Health
Health
Children injured by falling TVs ‘alarming’
Doctors and safety experts say better awareness is needed about the dangers – especially the risks of putting heavier, older model TV sets on top of dressers and other furniture…
La Plata Health Watch
Pain keeps us alive and helps doctors diagnose
Pain sensation is one sensory perception experienced through our nervous system. Others are touch, vibration, proprioception (or joint position) and temperature, hot and cold. Pain is experienced by all vertebrate…
Health
Golden years shorter, sicker in Southern states
Hawaii tops the charts in the government’s first state-by-state look at how long Americans age 65 can expect to live, on average, and how many of those remaining years will…
Health
Memory decline may be earliest sign of dementia
Noticing you have had a decline beyond the occasional misplaced car keys or forgotten names could be the very earliest sign of Alzheimer’s, several research teams are reporting. Doctors often…
La Plata Health Watch
Risks, benefits of medication must be weighed
The fact is that medications as a form of treatment can be confusing for many people. This is particularly true when patients are on many medicines, are elderly or suffer…
Health
90-somethings’ brainpower is improving, study shows
Researchers found that on tests of mental abilities, a group of 95-year-old Danes scored better than a group of Danes born 10 years earlier, who had been tested when they…
Health
Noggin aerobics aim to keep senior citizens’ minds sharp
Brain aerobics instructor Patricia Izzi works with, from left, Carol Putnam, Florence Mills and Mary Jane Clabots on an exercise in Green Valley, Ariz. The activity has gained international acceptance…
Health
Taking on nicotine for 20 years
La Plata County group’s determination brought success, leaders say
Health
Diet soda could lead you to fat problems
Study: Artificial sweeteners may be linked to obesity, diabetes
La Plata Health Watch
Playing it safe at your child’s playground
The Safety Geek was pointing out some of the safety features of the playground such as the protective surface of loose shredded rubber, which had been installed 6 to 8…
Health
Treat people with HIV early to stop spread, WHO says
The advice will have the most impact in Africa, where nearly 70 percent of people with HIV live. Many rich countries already advocate early treatment. WHO’s new guidelines were released…
Health
Not all children need ear tubes to relieve fluid
An extensive body of research shows that in cases where an otherwise healthy child gets middle-ear fluid, insertion of the tiny tubes (which help ventilate the middle ear and provide…
Health
Overdose deaths spike for middle-aged women
The CDC study shows that while men are still more likely to die of overdoses, the number of deaths among women increased five-fold in the last decade, four times more…
Health
Health Brief
The Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center recently unveiled its new website, www.swcahec.org. The improved site builds on the organization’s theme “pathways to health” and offers a substantial amount of…
Coroner's Report
The murky world of morphine and palliative care
Palliative care is intended not to treat illness or prolong life but to keep someone with a terminal or debilitating condition “comfortable.” An example: the use of morphine to lessen…
Health
Are you having breathing difficulties? Try singing
While the participants were drawn to the session by a fondness for music, they also had an ulterior motive for singing: to cope better with lung disease. The weekly group…
Health
Severe egg allergy? There’s now a flu shot for you
A federal advisory panel has said a new vaccine that’s made without eggs is an option for adults with severe allergies. Current flu shots are made from viruses grown in…
Health
Doctors hail promise of ‘artificial pancreas’
The MiniMed Integrated System is being called a major step toward an “artificial pancreas.” The device would constantly monitor blood sugar in people with diabetes and automatically supply insulin as…
La Plata Health Watch
Primary-care physicians are in demand
Freshman orientation is just around the corner. It makes me wonder how many, like my younger self, are considering careers in primary-care medicine? To be sure, the practice of medicine…