Skip to main content

Social engagement and relationships Archive

Articles

Read More about Top causes of blood clots in the legs and how to avoid them
Top causes of blood clots in the legs and how to avoid them

Top causes of blood clots in the legs and how to avoid them
Blood clots in the legs (deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT) can break loose and travel through the veins to the heart and then to the lungs, causing a dangerous pulmonary embolism. Common triggers for blood clots include being bedridden for long periods; sitting for long periods in a car, plane, or train; or getting too little activity and sitting too much. To avoid blood clots in the legs, it helps to hydrate, get up from sitting every hour or two and stretch the legs, move the legs while lying down, or wear compression stockings.
Read More about The benefits of volunteering, without leaving home
The benefits of volunteering, without leaving home

The benefits of volunteering, without leaving home
Volunteering has many benefits, enabling people to gain a sense of purpose, connect with others, and get a break from their own problems. Those benefits are associated with better health, including greater levels of physical activity, better sleep quality, a healthier diet, reduced rates of cardiovascular disease, and even longevity. A person may be able to reap many of those benefits by volunteering from home, such as doing work for a nonprofit group via computer or phone.
Read More about A vaccine that can prevent shingles
A vaccine that can prevent shingles

A vaccine that can prevent shingles
The best way to avoid shingles and long-lasting pain that may result from it is to get the shingles vaccine (Shingrix), given in two doses. The vaccine contains a protein from a dead varicella-zoster virus. The shot is 90% effective and is recommended for adults ages 50 or older, even those who have had shingles before, received an older shingles vaccine called Zostavax, or don’t recall having had chickenpox. People should avoid the vaccine if they currently have shingles, are allergic to components of the vaccine, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Read More about Can a daily scoop of collagen powder really improve your skin?
Can a daily scoop of collagen powder really improve your skin?

Can a daily scoop of collagen powder really improve your skin?
Manufacturers tout collagen supplements as a way to improve signs of skin aging and skin quality. There is some research that shows they may bring skin benefits, reducing wrinkles, speeding wound healing, and improving skin hydration and elasticity. But because supplements aren’t regulated, quality may be highly variable. While collagen supplements are believed to be safe, there aren’t any long-term safety studies to date.
Read More about CDC initiative aims to prevent injuries in older adults
CDC initiative aims to prevent injuries in older adults

CDC initiative aims to prevent injuries in older adults
The CDC’s Still Going Strong initiative aims to raise awareness about accidents that lead to injury in adults over age 65 and strategies to prevent them.
Read More about Look inside your heart
Look inside your heart

Look inside your heart
The traditional measures to gauge heart disease risk don’t always tell the whole story. Sometimes more medical information is needed. An increasingly used test to predict a person’s risk for heart attack or stroke is a coronary artery calcium scan. It measures the amount of calcified plaque in the heart’s arteries, high levels of which suggest higher overall plaque buildup. The number can determine if people should begin statin therapy and make additional lifestyle changes.
Read More about Green leafy vegetables offer a leg up on muscle strength
Green leafy vegetables offer a leg up on muscle strength

Green leafy vegetables offer a leg up on muscle strength
Eating high amounts of nitrate-rich green leafy vegetables may improve leg muscle strength and increase walking speed and reduce fatigue.
Read More about Battle of the bulges
Battle of the bulges

Battle of the bulges
A majority of people over 60 have diverticulosis, a condition in which tiny bulges (called diverticula) appear in weak areas of your colon’s inner wall. The bulges themselves don’t cause symptoms, but they can lead to bleeding or diverticulitis, which occurs when a diverticulum becomes inflamed or infected. People can reduce their risk by eating more fiber and staying physically active.
Read More about Postpartum anxiety is invisible, but common and treatable
Postpartum anxiety is invisible, but common and treatable

Postpartum anxiety is invisible, but common and treatable

It's not unusual for women to feel down or depressed after giving birth, but if the feelings persist or become debilitating, it's cause for concern. Many of the symptoms overlap between postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, but some women do not respond as well to some treatments for depression, so it's important to establish the correct diagnosis.

Read More about Ready for your routine medical checkup?
Ready for your routine medical checkup?

Ready for your routine medical checkup?

Before the pandemic did you schedule a routine, in-person health checkup every year? Is this necessary or can you safely skip a year or consider a telehealth visit or a combination of in-person and virtual care? There are pros and cons to these options and no single solution will work for everyone.

Result 1241 - 1250 of 3131
Recent Articles
blog image 1

What causes knee pain: How doctors make a diagnosis
blog image 1

Study: At-home colorectal cancer screening may significantly cut colon cancer deaths
blog image 1

Where you carry excess weight matters in predicting heart disease risk
blog image 1

Tai chi walking: What is it and does it work?
blog image 1

Fatty liver disease: Should you be tested?
blog image 1

Weight-loss drug may lower risk of heart attacks and infections
blog image 1

Testosterone therapy without evidence of deficiency may boost heart risk
blog image 1

Even a little exercise linked with lower stroke risk in people with afib
blog image 1

FDA approves first mRNA-based flu vaccine
blog image 1

Migraine: How it's diagnosed and what that means
/

Free Healthbeat Signup

Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!

Sign Up
Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE 32-page gift worth $29.95.

PLUS, don’t miss out on your 25% off promo code.

Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle—You’ll discover powerful, research- backed strategies for health longevity drawn from Harvard Medical School experts—ways to eat for a longer life, build strength and flexibility to stay independent, protect your bones, heart, and brain as you age, and even cultivate the habits linked with “super-agers” who stay sharp and active well into their 80s and 90s—all delivered to your email box FREE.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well!.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well.