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Multitasking can affect your health

People’s responses to stress differ; some can multitask a lot without any adverse effects, while others become overwhelmed, says Diane Miller, head of the chronic stress and neurotoxicology laboratory at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Among those who respond strongly, two “emergency hormones,” adrenaline and cortisol, are secreted at elevated levels to prepare the body for defensive action. Adrenaline causes the heart and respiration rates to speed up and sharpens the senses, in a “fight or flight” response. Cortisol causes the liver to release extra glucose for energy, Dr. Miller says; it also can “damp down” your immune system, a response that can be helpful in marshalling needed energy short-term, but that can jeopardize your health if it continues too long.

Strange Symptoms

Things that go lump in the night

When exposed to a constant diet of disease-related information, it is not uncommon for medical students to develop a form of hypochondria called medical student syndrome. And though no one has coined a term for the tendency to self-diagnose rare diseases on the basis of a symptom and an Internet search, the proliferation of health-related information available in the news and on the Web has led many a health consumer to mentally leap from a dull ache to certain death. Common symptoms usually point to common problems, but that doesn’t diminish our fascination with the subtle, unusual clues our bodies may be sending us. Following are some unlikely symptoms that may send an early warning of trouble ahead. But reader beware: Sometimes a lump is only a lump.

Nailing diabetes?

Does it smell like nail polish remover even though there’s none around? Does your partner think he or she is kissing a bottle of it when you get intimate? It could be a sign that you have diabetes. Acetone, the major ingredient in polish remover, is found naturally in the body. However, when your body does not have enough insulin, or can’t make use of it, fat is used for energy instead of glucose, and acetone levels rise. In fact, the medical profession and researchers have known about acetone breath for ages. In August, two researchers from Mississippi State University published a study on their new medical device that uses the acetone in breath to detect early-stage diabetes.

Home Test for Urinary Tract Infections

Test Overview

You can buy dipstick test kits without a doctor’s order (nonprescription) to use at home to check for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Talk to your doctor about using a test kit. Make sure that your doctor knows about any abnormal test results, so that a urinary problem is not missed.

The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, bladder, ureters, and urethra. Urine in the bladder normally is sterile—it does not contain any bacteria or other organisms (such as fungi). But bacteria can enter the urethra during urination.

Urinary tract infections are more common in women and girls than in men. This may be partly because the female urethra is shorter and closer to the anus, which allows bacteria from the intestines to come into contact more easily with the urethra. (See a picture of the female urinary tract.) Men also have an antibacterial substance in their prostate gland that reduces their risk.

The dipstick test kit contains specially treated plastic strips (dipsticks) that you hold in your urine stream or dip into a sample of your urine. The strips test for a substance (called nitrite) produced by most urinary tract infections. Certain types of strips also test for white blood cells (leukocytes). Some types of dipsticks can test for both nitrite and leukocytes, but most types test for only one or the other. An area on the end of the strip changes color if you have an infection.

Most urinary tract infections can be easily cured with antibiotics. But an untreated infection may spread to the kidneys and cause a more serious problem. If you use a home test kit, make sure that your doctor knows about any abnormal test results, so that a serious problem is not missed.