healthy living for women + their families
Almost every summer, there is a deadly heat wave in some part of the country. Too much heat isn’t safe for anyone, and it’s even riskier if you’re older or have health problems. That’s why it’s important to get relief quickly, and even better, to prevent overexposure in the first place.
Being hot for too long can cause several illnesses grouped under the designation hyperthermia:
Work-related stress has been linked to illnesses, including heart disease. New research proves that it is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes as well.
The findings, by researchers from the Helmholtz Zentrum München, in Germany, were published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
The scientists, headed by Dr. Cornelia Huth and Prof.
Shingles is a disease that affects nerves and causes pain and blisters in adults. It’s caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox in children. After you recover from chickenpox, the virus doesn’t 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.
A deficiency in Vitamin D has been linked to a high risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia in older people, according to new research.
An international team of investigators studied 1,658 elderly Americans who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study. They concluded that the participants who were severely deficient in Vitamin D were 125 percent likelier to develop dementia of any kind. People who were moderately deficient in Vitamin D had a 53 percent higher risk. The subjects were followed for six years after the initial assessment.
Most of us love looking at wild animals in their natural habitat. But unfortunately, some animals are carrying rabies, a dangerous virus that you can get if you handle or are bitten by the critters. Here, from the experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are some tips on what you should know about rabies so you can protect yourself, your family and your pets:
Each year 30,000 to 40,000 people in the U.S. require a series of post-bite shots because of potential exposure to rabies.
Although the health benefits of aspirin have been proven, there aren’t many doctors recommending it to patients at risk of heart attack or stroke.
Researchers from the University of Rochester based that conclusion after studying a national sample of more than 3,000 middle-aged patients, both men and women. Most of the participants said they couldn’t recall their doctor telling them to take aspirin.
By Eve Marx
Aphrodisiacs are aromatic foods, recipes and potions believed to be sexual and sensual enhancers found in nature. Many of these potent love tools and libido lifters have been in use for centuries. There are dozens of known aphrodisiacs in the world. Is it time for you to learn about some of them?
Essential oils that do more than smooth
We’re bombarded daily by commercials that promise everything from weight loss to sexual fulfillment if we just buy the dietary supplement they’re advertising. But how do we know whether the substance is safe, let alone effective? Here, experts from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outline what you should know about these supposed curatives:
Scientists have developed a mathematical model to measure happiness, and that may eventually lead to better treatments for mood disorders.
Researchers from University College London used the equation to analyze the happiness of more than 18,000 people worldwide. As a result, they found that moment-by-moment happiness is due not only to how well things are going but whether they are going better than a person expected.
If you’ve ever wanted to speak up about your pain but didn’t quite dare because you didn’t want to “complain,” or wondered whether it was normal, the experts at the National Institute on Aging have want to shatter some pain myths. Here are a few of the untruths about pain – and what the reality actually is:
Most people don’t have to live with pain.
There are pain treatments that work for most people. If your doctor has not been able to help you, ask to see a pain specialist.
If you’re not sure whether you’ve got strep throat – or just a sore throat – 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.
Capsaicin, a substance already known to relieve pain associated with shingles, may also ultimately reduce the risk of colorectal tumors, according to new research.
Investigators from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine said that capsaicin, which is the active ingredient in chili peppers, activates a receptor on the intestinal cells of mice. Their findings were published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
If you think you know what poison ivy looks like, think again. Poison ivy can take the form of a vine, shrub or ground cover. It has leaves that are shiny and leaves that are dull. Its edges can be smoothed or notched.
So how can it be recognized and avoided? The old phrase “leaves of three,” let it be” is a good way to do it, says Lou Paradise, president and chief of research of Topical BioMedics, Inc., makers of Topricin.
A lot of loud noise may do more than damage your hearing: It actually alters the way the brain processes speech, neuroscientists say.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas said that could eventually lead to difficulty in distinguishing speech sounds hearing loss. The investigators’ findings were published in the journal Ear and Hearing.
Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and, unfortunately, common experiences people face. Most people experiencing normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and even guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease, and it’s possible to accept loss and move forward.
For some people, feelings of loss are debilitating and don’t improve even after time passes. This is known as complicated grief. In complicated grief, painful emotions are so long lasting and severe that you have trouble accepting the loss and resuming your own life.
A minimally invasive procedure can significantly reduce the likelihood of heart disease-related deaths among adults with atrial fibrillation.
A long-term study from the University of Michigan’s Frankel Cardiovascular Center found that the procedure, catheter ablation, helps atrial-fibrillation patients lower their risk of dying from a heart attack or heart failure.
Here’s another addition to our Third Age video collection. Press play to start learning.
Someday, your computer may have “glasses” to help you see the screen – not the other way around, according to researchers developing the technology.
Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, are developing computer models to compensate for a person’s visual impairment. When fully developed, these vision-correcting displays enable users to see words and pictures on a screen clearly without eyeglasses or contact lenses.
