June 15th
Forty-five years after then U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry declared that smoking causes cancer, we are finally poised to see the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assume regulatory authority over products containing tobacco. And while any legislation that has taken this long to come to pass will be seen by many as too little, too [...]
June 7th
Using someone else’s prescription medicine is a lot like playing Russian roulette – you might get away unscathed, and then again you might not. And it could have devastating consequences. Just because we see prescription medicines advertised on TV doesn’t mean they are safe for everyone. There are good reasons why you can’t buy them [...]
Read more of 16 reasons not to use someone else’s prescription medicine…
June 4th
Recent media activity has called attention to a repetitive use syndrome called ‘cell phone elbow,’ which can cause pain, numbness or tingling in the forearm and hand. But cubital tunnel syndrome, as it’s known medically, isn’t only caused by excessive cell phone use. In fact, it can be caused by any repetitive activity in which [...]
Read more of Cell phone elbow isn’t always due to cell phone use…
May 31st
Most people know that the ear has two functions; namely, hearing and balance. Now new research has shown that the inner ear balance function, called vestibular function, is impaired in fully 35 percent of all U.S. adults over the age of 40. Such dysfunction, which affects 69 million Americans can lead to catastrophic problems, most [...]
Read more of Problems with inner ear function quite common in older adults…
May 30th
New research has found that aloe vera provided greater reduction in disease activity for people with plaque psoriasis than did topical steroids. This is potentially good news for the millions of people living with psoriasis who typically rely on a variety of topical treatments including, prescription strength steroids, that can have a variety of both [...]
May 21st
You may have heard or read news reports, such as the one in the Washington Post, announcing the findings of a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) survey, which found that obesity “is as much of a risk factor for serious complications from the [swine] flu as diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy, all known to raise [...]
Read more of Does obesity increase swine flu risk and age decrease it?…
May 21st
I’ve recently seen a number of TV commercials for a product called Glymetrol that are extremely troubling. In fact, I find the marketing of Glymetrol offensive on so many levels it’s hard to know where to begin telling you about it. First is the cavalier manner in which this “natural” product is being marketed to [...]
Read more of Glymetrol: A scam targeting people with diabetes…
May 20th
Biting is a distressing manifestation of aggressive behaviour in young children. More common in boys than girls, it is most common in the toddler and preschool age groups. The behaviour can be directed against parents, siblings or peers.
Cause
The immediate cause of biting is often the child being angry or frustrated, usually at not getting his [...]
Read more of CHILD’S HEALTH/SPECIFIC PROBLEM BEHAVIOURS: BITING…
May 18th
A proper diet and enough sleep are also very important in helping raise our threshold to stress. If we have eating problems it is important we seek advice to help re-establish normal eating patterns.
Returning to healthier sleep patterns can be difficult, and this is where the meditation technique can play an important role.
Although we have [...]
Read more of ANXIETY DISORDERS/WORKING THROUGH THE RECOVERY: TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES…
May 17th
As with any treatment, you need to weigh the likely ‘benefit’ against the likely ‘cost’. These are some of the questions to which you will need answers:
-What is the aim of the surgery?
-What is the chance of achieving that aim?
-Would there be a better chance of achieving that aim if I had other forms of [...]