Some couples have an easy time conceiving, others do not. Some women become pregnant after one night of unprotected sex, other women take fertility drugs for years before conceiving. Some women never conceive at all. There does not seem to be an exact reason why some couples are blessed with a baby as soon as they think of conceiving and why some aren’t. One thing that is clear is that all men and women have a biological clock.

In recent years, more and more couples chose to postpone pregnancy until their later years of life. This happens for many reasons like focusing on career in the early years, not having a steady partner, or having an unstable financial situation. Regardless of the reason, as time passes the chances of conceiving go down and if you do conceive, the baby is put at risk for a slew of disorders like autism, cancers, and even schizophrenia.

In the United States, at any given point in time there are more patients waiting for a kidney transplant than there are donors. Many public campaigns have tried to increase awareness about how donating organs helps save lives. Kidneys are at the center of many of these campaigns since every person has two kidneys but can live healthy with only one. If more people with low risk of kidney failure donated a kidney, many lives would be spared. To have low risk of the disease you should not have kidney failure in your family history, you should eat and drink right, exercise, not have diabetes, and more.

In 2011 over 87,000 patients were waiting for a kidney in the United States alone. In 2008, only slightly over 17,000 transplants were performed. This shows that the United States needs more voluntary donors. Transplants can come from relatives, friends, deceased organ donors, or a stranger. Just because somebody is a member of the patient’s family, however, does not guarantee a match. Actually, in most cases, the kidney donated comes from a deceased donor. Many family members and friends might be willing to donate but are not a match, or they might themselves be at high risk for kidney failure.

Whether it is your first pet, or you already have a family of furies, bringing an adorable puppy or kitten home is a decision not to be made easily. If you decide to own a pet, you are making a commitment for the life of the pet. This decision is expensive and time consuming for the whole family. A pet is much like a baby. At least for the first few weeks, the pet is completely dependent on the members of the family for everything from feeding to training and exercising.  

Choosing the right pet for the family can be difficult. Pets are fairly expensive and their care is as well. Certain shelters make sure all animals up for adoption have had their vaccines and proper care, other do not. Whenever you adopt a pet make sure that their healthcare requirements are up to date. Also, make sure all other pets in the house have had their shots before introducing a new play mate for them. Viruses spread fast and can become costly.

Opium based painkillers, such as Vicodin, Codeine, Morphine, OxyCotin, and Hydrocodone, are frequently prescribed because of their effectiveness in relieving pain following surgery, injuries, and for chronic pain. Approximately twenty million people use the opium drug or one of the drug’s derivatives. This drug is not just problematic because of its addiction dangers, but it has also recently been linked to increase risk of serious conditions like certain cancers, reparatory conditions, and circulatory diseases.

Opium has a few very well publicized downfalls. For one, opium is frequently processed chemically to produce the drug heroin. This drug is illegal and very dangerous. Over 3.8 million people admit to having used heroin at least once in their life. Usage of this highly addictive drug can result in overdoses and other problems including strains on family and friends of the user.

What is more terrifying and awful than having a sick child? Having both your children diagnosed with an incredibly rare disorder that can result in kidney failure by age ten. Two sisters, Emily and Poppy, have been diagnosed with cystinosis, an incurable genetic disorder that causes a build-up of the amino acid cystine within the cells of the body. Over time, the crystals form in the kidneys, eyes, liver, and the thyroid gland. It is very rare for people with crystinosis to survive into adulthood. The disorder only affects 1 person in 3.5 million.

Emily was born first and she seemed to be a happy, healthy baby. When she was about ten months old, Emily suddenly started vomiting frequently and losing a lot of weight. At first medics thought it was just a passing virus. But after three different hospital trips within five months medics started testing the girl for every possible condition from leukemia to cystic fibrosis. Emily’s mother, Jessica Kemp, was told that the rarer Emily’s condition was, the harder it will be to diagnose.

It seems like every year there is some type of salmonella scare. Whether it is found in poultry, fish, or other foods, the bacterium infects almost 1,400,000 U.S citizens each year. Now, Americans need to worry about more than just what they are eating, it is time to worry about their pets becoming infected as well. Diamond Pet Foods has issued a voluntary recall of the Diamond Natural Lamb Meal & Rice as the product might have been contaminated with salmonella. According to the company, only this line of products has been affected, all other still being safe for our loved pets.

The product was distributed to 12 states, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. However, the company believes that the product might have been distributed to other states as well through pet food channels.

Birth Control seems to be at the center of political and health debates around our country. There are many methods of birth control and each method comes with each own set of pros and cons. Some people are allergic to latex and thus condoms are unsafe for them, other forget to take the pill everyday in which case a contraceptive method that is administered once every three months or even years might be preferred. Even within the same category of birth control, each brand has its own formula which creates unique side effects.  The cons of the pill, for example, are not limited to some women forgetting to take it. Whether a woman takes it to prevent unwanted pregnancy or for medical reasons, she needs to be aware of all side effects that come with taking a pill daily.

The side effects that doctors inform the women of before prescribing the pill usually include morning sickness, mood swings, palpitation, loose bowel, bloating, irregular menstrual cycles, nausea, irregular discharges, hypertension, and more. However, a new study shows that these symptoms are not the only thing a woman should keep in mind when deciding on a contraceptive method. It seems that these small daily pills affect a woman’s preference in men. Dr. Craig Roberts from Stirling University questioned over 2,500 women from across the world for this study that was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Over the past decade the number of cancer cases has risen dramatically. Anti-smoking campaigns have brought a lot of attention to cancers of the throat, mouth, and lungs. Also, companies like Avon and Susan G. Komen have worked on bringing attention to breast cancer. These companies and the efforts of all those affected by these diseases have raised million for research to find cures. But there are other types of cancer in the world that do not receive as much attention, or as much funding. Kidney cancer is one of them.

How come kidney cancer is sometimes overlooked? Well, In 2011 the National Cancer Institute estimated that 230,480 women would be diagnosed with breast cancer out of which 39,520 women were expected to die from the disease. However, during the same time, the Institute estimated that 60,920 men and women would be diagnosed with kidney cancer out of which 13,120 will die as a result of the disease. So it makes sense that fewer resources would be allocated to the diseases that kills fewer people. However, kidney cancer cannot be ignored or placed on the back-burner any longer. A new study coming out of the U.K reported that kidney cancer rates have tripled since 1975. Now, kidney cancer occupies the 8^th spot in the top ten killer cancers in the U.K. This type of cancer is actually the 6^th most common cancer in men in the U.K and the 9^th most common in women.

Nowadays there are so many phobias out there it seems like every citizen suffers from at least one, whether it is Nyctophobia (fear of the dark or night), Altophobia (fear of heights), Apiphobia  (fear of bees), another one of the hundreds of diagnosed phobias, or the new fear that has taken over this generation, Nomophobia. Nomophobia is the fear of losing or being without one’s mobile phone.

Researchers from SecurEnvoy, a company that specialized in digital passwords, discovered that approximately 66% of smart phone users are nomophobic. These people fear what would happen to them and their day to day life if they were to misplace their phone. I was not completely surprised by the findings. I have been hearing statements like “my whole life is on this phone”, “It took me six months to get my contacts back after I lost my phone last time”, and “I didn’t have any service in the mountains, I felt isolated” for a couple years now. Also, I see this ‘addiction’ in those close to me; most of my friends and family type away on their phones all day, every day. I was visiting my friends with my boyfriend one day and at one point my boyfriend tells me we are all on our smartphones. It was true. If you looked around the room, out of 6 people, 5 were playing some type of game or reading texts. This was going on while we are all watching television.

For one reason or another, most of us seem attracted to other people’s medicine cabinets. It is estimated that more than 40% of humans go through their friends or new romance’s cabinet. Why? Most of us cannot tell. Sometimes, what we find in there gives us a better image of or friend’s personal life. For example, if a man has been going out with a woman for a couple weeks and then finds fungicide in her cabinet, he is more likely to end the new relationship.  I do mind if someone goes through my cabinet, but not because of what is in there, but simply because my medication is private and if I want someone to know about it I will tell them myself. However, there is one thing worse than a stranger or friend rummaging through your medicine; and that is when children get their hands on them.

According to a new study published by Safe Kids Worldwide, each day roughly four busloads of U.S children, or approximately 165 children, are taken to the emergency room after getting into their parents’ medication. The researchers state that each of these visits is completely preventable if parents take certain precautions. This study was released during a new campaign called “Safe Storage, Safe Dosing, Safe Kids” which calls on caregivers, medical personnel, pharmacists, and drug makers to work together in an effort to reduce accidental poisoning by children from medication.