The mattress can be a jungle of dust mites and bedbugs, milling around among dried remnants of blood, saliva, sweat and basically all the other bodily fluids you can think of.
Bedbugs have become minor celebrities this week with a report from the National Pest Management Association showing that the problem is on the rise. Bedbug calls have gone up by 81 percent since 2000, the study said, and 67 percent of surveyed pest management companies have treated bedbug infestations in hotels or motels.
These insects are about a quarter-inch long and …

Federal guidelines regarding the labeling of “natural” chicken could change as the result of an ongoing dispute over whether or not poultry injected with salt, water, or other such ingredients should carry the label, according to Associated Press (AP) reports on Friday.
Under current U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, chicken may be labeled as “natural” as long as it does not contain artificial flavors or preservatives.
However, notes AP writer Juliana Barbassa, “the agency agreed to take another look at its policy after some producers, politicians and health advocates noted that about …

The latest installment of Patient Voices focuses on scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that can lead to hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues. The symptoms and severity of scleroderma can vary, making it difficult to accomplish everyday tasks or, in some cases, threatening vital organs.
Listen to the stories of scleroderma collected by producer Karen Barrow, which include a basketball player who began developing ulcers on his fingers, a mother whose hands were frozen by the disease, and a mailman who, after …

It may sound like a headline from Cosmo, but a survey published in the Journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons finds that the nearly two-thirds of women report  sexual dysfunction.
The top problem cited among women was lack of desire (47 percent), followed closely by orgasm problems (45 percent). Age, menopausal status and usage of antidepressants were statistically significant risk factors for female sexual dysfunction.
Researchers surveyed 587 women ages 18 to 95 who attend a New Jersey clinic.  Younger women cited problems with orgasms while older women lamented the …

Contact lenses are the most common cause of medical-device associated injuries among children over the age of 11, according to research published this week in Pediatrics.  The article reviewing medical records from 100 hospital emergency departments between 2004 and 2005, estimated that nearly 34,000 (or 23 percent) of annual cases were due to contact lens injuries in children and teens.
Contact lenses and glasses accounted for 40 percent of all medical device associated injuries. The lenses were associated with corneal abrasions, ulcerations and conjunctivitis (swelling or infection of the membrane lining …