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Should you consider getting a screening for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)? Yes you should. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), aortic aneurysms or aortic dissections (tears) were the cause of 9,904 deaths in 2019. If an aneurysm ruptures, it’s very unlikely that the person will survive long enough to have it repaired.

Some say your eyes are the window to your soul. But eyes can show you issues with your overall health. 

An eye doctor can detect a host of health conditions during an exam just by noting changes in tissues, nerves and blood vessels. As a result, the importance of annual vision exams can’t be emphasized enough.

What Can Your Eyes Tell You About These Health Conditions?

You may be surprised to know that your eyes have the chance to reveal these health conditions:

You don’t have to be addicted to opioids to die from an overdose. It can happen to anyone taking an opioid for pain or misusing a prescription. Knowing what to do (use Narcan) and how to do it can save a life.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the number of people who primarily work from home tripled, from about 9 million to 27.6 million, between 2019 and 2021. Many of us cobbled together a home workstation with little consideration for our health and are paying the price with stiffness, aches and pains. It's time to remedy that and get down to home workstation ergonomics 101. 

With home offices now permanent fixtures, it’s important that your setup at home isn’t creating issues with your health. Good home office lighting can ease eye strain and fatigue, as well as aches and pains. 

Maybe you’re fully remote or have a hybrid work schedule. Maybe you’re working at your kitchen table or jimmy-rigged your ironing board into a stand-up desk. Whatever the scenario, sufficient lighting around your workspace is the most important part of good ergonomic lighting. 

UMass Memorial Health is debunking myths about osteoporosis. Unlike mammograms and colonoscopies, osteoporosis and bone density tests don’t get as much airtime or visibility. As a result, we’ve heard myths about the disease and screenings, and we want to set the record straight. 

Myth: I don’t have any risk factors, so I don’t need to be screened. 

Certain drugs cause sun sensitivity like rashes and an increased risk of sunburn. If you’re taking these medications, take extra precautions to protect yourself when outdoors. These drugs, known as photosensitizing drugs, increase the risk of developing a rash in response to sunlight. There are two different types of photosensitive drug reactions: phototoxic and photoallergic. 

On college campuses across the U.S., many students ages 18 to 24 are taking part in a dangerous activity called binge drinking. This means drinking alcohol to the point of getting drunk. 

For men, it's defined as having five or more drinks in a row. For women, it's four or more drinks in a row. This amount of drinking produces blood alcohol levels far above the legal driving limit of 0.08%.