In one study involving acupuncture published in the British Medical Journal, researchers divided 401 adults with chronic, mostly migraine headaches into two groups. One group received up to 12 acupuncture sessions over a 3-month period in addition to standard medical care, and the other group received only medical care. A year later it was determined that those who received the additional acupuncture care experienced 22 fewer days with headaches, used 15% less medication, and made 25% fewer visits to their doctor.

As for chiropractic treatment, there are two different methods - “straight” chiropractic and “mixed” chiropractic. Straight chiropractors treat migraines by manipulating the spine to correct imbalances, and the mixed chiropractic technique combines manipulation with other therapies, like ultrasound or electric muscle stimulation, that all focus on relieving tension in the neck muscles. An Australian study, that involved chronic migraine sufferers who’d experienced headaches for a collective average of 18 years, concluded that 72% of participants experienced either “substantial” or “noticeable” improvement after a six-month period of chiropractic treatment.

Since many people who suffer from migraines have had them for years, they may develop a resistance to medications that have worked in the past, or simply may want to stop taking medicine. Luckily, there seem to be alternative treatments that might work.

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Based on what we know about childhood obesity rates in America, more children might be better off if their parents took actions like Shawn’s and enrolled their kids in sports classes. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which reflects data from 2003-2006 and is done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that 32% of American children and adolescents aged 2-19 are overweight, and half of these - 16.3% of all children - are obese. This number has tripled since 1980.

A lazy lifestyle and poor eating habits are to blame. According to the Pediatrics Journal, nearly one-third of U.S. children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food every day. Additionally, many kids don’t get nearly enough exercise. Over the years, state’s requirements for daily physical education in school have been reduced. And more than a third of 9th-12th graders don’t regularly engage in any kind of vigorous physical activity.

We must do something about this problem by encouraging better eating and exercise habits. If kids become involved with a sport and get used to eating healthy at an early age, there’s a better chance that they will continue these good exercise and diet habits through adulthood. The CDC says that 70% of overweight children will still be overweight as adults. It’s crucial, then, that parents help kids get into good habits at a young age. And hey, who knows - that 3 year old who has too much energy around the house may win an Olympic medal one day if pointed in the right direction.

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If you or someone in your family has diabetes, it should be addressed. Type 2 diabetes in particular affects everyone in the family because there is a genetic predisposition for the disease. If one of your parents has type 2 diabetes, chances are good that you’ll eventually have it too. However, exercising regularly and eating healthy can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease since obesity and type 2 diabetes are closely related. Parents should set a good example for their children by preparing healthful meals and encouraging exercise to get them in the habit of making healthy choices at a young age. Taking steps like these may prevent diabetes from being passed on to the next generation, ensuring a healthier lifestyle for all those involved.

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According to a recent medical article, people suffering from sleep apnea, are three times more likely to die prematurely and the risk for medical problems and death increases if the disorder is not treated. Sleep apnea is a common sleeping disorder that causes frequent pauses in breathing during sleep and can often bring on the action of snoring. Researchers conducted a study in which a random sample of 1,522 men and women between 30 and 60 years of age spent one night at a sleep laboratory and every person was screened for sleep apnea. The patients were divided into groups depending on the severity of the disease. After 18 years of follow up, researchers had discovered that 80 of the people in the study had died, thus supporting the conclusion that people with severe cases of sleep apnea are at a greater risk for death than those without sleep apnea. Researchers also found that 42% of the participants that had passed were due to heart disease, creating a very strong link between heart-related diseases and sleep apnea.

Who would have ever thought that snoring could be so dangerous? Thankfully, there are ways to help treat sleep apnea including using a device know as a CPAP, a continuous positive airway pressure system. The main function of the CPAP is to keep a person’s airwaves open while resting, which greatly reduces the amount of pauses in breathing.

So the next time you hear someone snoring, feel free to gently nudge him or her, or toss a pillow at them to wake them up. If they get upset, just politely remind them that your actions may be saving his or her life.

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This new concept of therapy is known as “narrative” medicine and it’s main function is to provide better communication between not only the patient and the doctor, but is also meant to help patients to better understand themselves and the particular needs that will help improve their overall health. Researchers at the Tufts-New England Medical Center decided to test out this theory by randomly assigning 234 cancer patients to one of three groups. The first group was asked to perform narrative writing, while the second group filled out a standard questionaire about the pain symptoms they were feeling and the third group had no additional duties and just went about with standard care. Conclusions from the study reported that those patients who had engaged in emotional narrative writing actually experienced less pain over time than the other two groups.

The act of writing can be a great release into the inner workings of a person’s brain and how they are feeling. These recent findings for cancer patients suggest that through emotional writing, cancer patients are actually capable of dealing with their pain from the disease in a much easier way than just traditional treatment options. However, for some patients, the act of putting their feelings on paper can be a very difficult task and doesn’t always improve their overall well-being. Researchers plan to continue studying the effects that emotional writing has in cancer patients and they also hope to test out whether or not the verbalization of a person’s emotions will also help patients to deal with their pain and bring on a more positive outlook.

Cancer is a devastating disease that can be very difficult to deal with. Hopefully, by sharing one’s story through writing, more patients will be given a positive hope towards the future.

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Hyperthermia is a medical term given to the variety of heat-related illnesses including heat stroke, heat fatigue, dizziness, cramps and exhaustion. Elderly people must take extra precautions to avoid hyperthermia because this problem is not only based upon the outdoors temperature, but people with general problems are also at a great risk of being affected by it. For example, as people age, they begin to develop changes to their skin and this can cause poor blood circulation and inefficient sweat glands and both can lead to a great risk for hyperthermia. Also, people who have been diagnosed with heart, lung, and kidney diseases are also at a greater risk simply because their bodies are already in a weakened state. Other risk factors include drinking alcoholic beverages, being substantially overweight or underweight and dehydration.

Although living in a tropical area may seem like paradise, older people do need to be cautious about their lifestyles conditions because even something as simple as hot living conditions can put them at risk for heat-related problems. The best solution if your home isn’t properly equipped with an air conditioning system, or fans is to visit places that provide this service for free such as malls, or libraries. Heat stroke is among the most popular heat-related problems and some of the symptoms include, confusion, rapid pulse, the lack of sweating in hot weather, faintness, or even coma. If a medical professional doesn’t address these symptoms immediately, the outcome can be fatal.

Fun in the sun is something that people of all ages should be able to enjoy, but it’s important to know and understand the risks that can occur from extremely hot temperatures. So the next time you snowbirds are soaking in the sun, don’t forget to keep your health in mind, because enjoying a long life because of a healthy lifestyle is truly what paradise is all about.

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No, I am not referring to surgical errors suggesting that the surgeon has left a tool inside the person’s body. Realistically, these errors can range anywhere from bedsores to the patient after surgery, to reopened wounds, to infections and blood clots, according to a study from the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality. The study examined a number of patients who had undergone surgery between 2001 and 2002. The conclusions showed that one in every 10 patients who had died within 90 days of surgery had passed because of a preventable error and a third of these deaths had actually taken place after the patient had been released from recovery care.

Surgical errors such as these often times cost insurance companies a great deal of extra costs. For example, a patient that had passed from acute respiratory failure after undergoing surgery costs insurers $28,218, which was a 52% increase in charges according to researchers. Errors relating to nursing care, such as pressure ulcers and hip fractures, can also add a large amount to the average person’s medical bill.

So as you can see, surgical errors do actually happen, and the repercussions can be both costly and deadly. According to Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more attention really needs to be brought to these types of issues, and hopefully in time it will come to pass.

“Eliminating medical errors and their after effects must continue to be top priority for our health care system.”

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There are a number of risk factors that can result in hearing loss or hearing damage. For people over 70 years of age, hearing loss is a common occurrence but hearing loss also affected 8.5% of people in their 20s and 17% of people in their 30s. Studies have also shown that race and genetics can be a factor in the development of hearing loss. For example, men are twice as likely as women to experience hearing loss in one or both of their ears, while whites are also two times more prone than blacks for developing the problem. Another risk factor that can have an effect on the performance of a person’s hearing is the exposure to loud noises in the workplace, and also the exposure to loud bouts of music. Research has also linked hearing loss to other health related issues including high blood pressure and diabetes, which are both large problems in a number of people today.

Because of embarrassment or sadness, it is very common for people to ignore the problem of hearing loss when it first may occur. This can later grow into a number of social problems that can possibly affect the performance of the person while working, may lead to difficulty communicating with others and can also lead to bouts of depression.

Hearing loss is a national problem that affects people of all ages and it’s important to maintain proper health screenings throughout the duration of your life to check for hearing loss. So the next time you are talking with a friend and you ask them to repeat what they’ve said because you can’t “hear” them; you may be more right than you think.

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Researchers have discovered that a compound found in red wine may actually help to slow aging, provide heart benefits, stronger bones and may also prevent eye cataracts. The compound in question is known as resveratrol, which is often found in grapes and in red wine and studies have shown that it doesn’t increase a person’s lifespan per se, but it greatly betters a person’s health in many key areas. The report is supported by a study done at Harvard Medical School where researchers gave mice a high-calorie diet supplemented with resveratrol and compared their progress to a control group of mice who were given a high-calorie diet without the compound. Conclusions of the study showed that the mice that were given the diet with resveratrol tended to have less age-related cardiovascular problems. The drug also had apparently lowered the overall cholesterol level in the mice, caused better bone health, and seemed to moderate inflammation around the heart. Another recent study showed that drinking four or more glasses of red wine a week reduces the risk of prostate cancer in men by half.

So it appears as though the rumors may be true, as the new findings to the study are very promising for increasing the body’s overall health. However, researchers warn consumers against rushing to begin taking the resveratrol supplements as there are still many unknowns with how the drug will react against other substances including other prescription drugs. For now though, there’s nothing wrong with kicking back and enjoying a glass of red wine after a hard days work; you’re body will thank you for it in the long run.

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A recent medical study suggests that the appearance of gum disease may put people at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care is a journal that reports new and ongoing information in the area of diabetes and in a recent publication of findings, researchers have discovered that men and women with moderate to severe gum disease had twice the risk of diabetes than those who maintained a healthy oral hygiene. These findings were determined after researchers followed 9,300 U.S. adults suffering from gum disease for over 17 years. Because of these new developments, more studies are being done to determine whether or not gum disease has an effect on other areas of systemic health including putting people at risk for heart disease, and stroke as well. Gum disease is caused from a bacterial infection inside the mouth and the chronic appearance may lead to cardiovascular disease in a weakened immune system.

Dr. Ryan T. Demmer of Columbia University who is the lead researcher overseeing the project weighs in with his thoughts:

“The pertinent finding was our observation that periodontal disease can precede the onset of overt type 2 diabetes, but it would be inappropriate, based on our findings, to definitively say that better oral health will reduce an individual’s risk of diabetes development.”

So although the findings haven’t actually proved that gum disease can lead to more life-threatening issues such as type 2 diabetes, you may want to think again the next time you decide to skip brushing before bed. Because you may not only be endangering your teeth and gums, but you may very well be putting your life in danger as well.

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