Reading Time: 2 minutes Colon cancer represents 12 per cent of all cancers, but with early detection the five-year survival rate is 90 per cent. Obviously, early detection is so very important, which brings us to colonoscopies. The Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care recommends a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every two years between ages 50 and […] Read more
Guide Health: Colonoscopies – A really good thing!
The process may be unpleasant, but they're essential for early detection of colon cancer
Guide Health: Are you carrying too many pounds?
Even losing five pounds will make you healthier
Reading Time: 2 minutes Obesity is getting more and more common. Today, about 26 per cent of Canadians are considered obese and 36 per cent overweight. And not only are more of us tipping the scales, but the number of extra pounds we’re carrying is growing too. And there’s an extra worry as well. Children seem to be part […] Read more
Guide Health: Antipsychotic drugs and dementia
Drugs may ease the anxiety and aggression, but they introduce other risks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dementia is a progressive irreversible decline in both cognitive and functional abilities. About seven per cent of Canadians have a diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is no cure. It is thought that tangles of proteins known as tau particles and plaques of misshaped amyloid beta proteins impair the brain’s ability to function. Nerve messages are not able […] Read more
Guide Health: A non-prescription drug – Good for the bowel?
A change to non-prescription status can make it easier for people to self-treat minor ailments
Reading Time: 3 minutes Prescription drugs sometimes change their status so you no longer need a prescription to purchase them. Instead you can buy them over the counter for self treatment. Drug companies apply to Health Canada for this type of change in scheduling. To get it, they must show that their drug product is safe to use according […] Read more
Guide Health: All inhalers are not equal
Inhalers are great tools for delivering your medication just where it’s needed, but they must be used correctly, which too few people do
Reading Time: 2 minutes It makes sense that inhalers are used to control the symptoms of asthma, bronchitis and emphysema because inhalers deliver their medication right into the lungs where the breathing problems occur. Inhaled medication has long been used to alleviate various lung conditions, but the first actual inhaler was introduced in 1982. It was the familiar blue […] Read more
Guide Health: Diabetes drugs aren’t just for diabetes any more
This new class of diabetes drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors may boost your heart health as well
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the newer classes of diabetes drugs seem to be advertised for not just diabetes, but cardiovascular health as well, and indeed research has shown this to be valid. The class is the SGLT-2 inhibitors, that is Sodium GLucose coTransporter-2 inhibitors. They act by inhibiting this transport protein in order to prevent glucose re-absorption […] Read more
Guide Health: A little dab will do you
A little can go a long way when it comes to topical medications
Reading Time: 3 minutes The saying “a little dab will do you” really is true when it comes to applying creams and ointments to your skin. These creams are termed topical agents because they are applied directly to your skin where they act. At any one time, it is estimated that 75 per cent of Canadians are using a […] Read more
Guide Health: Coping with dry skin
Good skin care habits and a moisturizer will help, but keep these tips in mind
Reading Time: 3 minutes Dry skin, or xeroderma as it is medically known, is estimated to affect 70 per cent of Canadians in the winter months. Probably, the real number is even higher, especially when winters are as cold and dry as this winter has been in so much of Canada. Xeroderma is rough scaly skin that is flaky […] Read more
Guide Health: Vertigo — a moving experience of dizziness
Nearly 1.5 million Canadians have been diagnosed with vertigo
Reading Time: 3 minutes Balance depends upon co-ordination between the nervous system and the senses. It’s a complex interaction. Eyesight provides input about the surroundings. Skin, muscles and joints tell us about the body’s position and our orientation in space, and the inner ear’s vestibular system tells us about equilibrium, spatial position and rotation or linear movement. When the […] Read more
Guide Health: Menopause and hot flashes
Keeping fit and watching your weight can curb menopause symptoms, but three-quarters of women will still get hot flashes
Reading Time: 2 minutes While menopause affects all women, its symptoms and timing vary greatly. With age there is a cessation of ovarian function, but it is not a sudden stop. Rather it is a waning over an average of two to 10 years. Menopause occurs anywhere from age 40 to 60 with the average age of 51. (Obviously […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
