally with the use of contraceptive sponges. While the infection often occurs in menstruating women, it can also affect men, children and post menopausal women. Other risk factors for toxic shock syndrome include skin wounds and surgery. Signs and symptoms of toxic shock syndrome develop suddenly, and the disease can be fatal.

Can your child develop Toxic Shock Syndrome? Yes they can. A related infection, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS, is caused by streptococcus bacteria. Most often STSS appears after streptococcus bacteria have invaded areas of injured skin, such as cuts and scrapes, surgical wounds, and even chickenpox blisters.

Sign of Toxic Shock Syndrome are signs of shock, cold hands and feet, a pulse that is fast and weak, confusion or other mental changes, their skin is pale and moist, shortness of breath or abnormally fast breathing, a fever, a rash that looks like sunburn, nausea and vomiting and watery diarrhea, decreased urination, and confusion or other mental changes.

Call your child's doctor or get them to an emergency quickly if they have these symptoms because the sooner they get attention the quicker they recover. Men can develop this infection also. Keeping your child's hands washed is a good way to fight the bacteria that can cause and spread this illness.

Are you an endurance athlete? If so, you probably focus your training on building strength and endurance in the muscles you use the most for your sport - but what are you doing to train your respiratory muscles?

New research in the European Journal of Applied Physiology shows that training your breathing muscles can help your body perform longer before fatigue sets in. Often our "stopping point" is decided when the muscles we use to breathe can't keep up with the demand put on them by our bodies, so by training these muscles to last longer, our overall athletic performance can last longer too. This research applied specifically to swimmers but holds true for other endurance sports as well.

Which means that endurance athletes should be training their respiratory muscles just as diligently as the rest of their body. How do you train respiratory muscles? Check with your doctor first, then check out special respiratory training devices like the PowerLung or POWERbreathe that are created especially to train respiratory muscles for greater stamina.

In just a few days more people will be starting new fitness plans than at any other time of year. Some will be seasoned athletes simply renewing their focus, and many will people starting up for the first time in a long time. For everybody, but for those newbies particularly, making sure you breathe correctly when working out will make a big difference in how healthy and effective your New Year's workout plan will be.

Start out by relaxing and taking a few deep breaths. Cough if you need to clear your throat, and breathe slowly. A good rule of thumb is to count while you breathe -- breathe in for two seconds and breathe out for four seconds. And if you feel out of breath at any point, slow down the pace to a comfortable level.