During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
It’s not necessarily easy to give up sugar, according to Auckland, New Zealand-based doctor Sharad Paul, MD, author of The Genetics of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health. “Sugar is addictive and triggers withdrawal symptoms if we stop eating it,” he says. “Mood changes like anxiety and anger usually last for about two weeks, but up to a month if you have been eating a lot of sugar over a long period of time.” Even artificial sweeteners like aspartame cause withdrawal effects, so it’s best not to use them as means to reduce sugar intake,” he says. Alabanza adds that headaches and flu-like symptoms may also occur, and you can reduce them with exercise, he suggests. “A moderate to brisk paced walk or hike can help by slightly increasing circulation and metabolism, boosting the immune system and giving the person something positive to focus on.” Next, don’t miss the 25 ways sugar is making you sick.
16 Secrets Bed Bugs Don’t Want You To Know—But Are Crucial For Keeping Them At Bay
We may be tiny buggers (about the shape and size of an apple seed), but our presence elicits a massive case of the heebie jeebies. Read on to find out what you need to know to sleep tight and be sure we don’t bite
As a recent study in the Journal of Medical Entomology showed, we really like dark red and black (so maybe don’t choose bedding in those colors) and tend to stay away from white, green, and yellow. Researchers think these colors offer good protection from predators like ants and spiders. And since we have a red exoskeleton, it’s likely that we’re drawn to this color because it suggests the presence of other bed bugs—and we generally like to stick together to stay safe
Bed bugs go to great lengths to stay out of sight, something they excel at thanks to their tiny size and flat shape. When they’re not sucking your blood—usually at night, but they can adjust to daytime sleepers—they prefer to hide in dark spaces where they can digest their meal, mate, and lay eggs. Even though you might not see the creatures, you can see evidence of them: These are the bed bug signs entomologists use.
Watch for bed bugs
If you’re sharp-eyed, you might spot the insect itself: They’re about the size of an apple seed. That’s why they creep up on you while you’re sleeping because they don’t want to be disturbed while feeding or when they are digesting their blood meal, mating or laying eggs in their harborage, hidden out of sight. They’re also quick and will scatter when you enter the room. Here’s where you can get a better sense of what bed bugs look like.
Watch for bed bug bites
bed bug rash
Courtesy National Pest Management Association
A clear bed bug sign is a bite—which you’ll wake up with when they’ve been feeding on you at night. If you wake up feeling itchy and have red welts or bumps in a line or in several zig-zag clusters, that’s a good indication you’re dealing with bed bugs. The bugs have a numbing agent in their saliva so you don’t feel the bite, says Brittany Campbell, PhD, an entomologist with the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). The itching that most people feel stems from a mild allergic reaction to the numbing agent. The good news, she says, is that bed bugs are unlikely to spread disease, unlike other biting insects like mosquitoes.
Bed bugs are stealthy by nature—you'll rarely see them scampering around your house. Here are the signs you have an infestation
bed bug eggs
Courtesy National Pest Management Association
“Regardless of the blood source or host,” says Campbell, “once bed bugs digest their blood meal and excrete it, it appears as dark brown or black spots on a surface—very similar to what you would expect an ink stain to look-like if your pen leaked onto your clothing,” says Campbell. You might notice the spots on your sheets, mattress, box springs, or in the cracks and crevices of your headboard, nightstand, or other bedroom furniture. Other “droppings” are tiny blood spots. Sometimes bed bugs “overeat” and they excrete a few drops of blood that will appear as tiny red dots if the fabric or upholstery is a light fabric.
Other bed bug signs include molted shed skins and eggs, says Campbell. “The molted skins are very thin and lighter in color but will be in the same shape as a bed bug since they are essentially the left-over skin of the bug.” You might be able to see eggs, though they are tiny—about the size of a pinhead—and whitish or translucent. Still, these are bed bug signs to look for when you check into a hotel room.
Bed bugs won’t stay in your bedroom—if you fall asleep in front of the TV on the couch or in a recliner, say, they’ll set up camp in the furniture nearby. “Bed bugs commonly infest sofas and chairs and can even hide unseen in chair legs, if the legs are hollow. The bugs will reside in any hidden crack or crevice of the sofa, including deep into the couch under the cushions, inside of the wooden structure of chairs and sofas or metal, as well as inside of screw holes and screw heads,” says Campbell. Just don’t look for the bugs in your hair—and don’t fall for these other myths about bed bugs.
You can find bed bug signs in curtains, walls, behind baseboards, wallpaper, picture frames, books, electrical switch plates, electronics—really, just about anywhere inside your home. They can also hitch rides: “Beg bugs are also known to survive in temporary or alternative habitats, such as in backpacks and under the seats in cars, buses, and trains,” says Campbell.
Just because something looks bad doesn’t mean it’s contagious—and that includes these icky diseases, disorders, and infections
If you’re not sure what condition someone has and you’re not a medical professional, you probably won’t be able to tell. Visible symptoms for contagious and non-contagious diseases can seem identical, and the mode of transmission depends on the particular disease. “There is not a single relationship between the cause of an infection and its contagiousness, as there are bacterial diseases that are contagious and others that are not,” explains Amesh Adalja, MD, an infectious disease physician and Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, adding that the same is true for the world’s smorgasbord of viruses. And then there are the conditions caused by a malfunctioning immune system or environmental factors. The bottom line: It’s never a bad idea to take safety precautions. “Overall,” says Dr. Adalja, “being vaccinated and frequent handwashing are good practices regardless
Whether or not this lung infection is contagious depends on what caused it. Two types of pneumonia that can’t be spread from person to person are fungal pneumonia, which is contracted from the environment, and aspiration pneumonia, which occurs when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. On the other hand, bacterial and viral pneumonia—which cause most cases of pneumonia, according to the American Lung Association—are indeed contagious, though not in the way you might think. “The causative microorganism may move between people but may not automatically cause pneumonia,” says Dr. Adalja. “For example, some bacteria may just colonize the nasal passages, while influenza, which can cause pneumonia, may cause bronchitis in another individual.”
Whether or not this lung infection is contagious depends on what caused it. Two types of pneumonia that can’t be spread from person to person are fungal pneumonia, which is contracted from the environment, and aspiration pneumonia, which occurs when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. On the other hand, bacterial and viral pneumonia—which cause most cases of pneumonia, according to the American Lung Association—are indeed contagious, though not in the way you might think. “The causative microorganism may move between people but may not automatically cause pneumonia,” says Dr. Adalja. “For example, some bacteria may just colonize the nasal passages, while influenza, which can cause pneumonia, may cause bronchitis in another individual.”
An outbreak doesn’t always result from an infected person or animal. In the case of Legionnaires’ disease, a contaminated water supply is the culprit: Transmission only occurs when a person inhales mist or water droplets that contain the bacteria Legionella. According to the National Institutes for Health, exposure can come from faucets, showers, whirlpools and the ventilation systems of large buildings. While this rare form of pneumonia can be severe and deadly, not everyone who is exposed to it will contract it. People at particular risk include those over 50, especially if they have a weakened immune system or chronic illness.
This skin disorder that affects around two percent of Americans has nothing to do with germs or bacteria. “Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the skin,” explains Dr. Adalja. “It is not caused by a microorganism that can be passed between people.” Telltale signs include red, itchy patches of skin topped by white or silvery scales that are often found on the elbows, knees, and scalp; they occur when the body creates and accumulates new skin cells too quickly. Don’t miss these 6 surprising signs of disease your skin can reveal
health, people and hearing concept - close up of young african american woman ear
The good news: You can’t catch an ear infection. The bad news: If a germ caused this painful malady instead of, say, water in your ears, you can catch that germ responsible—and the most common culprit is a cold virus. “Due to congestion caused by the cold, the inner ear fills up with fluid and can become secondarily infected by bacteria; these stay in the ear and are therefore not contagious,” explains Matthew Mintz, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and an internal medicine and primary care doctor in Bethesda, MD. “However, since the ear infection started with a cold, if the patient still has cold symptoms, they can still be contagious.” While ear infections can affect individuals of all ages, they more commonly hit children—they account for around 30 million trips to the pediatrician each year in the United States.
vessels in the face, and sometimes small bumps filled with pus. Less commonly, rosacea can also lead to a thickening of the skin on the nose. While experts aren’t sure what causes this condition—which hits approximately 14 million Americans—they theorize that genetics, abnormal facial blood vessels, and possibly even the gut bacteria H. pylori may play a role. The National Rosacea Society explains that antibiotics used to treat rosacea may be effective because they help to combat inflammation, not because they’re killing bacteria.
vessels in the face, and sometimes small bumps filled with pus. Less commonly, rosacea can also lead to a thickening of the skin on the nose. While experts aren’t sure what causes this condition—which hits approximately 14 million Americans—they theorize that genetics, abnormal facial blood vessels, and possibly even the gut bacteria H. pylori may play a role. The National Rosacea Society explains that antibiotics used to treat rosacea may be effective because they help to combat inflammation, not because they’re killing bacteria.
Much like pneumonia, some forms of bronchitis are contagious and others are not: It depends on what’s causing the inflammation of the bronchial airways and the resulting coughing, wheezing, and general breathing difficulties. Acute bronchitis, which usually results from an upper respiratory infection that travels to the chest, is often caused by a virus and is contagious. Hundreds of viruses, as well as some bacteria, can potentially lead to bronchitis, and you can catch them when germs enter your mucous membranes through your eyes, nose, or mouth. Chronic bronchitis, however, isn’t contagious. This ongoing condition is often caused by long-term smoking or exposure to environmental pollutants.
Infected ticks are the only contagious things you need to worry about in terms of Lyme disease, according to the CDC—and only if they attach to your body and feast on your blood. That means that you can’t catch this bacteria-based disease from other people, whether it’s through casual contact, kissing, or even sex. Pets can’t infect you either, though they can carry ticks into your home. Fever, fatigue, and a distinctive bull’s eye around the infected site are among the early symptoms of Lyme disease, while later on, people may develop severe joint pain, debilitating headaches, tingling in their hands or feet, and brain and spinal cord inflammation
Infected ticks are the only contagious things you need to worry about in terms of Lyme disease, according to the CDC—and only if they attach to your body and feast on your blood. That means that you can’t catch this bacteria-based disease from other people, whether it’s through casual contact, kissing, or even sex. Pets can’t infect you either, though they can carry ticks into your home. Fever, fatigue, and a distinctive bull’s eye around the infected site are among the early symptoms of Lyme disease, while later on, people may develop severe joint pain, debilitating headaches, tingling in their hands or feet, and brain and spinal cord inflammation
Just looking at a poison ivy rash may make you feel itchy, but it’s all in your head. Poison ivy cannot be transmitted to another person, even if you touch the rash or the fluid from a blister. Transmission can only happen if your skin comes in contact with the plant’s oil—called urushiol—which can happen either through direct contact with it or if it gets on your clothing or pets—and then you snuggle or pet them. Wondering if that rash is poison ivy? According to the Mayo Clinic, it will often present in a straight line, if you’ve brushed up against the plant. However, if it’s gotten onto your clothing or your beloved pup’s fur, the rash might be more haphazard and expansive.
16 Silent Symptoms of Leukemia You Shouldn’t Ignore
Jenny G. Zhang
Leukemia, or cancer of the blood cells, causes subtle and surprising symptoms throughout the body. These are clear signs you need to get checked.
What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, a malignancy that causes an abnormal production of certain blood cells. As the unhealthy blood cells crowd out healthy ones, blood function begins to falter and you may notice physical symptoms. The disease may get worse quickly if you have a type known as acute leukemia; the disease may progress slowly and get worse over time if you have chronic leukemia, according to the National Institute of Health. Regardless of which type you have, if you notice a collection of these subtle leukemia symptoms, see your health care provider for an evaluation.
Fatigue and weakness are the most common leukemia symptoms, according to Mark Levis, MD, PhD, the director of the leukemia program at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. These signs are often caused by anemia (a deficiency of red blood cells), which only compounds the physical exhaustion. In both chronic and acute cases, you may experience a range from slight fatigue to extreme physical weakness, but in all cases, the symptoms only worsen over time. “It creeps up on people, that’s the problem,”
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