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A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the uterus, the organ that holds a fetus during pregnancy. There are several types of hysterectomies that patients and healthcare providers choose from, using different types of incisions and instruments. In addition, an oophorectomy, or surgery to remove the ovaries is often combined with a hysterectomy. If the variety of procedures wasn’t confusing enough, there are also multiple alternatives to a hysterectomy, including less invasive outpatient surgical procedures that leave the uterus intact and medication....

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is a rare condition but a true emergency. In RCVS, blood vessels in the brain suddenly narrow, or constrict. These vessels carry oxygen and nutrients to the brain. A stroke may occur as a result, but the “reversible” in RCVS means that symptoms often go away. The main feature of RCVS is a “thunderclap” headache. This is a sudden, severe, and disabling form of headache. It primarily affects women at middle age, and is often associated with childbirth....

Surgical repair can be an option for some people who have a shoulder dislocation. If you experience a dislocated shoulder due to a traumatic event—like a sports collision, a fall, or an automobile accident—you could be at risk for sustaining recurrent shoulder dislocations in the future. The chance of recurrent shoulder dislocation depends most significantly on your age—with younger people usually being at a higher risk than older people. Is Surgery Necessary?...

Proton pump inhibitors, also called PPI drugs, are a class of drugs that are prescribed to treat heartburn, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), ulcers, or other conditions associated with excess stomach acid. Proton pump inhibitors work by blocking an enzyme that is necessary for making acid in the stomach. By blocking the enzyme, acid production decreases. How Proton Pumps Work The proton pump is a molecule found in some cells of the stomach (parietal cells)....

Patients who suffer from end-stage kidney failure (when approximately 80 to 90 percent of kidney function is lost) may be put on dialysis at the recommendation of their healthcare provider. Dialysis is a treatment that helps do the things the kidneys can no longer do, like remove waste and prevent fluid buildup in the body, regulate vitamins and minerals, and help control blood pressure. There are two types of dialysis—hemodialysis, which is when an artificial kidney is used to function as a real kidney inside the body, and peritoneal dialysis, which is when a healthcare provider inserts a catheter into the abdomen to help rid the body of waste from the inside out....

Some people are genetically at greater risk of HIV infection than others. The first genetic mutation associated with HIV susceptibility was identified in the mid-1990s. Known as the CCR5-Delta32 mutation, it seems to confer strong resistance to infection by HIV. This gene mutation is found most commonly in certain European populations. That is possible because it was also associated with resistance to other diseases such as smallpox or the Bubonic Plague....

Here are some tips for coping with interferon side effects. Unfortunately, a high dose of interferon, also known as interferon-alfa2b (IFN), is currently the only treatment approved for melanoma patients at high risk of recurrence after surgery. Many serious side effects have been reported by those taking IFN, including problems in the skin, muscles, stomach, heart, kidney, liver and blood. Some side effects, such as fatigue, can even last for the entire year that IFN is taken....

Each kidney has a single ureter that allows urine to pass into the bladder. Ureteroceles are a congenital abnormality that causes a ureter to swell. This ballooning at the end of one or both ureters prevents normal urine flow between the kidneys and bladder. This article explains the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of ureteroceles. Symptoms Ureteroceles happen during embryonic development. That means if you have one, you were born with it....

For most men, vasectomy is a very effective form of permanent birth control. There are other forms of male birth control, as well as surgical options for permanent birth control for women, but vasectomy is one of the simplest cost-effective and low-risk permanent solutions. Find out more about the long-term implications of a vasectomy. Benefits of Vasectomy A vasectomy offers a permanent birth control solution if you know you no longer want to father children....

MERS stands for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. It is a respiratory illness that is caused by a previously unseen variant of a coronavirus. Other coronaviruses have caused SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and COVID-19. MERS was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Most cases have occurred in Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, with some also in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Only two cases have been diagnosed in the United States....

Rectal bleeding and an itchy anus with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) could be caused by an anal fissure, a painful tear in the lining of the anus. Those with constipation-predominant IBS are especially at risk. Hard stools and the straining required to pass them can both lead to anal fissures, as well as other related problems like hemorrhoids. Anything you do to treat your IBS and get your gastrointestinal system functioning more regularly should also help reduce your risk of anal fissures....

The number of COVID-19 cases caused by variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been increasing rapidly in many parts of the United States. Some of the variants are more easily spread than the virus that circulated at the start of the pandemic, which is fueling the rise in cases this spring. Key Takeaways Variants of the COVID-19 virus that are more easily transmissible are spreading in the United States. One of the variants, B....

Although falling asleep in your contact lenses can happen accidentally, it’s something you should avoid. That’s because it can lead to eye infections and other dangerous complications that can threaten your vision. If you fall asleep with your contact lenses on, it’s important to learn to recognize the symptoms you need to watch for, and to know when it’s time to visit an eye specialist about it. What Happens A few things happen if you try to catch some shuteye with your contact lenses on....

20/20 vision is a measurement of visual acuity, which means it measures how well you can see. 20/20 visual acuity means that a person can see small detail from 20 feet away the same as a person with normal eyesight would see from 20 feet. If a person has a visual acuity of 20/40, they are said to see detail from 20 feet away the same as a person with normal eyesight would see it from 40 feet away....

Arthritis can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in the feet. As arthritis progresses, foot deformity and reduced sensation in the foot can develop. This can make it difficult to wear normal socks without pain or discomfort. Arthritis socks can help keep your feet warm and comfortable without causing additional problems. Moreover, wearing socks specifically designed for feet affected by arthritis, like compression socks, can also offer a preventative approach to long-term side effects of arthritis, including limited mobility, difficulty walking, and reduced overall quality of life....

Of all the longevity calculators out there, our tester who took the Blue Zones Vitality Compass says it’s by far his favorite. The mostly multiple-choice test takes just three minutes to complete, and the design makes it really easy to use. Other longevity calculators predict my friend’s life expectancy as 84; the Vitality Compass predicts 96.2. Description A three-minute longevity test that uses data gathered from the world’s longest-living people Easy-to-use interface Vitality Coach programs help you make major lifestyle changes Pros Results give your biological age, life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and accrued yearsBased on research of the world’s longest-lived people Cons Must give an e-mail address to use the longevity calculator Review The Blue Zones Vitality Compass is based on research conducted by Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow, and New York Times bestselling author....

The term “carcinoid tumor” was coined in 1907 by Siegfried Oberndorfer, a scientist who wanted to designate the tumor as cancer-ish. It doesn’t qualify as a benign tumor since it has the ability to metastasize, but it also grows very slowly and seldom spreads, which makes it more benign than most cancers. A carcinoma is a cancerous tumor and the suffix “-oid” is used to indicate that something resembles something else....

In the United States, approximately 30 million people (1 out of 8) over age 12 have hearing loss in both ears. About 2 children of every 1,000 in the United States are born with a degree of hearing loss in one or both ears. This article will highlight important facts about hearing loss, including details about what hearing loss is, who it affects, risk factors, and causes. Deafness Overview Deafness can most simply be defined as full or partial hearing loss in one or both ears....

Your weight and your risk for heart disease are connected. But that doesn’t mean being overweight guarantees that you’ll have heart problems. There are ways to reduce your risk for a cardiac event and weight loss may be one of them. But first, it’s important to learn the facts about heart disease and weight loss. What Is Heart Disease? Heart disease is a number of abnormal conditions that affect the heart and the blood vessels in the heart....

For decades, it was believed that HIV progressed to AIDS in a pretty straightforward manner: spreading through the body as a free-circulating virus, attaching itself to immune cells (predominately CD4+ T-cells) and hijacking their genetic machinery in order to create multiple copies of itself. By doing so, HIV is able to disseminate throughout the entire system, expanding in numbers until enough T-cells are killed to fully compromise a person’s immune defenses (the clinical definition of AIDS)....