Held from October 25th to 31st annually, the National Respiratory Care Week recognizes the service of respiratory care professionals and creates awareness about lung diseases and respiratory issues. With a host of ailments affecting the respiratory system such as asthma, lung cancer, pneumonia, COPD, occupational lung disorders among others. Other lesser known include sarcoidosis, rhinitis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic sinusitis. Currently, COVID-19 pandemic has put respiratory distress and related lung issues in the spotlight. Creating awareness about the respiratory ailments and ways to prevent it is an important step to safeguard the health of the people. As per National...

Mental illnesses are brain disorders or impairments. They affect the cognitive functioning and logical thinking capacities of the brain. Mental illnesses span the range of depression to schizophrenia. This includes addiction, bi-polar disorder, mania, bulimia, anorexia and various addictions apart from so many more. As per the 2019 statistics, nearly 46% of the adults in the US will be afflicted by a mental ailment in their life. 5% of adults experience a mental illness in a year and that translates to over 43 million people in any given year. The unfortunate part is only 41% of people receive professional services...

Sepsis is the human body’s overactive response to an infection, which can overwhelm the system and lead to life-threatening consequences such as organ failure, tissue damage and even death. In sepsis, chemicals are released into the bloodstream which then go on to trigger an inflammatory response in the rest of the body. These responses can then go on to damage organs and can even result in death. Populations that Sepsis Most Commonly Affects Although sepsis can happen to anyone, it most commonly affects: Older adult populations Pregnant women Infants and children under one year of age People who suffer chronic...

September is National Cholesterol Education Awareness Month. And while most of us have heard of cholesterol and have some vague notion that it is bad, some of us have little understanding of what it is, how it works and that cholesterol isn’t necessarily all bad. What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that is found in every cell of the body. In fact, your body NEEDS some amount of cholesterol in order to make important hormones, to digest foods and to make Vitamin D. But having too much cholesterol — and the wrong type — can put us at...

There are millions of types of fungi living in the environment, and they live on surfaces everywhere. Today, fungal diseases are very common and can affect anyone. Fortunately, there are a limited amount of fungi that can cause sickness in people. These can take the form in: Allergies Asthma Skin or nail infections and rashes Lung infections Infections in the bloodstream Meningitis Some fungi move through the air as spores that you may inhale. Others can merely land on a surface or your body. Consequently, fungal infections often begin on the skin or may even begin in the lungs. When...

Over the years, we’ve seen trends come and go with regards to breastfeeding. Changing Popularity of Formula Feeding Vs. Breastfeeding Over the Years In the 1950s, commercial baby formula became available. Like all things new and convenient for the average mother during that time and propelled by strong marketing campaigns and women joining the workforce, formula was embraced as the new way to feed infants which eventually pushed breastfeeding out of favor. But the 1980s brought new information to light about the benefits of a mother’s natural milk and during subsequent years, there have been many fluctuations in the popularity...

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and can have many causes, the most common being viruses with the labels A, B and C. Chronic viral hepatitis can lead to lifelong liver disease, cancer and cirrhosis. Hepatitis A virus can be easily spread through food and water contamination and can infect groups of people who come into contact with it. It usually causes short-term symptoms that will most often get better on its own but it can be more serious with aged populations. Hepatitis B, however, can create both short-term illness and chronic illness. It is spread through bodily fluids...

Here in South Florida, we know about the sun. Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of suffering from too much after a day out in our tropical weather climate. But not all UV exposure comes from the sun (think: tanning beds). Most of us understand that too much UV exposure is not healthy and puts us at risk of skin cancer. We understand the necessity of applying adequate sunscreen and keeping our skin protected during certain times of the day. But there are many factors that come into play when it comes to UV rays and how we...

As we age, we begin to understand that it’s not just about quantity but quality. As a society, we have become adept at furthering our chronological age but less skilled at maintaining our health as we go. What is the purpose of living into our golden years if those years are fraught with chronic disease, ailments and medication? And yet, that is exactly what we are seeing in the United States today. Our population is aging but we are becoming more dependent on medications and the medical system with each passing year. The Basic “Shoulds” Unless you live in a...