COVID-19 Affects The Sexes Differently, Says Marla Ahlgrimm

Since the beginning of its known existence, the COVID-19 virus has affected men proportionately much more than women. Unfortunately, men have much higher mortality rates than their wives, daughters, and sisters, despite being equally at risk of contraction. This is in line with 2003 information culled from research studies during the SARS outbreak.

But why?

According to Marla Ahlgrimm, males may be more affected because they tend to experience heart disease far more commonly. Liver disease, high blood pressure, and other disorders make the symptoms of the coronavirus much stronger and harder to shake.

Another potentially significant contributor is that men tend to smoke much more than women. Marla Ahlgrimm cites global and historical World Health Organization statistics that note around 40% of men smoke compared to just 9% of women. Smoking is an obvious trigger for lung disease, and considering that the coronavirus attacks the respiratory system, it makes sense that smokers are more at risk.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Saving Money On Medical Bills

Medical bills can easily stack up to become some of the heftiest payments for American households. Fortunately, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, retired pharmacist, there are ways to reduce healthcare costs. Keep reading as she answers a few questions about how to do just that.

Q: What’s the first thing you would tell people looking to save money on their healthcare expenses?

Marla Ahlgrimm: I would say that it’s important to check the details of their medical plan. Although it may be difficult to follow and the language can get confusing, all providers offer a full rundown of what’s covered and what’s not. This can help anyone looking to save money make better decisions about when, how, and where to receive services, particularly those considered elective.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Women Leading Through Crisis

As the coronavirus continues to take a toll on a global scale, Marla Ahlgrimm says there are a few countries that stand out with their response. Denmark, New Zealand, Taiwan, Finland, and a handful of others enjoy fewer infections and have largely skipped over the fear and panic we’ve seen in the United States. So what, exactly, do these countries have that we do not? According to Ahlgrimm, the answer to that question is women in their highest leadership roles.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that many countries with women in the equivalent of our presidential seat have handled the virus with a drastically different style. In Germany, for example, Chancellor Angela Merkel took to the airways early on. She is noted for remaining calm when telling her country there was a dangerous and highly-contagious virus on its way. Germany enjoys a low per-capita infection rate.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Women And Diabetes

A metabolic disease, diabetes is a condition that results in high blood sugar. This, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, can happen when a person cannot produce or accurately process insulin. And while diabetes can affect people of all ages and sexes, women tend to fare worse than their male counterparts after diagnosis.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that men have historically been diagnosed and treated for diabetes more often than women. However, for a multitude of reasons, including less aggressive treatment and hormones, diabetes has a death rate twice as high for women when compared to men.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Does COVID-19 Discriminate?

The novel coronavirus is nothing more than a piece of genetic material, albeit one that’s making a lot of people sick. And, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, it should not necessarily have a greater impact on either sex. But it does.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that women seem to have a leg up compared to their male counterparts when it comes to COVID-19. In the United States, deaths are overwhelmingly male. Similar statistics have popped up all across the world, and even in Western Europe, which has suffered a staggering number of losses per capita, seven out of 10 deaths are men.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Hormone And Allergies

Allergies are a seasonal nuisance, and histamine gets the blame for all of the sniffling, sneezing, and itching we experience once things start to bloom. However, according to hormone specialist Marla Ahlgrimm, histamines do much more than make you sneeze.

Q: What is histamine?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Histamine is a neurotransmitter. It’s produced in many different parts of the body and is often triggered in response to an allergen. However, histamines also play a role in everything from female reproduction to digestion and mental health.

Q: Is it true that some foods contain histamines?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Yes. Many different types of foods, including sauerkraut, wine, and cheese – basically anything that has been aged or fermented – contains histamines. Others, including tomatoes and citrus fruits, have very low levels. When you eat foods out of this latter group, they stimulate the release of histamines from immune cells.

Marla Ahlgrimm: What Is A Coronavirus?

In December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus slowly began spreading from China across the globe. But, what, exactly, is the coronavirus? According to retired pharmacist Marla Ahlgrimm, a coronavirus is simply a blanket name for a family of germs that cause respiratory – and occasionally gastrointestinal – symptoms.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that the new coronavirus, now dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, is inciting fear throughout the world. Although coronaviruses are not new, and they are usually not harmful in the long-term, COVID-19 is a novel virus, meaning that it is a new strain. This is not unlike versions of the flu that pop up each winter.

Coronaviruses, like most other bugs, are spread in a few different ways, says Marla Ahlgrimm. The most common is through the air. If someone with the virus sneezes into the air, for example, within six feet of another person, that person is exposed. Not everyone who is exposed to coronaviruses will come down with symptoms. Marla Ahlgrimm notes that most children, although not immune, tend to carry the virus without showing symptoms.