2008-07-24T11:21:30Z tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2008:/checkup//386 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-07-24T11:21:30Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-24:/checkup/2008/07/your_tattoo_mistake.html

More women are getting tattoos these days, but more are also apparently coming to the conclusion that their decision to get their boyfriend's name, a rose or some other image inked into their skin was a mistake. A new survey finds that women are more likely than men to get their tattoos removed, apparently because of the social stigma still associated with a woman getting a tattoo. An unidentified woman shows her tattoo. (AFP PHOTO/Rob...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Rob Stein 2008-07-23T14:41:27Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-23:/checkup/2008/07/httpnccamnihgovhealthpractitio.html

Besides the obvious horrors the recent arrest of Radovan Karadzic dredged up, it was really freaky to find out that the Butcher of Bosnia, murderer of a reported 8,000 men and boys, has apparently for years been practicing complementary medicine in Belgrade under the pseudonym Dragan Dabic. Among the many questions that popped into my mind: How well do I really know my massage therapist? If, in fact, I had a massage therapist, I'm...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-22T12:19:38Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-22:/checkup/2008/07/health_in_your_second_halfcent.html

Every day, the news is full of advice, much of it contradictory, about how to stay healthy as you age. It's hard to keep track of all that information, and it's even harder to sort the solid advice from the less-solid stuff gleaned from the latest study du jour. Here's one way to cut through that clutter and focus on a handful of tried-and-true ways to maintain good health in your second half-century. The U.S....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-21T11:02:47Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-21:/checkup/2008/07/not_every_kids_a_high_achiever.html

I like the way my kids are. They're reasonably well-mannered, generally kind and considerate, interested in music and animals. They like to draw. And sometimes they like to just sit around and watch TV. I'll admit to having occasional pangs when I read or hear about kids who have done amazing things with their young lives, teens and pre-teens who are engaged in tons of activities and always at the top of the academic heap....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-18T13:01:24Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-18:/checkup/2008/07/fielding_flirtation.html

When a woman meets an attractive, available guy, she tends to use the experience as an opportunity to shore up her existing relationship. When a guy meets an attractive, available woman, though, he suddenly takes a dimmer view of his female partner. Union leader Prez (James Robertson) and flirty secretary Gladys Hotchkiss (Kimberly Sabol) in a scene from "The Pajama Game." (Photo By Brian Darville) --> But chins up, gals: with a little training, our...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-17T11:05:50Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-17:/checkup/2008/07/beware_the_bassinet_for_thursd.html

In the hope of reducing deaths of babies from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies sleep in their own space, such as in a crib or bassinet. But bassinets, it turns out, may not always be so safe, new research shows. Jodi Pike and Rachel Moon at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington reviewed all 54 deaths of infants involving bassinets reported to the Consumer Product Safety...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Rob Stein 2008-07-16T13:43:41Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-16:/checkup/2008/07/optimism_helps_heart_health.html

I'm wary of the notion that a positive mental attitude can help people survive medical crises, mostly because I've known some incredibly upbeat people who have died of cancer. A good outlook and cheerful demeanor can't hurt, I suppose, but the pressure on sick people to maintain those attitudes seems kind of unrealistic, and the suggestion that by failing to be cheerful they contribute to their own demise seems unfair. But a study in the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-15T11:03:34Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-15:/checkup/2008/07/is_facebook_a_healthy_choice_f.html

Let me be clear: I trust my 14-year-old daughter, and she's never given me reason not to. (We often have joked that her worst transgression so far was when she snuck off and cut her own hair at age 5.) But trust in her isn't really the issue in our household these days as her yearning for a Facebook account grows stronger daily. The answer has been "no" for some time now. My husband and...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-14T23:13:41Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-14:/checkup/2008/07/i_have_what_for_july_7.html

Ouch. I've just had the most painful case of Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia ever! I took a huge gulp of icy-cold tea, and it gave me what we laypeople call brain freeze. Today's blog is not about brain freeze, however; we're looking at Latin and Greek medical terms for common health conditions. The idea came from a creative p.r. person looking to promote the new-ish health-info search engine RightHealth.com (which, by the way, is worth checking out)....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-11T11:00:04Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-11:/checkup/2008/07/brain_game_for_july_11.html

Boy, do I feel dumb. I've just spent the last two minutes trying to remember where this little bird last popped up amidst the foliage on my computer screen while also trying to remember what letter appeared on the screen before the bird disappeared. It's a ridiculous thing to be doing, right? But you know what? It's really, really hard -- and I'm on the easiest level. I'm giving the online brain game site Lumosity...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-10T11:12:15Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-10:/checkup/2008/07/questioning_prostate_cancer_tr.html

A new study is casting doubt on an increasingly popular therapy for prostate cancer -- the second most common cancer and second most common cause of cancer death among men. Typically, men who are diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer undergo surgery or radiation or simply keep an eye on the cancer to see if it progresses. Often, prostate cancer never causes problems. But doctors are increasingly using a therapy called "androgen deprivation therapy." It usually...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Rob Stein 2008-07-09T11:00:50Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-09:/checkup/2008/07/my_venus_week_for_july_9.html

All these years I've been having my Venus Week and didn't even know it. "The Venus Week," as described in a recent book by that name, is that one sparkling point in a woman's monthly menstrual cycle in which her hormones are all working in her favor, making her skin glow, her hair shine, her clothes fit better, and her libido kick into high gear. Author Rebecca Booth, an ob/gyn, says she came up with...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-08T10:55:19Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-08:/checkup/2008/07/when_in_france_for_july_8.html

Most people don't think too much about keeping their hands warm, particularly not in the heat of the summer. But folks like me who have Raynaud's Syndrome learn to avoid frigid digits whenever they can. Because what happens when my hands get cold, as my grossed-out kids can attest, isn't pretty. And it can happen getting in the pool or the ocean if the water is chilly, holding an ice-cold martini, or retrieving frozen food...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-07T11:22:06Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-07:/checkup/2008/07/bon_voyage_for_july_1.html

If you're heading abroad this summer -- and, despite the lousy economy and crummy exchange rates, it seems as though many of us are -- you'll need to make sure your passport's in order, you've converted some cash to the currency of your destination, and laid in some extra memory cards for your camera. Unless you think about health every day, as I do, though, you may not have taken time to check out the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget 2008-07-04T11:05:10Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-07-04:/checkup/2008/07/yoga_as_bunion_buster_for_frid.html

A friend, knowing that I teach yoga and write about health, e-mailed me the other day with this question: "Somebody told me that there is a yoga exercise that will actually reverse the progress of a bunion. You put the affected foot up against a slant board and stretch out the other leg ... ever hear of this?" I hadn't. But I promised to look into it. It's just the kind of issue that exists...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jennifer Huget