The final months of the year can become incredibly hectic, often leaving us feeling overwhelmed and stressed. When our bodies encounter a stressor, they react with a “fight or flight” response, causing a surge of chemicals and immune cells. Prolonged excessive stress can disrupt our immune regulation, create inflammatory conditions, and weaken the antibody response to infections, ultimately impairing immune function.
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.
A diagnosis of arthritis can be intimidating. More than half a million New Zealanders are living with arthritis. It is a serious health condition with no known cure and the leading cause of disability in our country. The good news is that you can help yourself make living with arthritis easier.
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.
