The Stress of Being Laid Off

There are difficulties in today's stressful economy and one of the big problems is the stress after being laid off.  Many people have to deal with the problems associated with that and it can be very difficult.  That's one of the problems with a stressful economy.  People sometimes build their identity in the work they're doing and the jobs they have.  When those jobs are taken away, it is a situation where someone can actually become depressed because of it.

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Benefits of Assisted Living

It is called assisted living, and for many people, that term has a bad connotation. They’re thinking, I’m going to be put away. Where am I going to be? What am I going to do? Well, let me tell you something. Assisted living is not necessarily a bad term for people who actually want to stay in a situation where they want to be independent, but at the same time, get help. Assisted living centers actually allow you to be independent, but they’ll help you with the things like shopping, the activities of daily living, and you get that help if something bad happens to you.

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Evaluating the Vitamins You Take

There are many vitamins out there and certainly they play a major part in our lives, but the specific vitamins you take, the strengths and weaknesses, all need to be evaluated.  One of the things physicians often talk about when they mention vitamins is the fact that they don't come without a price.  You have to know which ones you're taking and if, in fact, there are side-effects or concerns associated with them.  Doctors will tell you that the more you know, the better you can use and take advantage of them as part of your overall health care. 

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Dealing with the Pain of Depression

We keep writing about pain such as joint pain, stomach pain, chest pain, foot pain, headaches, etc. But one of the worst types of pain isn’t a pain that you can measure, like you can measure on that level. It’s the pain of depression. One out of six people suffer from depression at some point in their life and when they have the problems, they feel as if their world is collapsing around them. You see depression is like someone has taken a dark curtain and put it in front of your eyes. Dealing with depression can be very difficult and we have to do all we can to help those who suffer.

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Early Diagnosis of Migraines Is Important

As many as one out of five people suffer from migraine headaches. These headaches are usually quite severe and they are preceded by an aura, or a strange sensation, like a flashing of light or a strange smell. They’re often diagnosed as sinus headaches, tension headaches, or a variety of other types of head pain, but a new study out of Columbia and highlighted by the Journal of the American Medical Association is stressing the importance of early diagnosis. That’s because the cycle of a migraine can often be cut short through the use of drugs called Triptans. These medications are available in a wide variety of forms, including pills, inhalers, and even injections. Migraines can be unusual. They don’t always cause headaches, and they can actually cause a wide variety of symptoms from visual disturbances to stomach problems. Migraines need to be taken seriously. Clearly they are a problem that have to be dealt with.

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Information about Ovarian Cancer

It isn't talked about as much as other forms of cancer, but ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers. One in 57 women develop ovarian cancer and there have been several studies which have shown it runs in families. The major problem with ovarian cancer is it is usually found in the advanced stages and by that point the disease is very difficult to treat and the chance of five year survival is about 20%. Sadly 75% of women are diagnosed at this advanced stage. When ovarian cancer is detected early, before it is spread beyond the ovaries, more than 90% of women will survive longer than 5 years. Unfortunately, the symptoms of ovarian cancer are very vague. Feeling bloated, a sensation of being full even after eating just a small amount of food, low back pain, and fatigue are all signs, but obviously they can mean other things as well.

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A Woman’s Sleep Is Essential for Health

Do you get enough sleep? One of the biggest complaints physicians hear from their female patients is that they don’t. They’re under stress, they’re under pressure, and in addition to that, they have the pressures of their spouse. All of these things come together to make it difficult to sleep and to get that quality time. It is essential, if you are going to be healthy, that you get the sleep you need and the rest you need. If you can do that, you have an opportunity to fight the day’s battles and not feel weakened by them. Sleep is a key tool, a key weapon in your overall health.

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Allergy to Infant Formula

When you look at formula for babies, you have to understand that certain formulas for babies can cause difficulties.  Usually, though, what doctors do if someone is allergic is physicians actually look at a soy formula because soy formula is one of the ones that is the easiest to tolerate.  Doctors often say that if children are having problems beyond the soy formula, then they need to get it checked out and evaluated by the pediatrician.  What you don't want to have a child do is have severe diarrhea which is uncontrolled. 

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Treating PMS Symptoms

There was a time when many health professionals did not take premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, seriously. Fortunately, those days are gone and there is medical agreement that PMS affects many women just before their menstrual cycles. Common symptoms include cramps, bloating, fatigue, and moodiness. For some women, the symptoms can be severe and medication is necessary, but for others, certain lifestyle measures can make a big difference. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services actually has reviewed studies and came up with the following suggestions including getting regular exercise, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and avoiding foods high in salt, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Another big step is to get plenty of sleep. That can make a major difference. The key, of course, is to figure out what you’re doing and to try to make sure you get the attention.

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Understanding Loss of Libido

Can a loss of libido be a normal phenomenon? Absolutely! If you’re someone who’s under stress and you feel pressure, it is clear that you may not feel interested in sex. You may not have that desire. That is a normal phenomenon and many women are made to feel guilty that perhaps they don’t have the desire they used to. The bottom line is, if someone is fatigued, under stress, feeling unappreciated, they’re not going to have the libido or the drive they had before. Many of these things have to be worked out. There is more to sex than just a physical reaction. It’s psychological as well.

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Migraine Headaches Often Occur with Warning Signs

A migraine headache is one of those insidious things that can occur. Migraine headaches often occur with a warning, a kind of a warning sign that there’s something going on. What happens is you feel a sense that there’s an aura; a strange smell, a strange feeling, a strange zigzagging of lights, something that’s unusual that occurs before a severe headache can occur. It’s very important that when you’re dealing with headaches, you understand these are problems that need to be dealt with, and can be dealt with, effectively.

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Medicine Cabinet Concerns

Have you taken a look in your family’s medicine cabinet lately? What you might find could shock you. Now, here’s the problem. The medicine cabinet often becomes a storage area for old medications that you want to keep around just in case you need them. The argument is usually something like, ‘I spent a lot of money on this medicine. I’m going to get my money’s worth!’ The problem is, the medication that’s good for one person with one health problem isn’t always good for the other and then there is the difficulty with expired drugs. They can make you sick, or they can even poison you. Remember, young children are curious and they might want to see what’s in those bottles. If you have teens, consider this. While illicit drug and alcohol use among teens is down, the use of prescription painkillers among people ages eight to 25 is up. In fact, prescription painkillers are now attracting the most users of any drugs.

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Study Shows Women of Young Children Eat More Calories

Are you having a struggle with weight loss?  Well, now you have someone to blame.  According to a study from the University of Minnesota, mothers of young children were heavier and ate more calories, fatty foods, and sugary drinks than women without children.  In addition, both parents were less active than those of the same age without children.  The study was not a small one.  There were over 1,500 adults with children younger than five and according to the report which is in the journal Pediatrics, mothers in this study with young children had a diet so poor, they'd have to walk three miles a day to not gain a pound.

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DNA Shows Most Neanderthals Were Redheads

There are many fields in science and occasionally the scientific worlds collide. An example? Some researchers studying the origins of man focused their work on Neanderthals. In particular, they were analyzing DNA samples from Spain and Italy. What they found was shocking for them. They discovered that most Neanderthals had been redheads. In fact, some Neanderthals may have had variations in pigmentation. Hypothetically, it could prove that they had red hair and pale skin similar to that of modern humans. A European research team found that out.

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Managing Night Terrors

They are called night terrors, and clearly, they can be terrors for the parents as well. A night terror is a situation where a child will wake up. The child actually could be fine and then will wake up about half an hour or 45 minutes in his sleep screaming wildly. They’re screaming because they really don’t know what’s going on. They look right past you. They have no idea what the issue is. The problem with a night terror is that it often scares the parents. What you have to do is just control the child from hurting themselves, and it will go away.

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Dealing with Stress Headaches

There are several kinds of headaches.  While many people say they suffer from migraines, the most common headache is called a stress headache.  Causes include stress, skipping meals, irregular sleep habits, or certain foods.  One of the first things many people do after suffering a headache is reach for a pain reliever in the medicine cabinet, but that's not always the best idea.  In fact, there are other simple things you can do.  Lie down in a dark, quiet room and try to sleep.  Also, try to figure out what led to the headache.  In addition, you should try to avoid things that are problematic and bother you.  One idea is a headache log where you can record when the headache first appears, the time each one happens, and where the pain is felt.  You get the idea.  It's common sense and it's trying to figure out the best way to approach a problem that can be chronic.  

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Eating More Chocolate Is Associated with Higher Depression Scores

Eating more chocolate is associated with higher depression scores.  Researchers assessed the mood of 931 participants who were not taking antidepressants using a standard depression scale.  They then correlated the results from those with a food survey.  Those who scored very highly, reflecting probable major depression, reported consuming more than twice as much chocolate as those who were negative for depression.  The findings were similar between women and men.  The researchers speculate that depression may stimulate cravings for chocolate as a form of self-medication.  Animal studies suggest that chocolate may have positive mood benefits, however, they cannot rule out the possibility that chocolate actually contributes to the depressed mood, or that both cravings and depressed mood are caused by a third, underlying factor.  The report is in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Teeth Brushing and Heart Disease

How important is it to brush your teeth? Well, more and more studies are showing that keeping your teeth and your mouth clean can actually be effective at preventing, of all things, heart disease. That’s right. We have found that people who have bacterial infections, periodontal disease, are more likely to have problems associated with heart disease. Now, whether it’s because of the teeth or it’s because of the fact that certain individuals may not take care of their teeth or their overall health, we’re not sure. But there is clearly that association.

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Understanding Juvenile Diabetes

In Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, the hormone insulin does not work the way it should and blood levels can go out of control. People with this form of diabetes need to be given insulin to control the blood sugar and help with the basic metabolic pathways of the body. There is a theory that for some reason the body's immune system actually attacks insulin. This is why it doesn't work. Scientists have struggled to understand what causes the body to turn against itself in Type 1 diabetes. Essentially, the immune system destroys pancreatic cells that normally produce the blood sugar regulating hormone insulin. Researchers have struggled to find out why. That's because it is a disease that affects one in every 400 to 500 children and adolescents in the United States. According to a report in the journal Nature, scientists studied mice that actually developed Type 1 diabetes and engineered them to lack normal insulin. Using those mice, they are trying to do what they can to find out secrets.

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Radiation Exposure from Medical Tests

Exposure to radiation from medical tests is a very important problem and in the New England Journal of Medicine, they took a look.  A study of 952,000 non-elderly adults found that over two-thirds were exposed to twice as much radiation as they would have received from natural sources because of medical imaging.  Women and older individuals were at greater risk for radiation exposure.  The study found that CT scans and nuclear tests accounted for three-quarters of non-treatment-based medical radiation exposure.  An accompanying editorial called for the clinical trials to prove whether or not diagnostic tests and imaging prevented major medical problems or reduced costs, or whether they're worth the inherent risk of developing cancer from radiation exposure.  A report by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement, Americans are exposed to a great deal of radiation.  

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