American Santa’s helpers, who stand-in for Santa in public appearances (because we know that Santa can’t be *everywhere*), are asking for the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine before they face the contaminated masses, say news reports. The coughing and close contact with children are giving Santa’s helpers the shivers.
Seriously though, this is so much a concern that one of the Santa groups, the Amalgamated Order of Read Bearded Santas, addressed the issue, urging its Santas to use plenty of hand sanitizers during their Santa days. Adding vitamins to their diet is also recommended.
According to this USA Today article, Better not cough: …read more

Necessity is the mother of invention and all that stuff, right? Maybe we can also say that desperate times call for desperate measures? Or how about, He will provide if we just ask? What am I talking about? An anti-H1N1 (Swine flu) holy water dispenser for church.
Roman Catholics who enter a church usually dip their fingers into a small bowl filled with Holy Water. They make the sign of the cross and then proceed to enter the main part of the church. Many repeat this motion when they leave the church.
Because of the H1N1 fears, many churches have removed their …read more

With all the health news published on-line and in paper, it can be difficult to decide what’s true and what isn’t. After all, it seems that it should be true if it’s printed or announced, particularly when it involves health-related associations and big companies. Or is it? It may all depend in how you’re reading it.
Take for example a press release from the American Academy of Dental Implants. In August, its members came out in favor of using dental (tooth) implants earlier in dental treatments, stating that root canals and other tooth-saving procedures may be a waste of time and …read more

Are Americans concerned about their health? Yes, they are. Are they concerned enough to be proactive about staying healthy? Not so much. In fact, not really.
Good health habits start young and we all know that children watch adults very closely. Parents can hardly expect their children to live a healthy lifestyle if they themselves don’t. Yet, despite this, the message of healthy living starts early doesn’t seem to be getting out.
According to a study done by the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA),

It’s fine and dandy to say to eat healthier, but some foods that seem healthy have hidden drawbacks. For example, some cold breakfast cereals, pushed as healthy breakfast foods, are quite high in salt content. A cold glass of milk may be just the right thing for you, but whole milk is much more fattening than 2% or even 1% or skim.
The same can be said for foods that we eat for our other meals. So, how do we know what we should and shouldn’t be eating? Well, I’ve never been one to say that you should never eat treats …read more

It seems like a simple question. Do you drink too much alcohol? But one person’s social drinking may be someone else’s too much. So how can you tell if you’re drinking too much and what exactly is drinking too much?
First, we need to decide on what is a drink – what drinks are equivalent to each other. Generally, in North America, a standard drink is one that has about 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol. But how much that is in your drink depends on what it is you are drinking. Generally, standard drinks are:
•   12 oz beer
•    5 …read more

Fraudsters are like cockroaches – they are unwelcome and we do what we can to get rid of them, but they keep coming back. It doesn’t take long for fraudsters to jump on something that plays on people’s fears and they use that to prey on their new victims.
With the H1N1 virus and the Internet, fraudsters have a good venue to find some of these new victims. Products that claim to prevent the virus or claim to heal you are making their way into people’s homes. These products are not only ripping people off of money, they are potentially very …read more

It happens a lot. We read or hear of a drunk driving crash (I refuse to call it an accident) and while the victims are severely hurt or killed, the drunk driver walks away, virtually unhurt. Or, even if hurt, they recover quickly. It always makes me wonder about the effect of alcohol on the body when it gets hurt. Now it seems, there’s proof that being drunk limits the amount of damage the body sustains in a trauma.
Researchers studied almost 8000 people who had been hurt in accidents. They were looking to see if alcohol in the body at …read more

Recently I had laser surgery done on my varicose veins. My specialist had given me the choice of having the veins stripped or lasered.  What he didn’t realize was that to me there was no choice. I had no desire to be put under general anasthetic to have the veins stripped.
But for millions of people around the world, there is no choice. The surgery treatment they need requires them to have a general anesthetic (GA). And anyone who has to have a GA really should get all the facts before that happens. Unfortunately, that’s not always something they get from …read more

Interested in finding out where the latest salmonella or H1N1 Flu outbreak is?
Want to know what diseases are bugging your hometown or favorite vacation spot before you get there?
Now you can do so not only in the internet with the user friendly HealthMap website but also with the recently released Outbreaks Near Me iPhone App.
The iPhone app is hooked into the HealthMap site and every time you search of information, the HealthMap database is searched and the info is downloaded to your phone in map form.
While the H1N1 flu takes center stage, in all, there are nearly 100 diseases listed …read more