Understanding sunscreens.

Gov. Christie had Adjustable Gastric Band (AGB) surgery, which limits food intake with a band around the top of the stomach. The size of the restriction can be adjusted with a circular balloon inside the band. AGB works mainly by decreasing food intake. The snugger the band, the less hungry people feel.

The scary truth is that Alzheimer’s begins with difficulty remembering the familiar – people, things, events. Or, you start having trouble doing simple arithmetic in your head. These annoyances are common to seniors with healthy brains, so most of us don’t get too worked up over them.

Hospice is for the end of life. In fact, hospice requires that a patient be certified as being six months from death, and it requires stopping most curative treatments. Palliative medicine is a relatively new, fast-growing interdisciplinary specialty.

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer. All skin cancers can be cured if they are treated before they spread. The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change on the skin, especially a new growth or a sore that doesn’t heal.

Labyrinthitis is an ear disorder that involves swelling of the inner ear. If you get labyrinthitis, the parts of the inner ear become irritated and inflamed. This inflammation disrupts the transmission of sensory information from the ear to the brain. This disruption causes vertigo, dizziness and difficulties with balance, vision and hearing.

• Bad breath. As we age, the tissues of the mouth produce less saliva, which is the best defense against bad breath. Older people don’t brush their teeth as well as they used to. And dentures retain odors if they aren’t replaced when they should be.

The common causes of wrinkles include genetic infl uences, normal aging, sun exposure and smoking. People who smoke tend to have more wrinkles than nonsmokers of the same age, complexion and history of sun exposure. Cigarette smoking causes biochemical changes in our bodies that accelerate aging.