This week we saw a wide variety of questions come into our community. Women asked about sore throats, ear popping and hair loss. 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. I've been sick with a cold, and now I feel like I need to pop my ears. What can I do?
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A: I think this is the result of changing pressure in your Eustachian tubes caused by forcefully blowing of your nose. The Eustachian tube connects the air filled middle ear space to the throat. It's function is mainly to keep the pressure in the middle ear equalized with pressure in the outside. When the pressure becomes negative with respect to the outside world, the ear drum gets pulled inward. When pressure is positive, the ear drum bows outward.
Read the full answer here.2.Why has my hair been falling out?
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A: To know the exact reason, you will have to see a doctor or dermatologist but there are several reasons it could be happening. It's normal for hair to fall out. We normally shed 50 to 100 hairs a day. However, sometimes other causes for losing our hair are at play. Depending on the cause, there may be things we can do about those thinning locks.
Read the full answer here.3. I feel like I was born with a small bladder. Is that a health condition?
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A: Anonymous, I could not find any information on congenital or at birth small bladder. Anatomically, it’s highly unlikely anyone has a small bladder. Our internal organs don’t tend to differ from one person to the next. However, it is possible to have a functionally small bladder, which means your bladder, for any number of reasons, can’t hold a lot of urine. Bladder muscles (detrusor) and/or the bladder sphincter muscles become overactive and as a result there is a constant need to void.
4. My throat hurts really bad, what could be the cause?
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A: You may have a throat infection - it could be strep throat. Antibiotics can help to clear it up quickly. You will need to see a doctor for a diagnosis - a test result is almost immediate, it takes about 10 minutes.
Read the full answer here.