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Anterior cruciate ligament injuries (ACL tears) are a common and feared injury for athletes. When an athlete tears their ACL the knee typically feels unstable and may give out when they try to cut or pivot on the leg. While this may not prevent participation in every sport, it does cause significant problems when trying to play many sports like soccer and basketball. ACL reconstruction surgery does not repair the damaged ligament, but rather creates a new ligament using other tissue from the leg (often the patellar tendon or hamstring tendon)....

Sleep hygiene concerns your sleep habits, which play a critical role in your overall health. Good sleep hygiene means practicing daily routines that support your body’s natural ability to fall asleep, reach deep sleep, and stay asleep throughout the night. Practicing proper sleep hygiene means you’re more likely to wake feeling rested. This article will further explain the basics of sleep hygiene, why good sleep habits are important to your health, and how you can get a good night’s sleep....

Many Americans are so used to hearing about the dangers of high blood pressure that they may not have considered the alternative: low blood pressure. And it’s fair to say that if they faced a choice, they’d rather have a lesser force of blood pushing up against the walls of their arteries than a greater one. Even a vaunted source like the American Heart Association says that “within certain limits, the lower your blood pressure reading is, the better....

While these incidents are not common, tragic consequences of self-inflicted neck injury due to neck trauma are periodically reported. Research shows that most people who suffer from self-inflicted neck trauma did not know of the potential dangers. Therefore, awareness of these problems can help prevent them. Young people, in particular, are at risk of accidental or deliberate self-inflicted neck injuries from actions such as attempted suicide and choking games. Several types of activities that cause neck pressure may induce injuries to the arteries in the neck or to the spine....

Aczone is the brand name for the acne-fighting medication dapsone, which is only available by prescription. It is used to treat mild to moderate acne vulgaris. It comes in a gel that you apply directly to your skin. You can use Aczone (dapsone) to treat both facial and body acne. It’s especially good for inflammatory acne breakouts but is also somewhat effective at treating non-inflammatory breakouts like blackheads and milia....

The biggest nuisance with having to wear a cast is the need to keep it dry. You have to fuss with bags or a waterproof cover to take a bath or shower and swimming is definitely out of the question. However, for the right person and the right injury, you might be able to wear a waterproof cast instead. While traditional paddings for casts fall apart when they get wet, the waterproof option doesn’t....

Mucous membranes protect the inside parts of your body that are exposed to air—similar to how your skin protects your external body. Mucous membranes are rich with mucous glands that secrete mucus to help keep the membranes moist. Examples of mucous membranes include lips, mouth, nasal passages, middle ear, and the eustachian tube. Other mucous membranes include the lining of the digestive tract, the lining of the urogenital tract (including the urethra and vagina), the lining of the respiratory tract, and your eyes (conjunctival membranes)....

You haven’t gotten your period in quite some time. “Am I pregnant?” you wonder. “I can’t be pregnant!” It happens that you’re not, and that feels like even more of a reason to be worried. So what’s really going on? This article looks at a number of causes for missed periods, also known as amenorrhea. It also focuses on how lifestyle choices may be linked with missed periods and what you can do to change them....

Meghan Fitzgerald, RN, MPH, DrPH, is an adjunct associate professor with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a private equity investor. She has decades of experience working in the healthcare field, ranging from frontline patient care to advising prominent healthcare firms. Here, she shares her take on why the United States so urgently needs to update its public health infrastructure and make its own policy decisions. A year and a half into the pandemic, United States public health officials continue to create COVID-19 policy inspired by data from outside the U....

Everyone passes gas, better known as farting or belching. Gas in the digestive system is either swallowed air (e.g., from talking while eating) or produced by bacteria inside the body during digestion. While undesirable, occasional passing of gas is completely normal. Most people have a certain amount of control over how much gas they pass. Altering your diet can reduce gas so you burp and fart less. But there’s always going to be some that needs to be released....

No matter the setting—home, hospice facility, or palliative-care center—caregivers often find a loved one’s loss of appetite and unintended weight loss disturbing. If you find yourself in this position, you can help treat your loved one’s loss of appetite by stimulating their desire to eat and helping them consume the calories and nutrients they need to stay healthy. It helps to know the right ways to approach this. Be Supportive, Not Pushy You can help your loved one most by reminding yourself that cachexia (unintended weight loss) is a common symptom of many illnesses and one that can be difficult to reverse....

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the leading organization for OB-GYNs in the U.S., now recommends that pregnant people get the COVID-19 vaccine. UPDATE The CDC on August 11 echoed ACOG’s advice, recommending that pregnant and breastfeeding individuals be vaccinated against COVID-19 based on new safety data. Key Takeaways The nation’s leading organization for OB-GYNs now recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant people.This is a change from ACOG’s previous recommendation that suggested those who are pregnant be allowed to get the vaccine, if they wanted it....

Morning stiffness is a common problem for people with arthritis. For some people, it’s the most severe pain they have all day. This symptom can impair or interfere with your ability to function and perform activities of daily living. In this article, you’ll get a look at the possible causes of morning stiffness from arthritis and how to deal with it. Causes of Morning Stiffness Morning stiffness is a persistent problem for many people with arthritis, even if they have a regular treatment regimen....

Regular green tea and coffee consumption have previously been found to offer a myriad of health benefits, ranging from reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease to improving brain function. But now researchers suggest that the beverages can also reduce the risk of death for those who have experienced a stroke or heart attack. Key Takeaways Studies have previously linked drinking green tea and coffee to reduced mortality risk in the general population....

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page. All viruses develop mutations and variants, and COVID-19 is no different. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple variants of the virus have developed. One of these variants is B.1.1.7, which was initially found in the United Kingdom in September 2020....

Most of us have been there - you’ve been sick for a few days then you wake up with serious ear pain, a severe sore throat or sinus pressure so intense you feel like your head is going to explode. You know you have an ear infection, strep throat, sinus infection, etc., and you don’t want to take time out of your day to go to the healthcare provider. Your friend has some leftover antibiotics so you’ll just take them....

Historically, women and pregnant people have been left out of much of the scientific research guiding today’s health recommendations, medicinal developments, and technological advances. Key Takeaways A new study shows that pregnant people are largely left out of nutrition studies informing guidelines for the United States and Canada’s Dietary Reference Intakes.Out of all the nutrient studies, only 17% included pregnant people or people who are lactating, making it difficult to provide accurate guidelines....

Flat affect is a severely restricted or nonexistent expression of emotion. A person with flat affect does not express emotion the way other people do. It is not a condition by itself; it’s a symptom of various other conditions, including schizophrenia, autism, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Because it’s a symptom of something else going on, people will rarely seek help for just this single symptom. When they are seen for a condition, the healthcare provider can observe that the person has a flat affect....

For years, doctors and major medical organizations have recommended that women get an annual flu shot during pregnancy as a way to lower their risk of severe complications from the virus. Now, there’s even more research to confirm its safety. Key Takeaways A new study shows that children born to mothers vaccinated against the flu did not have a higher risk of health issues than other children.Researchers found that to be true for infections, asthma, abnormal growths, and sensory issues....

The hamate is a triangular-shaped bone that is made up of a flatter portion (known as the body) and a curved prominence (called the hook or hamulus) that juts off of the bone towards the palm of your hand. The structure is a part of the distal (top) row of carpal bones on the medial (pinkie side) border of the hand and its hook makes up a portion of anatomical tunnels through which several nerves in your arm and hand travel....