Reading Time: 2 minutes A nosebleed can be both bothersome and alarming, even if you don’t know its technical name is epistaxis. Most people have at least one nosebleed between the ages of three and 30. Children younger than three usually do not have nosebleeds because they do not often experience nasal damage, and older people may have nosebleeds […] Read more
Guide Health: When does a bloody nose become worrisome?
Trauma to the nose is usually the cause, but certain medications can also make nosebleeds more easily occur
Guide Health: Watch your balance while on sleep medications
Benzodiazepines used for sleeplessness and anxiety can make you prone to falling
Reading Time: 3 minutes Benzodiazepines are a large group of drugs that work through the nervous system to reduce anxiety and alleviate sleeplessness. Common members include diazepam, oxazepam, lorazepam, temazepam and alzprazolam. First discovered in the 1950s, they were observed to have “taming” effects on several animal species, with the effects in monkeys leading to clinical trials in humans. […] Read more
Guide Health: Helping the medicine go down
Trouble swallowing that pill or capsule? Here's a few tips that may make it easier
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lack of medication adherence (that is, taking your medication as you should) is called “the other drug problem.” It’s thought that one in four people fail to take their prescribed medication, with half doing so because they struggle with compliance to their medication regime. Some don’t take their prescriptions because of drug side-effects. Others may […] Read more
Make your health a priority
Guide Thrive 2015: It’s easy to manage your health so you can better manage your farm. Here’s how to get started
Reading Time: 4 minutes Often farmers overlook the first requirement for successful farming — good health. It’s too important to take it for granted. And it’s also at risk. Farmers, their families and their employees work amid myriad occupational hazards, points out Kendra Ulmer, a registered nurse with the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture at the […] Read more
Guide Health: Smart use of antibiotics
Guide Health: Use your prescription as intended so it's fully effective
Reading Time: 3 minutes With the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928, people were able to effectively treat diseases that once killed them. While this marked the birth of modern antibiotics, the actual use of a substance derived from one living organism (i.e. mould on bread) to kill another living organism (i.e. a bacterial infection) is considerably […] Read more
Guide Health: When do you know it’s a migraine headache?
Understanding the difference is the first step in approaching the problem with proper treatment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Migraines affect eight per cent of Canadians, but that estimate may be low because people don’t necessarily report them. They may just wait out the headache or they may self-treat with a non-prescription pain reliever, believing that nothing can really be done for their migraine. Headache itself is a common complaint, and sometimes it is a […] Read more
Guide Health: Causes of gout, and what you can do to avoid it
Guide Health: The condition is not limited to the rich and famous
Reading Time: 3 minutes You probably think you need to be royalty like King Henry VIII of England to have gout. Not so! About two per cent of Canadians have gout, and even that number may be under-reported because gout is often mistaken for other types of joint pain, leading many people to just treat it themselves with a pain […] Read more
Guide Health: Warts – more than skin deep
Applying tree sap under a full moon may not work, but what about duct tape?
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’ve ever had a wart, you will know that they are embarrassing and inconvenient, but not usually harmful. All warts are caused by viruses, specifically the human papillomaviruses. There are many different strains, and because these viruses are easily transmitted from person to person, childhood warts are a common result from contact when children […] Read more
Guide Health: A short history of blood thinners
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you or anyone you know takes warfarin, you may feel that you are being treated like a rat, but not so! Warfarin reduces blood clotting and it also prevents thromboembolism or blood clots. As well, it reduces the risk for conditions such as strokes caused by atrial fibrillation. It does the same, but is […] Read more
Guide Health: Digestion 101
Reading Time: 3 minutes Digestion occurs automatically, so you probably don’t even think about it unless you are bothered by a complaint like indigestion. Coping with digestive complaints, however, is a multimillion-dollar business, and the products available are numerous. Your digestive tract begins at your mouth and ends at the other end with your rectum. It is responsible for […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
