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Turning a Blind Eye (Trachoma)
Why are Indigenous Australians still suffering from trachoma? Trachoma is a preventable condition that is almost entirely a disease of undeveloped countries. However, while mainstream Australians rarely – if ever – contract trachoma, the condition is rife in many Indigenous communities. What is trachoma?Trachoma is a contagious infection of the eye caused by bacteria. It’s […]
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Baby Teeth
The health of your baby’s first teeth is as important as the health of their teeth when they grow up. Follow these tips from the Australian Dental Association to keep your baby’s teeth healthy. Babies can get tooth decay. Without treatment, this can lead to toothache, infection and early loss of teeth. Signs that your […]
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Keep tooth decay at bay
What is tooth decay?Tooth decay occurs when bacteria in the mouth make acid which then dissolves the tooth. Bacteria only produce this acid when they’re exposed to sugar. How can I avoid it? Brush and floss your teeth regularly and carefully to reduce the amount of bacteria on your teeth. You should brush your teeth […]
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Save Our Smiles
A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has revealed that levels of tooth decay in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are increasing, particularly among Indigenous kids under the age of seven. The report shows that poor dental health, including tooth decay, is more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait […]
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The Eyes Have It (Eye Health)
Your eyes are not just the windows to your soul; they’re also how you see. So look after ’em! Our eyesight is essential for so many things. We need our sight to read, to drive, to learn and to spot danger. If you have a problem with your eyesight, it can make life very difficult. […]
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Doctor Didj
A new study has found that playing the didgeridoo could help people who suffer from asthma. The study, which was published in the Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal and run through the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health, used music therapy to help young Indigenous asthmatics manage their condition. […]
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Dean Widders
During the off-season, do you still need to look after your health and fitness? Mentally it’s good to relax and take a break from hard training and strict diets, so when the off season is on I do have a break, but I still try to keep active and eat healthy. I also have to […]
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Budget delivers $332.8 million toward Indigenous health
The Australian Government is investing $334.8 million towards closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. Measures include $101.5 million extra funding for maternal and child health services. By addressing health issues early in life, these interventions can deliver significant progress in closing the gap. These initiatives include: an additional […]
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Alcohol
During the holiday season, people tend to consume more alcohol. Although you may have heard that moderate consumption of alcohol protects against cardiovascular disease, this generally only refers to those people over the age of 45. More men die as a result of alcohol than are saved by moderate alcohol intake. In fact, alcohol is […]
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Ear Health in Central Australia
How big an issue is hearing health in Central Australia? Rebecca: Well I can probably say that at any given time if you were to walk into a classroom of primary school aged kids you could guarantee about 85% of those children in the classroom have some kind of hearing loss, and also you can […]
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Smoking Initiatives a Good Start
Today’s announcement by the Rudd Government that it will spend $14.5 million to fund initiatives to curb high smoking rates among Aboriginal people has been welcomed by two leading Aboriginal health research bodies. The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH) and the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control (CEITC) said the anti-smoking initiative […]
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Avoid The Winter Flu Blues
The latest flu strains are heading our way, but thankfully so are the latest vaccines for influenza, as well as those for pneumococcal infections (such as pneumonia and meningitis). The Australian Government is once again making these vaccines available for free to all Aboriginal Medical Services, GPs and community health centres – so if the […]
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Say Cheese (Dental Health)
Look after your teeth and you’ll be laughing all the way to the dentist. Healthy teeth look great and feel great. But if you want to keep that gleaming smile, you’ll need to look after them properly. Your teeth bite and chew food so that it’s small enough to be swallowed and digested. They also […]
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All the Rage (Anger)
align=”left”>Anger doesn’t have to be a bad thing ” learn how to control it and you can make that negative a positive. Getting angry doesn’t just cause problems at work, at home or at the traffic lights, it can also be damaging to your health. Flying off the Handle Anger is a very strong emotion […]
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Caring for others
A lot of our people all around Australia are living with HIV/AIDS and other disabling diseases which can make it difficult to look after yourself on your own. When you can’t look after yourself properly, you need someone to care for you. This person is called a carer. AIDS in particular is a disease which […]
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Scabies
Scabies is an infectious disease in which tiny insects or parasitic mites called scabies fester under the skin. The wingless female burrows under the skin and lays up to three eggs per day. This causes zigzag marks to appear on the skin that become extremely irritated and itchy, and look like a red rash. The […]
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