Lifestyle & Wellness

Polyps are often dis­cussed when talk­ing about col­orec­tal can­cer or its screen­ing tests includ­ing a colonoscopy. While you may be famil­iar with the term, you may not know what a polyp is, how it forms and what you can do to pre­vent them. Gas­troen­terol­o­gist, Kaitlin Wan­ta, DO, shares what you should know about polyps and some tips to pre­vent them.

It is rec­om­mend­ed that adults receive sev­en to nine hours of sleep each night. How­ev­er, get­ting the sleep you need to func­tion at your best is not always as easy as it sounds.

Accord­ing to the Cen­ter for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion (CDC), approx­i­mate­ly eight to ten per­cent of the Unit­ed States pop­u­la­tion will become sick with an influen­za (flu) virus each year. Addi­tion­al­ly, the aver­age Amer­i­can will catch between two to three colds per year. A cold and the flu are both caused by viral infec­tions and pro­duce a vari­ety of unpleas­ant symp­toms. Colds often are accom­pa­nied by nasal con­ges­tion and/​or a run­ny nose, sneez­ing, cough­ing and a sore throat. Flu virus­es can cause sim­i­lar symp­toms as well as fatigue, fever, head and body aches, and for some, diar­rhea and vom­it­ing. While there is no cure for either ill­ness, sev­er­al over-the-counter med­ica­tions and home reme­dies may offer symp­tom relief.

For many, breath­ing requires lit­tle effort or thought. For some, how­ev­er, stress and anx­i­ety can lead to short, rapid breath­ing which can wors­en these symp­toms. A great way to avoid feel­ings of stress, anx­i­ety and short­ness of breath is to con­scious­ly focus on the breaths you take each day.

Lifestyle refers to the way you live your life includ­ing your dai­ly habits, activ­i­ties you par­tic­i­pate in and dietary choic­es. Under­stand­ing your food crav­ings can pro­vide valu­able insight and allow you to make changes to improve your over­all health.

Your skin is one of the most impor­tant (and largest) organs in your body. Just like your heart, eyes, or kid­neys, it’s impor­tant to treat your skin well. Below are a few facts about your skin to help jump start your healthy skin lifestyle.

There are many myths float­ing around the inter­net about smok­ing. Here are four myths (and their truths) so you can get your facts straight when it comes to the top­ic of smoking.

As we set goals for our health, we often focus on day-to-day healthy habits and lifestyle changes. It takes time to cre­ate habits and tru­ly see change. Because of this, it can be easy to give up on dai­ly habits when results are not seen immediately.

As the leaves begin to fall and the air starts to chill, it’s time to pre­pare for the fall sports sea­son. Sports are a great way to get the exer­cise you need while show­ing some school spir­it, how­ev­er, they are also a com­mon cul­prit of injury. The best way to lead your team to vic­to­ry this sea­son is to stay on top of your health. To help you care for your body this fall, Bri­an Ward, MD, sports med­i­cine doc­tor and orthopaedic sur­geon, has out­lined some tips on how ath­letes can stay safe and healthy in every sport this season.

Sprains in any joint of the body hap­pen when a lig­a­ment is stretched or torn. For ankles, this typ­i­cal­ly occurs dur­ing sports activ­i­ties or a mis­step while walking/​running on uneven sur­faces. Learn the best way to man­age the pain from a sprained ankle.