Posted by
Anni
on
Friday, March 30th, 2012
Image source: Healthyfellow.com
After yesterday’s article on flu season, I started thinking about how strange it is that we have to protect ourselves from invisible dangers. We all know viruses exist (and I don’t mean the electronic kind). I think we can consider two hundred years of science 100% conclusive. Today, we have some good strategies for preventing infection. We wash our hands, stay home with a fever, cover our mouths when we sneeze, and get vaccinated. We know these strategies work. Infectious diseases are held at bay in populations with good hygiene and sensible action-plans during outbreaks. Still, it astounds me how comfortable we have become with the invisible dangers that surround us.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Thursday, March 29th, 2012
Image source: Science.nationalgeographic.com
Fortunately, with the warm winter, it’s been a slow year for the flu. The flu is a terrifying beast. When I was in third grade my entire soccer team got it, except for me. I was out with a broken toe and even though the reason I didn’t get sick was obvious (I wasn’t exposed) I felt somehow superhuman, like I had a flu force-field. Then I learned about the Spanish Flu in school and my superpowers dissolved in terror. It was a cruel thing to teach such a young child. I became incredibly fearful of getting sick. The 1918 pandemic killed 50 million people! About 20%-40% of the world’s population got sick and 675,000 people died in the United States alone. What is perhaps most frightening about the pandemic is our lack of understanding. We still don’t know why it targeted healthy adults from 20-50 years of age. This is very unusual for the flu. Typically the very young and very old are most at risk.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Image source: Drrichardruderman.com
Taking care of one’s teeth is a thankless task. Day in and day out we’re expected to brush, floss, use mouthwash, and avoid the tastiest treats to protect our teeth. As kids we’re taught to incorporate it into our daily routine. And yet, for those of us with a genetic predisposition, mouth-drying medications, or anxiety-related acidity, our teeth still decay. My teeth are in decent shape. I have a few problem areas that my dentist wants to watch, but I’ve only ever had one cavity. Still, as I get older, I notice my teeth changing, and not for the better. They’re scragglier than they once were—a chip here, some yellowing there—and they’re wearing down from all the grinding I do in my sleep. I know I will probably get gingivitis some day. I’m not looking forward to that day.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Image source: Cigarettesflavours.com
I’m not too proud to admit it: I used to be a smoker. It started after high school. All my friends were doing it and I thought, “I’ll just do it sometimes, I won’t get addicted.” These are the famous last thoughts of smokers everywhere… right before they find themselves standing in line at the pharmacy, about to buy a pack of Marlboro reds. I remember my first cigarette: heavy, metallic, and disgusting. It made me feel like my head was floating. I felt nauseous. But, because of my friends and their wicked ways, I persevered. Back then it was easier to be a smoker: you could smoke anywhere! Pretty soon, I was addicted, and that addiction was no joke. Cigarettes take hold and they don’t let go.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Monday, March 26th, 2012
Image source: Absolutely.net
When I was a young woman, in my early twenties, I couldn’t understand all this talk about women losing their libidos. I was in the bloom of youth with the self-centeredness and raging hormones of a college co-ed. Sex was constantly on my mind, and if it was on my mind it must be on everybody’s. Of course, as I got older and my burning desire began to cool, I realized how much I’d taken it for granted. It’s not easy to feel like you’ve lost your moxie. I didn’t lose it all together but, like most women, my focus shifted to other things. If only we could all be like Kim Cattrall!
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Posted by
Anni
on
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Image source: Emlab.com
I’ve never experienced anything quite so painful as a raging urinary tract infection. I know it may not be the most delicate of topics—bacteria in one’s urinary tract rarely is—but for anyone who has woken up in the night with a burning, aching, desperate need to pee, it’s a topic that needs discussing. The worst part isn’t the pain or even the urge to go to the bathroom. It’s the inability to go once you get there.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
Image source: Healthcare9.com
Oh flakes, how you challenge me! I’ve suffered from dry skin since I was a baby. I used to get these red rouge-like circles of dryness on my cheeks that made me look like a creepy clown doll. It really messed with my self-esteem in elementary school. My chapped cheeks led to chapped arms and feet, especially in the winter when I could barely stand to bathe. If I got water on my skin, my skin itched. I feel so bad for my poor mother. She spent a fortune on dry skin cures: humidifiers, oatmeal bath elixirs, moisturizers from France, dermatologists, and wheat-free foodstuffs. Apparently, some people with wheat allergies have dry skin. I’m not one of those people.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Image source: Diabetesandrelatedhealthissues.com
Diabetes is a terrifying disease because none of us is safe. There are plenty of things we can do to prevent onset of the disease (assuming we’re talking about type 2) but once we have it, its effects are overarching and devastating. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have hypoglycemia, a risk factor for developing diabetes. I’m not the most careful person in the world—I enjoy fatty foods, don’t always exercise as much as I should, and have a serious sweet tooth—but if I ever start developing diabetes, my ways will change. There’s nothing like developing a chronic and life-threatening illness to scare a girl straight.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
Image source: Flickr.com
We all know that stress affects our bodies and minds in negative ways. It increases blood pressure, strains the heart, contributes to diabetes and affects our sleep. Stress is one of the most ubiquitous and damaging entities in our lives and yet, we’re not very good at managing it. My doctor always tells me to reduce stress. When he tells me that it stresses me out. Most of the stressors I experience on a daily basis are out of my control. I can’t stop someone from cutting me off in traffic. I can’t help it that my mother-in-law is coming for Christmas. I can’t avoid waiting in lines or worrying about a job interview or getting older.
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Posted by
Anni
on
Monday, March 19th, 2012
Image source: Instructables.com
The tastiest foods—those tempting treats that pop up in daydreams just before your lunch break—are always the worst for you. At least that’s true for me. My daydreams feature french fries drowned in gravy and cheese, fried chicken, eggs and bacon, cheeseburgers, and ice cream. Of course, each of these delectable foods is included on the Do Not Eat List, that party pooper of a rattle-off my doctor delivers at minute five of each and every appointment.
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