Public Health & Safety

The blood of a person who has never had CMV (cytomegalovirus) will test negative for antibodies to the infection and will be described as having CMV-negative blood. Interestingly, many people who...

Life insurance companies provide financial protection in the event of your death. Smoking, with its widely proven harmful effects to your health, is a risk most companies penalize with higher...

Although an emergency room seems to be a disordered or chaotic place due to the amount of patients coming in for treatment, hospitals have a set procedure to ensure that you receive proper...

A white blood cell is a component of blood. While the red blood cells carry oxygen to the organs and the platelets are responsible for clotting blood after an injury, white blood cells help the...

There are a variety of conditions that can cause both low white blood cell count and low hemoglobin. These conditions are generally serious and require monitoring by a doctor.

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. If the disease progresses, it could lead to permanent liver damage, liver cancer and even liver failure. Hepatitis C is transmitted through the blood...

Blood typing is a necessary test in order to determine what blood type is needed (in the event of an emergency transfusion) or to whom the blood may be given (in the case of donation). Four blood...

Bleeding from an artery, the largest of the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart and around the body, is a life-threatening injury. You can usually identify an artery cut...

Tylenol and Advil have been found to have a tendency to increase blood pressure in women. The Nurses Health Study at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that...

Take a few long, deep breaths, and you will feel the physical and psychological benefits immediately. Slow, deep, meditative breathing has been known for centuries as a way of calming and...

The brain uses more than its share of oxygen in the body. The brain, at about 3 lb., usually constitutes only 2 percent of the body's mass, but it uses 20 percent of the output from the heart. The...

Circulation to the brain depends on having a healthy heart and healthy vascular system. Several things can impede circulation of the blood to the brain. The most obvious would be a physical...

Smoking can kill you. It causes numerous bad effects on your health that can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, respiratory problems, cancer, gum disease and diabetes...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates bloodborne pathogens under Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1030 (40 CFR 1030). Bloodborne pathogens are...

Setting up for a blood transfusion is a relatively simple procedure for most health care professionals. With today's precautions and medical technology, a blood transfusion is a safe, routine...

Magnesium aspartate is a mineral salt of magnesium which is commonly used to treat low levels of magnesium in the blood.

Many diseases have a better chance of reversal or wreaking less havoc on the body the earlier they are discovered. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services encourages citizens to have...

The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) recently released the 26th edition of the Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, a publication outlining requirements for organizational...

The need for a stable blood supply is great. Did you know that patients suffering from traumatic injury may need between 30 and 100 units of blood to assist their recovery? And that both cancer...

The heart is an amazing organic machine that regulates the life-giving blood that flows throughout our bodies. It is made up of four chambers: the left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium and the...

Blood plasma is a pale, yellow-colored liquid in which various substances like food, waste products, hormones and gases remain in solution. It transports everything except fat droplets and, in...

Blood aluminum level tests are generally performed on those who work with or around aluminum on a regular basis. Excess levels of aluminum in the body have been shown to cause a number of...

Statistics from the American Heart Association show as many as 37,000 to 40,000 people die every year from the effects of smoking. Cigarette smoke contains a number of toxins that work to...

With all of the successful medical research to create helpful treatment for people who are infected with HIV, more and more people are realizing that conducting HIV testing is something that...

Angiogenesis is the growth of new capillary blood vessels in the body. It is a necessary process essential to healing and reproduction. Angiogenesis is controlled by a precise balance of...

According to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, blood plasma contains proteins that are useful for treating burn and shock patients, as well as those with chronic diseases and rare...

"Whole blood" refers to blood containing all its components, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and so on. "Plasma" can refer either to the yellowish fluid of blood in which...

All workplaces can have accidents, but some professions are at high risk of exposure to blood-borne pathogens--tiny organisms in the blood that can spread disease. Workers need to take precautions...

Stevia, also known also by its Latin name, Stevia rebaudiana, is marketed by several companies as a natural sweetener. Available at health food stores, stevia is an herb that grows wild as a...

In 1938, Charles Drew, an African-American medical resident at Columbia University invented the process of blood plasma transfusion. The process entails separating whole blood (red blood cells)...

Standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), performed with chest compressions and mouth breathing, is used in an attempt to resuscitate persons suffering from cardiac and respiratory arrest in...

A person at risk of developing diabetes needs to know she can be screened for either pre-diabetes or diabetes. If she knows what the risk factors are for developing this disease, she can take...

Stevia, an all-natural dietary supplement and sweetener, is marketed and manufactured by companies such as Sweet Leaf Products and Whole Earth Sweetener Company. Find the sweetener at your local...

Lornoxicam, also known as Xafon, is a drug that is used to treat individuals with mild to severe pain and joint inflammation. As is the case with prescription drugs, use of lornoxicam may result...

Donating bone marrow can be a very painful process. You can donate bone marrow for money, but it is usually donated for free between family members when a relative is very sick with leukemia or a...

Nosebleeds can be a pretty common mishap, and they're fairly to care for and stop.

Planned Parenthood points out that fewer than 1 out of 100 women will get pregnant if birth-control pills are used as directed. While effective, birth-control pills can cause side effects in a...

The body's blood pressure must be high enough to deliver blood to the organs throughout the body. According to medicinenet.com, it "is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries and is...

Blood donation is a safe, sterile procedure performed in a controlled environment. There are no dangers to giving blood, as long as the donor has been honest during the pre-donation health...

Ionized water is obtained from mild electrolysis. Ionized water changes the structure of tap water to an ionized state. Water in its ionized state has numerous benefits for users, including health.

Blood banks are laboratory centers that are responsible for the collection, processing, typing, safety and storage of blood for research and medical purposes. Most blood collected for medical use...

Plasma takes up about 55 percent of one's blood volume. Plasma donations are commonly performed in such a way that whole blood is withdrawn, the plasma is separated out, and the blood cells are...

Modern physicians say normal blood pressure takes no account of age. A reading of 120mm/80mm is normal regardless, according to Mayo Clinic staff. But early 20th century blood pressure cuff users...

Nitric oxide is a colorless gas, slightly heavier than air and sparingly soluble in water. Negative effects of nitric oxide are rare, but can occur.

The British Hypertension Society is the governing body for determining care for hypertension, or high blood pressure, in the United Kingdom and is considered one of the foremost authorities on the...

Lice are minuscule, wingless, blood-sucking insects that live on human beings. They cling to the hair or skin, living on the blood of the host. Lice are sometimes spotted even in the folds of...

The requirements to donate plasma have been put in place to protect every component of the blood donation system--the donor, patient and the many therapies developed from the plasma supplies. In...

Genetics testing has been performed for about 100 years. The principles of the inheritance of genetics were discovered in the mid-19th century by Gregor Mendel. Blood sampling became the dominant...

An organ is a part of the human body made up of two or more different tissues, which plays a specific role in maintaining the body's health and proper function. Healthy organs all work together...

Some medical conditions can leave your spleen weakened or enlarged. The spleen, located on the left side of the body under the diaphragm, is necessary for good health. The spleen contains a...