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Good balance is key to preventing potentially disabling falls. It takes active coordination of many systems in the body to achieve good balance, but beginning in your 50s, you may start noticing subtle changes that can lead to difficulties. It's important to identify factors—such as inner ear problems, illnesses, medications, changes to your gait, weight gain or loss, pain, or foot problems—that might affect your balance, and look for solutions.

How gait affects balance

Gait encompasses the many distinct features that make up the way a person walks. Gait includes pacing, the length of the stride, the swing of the leg to put the foot forward, the shift of balance from one leg to the other, how the foot is planted (toe first, heel first), and how the weight is distributed through the step. Your gait is as distinctive as your voice and fingerprints, and even subtle changes to the way you walk can increase the risk of falls.

In our inner cities, the COVID-19 pandemic comes on top of another crisis that has plagued our country for years: the opioid epidemic. The combined effects of these two events are immense, and highlight already-existing problems with our society and our health care system.

You’ve probably heard more about self-care lately than usual. Because our current situation is so abnormal and stressful, looking after yourself is even more important, and no one is more aware of this than doctors and other medical personnel.

Health anxiety can interfere with your life, but it's highly treatable.

 Image: © XiXinXing/Getty Images

You spend hours on the Internet researching health information. When you get a scratchy throat you automatically think cancer — not a cold. And even when medical tests come back showing that you're healthy, it doesn't make you feel better. In the back of your mind you still feel like something is wrong.

If this sounds like you or a loved one, it may be health anxiety.

It may be difficult to impress on your teenage children the importance of staying home and not socializing with their friends during this pandemic, but as parents, you are going to have to convince them. Here are some helpful tools and ideas.

As the COVID-19 crisis keeps us at home for longer and longer, it’s important to acknowledge that this situation is having negative effects on everyone’s mental health. Here’s how parents and families can take care of themselves in ways that go beyond normal self-care strategies.

Some drugs that contain ranitidine (best known as Zantac) have been found by the FDA to have unacceptable amounts of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a possible cancer-causing chemical (which also triggered recalls of certain lots of the blood pressure drugs called angiotensin-receptor blockers).

On April 1, 2020, the FDA requested that all forms of ranitidine (Zantac, generic versions), including prescription and over-the-counter products, be removed from the market. They may contain unacceptable levels of a potential cancer-causing substance known as NDMA, or N-Nitrosodimethylamine. In some samples tested by the FDA, the impurity appears to increase over time, especially when stored at higher temperatures. So far, tests of other acid blockers do not show this potential increased cancer risk. 

Cannabis use among older adults has been steadily increasing, due to lessening stigma and increased interest in using medical marijuana. But there are specific concerns for older people, so anyone considering this option should have a conversation with their doctor weighing the benefits and risks.

Because the very nature of recovery support involves face-to-face interaction, whether in support group meetings or dispensing medication, it is at odds with the need for social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis, creating barriers to receiving support and maintaining recovery.