Featured Columns
Treatments for Excessive Sweating of Underarms, Feet or Hands
A sweaty handshake can be an uncomfortable situation for many, particularly in business settings. Called focal hyperhidrosis, the condition is characterized by excessive sweating of the palms, underarms and the soles of the feet. Focal hyperhidrosis usually starts by the end of the teenage years, and is often hereditary.
Treatment options for focal hyperhidrosis include: More »
Why Are Optimists Healthier than Pessimists?
According to a series of studies, optimists enjoy better health than pessimists. The May issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch explores possible reasons for this connection.
Many studies have reported that optimism influences health. Among the findings: More »
Protecting Yourself from the Sun to Avoid Skin Cancer
Before leaving home for a day of outdoor activity, take appropriate precautions to ensure that your and your family's skin is well-protected, as the majority of all skin cancers are caused by the sun. More »
What Can Birds Teach Us About Raising Our Own Young?
Are younger siblings at a competetive disadvantage to their older brothers or sisters? What wisdom can a bird study provide to us about human sibling relationships? More »
Ayuverdic Natural Medicine Balances Health And Life
Comprising yoga, massage, meditation and much more, Ayuverdic medicine is among the world's oldest, and reputedly balances life and health. It originated in India more than 5,000 years ago, and is still practiced there alongside Western medicine. More »
Alzheimer's and Aluminum
Aluminum is unusually abundant in the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer’s disease. For years, rumors have circulated that aluminum cookware contributed to the disease. And for just as long, most scientists have scoffed at this notion because aluminum is one of the most abundant elements on earth and everyone is exposed to a great deal of it. More »
Using the Internet in Medical Practice: Web 2.0 and Medicine
Some 80% of American adults use the Internet for health searches, according to a research report by Pew Internet.
Increasingly, physicians and other medical professionals are finding various uses, especially with the advent of more recent online services and tools, such as Social Networks, Blogging, Second Life, Wikis, Medical Search Engines and Video and Podcasts.
Writiing in Science Roll, Bertalan Meskó provides Ten Tips for Using Web 2.0 in Medicine, with descriptions of various tools and forums, and links to resources. More »
Paid Health News: Blurring the Line Between News and PR
It seems that much of the health and medical news published in major news outlets today derives from company press releases, corporate sponsored studies, or even stories produced directly by saavy PR agencies.
News agencies summarize studies published in respected medical journals, and some stories come from other more dubious sources. Often, studies themselves are funded by corporate interest that stand to benefit directly from the proliferation of a whole new surge of "news" on a particular topic.
Gary Schwitzer, publisher of Health News Review, writes on his health news blog: More »
Woman Reports Feet Badly Burned by Walmart Flip-Flops (Photos)
Yet another report of Chinese products that seem to be dangerous, at least to some consumers. A woman reports that after wearing her Walmart-purchased flip-flops, her feet exhibit burns along the areas that were in contact with the flip-flops.
Walmart's response was to pass responsibility on to the Chinese manufacturer of the flip-flops. Click here for photos.
A Cancer Treatment Most Doctor's Don't Know About
During the early 1900's, Dr. William Coley learned something that seemed to be a very effective cancer treatment. By infecting tumors with the Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, he found that the body's immune system eventually killed off the tumors.
He began treating his cancer patients by injecting the bacteria directly into tumors, and found that the treatment was quite succesful, particularly when the treatment resulted in recurring fevers. More »
My Cancer: An Online Journal
For those who dare to think about it, it's one of those phrases that you dread hearing. For some it comes as a complete surprise, and for others, they may have seen it coming. But it is always difficult to take, and it helps a lot to read about others' experiences when they hear those words....
You have cancer...
Journalist Leroy Sievers heard it back in early 2006, and he's been documenting his thoughts and reflections ever since. From his first post: More »
Should Doctors Blog About Medical Cases?
There are two sides to the issue of physicians blogging online about their work. One one hand, is the opinion that patients own their own medical stories. Publishing those stories should call for permission, say some observers.
Alen over at GruntDoc has a more realistic view... More »
