According to an interesting article by esteemed journalist Donna Howell of the IBD news website,
reported that a mere 50% of individuals with chronic conditions go on the internet as compared
with about seventy percent of the overall U.S. population. These individuals
truly want to learn, research suggests, and are more eager than others to share their information so as to assist other
patients. All the while, many such sick individuals simply lack web access, sadly enouph.
This is truly an unfortunate situation since the need for reliable health information is more urgent than ever before.
The nation's disease burden continues to weigh very heavily. Many such conditions such as cancers, heart disease, hypertension and stroke, for example,
may cost us all as much as Four trillion plus dollars each year by the year 2023 or even sooner. Currently that figure
is only about a third of that, according to some data sources. The amount is due mainly because lost productivity issues instead of actual treatment costs.
Preventing these medical conditions early on before they have a chance to grow into full blown disease might save as much as $1.1 trillion by that year,
according to the director of the Milken Institute Center For Health Economics. When these individuals
go on the world wide web, they trade information about treatment with other individuals in the same situation as themselves.
As a general rule, Senior citizens often to use the information superhighway differently from others, according to Tobey Dichter of
generationsonline.org. This particular nonprofit organization helps to furnish software to retirement homes and similiar places for senior citizens.
The senior citizens that he works with are task oriented, generally speaking, so an issue often leads them to start using the computer.

This article first appeared in the September 2007 issue of the Healthy Pet Net Newsletter.
HPN specializes in holistic pet products. More info. at Healthy Pet Net
More detail at
The Dog and Cat News Blog


Now that the Fall is here, a new school year has started. With ever-busier activity calenders, it is also that time of year when animal owners can find themselves with less time to spend with their pets. Here are a few tips for making the most of the time that you happen to have left:

• Set aside several minutes early in the day to groom your dog or cat. While brushing or combing your pet, chat about your plans for the day. If they do not like grooming for some, simply spend a a little while stroking them. Regardless of your particular morning regimen, attempt to do it on a regular predictable regiment.
Your companion will find comfort in the regimen – and so will you!
• If you happen to have a canine, do something they will like to do following your return home, such as hide-and-seek, or taking a walk. If you have a cat or kitten, we suggest playing with a ball or dangling feathers......... your feline loves that stuff.
• Add teeth cleaning, ear cleaning or perhaps even nail trimming into your routine. All too often, these health exercises are viewed as merely chores. Do your best to making this time as wonderful as can be.
• Massage is a superb way to connect with your dog or cat also. Look for one of the various pet massage books which are now available online or at your local bookstore. There is some evidence that this massage can really improve your animal’s health.
So consider giving your critter a treat!

Just as humans experience an assortment of allergies, many pets, such as a dog may experience an allergy as well. It is agreed among professionals that specialize in the health of dogs, that there are at least five specific allergy types that a dog may experience in their lifetime. Common types of allergies in dogs include food allergy, reactions to fleas, and various forms of bacteria. A dog may also experience allergies that are related to inhaling certain irritants. Then, there are many dogs that may even suffer from allergies related to coming in contact with certain materials such as plastic, certain types of plants, and even grass.


When a dog experiences an allergy, they may display an assortment of symptoms. One of the first signs that a dog owner may recognize is that their pet seems to be scratching a lot. When an allergy occurs, it is quite common for the dog to experience a period of time in which their skin becomes extremely itchy. The next symptom that is often recognized by dog owners when their pet is experiencing an allergy is hair loss. The hair loss may be localized to one spot on the body, or it may occur in patches over the entire body.


As you can see, the skin of a dog usually becomes quite sensitive when an allergy is experienced. Many pet owners will see their dogs licking their paws quite often when an allergy is occurring. This is a natural method that the dog uses in order to soothe the symptoms and discomfort of the allergy that they are experiencing. You may notice that your pet is starting to experience redness, swelling, and rashes on the surface of their skin when they are allergic to something. These symptoms are quite common.


If a pet owner suspects that their dog is experiencing an allergy, the first thing that they should do is research the diet of the dog. There are many ingredients that are used in various types of dog foods that may cause reactions in the pet. Most of these ingredients are included in generic or cheap versions of dog foods. Just as many humans ingest toxins as a result of the way that particular foods are grown or processed, dogs suffer from allergies as a result of foods that are processed and created cheaply in order to sell the product at a discounted price.


The digestive system of the dog is sensitive. It requires key ingredients and nutrients in order to function appropriately. When selecting food for your pet, it is important to select premium foods that are loaded with “real” ingredients that can provide the highest level of nutritional value possible. It is vital to avoid foods that contain products such as wheat and soy. If a dog experiences an allergy associated with generic and/or processed ingredients, they may suffer from some very uncomfortable symptoms.


Apart from skin irritation and discomfort, an allergy related to poorly created food products can cause serious symptoms in a dog. These symptoms include severe vomiting, an increased amount of bowel movements each day that may become painful, and diarrhea, itching in the area of the anus, dehydration, and even seizures. Problems with the ears, such as infection and inflammation, are another common and uncomfortable symptom associated with food allergies in dogs.

If you are a pet owner, there are numerous ways that you can help to prevent allergies in dogs. It is important to ensure that you provide your animal with only the highest quality in foods. A dog should receive food that contains ingredients that are not processed. Having a diet with a high amount of nutrients, vitamins, and important minerals will help to allow your pet to remain healthy.

Certain test can be done at your vet’s office or you may have to go to a specialist. From there, numerous tests can be performed to find the exact issue. Some tests will show certain ingredients in food, ingredients in cleaning products, or dust etc. It may be a process to weed out the exact cause but will be worth it in the long run for the comfort of your pet and your sanity.

Lori Matthews studies health, nutrition and wellness. She enjoys writing articles on health for both people and pets. Please visit Lifes Abundance Healthy Dog Food for more information.

While most people are aware of the high profile headlines concerning the recent pet food and human food recalls,
few people realize the difficulty in tracking the sources, according to a recent AP report by elite news journalist Andrew Bridges. All in all this has turned into a major health issue for the nation.
This is because if you take a look at the ninety-odd brands composing the recall of canned chili, stew & similiar food items, it all points back back to one manufacturer.
This was likewise the situation regarding the recalls of spinach, frozen meat and of course the now sad and infamous pet food recalls,
in which so many innocent animals were killed or severely sickened.
More than ever before, firms are outsourcing the food Americans consume, or at least the ingredients found in them — and then selling these items under many different brand names.
Many of these tainted ingredients come from China. To add insult to injury, many toys from that country have been found with toxic levels of lead in them.
The real issue here is that if individuals can't trace a particular item back to it's supplier, then that supplier has very little, if any, reason to keep their facilities or processing plants up to decent standards.
Oversight is remarkly slack. For example, the major brand in the pet food recalls was a co-regulator of the pet food industry along with the FDA.
Apparently, it all comes down to effeciency and simple economics: Outsourcing makes monetary sense for the firms who are unwilling to expand their existing manufacturing facilities. Established manufacturers may use excess capacity to fill the orders for others.
For some certain products which require expensive machinery — such as pet food for example — a limited number of contract manufacturers, like Menu Foods inc, make products which are then sold under many different brand names,
according to the AP report. The skeptics of this outsourcing believe that, in general, it creates increased vulnerability to our food supply. In essence, the manufacturer is no longer responsible to the consumer, but instead to other firms.
Meanwhile, various food safety advocates have repeatedly stated that when issues crop up with food items made under contract, sorting out who made what may delay recalls and public health warnings in general.
As an example, in July the FDA for a number of hours delayed issuing a consumer warning about botulism contamination in various canned food items until it could sort out the brands under which the Castleberry's Food Co. product was sold.
In addition to this, there has been a fairly long delay in mandating that imported fruits & vegetables be labeled with their nation of origin.

According to a report from ScienceDaily as originally reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over one hundred and twenty million people in the U.S. who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke
in their homes, vehicles, workplaces, and public places. This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one, says veterinarian Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University.
"There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets," MacAllister said. "Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds."
She cited a study done by the Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine that showed that the number of cats living with mouth cancer (also known as squamous cell carcinoma) was higher for those living in homes with smokers than those who lived in smoke-free environments.
Cats living with smokers are also twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma, a cancer that occurs in the lymph nodes and that is fatal to three out of four cats within 12 months of developing it.
Studies have also shown that dogs living in a smoking household are susceptible to cancers of the nose and sinus area, particularly if they are a long-nosed breed, because their noses have a greater surface area that is exposed
to carcinogens and a greater area for them to accumulate. Dogs affected with nasal cancer normally don't survive for more than one year.
Short and medium-nosed dogs are more susceptible to lung cancer, "because their shorter nasal passage aren't as effective at accumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens," MacAllister said. "This results in more carcinogens reaching the lungs."
Birds are also at risk for lung cancer, as well as pneumonia, because their respiratory systems are hypersensitive to any type of air pollutant.
To help prevent animals from being adversely affected by smoking, pet owners who smoke should have a designated smoking area that is separated from the home or stop smoking altogether, MacAllister was quoted as stated.

According to an article written by journalist Jerome Corsi on Worldnetdaily.com,
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America meeting in Canada released a plan that establishes United nations law along with regulations
by the World Trade Organization & World Health Organization as paramount over United Stated law during a pandemic while also laying the foundation for militarizing the management of health emergencies,
according to the report yesterday.
In the meantime, the U.S. Northern Command has established a website dedicated to the avian flu and has been running exercises for the possible use of United States forces in a domestic emergency involving avian flu or pandemic influenza.
Under this Partnership, the Commander & Chief stated that the United States would work through the United Nations system influenza coordinator to make a continental emergency response plan operating
through authorities under the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement as well as the United nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Corsi see's a possible agenda because Dr. David Nabarro was appointed the first United nations system influenza coordinator, a position which also places him as a senior policy adviser to the U.N. director-general,
and it was Nabarro who earlier fueled speculation that an epidemic was basically inevitable.
Corsi stated that government websites document the increasing role for the U.S. military to be involved in domestic emergencies pertaining to health, such as the avian flu and pandemic influenza.
Corsi believes the threat of such a pandemic to be highly overblown, according to his site.

Much the information for the following article was gleamed from the AP and Forbes.com....
The outlook for universal health care in the golden state does not appear too great at this particular point in time,
and some analysts believe that a failure could set back similar efforts around the whole country for at least several years more, unfortunately.
All in all, a formidable federation of trade Unions, physicians & similiar power brokers are arrayed against the Governors twelve billion annual plan to
make health insurance a requirement. He has threatened to veto the Democrats' alternative and take his own plan to the ballot.
A faceoff is possible by tomorrow, when the the Democrats plan to put the Governator's proposal to vote in the Assembly. The goal would be to prove how little support it really has.
Of course, what happens in the California may have major ramifications elsewhere, since it is the countries biggest state in terms of population.
Following the course set by Massachusetts, which passed universal health care into law last year, Schwarzenegger stated his particular plan last January to provide everyone in the Golden State
with health insurance. Nearly seven million people in California, or a staggering 18.5 percent of the people, are uninsured here.
The reason there is so much opposition is because his plan would call for new fees on physicians, hospitals and also employers.