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Vasectomy is a safe, common office procedure that many people undergo as a form of permanent, non-drug birth control. Complications are few and rare. A vasectomy usually takes less than half an hour to complete and is often done under just local anesthetic. However, in some instances, a person can experience debilitating pain following the procedure. Post-vasectomy pain syndrome (PVPS) is a recognized condition that affects roughly one in every 1,000 people who undergo a vasectomy....

Weight loss may seem like the silver lining of chemotherapy, but the truth is that not everyone on treatment loses weight. It’s one of the false impressions we’ve gotten from the media, where the person with cancer looks thin and frail. Although it is possible to lose weight, it is certainly not everyone’s experience. Everyone responds differently to chemotherapy, and there are many factors that play a role in how treatment will affect your weight....

In the United States, flu season typically starts in October and peaks in February. Health experts are predicting that the 2022–2023 flu season could be more severe than the last couple of years when COVID-19 precautions helped lessen the burden of influenza. Key Takeaways The incubation period for the flu is the time between when a person is infected and when they start feeling sick.The incubation time for the flu ranges from 1 to 4 days, with an average of 2 days....

Learning that you need to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test can be intimidating. Although rarely needed to evaluate sleep disorders, it may be used to assess stroke (a potential cause of central sleep apnea) or even epilepsy (which may cause nocturnal seizures). Although the experience of an MRI may vary somewhat, you may encounter some common expectations and reading a little about these may put your concerns to rest....

Anal sex poses a high risk for numerous sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Furthermore, anal STIs are not easily detected during regular STI testing. That’s why it’s important to tell your healthcare provider if you’re having anal sex so you can be tested accordingly. How to Test for Anal STIs Not all STI tests work in the same way. Some tests, like the ones for HIV, test your blood for signs your body has been exposed to the virus....

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. In the United States, 13% of women are diagnosed with breast cancer, with rates varying by age and ethnicity. This article explains important facts and statistics about breast cancer and what to expect if you are diagnosed. Rates of Breast Cancer In 2019, 264,121 new cases of female breast cancer were reported in the United States, with 42,280 of those women dying....

A new study suggests that a special chewing gum help lower the risk of an infected person passing on COVID-19. Key Takeaways Preliminary research suggests that a special chewing gum may help reduce the risk of Omicron transmission in people who are infected.The special plant-based gum traps viral particles and reduces viral load to undetectable levels.The study’s researchers plan to start clinical trials next week. The study, which was published in the journal Biomaterials, focused on gum that contained a protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which helps absorb genetic material from the COVID-19 virus....

In 2008, the newswires were rife with reports about an outbreak of a new strain of the flesh-eating MRSA bacteria mainly among gay and bisexual men in San Francisco and Boston. Although MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has long been considered a major public health threat, it was rarely associated with such a rapid and specific outbreak. What made the 2008 event so unusual was that many of the reported infections were passed during sexual activity....

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults eat 1.5 to 2 cup-equivalents of fruits and 2 to 3 cup-equivalents of vegetables every day. However, according to recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only about 10% of adults in the United States are meeting those recommendations. Key Takeaways Most Americans don’t eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables every day.Getting your fruits and vegetables in your diet is important for your body and health....

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first set of guidelines for life after vaccination on March 8, 2021. The guidance details what’s safe and what’s not after you’ve been fully vaccinated—a major step in the right direction for returning to normalcy. Key Takeaways The CDC has issued its first set of guidelines on activities people can resume after completing their COVID-19 vaccinations. The guidelines OK small indoor gatherings among people who have been vaccinated without the need for masks or social distancing....

Cystinosis is an inherited disorder of chromosome 17 in which the amino acid cystine is not transported properly out of the body’s cells. This causes tissue and organ damage throughout the body. The symptoms of cystinosis may begin at any age, and it affects both males and females of all ethnic backgrounds. There are only around 2,000 known individuals with cystinosis in the world. The gene for cystinosis (CTNS) is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner....

Do you ever experience a headache after jumping into a cold pool or eating an ice cream cone on a hot day? The name associated with this headache disorder is a cold stimulus headache. The third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (2013) has classified the cold stimulus headache into two headache types: A headache attributed to the external application of a cold stimulus A headache attributed to ingestion or inhalation of a cold stimulus (also known as an ice-cream headache or a brain-freeze headache) Let’s review the basics of a cold stimulus headache and how to manage it....

Those dark spots, the uneven skin tone, and scarring that acne leaves behind is so incredibly frustrating, maybe even more so that the breakouts themselves. You want to get rid of those acne scars fast, does olive oil heal acne scars? But, as wonderful as olive oil may be in other applications, it’s not a good treatment for acne scars. It’s not a treatment for scars at all, really. The History of Olive Oil as a Skin Treatment Olive oil has a long, rich history....

Thyroid disease is one of the common manifestations of Down syndrome. Hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) is the type that most frequently occurs, and it is estimated that 13 percent to 55 percent of people with Down syndrome will develop the condition over the course of their lifetime (on average, thyroid disease affects approximately 12 percent of the general population). Those with Down syndrome are also at increased risk for other thyroid concerns, such as hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid)....

Along with its intended results, a drug may cause a number of unwanted side effects. These effects can occur when you start a new medication, decrease or increase the dose of a medication, or when you stop using a medication. A side effect that occurs in one percent or more of people taking a specific medication is considered by medical researchers to be caused by that medication. Examples of common drug side effects include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, headache, itching, and muscle aches and pains....

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of inflammatory arthritis. It is chronic, which means it is a long-term condition. It usually affects the spine, but it may also affect tendons, ligaments, vital organs, joints, and eyes. Stiffness and pain are the two most common symptoms. People with AS have inflammation in the vertebrae, which are the small bones in the spine. This can lead to scarring and ankylosis, or the formation of new bone....

The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is a standardized system used to classify the severity and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS)—in other words, to provide a measure of how much disability the disease has caused. It is primarily used in clinical trials to determine who should participate in a given study and to assess the effectiveness of a treatment being researched. Developed in the 1950s and refined in the 1980s, the EDSS has been “used in virtually every major clinical trial that has been conducted in MS during the last four decades and in numerous other clinical studies,” according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS)....

Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday for kids. Dressing up in cute, funny, scary costumes, decorating the house with creepy spiders, carved pumpkins, or bones that appear to erupt from the ground, and of course, a showering of candy and sweets unlike any other day in the year. Halloween is a child’s delight for many kids, but it comes with its own set of risks for those children with food allergies....

You’ve had the same dentist for 10 years, and have built a wonderful doctor-patient relationship with him or her. At your last dental examination, he made recommendations for root canals and crowns for several of your teeth. Considering you have never had any problems with these teeth, you may not feel comfortable with his diagnosis. You may feel unsure if you should question this, though—should you seek a second opinion just to be sure?...

Your pupils control the amount of light that enters your eyes. Testing the pupils is an important part of a comprehensive eye exam. The pupils of the eye are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which also is responsible for other things your body does without you thinking, such as breathing and making your heart beat. If your pupils are not working properly, it could be a sign of problems with your nervous system that could impact the rest of your body....