Higher doses of spironolactone, a diuretic (water pill), can prevent the need for dialysis in selected heart failure patients, found a recent study. The aggressive approach relieved fluid overload safely and effectively in patients who were not responding to conventional diuretics. Kidney and cardiovascular specialists conducted a pilot study in 19 patients to show that
One of my favorite movies is the 1944 classic Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane. If you have never seen this movie and enjoy a clean comedy, this is a movie for you. In fact, it’s a movie that the entire family can watch. There is a scene in the movie
While there is no cure for diabetes, with treatment and self-management strategies, a person can live a long and healthy life. Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people around the world. In the United States, 1.5 million people receive a diabetes diagnosis every year. Diabetes also affects children and adolescents. Approximately 193,000
Summer is officially here and millions of people and families will be traveling on vacations, visiting family, friends or just seeing the sights. Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot of money, so we drove everywhere, which usually limited our travels to within several nearby states. My brothers and I always laughed and made
Over the past few years, I’ve written a number of posts talking about different cancers and new cancer treatments. Fifty years ago, nearly any diagnosis of cancer would have been a death sentence, but today, surviving many cancers has drastically increased. According to the American Cancer Society: Lung cancer death rates declined 48% from 1990
People with diabetes who regularly eat nuts may be less likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who rarely if ever, consume nuts, a US study suggests. Diabetics who ate at least five 28-gram (1-ounce) servings of nuts a week were 17 percent less likely to develop heart disease than people with diabetes who
Millions of Americans suffer from hay fever, medically referred to as rhinitis. Symptoms of hay fever often mimic the symptoms of a common cold with runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, sneezing and sinus pressure. While most people blame pollens for their hay fever, it can also be caused by other things. According to the Mayo
Over the past couple of months, America has seen a large measles outbreak in many locations. Some areas have been hit especially hard, forcing the closing of some schools with over a hundred students being out sick. The measles outbreak has forced politicians and school boards to mandate that all students receive a measles vaccine
A lot of physical things change as we get older. We lose muscle mass and tone. Our skin loses some of its elasticity and the outer layers thin. For many of us, men and women, our hair gets thinner in diameter and thinner in covering our head and other areas. Many tend to see their
For most of us, talking about our sex life is beyond difficult. For many it is a very private matter that just shouldn’t be discussed or shared with others, not even our doctors. This is especially true for those who are more conservative and/or have a strong religious faith. After all, what happens in the
