Spoonie Life

Fibromyalgia & Epistaxis

~ Felicia Denise ~ 7 Comments

Fibro Cloud

When you have fibromyalgia, you often find yourself wondering which of the symptoms your experiencing are caused by fibromyalgia and which aren’t. Are stuffed up sinuses a symptom of fibromyalgia, or just allergies? What about headaches? Or stiff joints?

It can drive you crazy, especially when it seems like every day you’re finding out some link between these symptoms and fibromyalgia.

And one symptom that people with fibromyalgia often report is frequent epistaxis (or nosebleeds).  But is that another symptom of fibromyalgia? Or is something else going on? And more importantly, what can you do to treat them.

Epistaxis And Fibromyalgia

Nosebleeds are something that just about everyone has experienced, but we because they’re so common, we don’t spend much time thinking about what actually causes them.

Basically, the nose is full of small blood vessels, and when they burst, they bleed. But blood vessels run all over the body, why is it that the nose seems to bleed so easily compared to the rest of the body?

The mucous membranes in the nose are especially thin and delicate, and the blood vessels are very close to the surface. This means that the tissue is easily damaged. This is why a bump on the arm just leaves a bruise, while the same bump on the nose can cause a serious nosebleed. The skin on the arm is much thicker.

This also means that there are many different things that can cause nosebleeds. If the membrane is too dry, it becomes more likely to rupture and cause bleeding. And high blood pressure can put too much stress on the veins, making them more likely to burst. Allergies, colds, sinus infections, and medications that thin the blood can all also contribute to nosebleeds.

But what about fibromyalgia? Is there something about fibromyalgia that could make you more likely to experience nosebleeds?

There’s a lot we don’t know about fibromyalgia. So it’s difficult to say for certain that it doesn’t cause nosebleeds. But based on what we do know, it seems unlikely. There’s no

Instead, fibromyalgia may simply make people more susceptible to nosebleeds for two major reasons.

First, people with fibromyalgia sometimes have weakened immune systems. This means that they’re more likely to experience infections, including sinus infections that can lead to nosebleeds.

Second, people with fibromyalgia are often prescribed a number of different medications. And when you’re taking several different medications at once, they’re always the chance that some of them may have side effects like raising your blood pressure. And having high blood pressure may make you more likely to experience nosebleeds.

There’s also the possibility that if you’re taking something like aspirin to deal with daily aches, it can contribute to nosebleeds.

But if you have fibromyalgia and you’re getting nosebleeds more than once a month, you should probably see a doctor. Your doctor can also diagnose what’s causing your nosebleeds and help you treat the underlying problem. But if you want to manage nosebleeds in the meantime, there are a few things you can do.

How To Treat Epistaxis

The first step in treating Epistaxis is to stop the bleeding. At some point in your life, someone told you that you should pinch your nose and tilt your head back, right? That’s the conventional wisdom.

But this is one situation where the conventional wisdom is wrong. Tilting your head back does nothing to stop the bleeding, and can actually cause the blood to drip back down your throat. Instead, you want to tilt your head forward.

Make sure to keep your head raised instead of laying down, so that blood flows down from the head instead of up into it. Keep your nose pinched for 10 to 15 minutes, and the bleeding should stop.

When it comes to stopping nosebleeds from occurring, the best thing to do is to avoid irritating the membrane of the nose. You can do this by making sure that you’re well hydrated and the skin isn’t dry. Using saline nasal sprays can help keep the membrane healthy and less likely to bleed.

Avoid picking at the skin or doing anything to damage it. And avoid smoking, which can dry out the membrane and raise your blood pressure.

If you think that some of your medications are contributing to nosebleeds- which is quite possible- don’t stop taking them. You should never discontinue using a medication without advice from a doctor.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and is posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

 

Fibromyalgia & Pyrexia

~ Felicia Denise ~ Leave a comment

Fibro Cloud

If you have fibromyalgia, you’ve probably noticed that you suffer from a bunch of symptoms that you almost never see discussed in connection with the condition. Those might include things like chronic itching, frequent urination, and maybe even frequent low-grade fevers. Fever, or pyrexia, is actually a common symptom among people with fibromyalgia, but how often do you hear about it?

And it can drive you crazy to have frequent fevers that seem to develop for no real reason, right? That’s especially true when you have no idea that fibromyalgia might be the explanation.

So, just what exactly is going on? And what can you do about it?

Pyrexia And Fibromyalgia

The most obvious question is, “Does fibromyalgia cause fevers?” Is there something about the condition itself that causes the body’s temperature to rise?

Unfortunately, there just isn’t a good answer to that question. We still don’t know much about fibromyalgia. We don’t even know for sure what causes it or how it works. If we understood the basic mechanisms behind the condition, we might have a better idea of why people with fibromyalgia often suffer from low-grade fevers.

Luckily, we do know enough about the condition that we can make a few educated guesses at what might be behind the symptom.

First, people with fibromyalgia often have weaker immune systems. This means that people suffering from fevers might actually just be getting sick more often. But if you’ve experienced this symptom, you know that this probably doesn’t cover every case.

Often, people with fibromyalgia develop fevers without any other sign that they’re suffering from a cold or similar infection that could explain it.

But, the answer may still lie in the immune system.

The immune system protects the body by releasing cells that attack foreign bacteria and viruses. But sometimes, the immune system begins to attack the body itself. This is called an autoimmune disease. And autoimmune disease can produce symptoms like fatigue, muscle pains, and frequent fevers.

Sort of sounds like fibromyalgia, doesn’t it?

In fact, fibromyalgia shares many symptoms with autoimmune diseases. Historically, this has led many doctors to suggest that fibromyalgia itself might be an autoimmune disease. But for a number of reasons, we’ve ruled this out in recent years. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there might not be some connection. And the link between fibromyalgia and autoimmune disease, whatever it is, might explain why people with fibromyalgia also experience frequent fevers.

There’s also another possible explanation that involves the immune system. Some researchers have suggested that the root of fibromyalgia might be immune cells in the brain called microglia.

The microglia produce flu-like symptoms in the body so that they can force you to rest while they fight off infections. Microglia seem to be activated by higher levels of a protein called leptin, which is found in higher concentrations in the bodies of people with fibromyalgia.

Leptin levels can vary from day to day, and the severity of fibromyalgia symptoms seems to be linked to how much leptin is in the blood.

It might be that on the days that leptin levels spike, the immune cells in the brain begin triggering symptoms like fevers. This could explain why people with fibromyalgia frequently get fevers.

Until we know more about the condition, we won’t know for sure if this is the explanation. But these are some plausible scenarios.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to help manage pyrexia.

Preventing And Managing Pyrexia

We don’t know exactly why fibromyalgia is linked to fevers, so it’s difficult to say for sure what you can do to prevent them. But many people with the condition have noted that their fevers seem to come after intense exercise or spending time outside in the sun. So basically, anything that raises your body temperature might trigger the fevers.

So, managing your body temperature might help prevent them. Make sure to wear cool clothing if you’re outside, and drink plenty of water. Take frequent breaks when exercising or spending time outdoors to help prevent overheating. And ice packs or a wet cloth on the neck can help cool you down as well.

Managing stress is also a good idea, as stress seems to make all the symptoms of fibromyalgia worse, including fevers. You can find a great guide on ways to effectively manage stress when you have fibro here.

If you’re already suffering from a fever, there’s a few things you can do. Make sure to rest and stay hydrated. This will help your body recover faster.

If possible, take fever-reducing medications like aspirin or ibuprofen. Finally, try to keep your core temperature down with cool baths or cold compresses.

While annoying, low fevers aren’t usually something you need to worry too much about. They usually resolve themselves in a few hours or days. But if your fever goes above 103 degrees (or 39.4C), or you have other symptoms like vomiting, you should see a doctor. It could be a sign of something more serious.

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and is posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

Fibromyalgia and Things to Avoid

~ Felicia Denise ~ 4 Comments

*I don’t agree with all of these, but many may find some benefit in these tips.

Fibro Cloud

 

1- Avoid doing unplanned items

Planning your work is very important. It may not be very easy to do many things at a time.

Some people especially women who are highly responsible take care of many things in their family. While doing so they forget about their body condition and stress so much.

This can lead to complications in the body and they end up giving no rest to their body.

When you have fibromyalgia condition, consider doing things by having a list in your hand. Avoid doing things that are on the list.

2- Avoid wrong people

Mingling with wrong people can be dangerous. Some people will not understand the pain that you undergo. They either de-motivate you or speak to you in such a way that you are incapable of doing something.

You have to be strong by yourself and avoid the company of wrong people who don’t give any value to you.

3- Stop explaining yourself

You may find it difficult to do something. But it is not necessary that you should be providing an explanation to everyone. Just say that you can’t do it and walk away.

If you start to explain things to them, not everyone will understand you. It is better to avoid such situations and move on.

4- Forget your past

Some people live more with their past. It is fact that you would have been a capable person in the past.

But the fact is that you have to accept the incapability on certain things and have a positive attitude towards the things that you are still capable.

Worrying about the past will not strengthen you in any aspect. Just wipe it off and walk you can do for the future.

5- Don’t be jealous of others

When you look at people who are doing so many things in their life, it is quite obvious that you will be jealous thinking about your incapability.

You have to have something in mind that you are always special. There will definitely be something that you can do which they can’t do.

After all, everyone has limitations on what they do. In some way or the other, they may not be able to do something but you will be able to do. Think about it and move on.

6- Stop worrying about perfection

You would have been a perfect person in the past. But due to your inability, your perfection level would have gone low. But there is nothing to worry about it.

You can still bring perfection to the things that you are currently capable of doing.

Ignore the fact that people around you are in perfect and think that you should be perfect on the things that you are capable of doing.

7- Avoid alcohol consumption

High alcohol consumption is something that people with fibromyalgia usually do.

There are several reasons for it. Alcohol provides them a state where they will be able to forget things and move on easily.

Also, the other fact is that people, when they find difficult to sleep with fibromyalgia pain consume alcohol to get good sleep. But this is something that should be avoided.

When alcohol goes away from the bloodstream, it leads to a wide-awake state where you find it very difficult to sleep.

In some cases, during such situations, people also experience more pain in their body compared to the normal state.

8- Keep exercises in limits

People are very much focused on getting a relief from their fibromyalgia symptoms. In order to do that, they take various steps out of curiosity. One such step is to do exercises.

Considering the fact that exercises are very good to keep the body fit, it is also important to know that it should be kept under limits. Too much of exercise beyond your capability can create further complications leading to other problems in your body.

9- Stop comparing yourself to others

Fibromyalgia is something more to do with a mind for some people compared to their body. When people get fibromyalgia they naturally develop anxiety and stress in their mind.

The depression is also increased leading them to get confused about little things. Some people start to compare themselves with others thinking that others are capable of doing something but they are finding it difficult to even move from their place due to severe pain in their body.

For every person, there will be bad times but you have to be strong and self-motivated to overcome bad times.

10- If something is not okay express it

People have a bad habit of not expressing what they actually think in their mind. It is okay to express if something is not right.

If you have someone by your side, it is good to express the suffering that you undergo. They may not be able to cure it for you but they will be able to support you or help you with the burden.

It is also said that when the pain is expressed to someone the pain level psychologically reduces.

Your lifestyle may be different to that of others with the symptoms of fibromyalgia but when you do things in the right way with the good amount of self-confidence, you will be able to lead a happy and peaceful life.

Some small changes to your life can be very helpful in suppressing all your problems and provide you a good quality of your life.

 

 

The preceding article is from Fibromyalgia.net and is posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.