Reading Time: 2 minutes Cold sores, technically knows as herpes labialis, are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1. (Note: it is herpes simplex virus type 2 that is responsible for genital herpes infections). Across Canada, 90 per cent of us are exposed to herpes infection by the time we reach adulthood, although only 20 to 40 per cent […] Read more
Guide Health: Cold sores — why don’t they just go away?
Early treatment will give you better control
Guide Health: Taking care of your teeth is always a good idea
Some people have an increased risk for poor dental health. Are you one of them?
Reading Time: 3 minutes The saying is that everyone takes their teeth for granted unless they have a cavity. This underscores a very real problem. It is too easy to think that dental care is only useful for preventing tooth pain. Instead, it boosts our overall health too. Between one- and two-thirds of Canadians have had a cavity or […] Read more
Guide Health: Drugs for your brain’s health
Reading Time: 2 minutes Everyone worries about memory loss, but keep in mind that losing keys is not memory loss. Everyone misplaces their keys sometimes! The Alzheimer’s Society’s 2020 numbers have 569,600 Canadians living with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and almost two-thirds are women, but women live longer than men and Alzheimer’s disease is a disease of older […] Read more
Guide Health: Travelling with medication
Take a copy of your prescriptions. This will help at the border, and also if your medications get lost
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the past several years, no one has been travelling, but now that it seems safer to do so, many people are visiting friends and relatives or just vacationing away from home. For anyone who takes medication regularly, passing through security at airports or even answering border security agents’ questions at a land crossing can […] Read more
Guide Health: Drug shortages
A multiple of factors can lead to a shortage in medications
Reading Time: 3 minutes The news these days often brings us reports of drug shortages, but sometimes we don’t hear about them until we’re at the pharmacy counter, expecting to pick up our prescription. At one time drug shortages were uncommon, but we should keep in mind that, historically, there were fewer drugs than we have today, as well […] Read more
Guide Health: Why so many drugs after a heart attack?
Most people take five or six medications after a heart attack
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to Health Canada, heart attacks or myocardial infarcts occur in about 2.3 people per 1,000 Canadians, and many more may have other heart or cardiovascular conditions. “Myo-” means muscle and “cardial” refers to the heart, while “infarct” refers to a lack of oxygen that results in the death of tissue. Thus a myocardial infarct […] 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: Benzodiazepines and your health
These medications can be helpful, but they should only be used for a short period of time
Reading Time: 2 minutes Discovered in the 1930s and with the first agent, chlordiazepoxide, marketed in the 1950s, benzodiazepines have been part of drug therapy for decades. Until benzodiazepines were introduced, barbiturates were the drugs used to treat anxiety and sleeplessness. But barbiturates were a worry with their narrow therapeutic margin (that is, their small or narrow difference between […] Read more
Guide Health: Drugs and pregnancy: To take or not to take?
List any medications you are taking and discuss with your doctor prior to conception
Reading Time: 2 minutes For pregnant women, taking drugs can be a real concern. They may need the drug to control or treat a condition, but there can be a balancing act between their health and their baby’s safety. It is estimated that two to three per cent of babies are born with birth defects which can range from […] Read more
Guide Health: Reducing your risk of hearing loss
Hearing loss does increase with age, but that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. These steps can help provide lifelong hearing protection
Reading Time: 3 minutes The number of times you say “Pardon me” may be the only sign you have that your hearing has gradually lessened. It happens with age, but even so, it’s important to recognize there are steps you can take to reduce your risk and to maximize your hearing. About 10 per cent of all Canadians have […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
