Why Profiling is Good for You

When you were a teen the most important number to know was your SAT score, then in your twenties it was your car's horsepower, and then when you were finally grown-up, it was the interest rate on your mortgage. But one of the most important numbers to know--the one that can save your life--are the numbers in your lipid profile.

A fasting lipoprotein profile is used to determine your total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride numbers. High cholesterol is a major risk for heart disease and knowing your numbers will help you know where you stand and what actions you should take.

September is National Educational Cholesterol Month and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) wants you to know your numbers and to know just what to do about it.

"Lifestyle is crucial for lowering cholesterol but it's not enough to tell
people it's important--you have to help them do it. This guide offers a set of
tools to help people get started and to embrace a heart-healthier way of
living," said the NHLBI's James Cleeman, M.D., coordinator of the National
Cholesterol Education Program.

Here are some simple steps you can take:

• Calculate your risk for heart disease
• Discuss your risk for heart disease with your health care provider
• Choose foods that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol
• Calculate your body mass index (BMI) and reduce weight if necessary
• Practice moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day (can be brokenn up into three, ten minute session)
• Don't smoke
  

In observance of National Educational Cholesterol Month join Healthline to learn all about heart disease and what your cholesterol numbers mean by reading High Blood Cholesterol—What You Need to Know. And use this guide to take aim at lowering your cholesterol.

TAGS: Cholesterol, Heart Disease, Healthline, Lipid Profile, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, Body Mass Index, Lipoprotein, NHLBI

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Nit Pickers Should Get Their Head Examined

Your child returns to school, everything is going fine, and then the note comes home from the school nurse. "Dear parent, the school nurse has determined that little Johnny has a small ecosystem growing in his hair and he is being excluded from school until every nit is nixed." In observance of Head Lice Prevention Month the National Pediculosis Association wants you to know that there are safe ways to control these pesky beasts.

The head lice note is probably the most embarrassing school-related communication a parent or child can receive, but it shouldn't be a scarlet letter. A louse is an equal opportunity parasitic insect that lives in areas where hair grows, sipping on blood from nearby blood vessels in the scalp. Some heads are more susceptible than others and cleanliness has nothing to do with it. Girls get it more than boys and women more than men. It is primarily a head-to-head transmission, but you can also catch it when you share personal items that belong to an infected person. They aren't a danger to anyone and they don't carry disease, but they can be more then a casual nuisance. They itch and can cause irritation and sometimes an infection can develop when the skin is broken.

There are over-the-counter and prescription treatments and a host of strategies to get the nits off the hair shaft.

Join Healthline in discovering how to prevent lice infestation or treat it once the kids (and some adults) drag them home.

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The Earth Is Flat and Psoriasis Is Contagious

What if every time you went to a public pool, or out on a date with a new friend, or played sports at school, you had to explain that the red, scaly patches of dry skin covering your body were not caused by some flesh-eating bacteria and certainly not contagious. That’s what many people with psoriasis have to endure. In observance of Psoriasis Awareness Month, the National Psoriasis Foundation wants dispel these and other myths about these skin lesions.

“Awareness is an important tool for helping people to understand what psoriasis is, why people get it, and the physical and emotional toll that the disease takes on a person,” says Gail M. Zimmerman, president and CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation. “Greater awareness will help to break down the myths and misperceptions about psoriasis.”

Psoriasis is not an infection of the skin, and not considered a rash, but a condition where certain immune cells signal the uncontrolled production of new skin cells. The disease has no cure but there are many effective treatments and lifestyle measure that can help control flare-ups. Still, the disease is always there and may also affect the joints (psoriatic arthritis) in some sufferers.

For some people, the lesions that that appear on the elbows, knees, scalp and torso are a minor nuisance, for others, it can be everywhere and affect every aspect of everyday life. In fact, the physical and mental toll of living with this disease is comparable to that seen in other diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, hyper­tension, heart disease, diabetes and depression.

Join Healthline in helping others learn that living with psoriasis is more than skin deep.

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A Cloudy Situation: Cataract Awareness Month

August is Cataract Awareness Month and The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Eye M.D.s around the nation want to remind people they don't have to live with cataracts. Over 20 million Americans age 40 and over have the condition, which causes a clouding of the eye's normally clear lens that blocks the passage of light needed for vision. They are not painful and changes in vision might be subtle at first—a frequently changing prescription, difficulty with night driving or sensitivity to glare, are clues that your vision problems might be caused by cataracts. Eventually though, the cataracts become thicker and thicker. Currently, there are no medications or exercises that will cause cataracts to disappear. If you seem to be managing just fine, you may want to forgo surgery, the only sure treatment, until symptoms interfere with everyday life. Still, cataracts do not need to become "ripe" to be removed.

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