_ Multiple Sclerosis: 5 Things You Should Know By Jane Farrell article MS can happen to just about anyone. The central nervous system disorder affects your brain and spinal cord. But it spares the nerves and muscles that lead away from the spinal cord. Nearly 350,000 people in the United States have MS. MS is a long-term illness. Infection-fighting white blood cells enter the nervous system and cause injury by stripping off the myelin sheath that protects nerves. When this happens, the nerves cannot conduct electricity as well as they should. This causes symptoms.
Do It By blog Fear is the thief of happiness and sometimes we have to get the courage to Just Do It. Ever since her first seizure many years ago a close relative held onto the dream of the medical world finding a cure. She has patiently gone through countless procedures and medications and before going into the operating room for what she prays will be the answer, she hugged her mother and admitted her fear. But, bravely, she was doing it. Time will tell if this was the cure, but sheΓÇÖs not worried as she moves on with life in her positive and cheerful way.
_ Pain Management If You've Been Diagnosed with Shingles By Jane Farrell article Shingles is a disease that affects nerves and causes pain and blisters in adults. ItΓÇÖs caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox in children. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus doesnΓÇÖt leave your body, but continues to live in some nerve cells. For reasons that aren't totally understood, the virus can become active instead of remaining inactive. When it's activated in adults, it produces shingles. Most adults live with the varicella-zoster virus in their body and never get shingles.
_ Is It A Sore Throat - or Strep? By Jane Farrell article If youΓÇÖre not sure whether youΓÇÖve got strep throat ΓÇô or just a sore throat ΓÇô the experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have some answers. Sore throats, which can be either mild or severe, have a variety of causes. Some of them, the CDC experts say, include viruses, bacteria, allergens, irritants, post-nasal drip and fungi. But whatever the reason, the result is the irritating and painful condition known as sore throat. Most cases will heal without treatment. But others, including strep throat, may need antibiotics.
5 Surprising Reasons a Good Relationship Is the Best Stress Reliever in the World By blog The stress response was our secret weapon for success through most of human history. It saved our lives, making us run from predators and enabling us to take down prey. The problem is that we are no longer responding to a wild animal attack that might occur once every six months, but instead we are dealing with hundreds of stresses every day. Human beings are turning on the same life-saving physical reaction to cope with aging parents, unhappy teenagers, costly gasoline, increasing food prices, traffic jams, and job insecurity.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Dehydrated? These 7 Foods Will Satisfy Your Thirst and Hunger By Sondra Forsyth article By Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD When heat and humidity soar, keeping your body hydrated matters more than ever. Did you know you can hydrate with whatΓÇÖs on your plate ΓÇö not just whatΓÇÖs in your cup? The following foods are heavy on the water content, according to the U.S. Department of AgricultureΓÇÖs nutrient database. In several cases, theyΓÇÖre also full of nutrients that will help you fight disease. So eat up, and beat the heat with your fork. 1. Cucumbers
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Controversy Over Changes to Food Labels By Sondra Forsyth article To help Americans make better decisions about what they eat, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year proposed significant changes to the Nutrition Facts label found on nearly every food product in the U.S. An July 2014 article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), explains the suggested updates ΓÇö and the fight that has ensued.
Five Trials Are Targeting Alzheimer's By Jane Farrell blog Recently I noticed a tweet from TIME magazine about some new research trials focusing on AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease. Intrigued, I visited their website to learn more. The headline - ΓÇ£5 Groundbreaking Drugs are Testing Ways to Prevent AlzheimerΓÇÖs - is what caught my attention. I love the words ΓÇ£groundbreakingΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£preventΓÇ¥ ΓÇö especially when they are used in connection with AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease or another type of dementia.
_ The Latest Approach to Anti-Aging By Jane Farrell article Instead of fighting chronic diseases one by one as they develop, researchers suggest, medicine should focus instead on preventing several of these illnesses at once. That approach, the investigators say, could help extend healthy lifespans.
_ Cancer Center 12 Things To Do after Your Cancer Diagnosis By Sondra Forsyth article By James Tamkin M.D. and Dave Visel This article originally appeared on DemosHealth.com. It is adapted from The Myeloma Survival Guide. As a newly diagnosed cancer patient, you are beginning a long, complicated, physically and mentally taxing journey. Here are twelve things to start doing now to make your journey a little easier.
_ The "New Normal": Life After Cancer Treatment By Jane Farrell article Cancer is a frightening and even traumatic experience not only for patients but for caregivers. But once diagnosis and treatment are over, people who cared for a loved one may expect to put it behind them and go back to their normal life. As the National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains, though, thatΓÇÖs not usually the case. Caregivers are faced with a ΓÇ£new normalΓÇ¥ that may make life seem more forbidding and uncertain. Here, experts from the NCI take a look at a situation thatΓÇÖs often neglected, and share some strategies for coping:
_ Pain Management Getting Rid of Chronic Pain By Jane Farrell article As people age, chronic pain becomes a real problem. In your younger years, you probably had pain for a short while ΓÇô from a broken arm, say, or a bad toothache. But pain can become a constant, unwelcome companion for older people who have age-related illnesses like arthritis, cancer or diabetes. However, though chronic pain often accompanies aging, that doesnΓÇÖt mean itΓÇÖs something you should put up with. DonΓÇÖt delay going to your doctor. Here, from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), are tips on how to talk to your doctor so your pain problem can be solved.
_ A New Kind of Drug for Alzheimer's? By Jane Farrell article Researchers have discovered a new drug target to fight AlzheimerΓÇÖs, and the finding could lead to a new diagnostic tool as well. Earlier drugs have long targeted the amyloid protein called plaques, which can cause neurons in the brain to die. But Penn State University researchers have found that another substance, a neurotransmitter known as GABA, could also be implicated in the development of AlzheimerΓÇÖs.
_ Exercise Heart Health Stress Management Stress-Free Living Why Stress & Overexertion Trigger Heart Attacks By Sondra Forsyth article Scientists believe they have an explanation for the axiom that stress, emotional shock, and overexertion may trigger heart attacks in vulnerable people. Hormones released during these events appear to cause bacterial biofilms on arterial walls to disperse, allowing plaque deposits to rupture into the bloodstream, according to research published in published in June 2014 in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
_ The Subtle Signs of Diabetes By Jane Farrell article FROM THE MAYO CLINIC Early symptoms of diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, can be subtle or seemingly harmless ΓÇö if you have symptoms at all. Over time, however, you may develop diabetes complications, even if you haven't had diabetes symptoms. In the United States alone, nearly 7 million people have undiagnosed diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. But you don't need to become a statistic. Understanding possible diabetes symptoms can lead to early diagnosis and treatment ΓÇö and a lifetime of better health.
_ Vision Health A Cheaper But Effective Eye-Disease Drug By Jane Farrell article Eye doctors could save billions in health-care costs if they prescribed a less expensive but effective drug to treat two common forms of serious eye disease in older adults. Researchers from the University of Michigan focused on two medicines used to treat the wet form of macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.
_ What causes Hepatitis C? By Jane Farrell article HCV is most often spread by contact with the blood of infected people, especially if you have an open cut or puncture wound that would allow the virus to get past your skin and into your bloodstream. Here are some causes Hepatitis C: ΓÇó Getting a blood transfusion before 1992 or receiving blood clotting products before 1987. Those are the dates when screening for HCV infected donor blood and blood products went into effect.
Oral Health The Best Foods to Eat for Optimal Oral Health By Jane Farrell article By Dr. K.J. McLaughlin Did you know that your diet can directly influence the level of your oral health? The health of your teeth and gums is extremely important as this area of your health can also have an impact upon the health of your heart, arteries, and immune system. Of course poor oral health also affects has your appearance. Your lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol consumption, and your diet, can greatly influence your teeth and gums.