Managing Your Health

In the winter months, I wash my hands regularly and use a squirt of hand sanitizer from time to time in an effort to ward off colds. It may be a good health habit, but it also pretty much guarantees that I'm plagued by dry, cracked skin and tiny cuts around my fingers until spring. Dry skin in the winter months is common, partly because people ramp up their hand washing, but the combination of cold air and the lack of humidity also plays a role. Your skin spends the winter months fighting to retain moisture, not to mention fending off other insults from cold-weather staples like scratchy wool clothes and crackling wood fires. How can your skin survive the season? We asked Dr. Barbara Gilchrest, senior lecturer on dermatology, to weigh in with her best tips to help you protect your skin from winter dryness. 1. What's the most common winter skin problem? For most people, it's dry skin and itching, says Dr. Gilchrest. You can blame cold air and low humidity for strip...

Most of us know that strength training (with free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands) can help build and maintain muscle mass and strength. What many of us don't know is that strong muscles lead to strong bones. And strong bones can help minimize the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis. A combination of age-related changes, inactivity, and inadequate nutrition conspire to gradually steal bone mass, at the rate of 1% per year after age 40. As bones grow more fragile and susceptible to fracture, they are more likely to break after even a minor fall or a far less obvious stress, such as bending over to a tie a shoelace. Osteoporosis should be a concern for all of us. An estimated eight million women and two million men in the United States have osteoporosis. It is now responsible for more than two million fractures each year, and experts expect that number will rise. Hip fractures are usually the most serious. Six out of 10 people who break a hip never fully regain...

Even if you can't, you can still substantially reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke through lifestyle changes and certain medications. In your 20s, maybe you sometimes chose fast-food burgers and fries over healthier foods. Perhaps in the decades that followed you pursued a series of fad diets, questionable lifestyle choices, and too many days when you skipped your workout in favor of the couch. You're now repenting for the sins of the past, but the question is, can you undo the damage? Can you unclog clogged arteries (otherwise known as atherosclerosis) and reduce your risk of heart disease in the process? The answer is a little complicated, says Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, professor of medicine. "Some studies suggest that regression of atherosclerosis is possible," she says. These include studies that looked at the effects of diet as well as intensive lifestyle modifications and use of medications. While this may give you a glimmer of hope that you can rev...

There is a lot you can do to lower your chances of having a stroke. Even if you've already had a stroke or TiA ("mini-stroke"), you can take steps to prevent another. Controlling your weight is an important way to lower stroke risk. Excess pounds strain the entire circulatory system and can lead to other health conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obstructive sleep apnea. But losing as little as 5% to 10% of your starting weight can lower your blood pressure and other stroke risk factors. Of course, you'll need to keep the weight off for good, not just while you're on a diet. The tips below can help you shed pounds and keep them off. Move more. Exercise is one obvious way to burn off calorie. But another approach is to increase your everyday activity wherever you can - walking, fidgeting, pacing while on the phone, taking stairs instead of the elevator. Skip the sipped calories. Sodas, lattes, sports drinks, energy...

What's good for the mind also tends to be good for the heart. The mind-calming practice of meditation may play a role in reducing your risk of heart disease, according to a scientific statement published in the Sept. 28, 2017, Journal of the American Heart Association. Experts reviewed dozens of studies published over the past two decades and found that meditation may improve a host of factors linked with heart disease - making it worth including in an overall program for ongoing heart care. "Not only can meditation improve how your heart functions, but a regular practice can enhance your outlook on life and motivate you to maintain many heart-healthy behaviors, like following a proper diet, getting adequate sleep, and keeping up regular exercise," says Dr. John Denniger, director of research. Moving mediations Sitting and being still isn't the only way to practice meditation. Mind-body activities like yoga and tai chi are similar to meditation in that t...

Have you ever topped off your glass of cabernet or pinot noir while saying, "Hey, it's good for my heart, right?" This widely held impression dates back to a catchphrase coined in the late 1980s: the French Paradox. The French Paradox refers to the notion that drinking wine may explain the relatively low rates of heart disease among the French, despite their fondness for cheese and other rich, fatty foods. This theory helped spur the discovery of a host of beneficial plant compounds known as polyphenals. Found in red and purple grape skins (as well as many other fruits, vegetables, and nuts), polyphenols theoretically explain wine's heart-protecting properties.  Another argument stems from the fact that the Mediterrean diet, an eating pattern shown to ward off heart attacks and strokes, features red wine. However, the evidence that drinking red wine in particular (or alcohol in general, for that matter) can help you avoid heart disease is pretty weak, says Dr. Kenne...

We are reeling from news of the school shooting shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead and 14 injured. A 19-year-old former student has confessed to the shooting. He used a semiautomatic weapon that he purchased legally a year ago. Five years ago, when a gunman opened fire with a similar weapon at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newton, Connecticut, killing first-graders and teachers, there was an uproar: we must stop this from happening, we said. We must do something. But we didn't. And since the shooting at Sandy Hook, there have been at least 239 school shootings, with more than 400 people shot and 138 killed. And those are just school shootings; many more have been killed in other shootings, such as the shooting in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 that killed 58 people. For many reasons, as a country we have struggled to take actions that limit access to guns. We take the Second Amendment very serious: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a...

It's easy to eat your way to an alarmingly high cholesterol level. And the reverse is true too - changing what you eat can lower your cholesterol and improve the composition of the armada of fats floating through your bloodstream. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and "good fats" are all part of a heart-healthy diet. But some foods are particularly good at helping bring down cholesterol. How? Some cholesterol-lowering foods deliver a good dose of soluble fiber, which binds cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation. Others provide polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. And those with plant sterols and stanols keep the body from absorbing cholesterol. Here are 5 of those foods: 1. Oats. An easy way to start lowering cholesterol is to choose oatmeal or an oat-based cold cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble f...

Hip and knee pain can keep you from the activities you love, as well as make routine tasks difficult. But there are many ways to get you moving again pain-free, without surgery. Here are some of the treatments that can help. Ultrasound, phonophoresis, and iontophoresis Therapeutic ultrasound is a simple procedure that uses sound waves to increase blood flow, relax muscle spasms, and aid healing. The therapist applies get to your skin and moves an ultrasound wand over your skin around the painful area. In a special ultrasound technique called phonophoresis, medication (often hydrocortisone) is added to the gel. In a survey of orthopedic physical therapists, more than half said they would use ultrasound and phonophoresis to reduce soft-tissue inflammation (in tendinitis or bursitis, for example). These techniques are also used to manage pain, heal tissue, and help muscles stretch. Iontophoresis uses electrical currents to speed the delivery of medication to damaged tissue, or si...

The first line of treatment for many knee and hip problems includes taking over-the-counter pain relievers. Acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen are are the most common options. However, these medications have a variety of side effects, so it's important to discuss your personal health risk with your doctor when considering long-term use for chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis. Acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands) is usually effective for mild pain and is easy on the stomach. However, it is toxic to the liver at high doses. The recommended maximum per day is generally set at 4 grams (4,000 milligrams), which is the equivalent of eight extra-strength Tylenol tablets. But that dosage can still cause liver problems for some people. To be safe, aim for 3,000 milligrams or less, and be cautious of mixing multiple products containing acetaminophen, such as a pain reliever and a cold medication or a prescribed nar...

I got a new doctor last year and at my first exam, he asked the standard, "What do you like to do for fun?" I laughed at him. I said that I have a 6-year-old and 3-year-old, mumbled something about poker games, and then my answer stopped. I'm not complaining, at least not much. I like my family and they require time. I don't mind giving it, though I also work at home, a personal choice that comes with great benefits. But I can't  completely disappear, so sometimes, it just feels like an unending amount of time. My friends and older kids try to supportive, saying that my wife, Jenny, and I are in the deepest part of the hole and it will soon get better, but they said that last year, and maybe the year before - I don't really remember. I know that I should squeeze in something like listening to music, reading, or doing nothing. It just never tops the priority list. I feel guilty spending time or money on anything that isn't family-related. Jenny feels...