Top ASKS this Week: Heart Rate, Acne and Iron Deficiency

This week we saw a wide variety of questions come into our community. Women asked about heart rates, pelvic inflammatory disease and acne. Our moderators provided resources and answers to these health questions as well as many others. Do you have a health question you need an answer for? Post it to our community, and we promise to respond within 24 hours.

Here are some of our top ASKs in the EmpowHER community this week.

1. Why is my heart beating faster than normal?

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A: A rapid heart rate could be through stress or anxiety - do you have extra stress in your life? There are other reasons for rapid heart beat. One is called tachycardia. In its simplest terms, tachycardia means that you have a faster than normal heart beat. According to the Mayo Clinic, the resting heart rate of most adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. For persons with tachycardia, the rate is significantly higher and can affect either the upper or lower chambers of the heart. In some instances, both chambers of the heart may be affected.

2. I was diagnosed with sciatica, what is it and how should I treat it?

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A: As you may have been told, sciatica is nerve pain. It refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body. Sciatica most commonly occurs when a herniated disk, bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine (spinal stenosis) compresses part of the nerve. This causes inflammation, pain and often some numbness in the affected leg.

3. I was diagnosis with pelvic inflammatory disease, what can you tell me about the disease?

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A: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female reproductive organs. It usually occurs when sexually transmitted bacteria spread from your vagina to your uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries. It can be caused by a number of bacteria but are most often caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia infections. These bacteria are usually acquired during unprotected sex.

Read the full answer here.

4. What are the best vegetables to eat for iron?

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A: Iron is important to the diet and the good news is that there are lots of vegetables out there that can supply iron. Here is a list of vegetables (and vegetarian foods) high in iron: Leafy green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and spinach (Popeye was strong for a reason!) Also, asparagus, leeks, green onions (scallions) and arugula.

5. How can I get rid of acne spots?

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A: Acne occurs when the pores of the skin become clogged, inflamed, and sometimes infected. These clogged pores can result in blackheads, whiteheads, or pimples. Acne tends to occur in teenagers, but can also occur in adults. Some acne can be hormonal in nature - say around the time of your period. Some can be due to not washing your skin properly, not removing makeup or from weather conditions. A lot of sweating can cause acne, especially on the forehead and nose area.