Skin tags are, technically, a skin abnormality, though they are very common.
Skin tags are small portions of skin which protude from normal skin. They are usually just a few millimeters in diameter, and can vary in appearance.
Skin tags can be the same color as the surrounding skin or may be much darker. These tags typically attach to the skin by a small band of tissue termed a stalk or a peduncle.
Skin tags can occur in anyone, but tend to increase in numbers as we age. Hormonal factors, aging, and obesity may all play a role in the development of skin tags.
Skin tags are commonly found on the neck, but can occur in any folded area of the skin.
Most of the time, skin tags have no symptoms. They are rarely a sign of anything serious. As a result, doctors tend to recommend removal of skin tags only when they are irritated, uncomfortable, or unsightly.
Skin tags can be removed by your doctor and are commonly removed by tying them off, cutting them off, or freezing them off. There are also all natural remedies for skin tag removal, which you can try if you’re absolutely certain your skin tag is merely ugly, and not a symptom of something more serious.
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So you’re doing great for yourself by getting to the gym, flipping on some tunes (or videos) and listening and watching while you exercise.
For some people, this is a way to stay engaged, even through hour long (boring) exercises. For others, it’s a way to multi-task: accomplishing a couple activities at the same time. But what does watching TV or listening to audiobooks do for your workout?
Answer: That depends. Research has shown that for some people, distractions are helpful, for others, they are not. If watching TV or listening to music is the only way you’ll exercise, then, by all means, keep exercising to the Ipod.
If though, you’re training for peak performance, you may need to ditch the headphones and focus solely on your body.
Some types of exercise (yoga, qi-gong, pilates, for example) demand that you maintain a strong mind-body connection. This can be tough to do when there is a lot of noise in your head, such as from a movie, song, or video.
So the bottom line? Exercise to music, TV or video if this is the only way you’ll exercise. Skip the distractions if you’re training for peak performance.
Looking for audiobooks to accelerate your workout? Check out our recommended source for audiobooks.
Bruises happen when your skin is hit hard enough to break the blood vessels under the skin. Wherever blood vessels have broken, bruises will form.
Bruises go through a cycle of colors, usually starting out as black or blue, and then turning reddish, and then, eventually, greenish or yellowish before they fade completely.
This is related to the breakdown of hemoglobin, which is responsible for giving blood its red color.
As the hemoglobin breaks down, it separates into its component parts. Two of the components are bilirubin and biliverdin.
Bilirubin gives the skin its reddish color at the site of bruising, and biliverdin is responsible for the greenish/yellowish color at the site of the bruise.
The best way to treat a bruise, or a bruise in the making? Ice- lots and lots of it.
Applying ice to the site of a bruise causing injury will diminish swelling and will decrease the rate of bleeding under the skin.
This will decrease the size of the bruise that ultimately forms- and, in some cases, will prevent bruising all together.
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