How do I identify and prevent skin cancer?
Why should I care about high blood pressure?
How do I manage my travel with Irritable bowel syndrome?
Is the Flu Shot Right for Me?
High Blood Pressure
Skin, Lung, and Other Cancer
What Makes People Healthy?
Why should I care about high blood pressure?
How do I manage my travel with Irritable bowel syndrome?
Is the Flu Shot Right for Me?
High Blood Pressure
Skin, Lung, and Other Cancer
What Makes People Healthy?
How do I identify and prevent skin cancer?
More than 1 million new cases of highly curable basal and squamous cell cancers will
be diagnosed this year. The most serious form of skin cancer is melanoma, which is
diagnosed in about 55,000 people each year and causes an estimated 7,900 deaths.
Protecting your skin from the sun could prevent most skin cancers.
The America Cancer Society promotes early detection of skin cancer among adults. The recommendations include monthly skin self-exam and a cancer-related checkup, including an exam for skin cancer, during periodic health exams.
What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?
Skin cancer can be found early, and both doctors and patients play important roles in finding skin cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor.
The best ways to lower the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer are to avoid intense sunlight for long periods of time and to practice sun safety. You can continue to exercise and enjoy the outdoors while practicing sun safety at the same time.
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The America Cancer Society promotes early detection of skin cancer among adults. The recommendations include monthly skin self-exam and a cancer-related checkup, including an exam for skin cancer, during periodic health exams.
What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?
Skin cancer can be found early, and both doctors and patients play important roles in finding skin cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor.
- Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other
darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth
- Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or
nodule
- The spread of pigmentation beyond its border such as dark coloring that
spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
- A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain
The best ways to lower the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer are to avoid intense sunlight for long periods of time and to practice sun safety. You can continue to exercise and enjoy the outdoors while practicing sun safety at the same time.
- Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Seek shade: Look for shade, especially in the middle of the day when the
sun's rays are strongest. Practice the shadow rule and teach it to children.
If your shadow is shorter than you, the sun's rays are at their
strongest.
- Slip on a shirt: Cover up with protective clothing to guard as much skin
as possible when you are out in the sun. Choose comfortable clothes made of
tightly woven fabrics that you cannot see through when held up to a
light.
- Slop on sunscreen: Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15
or higher. Apply a generous amount (about a palmful) and reapply after
swimming, toweling dry, or perspiring. Use sunscreen even on hazy or
overcast days.
- Slap on a hat: Cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, shading your face,
ears, and neck. If you choose a baseball cap, remember to protect your ears
and neck with sunscreen.
- Wear sunglasses with 99% to 100% UV absorption to provide optimal protection
for the eyes and the surrounding skin.
- Follow these practices to protect your skin even on cloudy or overcast days.
UV rays travel through clouds.
Why should I care about high blood pressure?
- High blood pressure can lead to numerous other life-threatening conditions,
including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure, the #1, #3, and #9
causes of death in the United States.
- High blood pressure is a factor in 67 percent of heart attacks in the
United States.
- High blood pressure is a factor in 77 percent of strokes - the #3 cause of
death in the United States.
- High blood pressure precedes 74 percent of cases of heart failure in the
United States.
- High blood pressure is the second leading cause of chronic kidney failure
in the United States—responsible for 26 percent of all cases.
- High blood pressure causes more visits to doctors than any other
condition - just a 10 percent decline in the number of visits would save
$478 million each year.
- High blood pressure affects circulation - creating a higher risk for mental
deterioration and Alzheimer's.
- High blood pressure and its complications cost the U.S. economy more than
$100 billion each year.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of arteries. When that force stays too high, it becomes a life-threatening condition - high blood pressure (also called hypertension). It makes the heart work too hard, hardens the walls of arteries, and can cause the brain to hemorrhage or the kidneys to function poorly or not at all.
A blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg.
Anyone can develop high blood pressure. But these factors increase the risk: being overweight or obese, being physically inactive, high salt and sodium intake, low potassium intake (due to not eating enough fruits and vegetables), excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes.
You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure by adopting a healthy lifestyle. These steps include maintaining a healthy weight; being physically active; following a healthy eating plan, that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy foods; choosing and preparing foods with less salt and sodium; and, if you drink alcoholic beverages, drinking in moderation.
Further information an be obtained by going to this link at:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
(301) 592-8573
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
How do I manage my travel with Irritable bowel syndrome?
Travel Tips Help IBS Sufferers
April is national IBS awareness month.
Travel can be very difficult for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) sufferers, who fear they may not be able to control their symptoms when away from home. People affected by IBS, the prospect of traveling can be so troublesome that many don't even consider traveling. By following travel tips designed to help avoid and manage symptoms, those with IBS can feel more in control when traveling.
About IBS: IBS is characterized by symptoms of abdominal pain or discomfort and a change in bowel pattern that occur during at least 12 weeks out of a 12-month period. Symptoms can occur over a single long period or in several shorter bouts. With IBS, abdominal pain or discomfort is accompanied by at least two additional symptoms: It may be relieved by defecation, and/or the pain or discomfort is accompanied by a change in stool frequency, and/or a change in consistency -- chronic or recurrent diarrhea, constipation or both in alternation. Symptoms also may include bloating; an urgent need to defecate; bowels that still feel full after defecation; and the appearance
Travel tips include:
- If you are making a long drive to get to and from your destination, know how much distance there is between rest areas or highway exits with available restrooms.
- Avoid lodging where multiple rooms share a single restroom.
- Avoid foods and beverages that you know can aggravate your IBS symptoms, and avoid excessive caffeine and liquor, which can exacerbate symptoms. This is not the time to experiment. Eating in restaurants may be challenging-stick with foods with which you are comfortable.
- Know what documentation may be necessary to refill prescriptions at your destination.
- Divide your medication(s) into two containers; keep one in your hotel room and one with you at all times.
- Bring your physician's contact information with you so that you can reach your physician if necessary.
- Throughout your trip, always have a change of clothes with you, and bring a supply of tissue in case there's none available where you are going.
Is the Flu Shot Right for Me?
The flu season is nearing its peak. In general, a flu vaccination is recommended
for individuals who are 65 or older, have an impaired immune system or chronic
conditions such as heart disease or kidney disease, diabetes, lung disorders, cancer,
HIV/AIDS and anemias. Health care workers, police officers and firefighters may
also wish to receive the vaccination, or anyone who wants to prevent the flu. If
you are allergic to egg or egg products, you should probably not receive the
vaccination as a severe allergic reaction may result. Pregnant women should not
get vaccinated in their first trimester and should consult their physician. If you
have a medical condition and are unsure whether you should be vaccinated, consult
your doctor. (ref. cdc)
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High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure -- also called hypertension -- increases the risk of heart attack
and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States.
Hypertension also contributes to congestive heart failure, kidney failure, memory
loss and dementia, visual impairment, artery damage.
Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, more than 50 percent of American adults don't get enough exercise, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Physical activity usually decreases with age; women, people with lower incomes, and those with less education tend to exercise less.
The CDC says regular physical activity substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease -- the nation's leading cause of death. It also lessens a person's risk for stroke, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.
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Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, more than 50 percent of American adults don't get enough exercise, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Physical activity usually decreases with age; women, people with lower incomes, and those with less education tend to exercise less.
The CDC says regular physical activity substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease -- the nation's leading cause of death. It also lessens a person's risk for stroke, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Skin, Lung, and Other Cancer
UVB rays have shorter wavelengths and are primarily responsible for sunburn and are
known to contribute to skin cancer, including the deadliest form -- melanoma. UVA
rays are longer wavelength rays that can damage the skin's connective tissue and
lead to premature aging. UVA rays have been considered less carcinogenic than UVB
rays. Sunscreens in the U.S. today are not as effective in the A range as the B.
Studies indicate that it is important to protect from both UVB and UVA. Therefore,
the best advice is to avoid sunlight exposure as much as possible, and if this is
not possible, use a sunscreen which protects for both UVB and UVA.
Cancer has displaced heart disease as the leading killer of Americans under the age of 85, according to the American Cancer Society's latest projections.
About one-third of new cancer cases will be due to tobacco use and one-third to poor nutrition, physical inactivity or overweight and obesity. Lung cancer remains the leading cancer killer, accounting for 31 percent of cancer deaths in men and 27 percent of deaths in women. In men, lung cancer is followed by prostate cancer, then colorectal cancer as the top killers. For women, breast cancer ranks second for mortality, followed by colorectal cancer.
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Cancer has displaced heart disease as the leading killer of Americans under the age of 85, according to the American Cancer Society's latest projections.
About one-third of new cancer cases will be due to tobacco use and one-third to poor nutrition, physical inactivity or overweight and obesity. Lung cancer remains the leading cancer killer, accounting for 31 percent of cancer deaths in men and 27 percent of deaths in women. In men, lung cancer is followed by prostate cancer, then colorectal cancer as the top killers. For women, breast cancer ranks second for mortality, followed by colorectal cancer.
What Makes People Healthy?
A number of factors work together to make people healthy, or not. They include:
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- Social and economic environment
- Physical environment
- A person's individual characteristics and behaviors
- Income and social status
Research shows the greater the gap between the richest and poorest people, the greater the differences in health. - Social support networks
Support from families, friends and communities is linked to better health. This kind of support helps people handle difficult situations. - Employment and working conditions
Unemployment is linked with poor health. Those who are employed are healthier when they have more control over their working conditions. - Education
There is a lot of research that shows that low literacy skills are linked with poor health. Moreover, people with low literacy skills can suffer from stress and reduced self-confidence. This often makes it hard for them to seek employment or social support. So the more education we have, the more likely we are to be healthy. - Physical environments
Clean air and water, healthy workplaces, safe houses, communities and roads all contribute to good health. - Genetics
Physical characteristics we inherit play a part in deciding how long we live, how healthy we’ll be and how likely we are to get certain illnesses. - Personal health practices and coping skills
Personal practices include whether a person eats well and is physically active, and whether they smoke or drink. Coping skills refer to the way we relate to the people around us and handle life’s stresses and challenges. - Healthy child development
There is good evidence that things that happen to us when we are children affect our health and well-being. These experiences affect us not only during childhood, but also through the rest of the life cycle. - Health services
It benefits people's health when they have access to services that prevent disease, as well as maintain and promote health. - Gender
Men and women get different kinds of diseases and conditions at different ages. They also tend to have different income levels, and to work at different kinds of jobs. Many of these realities result from the differences in the way society treats men and women. - Culture
People's customs and traditions, and the beliefs of their family and community all affect their health. This is because these factors will influence what they think, feel, do and believe to be important.
