There’s a common belief that men avoid the doctor at all costs—particularly the dreaded annual exam. Seeing a health care provider (HCP) regularly is key to staying healthy and catching any serious issues early. But you also need to make sure you’re getting the most out of your exams, which means asking the right questions and bringing any concerning symptoms to your doctor’s attention.

What can I do to prevent future health problems?

This question can break the ice between you and your doctor and can prompt them to start a conversation about healthy lifestyle behaviors. Remember, the purpose of an annual exam isn’t just to discuss what’s going wrong, because in many cases, especially if you’re still relatively young, you may not have any acute concerns.

What should I do for my heart health?

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death across the world. By bringing up this question, you are inviting your doctor to talk about your risk and assess your current cardiovascular health status.

Can we talk about my family history?

They also have a big impact on your health (not to mention your hairline). “Before your appointment, ask your parents what they know about illnesses that run in your family or what older relatives died from,” says Dr. Kiss. “For example, did your grandfather pass away from a heart attack at 49 even though he was the picture of health? That’s a risk factor for you to also have coronary heart disease.”

Can I tell you about change I've noticed recently during sex?

Let's face it. Sex is an awkward topic to talk about. However, your sexual function is an indicator of your overall health. "A decline in sexual function is associated with other problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, or medication side effects, so be open and talk to your doctor if you feel it’s harder to get an erection or maintain one," says Ernst von Schwarz, MD, a Los Angeles-based cardiologist.

Do I need this medication, or is there anything that I can try?

Sure, a prescription might be able to help a given issue, but always ask if there’s a non-medication approach you can take first. “Don’t be afraid to ask about alternatives,” says Dr. von Schwarz.

Dementia is more common than you think. According to the Alzheimer’s Disease International, there were over 55 million people in the world living with dementia in 2020. According to the organization, this number is said to double every year for 20 years, and this number is said to reach 78 million in 2030.

There are many different types of dementia, one of which is Alzheimer’s disease. It is the most common form of dementia. While there is no cure for dementia, catching it early can help people manage the condition. But with the vague symptoms of Alzheimer’s, early diagnosis is difficult.

Researchers have found a possible new sign of Alzheimer's disease that could show up incredibly early, which is poor spatial navigation. Think of spatial navigation as your brain's ability to figure out where you are and how to get where you're going, your internal GPS.

This difficulty could appear up to 25 years before the more commonly known symptoms, like losing your memory. Finding a warning sign this early is a huge step because getting a diagnosis sooner is vital for beginning treatment and for scientists working to find ways to prevent the disease.

What Does Knowing Your Surrounding Mean?

A team of scientists from the University College London (UCL) conducted a study to look for these early signs. They worked with around 100 people between the ages of 43 and 66. These people were chosen because they had a higher risk of getting Alzheimer's later in life. This risk was due to things like having a family member with the disease, carrying a specific gene (called the APOE-ε4 allele) linked to higher risk, or having risk factors in their lifestyle.

An important point to note was that every single person in the study showed no signs of Alzheimer's, they were perfectly healthy and were about 25 years younger than the age doctors would typically expect dementia to start for them.

To test their navigation skills, the participants put on virtual reality (VR) headsets and were asked to find their way around a computer-generated environment. The results showed that the people who were at higher risk for Alzheimer's had a much harder time completing the VR navigation task. They essentially got lost or struggled more to find their way.

Early Sign Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Importantly, these same people did just fine on other types of tests, including those that check memory. This suggests that having trouble with spatial navigation could be one of the very first things to go wrong in the brain, years or even decades before you start forgetting things.

The experts said that this change might be the earliest possible signal that someone is starting to move from being healthy to showing the first signs of the disease. The researchers are now planning to turn this VR test into a tool that doctors could use to help diagnose the disease earlier.

explained that these findings are exciting for two main reasons. First, they allow doctors to spot the start of Alzheimer's much sooner, which is critical for making treatments work better. Second, the VR test is based on how special cells in the brain in an area called the temporal lobe handle space and location.

This means the test helps connect the dots between tiny changes in the brain's cells and the actual symptoms people experience. This connection is a huge barrier in current Alzheimer's research.

The study also noticed that men showed a bigger drop in their spatial navigation skills than women did. This suggests that more research is needed to understand why men and women might be affected differently by Alzheimer's.

The Alzheimer's Society agreed, emphasizing that early and accurate diagnosis is essential, and this study clearly shows that problems with navigation could be one of the very first signs to watch out for.

A video is making rounds on Instagram, where a Norwegian cardiologist is being quoted who says that cold morning showers could lead to brain stroke. The explanation is that majority of people who had brain strokes, took cold morning showers.

The post explained: "cold water causes instant vascular constriction in 2 seconds, and the blood pressure surges to 200/130. The heart races at 180 beats per minute, struggling to pump through narrowed arteries. Then the weakest brain vessels ruptures."

When this claim was contradicted by stating that most research mention that cold water is good for you, the "Cardiologist" explained: “Those studies tested healthy athletes at 4 p.m., when pressure is steady. Marketers then pushed the findings for all times, all conditions.”

However, the video did not actually feature a cardiologist, neither did mention any name or place of practicing of the cardiologist. All that was mentioned was 'Volkov' as the cardiologist. Furthermore, the post description that claimed studies have shown the correlation between cold waters and brain stroke did not cite any studies, thus the Health and Me team ran a fact check on the claim.

Here's What We Found

Similar claim was made by a UiTM Professor, who said that because the 'body takes time to adjust its temperature too quickly because we are warm-blooded' thus sudden cold water on head, suggesting the sequence of showering, could lead to a stroke.

However, this claim was also debunked by Thanh Phan, head of neuroscience research at Monash Health, who said that majority of stroke happens due to clot obstructing blood flow in brain. He said that it does not mention anything about showering sequence.

Again, in 2024, in an Instagram reel, shared by @vedantsir_, the claim was made that brain hemorrhages happen because of the way of bathing. This is because we put our head under the cold water immediately, as opposed to how our ancestors did, when they would take a bath in the river.

However, plenty scientific evidence suggest that cold baths can in fact, offer health benefits, including enhanced immune function, improved stress resilience, cardiovascular support, better insulin sensitivity, and positive effects on mental health.

While earlier studies and fact checks do point that the claim of cold shower causing brain strokes, Dr Sahil Kohli, Associate Director, Neurology, Neurosciences at Max Hospital Gurugram in a video says that cold shower could in fact cause peripheral vasoconstrictions, and may increase stroke risk. This claim however, is opposite to what Dr Rahul Chawla, Neurologist at IBS Hospital, Delhi says.

Dr Chawla says, and as reported by Medical Dialogues, that there is no 'correct' way to bathe. "For instance, some people believe that stepping directly under a shower or pouring water straight onto the head causes a sudden temperature change that leads to stroke, paralysis, or brain hemorrhage. However, these claims are completely unfounded and have no scientific support."

Watch The Video Shared On Instagram Here:

Dr Sermed Mezher, a UK-based General Practitioner, best known for his educational medical content on social media shared a video on his Instagram of a seizure that could leave you dancing.

"Wakeful seizures like that are more common than you think," he says. "But how are they different to the dancing plague?"

He explains that dancing plague happened around 1518, when a woman named Frau Toffer started dancing uncontrollable on the streets and then eventually hundreds also joined her. They danced for days, and some of them actually died of exhaustion. There are multiple theories to it, including ergot poisoning. However, he says, "We need to remember that this population was riddled with starvation and diseases. They had seen multiple outbreaks of the black plague, so the most likely diagnoses is stress-induced mass hysteria or a type of stress-induced psychosis."

However, he notes that the video he is referring to is different. "What this person in the first video was experiencing were temporary abnormal movements while conscious, that might be classed as a non-epileptic seizure."

What Is A Non-Epileptic Seizure?

It is also known as functional seizures, which are episodes that look and feel like seizures caused by epilepsy However, they are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in your brain, but are a physical reaction of your nervous system to:

• Physical triggers like injury or pain
• Stressors in your environment
• Past traumatic event

While the dramatic dancing may seem like you are "faking" it, but the seizures are real and the person who is experiencing do not have any voluntary control over these episodes.

What A Non-Epileptic Seizure May Look Like?

The common symptoms of non epileptic seizure are:

• Loss of consciousness
• Seizures over 10 minutes long
• Retained awareness
• Out of phase limb movements
• Pelvic thrusting
• Changing patterns of movement
• Rapid side to side head movements
• Eyes closed unresponsiveness

This can also affect your emotional state, including your anxiety, depression and even your panic attacks.

What Might Cause Non Epileptic Seizure?

These are caused by a mix of stress that affects your body, mind, and relationships. This is known as the biopsychosocial model.

Other things that may contribute include:

• Difficulty understanding and expressing emotions
• Trouble processing information from your senses to turn it into movement
• Unhelpful response to stressors

Furthermore there could be underlying mental health conditions that could trigger these seizures. The conditions include:

• Mood disorder
• Personality disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety disorders with panic attacks
• Depressive disorder
• Dissociative disorder
• Somatic symptom disorder
• Substance use disorder

People who undergo these seizures may be more at risk of experiencing physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect, especially in their early years. They may have lived through a difficult or traumatic event, and may have or develop a chronic condition like chronic pain or fibromyalgia.