http://healthy4less.net Sat, 28 Jul 2007 14:12:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) The hepatitis B virus causes serious and sometimes fatal liver disease. Vaccination against HBV prevents infection and its complications. Efforts to immunize only people in high-risk groups (people with many sexual partners, intravenous drug users, infants born to women who have HBV, and health care workers) ... http://healthy4less.net/prevention-and-detection/immunizations-for-hepatitis-b.html Polio Polio is a viral illness that leads to loss of mobility or even paralysis. It is rare today because of the effectiveness of polio vaccines. The first vaccine is given at age two months, and the series of immunizations gives lifelong immunity. An inactivated polio virus vaccine (injectable, IPV ... http://healthy4less.net/prevention-and-detection/immunizations-polio-and-mmr.html Immunizations work by helping your immune system recognize and quickly attack diseases before they can cause problems. Some immunizations are given in a single shot while others require several shots over a period of time. Childhood immunizations protect against pertussis (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps, rubella, haemophilus influenza, and hepatitis ... http://healthy4less.net/prevention-and-detection/immunizations.html Prevention works! You and your family can save a lot of pain, worry, and money by avoiding health problems in the first place. If you can't prevent a problem altogether, the next best thing is to discover it early, when it is easy to treat. This chapter helps you do ... http://healthy4less.net/prevention-and-detection/prevention-and-detection.html Use specialists for special problems. Specialists are doctors with in-depth training and experience in a particular area of medicine. For example, a cardiologist has years of special training to deal with heart problems. A visit to a specialist often costs more than a visit to your family doctor, and the ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/become-skilled-at-obtaining-health-care-part2.html If you have ever thought that the cost of your medical care doesn't matter because your company or health plan pays the bills, think again. You do pay. Most people have to pay co-payments and deductibles. Employers pay for health care coverage by restricting wage increases. Governments pay for health ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/become-skilled-at-obtaining-health-care.html Medical tests are important tools, but they have limits. Some people think that the more tests they have, the better off they'll be. Wise consumers know medical tests have costs and risks as well as benefits. To help your doctor make good choices about tests for you, you need to: Learn ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/shared-decisions-about-medical-tests.html 1. Let your doctor know what you want. Tell your doctor that you want to help make decisions about what to do for your health problems. 2. Do your own research. Sometimes you need to learn things on your own before you can fully understand what your doctor is saying. See ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/eight-ways-to-share-in-medical-decisions.html Except in an emergency, you cannot be given a treatment or test without your "informed consent." You must be informed of the risks and agree to the treatment. In a partnership, however, informed consent may not be enough. The real goal is shared decision-making, where you actively participate in every ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/share-in-every-medical-decision.html The Advice Nurse Many health plans and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) offer an advice nurse telephone service. Advice nurses are registered nurses who have special training to help you decide what to do about symptoms, how to manage minor illnesses, and answer your questions about health problems. A call to ... http://healthy4less.net/health-care-and-doctors/advice-nurse.html