Do you think sunburn is nothing more than a temporary inconvenience? Not quite. According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, having just five sunburns in your lifetime doubles your risk of developing a potentially deadly type of skin cancer called melanoma. At SIU Medicine, our dermatology team is committed to helping people take better care of their skin and find meaningful and effective solutions to their skin care needs. Fortunately, most of our patients understand that avoiding sunburn is important for short-term and long-term skin health. But we get a lot of questions about what to do when

Do you think sunburn is nothing more than a temporary inconvenience? Not quite. According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, having just five sunburns in your lifetime doubles your risk of developing a potentially deadly type of skin cancer called melanoma. At SIU Medicine, our dermatology team is committed to helping people take better care of their skin and find meaningful and effective solutions to their skin care needs. Fortunately, most of our patients understand that avoiding sunburn is important for short-term and long-term skin health. But we get a lot of questions about what to do when

Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—but everyone with PTSD has experienced some form of trauma. PTSD is a mental illness that leads to disordered behaviors, thoughts and other signs and symptoms in the wake of a traumatic incident. "Trauma" can be any experience, acute or ongoing, that is scary, disturbing or intense, such as assault, war, abuse, natural disaster, admission to an intensive care unit, loss of a child during childbirth or a car accident. Like other mental illnesses, PTSD can have a tremendous impact on the person who has it as

Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—but everyone with PTSD has experienced some form of trauma. PTSD is a mental illness that leads to disordered behaviors, thoughts and other signs and symptoms in the wake of a traumatic incident. "Trauma" can be any experience, acute or ongoing, that is scary, disturbing or intense, such as assault, war, abuse, natural disaster, admission to an intensive care unit, loss of a child during childbirth or a car accident. Like other mental illnesses, PTSD can have a tremendous impact on the person who has it as

As we gear up for fun in the warmer weather, it's important to be aware of the causes, symptoms and risk factors of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Read on and learn how to help you and your loved ones stay safer this summer. What is heat stroke? Your body can usually cool itself down by sweating. But if the weather is extremely hot and humid, or if you're affected by other factors that make it harder for your body to cool down, then your internal temperature can rise to dangerously high levels. This can happen very quickly in many cases. Heat stroke is a type of hyperthermia. It's the

As we gear up for fun in the warmer weather, it's important to be aware of the causes, symptoms and risk factors of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Read on and learn how to help you and your loved ones stay safer this summer. What is heat stroke? Your body can usually cool itself down by sweating. But if the weather is extremely hot and humid, or if you're affected by other factors that make it harder for your body to cool down, then your internal temperature can rise to dangerously high levels. This can happen very quickly in many cases. Heat stroke is a type of hyperthermia. It's the

Warm weather, barbecues and celebrating our independence is all a part of summer. One of the best parts of the 4 th of July is watching the sky light up with a beautiful array of colors, sparkles and shapes. Even though the firework displays are stunning, they can be very dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. "Fireworks are dangerous,” warns Dr. Jason Kegg, emergency medicine physician at SIU School of Medicine. While burns can be serious, they’re not the only reason to fear fireworks. “We see blast injuries in children as well as adults, and sometimes, it ends up with the loss of

Warm weather, barbecues and celebrating our independence is all a part of summer. One of the best parts of the 4 th of July is watching the sky light up with a beautiful array of colors, sparkles and shapes. Even though the firework displays are stunning, they can be very dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. "Fireworks are dangerous,” warns Dr. Jason Kegg, emergency medicine physician at SIU School of Medicine. While burns can be serious, they’re not the only reason to fear fireworks. “We see blast injuries in children as well as adults, and sometimes, it ends up with the loss of

The healthy spine isn't perfectly straight—and that's a good thing! The natural forward and backward curves make it easier for our spines to absorb forces as we move about our day. The spine normally curves slightly toward the front of the body in the neck and lower back. We call this lordosis. The spine curves slightly toward the back of the body in the middle back. We call this kyphosis. People can have varying degrees of lordosis and kyphosis, and about 2 to 3 percent of the American population has less-typical curves known as scoliosis. Keep reading to learn about what scoliosis is, how to

The healthy spine isn't perfectly straight—and that's a good thing! The natural forward and backward curves make it easier for our spines to absorb forces as we move about our day. The spine normally curves slightly toward the front of the body in the neck and lower back. We call this lordosis. The spine curves slightly toward the back of the body in the middle back. We call this kyphosis. People can have varying degrees of lordosis and kyphosis, and about 2 to 3 percent of the American population has less-typical curves known as scoliosis. Keep reading to learn about what scoliosis is, how to