Health

Poison Ivy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Prevention is the first line of defense against poison ivy, oak, and sumac. But if preventive measures fail, over-the-counter and prescription medications can help deal with the rash until it runs its course.

Avoiding Fleas and Ticks : Preventing Tick-Borne Disease
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Pesticides and repellents to protect cats and dogs from fleas and ticks have risks as well as benefits. Concerned over recent reports of adverse effects from such products, the Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with industry, has developed

Avoiding Fleas and Ticks : Tenacious Ticks, Debugging
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
A tick has a one-piece body. The harpoon-like barbs of its mouth attach to a host for feeding. Crablike legs and a sticky secretion help hold the tick to the host. When attempting to remove a tick, to prevent the mouth part from coming off and remaining

Avoiding Fleas and Ticks
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Fleas and ticks can afflict not only pets but their owners as well. Some new products can help keep these tiny pests under control. Common household fleas don't usually transmit diseases to pets and people.

Organ Transplants from Animals
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Organs from pigs, baboons, and possibly other animals may save human lives in the years ahead. For now, however, their use is experimental, and at times controversial. Xenotransplants are on the cutting edge of medical science, and some scientists think

Ways to Heal Broken Bones
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
More than a million Americans suffer broken bones every year. Bone grafts, bone growth stimulators, and new kinds of replacement joints are among the treatments making recuperation easier.

Computer Diagnosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Computer software is being used for more and more medical purposes, ranging from diagnosing exotic diseases to finding precancerous cells. FDA is looking at how best to regulate these programs when they function as medical devices.

Treating and Preventing Venomous Snake Bites
by US Department of Health and Human Services
Twenty kinds of poisonous snakes inhabit the United States (except for Maine, Alaska and Hawaii), and coping with a bite from any one of them is no picnic. There are ways to prevent getting bitten, however, and effective treatment if prevention fails.

Over the Counter Drugs: Tummy Turmoil
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
A vague queasiness stirs in your stomach. Queasy quickly turns to severely nauseated. A sour bubble rises in your throat, and you dash for the bathroom in a cold sweat. Whatever the cause, the nausea and vomiting of an upset stomach are nasty.

Medical Devices and Electromagnetic Interference
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
How could a nurse work without a beeper? An ambulance without a two-way radio? A doctor without a cellular phone? Today's medical professionals rely heavily on wireless communication devices to help them do their jobs efficiently.

In-Home Tests Make Health Care Easier
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Tests that can be done in the home and bought without prescription are helping people stay healthy. Such tests include blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, and devices to detect hidden blood in the stool and blood cholesterol levles.

Middle Ear Infections : Prevention, Antibiotics
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Although the causes of otitis media aren't fully known, several factors increase a child's risk for developing ear infections: Bottle-feeding. Bottle-fed babies are two to three times more likely to develop otitis media in the first year of life

Middle Ear Infections : Treatments, Diagnosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
For now in the United States, antibiotics and tympanostomy tubes remain the most common and accepted tools for treating acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion. Both approaches have benefits.

Middle Ear Infections
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Medical thinking is changing on how to treat middle ear infections-that all-too-common childhood malady. The greatest debate is about the role of antibiotics and tympanostomy tubes in chronic otitis media.

Hematopoietic Growth Factors
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Hematopoieticfl refers to blood cell formation. Hematopoietic growth factors are cytokines that stimulate blood cells to proliferate. Three have been licensed. Like most cytokines, they have long names and short acronyms.

Hormone-Like Proteins: Putting Body Mechanics To Work
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Hormone-like proteins act as communicators between the cells in our bodies. Scientists are now producing large amounts of these proteins through genetic engineering, testing them for medical applications, and sometimes even altering them.

Learn About Pet Food Labels
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Much as reading human food labels helps in planning good human meals, knowing what to look for on a pet food label can help owners pick appropriate food for their pets.

Human Tissue Transplants : Cost
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA, Congress and industry agree on one critical aspect about pending legislation: Regulating human tissues requires resources. As Kathryn Zoon, Ph.D., director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says

Human Tissue Transplants : Sperm and Ova, Tissue Brokers
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Reproductive tissues, primarily sperm and ova, are presently not regulated by the federal government and are exempt from FDA's interim rules. Though this industry has some degree of self regulation and state monitoring, it is not without its problems.

Human Tissue Transplants
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Transplants of human tissues, such as cornea and bone, can be modern miracles. But they can also transmit disease such as HIV and hepatitis. FDA has tightened controls of transplanted human tissue to minimize risks, and is considering additional action.