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2011 | Health Eagle - Part 5
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Archives for 2011

Flu Update – November

by Lori Sciame November 14th, 2011 | Diseases
Current information supplied by Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) contends that flu activity was low across the United States in the week ending October 29th. More specifically, the FluView Report provides the following update:

“No states reported widespread, regional or local influenza activity. Sporadic influenza activity was reported by 19 states (an increase from 18 states last week), the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Thirty-one states (a decrease from 32 states last week), Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported no influenza activity.”

Citizens need to know that even though there is little flu activity right now across the nation,
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Weight Loss Surgery

by Dean Heller MD November 11th, 2011 | Ask the Doctor
I have lost over 300 pounds over the past 7 years, and unfortunately I have gained 285 pounds back over the same time period. I just keep on losing and then gaining back. I have tried everything, and now I am considering a surgical procedure. Are they safe?

This is a very common scenario, with a yo-yo of weight loss, followed by gaining all of the weight back. If you are over 100 lbs. over your ideal body weight, then you may be a candidate for weight loss surgery. There have been constant improvements in how weight loss surgery is performed.
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Reye’s Syndrome

by Tom Seman MD FAAP November 10th, 2011 | Pediatrician on Call
I have heard that giving aspirin to children causes Reye’s Syndrome. Is this true?

Reye's Syndrome is a constellation of symptoms that occurs when a child under the age of 16 years-old takes aspirin containing medications while ill with influenza, influenza-like diseases, and varicella (chicken pox). The association of aspirin and viral illnesses was discovered in the 1970's. In 1974, there were 400 cases with upwards of 40% mortality. There are 5 severity grades categorizing the syndrome, helping doctors determine what sort of prognosis the child has for recovery. Signs and symptoms include a child with a viral illness with a
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Danger Ahead: Prescription Pain Killers

by Lori Sciame November 7th, 2011 | Health News
A new danger threatens Americans – death by overdose of prescription pain killers. Information supplied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) web resource, Vital Signs, states that “deaths from prescription painkillers have reached epidemic levels in the past decade. The number of overdose deaths is now greater than those of deaths from heroin and cocaine combined.”

Why is this happening? First, pain medications have become more available to the general public. As compared to 1999, there were 4 times as many prescription drugs supplied to medical providers in 2010. In addition, patients have begun to shop around for doctors
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Suicide Prevention in College

by Mackenzie M. November 3rd, 2011 | Mental Health
Earlier this week I found myself reading a shocking article in the Mental Health section of the MSNBC website. The title, “Half of college students consider suicide,” was both striking and terrifying.

As a college student myself, the facts presented in the article really hit home for me. I have written about anxiety and stress in college before, so in this article I will focus on things to look for in friends that could be warning signs of suicidal thoughts, and some resources to use for more information on the issue.

Although the article is from 2008, the facts ring true
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All health and medical information is provided for educational purposes and is not meant to replace the medical advice or treatment of your healthcare professional.