In the book "Soul Service," Christine Cowgill states, “Death should not be viewed as a medical failure but as a natural conclusion to life.” November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Hospice and palliative care combine the highest level of quality pain management and symptom control with emotional and spiritual support to ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect, and love when a cure is not possible. According to J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the

November 11 is Veteran’s Day. As we honor those who have served our country in the armed forces, let us also remember an ongoing battle many veterans continue to fight: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. According to the Veteran’s Administration, since 9/11, nearly 30 percent of the Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans treated at V.A. hospitals and clinics have been diagnosed with PTSD. According to the National Institutes of Health, PTSD is a disorder that develops in some people who have

Did you get your flu shot? It’s not too late. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that while influenza vaccination should begin soon after vaccine becomes available, usually in October, as long as flu viruses are circulating, vaccination should continue to be offered even in January or later. If you have been hesitating because you think the flu shot will give you the flu, will cause side effects worse than the flu or isn’t effective, think again. It’s biologically impossible

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 40 million kids aged 5 to 14 will be keeping up the tradition of knocking on doors this Halloween. Urban legends about poisoned candy or razor blades stuck in taffy apples have made parents vigilant through the decades; however, no recorded incident of a random Halloween poisoning or razor blade incident exists. The biggest threat to trick or treaters , according to the American College of Emergency Physicians, is actually cars. Children are four times more

We often think of snoring as annoying or embarrassing, but we don’t usually think of it as deadly. However, it can be a symptom of sleep apnea, an involuntary cessation of breathing that occurs while the patient is asleep. Left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious and life-shortening consequences: high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, automobile accidents caused by falling asleep at the wheel, diabetes, and depression.. The University of Wisconsin found over an 18-year period, people

Do you consider a handful of mixed nuts a guilty pleasure? Are you afraid to give your kids peanut butter? More and more research is showing that it can be good to go nuts. While they used to be disparaged as a fattening food, Richard D. Mattes of Purdue University and his co-authors found that adults who eat nuts weigh less than nut avoiders . And children who ate peanuts usually had a lower body mass index than those who did not. According to the Mayo Clinic, nuts can lower the low-density

Did you know that one in 25 youth, ages 12 through 17, has abused cough medicine to get high? October is Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America reports teens are obtaining medications from family members and friends. More than one-half of the nonmedical users of pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives aged 12 or older got the prescription drugs they most recently used “from a friend or relative for free.” Some teens believe that abusing over the

Artist Flash Rosenberg once commented, “I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.” There is still a lot of debate over the positives and negatives of coffee and other sources of caffeine, but research is showing that in moderation, caffeine consumption can be a good thing. Research published in the journal Nature Neuroscience found that caffeine, whether consumed through coffee, tea, soda, or chocolate has a positive effect on our

Hospitals are where we go when we are in need of treatment and healing. But that healing touch comes with a chance of spreading a potentially fatal infection: c. diff colitis. This is clean hands week and a good time to talk about c.diff, a dangerous bacterial infection of the colon that can be easily transmitted, especially in hospital settings. In an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association, a doctor explains that c. diff is an infection that thrives in hospital

What if when we talked about kids going “back to school” we considered their actual backs and their spinal health? September 20 is Backpack Awareness Day. A 2006 study in The Pediatric Journal of Orthopedics found 37% of children experience back pain due to carrying heavy backpacks. Rob Danoff, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and a certified family physician with Philadelphia’s Aria Health System compares the spine to the frame of a house: it’s what keeps your child’s body sturdy and upright.