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As if losing the hair on your head isn’t distressing enough, imagine the impact of losing your eyebrows as a result of chemotherapy. Eyebrows are the features on our face that help punctuate emotion and are central to how we picture ourselves as individuals. While many people undergoing chemo are able to cope with hair loss on their head, eyebrows are another thing altogether. Without them, people often describe themselves as looking vague, emotionless, or just plain ill....

COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate based on race or ethnicity, but access to healthcare does. One step in reducing racial disparities in healthcare could be expanding medicare eligibility, which is part of a new Biden administration budget proposal. Key Takeaways A study found that expanding Medicare eligibility could reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care.In a $3.5 trillion spending plan, Democrats proposed to lower Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60.Doctors note that racial and ethnic disparities can affect patients early in life, and expanding Medicare eligibility may help remedy these conditions sooner....

Having asthma puts you at an increased risk for high blood pressure (hypertension), which must be treated as it can lead to heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure, as well as severe asthma complications. But using drugs to do that is complicated. Some blood pressure medications (antihypertensives) can worsen asthma by causing the airways in the lungs to narrow. Antihypertensives fall into several categories: Non-selective beta-blockersSelective beta-blockersAngiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitorsAngiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)DiureticsCalcium channel blockers What your healthcare provider prescribes is based on a number of factors, including your age, your other medical issues, allergies, and potential interactions with your other prescriptions....

Epithelial cells—found in our skin, digestive tract, lungs, and airway, among other places—have a variety of functions that help keep our bodies running well, including guarding against malevolent microbes and helping to transport nutrients into our bloodstreams. In fact, epithelial cells represent our first line of defense against pathogens and other contaminants that can enter our bodies through our airways, digestive tracts, and bloodstreams. Our skin also is made of epithelial cells, which form a multi-layered, watertight barrier between our internal organs and the outside world....

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease accounts for nearly one in every four deaths in the country each year. Having congestive heart failure (CHF) can affect every aspect of your life. Managing the condition is important. In addition to conventional treatments, you may also want to explore complementary therapies to help alleviate your CHF symptoms....

If you are having cosmetic facial plastic surgery, you will need to prepare for your procedure several weeks in advance. Facelift, rhytidectomy, rhinoplasty (nose job), eyelid lift, forehead lift, laser resurfacing, and hair transplant are some of the elective surgical procedures that are done to improve visible signs of aging in the face and neck. Before your surgery, you will need to make some lifestyle adjustments and follow preoperative guidelines, such as medication modifications and not eating or drinking starting the night before your surgery....

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed for one existing COVID-19 diagnostic test to be used with pooled samples, meaning it is now approved to analyze more than one person’s respiratory swab sample at once. The goal is to make testing more efficient. Key Takeaways Quest Diagnostics is the first to receive FDA approval to use pooled sampling to test for COVID-19.Pooling allows for multiple people to be tested at once, reducing the amount of time required to test large numbers of samples....

Group B strep (GBS) is a form of streptococcus bacteria often present in the digestive or urinary tracts. It’s usually harmless in adults, but it can be a dangerous—even deadly—infection in a newborn. If you’re pregnant, your healthcare provider will recommend a group B strep test when you are in your 36th or 37th week. A simple test can determine if you have group B strep, which can be treated shortly before you deliver to help prevent infection in your baby....

If you have ever had serious dental work done, it is likely that you had had a dental impression taken dental impressions are very common and are used for a variety of purposes in the dental field. Impressions can be used to create mouth guards, whitening trays, retainers, crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, and accurate models, among other things. A dental impression is an imprint of the teeth and mouth from which shaped items can be formed....

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), commonly referred to as fatty liver, is highly prevalent in women with PCOS, affecting 15 percent to 55 percent of women depending on the diagnostic criteria used. NAFLD occurs as a result of excess triglycerides (fat) stored in the liver, which causes damage and inflammation. The liver isn’t meant to store fat; its role is to serve as the detox organ for the body filtering out harmful substances....

Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx—also called your voice box—due to irritation, overuse, or infection. About 2 inches in length and located at the top of your windpipe (airway), your larynx contains your vocal cords and plays a role when you talk, breathe, or swallow. Inflammation or irritation causes your vocal cords to swell and distorts the sounds that air carries over them, making your voice sound hoarse. If the swelling is severe, you may not be able to make your voice heard at all, a condition called aphonia that most people describe as “losing” their voice....

Light therapy, which is often administered through light therapy lamps, has been found to be an effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), formally diagnosed as major depressive disorder with seasonal pattern in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This article discusses how light therapy works and why light therapy lamps are so beneficial to people with SAD symptoms—like depression, hopelessness, and fatigue. What Is Light Therapy?...

While you may have never heard of your meibomian glands, you may have symptoms of dry eyes due to meibomian gland dysfunction. Normally, these glands produce an oily substance known as meibum, which spreads from the eyelid margins across the surface of the eye every time you blink. This layer of fat helps to prevent evaporation of tears, as well as make the tears more stable. On each of the upper eyelids alone, there are about 25 to 40 meibomian glands....

Women are protected against sleep apnea throughout much of their lives, but the advent of menopause marks the beginning of an increased risk for the disorder. How does menopause affect the higher risks of snoring and sleep apnea in women? What symptoms that might be attributed to hormonal changes, menopause, or simply “getting older” may be linked to obstructive sleep apnea instead? Learn about these issues and decide whether your sleep needs further evaluation....

Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve. The optic nerve is the bundle of nerve fibers that connects your eye to your brain. The optic nerve transmits visual information to the brain. The optic nerve is covered by a fatty material called myelin that acts as insulation. Myelin helps electrical impulses travel quickly along the nerve. It is commonly believed that optic neuritis develops when the body’s own immune system attacks this tissue....

Just this past month the new National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 was signed into law, creating a three-digit hotline number for people seeking help with their mental health issues. The Federal Communications Commission chose 988 as the number for this hotline. Key Takeaways A new three-digit hotline number, 988, will be available for people to seek help for their mental health issues in July 2022. Surveys find that mental health hotlines are actually helpful in providing support and directing callers toward treatment....

Sleep latency, also known as sleep onset latency (SOL), is the amount of time it takes to fall asleep once you go to bed. Ideally, sleep latency should be between 10 and 20 minutes. This lays the foundation for a solid, restorative night’s sleep. If you take longer than that to fall asleep, it can affect your sleep efficiency, or quality. And if you are behind on sleep, known as having a sleep debt, you may nod off as soon as your head hits the pillow....

A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding in the area surrounding the brain called the subarachnoid space. When this occurs, blood fills inside the subarachnoid space, between the brain and the skull, causing a buildup of pressure on the brain. A SAH is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical care. This article provides an overview of subarachnoid hemorrhages, including symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Types Strokes fall into two main categories: ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot, and hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding in the brain....

One of the most significant problems for people on the autism spectrum is difficulty in social interaction. The level of difficulty can be very severe (as it usually is for people with no spoken language) or relatively mild. Even mild difficulties with social communication, however, can lead to major problems with relationships, school, and employment. Social Skills Affected by Autism In some cases, people with autism lack very basic social skills....

If you have been having bathroom accidents related to your bowels (fecal incontinence), you may find some solace in the fact that you are not alone. Incontinence happens to both men and women and is not a normal part of aging, although your risk of experiencing incontinence does increase as you get older. Gaining knowledge about the possible causes of your incontinence is important to help you find the best treatment for it....