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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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Early Warning
The Pap smear – a simple test that can save your life. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and curable of all cancers. Despite this, each year in Australia more than 300 women die from it. But the good news is, up to 90 per cent of the most common type of cervical […]
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Nit Picking (Head Lice)
Ugh, head lice! So how do you stop these nasty critters from running riot? Head lice are itchy little buggers that can spread through a classroom like wildfire, unless you stop them in their tracks. What are head lice?Head lice are tiny little wingless insects that live, feed and breed on the human scalp. They’ve […]
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General Malaise
The results are in ” our health still lags behind. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the results of its 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey. This survey is the largest ever study of the Indigenous population, and reveals that health problems in our own community still far outweigh those […]
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Safe Sex
There are a lot of things to think about when you spend the night with someone and have sex. In particular, you need to be careful about sexually transmitted diseases or STDs There are all sorts of STDs Things like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and hepatitis. You might know them by other names like pox, crabs […]
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Tummy Troubles
Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition, but one that can be managed. Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract – the part of your digestive system where your body processes food and gets rid of waste. It includes the oesophagus, stomach, liver, intestines, and rectum. It’s a long-term medical problem that […]
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Coming to a Head (Boils)
Most of us will develop a boil at some stage ” those unsightly and often painful sores on the skin. A boil is a localised infection deep in the skin that usually starts as a reddened, tender area that over time becomes firm and hard. Eventually, the centre of the boil fills up with pus, […]
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Asthma
ASTHMA Asthma is a condition that affects the breathing tubes (bronchioles) in the lungs. During an asthma attack the muscles in these tubes tighten, causing the bronchioles to contract and shrink. A person suffering from an asthma attack finds it very difficult to breathe, and this can often be accompanied by a wheezing noise and/or […]
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Smoking
When you smoke, you are doing damage to your entire body. The areas of your body that are worst affected by smoking cigarettes are your lungs, arteries and especially your heart. YOUR LUNGS Some people who smoke know the damage smoking is doing to their lungs. They know that they feel short of breath and […]
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Our Health, Our Future
Together we are building a happier, healthier community. The recent release of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey 2004-2005 revealed that there are still lots of health problems in our community. But it also showed that we are becoming more responsible about getting the health care we need. According to the survey, […]
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Keeping Our Kids Safe (Family Health)
You can’t be there to protect your kids every moment of every day. But there is plenty you can do to educate your kids and gain their trust. Here are some great tips for parents and carers, to keep our kids safe. Listen to them Try to understand what they’re saying and doing ” and […]
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Beach Bugs
Now that summer is here, so is the danger of getting unwelcome attention from some of the creatures that live in the sea. Sea lice and jellyfish (such as bluebottles and box jellyfish) can turn a day at the beach into a tearfest in the sand dunes in minutes! Jellyfish If you are unfortunate enough […]
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Stress
Stress is not always a bad thing. Experts say we can’t live without it yet too much of it can threaten our health. Stress pushes some people to new heights of achievement and can get them through school exams or major sporting competitions. For others it drives them to alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illness or […]
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Burning Up
New research highlights serious fever risk that’s hurting our kids. New research has found that Indigenous kids are being increasingly struck down by acute rheumatic fever while the rest of the population remains relatively unaffected. Rheumatic fever is an infection that is a delayed complication of an untreated throat infection (strep throat) . It’s an […]
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All About Gout (Foot Health)
Despite the fact that many have never heard of it, gout is one of the world’s oldest-known diseases. Soccer fans would have read about Socceroos’ star Harry Kewell being stuck down with a case of gout during the recent World Cup, leading him to miss out on Australia’s second round match against Italy, which saw […]
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Cataracts
A cataract is progressive clouding of the lens inside the human eye. First it goes yellow, then brown, and finally totally opaque (cloudy). Cataracts usually develop as part of the aging process. But they may also develop as a result of injury, certain diseases, medications or even our genes. Children and infants can be affected […]
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