I'm sure that most of you have heard of shingles, but you may not actually know that much about it.  Shingles is a rash which is a concentrated area of blisters that typically scab over in 7 to 10 days.  The rash then slowly clears up completely over the next 2-3 weeks.  This rash is…...

Most of you have heard of shingles.  It is a painful, blistery rash caused by a virus.  Did you know that shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox?  When you have chicken pox, although the infection seems to go away completely, the virus actually stays in your nerve cells, alive but…...

Getting too little sleep, called sleep deficiency, can lead to some serious physical and mental health problems, and can also put you at higher risk for injuries, and even a higher risk of death.  Sleep, just like breathing, eating, and drinking, is a basic human need.  Sleep plays a very important role in your health…...

Last article we learned some of the basics of sleep, including what makes us sleep.  Today I thought we could talk about why sleep is so important, and how much sleep we really need. Why is sleep so important? The truth is that we don't really know enough about why we sleep.  However, we do…...

We have talked quite a bit over the past two weeks about the basics of sleep physiology, as well as how sleep deficiency impacts both your physical and mental health, as well as your performance and productivity.  I thought that today we could review several strategies to help you get the sleep that your body…...

 A family doctor can be your first point of contact within the healthcare system.  If you have a medical need that comes up quickly, such as an unexpected rash, flu-like symptoms, or strep throat, your family doctor can be your go-to choice for treatment.   Far too many Americans use an urgent care center or an…...

It may seem hard to believe, but approximately 80% of American adults and adolescents are insufficiently active.  Appropriate physical activity can make such an impact on how you feel and how you function.  It also reduces the risk for many chronic diseases.  This week, new physical activity guidelines were released.   This seems like the perfect…...

Last week was U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week.  This happens annually in an effort to highlight the steps that everyone can take to improve how and when we use antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem in the world today.  Bacteria have many ways in which they can become resistant to antibiotics, meaning that they develop…...