Baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means they are in their 40s, 50s or early 60s, and have particular health needs. Here's how they can improve their well-being.
Michael Musick is all too familiar with the toll heat can take on the human body.
What plagues baby boomers?
Shortly before midnight on July 23, my father died in my arms.
Incontinence can happen to anyone, although it's more common in women than in men.
Chatting on a cell phone while attempting to cross the street may be particularly hazardous for older adults, a new study suggests.
In the movie "The King's Speech," there is a pivotal scene where Elizabeth, the future queen, frustrated by the failures of doctors who were trying to treat her husband's stutter, ventures into the streets of London to the office of controversial speech therapist Lionel Logue. So unaccustomed to the outside world, Elizabeth doesn't even know how to properly work the elevator in Logue's building.
Robyn Nichols always knows when it's going to rain. She can feel it in her bones -- literally.
Gradual hearing loss is a common symptom of aging, but in some people it may also be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, a new study suggests.
Eating a diet rich in fiber - especially the kind of fiber found in whole grains - reduces the risk of dying at an early age from a range of causes, a new government study suggests.
In her early 20s, the very thing most fundamental to Jessi Teich's career started to turn against her: Her voice.
Shelley Brown spent much of her life feeling ashamed and embarrassed that she didn't know the identity of her father.
The Environmental Protection Agency will set a limit on the amount of the chemical perchlorate, as well as other "toxic contaminants," in drinking water, it announced Wednesday.
Robin Gray's knee had been bothering her for almost two years, but when it finally got to the point where it interfered with her duties as a custodian at Emory University, she knew it was time to take action.
Barack Levin recently showed his children where the kidneys are in a human anatomy book, trying to explain why their daddy has been taking so many pills and feeling so tired.
Like many Americans, you probably think you're pretty charitable. Perhaps you donate money to the needy or ill, give away your old clothes, volunteer at your child's school or participate in holiday gift drives in December.
After completing his second year of business classes at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, in 2007, Joshua Armstrong decided to take a break from full-time studies.
Chad Arnold clearly remembers the day he received the call from his older brother, Ryan, telling him they were a perfect match for a liver transplant.
Popular bone drugs taken by millions of older people to prevent osteoporosis do not appear to raise the risk of cancer in the esophagus, as some doctors and patients have feared.
More than 16,000 U.S. medical school graduates are awarded M.D. degrees each year, and many enter their residency programs at teaching hospitals in July. Now, a growing body of research suggests that month might be a more deadly time in U.S. hospitals.
If celebrating triple-digit birthdays sounds appealing, scientists may be able to determine if you're likely to live that long.
Primary-care doctors now have a new--and potentially more convenient--tool to fight the bone disease osteoporosis.
When Godfrey Davies learned he needed surgery to remove polyps blocking his nasal airways, the self-described bargain shopper set out on a mission to find an affordable surgeon. He quickly learned a good deal is hard to find.
Coupons give discounts on frozen meals, toothpaste, breakfast cereals and household cleaners. And increasingly, consumers are turning to coupons for their prescription medications, too.
What? Really? You don't understand the new health care reform legislation? You find yourself confused? If you haven't mastered the minutiae on all 2,309 pages of the health care reform bill signed earlier this week by President Obama, there's nothing wrong with you -- even experts are having a hard time getting a grip on all the details.
Lynda, a 48-year-old mother of three who lives in upstate New York, got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia in 2000. While there are prescription medications for fibromyalgia, she's found one unconventional drug -- marijuana -- that really does the trick.
A new study brings researchers one step closer to unraveling a medical mystery that has perplexed scientists for thousands of years: What causes people to stutter?
Among all the ways to change your diet for the better, portion control sounds like the one thought up by a pocket-protector-wearing nutrition nerd patrolling the school cafeteria. To be portion-preoccupied means to be tyrannized by food scales and little tape measures: Is this chicken breast bigger than a pack of cards? Portion policing runs against the ideal of a relaxed, balanced, real-world diet in which healthy food choices bring satisfaction without too much worry about quantity.
If Americans cut their salt intake by just half a teaspoon per day, it would produce public health benefits on par with reducing high cholesterol, smoking, or obesity, a new study has found.
The second-to-last time EJ Levy was at Disney World, she used a scooter to navigate the enormous park. Her legs were weak and she suffered from foot drop caused by multiple sclerosis. That was 4½ years ago. On her most recent trip, a few months ago, Levy walked the entire time, thanks in part to a drug approved by the FDA on Friday.
For years, Alfonso Torress-Cook followed the rules in his quest to eliminate hospital-acquired infections. Patients at his hospital received large doses of antibiotics and were scrubbed down with alcohol-based soaps, as he and his colleagues aimed to kill every bacterium possible. Search and destroy was the mantra.
A cure for the common cold has eluded scientists since the dawn of mankind.
Obesity rates in the United States are still sky-high, but for the moment they appear to have stopped climbing higher, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Deb Lemire has always been "short and square," a figure she inherited from her grandmother and passed on to her child. So when Lemire took her daughter in for a wellness visit and the well-meaning pediatrician pulled her aside to talk about her daughter's weight, the 47-year-old burst into tears "because I was the 10-year-old being told I was overweight."
The nightmare began around 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Being an empowered patient means doing more than the bare minimum. It means taking an active part in your own health care.
It was the year that a new pandemic flu swept across the globe, initially baffling health authorities and causing worldwide panic.
Being an empowered patient means doing more than the bare minimum. It means taking an active part in your own health care.
Like most people, you probably think of cholesterol -- if you think of it at all -- and picture fatty foods and heart trouble.
Ginkgo biloba has failed -- again -- to live up to its reputation for boosting memory and brain function. Just over a year after a study showed that the herb doesn't prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease, a new study from the same team of researchers has found no evidence that ginkgo reduces the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging.
Doctors have known for years that a woman's risk of developing heart disease rises after menopause, but they weren't exactly sure why. It wasn't clear whether the increased risk is due to the hormonal changes associated with menopause, to aging itself, or to some combination of the two.
Renee Patterson's most precious present this Christmas won't be under her tree, and it didn't come from a store. This holiday, she said, she got her life back.
Life was good for Kenny Sparks. A handsome man with a big smile, he was well-known in his town of Little Compton, Rhode Island. He had a loving wife, two beautiful, college-age children and was the co-owner of a multimillion-dollar contracting business.
Although fewer people are smoking -- and therefore less likely to die from cigarette-related causes -- the obesity epidemic may negate any gains in life span, according to a new study.
Debra Bader was taking a walk in the woods with her 53-year-old husband one morning when suddenly he collapsed. At first she thought the situation was hopeless.
It's that time of year to make your list, check it twice -- and hit the stores. Happily, some retailers today are realizing that shoppers want a healthy experience as well as bargains.
When Kerry Higuera started bleeding three months into her pregnancy, she feared she was miscarrying. Heading to the emergency room seemed like the prudent thing to do.
When Katherine Frazier was a teenager in Silver Spring, Maryland, back in the '60s, smoking was the "in" thing to do. She thought it was glamorous. She thought it was cool. Her friends smoked, her parents smoked, and at the time, no one knew that smoking tobacco could kill you.
More than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat, according to a report released Thursday in Washington.
On a recent flight from San Francisco, California, to Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Julie Gerberding was thrilled to get bumped up to first class. The thrill, however, quickly disappeared: As she did her victory walk to the front cabin, she noticed that the woman in the seat next to hers was hacking up a lung.
Nate Wordell, 7, just feels lousy: swollen eyes, cough, high fever, stomach ache and he's dehydrated. Nate has H1N1.
Adell Tomas, who lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, admits she has a weight problem: Ten years ago, she tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. Because of her obesity, she developed high blood pressure, arthritis and type 2 diabetes. She says she just didn't take care of herself.
Nearly one-third, or 28 percent, of adults and children hospitalized with H1N1, also known as swine flu, have asthma. That's more than any other chronic condition, according to a recent analysis of cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Patients in the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal can now light up without fear of federal reprisal, but they may still have to answer to local authorities.
Yessica Maher of Los Angeles, California, feels let down. She had wanted to get the H1N1 vaccine for herself and her children, but that's proving to be difficult.
A world record was set recently in Houston, Texas. It wasn't the world's fastest quarter-mile run, the world's largest pumpkin or even the world's heaviest man. It was, however, as stunning to witness: the world's largest senior citizen Wii bowling tournament, as confirmed by Guinness World Records.
Fresh from medical school, Anna Bågenholm chose to do her residency in the Norwegian city of Narvik because of its spectacular mountain slopes. An expert skier, Bågenholm had gone off the trail with two other young doctors on a warm spring afternoon when she fell.
For Laura Geraghty, April 1, 2009, started out just as any other day. It was sunny but cool, she remembers.
Seated on a jetliner, Dr. Mary Gallagher and her husband, Don Dietrich, were about to take off for an anniversary vacation in Puerto Rico. But a glance at her husband of five years set off an alarm -- he was gasping for breath. Gallagher, an anesthesiologist, knew the signs: Dietrich was in cardiac arrest.
From motorcycles to lawnmowers, life is full of noise, but new research shows that it presents a bigger danger for some people than others.
People as young as 40 with borderline or high cholesterol levels are at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, said a Kaiser Permanente study released Tuesday.
When 48-year-old Erin Peiffer, of Eldersburg, Maryland, learned that she had high cholesterol in her 20s, she never thought it would pose a problem.
AWOL tampons, gas, losing your breakfast on the doc? To prove that you are so not alone when it comes to mortifying health mishaps, Health readers shared some of their stories with us. And our own medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, weighs in on when you really do need to talk to your doctor about an embarrassing episode or symptom.
At least three of the four makers of H1N1 vaccine have begun shipping their products, their representatives told CNN Tuesday.
Are you finally ready for some good news about the recession? As it turns out, a shaky economy might actually be good for your health.
Alcohol, a drug that is a major cause of accidents, may actually protect the brain from a life-threatening injury when an accident does occur, according to a study published this week in Archives of Surgery.
Most of us have experienced those maddening midnight moments when, no matter how tired we are, we either can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep or our sleep is of such poor quality it feels as if we were awake. For anyone who has tossed and turned at night, here's some expert advice for solving nine sleep problems.
At the beginning of the school year, a couple of hundred parents, myself included, gathered in the middle school lounge for the principal's back-to-school speech. The chatting hushed as the principal walked from the back of the room to the podium. As she proceeded down the aisle, parting the crowd of parents, she carried with her the biggest bottle of hand sanitizer I've ever seen.
There will be more than enough doses of the H1N1 vaccine to go around in the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday.
The ban on smoking in public places, such as bars and restaurants, has been one of the greatest public health debates of the early 21st century. Now, two large studies suggest that communities that pass laws to curb secondhand smoke get a big payoff -- a drop in heart attacks.
In 2007, a resident surgeon snapped a picture of a patient's tattoo -- the words Hot Rod on his penis -- and shared it with colleagues, making international news when the story was leaked to the press. At least the resident didn't post the picture on the Internet.
We all know we're supposed to eat healthy portions. So why is it that a rough day at the office or even just the smell of chocolate-chip cookies can cause us to throw our best intentions out the window?
Nine years of blindness almost drove Sharron "Kay" Thornton to suicide.
If the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho scared you, here's another reason to scream: A new study says that potentially disease-causing germs can get trapped in showerheads and grow into biofilm, or coats of slime that deliver a bacteria blast along with your hot water.
When Bridget and Scott Bear were expecting their first child, they wanted to know what it would cost so they could set aside enough money in their health savings account.
Can't find your keys ... again? Whether your momentary memory loss is linked to doing too many things at once or just a bad case of menopausal brain fog, you don't have to put up with it.
Do you sometimes feel as if going to a doctor's office is like going through a revolving door: in, swoosh-blur, out? You fight traffic to get there, wait a while in the waiting room, wait a while in the exam room, get seen, get dressed and get out. But once you've gone, you realize you're missing something -- maybe a small piece of helpful information. Below, some insider tips from medical specialists who tell you what your doctor doesn't have time to tell you in that all-too-brief appointment.
When Albert Budacz was young, he prided himself on having good eyesight; he never wore glasses. But as he eased into his late 40s, he couldn't see as well. "I noticed a change in my vision," he explained. "Primarily in church when I would open a Bible, or something like that, I had to position myself under a light to see it."
Children with high-risk medical conditions or disabilities should be among the first to be vaccinated against H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Thursday.
When Walter Jordan played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1980s, he had top-notch medical care. Whenever he was hurt, a team physician materialized immediately. If he had any kind of health question, it was answered in no time.
For generations the residents of Sao Pedro, Brazil and neighboring Candido Godoi have known their isolated hamlet in southern Brazil was special.
Ever find yourself chatting via instant messaging while checking your e-mail and surfing the Web? Well, don't pat yourself on the back for your super-productive behavior.
A soak in a steamy tub, surrounded by candles sure seems like a great way to unwind. But new research suggests that burning certain kinds of candles may generate indoor air pollutants.
If you're looking for an all-natural way to lower your cholesterol -- in addition to watching what you eat and exercising -- there are plenty of dietary supplements on the market that claim to do the trick. Each year seems to bring a new alternative remedy -- garlic, ginseng, or red yeast rice, for example -- that users tout as the next best thing to get cholesterol under control.
Richard Rose used to challenge his wife, Joyce, if he thought she was misstating something, but these days he lets it go.
Surgeons at two Washington hospitals have performed seven kidney transplants involving 14 recipients and donors who did not match, using a process that virtually eliminates the chances of organ rejection.
Imagine you're about to travel to a foreign land. You've heard it can be a mighty dangerous place, but you have to go there -- you have no choice. You don't know exactly where the threats lurk, and you don't speak the language. Wouldn't it be nice to have a guide?
Kim Mickens, 49, has always been the caregiver among her eight brothers and sisters. So when her mother, Delphine Mickens, was told she had Alzheimer's disease, Mickens took care of all the arrangements for her mother's care -- among them, she chose a nursing home not far from her place in Baltimore.
John Reid, a retired businessman, came home from a Caribbean cruise a few years ago with an infected toe as a souvenir. As a diabetic, he knew it was serious, so he went to the emergency room near his home in New York City. There, he says, the first doctor he saw ordered an immediate amputation, scheduling him for surgery right then and there.
Neither of Dr. Arthur Kellerman's parents wanted to die in a hospital. His father had metastatic cancer and his mother had had multiple strokes, and Kellerman wanted to respect their wishes about the ends of their lives.
Oh, the agony of the feet! They take more than their fair share of abuse (strappy stilettos, flimsy flip-flops, a running routine). But aside from the occasional pedicure, they don't get a lot of attention -- until they start hurting in ways you can't ignore. Real Simple asked experts to explain the six most common ailments women experience and offer smart tips on how to treat them effectively.
People with a gene variant that sharply increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease in old age may show memory impairment earlier than thought -- sometimes well before their 60th birthday, according to new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
When singer Michael Jackson asked for the anesthetic, Diprivan, to help him get a good night's sleep, nurse practitioner Cherilyn Lee told CNN, she refused, telling the pop star that if he took the medicine, he might never wake up.
From supermarkets to the office supply store, it's hard to miss those tiny bottles of 5-hour Energy.
Sure, the fountain of youth is as elusive as ever, but there's plenty you can do to stay young. With all that scientists are learning about the powers of exercise, antioxidant-rich roods, healthy fats, and brain-teasing games to keep you feeling and looking your best, age can really just be a state of mind. This head-to-toe guide shows how to beat the clock -- or at least slow it down.
In May, Denise Bertholin got married. She wore a white dress and carried beautiful lilies. She and her groom, Matt Braun, said "I do" in front of family and friends.
Although you may think that bottled water is a safer option than tap, two new reports show that the store-bought stuff is actually less regulated than the water you get out of your faucet for free.
Cutting daily calorie intake by 30 percent may put the brakes on the aging process, have beneficial effects on the brain, and result in a longer life span, according to a new 20-year study of monkeys published in the journal Science.
When the swine flu burst onto the scene in April, the bug arrived with a few particularly ominous signs: The flu was resistant to a class of drugs often used to fight flu in the past, and experts were surprised that a nonhuman virus could have such rapid human-to-human transmission. Why was swine flu resistant to current medicines, and was this strain a new supergerm?
If you're feeling down, it can be hard to tell if you're experiencing a temporary case of the blues or a serious depression. Now a group of researchers say there's a relatively easy way to figure out whether some young adults are at greater risk of psychiatric problems or drug abuse -- just ask about their family.
It's been nine years since Kim and Curtis Christiansen were married. Since then they've had their ups and downs, but they've remained close. But when Curtis began snoring about three years ago, Kim began sleeping on the couch.
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