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Ask Dr Emma
Each month, we give our readers the opportunity to ask our resident doctor, Dr Emma Amoafo-Mensah their health questions. In honour of International Women’s Month, Dr Emma chose her pick of the questions, focusing on those nagging questions women ask, but may have never been answered.
Are high heels bad for me?
I’m sure we’ve all felt the pain of wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes all day. Apart from the potential damage to your feet or accidently tripping or falling over, many women have wondered if their favourite heels are causing unnoticed damage to their bodies.
The issue with heels is that they redistribute the pressure of the body in an unnatural manner – they force the pressure to be centred on the front of the feet. They also change your posture as a whole, causing the hips to be centred more forward and the back to be more arched. Both these changes can cause lasting damage to the body, like deformities of the toes and lower back pain. To be honest, I’m sure we’ve all had lower back pain the day after wearing a high pair of heels all day. Worryingly, it has been reported that high heels can increase the risk of osteoarthritis (the breakdown of the joints due to wear and tear) of the spine, the knee and of other joints. Osteoarthritis can be very painful and debilitating, depending on the severity.
If you can’t give up your heels, consider getting wearing chunkier ones that are less high. You could also try to strengthen your feet so that they are better at handling the increased pressure. You can do this with simple feet exercises such as rolling a ball under your foot or picking up marbles with your toes.
Is sleeping with a bra on dangerous?
My mum always used to tell me that sleeping with a bra on would cause me problems when I got older. If I’m honest, I never asked what kind of problems she was referring to. I’ve also heard rumours about sleeping with a bra causing back pain, breathing problems and even cancer. So far, there’s no scientific evidence that sleeping with a bra on is harmful. Some women with large busts prefer sleeping with a bra on so that they can feel supported, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
It’s really important, though, to ensure that the bra fits well and isn’t too tight. Bras that are too tight can irritate the skin and cause pain if there’s a wire digging into the chest. Moving whilst you’re in bed can cause friction between the bra and the skin, which could lead to longstanding changes such as increased pigmentation and roughened, inflamed skin. They can also increase pressure within the abdominal space and make symptoms of acid reflux worse for people who suffer with them.
If you do like to wear a bra to bed, make sure it fits well and consider one that’s soft and doesn’t have an underwire.
Does being stressed make you fat?
Directly, no; but indirectly – stress does have the potential to cause an increase in body fat. Stress puts our body into “fight or flight” mode, which is characterised by the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. This is an innate function of our bodies which would in theory prepare us to be able to get away from danger or perform better in stressful situations.
This is relevant when it comes to weight gain because these hormones send signals to our organs to release glucose into the bloodstream, so it’s available for what we need to do. If your body uses the glucose that’s been released, then there shouldn’t be any changes to the body’s fat proportions. However, if that glucose is left unused, the body will convert some of this to fat – which is the body’s form of long-term energy storage.
The other way that stress can cause weight gain is more obvious – people who are stressed often reach for sugary or fatty foods. They’re not called ‘comfort foods’ for nothing. If you’re stressed, you’re also less likely to make wise food choices, or have time to cook a healthy meal. People who are stressed may be preoccupied with tasks, and more likely to eat whilst doing something else, such as replying to emails or checking things off of a ‘to do list’. It’s well known that eating without giving your full concentration to the meal increases the likelihood of eating more overall.
Apart from all this, stress is a well-known risk factor for coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome and of course mental health issues. We should all be looking at ways of identifying and minimising stress in our lives, to ensure holistic health.
What are the best ways of delaying a period?
We’ve all been in that situation – praying that our monthly visitor doesn’t show up on the day of a birthday party, wedding or holiday that we’ve been looking forward to. There are ways of buying time and denying entry to that unwanted guest.
If you’re on a combined oral contraceptive pill, you can delay the period quite simply by starting the next pack of pills without taking the seven-day break. After taking two packets of pills in a row, you should have the seven-day break at the end of the second packet. Those who use the patch as a method of contraception can do the similar thing of putting on a new patch instead of having the seven-day break without a patch. If you’re not on the contraceptive pill and you wish to start it to prevent a period getting in the way of something important, you’ll need to start it a few weeks before the event to ensure your body gets used to it.
If you’re not on the pill, you can ask your doctor for a tablet called noresthisterone. You take it three days before the period is due, and can continue taking it until you’re ready to have a period, which can be up to 3-4 weeks. It’s not meant to be used regularly, however. It’s important to note, that taking noresthisterone in this way does not have contraceptive effect.