_ Pain Management 9 Ways to Tame Your Chronic Pain By Jane Farrell article When it comes to chronic pain, thereΓÇÖs usually a limit to how much relief medications and procedures can bring. ThatΓÇÖs where changes to your daily life can help bridge the gap. Cleveland Clinic pain and wellness specialists Daniel Leizman, MD, and Mladen Golubi─ç, MD, PhD, offer nine ΓÇ£pain wellnessΓÇ¥ tips to make sure youΓÇÖre following for maximum pain management. Take deep breaths. The average adult takes eight to 16 breaths per minute. Slowing that down to five or six deep breaths that really fill your lungs will help you relax, which can lessen your discomfort.
_ Sex Restarting Your Sex Life By Jane Farrell article Normal aging brings physical changes in both men and women. These changes sometimes affect the ability to have and enjoy sex. A woman may notice changes in her vagina. As a woman ages, her vagina can shorten and narrow. Her vaginal walls can become thinner and also a little stiffer. Most women will have less vaginal lubrication. These changes could affect sexual function and/or pleasure.
_ Mobile Health Apps Need More Oversight By Jane Farrell article Although people often assume that mobile health apps have been ΓÇ£approved,ΓÇ¥ in fact there is very little oversight of the multibillion-dollar industry, according to health-law researchers.
_ Oral Health Why Bad Breath Complaints Heat Up in the Summer By Sondra Forsyth article By Bob Kross PhD Whether itΓÇÖs a picnic, beach day, family gathering or a night out with friends, summer is a time when people come together for fun. DonΓÇÖt let that great social buzz kill, bad breath, spoil the fun! For a significant number of people bad breath, also called halitosis, is an unnecessary embarrassment caused by malodorant sulfur compounds created by putrefying bacteria in your mouth, primarily in crevices of your tongue.
_ Alcohol and Aging By Jane Farrell article Although we often associate drinking too much with younger people (parties, bars, spring break vacations), alcohol abuse is a problem at any age. And while itΓÇÖs true that younger people drink more than older people, alcohol abuse presents some age-specific issues for seniors. Here, from the SeniorHealth division of the National of Health (NIH), is an explanation of the damaging effects, and how you or a loved one can get help if itΓÇÖs needed.
Rosemary & Oregano Fight Diabetes By Sondra Forsyth article The popular culinary herbs oregano and rosemary are packed with healthful compounds, and now lab tests show they could work in much the same way as prescription anti-diabetic medication, scientists report. In their study published in July 2014 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia and colleagues found that the way the herbs are grown makes a difference, and they also identified which compounds contribute the most to this promising trait.
_ Aging Well Life Expectancy Gains Threatened By Sondra Forsyth article A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the more ailments you have after retirement age, the shorter your life expectancy. The analysis, one of the first to examine the burden of multiple chronic conditions on life expectancy among the elderly, may help explain why increases in life expectancy among older Americans are slowing. A report on the findings, based on an analysis of 1.4 million Medicare enrollees, appears in the August 2014 issue of the journal Medical Care.
_ Mental & Emotional Health When It's More Than Just Anxiety By Jane Farrell article Although thereΓÇÖs a lot of talk about depression, another condition ΓÇô Generalized Anxiety Disorder ΓÇô doesnΓÇÖt get nearly as much attention. And that can make it harder for friends and family to understand whatΓÇÖs happening when someone they love has GAD. Here, from the National Institute of Mental Health, are some things you should know: What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
_ Medical Care Update on Telehealth By Sondra Forsyth article By Miles E. Drake, Jr., MD ΓÇ£TelehealthΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£telemedicineΓÇ¥ have been used more or less interchangeably over the past 50 years to describe the provision of health care services and exchange of health information by electronic means. The initial concept of telephonic and later computer-based medical interaction and education was defined by the Institute of Medicine as ΓÇ£the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates participantsΓÇ¥.
_ Senior Health Stroke Stroke Rates Have Dropped 40% for People 65+ By Sondra Forsyth article A new analysis of data from 1988-2008 by researchers at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine has revealed a 40% decrease in the incidence of stroke in Medicare patients 65 years of age and older. The decline is greater than anticipated considering this population's risk factors for stroke. Not only that, but the drop applies to both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. The team also found that deaths resulting from stroke declined during the same period. The findings are published in the July 2014 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
The Foods That Can Make You Less Anxious By Jane Farrell article Coping with anxiety can be a challenge and often requires making lifestyle changes. There aren't any diet changes that can cure anxiety, but watching what you eat may help. Try these steps: Eat a breakfast that includes some protein. Eating protein at breakfast can help you feel fuller longer and help keep your blood sugar steady so that you have more energy as you start your day.
_ Heart Health Niacin Linked to Death Risk By Sondra Forsyth article Niacin has been a mainstay of cholesterol therapy for 50 years, but Northwestern Medicine preventive cardiologist Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D. maintains that the drug should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects, and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes. His editorial was published in the July 17th 2014 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
_ Money Matters The Documents Every Woman Should Have By Jane Farrell article ThereΓÇÖs more to managing your money than the shoebox filled with crumpled receipts under your bed. According to Patrice C. Washington, Money Maven of the Steve Harvey Morning Show, organizing paperwork and keeping track of financial and legal documents is imperative to your financial well-being. ΓÇ£It is hard to stay on top of your finances if documents are scattered about,ΓÇ¥ Washington says. ΓÇ£On top of that, many women donΓÇÖt know which types of documents they need or even where to start.ΓÇ¥
_ Statins Prolong Life for Patients With Diabetic Heart Disease By Jane Farrell article Using cholesterol-lowering statins could help prolong life for people who have diabetic heart disease, a new study has found. Researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center published their study in Diabetes Care. ΓÇ£Although our study was not a clinical trial, it did show that people with diabetes and heart disease can still live quite a few years by taking statins,ΓÇ¥ said Don Bowden, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study.
_ Losing Your Sense of Smell By Jane Farrell article Many older people are not even aware that they have a problem with their sense of smell because the changes occur gradually over several years. They may not even notice that they are experiencing a loss of smell until there is an incident in which they don't detect food that has spoiled or the presence of dangerous smoke.
_ Stroke Fewer Stroke Deaths Over Past 2 Decades By Sondra Forsyth article Fewer Americans are having strokes and those who do have a lower risk of dying from them according to a a study led by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers and is published in the July 16th 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Pets Fight Fleas And Ticks The Right Way By Jane Farrell article Fleas and ticks can be real problems for pets ΓÇô and for their owners. In animals, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration, flea bites can cause flea allergy dermatitis , an allergic reaction to proteins in flea saliva.
_ Medical Care Antibiotic Use Prevalent in Hospices By Sondra Forsyth article The use of antibiotics is still prevalent among terminal patients who have chosen hospice care as an end-of-life option, despite little evidence that the medications improve symptoms or quality of life, and sometimes may cause unwanted side effects. That is the finding of a study done at Oregon State University and the Oregon Health & Science University and published on July 14th 2014 in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.