If you’ve had a child in daycare or in elementary school, you may be very familiar with hand, foot and mouth disease. Found most commonly in children younger than five years, hand, foot and mouth disease is a contagious illness caused by different viruses. Hand, foot and mouth disease usually passes without medical treatment in…
Blood, the essential fluid that flows through our bodies, is constantly in need. Blood circulates in our blood vessels and transports nutrients, hormones, medications and cells throughout the body. Because blood cannot be artificially replicated or replaced, blood donors are the only source of blood for patients who need it. Blood drives happen across the…
There once was a time in the world where diseases ran wildly, crossing oceans and continents with great speed. Carried in animals and people alike, diseases and viruses that caused great sickness and sometimes death spread around the globe. The bubonic plague, or “Black Death,” spread from Asia to Europe in the mid-1300s by rats…
We’ve all had a headache before, and usually we can move through our day with a few pain pills and some grit. Headaches can be caused by a number of things, including allergies and even stress. But there’s a different type of headache that is debilitating, and can be a sign of a much more…
As the weather changes from summer to fall every year, most people are also changing—pulling out winter coats from closets and basements and drinking more hot tea than iced. They’re also fighting a war they are sure to lose: the common cold. The Common Cold In the United States, common colds are the main reason…
It’s estimated that over half a million people in the United States suffer from Crohn’s disease—an often debilitating disease of the digestive tract. The disease causes inflammation and irritation in the small intestine and top of large intestine, but in some cases can spread all the way from the mouth, throat, stomach, intestines and waste…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related issues. Frequent coughing or wheezing is common, excess phlegm and mucus production, shortness of breath and trouble taking deep breaths. Almost 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, and even more Americans may be struggling with COPD and…
It’s generally known that people with diabetes often struggle with many other associated health problems in addition to diabetes. After all, problems with blood sugar can affect almost every area of your body, so diabetic patients must pay close attention to changes in their body and report to their physician immediately. You may think that…
This year, about 40,000 women are expected to die from breast cancer. For women, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, even though breast cancer death rates have been slowly decreasing since the late 1980s. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. Three million American women have…
Forgetfulness is a natural part of life, and a common symptom of aging. Memory can be affected by a variety of factors, including chronic stress, certain health conditions or even a lack of planning. However, sometimes adults are affected with something more– dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia and is…
