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Pop Quiz! Photosensitivity Can Spell Trouble for Skin in the Sun

Many medications have side effects, and unfortunately for those residing here in the Sunshine State, one of those side effects can be an increased sensitivity to the sun. Called drug-induced photosensitivity, it accounts for 8 percent of side effects, though it’s believed to be underdiagnosed and underreported. Take our quiz to learn more about drug-induced…
Care for All

United Way of Central Florida’s Community Wellness Initiative Helps Polk’s Uninsured and Underserved by RYAN MILEJCZAK One of the biggest struggles Americans face is the cost of healthcare, particularly for underserved populations. Here in Polk County, many of our residents face this very challenge, due to factors like low income, lack of access to health…
A Survivor’s Tale

Hap Hazelwood on Early Detection and Unwavering Faith in the Face of Prostate Cancer by REBEKAH PIERCEphotos by JESS McDONALD In a world where health often comes into focus only after it starts to fade, stories like that of Hap Hazelwood are worth paying attention to. Hazelwood, along with his wife, Chris, have both navigated…

Medical advice: Essential but simple ways to help loved ones with Aphasia

We tend to take for granted our ability to communicate, how effortlessly our words flow out of our mouths. However, when our speech becomes impaired, we profoundly feel the impact. June is National Aphasia Awareness Month. Yet, most people have never heard about this type of communication disorder. Aphasia is a language impairment that…
Signs & Symptoms: Practicing safety & preventing the little known CMV Virus

The Varicella-Zoster Virus causes chicken pox and the painful rash, shingles. The Epstein-Barr Virus is associated with mononucleosis, an infection known as the kissing disease. Then there’s CMV, the lesser-known cytomegalovirus, which joins them as a herpes viruses. Most people who catch CMV don’t know they have anything, at least nothing more than a…
Common ground found regarding the 1099 rule

It is very seldom that the two political parties of our country join together in a bipartisan fashion. The former 1099 rule of the new health care bill, however, did just that. Many of the leaders from both parties rallied behind the cause to remove this particular rule from being mandated as part of…