Glaucoma: What ’s new and what do I need to know?
Glaucoma is the leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide, and the second leading cause of permanent blindness in the United States. An estimated three million people in the United States have glaucoma, a number that is expected to increase to 6.3 million in the next 30 years. Although glaucoma is more common in adults older than 60, it can develop at any age. While there is currently no cure for glaucoma, vision loss can be slowed or stopped if the disease is diagnosed and treated early.
What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of disorders that damage the optic nerve of the eye, which carries visual signals from the re...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 11, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Joan Miller, MD Tags: Eye Health Healthy Aging Source Type: blogs
A look at the 2020 –2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), published by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), provide science-based recommendations on what to eat and drink to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic disease, and meet nutrient needs. The guidelines provide a framework for policy makers and nutrition and health professionals to help individuals consume a healthy and nutritionally adequate diet. They also help inform dietary planning for federal programs including the National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), and the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 10, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Carol Sullivan, MS, RD, CSO, LDN Tags: Health Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
Could what we eat improve our sleep?
We think of eating a nutritious diet and exercising as healthy behaviors, but sleep is one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Why is this? Sleep sets the stage for our days. If we experience sound sleep for seven to eight hours, we arise energized in the morning. Diet, exercise, and sleep work synergistically, and affect one another. All three can have an effect on our daily well-being and longevity.
To be well and vital and help prevent certain diseases, like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and many other conditions, we need to prioritize sleep. When we make sleep a priority, we can impr...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 9, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Elizabeth Pegg Frates, MD Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Healthy Eating Mental Health Prevention Sleep Source Type: blogs
What is COVID-19 brain fog — and how can you clear it?
As a cognitive behavioral neurologist, I’ve been hearing from many individuals who are complaining of “brain fog” after infection with COVID-19. So I thought it was worth discussing exactly what COVID-19 brain fog is, and some things to do that might help clear it.
What is brain fog?
Let’s start by trying to understand brain fog. Brain fog is not a medical or scientific term; it is used by individuals to describe how they feel when their thinking is sluggish, fuzzy, and not sharp.
We all experience this feeling from time to time. Perhaps you couldn’t think clearly when you were sick with the flu or another illnes...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 8, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Andrew E. Budson, MD Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Memory Neurological conditions Source Type: blogs
Heavy metals in baby food? What parents should know and do
If there is anything you can trust to be safe, it should be baby food, right?
Well… maybe not.
A report from the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform says that commercial baby foods are tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.
Which baby food companies are involved?
The report was based on information from just four companies that make baby food: Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain, and Gerber. Arsenic, lead, and cadmium were found in baby foods from all of the companies; mercury was found in the food from the only company that tested for it (Nurture).
Of note, three other companies (Walmart, Spro...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 5, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Children's Health Healthy Eating Nutrition Parenting Source Type: blogs
My COVID-19 vaccine story –– and what happened next
Like most healthcare workers, I was thrilled when I was eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. I’ve been involved in COVID-19 patient care since the very start of the pandemic in the US, and I had seen what this virus can do to people. We all felt incredibly helpless against this incredibly contagious bug.
With time, experience, and study, we’ve learned which treatments help and which don’t. Even more importantly, we now have vaccines.
The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines — tested in about 18,600 and 15,000 participants, respectively — were the first available in the US via emergency FDA authorization...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 4, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Asthma Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Parenting Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Acne: Considerations for darker skin
Acne affects millions of Americans each year and impacts people of all skin tones, yet acne can pose special challenges in people with darker skin. In darker skin, one pimple or breakout can cause dark marks, scars, or even keloids (scar tissue that continues to grow larger than the original scar) that last for months to years afterward. Those affected are left searching for the secrets to treatment — or better yet, prevention. In this post we discuss how acne and similar or related conditions may be treated, and sometimes prevented, in people with darker skin.
Acne triggers release of melanin
Melanin, the same molecule ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 3, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Arianne Shadi Kourosh, MD, MPH Tags: Skin and Hair Care Source Type: blogs
5 unusual headaches: Signs to watch for and what to do
Headaches come in lots of varieties, and some are easily recognizable. A migraine classically causes throbbing, pounding pain that lasts for hours — sometimes even days — on one side of the head. A tension headache usually feels like a tight band squeezing around your noggin. And a sinus headache shows up as pressure on one side of the face, behind the nose, or above one eye when you have a sinus infection.
Some headaches, however, aren’t as well-known.
What’s happening to me?
When less familiar headache pain strikes, the symptoms or patterns may be puzzling, or even frightening.
For example, a thunderclap headache...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 2, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Heidi Godman Tags: Brain and cognitive health Headache Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Is crying good for you?
It’s safe to say that 2020 gave us more than enough to cry about. Yet even prior to last year, it seems that we were crying fairly often. Researchers note that, on average, American women cry 3.5 times each month, while American men cry about 1.9 times each month. These figures may take some of us by surprise, especially as our society has often looked at crying — particularly by men — as a sign of weakness and lack of emotional stamina.
Health benefits of crying
As a phenomenon that is unique to humans, crying is a natural response to a range of emotions, from deep sadness and grief to extreme happiness and joy....
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 1, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Leo Newhouse, LICSW Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Stress Source Type: blogs
New school guidelines around COVID-19: What parents need to know
We all want our children to be able to go back to school. What we don’t want is for them — or their teachers — to get sick from COVID-19.
There is no easy, let alone perfect, solution, which is why, a year into the pandemic, there is no clear way forward. Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines to serve as a roadmap for navigating this difficult part of our pandemic journey.
According to these new guidelines, all schools offering in-person learning should prioritize universal, correct use of masks and physical distancing. The CDC also notes three more strategies are essen...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 26, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs
Grandparents and vaccines: Now what?
As COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the US, many grandparents — including one co-author of this blog post — are thrilled to hold out their arms for a jab. In some parts of the country, these vaccinations began as early as mid-January. By mid-February, legions of energized and relieved seniors were trading selfie shots of their newly vaccinated arms.
Grandparents, like other seniors, wanted the vaccine to keep themselves safe. However, there was another compelling reason: the desire to hug grandchildren. Ellen Glazer, LICSW, asked fellow grandparents in different states — some of whom live minutes away from grandchil...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 25, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Amy C. Sherman, MD Tags: Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Relationships Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Seeking solace, finding resilience in a pandemic
In times like these, it can feel wrong to feel happy. There is so much suffering in the world that appreciating the goodness that still exists can seem unempathic, if not altogether futile. A landmark study on happiness often mentioned at dinner parties and social gatherings (when we had those things) considered how people react to intense, sudden changes to their circumstances. The researchers found that people who had recently won the lottery were no happier after some time had passed than people who had experienced severe trauma that paralyzed their lower bodies. It’s a testament to stubbornness as our common lot in l...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 25, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Adam P. Stern, MD Tags: Behavioral Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Source Type: blogs
Lowering cholesterol protects your heart and brain, regardless of your age
High or abnormal cholesterol levels, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction play a key role in atherosclerosis and plaque buildup, the most common cause of heart attacks and strokes. (Endothelial dysfunction refers to impaired functioning of the inner lining of blood vessels on the heart’s surface. It results in these vessels inappropriately narrowing instead of widening, which limits blood flow.) There are many different types of cholesterol, including high density lipoprotein (HDL, or good, cholesterol); triglycerides (a byproduct of excess calories consumed, which are stored as fat); and low-density lipoprotein (LD...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 24, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Hanna Gaggin, MD, MPH Tags: Drugs and Supplements Healthy Eating Heart Health Source Type: blogs
Natural remedies for hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are painful, unpleasant, and, um, well, difficult to talk about. But they actually are quite common: about half of people over age 50 have had them. However, they’re easy to treat and manage.
“Hemorrhoids can be troublesome and embarrassing, but they often shrink on their own with simple self-help care and over-the-counter remedies,” says Dr. Howard LeWine, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
What are hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins near the anus. Common symptoms are rectal pain, itching, bleeding, and occasional protruding veins outside the anus.
There are two types of h...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 23, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Digestive Disorders Health Inflammation Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Want to feel more connected? Practice empathy
Do you ever wish that a certain person in your life would make the effort to truly understand where you’re coming from? That ability — being empathic — comes more easily to some people than to others. Empathy helps people get along with others, from loved ones to strangers. So it’s worth considering your own aptitude for empathy, which you can hone just like any other skill.
“While either genetic proclivity or our upbringing makes some people naturally empathic, empathy can be cultivated at any point in our lives,” says Dr. Ronald Siegal, PsyD, assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. Empath...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 22, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Behavioral Health Mental Health Relationships Source Type: blogs
