Harvard Women's Health Watch articles from August 2006

Harvard Women's Health Watch archives from August 2006

What are bioidentical hormones?
August 1, 2006... Natural. Bioidentical. Compounded. Confusion about these terms is only adding to the confusion over hormone therapy. Many women and health experts continue to struggle with the turnaround in attitude toward hormone therapy in the wake of...

Managing atrial fibrillation.
August 1, 2006... When heart rhythm is in disarray, medications can often help. But if they don't do the trick, other treatments are available. In novels and poetry, a fluttering heart often signals romance or high drama. In ordinary life, it could be a sign...

Breath control helps quell errant stress response.
August 1, 2006... Breathe in deeply to a count of four and out again slowly. There. Don't you feel calmer? Most of us are familiar with the term "fight or flight," also known as the stress response. It's what the body does as it prepares to confront or...

By the way, doctor; What can be done about inadequate cells on a Pap test?
August 1, 2006... Q. I'm 48 years old, and 26 years ago I had a cone biopsy after an abnormal Pap test. Since then, all my Pap tests have been normal. But for the past three years, scar tissue has made it difficult for my gynecologist to get adequate cells. What...

By the way, doctor; Is my Lyme disease vaccination still effective?
August 1, 2006... Q. I was vaccinated against Lyme disease in 2000. Do I still need to be careful about tick bites? A. Yes, you still need to be cautious about deer ticks, which carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The vaccine...