Reading Time: 2 minutes E-cigarettes and vaping have been in the news recently with concerns about their safety and health risks. While nicotine is often an ingredient in these products, there may be other substances too. Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes were designed to be an alternative to smoking and are actually promoted as a way to quit smoking. It […] Read more
Guide Health: Vaping. Please take care
Lung damage is starting to be noticed with the increased use of e-cigarettes
Guide Health: Your nose – nothing to sneeze at
Reading Time: 3 minutes We all take our noses for granted. We breathe through them and smell odours with them, but you really only notice them when your’s doesn’t work well. Yes, you can breathe through your mouth, but you miss the warming and filtering of the air that your nose normally provides. And you may miss being able […] Read more
Guide Health: Compression stockings – not just for Grandma any more
Compression stockings are meant to help prevent pooling of blood in your legs
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you hear of compression stockings being recommended for people on long-distance flights, you may remember the thick beige stockings your grandmother wore for varicose veins. Yes, those were compression stockings too, but today’s are available in a much wider variety of colours, lengths, and even thicknesses and compression strengths. Compression stockings are intended to […] Read more
Guide Health: The itchiness of head lice
Cures are available, but even with the best products, you’ll need to be persistent
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your fingers probably just want to scratch your scalp when you hear the words “head lice,” but don’t scratch yet. On any given day, only about one per cent of the population are affected with pediculosis, as it is known in scientific circles, and they are mainly school children three to 11 years of age. […] Read more
Guide Health: Charging up your electrolytes
Try either of these homemade recipes for a healthier sports drink
Reading Time: 2 minutes You may have heard the term electrolytes. It’s often used in advertisements for sports drinks that are supposed to help you run faster, jump higher, and be a much better athlete! It’s true, too. Electrolytes are very important to your body. It’s just that a sports drink probably won’t improve your athletic performance. Electrolytes are […] Read more
Guide Health: Be prepared for allergies
Depending on your destination, winter travel can mean allergy season lasts all year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Whether you suffer from hay fever or have “bug” bites, you will certainly know the symptoms of an allergy. Allergies are caused when a foreign substance — think plant pollen or insect venom — enters your body and your body’s immune system reacts to that substance or allergen. With today’s travel, such allergies aren’t confined […] Read more
Guide Health: Tuberculosis — not just an old disease!
There are two categories of tuberculosis, latent and active
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tuberculosis has been infecting people for thousands of years. Peruvian remains that are 6,000 years old have shown evidence of this illness, and it has even been found in Egyptian mummies. The prevalence of the infection peaked during the 18th and 19th centuries, but recently we have seen a resurgence. Tuberculosis is caused by an […] Read more
Guide Health: What you can do to lower your cholesterol
Don’t wait for your body to give you a cholesterol warning. You may be too late!
Reading Time: 2 minutes Between 30 and 40 per cent of Canadians have high cholesterol, and many don’t even know it. And they may continue not knowing it until they get a lab result, or, worse yet, a heart attack. Cholesterol is the broad term used for lipoproteins and triglycerides found in the body. By accumulating in blood vessels, […] Read more
Guide Health: Toe nail fungus is not a pretty thing
Eliminating toe nail fungus takes patience and persistence, but it rarely clears up on its own
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toe nail fungal infections are difficult to treat and for some people can result in discomfort, pain and even disfigurement. But that doesn’t mean you have no options. More scientifically called onychomycosis, the condition affects about seven per cent of Canadians at any one time, although the number may be higher because people may not […] Read more
Guide Health: Dealing with dizziness and vertigo
Knowing what causes dizziness is the first step in preventing it
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dizziness involves a group of symptoms. There can be lightheadedness, a sensation of spinning, and even fainting. You have probably felt these sensations. None of them are pleasant! Vertigo is a more technical term. It refers to a feeling of motion when there is none, or an exaggerated sensation of motion in response to movement. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
