Health & Science

Runners sometimes joke about the strangest places they have gotten a drink when putting in long, hot miles ---from a stranger’s garden hose, a spigot on a golf course---but dehydration is no laughing matter. It’s also not something to cry about...because people who are dehydrated can’t produce tears.

If you have ever had one, you know that kidney stones are just the worst. Your back aches, peeing hurts, and you might feel nauseous. Actually, about 1 in 10 people will get a kidney stone in their lifetime, according to the National Kidney Foundation. What is a kidney stone and how can we avoid becoming one of the people who get them?

Did you know that the term “dog days of summer” actually has nothing to do with canines? Jon Katz, author of Dog Days says it actually goes back to the Romans belief that Sirius, the brightest star in the “big dog” constellation rose with the sun to create great days of heat. However, dogs may know how to better deal with hot days than humans do...they find shade and lay down, while we just go about our busy lives.

Do you know how to tell when you are too darn hot? Johns Hopkins School of Medicine describes three levels of heat related illness.

Erma Bombeck once said, “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”