eDocAmerica Health Tips

I got heatstroke once when I was hiking in Arizona. As I was coming down the mountain in the final mile, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of nausea and I started dry heaving. At the time I was confused about what was happening, because I thought I had been…

Clostridium difficile (known as ‘C. Diff’ for short) is a species of bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea requiring hospitalization. This bacterium normally lives in soil, water, deli meat, and human feces and we are exposed to it on a fairly regular basis. It may not cause symptoms until our…

Did you know that our bodies have mini “air bags,” located around our joints (the largest ones are in the shoulder, elbow, and hip) for protection? They are not actually filled with air – they are filled with fluid and are called bursae (plural). But they are designed to keep…

Sun safety – describes a range of behaviors that include wearing wide brimmed hats that cover the face and neck; the correct use of sunscreen of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 and limiting sun exposure during the hours of peak sun intensity, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. One…

The term “anemia” is quite broad, and simply means that there is a problem with a person’s red blood cells (sometimes there are too few, sometimes they are malformed). Red blood cells are manufactured in the bone marrow and are basically tiny sacks of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecules (centered around an…

Just as most people don’t know much about their spleens, they also know very little about their lymphatic system. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the two are related? Both the spleen and the lymphatic system (with its vessels and nodes) play an important role in our immune response to disease and…

The thyroid gland is responsible for controlling our metabolism, and as such, it is often blamed for causing all manner of weight loss difficulties. Heck, I had my own thyroid hormone levels checked a few years back when my dieting wasn’t producing the results I expected. In reality, though, only…

In my last health tip I described how blood is circulated around the body. I mentioned that poor circulation can cause leg swelling, and promised to provide a fuller review of this very common problem. I’d venture to say that almost 100% of adults have noticed puffiness or swelling in…

Most non-medical people don’t know the difference between an artery and a vein, and the confusion is quite understandable. The truth is, arteries and veins connect to each other and are part of a circuit that transports blood from the heart to the rest of the body (arteries) and back…

Do you know how long you can survive without food or water? The answer may vary depending on how well stocked you are to start (and the environment – how hot/dry it is), but on average, we can survive about a month without food, and 10-14 days without hydration. When…