I think that pretty much everyone who lives in the north east can agree that winter bypassed us this year. Some of us loved the warm temperatures and lack of snow shoveling, while others are disappointed at the lack of snow and worried about the current climate conditions. Is this a new trend? Are we to never have a white Christmas again? As a dog owner I have to say I loved this winter. It was never too cold to take my pet out for walks, I never had to shovel snow so he can go to the bathroom, all was well. Right now though, I wish this winter had been “normal”. Why? Because it turns out a warm winter brings early ticks. And this means problems for my dog and for me.

Tick season should not yet be in full force. Usually, the peak of tick season comes around May. However, many pet owners have already seen adult black-legged ticks on their pets. Paul Curtis, professor of natural sciences at Cornell University is one of those pet owners. He has seen adult ticks around his house mid-March. Usually, around this time of the year eggs barely begin to hatch. Adult ticks should be nowhere in sight.

One in every 91 children in the United States was diagnosed with autism last year. This number does not even include Asperger’s, PDD, or other spectrum disorders. The number of cases has dramatically risen since the early 2000s when one out of every 250 children was diagnosed. This shows that the number of diagnosed children on the spectrum is rapidly growing. Because of this, a plethora of articles and campaigns have recently focused on allocating more public money towards education, health, and social services for those affected. But this effort is about to be in vain for many.

The cold season is upon us… again. If you are like me you have heard many myths about winter’s effect on your health. For example, many people believe that going outside with wet hair during the cold weather will make you sick. Another common misconception is that allergies become dormant in the cold. Are these beliefs true? Turns out that no, they are not; they are just part of the misconceptions of winter. Winter is mean and cold but it also gets a bad rap.

Do you think you would enjoy being sexually aroused all day every day? To be honest, it sounded like a lot of fun to me before I found out more about Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome. Our culture and the media have over the years painted an unrealistic picture of sex. According to commonly held believes in this country men would love to have sex every day if the woman they love wants to, but women usually do not. Also, if a woman wants to have sex every day, she is probably a nymphomaniac. Even the definition of this word, nymphomaniac, or nympho, is restricted to females. But the truth is, the amount of sex a couple engages in depends on their relationships, their personal preferences, and other outside forces like how many hours a day they work.

Still, most men I have talked to about Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome seem to think it would be awesome if their girlfriend suffered from it. I am sorry to tell you this boys, but it is not, not at all.

Religion is what you make of it, but there is usually some sort of holy guideline to follow.  However, there is no book of rules when it comes to handling the unpredictable.  Health, much like hurricanes or car accidents, falls into this category of unpredictability, where healthcare is the consequence that we ultimately control. 

Although healthcare decisions differ per person, one must examine how spiritual beliefs may impact their reasoning for these life or death choices:

•  Traditional MUSLIM beliefs about healthcare: God determines your death; so if you suddenly get into an accident, or get seriously ill, your time has come and we should not interfere with god’s plans.  Death is considered a natural passage and is not looked at badly.

•  Traditional BUDDHIST beliefs about healthcare:  Buddhists put a large emphasis on the idea of a long life, however, they believe that a life is only as good so far that the mind is still good.  It is extremely important for Buddhists to die peacefully and not in pain, so everything that can be done to help the person is done so that they are not in pain.

•  Traditional CHRISTIAN beliefs about healthcare: The Christian culture believes that if someone is dying that there is no need to make their passing a longer process than it has to be.  Christians believe that it is okay to reject medical intervention if it doesn’t guarantee a cure and only will involve delaying their death.

•  Traditional JEWISH beliefs about healthcare: The Jewish culture believes that the fight to save a life should never be ended, if there are options to treat the person then everything will be done in the doctors power to help the person in need.  A human life is considered to be sacred, even if the person is no longer full of “life.”

•  Traditional HINDU beliefs about healthcare: The Hindu culture seems to be more concentrated on the consequences of our decisions as opposed to the absolute rightness or wrongness of a choice.  Hinduism beliefs are considerably split!  Pulling the plug on someone would take their pain away, which would be a good thing.  However, contributing to someone’s death process, by pulling the plug, would disturb God’s plan, and that may not be viewed as such a good thing.  But, keeping someone alive through a machine may not be part of God’s plan either!

Staring at breasts lengthens life expectancy…

Lately it seems that everyone is catching the flu or experiencing flu-like symptoms. Although the flu can be dangerous and cause complications in some individuals, many cases of the flu are not that severe. If you think you, or someone close to you, may be suffering the flu there are signs that you can look out for. Flu symptoms include:

• fever (not everyone with the flu will have a fever)
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue
• sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

If you or anyone else is experiencing these symptoms there is a chance that you may have the flu, but that can only be confirmed by a medical professional.

The big question today is: "Are moms to blame for their children's obesity?" Well the answer to this question is a little more complicated and can't be answered with just a simple yes or no, but thanks to recent findings by medical researchers the understanding to this answer can be a little clearer. A study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City has discovered that overweight and obese people have a tendency to underestimate their weight. This quality is shown to be particularly high among obese or overweight women and children. Actually, misconception of body image was more prevalent among the heaviest participants that those of normal weight.

Many mothers of heavy children viewed their child's weight as being normal, and this newly acquired information has raised the level of concern among medical professionals. Lead author and medical resident at Columbia, Dr. Nicole Dumas, believes that the effect of living in communities where being over weight and obese is considered normal is having an overwhelming impact on obesity in children. She continues to explain that growing up in this type of environment skews these children's image of what is healthy weight.

Good posture tells a lot about us. It conveys confidence, poise and leadership and when it comes to giving off a good impression these are the types of qualities we want to show. With this in mind, it's no wonder that adults always told us as children to stand and sit up properly. But despite how much we were told as children to have good posture, many of us as adults don't exhibit good posture. Fortunately, this is something that can be corrected, but before we can learn how to develop good posture we first need to know what defines good posture.

Good posture is a result of the proper alignment of muscles in the body, allowing for efficient movement. With the muscles and joints of the body aligned and supported properly it becomes a lot easier to perform simple everyday activities like running up and down the stairs. In contrast, when the joints in your body are improperly aligned they do not fit together like they should, causing some of your muscles to work harder than others. Because of this imbalance in muscle efficiency eventually the muscles that worked harder than the others become tenser while the remaining muscles weaken. This creates muscular imbalance which, over time, can develop into poor posture. As a result of poor posture a series of side effects can occur, including joint restriction, pain, stiffness, and loss of motion throughout the body. But through four simple steps and exercises you can learn how to improve your posture and stop the deterioration of your muscles and joints.

In order for these exercises and stretches to be effective you should do them 2-3 times a week for 15-20 minutes per session, and hold each stretch for a minimum of 15-20 seconds. For the strengthening exercises do 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. By practicing these exercises and stretches properly for the suggested amount of time, you will be able to improve your posture in no time.

Stress, it is unavoidable and we all will encounter it at some point in our life if we haven't already. Stress is something we can't live without. We need it to help push us forward when things get tough. It helps us function under less than ideal situations, it protects us in dangerous conditions by activating our fight or flight response, and to some it adds thrill and excitement to life. But like with most things we need it in moderation because too much stress can be dangerous to our health. Since stress is both important as wells as dangerous to our lives it is important that we know what stress is, how it affects us and what to do when we become stressed.

What is stress?

Stress is the body's way of reacting to pressures from the outside world. When we are stressed our bodies release chemicals that induce out "fight or flight" response. This reaction not only enables us to protect ourselves by either running or fighting in dangerous situations, but it also allows us to do things like handle tough tasks at work, to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident, and drives us to continue studying for an important exam when we would much rather be doing something else. As a result of this chemical change several reactions take place including irritability, tension, headache, inability to concentrate, and increased heartbeat (just to name a few).