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Sweets and sour news for kids

Certain Candies Are as Acidic as Battery Acid on Kids’ Teeth Peering into kids’ mouths every day, pediatric dentists have noticed an alarmingly widespread problem of late. Something is eating away at the chewing surfaces of children’s back teeth. Turns out, its worms – gummy worms, that is – along with assorted other sweet-and-sour candies,…
Kristi Yamaguchi speaks out on influenza

Should you get a flu vaccine? Less than half of the U.S. population actually gets the annual flu vaccine. While vaccinations are recommended in late summer or early fall, it’s still beneficial even in the middle of winter. During many flu seasons, influenza activity doesn’t peak until winter or early spring. In fact, virus activity…
Making choices that lower your risk

How African-Americans Can Avoid High Blood Pressure Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a heavy weight that the African-American community has been destined to cope with. While no one is immune from high blood pressure, it is a proven fact that the African-American population has a 40 percent higher rate over any other ethnic group…

Editor’s Dose: A thank-you letter to nurses

FROM MID-FEBRUARY to about mid-April, my family was at the doctor’s office a lot. The late-spreading flu season (although none of us in our household ever actually caught the flu — thank goodness) must have carried with it many other viruses, because we’ve certainly experienced our fair share. In fact, a few nurses on staff…
Healthy Skin: May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month

“C’MON, DOC. What’s a little sunburn?” is a question I frequently hear from the public. The answer is, if you’re lucky, that’s all it is. But a little sunburn is one of the easiest skin cancer risk factors to avoid. If left untreated, skin cancer, or melanoma, can progress to the point that it’s disfiguring…
Cautions for two of your favorite summer activities

SPRING IS THE TIME OF YEAR in Florida when temperatures begin to warm and the weather is perfect outside. With the sun shining and a gentle breeze blowing, this beautiful weather also marks the beginning of swimming season for Polk’s residents. Swimming and boating are two of the most popular summer activities for people living…