Health Tips

Everyone has seen the dates posted on various food products – “Use-By …”, “Best-By …”, “Sell-By …”. What do these different categories of food dating mean and are there exceptions to these designations? With the exception of infant formula, food dating is not required by the Federal government. Several states,…

It’s cold and flu season. Your co-worker in the next cubicle has a mound of Kleenex on his desk, obviously nursing a cold. Following a sneezing fit, you can practically see the germs coming over the cubicle wall seeking someone else to infect. With the common wintertime illnesses, what is…

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) is a consumer-advocacy group whose stated mission is to “support parents’ efforts to raise healthy families by limiting commercial access to children and ending the exploitive practice of child-targeted marketing.” Each year, they announce their worst toy of the year, which has the…

Illness from influenza has already been confirmed in 48 states. This is the earliest that the nation has recorded this much activity in a decade. Unusually intense flu activity has been reported in a number of southern states including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The type of flu being…

Many medicines intended for skin application are packaged both as creams and ointments. Examples of these topical medications include corticosteroids and antibiotics. Many moisturizers also come in both a cream and ointment form. Is there a difference in a medication that comes in a cream as compared to an ointment?…

Many medicines intended for skin application are packaged both as creams and ointments. Examples of these topical medications include corticosteroids and antibiotics. Many moisturizers also come in both a cream and ointment form. Is there a difference in a medication that comes in a cream as compared to an ointment?…

Of course being hungry is not a disease, but overeating and excessive weight is clearly a risk to health. Controlling one’s appetite and managing food intake seems to be particularly difficult during the holiday season. According to the National Institutes of Health, Americans gain an average of one pound during…

In medicine, there is a saying that “common things are common”, meaning that most conditions seen by doctors are not obscure, nor is the manner in which they present themselves. On occasion, however, illnesses present in unusual ways and it is up to the doctor (with the help of informed…

Hip and knee joint replacement is a procedure that has been performed on millions of Americans since it was introduced around 40 years ago. In most cases, joint replacement is performed because of arthritis. The common feature of the various types of arthritis is that cartilage on the joint surfaces…

A while back, the Occupy Movement voiced its concern for the 99% of Americans who were not among the top 1% of income earners. There is another 99% (or 98.8% to be exact), however, who may be in a considerably worse position. This is the group of Americans who fail…