Health Guide

If you have arthritis, you are not alone. The Arthritis Foundation estimates that nearly one in five adults in the United States has arthritis, a blanket term that refers to more than 100 diseases that produce joint inflammation. They include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, and fibromyalgia.

If CSI were set in your body, not in New York or Miami, Clostridium difficile, or C. diff for short, would be considered a criminal in need of watching. While most of the millions of different kinds of bacteria that are found in the human intestine are harmless, C. diff produces toxins that can make you sick. Fortunately, it is usually held in check by your good bacteria.

At the end of each year, the National Cancer Institute updates its Cancer Trends Progress Report, which summarizes our nation's progress in fighting this disease. Since the publication of the Healthy People 2010 targets at the beginning of the millennium by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we've engaged tens of thousands of researchers, spent billions of dollars, and mobilized the political will to regulate many cancer-causing substances—and we have begun to see the benefits.

Parkinson's disease affects two out of every 1,000 people, but since it most often develops after age 50, it is disproportionately represented among seniors. In essence, the older you are, the more likely you are to know someone who has Parkinson's or to have the disease yourself. Although there is no cure for Parkinson's, there are a number of treatments, from medication to deep brain stimulation, that have been effective in controlling its symptoms.

The Dopamine Deficit

On February 21, 2008, a special advisory panel convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to select the three influenza virus strains to be included in the influenza vaccine for the 2008—9 U.S. flu season. It is not a decision panel members took lightly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 5 percent and 20 percent of the population gets the flu each year, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized, and about 36,000 people die.

One of the body's principal defenses against infection and injury is inflammation. When you get a cold or sprain your ankle, the protective system in the body is immediately mobilized to remove the foreign or damaged tissue and begin the healing process. Special white blood cells and chemicals flood the site, causing the classic signs of inflammation—swelling, redness, pain, and heat—which gradually subside as the threat is cleared away. Make no mistake about it: inflammation is critical to our survival.

By Kelly Malick of America Hears

By Susan Homitz - an audiologist for America Hears

Purchasing a digital hearing aid is an important step in obtaining increased quality of life for people with hearing loss. There are many things to consider when deciding on the right hearing aid, such as brand, quality and price, but one of the most important considerations is the quality of the hearing aid provider, and the level of customer service it offers to clients throughout the life of the digital hearing aid.

Accept Nothing Less than the Best Customer Service