A cough that lasts for more than three weeks is considered chronic, which includes about half of all cases.

Guide Health: That dry, hacking cough

No wonder they hurt… coughs can eject air from your lungs at 500 m.p.h.!

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

worried man

Beating burnout

No one is immune, so it’s smart to know if you’re showing these symptoms of burnout. For most of us, it’s the best way to avoid the trap

Reading Time: 5 minutes Do you feel exhausted no matter how much sleep you get? Do you feel mentally drained, or do you lack energy or feel like you’re not really accomplishing anything? All of these symptoms can point to burnout, says Dr. Arla Day, a professor in occupational health at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. If this sounds […] Read more


Close up saline IV drip for patient and Infusion pump in hospital

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

Cheryl and Nigel Gordijk, organizers of the Wilmot Terry Fox Run.

It takes a community

A new generation of volunteer projects and fundraisers are succeeding by reaching out to the countryside

Reading Time: 5 minutes In a time when many volunteer-driven events are struggling, a Terry Fox Run in Wilmot Township near Kitchener, Ont., has increased the money it raises in support of cancer research by more than tenfold in the past five years. Community involvement has been the key to this growth, says event co-organizer Nigel Gordijk. For the […] Read more


Back view of beautiful young woman in white undershirt combing her hair and smiling while looking into the mirror in bathroom

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

Young couple holding hands in the wheat field on sunny summer day.

Rebalancing the workload

Unfair division of labour takes its toll on farm couples

Reading Time: 5 minutes Even though more than 80 per cent of women now work outside the home, the bulk of child care and household chores still fall to women. The most recent stats show that women are doing twice as much child care and one-and-a-half times as much housework as men. Is it really so different on the […] Read more


Hand going through the field

Down on the farm

Farming is a mental health challenge. It isn’t your fault. The numbers prove it. So maybe this is the right moment to talk about whether you’re one of the many who would benefit from some help

Reading Time: 7 minutes Every farmer knows that the sun can’t always shine. That the rain sometimes comes too early, too late, too hard, or not at all. That markets can fall, costs can jump, crops can fail, and even the best thought-through decisions can prove painfully, expensively, brutally wrong. It isn’t easy being a farmer. No matter how […] Read more

Close-up of the automatic capsule package production line.

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


Thriving in nature’s landscape

Thriving in nature’s landscape

As they approach their retirement years, more farmers are reaping the benefits of working to enhance nature

Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers are intimately connected to the land. Intuitively, they have always known that if they take care of the land, the land will take care of them, but life for young farm families is busy, and with the pressures of mortgages to pay and children to raise, environmental stewardship isn’t always as front and centre […] Read more

emergency for an accident

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