Category: health-letter

Many people have difficulty understanding the instructions for taking their medications. Some retailers have redesigned their pill bottles to make the directions clearer.

Household pets can carry bacteria on their fur or in their waste that can transfer to humans, but the overall risk of infection is small, and can be further mitigated by getting in the habit of washing your hands after touching your pet or its waste.

My father caught a bad case of pneumonia. He’s recovered, but it seems to have left him confused, and he uses a walker now. Before the pneumonia he was taking Coumadin for atrial fibrillation. Now that he’s feeling better, should he start taking it again?

Some studies have found that peppermint oil may help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and could help with other conditions as well.

You published an article saying that ginkgo biloba might slow down dementia. I was 59, and I started taking it. I think it has helped me and know others who think likewise. But I read that a recent study says it doesn’t help. Your thoughts?

The mineral selenium may halp reduce a man’s risk of prostate cancer, but it may also slightly increase his risk for diabetes.

The health Web sites of various other countries offer an intriguing glimpse of how governments present health information to their citizens in other parts of the world.

Urinary incontinence can be treated with medication or, if necessary, surgery, but people with this problem should first try pelvic floor exercises, moderation of fluid intake, and bladder retraining.

Ultrasound carotid screening for stroke risk is being promoted as a simple detection tool, but the test does not always identify those at risk, and some doctors feel that treating the factors that contribute to risk is more beneficial to overall health.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. There are several varieties, some more aggressive than others. Depending on the type, if detected early enough it is often treatable, and sometimes curable.