Health Expert Kathleen MacNaughton shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/3387/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/3387/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/3387/index http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/3387/139022/nutrition-keeping Fri, 27 May 2011 20:05:58 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton A while back, I talked about how to eat healthy to avoid gaining too much weight when COPD makes it hard to stay active and burn calories. But many people who have COPD actually have the opposite problem -- keeping weight on.   As your disease progresses and makes breathing ever more difficult, you can find that the mere act of eating a meal can be quite a chore and energy zapper, so much so that you may lose your interest in... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/3387/139022/nutrition-keeping http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/139019/allergy-medicine Fri, 27 May 2011 18:45:42 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton The good news is there are plenty of choices for allergy medicines and treatments. Pills are the traditional treatment, but there are also nasal sprays, allergy shots and drops and some people even swear by certain vitamins and supplements.   But the bad news is that there is no ONE medicine that will effectively treat allergies in every person who suffers with them. It seems we each respond a bit differently to these chemicals we put... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/139019/allergy-medicine http://www.healthcentral.com/asthma/c/3387/139014/asthma-awareness Fri, 27 May 2011 18:02:00 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton This sharepost is aimed at all your parents of kids with asthma, and I know there are a lot of you out there. Asthma is one of the most common childhood health conditions nowadays. And, while many parents and other people who come into contact with asthma kids are quite familiar with asthma and how to manage it, there are still many who aren't.   May is Asthma Awareness Month every year, and yes, I know May is nearly over now. But May is... http://www.healthcentral.com/asthma/c/3387/139014/asthma-awareness http://www.healthcentral.com/asthma/c/3387/139006/communication Fri, 27 May 2011 15:09:00 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton Let's face it... doctors today are extremely busy. You're lucky if you get 5 minutes of focused time with them on an office visit. I know there are exceptions, but that seems to be the general trend in today's world of scarce healthcare resources.   So, doesn't it make sense to get the most out of every doctor's visit? Asthma is a very treatable condition, but you'll achieve the best control, quality of life and positive health status by... http://www.healthcentral.com/asthma/c/3387/139006/communication http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/3387/133276/walking-abnormalities Fri, 04 Mar 2011 03:50:00 -0500 Kathleen MacNaughton We know, of course, that COPD can result in life-altering changes for both patients and their caregivers. From lack of energy to difficulty breathing, COPD can make it hard to do the most basic things in daily life, particularly in the latter stages.   But a recent study has given healthcare professionals more information to work with. I thought I'd profile and discuss that study in this post.   Study Design &... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/3387/133276/walking-abnormalities http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/133159/immunotherapy Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:16:00 -0500 Kathleen MacNaughton Sublingual immunotherapy is one of the lesser known forms of treatment for allergies in the U.S. Most allergies are treated with a combination of trigger avoidance and antihistamines of some type. And for many people with allergies, this is an effective approach to treatment.   Unfortunately, some of us have more severe allergies that don't respond adequately to that approach. In those cases, an alternative may be to attempt to lessen the... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/133159/immunotherapy http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/127826/resolutions-coming Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:15:35 -0500 Kathleen MacNaughton It's time once again for us all to put together our list of New Year's resolutions. It's a yearly ritual for setting goals, and when it works, it's great. Unfortunately, for so many of us, our good intentions never quite seem to translate into new and healthier habits and routines. Still, the possibility is always there to make those changes you want to make in your life.   Here are some worthy New Year's resolutions that can help you... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/127826/resolutions-coming http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/126317/allergy-medicines Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:16:16 -0500 Kathleen MacNaughton The good news about treating allergies is that there are lots of options. The bad news is that sometimes it takes quite a bit of trial and error with a bunch of different medicines before you find what works best for your particular allergies.   You can read an article I wrote about how to choose the right allergy medicine for you, and I also did an update with a rundown of all the options available these days. But another factor that... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/126317/allergy-medicines http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/121252/allergy-allergic Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:24:19 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton When cooler weather starts to creep in during October and November, things can get challenging for mothers of kids with allergies. That's because this is the time of year when symptoms of colds and the flu can easily be confused with symptoms of allergies. This is especially true if your child is allergic to ragweed pollen and/or molds, because this is also the time of year when those substances are often at their peak.   So, if your... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/121252/allergy-allergic http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/115306/understanding Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:28:00 -0400 Kathleen MacNaughton Questions come up from time to time from people who believe they may have an alcohol allergy. So I thought it might be helpful to provide an overview of alcohol allergies -- what they are, how to know if you might have one, and how to deal with them. Let's face it -- if you overindulge in alcohol, whether it's all the time or just every now and then -- you're probably going to feel sick the next day. Pounding headache, nausea and shakiness are... http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3387/115306/understanding