Daily Health News Blog

Summer is a great time to travel. If you or a loved one is a senior, you should be aware of some extra precautions to take before hitting the road. Check with your doctor before you leave. Ask if you should take any special precautions while away. Your doctor may ask you to come in for a check-up and will be able to suggest any vaccinations you may need if you are leaving the country. On your trip, you should bring a list of your current medications, copies of your prescriptions, and details of any medical conditions you have. You should also pack a list of contact information for not only family, but also all of your physicians. All of your medications should be placed in your carry-on bag and should be kept in their original containers. This can help you get through customs more easily and is helpful in the event you need a refill while you are away. Finally, enjoy some of the perks of being a senior. Ask about special shuttle services, early boarding procedures, and discounts for se...

Identity theft is becoming increasingly more common these days. One of the prime ways these criminals get your personal information is through mail theft. To protect yourself, keep these tips in mind. - Place outgoing mail in a secure box, like a USPS collection box. - Pick up your incoming mail as soon as possible. Do not leave mail in your mailbox overnight. - Carefully review all of your credit card statements each month to be sure not to miss any fraudulent activity. - Pick up new checks directly from your bank instead of having them mailed. - Never send cash through the mail. - Immediately report any vandalism or tampering with your mailbox to your local postmaster and the police.

Vacations can be expensive. And although everyone enjoys a long trip to a new place far away, our budgets usually cannot handle many vacations such as these. You don't have to travel far to have fun though. Often you can find creative and inexpensive ways to spend your vacation close to home. Try these close to home travel ideas and save some of your hard-earned money this year. Explore Your Neighborhood Use your time off from work to visit those places that you never seem to have enough time for at other times of the year. Take a trip to the library and talk to a librarian about programs they offer. These are usually completely free. You will find book clubs for adults, and children's programs that often include free activities like puppet shows, story times, summer book reading programs, and more. Check around for local pools, mini-golf courses, and playgrounds that you've never visited. Have picnics in the park, tour a fire station, or fly kites. Use this time to take th...

If you haven't found time yet to take a break from work, August is a great time to vacation. It may seem like it is still peak travel season, but the further you get into August the better it can get. Not only can you find some last minute deals, but the crowds thin down, making for a more pleasant trip. One reason August is a great time to get vacation deals is that many airlines, resorts, and popular travel destinations are reassessing their earlier estimates of the number of customers they expected. You can take advantage of unsold airline seats, hotel rooms, and resort packages that these companies expected to sell but did not. There are also cancellations to pick up. With gas prices expected to stay high through the end of summer, many people are vacationing closer to home, so you can often pick up great unsold last minute deals. The key to getting great deals is flexibility. If you are able to travel on short notice and can choose from several dates you will have better luck ...

High cholesterol, low energy? Get a thyroid test! A poorly-functioning thyroid gland can cause a long list of mysterious symptoms. It could produce one or many of these: Fatigue, weakness, infertility, coarse skin, hoarse voice, cold intolerance, depression, mood swings, memory loss, decreased concentration, or painful joints, to name a few. The most serious effect of mild thyroid failure is without symptoms. An elevation of cholesterol is one of the characteristic features of an underactive thyroid gland, according to the Thyroid Foundation of America in Boston. Millions of North Americans have the condition and are not aware that a sluggish thyroid is hiking their cholesterol and harming their hearts.  Doctors quoted in Prevention magazine recommend that the simple TSH test be done each time a cholesterol test is ordered. It can be done with the same blood sample and is very inexpensive. Usually, however, physicians don't order the test unless they suspect an under-active...

Tip # 1 Skin care, beauty, fitness and health go hand in hand. For those of you who are looking to loose weight, beauty is a key factor in keeping motivated. If you don't feel beautiful, you are more inclined to not follow through any diet or exercise program. If you don't feel good about yourself you will most likely not be motivated and give up. However , on the other hand, If you look good on the outside, it tends to make you feel good on the inside; hence, giving you the motivation to follow through and complete your diet and/or exercise program and loose the weight you want to and be healthy and fit. Tip # 2 Skin care is very important to younger healthy looking skin. You should use a cleansing product that targets your specific needs and is specific to your age and skin type. Not all cleansing products are the same just as not everyone's skin is the same. The same goes for creams. You should use a product that targets your specific needs and is specific to your...