Improved prevention efforts and protective behaviors (like not smoking) have reduced eye health problems faced by older adults by 23% since 1984.
Venous leg ulcers are the final stage in the progression of venous disease. Treatment involves compressing the swelling out of the leg using either bandages or compression stockings with dressings on top of the broken skin.
What exercises are considered ‘low impact?’ Are there different guidelines for low impact exercises for teens than for adults?
Many mothers give their babies solid foods too early, says a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors recommend waiting until a baby is 4 months old to introduce solid foods. However, 40 percent of mothers in the study said they started solid food before that age. Nine percent started at 1 month. The most common reason for starting solids early was that “My baby is old enough to begin eating solid food.” But babies are not physically ready to eat solid food during their first few months of life. They usually cannot sit up by themselves or hold their heads up well. Starting solid food early also has been linked with several conditions, including diabetes, eczema and celiac disease. The study was published March 25 in the journal Pediatrics. The New York Times, USA Today and other media wrote about it.
Without a medical reason for a cesarean section (C-section), doctors should recommend vaginal delivery to pregnant women. This is a new recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). About 2.5% of pregnant women choose to have a C-section with no medical reason. A C-section involves risks, including bladder injuries, bowel injuries and complications in future pregnancies. Women who have C-sections also have longer hospital stays and recovery times. ACOG notes that voluntary C-section is particularly not recommended for women who want to have more than one child. This is because the risk of complications increases with each C-section. The guideline was published March 22 in the April issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Is there any way to ease the pain of broken ribs?
Fructose may not signal the brain to stop eating when the stomach is full, which could make it easier to overeat. Since sugar is half fructose, this offers another reason to cut back consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugary foods.
Vitamin D pills may help reduce blood pressure in blacks, a new study suggests. Many blacks have low blood levels of vitamin D. With darker skin, less sunlight is available for the body to use to make vitamin D. Blacks also are more likely to have high blood pressure than whites. The study included 250 African-American adults. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. Three of the groups received daily vitamin D pills, in different doses. The fourth group took placebo (fake) pills. Three months later, researchers checked their blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure had dropped by 4 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) for people taking the largest vitamin D dose, 4,000 international units (IU). It fell 3.4 mmHg for those taking 2,000 IU. The drop was 0.7 mmHg for the smallest dose, 1,000 IU. Systolic pressure rose 1.7 mmHg for those who got placebo pills.
My HDL cholesterol level was unusually high in my last cholesterol test. Is this bad?