How Long Should a Cough Last?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by admin

Has your annoying cough been dragging on for weeks? It’s annoying for sure, but it’s also totally normal. People tend to underestimate how long a cough should last, according to a new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine. Skewed expectations may be one reason why antibiotics are over-prescribed, even for viral infections.

In a phone survey, researchers asked 493 people how long they thought a case of ACI (acute cough illness, a.k.a. a cold that causes coughing) should last. At the same time, they looked at the existing medical literature to see how long ACI actually lasts on average. Survey respondents guessed that a cough should last 7-9 days. The literature, by contrast, showed that the mean duration of a cough is almost 18 days.

18 days of hacking sounds like a long time, which helps explain why many people would be tempted to see a doctor much sooner than that. Doctors may feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics, even when it’s unnecessary or (in the case of a viral infection) useless.

There’s a reason we get anxious about a lingering cough, says lead study author Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, an associate professor at the University of Georgia. “There are a lot of infections like the common cold … that last maybe a week to 10 days,” he says. “I think people extend that to bronchitis or a chest cold and think it should last that long as well.” Some coughs hang around for longer, and as inconvenient as they can be, we need to allow ourselves enough time to recover. “Americans are not known for being the most patient people in the world,” Ebell adds.

Knowing the actual timeline can keep you from getting freaked out for no reason. Still, there are signs to watch out for, says Meir Kryger, MD, a professor of pulmonary medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Watch to see if your cough has a creepy partner in crime, like funky-looking or excessive phlegm. “If you’re coughing and you’re bringing up something, it’s usually something you should go to the doctor for,” says Kryger. Also watch for changes in the color of your phlegm or traces of blood, both of which merit a trip to the doc.

If your cough is accompanied by shortness of breath or a wheezing noise in your chest, it’s also smart to get checked out. A barking or whooping sound, accompanied by a coughing spasm, could be a sign of adult whooping cough, which Kryger says is on the rise. In addition, some coughs can be caused or aggravated by certain medications, like those used to treat high blood pressure.

While you may not be breathing easy in just one or two weeks’ time, see a doc if you have any of the above symptoms. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Kryger.

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Should You Stop Eating Fish?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by admin

You might want to think twice about feasting on seafood. A whopping 84 percent of fish samples taken from around the world contain unsafe levels of mercury, according to a new report from the Biodiversity Research Institute and the International Persistent Organic Pollutants Elimination Network. It isn’t safe to eat fish with such high levels of mercury more than once a month, according to the findings.

And that’s not all. Researchers also took hair samples from 152 people from around the world. What they found: More than 82 percent contained mercury levels greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended level. Translation: People are exposed to more mercury than is good for them.

So what’s the big deal? Consuming mercury can affect your nervous system and your brain, and this can be especially dangerous for children and women who are pregnant, according to Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CDN, CPT, owner of Manhattan-based practice Your New York Dietician. “Mercury acts like a neurotoxin which, even in low doses, can impair a baby’s development and cognitive function. In some cases it can lead to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and loss of sight and hearing,” she says. “In non-pregnant adults, mercury affects fertility, blood pressure, memory, and eyesight.”

Pretty scary stuff, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to cut fish out of your diet altogether. “Because fish is an important nutrient source, it’s more about being smart with what you are eating vs. avoiding eating fish,” says David Evers, PhD, chief scientist of the Biodiversity Research Institute who specializes in research on ecotoxicology. He suggests consulting your doctor and checking out the EPA’s recommendations to lower your risk.

Here, excepted from the EPA’s website, three guidelines for reducing your exposure to mercury found in fish:

1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.

3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week.

Click here for more info. on fish safety from the EPA.

Click here to see the Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish from the Natural Defense Council.

Pregnant or planning to become pregnant? Click here for the NRDC’s Mercury in Fish Wallet Card.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Should You Stop Eating Fish?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by admin

Here, excepted from the EPA’s website, three guidelines for reducing your exposure to mercury found in fish:

1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.

Click here for more info. on fish safety from the EPA.

Click here to see the Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish from the Natural Defense Council.

Pregnant or planning to become pregnant? Click here for the NRDC’s Mercury in Fish Wallet Card.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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How Long Should a Cough Last?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by admin

While you may not be breathing easy in just one or two weeks’ time, see a doc if you have any of the above symptoms. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Kryger.

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Should You Try the Paleo Diet?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by admin

2013 is the year of the caveman diet—at least so far. During the first week of January, “Paleo diet” was the most searched-for diet on the web, according to Experian Marketing Services data.

Typically, searches for diets peak at the beginning of the year (think: resolution time) and predict what diets will be popular through the year, according to Experian Marketing Services. “People are looking for answers to lose weight and manage their health, and people tend to gravitate toward the Paleo diet because a lot of it intuitively makes sense,” says Cynthia Wu, RD, Ph.D., outpatient dietician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

The Paleo (short for Paleolithic) diet is simple: Eat a strict hunter-gatherer diet of meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. That means grains, dairy, legumes, salt, processed foods, and refined sugars are off the menu. Proponents of the diet maintain that obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are consequences of a modernized diet, and returning to pre-civilization eating habits will prevent their occurrence.

But even if a fat caveman is impossible to find, is the diet right for 2013? Here, we weigh the pros and cons of the Paleo diet:

PALEO DIET PROS

It Eliminates Processed Foods Processed foods, which are outlawed on the Paleo diet, are high in refined sugars. Stripped of their vitamins and minerals and reduced to quickly digested calories, refined sugars can increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Meanwhile, about 75 percent of the average American’s sodium intake (which is almost twice what it should be!) comes from commercially prepared foods, contributing to high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach cancer, weak bones, and water retention, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

It Increases Lean Protein High-protein diets minimize post-meal sugar spikes, reduce fat storage, improve appetite control, and help maintain lean muscle, says Wu. A diet in which about a quarter of the calories come from lean protein sources reduces blood pressure, LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and triglycerides better than traditional diets, according to research from Johns Hopkins University.

It Promotes Fruits and Vegetables While fruits and vegetables contain simple sugars, they also contain micronutrients and appetite- and blood sugar-stabilizing fiber. A diet rich in produce can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, Wu says. And a recent study from the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College found that happiness and mental health are highest among people who eat seven portions of fruits and veggies a day.

PALEO DIET CONS

It Cuts Out Healthy Food Groups Research shows that the nutrients in legumes, whole grains, and dairy—all of which are taboo on the diet—can help to lower the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, reduce blood pressure, and promote a healthy weight, Wu says. Cutting dairy, the primary source of calcium and vitamin D in modern diets, is especially troubling to women who want to keep their bones strong for decades to come, she says.

It Includes Too Much Meat While not only impossible for vegetarians, the diet requires more animal protein than Wu advises her patients consume. Fresh fish and meat from grass-fed cows, chickens, and pigs are lean, but as they can be difficult to find and afford, so many Paleo dieters end up eating less-than-lean meats, she says. In one study, researchers from the Imperial College London found that an extra 250 grams of meat a day (about equal to a small steak) leads to an additional weight gain of 5 pounds over five years, even without adding calories.

It’s Very Difficult If you haven’t guessed by now, eating only meats and produce requires a lot of planning, prep-time, and dedication. “The diet isn’t sustainable over the long term, and can result in intense cravings,” Wu says. What’s more, as it allows for only fresh meats and produce—both of which tend to be expensive—the diet can get costly very quickly.

THE BOTTOM LINE

While the Paleo diet has a lot of nutritional benefits, it falls short on do-ability and—if you aren’t a supplement connoisseur—on nutrients. Instead of subscribing to an all-or-nothing Paleo approach, Wu suggests taking the diet as a starting point, swapping out Flintstones-worthy slabs of meat for healthy, nutrient-rich (but Paleo-banned) foods, such as whole grains, dairy, and legumes. And since milk, cheese, yogurt, beans, and lentils are excellent sources of protein, you can get the benefit of a protein-packed diet without all of the meat.

photo: Spike Mafford/Photodisc/Thinkstock

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Should You Be Worried About Blood Clots?

Posted on January 7, 2013 by admin

If something can delay the Secretary of State from doing her job, you know it’s dangerous. Hillary Clinton was recently released from the hospital after being treated for a blood clot near her brain. The good news: Clinton has made a full recovery and is back to work. The bad news: Most women aren’t aware of the risk factors and warning signs of a clot.

So what exactly is a blood clot? “It’s basically when your blood goes from a liquid to a solid state,” says Lorenzo Munoz, M.D., neurosurgeon at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Think of your veins as a series of pipes, and you can see how an obstruction would cause major damage to your circulatory system. Though Clinton’s blood clot was located in her head, they can also crop up in the veins in your legs, lungs, and neck.

Clots are typically treated with anticoagulants (blood thinners), which help to break them up and keep them from getting bigger, says Munoz. But if they’re left untreated they can cause serious complications. “Sometimes they form and go away,” says Munoz. “But if you have a clot in your leg that becomes dislodged, it can cause a pulmonary embolism, which can keep you from breathing and can kill you. And if a clot travels to your brain, you can have a stroke.”

While it’s not always possible to prevent a clot, taking these precautions can help keep you safe:

Know the risk factors
There isn’t one main cause of blood clots, but doctors have pinpointed a few factors that may bring them on. “If you have a penetrating injury to your skull that interrupts the flow of blood, that can be a precipitating factor,” says Munoz. Other risks include dehydration, steroid use, hypervitaminosis (an excess of vitamins), and birth control use in women over 35 and women who smoke. In fact, just step away from the cigarettes completely. “If you’re on birth control and smoking, you’re asking for trouble,” says Munoz.

Stay hydrated
Dehydration is a huge cause of blood clots, since it messes with your natural blood flow. “The more hydrated you are, the better your circulatory system is working,” says Munoz. Before you hop on a plane, make sure to stock your bag with a water bottle—flying tends to suck the fluids right out of you.

Keep moving
Sit at a desk all day? Roll your ankles while you’re seated, and take a few short breaks to get up and walk around, says Munoz. Any light movement will get your blood flowing, which can reduce your risk of blood clots.

Look for the warning signs
A blood clot in your leg can be accompanied by calf pain, swelling, redness, or even lumpiness in the veins, says Munoz. A clot near your brain, like Clinton’s, can be associated with a bad headache, seizures, vision problems, numbness, or weakness. “Any time you have an unexplained, atypical headache that doesn’t go away with a pain reliever, you should get it checked out,” says Munoz. And if you’ve had a clot in the past, be sure to schedule regular appointments with your doctor to avoid another one.

photo: Thinkstock

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Should You Take a Break from Working Out?

Posted on December 27, 2012 by admin

Former gym rat Gwen Stefani has thrown in the towel on exercise. “This past year, I kind of stopped working out. I think my body just needed a break. And so I did that and focused more on feeling good as opposed to beating myself up,” she recently told Marie Claire UK in an interview.

While recording and promoting No Doubt’s sixth studio album, Push And Shove, the singer, clothing designer, wife, and mother of two decided that working out, something she once felt she “had to do,” had to go. Last year, Stefani claimed she was addicted to exercising, according to the magazine.

However, that all-or-nothing approach to exercise is what Stefani and other exercisers really need to rid themselves of, says Barbara Bushman, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at Missouri State University.

“Rest can be just as important to fitness as working out,” she says. Why? Your body doesn’t get stronger during exercise. It gets stronger while it’s rebuilding itself from that exercise. Overtraining deprives your muscles the time they need to heal, diminishing results and risking injury. What’s more, people who work out too hard for too long may be less healthy than people who don’t work out at all, according to a review recently published in the British journal Heart. During excessive exercise, the body releases more free radicals than the body’s antioxidants can handle, risking harm to internal organs and tissues.

“However, rest doesn’t mean lying in a hammock. Rest should be part of your workout, not an alternative to your workout,” Bushman says. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits you from exercising, physical activity should always be part of a healthy lifestyle. Putting exercise on hold for more than two weeks can lead to loss of muscle mass and a decline in fitness.

Have you been beating yourself up with exercise? Here, five ways to make rest part of your workout, improve your fitness gains, and love the gym again:

Be diligent with off days
Include at least one or two no-exercise days into your fitness schedule each week, and let at least 48 hours pass before re-working any given muscle group to give your body time to repair itself, Bushman advises. For example, if you work your triceps hard on Monday, wait until Wednesday to perform a triceps-specific exercise. Also, by realizing that effective workouts can be short and sweet, you are less likely to feel that they are keeping you from your other priorities. Bonus: In a recent study from the University of Copenhagen, people who exercised for 30 minutes a day lost more weight than those who exercised for an hour a day.

Alternate hard and easy
Crafting a schedule that switches between “hard” and “easy” days can add variety, interest, and needed rest into your workout. Runners who train using the model suffer fewer injuries, enjoy their workouts more, and can run almost twice as far as those who exercise at a similar level of intensity during each workout, according to University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman, who popularized the training principle.

Try something new
Have you stopped looking forward to your workouts? “Try out a new exercise such as hiking or cycling, or take up a team sport or gym class with your friends,” Bushman says. It will allow you to mix up your workout plan, give overworked muscles a rest, and train those you might typically miss.

Nourish your muscles
Between workouts, focus on helping your muscles repair themselves through gentle stretching, eight hours of sleep a night, and plenty of healthy muscle-building foods, she says. Research has shown that good-for-you nutrients including protein, whole grain-carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D promote cell growth and muscle recovery. (Check out the best workout foods.)

Tweak your priorities
By valuing working out as a way to improve mood, fight stress, and increase energy, you’ll enjoy exercise more and consider it as something you want to do, not something you are obligated to do, Bushman says. The result: You’ll make fitness a priority over the long term and reap bigger fitness gains. According to research from the American College of Sports Medicine, people who exercise to feel good stick with workouts longer than those who do it to look good.

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5 Things You Should Do If You Lose Your Job

Posted on November 26, 2012 by admin

Job loss is hard enough as it is. But new research now shows that it can actually be dangerous. Unemployment has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack, according to an article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at Duke University conducted a large cohort study of 13,451 U.S. adults between ages 51 and 75 from 1992 to 2010. They looked at various factors associated with unemployment and the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, or heart attack), and found that AMI risk was highest in the first year of job loss, and also increased with each subsequent job loss up to four thereafter.

There may be a few reasons for the jump in cardiac problems. “Heart attacks are often preventable, so barriers to good healthcare put you at higher risk of heart attack,” says interventional cardiologist Sara Collins, MD. “Unemployment status may be associated with loss of insurance, and therefore, worse access to healthcare.” This means a reduction in heart attack-prevention practices, like medication, doctor visits and screening exams. Collins also says those who can no longer afford child or elderly care during unemployment may be reluctant to leave home to see a doc, ignoring signs of an impending heart attack.

An additional factor may be your anxiety level while dealing with the shock and strain of newfound unemployment. “The chemicals associated with stress, like acetylcholine, have been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks,” Collins says.

Since risk is highest during the first year after job loss, it helps to get back on the horse as quickly as possible. Here’s what to if you’re let go:

Overhaul your resume. Give your CV a makeover. On the resume, list just your credentials using strong action verbs like “completed” and “directed.” And then ditch the mission statement. “You can totally misfire with that,” says Austin. “Use results where possible. They’re the measure of success. Then, really take a look at yourself. Are you a people person? Good with numbers? Tech smart? Make a list of all the things you’re good at.” Group your qualities into categories, and refer to these when drawing up a cover letter.

Network the right way. Don’t bother using a mass-mailing website to look for a job. Austin insists your resume will just go into “the black hole of cyberspace.” Tap existing relationships. “Talk to everyone you know, tell them the kinds of things you’d like to do, and ask if they know someone who knows someone,” Austin says. “Don’t ask for referrals, just ask for people you can talk to. Ask senior people if they know anyone you can talk to about a job. It’s the best way to get on the radar, especially in this work environment.”

Be persistent. You may send out 10 or 20 resumes and only get one phone call back. Stay upbeat. “You cannot let anyone see you beaten down,” says Austin. “If you go on an interview, check in. Call. Send a handwritten note. Ask, ‘Is there anything else you need? I haven’t heard back from you.’ Don’t be annoying, but be of service.” Never let the silence or a no stop you. Move on to the next.

Keep your workout routine. Staying fit and looking after yourself will help you stay in shape both mentally and physically—which will help with your overall outlook. “You need to take a positive approach,” says Leslie Austin, Ph.D., an executive coach and corporate consultant based in New York City. “Being positive is a discipline. It will get you your next job. It will help manage your stress while looking. In a good economy, employers need workers. In a bad economy, they need good workers.” Like you. So, keep in tip-top shape. Exercise, eat well, take care of yourself and steer clear of pity parties.

Stay busy. Black clouds creep in when you stay in and crack open a bag of Oreos. Get up. Get moving. “Go volunteer,” says Austin. “It is very good for morale to help others. Plus, you never know how you will meet someone.” Potential career connections can hide anywhere – except at home in front of the TV.

photo: Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock

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5 Times You Should Call in Sick to Work

Posted on November 21, 2012 by admin

When you wake up feeling under the weather, the last thing you’re capable of doing is thinking clearly. But if it’s a weekday, the decision you have to make—call out or head in—is as stressful and confusing as the time you had to figure out what to do with your boss’s Facebook friend request.

Turns out, according to the Flu Season Survey from Staples, nearly 80 percent of office workers head to the office when they’re feeling sick, even if they know they’re contagious. And this, experts warn, is a bad move—not just for you, but for your coworkers, too.

“We’ve all heard about absenteeism, but presenteeism, or heading to work when you know you’re not well, is even more of an epidemic,” says Louis Papa, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. “Not only does pushing yourself through the day stress your body and cause a cold or flu to linger, but it also rapidly spreads germs to people in close proximity.”

That said, even experts concede that it’s unrealistic to call in for every single sniffle. Here, how to suss out whether you should crawl under the covers or click on the coffee pot and suck it up.

STAY HOME IF:

Your nose is like a leaky faucet, or you hack up fluid when you cough. “The more liquid your body is producing, the more of a chance there is for germs to spread,” warns Papa. Many people assume that the color of their mucus holds a key to whether or not they are contagious, but Papa warns that isn’t true. “While it’s true that yellow or green mucus is a sign your body is actively fighting a bug, since the color is caused by enzymes found in infection fighting white blood cells, you’re most contagious in the day or two before full-blown symptoms appear, when the mucus may still be clear.”

You’re running to the bathroom every hour. Not only is it miserable to spend your day sprinting across the office to deal with gut issues, but since diarrhea and vomiting both dehydrate you, the mere act of heading to work and trying to keep up with your everyday routine could leave you feeling even sicker than when you started. Stay home until your stomach calms down.

Your eyes are red and crusty. If you wake up and your eye is swollen shut, or it oozes any sort of substance, you may have pinkeye—a highly contagious infection that won’t go away without antibiotics. Stay home and make a doctor’s appointment.

Your joints are achy. “When a person gets the flu, white blood cells release proteins called cytokines to fight the infection,” explains Papa. Turns out, it’s these proteins—not the virus—that are responsible for the all-over body pain you feel during the flu. Rest up so your body can do its work.

You don’t have an appetite. Even if you don’t feel like you’re going to throw up, appetite loss—you can’t finish your breakfast, going to the DMV sounds more appealing than going to lunch—is a clear sign your body is battling a bug. “When your immune system launches a response, it causes hormonal changes that affect appetite,” explains Papa. Going through a full workday on an empty stomach under these conditions further stress your body and could hinder your recovery.

HEAD TO WORK IF:

Your coughing and sneezing don’t make strangers stare. Take the stranger test: Does your hacking cough make the guy at the coffee counter cringe? If not, then head to work if you have to. Just make sure to wash your hands often and wipe down the surfaces of your desk and your phone with an antibacterial wipe at the end of the day to minimize the chances of germs spreading, suggests Papa.

You had tummy troubles during the night, but are fine at breakfast. “An isolated incident of an upset stomach or bout of diarrhea can be caused by mild food poisoning, stress, or even medication,” says Papa. If you’re feeling fine in the AM, it’s all right to head to work—just make sure to drink plenty of fluids to make up for what you lost.

You don’t interact with a ton of people on the job. Sounds obvious, but the more people you interact with, the easier it is for germs to spread, even if you’re being careful where you cough. On the other hand, if you have your own office and use your own supplies, you can use your judgment if your symptoms are mild.

You have an all-over headache. Mild tightness, pain, or pressure throughout your entire head, without any other symptoms, is most likely a tension headache, which can be caused by stress, spending a length of time in an unusual position (like sleeping on a plane) or too much screen time on your laptop. If the headache is severe, accompanied by other symptoms, or concentrated in one place, talk to your doc. Otherwise, head to work.

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Should You Freeze Your Eggs?

Posted on October 26, 2012 by admin

In new guidelines published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) said that there is “good evidence” that pregnancy rates in younger women following fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization are similar whether the eggs used were fresh or previously frozen.

As a result, the ASRM says that egg freezing for women who face infertility should no longer be considered experimental. The group analyzed almost 1,000 published studies in its first review of egg freezing since 2008.

So how does putting an egg on ice work? A woman injects herself with hormones every day for two weeks to trigger her ovaries to produce multiple eggs. During that time, she will visit her doctor every three days for blood work and ultrasounds. Her doctor will perform retrieval surgery under general anesthesia, where the doc removes the eggs by inserting a microthin needle into each ovary through the vaginal wall. Then the eggs are flash-frozen using a technology called vitrification that seals an egg in ice in seconds. The eggs are stored in a nitrogen tank, and later they can be thawed, fertilized, and implanted with IVF.

But before you run out and freeze your eggs, know this: the ASRM removed the “experimental” tag ONLY for women facing infertility. This includes women about to undergo chemotherapy and women who suffer from severe endometriosis and other medical conditions that could affect their ability to have children.

The ASRM stopped short of recommending the procedure for otherwise fertile women, however. The reason: there is not enough evidence on the safety, effectiveness, and emotional risks of egg freezing to endorse it as an elective procedure. The ASRM expressed concern about clinics marketing the treatment as a way to “pause” your biological clock, which could encourage women to delay having children, and ultimately give them false hope about their ability to have kids down the line. And even though freezing eggs is no longer considered experimental for women facing infertility, it’s not a 100% guarantee of conception.

That said, there are some women for whom freezing their eggs might be an attractive option, even if they’re not immediately facing infertility. Pregnancy rates from frozen eggs are best in women under age 38, so once a woman hits 35 (the point at which her egg quality and quantity takes a nosedive), it might be worth shelling out the extra money to prolong her options for a bit longer, even though the ASRM still considers this elective egg-freezing “experimental.” “As a woman reaches her mid-thirties, she’s looking at the specter of declining egg quality within a few years,” says John Jain, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist and founder of Santa Monica Fertility. “If she’s single at that point, it’s unlikely to find the right guy and get married and build a family in the next year. It takes time. So I think at the age of 35, women might want to consider this option.” But under 35? Best to save your money, he says. “There are many years of good fertility left, so why go through with such an expensive process [that you might not ever use]?”

photo: Huntstock/Thinkstock

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Tag Archives: Should

How Long Should a Cough Last?

Should You Stop Eating Fish?

Should You Stop Eating Fish?

How Long Should a Cough Last?

Should You Try the Paleo Diet?

Should You Be Worried About Blood Clots?

Should You Take a Break from Working Out?

5 Things You Should Do If You Lose Your Job

5 Times You Should Call in Sick to Work

Should You Freeze Your Eggs?