Zinc is more than just a way to use a 'z' in scrabble -- it's an essential nutrient that your body needs, both to heal wounds and injuries and help your body break down carbohydrates. How do you know if you're getting enough? Here are some signs that you're not, according to Everyday Health:

• Wounds, lesions and infections are difficult to heal.
  
• Your appetite is decreased.
  
• You experience an abnormal sense of taste and smell.
  
• You have difficulty seeing in the dark
• You experience abnormal hair loss.
  

Think you might be low on zinc? Load up on protein sources like red meat, turkey, seafood and legumes, as well as veggies like spinach and peas. Whole wheat bread, yogurt and milk are also good sources.

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Before too long, we may be able to go to our local drug store and pick up honey adhesive strips. It worked for the Egyptians, why not now? That's the thinking behind Medihoney, a new product based on manuka honey which has been known to kill germs and heal wounds where traditional antibiotics fail.

Dressing wounds has been an issue for diabetes patients when drug-resistant germs keep some abrasions from healing. This is where honey comes in. Using a material based on seaweed, they soak the dressing in leptospermum honey. It will not only kill microbes, but soak up fluids and get rid of the bad smell of wounds.

Honey being used in this way has picked up in other parts of the world already. Even when the concentration is diluted ten times, this stuff can kill bacteria. Let's hope honey-based medical products hit the open market soon -- some hospitals are already using it! People with weak immune systems or persistent trauma will be able to get a lot out of this.

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I'll admit, I generally avoid going to the doctor if at all possible. I know this isn't a very good idea, and that -- regardless of the time lost, money spent, and personal discomfort -- it's generally better to be safe than sorry when it comes to comes to my personal health.

However, I have the feeling that I'm not alone. So, for people like us, here's a handy little device that'll help to keep us safe while we "walk it off."

The Aranz Medical Silhouette PDA allows even the novice user to record how a wound is healing in a consistent manner, by taking laser-guided photographs of your burn, cut, or funky-looking lesion. Then, as the wound heals over time, the device creates a Wound Measurement Report, which you can use to track progress.

Hopefully you're not injured enough to need something like this, but just in case you're accident-prone, it might be worth checking out.

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If this sounds like something out of Star Wars or science fiction, hear it out. An organization called Intercytex Group has found a breakthrough in regenerative treatments. Enter the artificial skin. Okay by itself this is not new. However, the group has developed a novel lab-made living skin that lasts longer and even heals wounds!

Anyone who has gone through extensive surgery or needed a skin graft knows what makes this so innovative. Currently the best option for these treatments involves transplanting skin from one part of the patient's own body to another part. This can leave even more wounds. But imagine if there was a chance to use artificial skin which would heal naturally without painful skin grafts.

Maybe someday we can expect spray-on skin? Perhaps, but not any time soon. The company still has to move the product through clinical trials before they can even begin to consider marketing it. If that time gap means building a quality solution to take care of serious wounds, then I'm sure the world will wait.

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Toxic shock syndrome is a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection that has been most often associated with the use of super absorbent tampons and occasionally with the use of contraceptive sponges. While the infection often occurs in menstruating women, it can also affect men, children and post menopausal women. Other risk factors for toxic shock syndrome include skin wounds and surgery. Signs and symptoms of toxic shock syndrome develop suddenly, and the disease can be fatal.

Can your child develop Toxic Shock Syndrome? Yes they can. A related infection, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS, is caused by streptococcus bacteria. Most often STSS appears after streptococcus bacteria have invaded areas of injured skin, such as cuts and scrapes, surgical wounds, and even chickenpox blisters.

Sign of Toxic Shock Syndrome are signs of shock, cold hands and feet, a pulse that is fast and weak, confusion or other mental changes, their skin is pale and moist, shortness of breath or abnormally fast breathing, a fever, a rash that looks like sunburn, nausea and vomiting and watery diarrhea, decreased urination, and confusion or other mental changes.

Call your child's doctor or get them to an emergency quickly if they have these symptoms because the sooner they get attention the quicker they recover. Men can develop this infection also. Keeping your child's hands washed is a good way to fight the bacteria that can cause and spread this illness.

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