To Your Health

At Christmastime, Jack Frost nipping at your nose sounds cute. When you are shoveling snow in January, you worry about meeting his ugly cousin, frostbite.

While hypothermia, the lowering of core body temperature, is deadly, frostbite---freezing of the skin and underlying tissues--- can cause permanent tissue damage,  as well as lead to amputation and disability. The Mayo Clinic reports there are three stages of frostbite.

According to the National Eye Health Education Program, glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States. People are often unaware that glaucoma has no symptoms in its early stages. If detected early, before noticeable vision loss occurs, glaucoma can usually be controlled and severe vision loss can often be prevented. Vision that is lost from glaucoma cannot be restored.

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month.

Stores are swapping the shelves full of cookie-making supplies with displays for weight-loss products. It reflects our state of mind…regretting the holiday indulgences, we want to quickly get back on the right track for the new year.

Watching the ball drop in Times Square, singing “Old Lang Syne” and toasting with champagne are traditional ways of celebrating the new year. However, for some, the holiday provides what seems like a socially acceptable reason to overindulge in alcohol.

Jokes about arthritis abound. “Who needs a weather report when you have arthritis?” Arthritis is very common, but not very well understood. According to the Arthritis Foundation, it isn’t even one disease, but an informal way of referring to joint pain.