Your health

From the heart

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in America, claiming the lives of over half a million women a year. Friday is Wear Red Day in Chicago, an effort by the American Heart Association to raise awareness about the disease.

You can take a heart check-up at www.GoRedForWomen.org, which forecasts your 10-year risk for heart disease and gives ways women can reduce their risk.

Or visit the Merchandise Mart in Chicago between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Feb. 20 for a women's heart health fair sponsored by the Sister to Sister Foundation. The fair includes free heart health screenings for women, counseling, educational seminars and fitness and cooking demonstrations.

Home remedies that work

Some home remedies really do help ease minor illnesses, according to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

• Chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and relieves congestion associated with the common cold.

• An oatmeal bath, using regular oatmeal ground fine in a food processor, can soothe itchy, dry or irritated skin.

• Dabbing milk of magnesia on a canker sore several times a day can take out the sting.

• Duct tape can help remove warts. Apply tape to the wart for six days. Remove the tape, soak the wart in water and gently rub it with a pumice stone. The process can be repeated until the wart is gone.

• The juice of aloe leaves can help heal mild to moderate burns.

First in fertility

Chicago's the best place in the nation for fertility services, but the overall No. 1 place to have a baby is Portland, Ore.

So says Fit Pregnancy magazine, which took into account criteria like access to hospitals and doctors, affordability, stroller friendliness, and maternal and baby health risks.

After Portland, the remaining Top 10, in order, are Minneapolis; San Francisco; Seattle; Denver; Boston; Omaha, Neb.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Austin, Texas; and Albuquerque, N.M.