Do doctor visits make you nervous? When you are sitting in the exam room with your health care provider, do you suddenly forget what you wanted to talk about? Try these 3 simple tips to prepare yourself and make the most out of each visit.
- Write down a list of questions or concerns. Sit down and think about what you have been experiencing. Anything unusual like rashes, headaches, bumps or sores that won’t go away, painful areas? Use the list when visiting your health care provider.
- Try bringing a friend, significant other, or caregiver with you. Most clinics or doctor’s offices will let you bring someone. Having this person there may help you stay relaxed. Also, he or she may remember to tell the doctor or nurse something that you might have forgotten.
- Be 100% honest. If questions come up about personal issues like sex, drug and alcohol use, or even how many doses of medication you miss, answer as truthfully as possible. Your health care provider is there to help you, not judge you, and needs to know the facts in order to make the right decisions for your care.
If you have been through most of the anti-HIV drugs out there and are running out of options because they no longer work against the virus, here are a few things to remember: Read more…
This is a subject that has many different facets as to the appropriateness of seeking one style of medicine as compared to the other. Most people will seek a doctor or therapist practicing in accordance with their own particular healing beliefs. What is of most importance is that the client or patient finds a doctor or other health care professional that they like and trust. In general, alternative medicine is considered conservative and leaves more traditional treatment options open. Traditional medicine, also known as allopathic or Western medicine, is more drug and surgery oriented. It is the appropriate choice in life threatening health care situations. It must be remembered that each category of health care has certain limitations and that no one type of doctor has all of the treatment answers. Both allopathic and alternative treatments are valid options and are often complementary.
In general, alternative medicine has focused on a systems approach. What this means is that the doctor of physician tends to look at the whole person when making treatment judgments. They take great pains to figure out how one symptom or body system effects another. Actually, this kind of medicine is really the more traditional form of health care, because it is older. It is usually based on Chinese medicine and the Meridian System. Some of the disciplines of alternative health care are massage, acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic care, applied kinesiology, touch for health, homeopathy, diet, and herbal medicine. This type of medicine is a medicine of health and focuses on maintaining that health before it reaches the point of dysfunction. Read more…
Each gender finds itself with certain health risks and needs. Women are required to pay particular attention to certain health conditions because of body composition, such as reproductive organs. They are also more susceptible to certain diseases, thereby causing them to pay more attention to their health and prevention practices.
There are numerous diseases of noteworthy concern to women, though there are various ways to address those problems early through nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes. As pointed out by the Mayo Clinic in a recent article through information taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
1. The number one health threat to women in America is heart disease, also the most preventable of all conditions. Alcohol should be consumed in moderation and cigarette smoke should be avoided. A simple diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fiber, and fish are important, along with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight and the monitoring of stress levels. Read more…
By increasing the likelihood for heart patients to suffer a heart attack, the common flu virus may raise the risk of dying from heart disease. Those who have other risk factors or diabetes may also be at greater risk.
An analysis conducted by a group of British researchers of 39 previous studies of heart patients which was conducted between 1932 and 2008, had results that showed an increase in the number of deaths from heart disease, as well as the occurrence of more heart attacks during flu season.
In fact, this study showed the increased death rate averaged from 35 percent to 50 percent. The report was recently published in the journal Lancet. Experts are urging all heart patients to get vaccinated against regular flu as well as the swine flu, although currently only about one-third of Americans who suffer from heart disease receive flu vaccines.
The possibility of experiencing flu-related medical issues is greater among those having heart-related problems because more flu virus is expected to be circulating during this coming flu season. Dr. Ralph Brindis, vice president of the American College of Cardiology says, “If we can convince cardiac patients to go ahead and get the flu vaccine, that could ultimately save lives.” Read more…