Health Tips

Heart murmurs are sounds made by blood moving through the valves that control the flow of blood between the chambers of the heart or to the major blood vessels leaving the heart.  They are usually described as a “whooshing” sound, occurring at a certain point during the “lub-dub” cycle of…

Heart murmurs are sounds made by blood moving through the valves that control the flow of blood between the chambers of the heart or to the major blood vessels leaving the heart.  They are usually described as a “whooshing” sound, occurring at a certain point during the “lub-dub” cycle of…

Tennis elbow is the common name for an overuse injury that results in pain on the outside (lateral aspect) of the elbow. The name comes from its association with playing tennis, although in most people tennis elbow develops for reasons other than a flawed backhand stroke.  Known in the medical…

Some old wives’ tales, such as arthritis resulting from cracking knuckles, have not held up to scientific scrutiny.  Others have stood the test of time, such as the idea that drinking cranberry juice can help fight urinary tract infections.  The concept of fish being good for the health of the…

Recently, several reports of infections caused by “flesh eating bacteria” have appeared in the news.  Such infections have been responsible for amputations as well as death.  In one instance, the infection appears to have developed after a serious cut was exposed to contaminated water.  Just how common is this disease…

A single blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence doubles a person’s chances of developing melanoma skin cancer later in life.  Other types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are directly related to long-term sun exposure.  Children often spend a good part of their day playing outdoors…

Perform a google search on “the most important medical breakthroughs” and you are likely to find items such as “Man Walks Again after Being Chopped in Half” or “Teen lived 118 days without Heart”.  But in terms of having an effect on decreasing the burden of disease and increasing longevity,…

Since 1993, food labels have included information on saturated fat and cholesterol.  In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also began requiring information on trans fat.  What are trans fats and why is an understanding of it important to our health? What is trans fat?  Trans fat is produced…

Statistics from the CDC indicate that there has been a progressive rise in the number of cases of Lyme disease diagnosed. It is unclear whether this increased incidence is because of greater awareness and recognition of the disease among physicians, or whether more people are becoming infected. In 2010, 94%…

Chest pain and numbness or pain in the left arm has long been associated as the hallmark symptoms of a heart attack.  Other symptoms, such as nausea, shortness of breath, and pain in the jaw or back, known as “atypical” symptoms, are also important indicators that an artery supplying the…