Conditions

Do you know what COPD looks like and what its symptoms are? Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, can affect people for years before any symptoms are significant enough to notice. There are many reasons why people develop COPD and many factors behind the conditions it causes, but it’s common to mistake the signs of COPD for something less serious.

COPD is the name for a group of diseases that affect the airflow into our lungs. It encompasses a variety of diseases, but the three most common sub-groups are chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and refractory asthma. All of these diseases are different, but have a lot of things in common, including the fact that they will all continue to get worse over time and are incurable. There are things that you can do to mitigate the damage from COPD, but you cannot reverse damage once it has occurred. If you or someone you love has recently been diagnosed with COPD, you probably have a lot of questions. Here are some facts your doctor may not have told you.

Skin cancer is one of the most complex forms of cancer — it’s also the most common. One in five Americans will develop this type of cancer by age 70.

As men, we don’t always have it easy. We are taught from a very young age that both our feelings and our problems (mental and physical) should be kept to ourselves. As a result, we rarely discuss our health-related problems, and subsequently, have very little awareness of what is a real health problem, and what isn’t.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder, occurring as a by-product of witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. The most common causes of PTSD are a natural disaster, vehicular accidents, an act of terrorism, wartime combat, sexual assault, or any other violent act. This isn’t even close to a full list.

Did the title of this article just give you the urge to stretch or massage your lower back? Maybe you’re shifting around in your chair, trying to make your position more comfortable. If you’re a yogi, you might currently be in child’s pose on the floor. (Once you’re done, please come back and continue reading!)

There’s nothing that will ruin a beautiful crisp, cool day faster than the tickle at the back of your throat that heralds the oncoming of a common cold. A cold can knock you on your back and make you feel like you’re a relentlessly dripping nasal faucet.

The holidays can be a dual edged sword. They’re full of music, food, love and good old fashioned cheer… but they’re often coupled with a long list of social obligations, a long list of unfavorable social interactions and a long list of charges to your credit card. Everyone is stressed out during the holidays and, for those of us who suffer from mental illness, that strain is often magnified.

All the well-intentioned, relevant, good advice is usually appreciated, but sometimes people just don’t realize what they’re saying to someone who suffers from migraines. When it comes to the excruciating pain and the helpless feeling that your head may split in half, most people can’t relate. In most cases, empathy trumps well-intentioned, relevant good advice.

As scientific research has progressed, a surprising amount of mistaken information about the brain has stayed in our collective consciousness. For example, have you ever heard someone suggest that they don’t excel at math because they are ‘left-brained’?