Common Medical Ailments

If you're reading this, maybe you already know.

We live in an age of information, more details and anecdotes than ever available on the Internet, and this certainly applies to the medical field. Sites like WebMD and Wikipedia make studying ones' symptoms easier than ever, with a definite temptation to diagnose, whether one has a license and exhaustive medical school background or no.

Let's be clear: What follows is not medical advice. The person writing these words is not a doctor, though he once had a seventh grade health teacher who was an extra on an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

This is simply an overview of a few basic ailments and what can be done to deal with them:

The common cold: For some people, getting hit with a cold or allergies is pretty much an annual thing. We've all had the sore throat, runny nose, or bleary eyes, and for some of us, this happens a few times a year. Some people seem to have a perpetual cold thanks to the way they live their lives. Thankfully, it's generally nothing a little rest and relaxation won't cure. It can be a matter of lifestyle habits as well, with the winter months especially a time for people to dress warm, eat well, and get plenty of sleep. For the nastier, more lingering colds, a trip to the doctor may be in order to see if it's morphed into the flu and antibiotics are needed.

Halitosis: Okay, so there are a couple of ways to look at halitosis. One is to acknowledge like Secretary's Day or Milli Vanilli, halitosis was essentially invented for marketing purposes. This much is clear. Officially, there's no such condition as halitosis, a pseudo medical name for having bad breath. Then again, the symptoms of bad breath are there, whatever name they're referred to as, and treatments are available. That may be worthy of a made-up ailment.

Dandruff: The good news is that all those white flakes in one's hair often are not head lice, the third grade version of the plague, the ailment that leads to scores of bald children every year. But dandruff is no picnic either, unsightly and itchy. Specially oriented shampoos are available to mitigate this and get rid of those flakes. And if they stick around, it might be time to make a trip to the lice specialist.

Dry skin: No one wants a dry or flaking epidermis, blistered skin, red rashes all over. It's not pretty, comfortable, or healthy. Thankfully, Glytone products, Dermalogica products, and other bathroom essentials can keep one's skin healthy and glowing. They turn an ordinary bathroom into a do-it-yourself home spa.

Herpes: Sure, it might sound a little awkward to include a sexually transmitted disease here. Consider that something like one in five sexually active adults have herpes, whether dormant or active, and that there is no known cure. In the words of any inspiring herpes commercial, though, treatments are available and can help those afflicted lead as normal of lives as possible.