Reading Time: 2 minutes A cough is your body’s attempt to rid itself of something that is irritating your airways. You will be familiar with coughs associated with the common cold and the flu, but there are many other reasons for coughs. Other infections including pneumonia, tuberculosis and whooping cough can certainly cause coughs. But so can allergies, gastro-intestinal […] Read more
Guide Health: That dry, hacking cough
No wonder they hurt… coughs can eject air from your lungs at 500 m.p.h.!
Guide Health: The cutting edge of biologicals
These newest types of drugs are manufactured by living organisms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Drugs are usually chemical molecules that block or enhance some activity within the body, and most drugs can easily be absorbed through your gastrointestinal tract in order to have their effect within the intended system. However, the newest types of drugs are termed biologicals because they are manufactured by living organisms such as bacteria using […] Read more
Guide Health: For healthier hair, focus on overall health
Hair loss, or even a change in the “healthiness” of your hair should be checked by your doctor
Reading Time: 2 minutes You are born with all your hair follicles, about 100,000 on your scalp, and you are not able to gain any more. There are actually two types of hair on your body. Vellous hair is the fine soft hair that covers the majority of your body, including the longer courser terminal hair that grows on […] Read more
Guide Health: Your drugs and technology
There has been considerable change as to how medications are administered over the years
Reading Time: 2 minutes Technology seems to be everywhere these days, and your drugs are no exception. At one time drugs were dispensed as powders in powder papers. You would open up the folded paper, dump the powdered drug into a beverage, and then drink the beverage. Now there are tablets, capsules, liquids, and even suppositories, which are all […] Read more
Guide Health: Vital first aid for your first aid kit
Pre-packed first aid kits are convenient, but you should tailor them to your activities
Reading Time: 3 minutes Because most of us never really plan on needing them, it’s very easy not to think about that dusty box behind your workbench or the one tucked away in the trunk of your car. Giving your first aid kits just a bit of attention, however, can help make sure your kit does its job if […] Read more
Guide Health: Keeping your eyes in tip-top shape
You can't stop aging, but there are things you can do to keep your vision from premature deterioration
Reading Time: 2 minutes You only get one set of eyes, and you want to maintain their good health throughout your lifetime. As you age, your risk for macular degeneration, cataracts, and even glaucoma increases, and you may not even be aware of these until your vision changes. By then, it might be too late. The macula is a […] Read more
Guide Health: Antibiotic stewardship – it’s everyone’s job
As many as half of the 25 million prescriptions written for antibiotics in Canada each year are unnecessary
Reading Time: 2 minutes Antibiotic stewardship refers to a bundle of strategies to reduce antibiotic resistance. The aim of this stewardship effort is, yes, to treat infections effectively resulting in better health, but also to use the right antibiotic at the right time for the right infection, since this is a key measure for curbing future resistance. You may […] Read more
Guide Health: The pitfalls of sleep medication
Reading Time: 2 minutes Getting a good night’s sleep may be something you take for granted, or alternatively it may something with which you struggle. From time to time everyone experiences some degree of sleep problems with about 10 to 15 per cent of Canadians experiencing insomnia. Of those about half have chronic difficulty with sleep. Insomnia is simply […] Read more
Guide Health: Rushing to get to the bathroom
Don’t ignore incontinence. Often, there’s a cause that you can correct
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you rush to the bathroom, but don’t quite make it, you are not alone. About 3.3 million Canadians experience some degree of incontinence, although even this is only an estimate because many people don’t admit to incontinence or just accept it as a normal part of aging. The two most common types of incontinence […] Read more
Guide Health: Are probiotics as good as they claim?
While probiotics are mostly considered safe, some people may need to avoid them
Reading Time: 2 minutes Probiotics seem to be everywhere these days. You find them as capsules on store shelves and as ingredients in food products, and they’re even available through internet shopping. Probiotics are promoted for a wide variety of conditions, but the main use is “good intestinal health.” Your intestines contain more than 100 trillion (yes, trillion!) micro-organisms […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
