Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or chronic diseases are a group of conditions that are not passed from person to person, progress slowly and are mainly of a long duration. NCDs include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, chronic lower...
HIV stigma is negative attitudes and beliefs about people with HIV. It is the prejudice that comes with labelling an individual as being part of a group that is believed to be socially unacceptable. While stigma refers to an attitude or belief,...
An estimated 300,000 Jamaicans, or about 10 to 12 per cent of the population, suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD), with many more not knowing that they have the illness. Nephrologist Dr Arillon Chrysostom wants more Jamaicans to practise a...
A healthy weight sets the stage for bones, muscles, brain, heart and other organs to play their parts smoothly and efficiently for many years. However, excess weight, especially obesity, diminishes almost every aspect of health, from reproductive...
Naturally sweet fruits – nature’s original desserts – are particularly high in anti-inflammatory compounds which are important in protecting our bodies from heart disease, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer and bowel disease. Eating at least one...
Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It is one of the most common long-term diseases among children, but adults can have asthma, too. Asthma causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning. If...
Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious...
WASHINGTON (AP): A massive recall is getting most of the blame for the US baby formula shortage, but experts say the products have long been vulnerable to this type of crisis due to decades-old policies that have allowed a handful of companies to...
After a night spent tossing and turning, you wake up feeling like a few of the Seven Dwarves: sleepy and grumpy. Restless nights and weary mornings can become more frequent as we get older and our sleep patterns change. In women, it often begins...
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal. Your blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities; however, having blood pressure measures consistently above normal may result in a...
When you scrape your knee, break a bone, or cut yourself, the body is able to heal itself; but that is not the case with certain conditions, like diabetes or heart disease. Regenerative medicine, a fairly new field in which experts are looking for...
Vulvar cancer is a type of cancer that occurs on the outer surface area of the female genitalia. The vulva is the area of skin that surrounds the urethra and vagina, including the clitoris and labia. Vulvar cancer commonly forms as a lump or sore...
You already know that your emotions can influence what you eat, but what you may not realise is that what you eat can also dramatically alter your mental health. There are in fact some foods that can worsen anxiety and depression. Simple food...
Lupus is a lifelong disorder of the immune system in which immune cells attack the body’s own healthy tissues, leading to inflammation and tissue damage. The symptoms may be limited to the skin, but more often lupus also causes internal problems,...
Vaginal cancer happens when cancerous cells grow in your vagina. A woman’s vagina, the birth canal is a channel that goes from the opening of the uterus to the outside of the body. Many kinds of cancer can spread to the vagina from elsewhere, but...
You cannot see it or feel it, but inflammation may slowly be damaging your body. Inflammation, which is part of the body’s natural healing system, helps fight injury and infection, but it does not just happen in response to injury and illness. An...
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are passed from one person to another through intimate physical contact, such as heavy petting and from sexual activity. STIs are very common. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...
WITH CERVICAL cancer being the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Jamaican women, Pap Smear Week, which is being observed this week, is one of the initiatives aimed at reducing Jamaica’s high rate. The hope is that every woman...
WHEN YOU sit, you use less energy than you do when you stand or move. Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns. They include obesity and a cluster of conditions, including increased blood pressure, high...
THE PRINCIPLES of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) are used to change and improve socially significant behaviours as well as communication, social and learning skills. Most people consider ABA to be a treatment method for managing the symptoms of...
April is celebrated as Autism Awareness Month, with the focus being on awareness and acceptance of autism. Much has been written about the ‘red flags’ for an autism diagnosis. My focus today is on stimming and echolalia, which can both serve...
THIRTEEN YEARS after being diagnosed with cervical cancer, Juliet Davis is happy that she took the steps to get her Pap smear done. Her random visit to the Harbour View Health Centre saved her life, and although receiving the results was quite a...
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. When cancer starts in the cervix, it is called cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the easiest female cancer to prevent with regular Pap smears and follow-up. It is also highly...
Adenomyosis is a condition of the uterus (womb) where the cells similar to the lining on the inside of the uterus are also present in the muscle wall of the uterus. One study estimated that about one in five women has this condition. Although women...
No one wants to be diagnosed with cancer, and at the time I found out that I indeed had multiple myeloma (MM), I laughed to myself as I knew that when I die, it would not be from any form of cancer. I promised myself that I would fight as hard and...
