Online Features
Health & Wellness
Ask the Pharmacist: Poison prevention starts at home
(BPT) - It’s a serious problem with a simple solution. Nearly 1 million children under the age of 5 are exposed to potentially poisonous medicines and household chemicals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is no better time than now to learn more about preventing accidental and u...
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Autism Awareness Month gives new insight to children and families
(BPT) - Each April for the past four decades, National Autism Awareness Month has elevated awareness among the children, parents and friends affected by autism spectrum disorders. One in 88 children in the U.S. is affected by autism, Asperger’s or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), esti...
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Making heads or tails of health care plan options
Health insurance is confusing – regardless of whether your employer provides your insurance, you qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, or if you are footing the bill yourself for private insurance. If you’re in the market to buy insurance on your own, you may worry you might be turned down due to a pre-existing medical con...
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Trouble falling back to sleep? How to beat middle of the night wakefulness
Have you been hitting the snooze button on your insomnia? Or wishing you could? For many adults suffering sleep problems, the challenge is not necessarily falling asleep, but staying asleep – and getting back to sleep if they wake in the middle of the night. A prescription sleep aid, taken before bedtime, may help you ...
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Good sleep is essential to leading a healthy life
It’s no secret that getting a good night’s sleep has tremendous health benefits such as improved learning and productivity, protection against serious illnesses, more energy and a better mood. But what you may not know is that not getting enough sleep can have a destructive impact on health, work and overall quality of life. In today’s fast-paced society, many people think it is OK to forego getting enough sleep. Whether it’s due to stress, lifestyle choices or chronic sleep disorders like ...
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Better romance to beat the seasonal blues
(BPT) - As spring struggles to break through in much of the country, many of us can’t help being affected and feeling comfort food, sitcoms and even chocolate aren’t enough to lift our mood. Relationship expert Ian Kerner, Ph.D, the author of five books on sex and relationships, including “Sex Recharge,” shares how to ...
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When ordinary distraction is something more: diagnosing ADHD
(BPT) - What parent hasn’t had to call a child’s name more than once to get his attention? Or wondered how she can still be “bouncing off the walls” at the end of a long, tiring day. Moments of intense activity or occasional inattention are typical kid behavior, but for some children the problem is extreme and impairing...
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Stroke around the world: the shocking truth
If there’s one thing people of different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds have in common, it’s health. Many health threats on the minds of Americans are also issues for people in nations across the world. The silent killer known as stroke not only ends an American life every four minutes, it kills 6 million people around the globe every year. A stroke occurs when an obstruction or rupture in a blood vessel disrupts blood flow to the brain. It can occur as an ischemic stroke, the most...
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Finding inspiration in basketball
(BPT) - If you love March basketball, here’s how to use the time and energy you spent on choosing a winning bracket to live your own hoop dreams. Step 1: Put down the remote. If you enjoy the game enough to watch others play, it stands to reason that basketball will be an enjoyable way for you to get cardiovascular ex...
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Medical device innovations lead to extraordinary advances
From custom prosthetics to minimally invasive surgery, innovations in medical devices are leading to some astonishing advances. One example: an artificial heart that uses plastic tubes instead of heart valves to move blood in and out of two plastic ventricles. Implanted in more than 1,000 patients, this plastic heart ...
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Helping the brain use alternative fuel may ease symptoms of Alzheimer's
(BPT) - Whether a patient faces a simple health problem, such as a head cold, or one as complex as Alzheimer’s disease, relieving the symptoms is often as important as resolving the issue itself. Yet for the more than 5 million Americans affected by Alzheimer’s, treating the symptoms is even more vital. Some of the ear...
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By Andy Sullivan and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The outgoing head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service angered Republican lawmakers on Friday by resisting their demands that he identify who at the tax-collection agency had inappropriately targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny. But during the first hearing into a growing IRS scandal that could preoccupy Washington for months, Republicans did learn that a top official in President Barack Obama's administration knew that the IRS was looking into targeting by the tax agency nearly a year ago. ...
By Joanne von Alroth SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois Senate on Friday voted to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, which if signed into law would make it the second-most-populous state in the nation after California to allow the drug's use for medical purposes. The bill, approved by the Illinois House in April, now moves to Governor Pat Quinn's desk to await his signature. Quinn has indicated he is sympathetic to the bill, especially as it would benefit injured veterans. "We fully expect Gov. ...
By Michelle McLoughlin FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (Reuters) - A commuter train traveling eastbound from New York City derailed near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield during the evening rush hour on Friday and collided with a westbound commuter train, injuring up to 60 people, three critically, officials said. The collision of the two Metro North trains forced Amtrak to shut down service indefinitely between New York and Boston, the national railroad said. Three people were critically injured and 60 people were transported to area hospitals, police said. ...