A deadly disease is set to hit the shores of the US, UK and much of the rest of the northern hemisphere in the coming months. It will swamp our hospitals, lay millions low and by this time next year between 250,000 and 500,000 worldwide will be dead, thousands of them in the US. Despite...
Category: <span>General</span>
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Ebola: What We Need to Know About Liberia
Ebola: What We Need to Know About Liberia Much of the world community, and many of you reading this health column, should be applauded for the generous outpouring on interest, concern, support, and well wishes, in response to the growing Ebola crisis. While the terrifying spread of Ebola has captured the world’s attention, it...
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The Growing Epidemic of Ebola and Enterovirus D68
A patient being treated at a Dallas hospital is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Now that the first case has been reported, what does this all mean for the rest of the country, and what types of precautions...
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Gum Disease and your Overall Health
Oral Health is important to overall health and general well-being; you cannot be healthy without oral health. There is little doubt that oral health and general well-being are closely linked. Almost 3 of every 10 adults over age 65 have lost all of their teeth, primarily because of tooth decay and gum disease, which affects...
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Prescription Drugs and Your Digestive System
Researchers find that nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half receive at least two prescriptions. Twenty percent of U.S. patients were also found to be on five or more prescription medications. Many medicines taken by mouth may affect the digestive system. These medicines include prescription (those...
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A look at mental illness before getting back to school
A few weeks from now, most young people will be returning to school. This is in spite of a summer of witnessing some of the most horrific violence and murders — and with adults, legislators and officials sending clear messages to students that they don’t matter. The low regard for quality public education and funding...
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Brain Dead is Dead
Recently, the parents and family of Jahi McMath, the 13-year old brain dead girl at the center of controversy, received an award from the Terri Schiavo Foundation, honoring their ‘courage and perseverance”. Five physicians, two from the hospital and three independent doctors requested by the family, have declared the girl to be brain-dead, Catholic News...
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Take a Stand Against Pennsylvania’s Failure to Expand Medicaid
ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion is one of the biggest milestones in health care reform. ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion expands Medicaid to our nations poorest in order cover nearly half of uninsured Americans. The law previously required states to cover their poorest or lose federal funding to Medicaid (federal funding covers 90-100% of state costs) until the Supreme...
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Cholesterol Guidelines
If you’re not on medicine to lower your cholesterol yet, you might be soon. Late last year, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released an updated guideline for the use of statins to prevent and treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Until now, the drugs had primarily been used...
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E-cigarettes and Smoking
“E-cigarettes” are now being widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking. E-cigarettes were invented in China by a company called Ruyan in 2003 and first introduced to the U.S. market in 2007, and it’s gaining both friends and foes across the world. But what’s the deal? Can they really help you quit...