High blood pressure is one of the most common health conditions, yet many people don’t realise they have it. If you have high blood pressure or are at risk, you can make improvements through lifestyle changes and medication adherence. Understanding High Blood Pressure Blood pressure measures the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. It’s recorded as systolic pressure (the pressure when your heart beats) over diastolic pressure (the pressure when your heart rests between beats). A normal reading is around 120/80 mmHg, with hypertension diagnosed when readings consistently exceed 140/90 mmHg. Left untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and other complications. Lifestyle Changes to Lower Blood Pressure 1. Adopt...
Head lice are small insects around the size of a sesame seed that live on the human scalp. They cannot jump, fly or swim but are spread when people have their heads close together or by sharing combs, brushes and hats.
Do you ever walk into a room and forget what you went in for? Forget the names of people or misplace your keys? Thankfully, that is no cause for concern and is common for people of all ages. However, dementia affects 43,000 New Zealanders and their families. Dementia occurs as a result of physical changes in the structure of the brain, affecting memory, behaviour and emotions.
Asthma is a major issue in New Zealand. One in four of our kids and one in six adults suffer from asthma, over 600,000 people. It hasn’t always been this common and research hasn’t come up with a definite answer as to why it is becoming more common, but our lifestyles do seem to have many contributing factors. The major suspects seem to be allergies, diet and poor digestion.
Due to recent changes, accredited pharmacists are now permitted to supply a selection of oral contraceptives to certain women. This is an exciting change to improve convenience for women who fit the criteria. We'll take a look at the range of contraceptives available through pharmacy.
