February 22-28, 2014 - Original Health Articles

Do you know your options when you need to get a tooth filled? Most of us just keep our mouths shut figuratively, and open our mouths literally, and let the dentist do their thing. But what are your options, and what exactly is your dentist putting in...

You wash your hands often, eat a balanced diet, and get plenty of sleep, but even your best attempts to head off germs may fail once in a while, leaving you coughing, sneezing, and feeling under the weather. But rest easy, we have some home-based solutions to help you weather the worst of your symptoms, thanks to James Hubbard, MD, MPH, a family doctor who runs TheSurvivalDoctor.

Guilt. The dictionary defines it as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense or crime, whether real or imagined. Since diabetes is described as the classic example of a lifestyle-related, progressive disease, the opportunities for self-imposed guilt abound.

Diabetes is a serious illness, and failure to monitor and treat it can lead to difficult complications. One potential complication is gangrene, the death and decomposition of tissue in a part of the body, a cause of many diabetes-related amputations. There are three primary causes of gangrene in people with diabetes: Damage to blood vessels.

After undergoing a mastectomy, not every woman opts to have reconstructive surgery, and for those who choose not to, a mastectomy bra can be a comfortable and attractive alternative. "Some women just don't want reconstructive surgery and they feel totally comfortable wearing a prosthesis instead," explains Stephanie Bernik, MD, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Alzheimer's is a heartbreaking and serious form of dementia that gradually robs a person of his or her ability to function normally. Someone with advanced Alzheimer's probably can't live on their own, may have aggressive emotions, likely suffers from confusion, and is unable to connect with others.

Child abuse takes many forms. Physical abuse—the horrific type that grabs headlines—can have long and devastating consequences on a child's emotional growth and development, but significant harm can also come from the less visible (and possibly more common) forms of abuse, like parental neglect, indifference, humiliation, and cruel and intentional criticism.

Chemo bath or HIPEC takes a two-pronged approach to effectively fight some abdominal cancers: A surgical procedure to remove any visible areas of tumor and applying heated chemotherapy solution directly into the open abdominal cavity where it circulates to treat any cancer cells that were missed, explains Joel M.

Good glycemic control isn't easy. Managing diabetes—a chronic disease—requires diligently planning appropriate meals, consistently monitoring blood sugar levels, and adopting an overall healthy lifestyle. If you find yourself becoming complacent or discouraged, and convincing yourself that you don't really need to check your blood glucose levels all the time, you're certainly not alone.