A disturbing new trend has emerged among teens – drinking hand sanitizer as a substitute for alcoholic beverage. The California Poison Control System has reported that since 2010, there have been 2,600 cases of teenagers drinking alcohol. In the past few weeks, 8 teenagers were treated after being poisoned from drinking hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizers are [...]

Past studies have linked gum problems with heart disease and stroke. However, a committee of cardiologists, dentists and infectious disease specialists from the American Heart Association debunked this popular myth. They reviewed 500 journal articles and studies but they could not find evidence that proves gum disease affects the heart or that maintaining good oral hygiene [...]

Warm weather encourages us to be closer to nature. It’s great time for camping, hiking, and picnics. But the more time we spend outside, the more we are exposed to harmful, unwanted hitchhikers: ticks. Fortunately, there are some things we can do to limit our exposure and stay safe. This year will be a particularly [...]

According to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently 35.6 million people around the world living with dementia; and this number is predicted to increase by three times in 2050 to 115.4 million. Dr. Shekhar Saxena, head of WHO’s mental health division said “The numbers are already large and are [...]

For years, we have been taught that all breast cancer cases require immediate medical attention, and must be identified as soon as possible. Medical practitioners have been encouraging women to undergo screening for the disease since so much depends on its early detection. However, a recent study in Norway has found that this may not [...]

As of a February 2012 statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 35.7% (or more than one third) of American adults are obese. Obesity is also becoming an epidemic among children and adolescents. Children as young as 2 years old are found to be obese. A third of America’s children [...]

Seventy-five percent of low-wage workers do not have insurance coverage from their employer and close to 40 percent of them are living without health insurance of any kind, a recent report from the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. The report entitled “Health-Insurance Coverage [...]

Most employees get their health insurance through the companies they work for. This is a great way to get affordable health insurance. They can also wait for the annual “open enrollment” and add a family member or a dependent to their plan. However, if they get married or have a child, they can add them [...]

Authorities in the state of New York will verify the data submitted by health insurance companies and HMOs to justify rate increases they are applying for. “The new investigation will use the time needed to look into data in order to make sure costs and spending are carefully accounted for,” said Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin [...]

As the Obama administration gears up for the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it issued new regulations which require health plans to use simple, clear, and standardized language to help clients understand their health plans better. This fall, employers and insurers which offer health coverage must provide a form summarizing the basic plan [...]