It is important to protect your eyes from sun-related ultraviolet damage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests how: Choose sunglasses that block at least 99 percent of both UV-A and UV-B rays. Wear sunglasses every day, even when it’s cloudy. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to block UV rays from affecting your eyes from the sides…  read on >

Not getting enough sleep? It’s probably hurting your health. The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke suggests how to improve your sleep: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day. But don’t exercise just before bedtime. Avoid nicotine,…  read on >

Using the psychiatric drug lithium early in pregnancy may raise the risk of birth defects — but not as much as previously thought, a large new study suggests. Researchers found that women who used lithium during the first trimester were more likely to have a baby with a birth defect, compared to pregnant women who…  read on >

Most kids don’t get enough sleep, and that may put them on a path to future heart trouble, a new study finds. Young teens who slept less than seven hours a night tended to have more body fat, elevated blood pressure and less healthy cholesterol levels — all bad for the heart, researchers say. Heart…  read on >

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: While spending a fun-filled family day at an amusement park, you suddenly lose sight of your child. As terrifying as that can be, a new survey finds that many American parents don’t talk with their child about what to do if the youngster becomes lost in that setting. One in…  read on >

While some might be wary about the cancer risks of searing a steak on a flaming grill, a few simple changes can lower that risk, a nutritionist advises. Cooking beef, pork, fish or poultry over high temperatures can lead to the formation of chemicals that can trigger changes in your DNA that increase the risk…  read on >

You’d better think twice before taking booze to the beach or out on a boat. Alcohol increases the risk of injury and death in and on the water, safety experts warn. For example, alcohol is a factor in up to 70 percent of all water recreation deaths of teens and adults, according to the U.S.…  read on >

It’s often said salt water is good for cuts. Or that sunscreen isn’t needed on cloudy days. But both are incorrect, says Isabel Valdez, a physician assistant and instructor of family medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. When you head outdoors this summer, you should be aware of some common health myths, she…  read on >

If you could protect yourself from cancer, you’d do it, right? Yet most Americans still aren’t taking the easiest step to prevent the most commonly diagnosed type — skin cancer, which will affect one in five people at some point in their lives. Only 14 percent of American men and 30 percent of women regularly…  read on >

If your eye hurts, you feel like there’s something stuck in your eye or you have tearing or redness, you may have scratched your eye. If you think that’s the case, the American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests: See an eye doctor without delay. Rinse your eye with saline solution or clean water using an eyecup…  read on >