Emily was a healthy, energetic three-and-a-half year-old. In late January 2004, she began to show signs of illness — she had a fever and was vomiting. Her physician diagnosed her with influenza (commonly called “the flu”) and told her parents to keep her hydrated. Unfortunately, her condition grew worse over the weekend. Just hours before [...]

Sore throat, muscle aches or a cough: for many of us, these are the uncomfortable but hardly life-threatening symptoms of the winter cold and flu season. For the 714,000 Canadians with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), these seemingly minor infections can trigger dangerous flare-ups of COPD symptoms, creating shortness of breath so severe that it [...]

It’s hard to stay healthy during the winter months. Everyone from your kids to your co-workers seems to be sniffling, coughing and sneezing. Not only is being sick unpleasant, the cost adds up fast – there’s missed time from work or school, doctor’s visits and medication. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention [...]