By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW: Before I begin let me define the terms I am going to be discussing. There are two: 1- Chronic Illness and 2- Acute Illness. These explanations come from the Center for Disease Control, DSM-V, and Wikipedia. A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),... Read More

Dear Dr. Dorree, I started seeing this really nice guy about four months ago, and I was really starting to like him, but I just found out he gave me gonorrhea! Can you believe it, at my age? I feel like a fool. —Katrina, 69 Katrina, No one likes to hear they picked up a sexually transmitted disease (STD). We tend to think this sort of thing only happens to teenagers and prostitutes, but of course, that’s not true. STDs are passed around at every age— even to very nice people like you. That’s why we say everyone, even people who don’t have to worry about pregnancy, need to use condoms... Read More