We know what pain feels like, but what actually is pain? According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, physical pain is an unpleasant sensory experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. For people living with cancer, pain may not be an early symptom but, instead, a sign that cancer has spread to nearby or distant tissues and organs. Cancer pain typically occurs when cancer spreads and affects nerves and other organs....
Keeping your teeth healthy is a key part of overall health. Cavities and discoloration, or staining, are two common teeth problems. While they can have similar appearances, including brown spots between teeth, there are ways to distinguish a cavity from a stain. When you know how to spot a cavity and what causes teeth stains, you’ll be more in control of your oral health. This article will highlight the differences between cavity vs stain....
Nearly 50 million Americans have high blood pressure. Older women are particularly likely to develop high blood pressure. More than half of all women over age 60 have it. Others who are at a high risk of developing high blood pressure are African Americans, those who are overweight, have a family history of high blood pressure, and those whose normal blood pressure is naturally high. What Exactly Is High Blood Pressure?...
Coronary artery anatomy is designed to ensure the heart gets enough of the oxygen-rich blood it needs to function. The coronary arteries supply blood to the myocardium (heart muscle). Because it must work continuously (as opposed to other muscles of the body, which are often at rest), the heart muscle has a very high requirement for oxygen and nutrients and therefore requires a very reliable, continuous supply of blood. This article will go over the anatomy of the coronary arteries....
Salt (sodium) is essential to our bodies. Normally your kidneys control your level of salt. If you consume too much salt, the kidneys pass it into the urine. But when our salt intake levels are very high, the kidneys might not be able to keep up, and the salt can remain in the body. Salt attracts water to balance the concentration in the blood. When there is too much salt in the blood, the salt draws more water into the blood....
A vegetarian diet is an approach to eating that does not include meat, fowl, seafood, or any products containing these foods. There are a few types of vegetarian diets. A lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, for instance, is based on grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes (beans), seeds, nuts, dairy products, and eggs. Vegan diets, another form of a vegetarian diet, exclude all animal products including eggs, dairy, and anything else of animal origin such as honey....
The inferior vena cava (also known as IVC or the posterior vena cava) is a large vein that carries blood from the torso and lower body to the right side of the heart. From there the blood is pumped to the lungs to get oxygen before going to the left side of the heart to be pumped back out to the body. The IVC gets its name from its structure and location....
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday added a new warning for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, saying it may trigger a rare autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Key Takeaways The FDA announced the COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson carries a slightly higher risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).Federal agencies report 100 cases of the syndrome linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, including one death.The autoimmune disorder can cause muscle weakness and possibly paralysis....
Dysphagia is a condition characterized by difficulty with properly chewing and swallowing food or liquid. The action of chewing and swallowing involves coordination between the brain, nerves, and muscles. Damage to the brain from a stroke, dementia, brain tumor, or another brain disease can impair chewing and swallowing. Damage to the cervical spine (the upper part of the spine) can also cause dysphagia by impairing the nerves that control the muscles of chewing and swallowing....
Hospice care focuses on treating symptoms rather than curing disease. It’s an option once doctors decide someone is unlikely to live more than six months. Hospice is also called “comfort care.” It aims to relieve pain and keep people comfortable so they can enjoy a good quality of life as long as possible. Medicare defines four levels of hospice care. Every Medicare-certified hospice provider must offer all four levels of care....
Mistletoe (Viscum album) is a member of the Viscaceae plant family. European mistletoe (Viscum album) is harvested for its leaves, stems, and berries to make herbal extracts, teas, and injections. Health benefits that have been attributed to mistletoe include improving cardiovascular health, relieving stress and anxiety, and boosting the immune system to help fight off colds and respiratory problems. It is also a popular complementary therapy for cancer treatment in many parts of the world....
While some people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will never be able to live and function independently, those on the high-functioning end of the spectrum are often able to go to college, find jobs, and live on their own. As the parent of an autistic child, you are probably accustomed to being very involved in all aspects of your child’s daily life, and they are very likely dependent on you for things like scheduling meals, setting bedtimes, and keeping on top of doctor’s appointments....
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a condition in which a person feels the urge to move their legs due to uncomfortable sensations during times of rest. RLS is thought to be the fourth leading cause of insomnia. RLS can occur because of nutrient deficiencies and could be a side effect of certain medications and lifestyle factors like smoking and alcohol consumption. People with RLS are often advised to avoid certain foods like sugar as well....
Accurately estimating cardiovascular risk is important because it allows you (and your healthcare provider) to decide how aggressive you ought to be in taking the steps available to you to reduce that risk. For instance, most guidelines for prescribing statin drugs rely heavily on an accurate assessment of a person’s estimated 10-year risk of having a serious cardiovascular event (such as heart attack or stroke). In the attempt to make these estimates as accurate as possible, several risk estimators have been developed over the years....
Rheumatoid vasculitis (RV) is a rare, serious complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in which inflammation spreads to small- or medium-size blood vessels in the body. This inflammation causes the walls of blood vessels to thicken and narrow, compromising blood flow. Rheumatoid vasculitis may involve multiple organs, including the skin, eyes, nerves, heart, lung, brain, kidney, or gastrointestinal tract. Rheumatoid Vasculitis Symptoms Any organ of the body can be affected by rheumatoid vasculitis....
If you’ve just gotten over a cold, the flu, COVID-19, or another infectious illness, you might have heard it’s best to throw out your toothbrush to avoid getting sick again. It makes sense that germs in your mouth could contaminate your toothbrush, but does that mean using it can reinfect you? If your kids get sick a lot, do you need to replace their toothbrushes for every sniffle? Here’s what experts say about whether you really have to replace your toothbrush every time you get sick, as well as some tips for taking care of your brushes....
A shoulder dislocation is an injury that occurs when the ball of the ball-and-socket shoulder joint is separated from its normal position. The ball comes out of the socket of the shoulder. When this occurs, the ball may stay out of the shoulder and need to be put back into place, or it can slide back into normal position on its own. How It Happens The shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket joint....
If someone has just been in an accident and you suspect head, neck, or spine injury, it is essential to always call 911 immediately. As long as the injury victim is not in immediate danger of further injury, do not move the person because you can make their injuries much worse. The signs and symptoms of a head injury depend on the severity of the trauma, and which structures of the face and head are affected....
Flavonoids, typically found in vegetables, fruits, chocolate, and red wine, may lower blood pressure, according to a recent study. Researchers found that the benefits of a flavonoid-rich diet are associated with a greater diversity of gut bacteria. Key Takeaways Consuming flavonoid-rich foods may help lower blood pressure levels and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.The benefits of flavonoids can be explained by a greater diversity of gut microbiome.Additional studies are needed to examine the variability of gut microbiota between individuals and to understand how this translates to health outcomes....
One would imagine that an HIV test would be fairly cut and dry, with the results either being HIV negative or HIV positive. HIV negative means you have no signs of HIV in your blood; a positive HIV test means that you do have signs of HIV in your blood. You can be positive for HIV even if you don’t have symptoms. But there is a scenario when a negative HIV test may not be all that it appears....
