West Nile in perspective

It's mosquito season again, and that means more cases of West Nile virus. While the disease is serious, even when people are bitten by mosquitoes carrying the virus, most don't become ill.

Doctors at Harvard Medical School say about 20 percent have fairly mild symptoms, such as fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash. Less than 1 percent develop a more severe illness like encephalitis or meningitis.

Meningitis causes headaches, a stiff neck, vomiting, and sensitivity to light. Encephalitis may cause headaches and confusion.

Overlooked cause of fatigue

Doctors at Georgetown University Medical Center say sinus infections are nine times more prevalent among people with unexplained long-term fatigue and six times more common in those with unexplained allover pain. About 14 million Americans are affected.

Chronic sinus infections make you feel tired and lower your pain threshold. But people don't usually connect fatigue or aches and pains with sinus pressure. They fail to mention it to their doctors.

If you have unexplained fatigue or pains, ask your doctor to check your sinuses. Treatment includes steroid nasal sprays, decongestants, and antibiotics if appropriate. If these don't help, surgery to remove blockage is next.

Dietary C lowers stroke risk

Researchers reporting in Neurology have discovered that the level of vitamin C from food is a factor in stroke risk. After adjusting for other factors, they found that people with less than 94 milligrams of vitamin C in their diets were 34 percent more likely to have a first stroke than those with intakes of 133 milligrams per day or more.

Vitamin C from supplements did not affect stroke risk. Only that from food did. Foods rich in C include citrus fruit, berries, green peppers, and broccoli.