A life-changing diagnosis

MINOOKA — It was bad enough that a routine teeth cleaning turned into a diagnosis of a rare kidney disease, but Justin Abraham, 31, of Minooka now had another medical emergency. His spleen, enlarged since childhood, had swollen to the size of a deflated football. (A normal spleen is about 4 inches.) A blow to the stomach could mean a life-threatening rupture. Abraham, who had just spent a week ...

Babies' susceptibility to colds linked to immune response at birth

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research. And babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life.

Kimberly-Clark Professional* Launches The Healthy Schools Project* To Partner with Educators in Helping Reduce the ...

ROSWELL, Ga., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Americans go to school or college every day. Unfortunately, their germs go right along with them to an environment where physical closeness and group ...

Small Bowel Obstruction in Patients with Adhesions May Be Overlooked in Emergency Rooms, Cautions Activist Karen Steward

Patient advocate Karen Steward today responded to a recent issue of "Perspectives in Nursing" which reports that a significant percentage of hospital admissions in the U.S. are related to small bowel obstruction. In a large number of these cases, small bowel obstruction is caused by intra-abdominal adhesions, or internal scar tissue that twists or binds the intestines. Steward voiced concern ...

Dixon teen fighting rare cancer

Sarah Schnake, 17, a junior at Dixon High School, is being treated for children’s pancreatoblastoma, a rare form of pancreatic cancer, at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.