Health Observances

Basketball Legend is Battling Leukemia—and Winning

2009-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently revealed that he has been battling a rare form of leukemia for nearly a year. The 62-year-old former center for the Los Angeles Lakers is suffering from chronic myelogenous (or myeloid) leukemia (CML), a cancer that starts inside bone marrow and grows from cells that produce white blood cells. The term “chronic” implies a relatively slow-growing cancer that could...

Go Blue for World Diabetes Day

2009-11-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

November 14 is World Diabetes Day, the main global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. Over 150 countries and territories across the globe will mark the day in one way or another as a moment to pause and recognize the over 285 million people living with diabetes. There will be special radio and TV programs, diabetes workshops and exhibitions, public information meetings, press conferences,...

Sports Injuries Cause Blindness in Kids: September is Sports Eye Safety Month

2008-09-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sports injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children. Most can be prevented by using protective eye wear while playing sports. Almost 75% of sports related eye injuries occur in people younger than age 25 years, but only 15% of kids are using protective eye gear while playing sports. Baseball and basketball are the leading causes of sports related eye injuries. Lenses made of...

Maholo to RNCentral.com for Top 50 Health 2.0 Blogs

2008-09-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

RNCentral.com honored Healthline's Health Experts network of bloggers in their Top 50 Health 2.0 Blogs.We are really happy to be recognized along with many of our friends in the blogging community. Thank you!

Leukemia & Lymphoma Awareness Month: Blood Cancer Society's CoPay Assistance Program

2008-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

September is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Awareness Month. Blood cancers are considered "catastrophic illnesses" in that it is extremely expensive to pay for treatment for them. Until we have health care reform in the US, the society offers a CoPay Assistance Program. Even if you have great insurance coverage - the copays will "kill you" in the event of a catastrophic injury or...

Prostate Cancer Awareness Week: September 15-21

2008-09-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

WARNING: A man is 33% more likely to get prostate cancer than a woman is to get breast cancer. One in six men get prostate cancer35% are under age 65 yearsIf you are over age 40 (35 years old for blacks) GET TESTED!PSA count and DRE (digital rectal exam)

Celebrating the Web of Life: Australia Observes Biodiversity Month

2008-09-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Each September, the Australian Government observes Biodiversity month. Australia is home to almost 700,000 species, many of which are found no where else in the world. Why is this important to health? Our species is dependent on biodiversity for health, wellness and enjoyment of life. Our foods, medicines, products, recreation are derived from the wealth of our biosphere. Clean air and water...

September is National Baby Safety Month

2008-09-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

So there's a new baby in the house! No doubt you already child proofed your house prior to baby's arrival, but September is a good time to look around and go over your safety plan for children. Make sure your car seat, stroller and baby carrying apparatus are appropriate for the baby's age: babies don't have neck control until about six months so you need to protect them. Set your water heater...

STEPtember 2008: America on the Move!

2008-09-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Do you want to turn the tide against the two pound per year incremental weight gain of most adults in America? Do you want to buck the trend of growing obesity rates and diminishing health in our country? Then join America on the Move (AOM) this month with two simple changes: Move More - take 2,000 additional steps each dayEat Less - eat 100 fewer calories each dayAOM partnered with the...

Hurricane Season: September is National Preparedness Month

2008-09-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Gustav has blessedly dwindled into a tropical storm, but Hannah, Ike and Josephine are reported to be following behind him, forming in the Atlantic Ocean. Homeland Security wants us all to be Prepared, Plan and Stay Informed. Please participate in National Preparedness Month by following these tips: Create or get a kit. Water, food for 3 days, flashlight, hand-cranked radio,...

Get Ready for a Stress Less Back to School Week!

2008-08-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

For those of us with kids, Labor Day Weekend is a time of preparation and making the transition from lazy days of summer to gearing up for school days and after school schedules. Make things easier on yourself and your children by putting a little extra effort into planning. Stay home this weekend & don't plan any business trips next week: it's a good time to stock up on school supplies,...

Thank You Kerri, at Six Until Me for Grand Rounds 4.48

2008-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Kerri hosted Grand Rounds again and did a great job using a Dewey Decimal theme. Thanks for including my post Can You Help Jenny? along with some other enlightening summer reading! Kerri is another diabetic blogger, like Manny Hernandez, founder of tudiabetes.com. What's great about them is they write about living with the illness...day to day.

Interview with TuDiabetes.com founder Manny Hernandez

2008-08-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

The CDC estimates that almost 24 million people in the US have diabetes. The total costs to the US in terms of both medical care and disability are $174 billion. Millions have it, but according to Manny Hernandez, founder of the popular website tudiabetes.com , it is a "closet condition". I had the pleasure of interviewing Manny last week about the communities he created for people touched ...

August 10-16 is National Community Health Center Week

2008-08-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

The second week of August is dedicated to recognizing the outstanding contributions of Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Centers. They do an outstanding job of providing needed services for America's 44 million uninsured and to those who live in areas without good health care services. Facts about the homeless and health: Homeless people are 3 x more likely to die than the general...

Give Your Kids a Boost - Teens Need Immunizations Too!

2008-08-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Teens are gearing up to return to high school. With all of the academic and social pressures on them these days, they don't need to be worrying about their health. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) wants us to Give Kids a Boost and get our preteens and teens the booster shots and immunizations recommended to prevent serious communicable diseases. Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis...

Can You Help Jenny?

2008-08-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

A friend reached out to Healthline and requested our help in getting the word out about Jenny, a 14 year old girl from Northern California with atypical motor neuron disease. Motor neuron diseases, like Lou Gehrig's Disease, are progressive muscle weakness disorders. Mysteriously, over the course of one year, Jenny has gone from being a healthy, active teenager to being nearly completely...

Crisis for US Elderly

2008-07-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Economic bad times are hitting senior citizens especially hard, reports AARP. Americans age 55 years and over are struggling with medical bills along with mortgage, credit card payments and rising gas and food prices. The bankruptcy rate for seniors age 75 to 84 years went up over 400% over the past 16 years. People who had saved lost money in the stock market. Now many are struggling to go...

Pulmonary Emboli - A Serious Post-op Complication

2008-07-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Pulmonary emboli - or clots in the lungs are very much on my mind these days. In the space of one month, two friends of mine, both young women (30's) who suffered large bone fractures ended up in ICU post-operatively due to life-threatening pulmonary emboli. This troubles me because it's a post-op complication that should be preventable in most cases. Facts about pulmonary emboli...

It's EveryBody Deserves a Good Massage Week

2008-07-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals celebrates International Massage Week with their message EveryBody Deserves a Good Massage. Massage has many health benefits besides just making you feel good. There are more than 250 types of massage and body work and some therapies are covered by insurance. Although considered "alternative therapy", massage has been around a long time. Give...

Get Out & Enjoy Our National Parks: July 13-19 is National Therapeutic Recreation Week

2008-07-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

National Therapeutic Recreation Week is to enhance promotes public awareness of therapeutic recreation programs and services, and expands recreation and leisure opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Therapeutic recreation uses treatment, education, and recreation services to help with illnesses, disabilities, and other conditions to develop and use their leisure in ways that enhance...

33rd National Wellness Conference - Stevens Point Wisconsin

2008-07-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

The National Wellness Institute is hosting its annual Wellness Conference although the theme this year may be a bit arcane for most of us. A Visionary Turning: Well Earth, Well People is the title and I think the translation is that for us to be healthy our environment has to be healthy and vice versa. I'm all about wellness and a healthy environment but I'm getting a little cranky with the lack...

Travel Abroad - Watch the Road

2008-07-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

The greatest threat to Americans traveling abroad isn't an exotic tropical disease like malaria. According to US State Department data, the number one cause of death of US citizens traveling internationally is motor vehicle accidents (MVA). Infectious diseases account for only a 2% of deaths while traveling. Road traffic accidents accounted for 34% of all deaths while traveling, followed by...

Thank You Dr. Tam for The Seinfeld Edition of Grand Rounds

2008-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

The show may have been about nothing, but Grand Rounds 4:42 The Seinfeld Edition, by Dr. Tam of The Blog that Ate Manhattan, is about something - and manages to be both funny and informative. He connected my Watermelon post with the award winning Master of Their Domain episode. Read him to find out why he is one of my top 3 favorite medical bloggers. Don't miss his opinions about the HPV...

5 Tips for Bicycle Safety & Summer Fun

2008-07-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the mother's who shares my commute told me her family's Fourth of July weekend was ruined by an unfortunate accident. Her 13 year old was riding her bicycle - in flip flops - and fell into a picket fence, catching her toe in one of the wooden slats and breaking off the bone. The toe had to be surgically reattached and the daughter spent the weekend with her leg elevated and on pain meds....

Watermelon - Relaxes the Blood Vessels & May Increase Libido

2008-07-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Watermelon & the Fourth of July just go together. The lowly watermelon may have a lot to do with our sense of well-being this holiday weekend - so eat up & enjoy! This lovely vine-growing fruit is rich in phyto-nutrients such as beta-carotenes, lycopene and citrulline. Citrulline is converted to arginine in the body. Arginine is an amino acid with beneficial effects on the heart,...