Health Touches

Neurologist Oliver Sacks cites a case of a man who was struck by lightening and who suddenly had a desire to listen to and play classical music on the piano. The man was in his forties and had never played a musical instrument nor had he previously had any interest in classical music. Nevertheless, he was able to learn how to play piano pretty well and even to compose music.
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One of the most venerable diseases a person can get is gout. Gout has a rich history in literature owing to the fact that for centuries, the only people who could afford to get it were wealthy. The lives of the rich and famous were more likely to get recorded in both history and literature than those of the teeming poor. Famous gout sufferers include Martin Luther, Sir Isaac Newton, and Thomas Jefferson.
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There’s a prescription drug for almost anything that ails you. High blood pressure, sore toe, asthma, diabetes, stomach ulcers, insomnia, strep throat, urinary incontinence, poison ivy are examples of conditions or problems that can be treated with a prescription drug. If you are like a lot of middle-aged to older people, you may have a collection of pills you take every day.
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The virus is a slippery little critter. It’s smaller than bacteria; you have to have an electron microscope just to see it. Not only is it extremely tiny, it is not the least bit susceptible to antibiotics that kill bacteria. It is for this reason that doctors don’t want to use antibiotics when you have a cold; colds are caused by the rhinovirus.
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High blood pressure is a condition that causes no detectable symptoms in the person who has it but which also wreaks havoc on a person’s body. Reducing high blood pressure can increase the quality of a person’s life simply by reducing the chances of getting various types of heart diseases as well as stroke.
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Type 2 diabetes, the “lifestyle” version of diabetes, requires a number of changes of habit. While this can feel overwhelming, a diagnosis of diabetes can also be a case of making lemonade from life’s lemons, although in this case, you would use artificial sweetener! Read more…

It used to be that patients complaining of constant pain were told that it was all in their heads and these patients were thought of as hypochondriacs. Now, fibromyalgia, a form of chronic pain that appears to have no identifiable physical cause, is an official diagnosis. Doctors and researchers are working to find effective treatments for this condition.
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Swine Flu has created panics in many countries these days, prevention is the best cure, here is a comprehensive guide on Swine Flu prevention from HealthyFellow.com. This article not only talks about how to prevent Swine Flu, it also contains some great tips on overall health and immunity improvement.

Many people who are addicted to drug or alcohols have been struggling to quit, it’s extremely hard without professional help. To completely relieve from drug or alcohols abuse, some addiction intervention programs can be very helpful.

Before your take any actions, it’s strongly recommended to consult your doctor. Also, a thorough physical check is necessary. All these should be examined and guided by medical professionals.

Dual diagnosis happens when someone with drug or alcohol problems also has a mental disorder. Drug or alcohol problems will cause anxiety disorders, depression or personality disorders. Such addiction is very hard to get away, often center diagnosis program can be helpful.
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According to most sources, breast cancer is ‘cancer of the breast tissue’. Not very helpful. But digging a little deeper makes the answer clear. Cancer is a malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal or uncontrolled cell division. Normal cells become misshapen and grow too rapidly. The result is a mass or lump that continues to grow and may spread.
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About one in twelve women will develop breast cancer sometime in her life. There are numerous risk factors for contracting breast cancer, some within your control and some that are not. Fortunately, for those factors that are in your control, no great sacrifice is required to minimize them.
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According to official figures, only between 5-10% of breast cancer is caused by genetic influences. But even though the percentage is relatively low, the numbers are high enough to warrant many women and men seeking regular checkups. Yes, men get breast cancer, too. Only about 0.7% as often as women, but it does occur, killing about 12,000 men per year.
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Medical professionals now have an extensive array of tools at their disposal to make diagnosis of breast cancer more reliable, especially in the early stages. That’s great news, since it considerably increases the odds of keeping breast cancer down to the level of ’serious but not permanently scarring or life-threatening’.
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No area of oncology is more complex and controversial than the relationship of cancer and diet. Everyone would like to believe that there is some diet which can substantially affect the likelihood of cancer, or better still to cure it once contracted. But to date, the evidence of the effect of diet is unclear and often inconsistent.
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The overall average of five-year survival rate for women who contract breast cancer is around 86% for those whose disease has not metastasized. That means, 86% of the women who contract it survive for at least five years. But even that fairly high number is just an overall average. The numbers are even better for some categories. Those numbers depend on the stage at which the cancer is detected and treated.
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