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Defeat the Dander

Understanding and Treating Pet Allergies by SEAN JARVIS For thousands of people who love animals and their pet companions, there also comes a distracting side effect — pet allergies. Fortunately, there are several ways to manage your allergies and reduce your symptoms. Why Do I have Allergies, and What Causes Them? While…
Common Misconceptions About Service Animals

Rights, Best Practices, and Etiquette by CELÉSTE JO WALLS You have heard of them: guide dogs for the blind, PTSD support dogs for veterans, seizure response dogs, alert dogs for the hearing impaired, diabetic alert dogs, wheelchair assistant dogs, and more. You may have seen them in department stores, at theme parks, in restaurants, and…
Where Sleep and Mental Health Intersect

by TERESA SCHIFFER Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care Sleep is often an underrated aspect of our self-care routine, but lack of sleep can have a negative impact on our health, especially our mental and behavioral health. There are two broad categories of sleep: REM and non-REM. REM stands for “rapid eye movement.…

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…