Entry bubble Go Ahead, Wear Red on Friday

By: Sam | January 30, 2008 | Category: Health

Friday is the kick-off to American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day.  So grab your favorite red dress, tie, socks, sweater, or even lipstick and show your support for research and education about women and heart disease.red dress

Heart health is an important issue for me not only as a woman but also as someone who suffers from a heart condition. As a teen, I had open-heart surgery to repair my mitral valve and to remove a bacterial infection. After more than 10 years, I am, thankfully, doing very well, but the experience made me more mindful of learning as much as I can about heart disease.

So why should you wear red? Because heart disease is not just a “man’s disease”—it’s the number one of killer of women. In fact, one in four women dies of heart disease. But even with these shocking statistics, there’s hope. No matter if you’re 20 or 60, there are steps all women can take to lower their risk and protect their heart.

Here are some to start with:

And don’t forget to help spread the word about National Wear Red Day, and please feel free to share any heart health stories that you may have.

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Entry bubble Finding Information About Illnesses and Other Ailments Online

By: Jake | December 03, 2007 | Category: Health

My brother recently did a two week stint in the hospital because he had pancreatitis. He’s fine now, but it was quite a scare.

If you are like most of the people I have talked to (that aren’t doctors or nurses), you probably have never heard of pancreatitis. When I found out my brother had it I scoured the Internet to find out everything I could about it. I found two really good websites that provided insight on the ailment and ways to prevent future cases.

MedlinePlus has information on 740 different diseases and ailments and it is where I found the Pancreatitis link above. This is no surprise since MedlinePlus is maintained by the world’s largest medical health library, the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

I found out at MedlinePlus that there are two forms of pancreatitis, acute and chronic, and it can be triggered by alcoholism and diabetes. My brother had acute pancreatitis and his doctors said his pancreatitis was caused by diabetes, which he was unaware he had.

I know a lot about diabetes since I read Sam’s recent blog post. Still I was able to find more information about diabetes using HealthFinder.gov, a partnership of many federal agencies maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. HealthFinder.gov focuses more on prevention than MedlinePlus and links to carefully selected information and Web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations.

While the internet is not the only way to find health information, these two sites can cover a lot of ground for you. And as always the best health expert is your doctor.

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Entry bubble American Diabetes Awareness Month

By: Sam | November 14, 2007 | Category: Health

November marks American Diabetes Awareness Month.  It’s a cause that’s very near to my heart, because I have several loved ones, including my dad, who are among the nearly 21 million adults and children in the U.S. living with diabetes.

When my dad was first diagnosed, we as a family had many questions about this chronic disease.  As a 13-year old, I wanted to know how diabetes would affect our relationship.  Could we still eat ice cream together?  Would my dad and I still be able to go swimming and ride bikes? 

My parents, of course, had other questions,  They wanted to know things like:  What are the different types?  What are the available treatment options?  What do we need to know about meal planning?  How can we help my dad control his diabetes?

My dad’s doctors along with great information from places such as the American Diabetes Association, National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, and the National Diabetes Education Program answered our questions and eased many of our initial worries.  And for the past 14 years, my dad’s diabetes has been under control, and he’s been enjoying a healthy, active lifestyle, which includes ice cream and a Jimmy Buffett concert every now and then.

During this month, I encourage all of you to check out these sites to find out more about the risks and warning signs and how you can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.  Diabetes prevention is proven and possible, and the tips on these sites can help you take small steps towards healthier living.

Today also marks the United Nations’ first World Diabetes Day.  You can learn more about this resolution and how you can support it at Unite for Diabetes.

 

 

 

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