By Marcia Noyes Something borrowed can make you blue, especially when it comes to prescription medication. When my young daughter developed symptoms of pink eye (conjunctivitis) many years ago, I quickly made a doctor’s appointment and began administering eye medication prescribed by her pediatrician. A few days later, her brother, only a year older in age, contracted the highly contagious eye condition. [...] Read More »

Michael Douglas has revealed that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer.  He confesses that for most of his adult life he has been a smoker and drinker, two behaviors that have been linked to increased oral cancer risk.  This is a very serious diagnosis and not surprisingly his physicians are treating him aggressively with radiation and chemotherapy. According to the American Cancer Society [...] Read More »

Should drinking on college campuses be accepted as a rite of passage?  According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes annually.   Nearly 600,000 students are injured while under the influence of alcohol.  97,000 students are victims [...] Read More »

Cafeterias, all-you-can-eat buffets and late night pizza deliveries are just a few of the temptations facing college freshman as they adjust to their new found freedom and life on their own for the first time. Weight gain and poor eating habits are the likely outcomes for many, but a growing number of college students, primarily females, suffer from eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia [...] Read More »

A nagging stomachache, diarrhea and nausea are symptoms that can lead to a number of different diagnoses from food poisoning to the stomach flu. Those symptoms can also indicate Colitis, an inflammation of the colon (large intestine) that can be caused by an infection, poor blood supply, or an autoimmune reaction. Additional symptoms can include abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody stools and fever. Because [...] Read More »

College brings more freedom and fewer restrictions than most students have experienced during their high school years.  Newly minted undergraduates have a positive view of their fellow students and take for granted that they and their possessions are safe.  Many college students are unaware of the consequences that might arise from certain social situations including dating and experimenting with [...] Read More »

College life:  it can be the best of times and the worst of times.  For most young people going off to college it is a time of excitement.  They envision living with some autonomy from their parents and anticipate meeting new people and experiencing new things.  However, sometimes experience turns into too much experimentation and autonomy develops into homesickness and depression. Campus life [...] Read More »

Whether he actually had wooden teeth is debatable, however it’s widely believed that George Washington died from peritonsillar abscess complications. Also referred to as PTA or quinsy, peritonsillar abscess is most often a complication of tonsillitis and occurs when an abscess forms next to one of the tonsils. The swollen abscess can cause the uvula, the soft tissue dangling from the back of the [...] Read More »

I have recently started reaping the rewards of my latest venture into home farming – raising chickens for egg production.  I love collecting fresh eggs each morning from my girls and knowing exactly what went into (literally) producing these eggs.  I pride myself on keeping a clean hen house for my girls and ensuring that they are healthy and happy.  I can’t imagine how this process is done [...] Read More »

By Marcia Horn Noyes In a blog earlier this week, I gave my secret to quick weight loss. After being on this planet for 50 years and spending much of that time overweight, you can imagine all the things that I’ve tried in order to lose weight.  In fact, my eldest daughter and I had a long conversation about dieting this week and whether she believes some secret formula exists for quick weight loss. [...] Read More »