Staying Healthy Archive

Prescription drug ads are a multibillion-dollar industry that promotes treatments you may or may not need. Here's how to use that information to your advantage.

Ads for prescription drugs are everywhere. You can't watch a sporting event without seeing an ad touting a treatment for erectile dysfunction, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or joint pain.

Drug marketing is a big business, and companies are willing to spend a lot of money to offer you an easy solution to a health problem you may or may not have. From 2012 to 2015, yearly spending on prescription drug advertising in all media outlets (except digital) rose from $3.2 billion to $5.2 billion, and that figure is expected to only go up.

Frustrated by medical and health care websites? New research suggests seniors don't use this health technology like they should, but it may not be their fault.

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It's said that you can find just about anything on the Internet. Yet when it comes to finding information about health, many seniors are at a loss.

"Few seniors are using digital health technology," says Dr. David Levine, of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, who specializes in medical technology information.

High-intensity interval training may be more enjoyable than moderate continuous exercise and may help sedentary adults stay motivated when doing new workouts. 

Terms like "healthy" or "natural" can be meaningless or misleading.

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If you're like most nutrition-minded shoppers, the word "healthy" on the front of a package can be a big draw. "When you're stuck in a situation where processed foods are the only thing available to you, it can be helpful to know which foods are healthier than others," says Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Yet these days you're on shaky nutritional ground if you rely on front-of-package claims like "healthy" to determine which soup, sauce, cereal—or other canned, bottled, boxed, or bagged food—is the best choice. A food marked "healthy" may be loaded with sugar or refined carbohydrates.

Published: March 1, 2017

Figuring out the exercise style that best suits your needs will help you stick to a plan.

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Making a plan to get regular exercise can be challenging. There are many options, and you may not be sure how to narrow them down. "The result may be that you put off exercising," says Madhuri Kale, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It helps to know the basic categories of activity you can choose from: exercise classes, gym workouts, home workouts, and vigorous work or recreational activity. Here are some pros and cons to consider for each.

Take control by using helpful gadgets and talking to your doctor about reducing your medications.

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There are many reasons why people are unable to stick to a medication regimen prescribed by a doctor, such as high costs or drug side effects. Often, those issues can be resolved by asking your doctor if a switch to another drug will help.

Another reason for what doctors call "non-adherence": too many pills and confusion about taking them. "It is a bigger problem than organization, and not always the patient's fault. Often providers write too many prescriptions without explaining them, or create a complicated schedule," says Dr. Sarah Berry, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

It appears that the risk of an early death falls with each additional healthy lifestyle behavior that is maintained, even in people who are overweight.

It appears that health anxiety may be associated with a greater risk for developing heart disease.

Bleeding

While a minor cut will eventually stop bleeding, a severe injury may require elevation and direct pressure on the wound. The goals of first-aid treatment are to control bleeding and prevent infection. If disposable surgical gloves are readily available, use them.

Butterfly Bandages

Direct Pressure for Bleeding and Pressure Points for Bleeding

How to Stop a Nosebleed

Birth of the Placenta

The placenta, which has provided the fetus with nourishment, is attached to the umbilical cord and is delivered about 20 minutes after the baby. Do not pull on the cord; delivery of the placenta occurs on its own. You can help by gently massaging the woman’s lower abdomen. The uterus will feel like a hard round mass.

Massaging the abdomen helps the uterus contract, which also helps stop bleeding. After the placenta is delivered, place it in a plastic bag to take with the woman and baby to the hospital. It is normal for more bleeding to occur after delivery of the placenta. Continue gently massaging the woman’s lower abdomen.