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Hemorrhoids are swollen, inflamed veins in the anus or rectum. They may be caused by factors including straining during bowel movements, pregnancy and constipation. The pain of hemorrhoids can be treated with hemorrhoidal creams, ointments or suppositories, says the National Digestive Diseases Informational Clearinghouse. Warm water baths also can help ease symptoms.
Constipation, the root cause of many cases of hemorrhoids, can be prevented with a diet rich in fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Drinking plenty of water and regular exercise also can help. Active cases of constipation may be treated with stool softeners or fiber supplements, the agency says.
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People facing the prospect of cancer treatment typically expect to suffer numerous side effects -- often more than is actually likely -- a study suggests. The survey of 938 cancer patients found that when asked about 12 potential side effects of treatment such as fatigue, nausea and hair loss, patients said they expected to suffer nine of them, on average. Women and patients younger than 60 were particularly likely to expect a high number of side effects. That patients typically expected so many side effects came as a surprise, according to lead study author Maarten Hofman, a researcher at the University of Rochester Cancer Center in Rochester, New York. Read the rest of this entry »
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Some people should be very cautious about taking any medications, even those sold over the counter. The American Academy of Family Physicians says the following groups of people should check with their doctor before taking any drug or supplement:
- Pregnant women, and women who are trying to get pregnant.
- Women who are breast-feeding.
- Children.
- Older adults.
- People with health conditions.
- People taking any other medication, whether prescription or over the counter.
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Hair loss can happen in some people after they experience a stressful situation or anxiety. The hair loss can happen after major stress or anxiety. There is a delay of three or four months, and that would put you into the range. And it can be severe; women can almost lose all their hair. The good news is it comes back. It’s important to recognize anxiety as a cause of hair loss.
However anxiety is not the only cause of hair loss, all kinds of things can happen in a woman that can cause hair loss. In such a case a dermatologist should be consulted who would pluck some hairs out of your head, look at them under a magnifying glass and then he can tell you what’s going on.
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Heavy smokers with knee arthritis may be experiencing an early sign of a difficult-to-treat lung cancer, research shows. Researchers at Prato Hospital in Italy reviewed the case files of 296 patients with inflammation in one knee between 2000 and 2005. In just under 2 percent of these patients, the mild knee arthritis was accompanied by non-small cell lung cancer. All patients were middle-aged men who had been heavy smokers for most of their lives. Once the cancer tissue was surgically removed, the knee pain cleared up as well. About 85 percent of all lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Unless it is caught early, non-small cell lung cancer is difficult to treat. It spreads to the bones in one in five cases and is well advanced by the time it is diagnosed in half of all cases. Read the rest of this entry »
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Scientists have come up with proof that too much thinking can be exhausting. The brain requires glucose to function, so researchers looked at the glucose levels of the brains of old and young rats while they negotiated their way through a maze. They found that concentrating rats lose glucose from a key part of the brain. Older rats lost more glucose and took longer to recover.
Scientists discovered that the glucose level in younger rats fell by about 12 percent and recovered quickly, but older rats lost glucose by 48 percent and it took a full 30 minutes for those levels to come back. This could have some importance for humans. According to scientists these findings may have important implications for the way schools schedule classes and meals are set. The research gives a whole new way of looking at aging and thinking.
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Babies and young children satisfy the natural reflex to suck by sucking on pacifiers, fingers or thumbs. However, thumb sucking can affect the alignment of permanent teeth as they grow in.
While most children will stop the habit on their own between the ages of 2 and 4, others may need help. Here are suggestions to help your child stop sucking his or her thumb, courtesy of the American Dental Association:
- Don't scold the child when they do suck the thumb, but praise him or her when they aren't doing it.
- If your child sucks the thumb when anxious, upset or frightened, try to resolve the root of the anxiety.
- For a child old enough to understand, let him or her decide on how to break the habit.
- Have your child talk to the doctor or dentist about the damage that can be done by continuing to suck the thumb.
- Try wrapping the thumb in a bandage, a sock, or coating it with a bitter-tasting solution.
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Frequent traveling may be glamorous, but making it a habit can take a toll on your brain, recent study findings suggest. According to the latest research, the right temporal lobe, a part of the brain involved in memory, is smaller in frequent flyers who cross multiple time zones and have only 5 days of rest before crossing time zones again. The flyers were compared with workers who crossed multiple time zones but had 14 days of recovery--generally working flights that did not cross time zones in that time--before taking another flight around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
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Newborns discharged from the hospital before they are three days old should be seen by a health care worker in the first three days after they come home, advise researchers. Newborns discharged from the hospital in less than three days are twice as likely to end up back at the hospital -- most often because of jaundice -- compared with infants that stay longer than three days, their study suggests. However, an early visit by a health care professional and better education on breastfeeding may reduce these risks, according to researchers. It is recommended that infants discharged from the hospital in less than two days be seen by a health care professional within two to three days to ensure that the infant is healthy. That recommendation should also be extended to babies sent home three days or less after birth, according to the report in the June issue of Pediatrics. Read the rest of this entry »
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A bunion is a sore, swollen bump on the foot at the joint of the big toe. It can be very sore and painful, and may require surgery to remove.
Here are suggestions to prevent a bunion, courtesy of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:
- Never try to force your foot into a shoe that doesn't fit well, or is too tight.
- Wear soft-soled shoes with wide insteps and ample space for the toes.
- Don't wear any heels higher than 2 1/4 inches.
- Avoid pointy-toed shoes.
- Wear cushioned pads in your shoes to prevent a bunion, and also to ease the pain of a bunion that has already formed.
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A hearing aid is an expensive and sophisticated electronic device that should be cared for properly to help extend its life.
Here are suggestions for how to keep your hearing aid functioning properly, courtesy of the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:
- Protect your hearing aid from contact with heat or moisture.
- Clean your hearing aid thoroughly and frequently as directed by your audiologist. Excess wax and drainage from the ears can damage the appliance.
- Protect your hearing aid from hair spray and other hair care products. Don't wear the hearing aid until you've finished applying these products.
- Turn your hearing aid off when you're not using it.
- Store batteries in a convenient place, but safely out of reach of children and pets.
- Replace dead batteries promptly.
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A dietary supplement that contains the soy extract genistein reduced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels by as much as 61 percent in men with untreated prostate cancer. But the dietary supplement didn't have the same effect in men who had undergone surgery, radiation or hormone therapy for prostate cancer, say researchers from the University of California, Davis Cancer Center. PSA is a blood marker for prostate cancer. An increase is PSA is a warning sign of first-time prostate cancer or a sign of recurrence or progression of the disease in men who have been treated for prostate cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
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It's important to have an emergency first aid kit on hand in the event of minor cuts, scrapes, burns or other injuries.
Make sure your first aid kit includes this list of essentials suggested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
- Two pairs of sterile latex gloves (or gloves made of other material if there are known latex allergies).
- Sterile dressings, gauze pads or adhesive bandages.
Antibacterial soap or towelettes, and antibiotic ointment.
- Burn ointment.
- Eye wash solution.
- A supply of your regular daily prescription medications.
- A thermometer.
- Prescribed medical supplies, like glucose or blood pressure monitoring equipment.
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Most people overestimate the effort required to maintain their weight and don't realize simple lifestyle changes can help them prevent weight gain. An American Council for Fitness and Nutrition national telephone survey of 1,044 adults aged 18 and older found 40 percent of the respondents incorrectly believe that in order to prevent weight gain, people need to reduce their daily caloric intake by at least 500 calories. But a recent study says that reducing caloric intake by just 100 calories a day may be all that's necessary to avoid weight gain. The survey also found that many people overestimate what they need to do in terms of eating better and being more active to reach that 100-calories-a-day reduction. Read the rest of this entry »
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Fat starts to build up in the hearts of pre-diabetic people before either diabetes or heart disease symptoms appear, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center discovered the fatty buildup using a simple imaging technique that could become a new screening tool for people at risk for diabetes and heart disease. Prior research has shown that fat builds up in the hearts of people with heart failure or type 2 diabetes, but they did not know whether the fat deposits occurred before or after diabetes developed. The challenge was to find a way to get a static image of the human heart, which is always in motion. Read the rest of this entry »
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