Family Medicine Blog
Is that Poop in the Pool?
With temperatures on the rise this week, it sounds like it will finally start to feel like summer. And where is the first place most families head on a hot day? The neighborhood pool. But can taking a swim make you sick?
It’s hard to believe that you can get sick from swimming at your favorite pool, but you can. Every so often we hear of an incident at a local pool that has caused many people to become sick. It is usually caused by swallowing water that has been contaminated with germs, which can cause diarrheal illness.
Breast Cancer: It’s in our Genes
If you’ve followed the news recently, you’ll likely heard about actress Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy– a proactive approach she took to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer after learning she was a carrier of the gene. Thanks to advances in cancer research and diagnosis, some women, like Jolie, may be able to know their breast cancer risk well before it happens.
But what does this mean for your health and when should you talk to your doctor?
Consider Donating Blood
It’s hard to miss signs inviting us to donate blood at local drives throughout our community, but have you ever taken the opportunity to do so? Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood and 44,000 blood donations are made each day to try and fill this need. However, what we often don’t understand is just how important it is to donate and the impact you can make on someone else’s life.
Summer Camps
If you are like my family this time of year, it brings on a discussion of summer activities and certainly summer camps. This has changed dramatically since I was a kid, as now you can send your child to an incredible array camps. It is important to include your child in the discussion of the selection of a camp with respect to the interest and goals of your child and your family. There are many questions to ask yourself and your child.
Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
The holidays are here and so is the food. Everywhere you look there are trays of cookies or holiday snacks and the dinners are enormous. Keep your health in mind throughout the holidays. Get out that bathroom scale you’ve been hiding as a simple reminder to be conscious of your health over the next month. Even a pound or two gained over the holidays can add up each year! Here are a few tips to keep the pounds from being a part of your celebration.