WELL-BEING Breast cancer screening guidelines vary with different health groups. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force advises women ages 50-74 to get a mammogram every 2 years. Women ages 40-49 and 74+ should discuss their breast cancer risk and the pros and cons of breast cancer screening with their doctors or health care providers. Women […]
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MEDICAL NEWS The lining of your stomach makes acid and enzymes that help break down food into the nutrients you need. The lining protects itself from acid damage by releasing mucus. But sometimes the lining gets inflamed and starts making less acid, enzymes, and mucus. This type of inflammation is called gastritis. You may have
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MEDICAL NEWS Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness for people over 60, so it’s important to know what you can do about it. Glaucoma happens when too much fluid builds up in the eye. This extra fluid causes pressure that damages the optic nerve. This damage cannot be undone once it happens. It can
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MEDICAL NEWS Benign prostatic hyperplasia, sometimes called BPH or enlarged prostate, is a condition where a man’s prostate gland gets larger. It is the most common prostate problem for men older than age 50. And, up to 90 percent of men over age 80 have it. An enlarged prostate is not cancer, and for many
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MEDICAL NEWS Psoriasis is a chronic, genetic skin disease that’s not contagious. It results when faulty signals in the immune system prompt skin cells to redevelop too quickly, causing red, scaly areas that crack and bleed. It often affects the elbows, knees, scalp, and torso but can appear anywhere on the body. Psoriasis affects far
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WELL-BEING A healthy pregnancy starts with these steps, according to the CDC: * Take a vitamin with 400 micrograms (mcg) folic acid every day. Read the label. * Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and street drugs. * Keep hands clean by washing them often with soap and water to prevent infections. * See a health care professional
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MEDICAL NEWS Act fast to lower your risk for problems related to Lyme disease caused by tick bites, urges Time for Lyme, Inc. Have I been bitten? Lyme disease can only be transmitted from a bite by an infected deer tick, not from another person or animal, although pets commonly bring ticks into the home.
SELF-CARE CORNER Lice aren’t vampires, but they hold onto hair and bite into your scalp (or more likely into your children’s scalps) and feed on blood, according to Dr. Andrew Bonwit, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Loyola University. Usually, bites aren’t painful, he says, but they may itch. According to the CDC, an estimated
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MEDICAL NEWS Because 1 in 3 American adults suffers from high blood pressure, regular and accurate blood pressure checks are important for correctly diagnosing and treating hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure). Dr. Robert Zelis, a cardiologist at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, says there are three groups of people who
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WELL-BEING Is 90 the new 85? In 1980, there were 720,000 people aged 90 and older in the United States. In 2010, there were 1.9 million people aged 90 and older. By 2050, the ranks of people 90 and older may reach 9 million, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, commissioned by
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