Prevent Osteoporosis: 3 Steps to Strong, Healthy Bones

prevent osteoporosis: 3 steps to healthy bonesDrinking milk isn’t just for kids. It also is an excellent source of calcium and Vitamin D, nutrients that are essential for bone health.

It’s important to pay attention to your bone health because as you age, if your body is losing bone mass more rapidly than it’s creating new bone, you could develop osteoporosis. This condition weakens bones, making them more likely to break.

Ya-Yu Lee, MD, an endocrinologist with LVPG Diabetes & Endocrinology, recommends three steps to maintain optimal bone health and prevent osteoporosis: Read More »

AHH-CHOO! Spring Allergies Are in the Air

Dandelion spring allergiesApril showers bring May flowers . . . and enough pollen to make people sneeze, wheeze and blow their noses.  It’s spring. Welcome to hay fever season.

How on earth do we get through it?

“Allergens such as pollen, dust or animal dander can create an inflammation of the nasal passage,” says Lehigh Valley Health Network family medicine doctor Beth Careyva, MD, of Bethlehem Family Medicine.  “How you react to these allergens depends on your immune system. Some people have bad allergies. Others may not react at all.”

And that reaction dictates what you do about them. Read More »

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy May Help Your Healing

turtle with bandaid for wound healing graphic

You have a wound that is taking a long time to heal. Maybe blood flow to that area is poor, or your tissues were damaged by radiation therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Wound Healing Center may be the perfect solution to your problem.

“There are many medical conditions and wounds that are very hard to heal under normal circumstances,” says plastic surgeon Robert X. Murphy Jr., MD.  “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a natural way to help augment the body’s natural healing process.”

Hyperbaric oxygen treatments are provided in pressurized chambers designed specifically to deliver 100 percent oxygen at a pressure higher than sea level for a designated period of time.  It will increase the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream two to three times the normal amount, which can make a major difference in the healing of wounds and damaged body tissues.

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Donate Life: Be an Organ Donor

Organ donation statistics

Despite advances in medical technology that make organ and tissue transplantation easier and safer than ever, people waiting for transplants still greatly outnumber the number of available donors. To raise awareness about this critical shortage, April is annually designated as National Donate Life Month.

“We need more people to understand the urgency and how they can help,” says transplant surgeon Lynsey Biondi, MD, of Lehigh Valley Health Network’s (LVHN) Transplant Center. There are two ways to become a donor.

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