Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

This is not one of those medical topics that people talk about openly, but perhaps they should.  It's called hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or  HSDD.  According to its medical definition, it's the lack of sexual desire or fantasies which cause the individual to be stressed enough to have personal or relationship issues as a result.  HSDD is going to become a more widespread term over the next five years because a great deal of money is being spent studying this phenomenon in women shortly before and after menopause.  This could be a good and bad thing.  The good thing is women will be included in the conversation in much the same way men have been as a result of marketing medications for erectile dysfunction.  The negative point is it can also be embarrassing through the advertising.

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A Fascinating Study of Baby Cradling and Maternal Stress

A British study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry suggests that mothers who cradled their baby on the right side may be struggling with extreme stress. The study suggests that baby cradling habits may indicate whether the stress could become increasingly hard to handle and lead to depression. As many as ten percent of new mothers develop postpartum depression. Identifying warning signs could potentially help health care providers identify mothers who might be prone to emotional difficulties. The majority of mothers prefer to cradle their baby on the left side.

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Do You Have Fever Phobia?

Do you have fever phobia?  The American Academy of Pediatrics says this is a problem in this country.  Fever is one of the most common clinical symptoms in children.  Certainly, if the temperature is elevated, it can be a warning sign there are other problems.  The fever is really the body's way to fight infection and sometimes a low-grade fever is not a bad thing.  However, due to advertising and the ready availability of many medications to control fever, there are patients who will turn to medicine every time a temperature is over 99.5 and that is a mistake.

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Importance of Water for Health

It is a major point of discussion. What do you think is the most important step you can take when it comes to your overall health? Clearly, proper diet and exercise are essential. But what else? We want to raise the water argument. Think about it. It’s very important to drink plenty of water when you’re playing sports, exercising or performing virtually any activity that causes you to sweat and lose bodily fluids. Basically, there are other cases where it’s critical. Researchers at Northwestern say it can also help regulate body temperature and improve digestion.

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Stress Can Cause Symptoms Similar to Allergies

Stress is a serious health problem and there's no doubt that stress is a something that can cause problems that feel like you're allergic.  But, actually, it is really the increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and those problems associated with stress that can occur.  In actuality, it is not the stress itself that is the problem, it's the body's release of epinephrine.  But, if you have stress and you don't take care of it, it can have a long-term effect on the body; an effect that is made worse over time. 

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Tamiflu Flu Shot and Behavioral Side-Effects

The Food and Drug Administration is suggesting that doctors and parents be alert for signs of bizarre behavior in children treated with the flu drug Tamiflu. All of this stems from a past incident in Japan where the medication was used ten times more often than in the United States. Basically, an FDA pediatric panel is going to discuss the issue. Recommendations suggest there may be a warning placed on a medication similar to the one in Japan which says disturbances in consciousness or abnormal behavior, even delirium can occur. It’s obviously something that needs to be looked at closely.

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Breast Cancer Facts and Figures

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. Now, to give you an idea of the toll it takes, in 2000, there were 182,000 new cases and over 40,000 deaths. Breast cancer affects one out of eight women but there is good news. With improvements in early detection and treatment, there is a cure rate of over 50%. Physicians are often asked, ‘Who is at greater risk for breast cancer?’ The biggest risk factor is family history. Did someone in the family have it? Also, if you’ve had breast cancer before, there’s an increased risk of getting it in the other breast.

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Do You Have Memory of the Pain During Childbirth?

Many women will talk about childbirth as one of the key sources of pain in their life, and without a doubt, it is. Childbirth can be extremely painful because what you’re actually doing is stretching the birth canal over a period of time. Now, one of the things about childbirth is it also shows how memory of pain can be reduced over time. Over time, people do not remember how severe that pain is to the degree that they do when they’re having the baby. That is because the mind can selectively remember certain aspects of pain.

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Alcohol Education for Younger Children

There is a report from the University of Pittsburgh which suggested that students should be exposed to knowledge of the dangers of alcohol as early as fourth-grade. There are several reasons for this. First, kids watch TV and ads marketing alcohol are more prominent than ever. Then, there is the information from a review of state and national surveys which found that among typical fourth-graders, ten percent had already had more than a sip of alcohol, and seven percent had a drink in the past year. The percent of children who have used alcohol increased with age and doubles between the fourth and sixth grade.

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Recognizing School Anxiety

Many children suffer from school anxiety. School anxiety is actually shown in a number of ways. Kids will get headaches or they’ll get stomach aches. They’ll be so concerned about arriving at school. They really are concerned about how they feel and they try to come up with excuses to avoid it. School anxiety is a normal problem. Most children feel it at one point or another. Often it is a warning sign that bullying is occurring or in some way the child is being put in a situation where they’re uncomfortable. Take those signs seriously.

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Prescription Drug Abuse Is Alarming

When you think of drug abuse, the odds are quite good that you think of cocaine or heroin, but a report out of Florida highlights a serious trend in this country.  A look at autopsies in that state found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illegal drugs combined.  According to the Food and Drug Administration, seven million Americans are abusing prescription drugs; an eight percent increase in six years.  Looking at it another way, it's more than the total abuse of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and inhalants combined.  

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A Baby’s Birth-Weight Can Have Lifelong Health Effects

Some of the most important things your mother ever did for you happened before you were born.  Proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of alcohol and cigarettes during pregnancy can have life-long effects on an unborn baby.  As we learn more about the role of prenatal care, we're also realizing that the birth-weight can have lifelong effects as well.  Very high and very low birth-weight are associated with an increased risk of complications during birth.  Additionally, low birth-weight has been associated with some chronic adult diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure.  There is no doubt that a mother's health and attention to a healthy pregnancy can have a major impact. 

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Diabetes Cause Less Pain…And That’s Not Good

People with diabetes often have less pain. Now you would think that’s a good idea, but it’s not. What’s happening is the pain is not as strong because the nerves are not working the way they should. The chronic wear and tear and disease associated with diabetes starts to damage these nerves. Here’s an example of why less pain is not a good thing.  Let’s say, for instance, you’re a diabetic and you step on something with your foot, and you have a small cut. You may not know you have that cut. It can get worse throughout the day, and take a long time to heal.

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Wearing Seatbelts Saves Lives

Seat belts are a very important part of safety.  Most people wear them now, but if you don't, you are putting yourself at risk.  Seat belts have been known to save lives.  When we see people flying through windshields and see the results of that trauma. It's often because they don't have those seat belts on.  Head trauma can occur quite easily.  You just can't stop yourself with the force of a car.  So, if you happen to have a seat belt on board, it can make a major difference and can save you, not only from a disastrous injury, but also brain trauma as well.

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MRSA and Drug Resistance

And it's only the beginning.  Doctors are starting to see methicillin-resistant, staph aureus as the extension of a bigger problem…antibiotic resistance. Partly doctors are to blame because so many physicians prescribe too many medications too often, as well as the fact that people often don't take the necessary medicines when they should.  MRSA certainly is an obstacle that we have to worry about. 

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Wheal and Flare of Allergy Symptoms

One of the classic symptoms associated with an allergy is the “wheal and flare.” It’s the “wheal and flare” that actually is the sign that there’s something there bothering the skin. Relax…that’s okay. It means that our bodies are actually fighting back in some way, and our bodies are making some sort of reaction. Wheal and flare is nothing to be frightened of. It’s certainly just part of a normal reaction in the body where we see an offending agent, and we somehow aggressively try to attack it.

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It’s So Dangerous If Diabetes Often Goes Undiagnosed

Diabetes is a very serious health problem that often goes undiagnosed.  It goes undiagnosed because many people are unaware of the symptoms.  It's very important to get to diabetes early because diabetes, if left uncontrolled, can lead to long-term problems; problems in the heart, problems with the neurological symptoms, and most importantly, problems with the kidneys.  These are issues that are quite serious and diabetes has to be regulated.  It's very important to be checked.  

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The Key to Happiness…Finding Balance Between Work and Home

The balance between work and home can be something that can be very difficult to manage. You have to understand that work will never be completely done in each of these arenas. You have to look at both opportunities as a way to try to excel, but at the same time, to be realistic. Work at home is something which can be monitored and it can be measured. You have to realize, it goes on again and again for a long period of time. The work in the workplace is often judged by outside sources. You must keep the balance.

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How Do You Know If You’re Having A Tension Headache?

Tension headaches are frustrating, but they’re relatively easy to diagnose. Here’s what happens in a tension headache. People will say they have pain in the muscles of their head, like on the side of their head, or on the back of their head, but there’s a key warning sign. It gets worse as the day goes on, or as a stressful activity continues. So, if someone goes to a job that they feel is stressful, the headache gets worse as the day goes on. Tension headache could also be confused with sinus headache, and it can be confused with having a bad prescription in your glasses, but all of those things can be dealt with.

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Movies Influence Smoking In Young People

It is just the latest report to enforce a critical point that’s been made again and again since the 40′s. Young people who start smoking may be influenced to do so by movies they saw early in childhood. It doesn’t matter if it was Bette Davis or any of today’s present stars, when an actor or actress lights up, it influences kids. The latest study is from Dartmouth Medical School and it found that 80% of the exposure to smoking scenes in movies came through films rated G, PG, and PG-13. In this study, the researchers focused on more than 2,000 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 12.

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Why Do We Yawn?

It is one of those questions that medical experts can’t seem to answer. Why do we yawn, and furthermore, why is yawning contagious? While there is no concrete answer, there are theories. Evidence suggests that yawning is a way to communicate changing environmental or internal body conditions to others. If so, then its contagious nature is most likely a means of communication within groups of animals. We don’t need this now because we can talk, but at an earlier evolutionary stage, it might have been necessary. As for why we yawn in the first place, there is a theory; it is in response to getting more oxygen, but this has been shot down by many. We do know that a part of the brain called the periventricular nucleus is the yawning center of the brain. It contains a number of chemical messengers that can induce yawns, including dopamine, glycine, oxytocin and ACTH.

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Sneezing Is Not Necessarily Bad

One of the classic symptoms of an allergy is sneezing. Yes, it is annoying, but at the same time, the sneezing is a way for us to more or less get rid of those allergic type problems. Sneezing can be dealt with a wide variety of medications, but the thing is, you want to realize that it is an ally in situations where we have pressure and we’re dealing with it. Sneezing can be dealt with, but don’t always be trying to stop it.

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Napping Linked to Improved Memory and Learning

There is a classic German study you need to bring up to your boss at work.  The research finds that if people took a nap, it could make a major difference in productivity.  The study showed that if you napped for just six minutes during the day, it will not only make you feel better, but it can improve your ability to learn and remember.  The connection between sleep and learning is something that researchers have only recently pinpointed, but many know from their own experience, such as the mathematician who says he's going to sleep and then has that eureka moment or he thinks of that math equation. 

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Diabetes Being Seen in More Children

Diabetes is a major health problem and obviously there are more and more children having to deal with it. Why? It’s because substantially more children are overweight; they’re not exercising; they’re not eating properly, and as a result, diabetes, which is the form called Type-2, which used to be known as adult onset diabetes, that form of diabetes is becoming more commonplace. It is an issue that we can’t ignore. It is clearly something which is sending us a message that the kids have to get in better condition.

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Two Disorders that Affect the Tongue

They are two of the more bizarre findings in medicine, with two of the strangest names, and they both affect the tongue.  If you think about it, we rarely talk about the tongue, but the terms geographic tongue and hairy tongue are actual medical terms.  Believe it or not, geographic tongue affects as many as 1 out of 10 people.  In a geographic tongue, part of the tongue becomes flat and smooth which makes it stand out when compared to the rest of the tongue with raised borders.  In hairy tongue, an accumulation of tissue called keratin develops on the tongue and that leads to elongated debris.  

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Just How Important Is Pre-Natal Care?

Just how important is pre-natal care? Well, if you talk with most obstetricians, they will tell you that the steps taken prior to getting pregnant and those during pregnancy are crucial. The most important steps are screening for infection, getting dietary counseling and learning about the things that can be risky for your unborn baby. There are common sense points; things like avoiding alcohol and cigarettes, but there are also lab studies that can determine if you and the baby are healthy. The bottom line is, you have the best chance to have a healthy baby if you and your doctor are prepared for the complications that could arise during delivery. So, here’s the point…what you need to do is take the time to make an appointment with your physician when you’re thinking about getting pregnant, or at the very least, when you find out that you are. Many of those things that you can’t anticipate on your own your doctor can work with you. Just think about it…your doctor’s been through thousands of deliveries and has the ability to talk with you about the strengths and weaknesses.

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Myths Aside, What Really Causes Warts?

So, what causes warts? Well, believe it or not, warts are the result of a virus. It’s a viral infection and they can come and go relatively spontaneously. Many people will tell you that they had warts and then they just disappeared as quickly as they came. The thing about warts that needs to be mentioned, of course, is that they actually can spread throughout the body because the virus actually can be spread. What you want to do is talk to your doctor about treatment. There are treatments available that can speed up that process of getting rid of them.

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What Is Fibromyalgia And Do You Have It?

Fibromyalgia is one of those terms where people suffer from stress and pain, and they feel pressure, and they get a lot of grief.  They say, "This is something that's all in your head.  It's not a real problem."  Well, the truth of the matter is fibromyalgia is recognized as an issue.  It's a key issue in healthcare and it's something that cannot and should not be ignored.  However, it is a difficult diagnosis to make.  It's one that needs to be made by looking at so-called trigger points; areas which are very tender to touch in people with fibromyalgia.  

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“A Sight For Sore Eyes”

Have you heard the phrase “a sight for sore eyes?” Clearly, sore eyes can be a problem and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re looking at something undesirable. More and more people working on the computer or working in high allergy-related workplace stations are having problems with sore eyes. What we might suggest is that you try to use drops in the eyes, but drops that are not those that contain vasoconstrictors, because that can cause a reverse problem with too much red in the eye.

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Are You Dealing With Pressure Properly?

Dealing with pressure can be done many ways and at many different levels. One of the best ways to deal with pressure is to understand what you are up against. Psychologically, you have to realize what you’re battling and how to deal with it. Pressure is only what you make of it. Studies have shown that if you feel something is overwhelming then you are going to have problems, but if you take it slow, and you try to understand and grapple with it little by little, you will have a much better opportunity of dealing with it. Pressure is all how you handle it and how you deal with it.

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Good News…Less Aggressive Forms of Exercise Are Still Effective

Women need to exercise, as do men. There was a time when exercise was discouraged for women, but there is a realization now, obviously, that exercise is one of the most important things to do for a woman’s health and heart. The most important type of exercise clearly remaining aerobic, but what we’ve learned over the past few years is it doesn’t have to be an aggressive form of exercise. It can be something that’s done over time and done easy. You can go for long walks, you can relax, you can take the stairs. All of those things add up to your total exercise

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It’s The “Silent Killer” And You Need To Control It

You know high blood pressure can affect women just as well as it affects men. If you have high blood pressure, doctors need to control it; they don’t always treat it; they don’t always cure it. That’s because the long-term effects of high blood pressure are the things that cause damage. If high blood pressure is uncontrolled, you increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. You also can weaken part of the heart muscle. And if your pressure continues to rise and gets too high, doctors have to deal with that quickly. That’s why it’s so important to take your prescribed medication!

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What Is The Key To Successful Dieting?

What do you do when you go on a diet? Well, many people actually just cut calories and they suffer. That really isn’t an effective way to diet. The problem with that is you can’t prolong it. People who are going to diet and do well have to do something they can do over time, to be proud of it, to prolong it, to make sure it’s something that lasts. If you’re going to be someone who is going to diet, make sure that you evaluate things on a regular basis. Look at your calories in, your calories out, and make sure you can sustain it over the long haul.

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Are You Surprised That Depression Is Identified As A Risk Factor For Heart Disease?

There are many risk factors for a person developing heart disease, and we suspected that you probably know most of them, but, far and away, cigarette smoking is the one thing we can control to reduce our risk of developing heart problems.  There are other risk factors like not exercising enough and eating a high-fat diet.  Those with a strong family history of heart problems are at an increased risk too. But here is one thing you may not have thought about, but evidence-based medicine says it's a major issue.  People who suffer from depression are at a greater risk of heart problems down the line. The bottom line is to seek medical attention if you think you are depressed. 

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The Urgency Of Talking With Your Teen About Sex

It’s a key issue…sex and teens.  It’s a topic that urgently needs to be discussed. Obviously, parents don’t want to have to deal with this issue, but the bottom line is you must discuss it with your teen. You have to evaluate what’s going on and let them know about potential risks and problems. It’s very important that teenagers be treated as adults. You have a golden opportunity to explain to your teen the potential problems that can occur, and that early sex can lead to serious lifelong issues; not only sexually transmitted diseases, but the potential of responsibilities, like unwanted pregnancy, that will be difficult to deal with.

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A New And Unusual Use For Botox

It seems they keep coming up with new uses for Botox. Now, you’re probably aware of the most common use. Botox can help wipe away wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing the facial muscles that cause them. It’s also been used to help people with everything from neck spasms to difficulty speaking. Well, the latest use? Writer’s cramp. According to a report from the Netherlands, in writer’s cramp, involuntary muscle contractions force a particular part of the body into an abnormal posture or movement. The abnormal contractions affect the hand and arm during writing. Now, during the study, after three months 70% of patients treated with botulinum toxin said their condition had improved, but the treatment does have downsides. It is not a permanent fix. The injections need to be repeated over time. But once again, it shows, with a little imagination, certain medications can be used for a wide variety of things.

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Important Connections Between Dinosaurs And Humans

The more we learn about how animals have evolved over millions of years, the more we learn about ourselves. The latest example comes from Germany where scientists have studied prosauropods. They’re dinosaurs that were quite different than other dinosaurs of the time. Looking at fossils, they found that different prosauropods may have been warm-blooded. Most dinosaurs were cold-blooded and their growth was determined by their environmental conditions. Like today’s alligators and turtles, these dinosaurs literally adjusted their growth to the environment they lived in, and the change of seasons. The warm-blooded prosauropods actually grew to certain heights independent of the environmental conditions. Their height was determined by the height of their parents. Now what does this say about us? It says how we as a species have evolved, and that essentially our height is determined by the height of our parents, not the environmental conditions. But these things were happening as early as the dinosaurs.

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What Causes Reduced Sexual Desire in Women?

If a woman has decreased sexual desire, there could be a number of factors involved.  First of all, when it comes to sexuality for women, there are many factors that are much more complicated than in the case of men.  Does the woman feel like she's in a long-lasting, stable relationship?  Does she feel she's getting the attention she deserves?  Are there pressures that have nothing to do with sexuality that are bothering her?  One of the problems with decreased desire is fatigue.  If a woman feels fatigued and doesn't feel the normal pleasure or happiness, she's actually not going to be interested in sexuality.  Again, it's complex and often needs evaluation.  

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