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Mental Health Moment: Isolation is alienation

Get out and about or stay in and be grim! WE USE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT to punish people. In fact, we put a limit in this country to how long we can impose it in a prison due to the adverse effects of it. It can cause psychosis. They use it to calm down violent people,…
Ask a PA Who Knows!: Indoor tanning myths debunked

… and why you should consider an alternate tanning method EVERYONE LIKES to look good, and most people enjoy the bronzed look of a tan. Unfortunately, too many try to achieve the look of a golden tan through the use of indoor tanning methods like tanning beds. Just like tanning in the sun, indoor tanning…
Growing young with grandchildren

How interaction with children can keep you sharp as you age “AN HOUR with your grandchildren can make you feel young again.” Grandparents like Susan Sartain, a marketing and communications manager for Baycare’s Bartow Regional Medical Center, will tell you such a sentiment is true, and now there’s even science to back it up. Australian…

Medical Advice: Awareness is key to stopping upward trend of STDs

Every year in April, we observe STD Awareness Month. This is an opportunity for individuals, doctors, and communities to address ways to prevent some of the nearly 20 million sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that occur in the United States each year. Half of all new infections occur among people between the ages of 15 to…
Ask a Nurse: Dental plaque & arterial plaque

Have you ever wondered what the dentist scrapes off of your teeth when you go in for your annual cleaning? Several studies over the past few years have found some surprising results. In 2010, Cornell University and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden collected samples from the mouth, gut, and arteries of 15 heart disease patients.…
Medical advice: Poison help in the home

If you suspected that a member of your household had ingested a potentially poisonous substance, would you know what to do? Did you know you can call the Florida Poison Information Center—sometimes referred to as Poison Control—at 1-800-222-1222 for assistance with any possible poison event? A health care professional is available 24 hours a day,…