Being Healthy is a choice

Posts Tagged ‘doctor’

If you are age 65 or older, you may take more medicines now than ever before. Two-thirds of adults age 65 and older use one or more medicines each day, and a quarter of them take three drugs each day. The more you know about your medicines and the more you communicate with your health professionals, the better your chances are for avoiding possible problems with medicines. Here are some tips for safe medicine use:

• Learn about your medicines. Read medicine labels and package inserts. If you have difficulty reading the label, ask a friend, relative or pharmacist for help. If you have questions about the label directions or warnings, ask your doctor or other health care professional. Read the rest of this entry »

A nutraceutical is a food or part of a food that allegedly provides medicinal or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Grapefruit juice has been touted as containing many compounds that can reduce hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and even the risk of cancer. Grapefruit juice can, therefore, be justifiably referred to as a classic nutraceutical. However, for many persons taking certain medications, grapefruit juice might actually better be termed a “nutrapollutical!”

It turns out that grapefruit juice can directly or indirectly interact in important ways with a number of medications. This is especially important since grapefruit juice is consumed by approximately one fifth of Americans for breakfast – a time of the day when medications also are commonly taken. Read the rest of this entry »

Travelers should see a physician before leaving for a trip if they are going to developing countries, going off the usual tourist routes, or if they have chronic diseases that could be affected by travel. Travelers should protect themselves against common diseases that may be mild but that will disrupt their trip as well as protecting themselves against less common diseases that may be serious or even fatal. Some foreign countries require certain vaccinations before they will allow the traveler to enter the country. All travelers need to be up to date on routine vaccines they would normally get if they were not traveling (for example, an annual influenza vaccination if indicated). No vaccinations are required for re-entry into the United States for foreign travelers.

What diseases occur in travelers, and how can disease be prevented? Read the rest of this entry »

Complementary medicine is a group of diagnostic and therapeutic disciplines that are used together with conventional medicine. An example of a complementary therapy is using aromatherapy to help lessen a patient’s discomfort following surgery.

Complementary medicine is usually not taught or used in Western medical schools or hospitals. Complementary medicine includes a large number of practices and systems of health care that, for a variety of cultural, social, economic, or scientific reasons, have not been adopted by mainstream Western medicine. Read the rest of this entry »

For years, the media have trumpeted the vital role calcium plays in preventing osteoporosis, a silent disease of the bones that makes them weaken and prone to fracture.

The calcium clamor is so loud it sometimes drowns out messages about another nutritional necessity – vitamin D. Without enough vitamin D, the body cannot absorb calcium and deposit it in the bones. In such cases, the blood raids the skeleton for the calcium it needs, thus raising the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. About 10 million Americans have this condition, with another 34 million at risk. Read the rest of this entry »