Fish that’s best for the body
Many savvy consumers are familiar with the color codes that marine conservationists bestow on fish and shellfish, depending on how they’re faring in the environment: red for avoid, yellow for consume sparingly and green for eat without guilt. (Updated: 10/27/09 8:26 AM )
Lasik eye surgeries problems will be tracked
Three federal agencies — the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department and the National Eye Institute — announced recently they are launching a three-year effort to gauge how many, and which, patients suffer troubling symptoms after undergoing the vision correction procedure called Lasik. (Updated: 10/27/09 8:29 AM )
Health Notes
SOS Badge to Badge, an addiction recovery support group for law enforcement personnel, meets every Tuesday from 4:30 to 6 p. m. in the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. The meeting is open to law enforcement and corrections officers only. Call 636-4869, Ext. 318. (Updated: 10/27/09 7:12 AM )
Lifeline
Avoiding staph infections (Updated: 10/27/09 7:12 AM )
Debates intensify on tests for two cancers
Even before the American Cancer Society recommended the PSA test in 1992 to identify
prostate cancer, questions had arisen about the test's value. (Updated: 10/26/09 12:34 AM )
Beware of unapproved Botox
At one time, most of us knew about botulinum toxin mainly as the source of deadly botulism food poisoning. Produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, the toxin is one of the most lethal substances on earth. Ingested, it can paralyze muscles throughout the body, including those that control breathing. Yet on a smaller scale, the same mechanism can do a body good. Injected into muscle tissue, for example, botulinum toxin can ease debilitating spasms and pain. (Updated: 10/20/09 6:45 AM )
New FDA warning for Botox
In April 2009, the FDA ordered a “black box” label for all Botox and similar products — the strongest drug-packaging warning that the agency can require. The label now states that the toxin can potentially spread beyond its injection site to other parts of the body and cause symptoms of botulism, including muscle weakness and trouble breathing or swallowing. (Updated: 10/20/09 6:45 AM )
Reaching 100 won’t be hard to do in future
Today’s babies will be tomorrow’s centenarians. A new report says that reaching the age of 100 may become ordinary for most American babies born since 2000.How will living for a century affect our children? And what quality of life awaits those who live this long? (Updated: 10/20/09 6:45 AM )
Health Notes
SOS Badge to Badge, an addiction recovery support group for law enforcement personnel, meets every Tuesday from 4:30 to 6 p. m. in the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. The meeting is open to law enforcement and corrections officers only. Call 636-4869, Ext. 318. (Updated: 10/20/09 6:45 AM )
Lifeline
Women who are overweight or obese before becoming pregnant could be putting themselves or their babies at risk for certain health complications, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One particularly serious potential problem: Infant heart defects, such as obstruction on the right side of the heart or defects in the tissue that separates the two upper chambers of the heart. (Updated: 10/20/09 6:45 AM )
Tap the healing energy
Felicia Selmensberger had no clue what was in store when she made her first appointment with an acupuncturist in Snyder. All she knew was that she wanted to get pregnant and carry her baby to term. After three miscarriages and a string of fertility doctors in Buffalo and Rochester, the 35-year-old was willing to give ancient Chinese medicine a try. (Updated: 10/17/09 7:24 AM )
Making the womb a classroom
WASHINGTON—For the first half of her pregnancy, Suzanne Ling played classical music for her unborn child whenever she drove her car. She had heard about “the Mozart effect” from a friend, who swore that classical music soothed her baby both pre-and post-delivery. (Updated: 10/13/09 8:02 AM )
Answering cell phone pain complaints
DALLAS—Jill Garonzik Kelley of Allen, Texas, is thankful for unlimited minutes on her cell phone. After all, she did rack up 4,500 last month. (Updated: 10/13/09 6:49 AM )
Health Notes
The Cancer Wellness Center, which offers cancer patients and their loved ones access to education, encouragement and advocacy in a supportive environment, is offering its Cancer Coach Program to help those facing a cancer diagnosis. Volunteers who have survived cancer are eager to help cancer patients face their situation with renewed strength and courage. To request a coach, call 694-1395. (Updated: 10/13/09 6:49 AM )
Lifeline
iPhone app tracks flu, diseases (Updated: 10/13/09 6:49 AM )