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Your primary care provider (PCP) can attend to the majority of your health needs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 54.6 percent of office visits are to primary care providers. Here are seven reasons to visit your PCP: Routine screenings. Many common health problems (including colon cancer, breast cancer and diabetes) have screenings that can detect the disease at the earliest stage. There are standard recommendations for when these screenings should occur for most people, but...
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The first thing that comes to mind for many when they hear diabetes is sugar. While sugar plays a big part in this disease, there’s a lot more to this chronic condition. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder, meaning it involves how the body breaks down food to create energy through the use of insulin, a hormone created by the pancreas. When you eat, food is turned into a kind of sugar known as glucose. As the amount of glucose in the blood rises, beta cells in the pancreas trigger the release of insulin. Th...
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You’re young at heart, but that doesn’t mean you’re immune to illness. Many diseases we associate with older age can develop during our 40s and 50s. Arthritis Risk factors: Age is one of the biggest risk factors, as joints wear and tear over time. If you’ve ever had a joint injury, you may experience arthritis pain sooner in life. Treatment: Exercise is the best long-term strategy. Regular exercise increases joint flexibility and strengthens the muscles that support the joint. Balance your activity ever...
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Most spring allergies are caused by pollen. Though pollen is harmless, your body can mistake it for a threat and release histamines. In an attempt to repel the “invader,” histamines cause your eyes, nose and throat to swell, itch and produce mucus. Even if you know all about pollen, you may not know the best ways to combat it. Avoid these common spring allergy mistakes that can prolong suffering or even make symptoms worse. Mistake No. 1: Waiting too long to medicate. For best results, allergy medicine ...
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Imagine this — you’re going about your day, working, exercising or spending time with your family, when all of a sudden you feel a sharp, stabbing pain in your abdomen. You’ve been a little nauseous all day, and you haven’t felt hungry, so you chalk it up to eating too much at your last meal. Right? Wrong. These are all signs that you have appendicitis, the inflammation of the appendix — a small tube attached to the large intestine. Appendicitis may occur when there is a blockage in the appendix caused ...
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If you or a loved one suffer from asthma, clearing dust from your home may seem like a good idea. But what you clean your home with can make all the difference. Many cleaning supplies contain chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that can aggravate asthma and other respiratory illnesses. VOCs can be found in chlorine bleach, detergent, rug and upholstery cleaners, and furniture and floor polish. How can you clean your home and keep your lungs safe? The American Lung Association recomme...
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The ways you receive healthcare are changing. Focus your strategies for wellness and strengthen your relationship with your primary care doctor to boost your overall health. Communicate early and often. If you have a question or concern, bring it up sooner rather than later. Sending a short note or leaving a voicemail for your doctor’s nurse about a potential problem can allow your doctor to decide if you need a different medication, a follow-up visit or a referral to a specialist. Find tools to help yo...
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More than an occasional overindulgence, binge eating signals an unhealthy obsession with food. Thankfully, out-of- control eating can be beaten. Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting approximately one in 35 American adults. Approximately 60 percent of BED patients are female. In women, BED tends to start in early adulthood, while in men the disorder most often first appears in midlife. Most of us overeat from time to time, but people with BED feel...
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When you think of a typical heart attack patient, there’s a good chance the person who comes to mind looks something like this: an older man in his 50s or 60s, clutching his chest in sudden pain. That doesn’t always align with reality, however. Which of these people do you think is most at risk for a heart attack? SCENARIO #1: A 65-year-old woman with a family history of heart disease is overweight, but gets a moderate amount of exercise and tries to follow a healthy diet. She is aware that her weight a...
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The metaphor of a broken heart to describe intense emotional pain has been a favorite among poets and jilted lovers since the beginning of time. In 1990, Japanese scientists discovered that the hurt felt after a messy breakup or the loss of a loved one actually does affect the heart, though it doesn’t exactly break it. Sudden emotional turmoil temporarily enlarges a part of your heart and prevents it from pumping efficiently while the rest of your heart maintains normal function. Also known as stress-in...
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