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Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress.
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Question: What are the negative effects of smoking?Answer: Smokers have an increased risk of the following:Lung cancerLung diseaseHeart attackHeart diseaseHypertensionStrokeOral cancerBladder cancerPancreatic cancerCervical cancerPregnancy complic...
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When you smoke, toxins are carried by your blood to every organ in your body. At the same time, the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke keeps red blood cells from carrying as much oxygen as normal.
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Adolescent smoking has risen steadily throughout the 1990s, following a sharp decline in the 1970s that leveled off in the 1980s. A 1994 report by the office of the U.S.
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Right away, you may cough, wheeze, and have a sore throat—that's the tar clogging up your lungs. You may also have a headache, feel dizzy, and be nauseated—that's the nicotine in your brain. Over time, you risk lung and throat cancer, and lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis.
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Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress.
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Smoking during pregnancy reduces oxygen and blood flow to your baby. This may cause bleeding problems that can put your pregnancy at risk.
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Hear the facts about smoking from those who have been doing it for a few years. Find a smoker or two. Ask a few questions. See if their answers sound something like these.
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Ex-smokers' risk of heart disease may eventually approach that of a lifetime nonsmoker, but their risk of lung cancer is less likely to fade, even after long periods of time.
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Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke of burning tobacco that is used mostly in three forms: cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.Casual smoking is the act of smoking only occasionally, usually in a social situation or to relieve stress. A smoking habit...
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One of the major triggers for asthma attacks is cigarette smoke. Cigarette, pipe, or cigar smoke is especially harmful to people with asthma because it damages the cells in the lungs that make the protective coating lining the bronchial tubes.
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Life may seem out of control, but you're really making progress. You're going through withdrawal, which is how your body recovers from smoking.
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Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to keep your heart disease from getting worse. Smoking reduces oxygen flow to your heart, speeds plaque buildup, and increases your risk for heart attack.
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Detailed information on respiratory diseases and smoking, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer
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When you are trying to quit, the support of friends, coworkers and family members can make a big difference.
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Everybody knows smoking is bad for your health. Now here's something you may not know: Smoking is bad for your looks. It's true.
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The most common reasons include: "Smoking gives me more energy. I smoke to keep from slowing down. I reach for a cigarette when I need a lift. When I'm tired, smoking perks me up."
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Do you have healthy gums? You may kiss them goodbye if you're a smoker.
Do you have healthy gums? You may kiss them goodbye if you're a smoker, the American Dental Association (ADA) says.
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Detailed information on teens and smoking Diseases caused by smoking kill more than 437,900 people in the United States each year; around 35 percent of these deaths were cardiovascular related. Even with anti-smoking campaigns and medical disclaimers in place, many people continue to smoke or start smoking every year. According to the American Cancer Society, 90 percent of new smokers are children and teenagers, in many cases, replacing the smokers who quit or died prematurely from a smoking-related disease.
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Smoking damages your arteries, and it's thought that the damaged arteries in the discs and joints in your back may lead to pain and injury.
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For most people, the best way to quit smoking is some combination of medicine, a method to change personal habits and emotional support.
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Teens who smoke are more likely to quit if they can be convinced to participate in a cessation program that emphasizes the health risks of smoking, provides motivational encouragement and coping skills, and encourages a healthy overall lifestyle.
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Smoking is an important and preventable cause of death and illness. However, as more money has been spent on smoking cessation programs, the incidence of cigarette smoking has risen.
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Every day, nearly 6,000 teens and pre-teens try cigarettes for the first time, according to the American Lung Association. A third of these first-timers will end up becoming smokers.
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Among other things, keep a personal benefits log. Write down the benefits you experience from being smoke-free (for example, I can smell flowers again!) Write the specific occurrence, the date it first happened, and your reaction.
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A smoker's recovery plan includes listing those activities that you have chosen to help reduce the pressures of nicotine withdrawal and staying smoke-free.
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The personal motivation list will help you identify the benefits of quitting, for you, for your family, and for your friends.
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I know that smoking is very bad for me. I've cut down to one cigarette after lunch and another after dinner each day, with two or three more on most weekend nights when I socialize. I really enjoy smoking, but I want to know if I'm harming myself.
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When people consider the cost of smoking, they usually focus on the cost of the cigarettes alone. But that's only the first step.
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Stress is defined as an organism''s total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures.
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The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.Anxiety; Feeling uptight; Stress; Tension; Jitters; Apprehension.Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good-- it can ...
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Everyone feels stress from time to time. It's a fact of daily life. Stress has its upside, but too much of it can leave you feeling out of control. And chronic stress can have negative consequences on your health.
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In this report you'll learn about a multitude of techniques that can help reduce stress, including breath focus, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, massage, and more.
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Among psychologists and psychiatrists, stress refers to a psychological reaction within the person to events that generate strong emotion that cannot be easily regulated; for other social scientists, the term stress is used to describe a disturban...
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Sometimes no matter how hard and fast you work, you miss your deadline, adding to your physical and emotional stress.
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Knowing the causes of your stress will help you find ways to manage it.Things that cause stress (stressors) can be everyday events, major life changes, or a combination of things. They can be either happy or sad events. Knowing your stressors will help you find ways to manage your stress.
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Stress is defined as an organism''s total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures.
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Ways to manage stress: Get enough sleep, follow a healthy diet and make time for yourself.
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When you're faced with a highly stressful event in your life, the strategies outlined here will help you cope.
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Many people believe stress is all in the mind. But dealing with stressful situations can have physiological consequences.
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By consciously learning to be present and mindful, you can transform your inattention to attention and your stress into solutions.
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Some stress is inevitable, but as you grow older, the key is to minimize stress while maximizing happiness and enjoyment.
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Detailed information on women and managing stress Many women face difficult challenges and responsibilities that may overlap or conflict, causing stress that can affect their health. Stress can arise out of difficulties at home, in relationships, and in the workplace. Family "well-being" includes stable relationships, and family members' ability to fulfill essential roles in the home, child rearing values and practices, and the mental and physical health and development of every family member. Researchers are also trying to determine which workplace conditions influence employees' experiences of conflict between work and family roles; they are studying the effects of job stress on spouses and on marriage; and they are studying how parents' working conditions may affect their parenting and their children.
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If you take a healthy attitude toward stress in your travel plans, the payoffs include improved physical well-being, mental alertness and better job performance.
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Lower your risk: Control stress. When you're stressed, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure skyrockets. The next time you feel tension taking over, sit back and look at what's bothering you.
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Recent studies are changing our notion about why men develop impotence. While it was once believed that psychological problems were the main cause, we now understand that medical factors -- such as poor blood flow, nerve damage, and medication side effects -- play an important role in most cases of impotence.
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Yoga is one of the few stress-relief tools that has a positive effect on all the body systems involved.
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As a working parent, do you need some relief from the stress of managing a career and a family?
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Your wedding day can be one of the best days of your life, it can also be one of the most stressful.
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By understanding what is causing you stress, you may be able to make changes to help you feel more in control.
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New research shows that prolonged stress can accelerate the aging of body cells.
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A British study suggests a link between increased stress and a rise in cholesterol level, and a follow-up several years later showed the trend continued over time.
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Practicing deep, focused breathing is a relaxation technique that can help alleviate stress, which in turn will likely have positive effects on general health and well-being.
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Stress is an individual''s physical and mental reaction to environmental demands or pressures.When stress was first studied, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the wor...
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Over the course of evolution, the human mind and body have developed means of handling stressful situations. Over the short term, such stress response pathways are highly adaptive, allowing a person to manage his or her resources in order to navig...
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Stress is a term that refers to the sum of the physical, mental, and emotional strains or tensions on a person. Feelings of stress in humans result from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceedin...
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Women experience symptoms of stress 30 percent more often than men, research has shown.
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No one can avoid all stress -- and a certain amount actually is good for you. But it's always best to keep unhealthy levels in check when possible.
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Mental stress does more than diminish your sense of well-being. It also can increase your risk for heart disease.
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During stressful times, your body produces various chemicals, including cortisol, an immune-suppressing hormone. The more cortisol produced, the weaker your immune cells become and the more susceptible you are to illness.
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You're familiar with the symptoms of stress -- a pounding heart, increased perspiration, tight neck and shoulder muscles, anxiety and fear. But you may not know how to prevent or relieve these symptoms.
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The formula for success at work is not only hard work, but also frequent breaks for mental and physical rest.
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Here are suggestions on how to better deal with the stress in your life.We live in tense and stressful times.
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Whether your credit card balances are soaring, or you and your partner are arguing constantly over nickels and dimes, there are things you can do to relieve financial stress.
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The more you learn about the pressure times and triggers at your workplace, the better you'll be able to plan for them.
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No matter the source of your stress, it can produce physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can affect any part of the body.
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Stress is a powerful force for good and for ill. It can help us cope with life's challenges, but it can also affect our health by making pre-existing conditions worse or even bringing on new ones.
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To manage your stress, you must first learn to recognize when you are under stress. Every one reacts to stress differently; find out how you respond to stressful situations.
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Anything that brings on feelings of stress is called a stressor. Today, we often face many stressors.
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Stress tests are not recommended unless you experience chest pain or tightness during exercise or other activities that stress the heart.
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Guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology offer advice on protecting the heart during noncardiac surgery.
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Resilience is the ability to handle stressful events and remain mentally strong and healthy. The presence of a certain form of neurochemical may be one explanation for why some people are more resilient than others.
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In experiments on mice, suppressing a chemical linked to stress and appetite prevented the formation of abdominal fat cells, which could lead to new possibilities for weight loss drugs.
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What is the relationship between stress and infertility?
Joan Bengtson, M.D., is assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproduction at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
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My fingertips have recently started peeling. I have been under a considerable amount of stress lately. Could there be any correlation?
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A head injury is any trauma that leads to injury of the scalp, skull, or brain. The injuries can range from a minor bump on the skull to serious brain injury.Head injury is classified as either closed or open(penetrating).A closed head injury mean...
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Detailed information on head injury, including causes, symptoms, types, diagnosis, and treatment
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Head trauma can be fatal. The effects from some types of head trauma may not appear right away. So it's important to get medical attention for any head injury.
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Detailed information on head injury, including causes, symptoms, types, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on head injury, including causes, symptoms, types, diagnosis, and treatment
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Detailed information on superficial injuries to the face and head In the course of a child's day, minor injuries may occur during play and sports activities. The face and head are especially at risk for cuts, scrapes, and lacerations because:
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A strong blow to the head may cause swelling and bleeding inside the skull. The resulting pressure can injure the brain (concussion). If you have any doubts identifying a concussion, have a healthcare provider check the victim.
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My 4-month-old was hit in the head. It did not cause a big bruise, but then two hours after the incident he threw up twice. In this case should an infant be watched or taken to the emergency room?
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Children hit their heads frequently. Most of the time, the injury is minor, usually involving only the scalp, and nothing needs to be done. Sometimes, the injury is more serious, involving the skull and/or brain inside, and medical attention is required.
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Injury to the head may damage the scalp, skull or brain. The most important consequence of head trauma is traumatic brain injury.
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Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or contaminated needles.Syphilis has both acute and chronic forms that produce a wide variety of symptoms affecting most of the body''s orga...
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Syphilis is an easily spread infection caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum.Syphilis is an infectious disease. The bacteria that causes it spreads through broken skin or mucous membranes.
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A sexually transmitted disease that, if untreated, can cause permanent damage to the heart and central nervous system.Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease(STDs) caused by an organism called Treponema pallidum. The incidence of syphilis among...
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People don't talk as much about syphilis today as they did in the past. But people still become infected with syphilis, and it can cause very serious problems.
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Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or by exposure to contaminated needles.Syphilis has both acute and chronic forms that produce a wide variety of symptoms affecting most of ...
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Syphilis is an infectious systemic disease that may be either congenital or acquired through sexual contact or contaminated needles.Syphilis has both acute and chronic forms that produce a wide variety of symptoms affecting most of the body''s orga...
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Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear space, which lies behind the eardrum(tympanic membrane). It is characterized by pain, dizziness, and partial loss of hearing.A little knowledge of the basic anatomy of the middle ear will be helpful f...
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Detailed information on otitis media, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
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Detailed information on otitis media, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
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Detailed information on otitis media, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear, which is located behind the eardrum. There are two main types of otitis media.
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Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear space, behind the eardrum(tympanic membrane).A little knowledge of the basic anatomy of the middle ear will be helpful for understanding the development of otitis media. The external ear canal is that...
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For severe Meniere's that doesn't respond to other types of treatment, draining or removing part or all of the ear's balance canals may be recommended.
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Meniere's disease is a problem with the inner ear, the part of the ear responsible for balance as well as hearing. When you have Meniere's disease, too much endolymph (fluid) backs up in the canals, a condition called endolymphatic hydrops. Extra fluid causes pressure to build up, so the canals swell and can't work right. This leads to problems with the ear's hearing and balance systems.
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Detailed information on the common cold, including symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment
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Aspirin is a medication given to relieve pain and reduce fever. The name"aspirin" was originally a trademark, first used when the drug was introduced in Europe in 1899.
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People at risk for heart attack or stroke will likely benefit from taking low-dose daily aspirin, but for some there are greater risks (such as ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding) that outweigh aspirin's help.
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Aspirin is a medicine that relieves pain and reduces fever.Aspirin is used to relieve many kinds of minor aches and pains—headaches, toothaches, muscle pain, menstrual cramps, the joint pain from arthritis, and aches associated with colds an...
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Aspirin has been associated with increased likelihood of developing Reye''s syndrome when given to children with viral illness. Although Reye''s syndrome is a rare disease affecting the liver and central nervous system, alternate pain relievers are ...
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Aspirin can harm tooth dentin and enamel and should be chewed with caution.
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The benefits of aspirin for those at risk for heart disease are clear, but for women under 65 who are not at risk, there is no benefit to a daily aspirin. There is evidence that taking aspirin regularly may reduce the risk of stroke, regardless of age.
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Discusses the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer prevention and cites numerous studies on the protective value of NSAIDs and coxibs to a variety of cancers.
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The Women's Health Study, released in March 2005, provides surprising new information about the health benefits of aspirin for women.
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Aspirin is safe for some healthy women over age 65 to take to prevent stroke and heart attack, but probably not for most younger women.
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A study from Spain found that a low dose of aspirin at bedtime caused a decrease in blood pressure. The researchers are not certain how this occurred, so more study is needed.
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Key words adenoma aspirin colon precancerous polyps
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Aspirin helps inhibit platelets in the bloodstream during a heart attack. Chewed aspirin has been found to work the fastest.
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A Harvard Medical School doctor answers questions about aspirin, ibuprofen, and other common pain relievers.
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How coated aspirin compares to plain aspirin and the general efficacy of aspirin.
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The FDA recommends that people who take both aspirin for heart protection and ibuprofen for pain take the aspirin first, as ibuprofen can block aspirin's ability to prevent blood clots.
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A review of current guidelines for taking aspirin, for both men and women, in the wake of a recent large-scale study.
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I have ulcerative colitis and diabetes. My new doctor has been pushing aspirin therapy. My gastroenterologist feels that I should consider aspirin if and when there are signs that I would benefit from it and not to risk having problems with my colitis.
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In the wake of new research, doctors are reversing old advice to abstain from aspirin before surgery.
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The combination of aspirin and warfarin is prescribed to prevent clotting, but it does not have this effect in all heart disease patients, and can sometimes cause stomach bleeding.
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A new study suggests an aspirin before bed may lower blood pressure while protecting against heart attack and stroke.
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While abstaining from aspirin may improve senile purpura, it is not recommended for those who are worried about cardiovascular health.
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I am 78, and for about 10 years, I have been taking an 81-mg aspirin every morning with a glass of grapefruit juice. I heard that it's not a good idea to drink grapefruit juice with some blood-thinning drugs. Is that true of aspirin too?
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One of the longest-running clinical trials ever completed concludes that vitamin E and aspirin are not effective in heart disease or cancer prevention.
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Can aspirin and clopidogrel be prescribed together in a patient with coronary disease?
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Although there's no cure for arthritis, the symptoms can be treated effectively in many cases. Here's a look at some proven treatments.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress, medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally. It is the body''s way of signaling its need for rest and sleep.
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Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.Fatigue is different from drowsiness. In general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, while fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation.
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Boosting Your Energy provides information on the causes and treatments of persistent fatigue. Includes information on aging and energy, eating for energy, and boosting your energy.
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
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If you regularly feel weary after waking from a good night's sleep or for no apparent reason, it's time to find out why.
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If the fatigue is related to a decrease in hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, then replacing the red blood cells by transfusion or taking erythropoietin can help reduce fatigue. If the fatigue is not related to this, then it is important that the person with cancer learn ways to conserve energy. Energy is like money, and people only have a limited amount of it. Think carefully about how to spend it. What activities are most important? What activities help restore energy? These are the activities that people with cancer should spend their energy on. They need to ask for help to do the rest of the activities.
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress, medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.Everyone experiences fatigue occasionally. It is the body''s way of signaling its need for rest and sleep.
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Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to...
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If the person on chemotherapy has decreased hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, and it seems like the low hemoglobin level will last for a while, then a medicine called PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) may be prescribed. This medicine is given as an injection to keep the hemoglobin at a higher level. This can sometimes manage fatigue. PROCRIT is for anemic chemotherapy patients with most types of cancer.
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We currently understand some of the causes of fatigue but not all of them. Fatigue may be related to physical changes caused by cancer or its treatment (chemotherapy, biotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery). It is reported that the fatigue people get when receiving cancer treatment is more severe than the fatigue healthy people get. In addition, this fatigue lasts longer and is not relieved by sleep. Studies have shown that low hemoglobin is also related to fatigue. Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood, so if it is low, the body cells do not get as much oxygen as they need. Also, people who are not well nourished, who don't drink enough fluid and are dehydrated, or who are not able to move around much tend to have fatigue more easily. Finally, the way a person handles stress, thinks, or behaves can influence fatigue.
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Fatigue is a vague feeling of being tired, weak, or exhausted. It is often a symptom of cancer, when cancer is first diagnosed, or when cancer progresses (Ferrell et al, 1996). It is also the most common side effect of cancer treatment. Some people with cancer have described fatigue as being "tired to the bones” or "hitting a wall.” Others say it is the most distressing side effect of cancer treatment. Fatigue is different for everyone, so it is important that the person who is experiencing it describe how he or she feels. Fatigue may cause decreased ability to work or do physical activity. If the person with cancer is easily distracted and unable to concentrate on mental work or activity, then he or she may have attentional fatigue (Winningham and Barton-Burke, 2000). Depending upon its cause, fatigue can come and go or stay constant for a while. Fatigue from chemotherapy tends to occur a few days after the treatment, peaks, and then gets better before the next treatment. Fatigue from radiation doesn't happen right away. It develops over the first two to three weeks of treatment and then increases as the treatment continues. It may last three months or more after the treatment is finished. Attentional fatigue can last up until two or three years after treatment is completed.
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Fatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can be caused by worry, lack of sleep, and poor appetite. Fatigue can also be a sign of anemia (a shortage of red blood cells). This could require medical treatment. The tips below can help you feel better.
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Many people experience late-in-the-day energy lags, but you can take steps to prevent them.
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