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Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests (or rapid antigen tests) have become increasingly popular over the past few months. These tests can be bought over-the-counter and administered at home, providing results in 30 minutes or less. Key Takeaways Self-administered rapid antigen kits have an expiration date indicated on the packaging. Storing test kits properly is crucial in ensuring that they work properly and accurately. Using expired test kits is not recommended because they may provide inaccurate results, experts say....

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), previously known as electroshock therapy, has been around for decades. But the techniques used today are not like those of 50 years ago, and a new study is confirming the treatment’s safety. Key Takeaways Researchers found that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe treatment, especially when compared to the risks associated with severe depression.Patients who received ECT were less at risk of suicide, compared to those who didn’t....

There’s a new product on the market to treat pain associated with fibromyalgia. It’s neither a drug nor a wellness regimen—it’s a pulsing beam of light. Key Takeaways The FDA approved a laser therapy device called FibroLux to treat fibromyalgia.Fibromyalgia is characterized by joint and muscle pain.FibroLux can reduce pain by delivering light to cells, increasing energy production, and healing cells. FibroLux, a laser-based therapy developed by Multi Radiance Medical, became the first so-called “photoceutical” device approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help fibromyalgia patients manage pain....

Lybrel (levonorgestrel/Ethinyl estradiol) was a combination birth control pill. It was the first extended-cycle birth control pill designed to supply an active dose of hormones every day to completely stop your period for a full year. Each pack contains 365 pills made up of 90 micrograms of levonorgestrel and 20 micrograms of Ethinylestradiol. Lybrel was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 22, 2007....

Most parents whose children follow the gluten-free diet send bag lunches to school, and for good reason — school lunch menus usually represent a gluten minefield of pizza, wheat-coated chicken nuggets, and whole wheat rolls. However, you may not realize you do have another choice. If your child is officially diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, public schools actually may be required to accommodate her with a safe, gluten-free meal....

Dessert is an excellent way to end a delicious meal. If you are watching your cholesterol, adding dessert may seem a little forbidden at first. However, the good news is that you can have your cake and eat it, too—especially if you follow these best practices for selecting cholesterol-friendly desserts. Make It Yourself Not only does making your own desserts give your treat a personal touch, but you also know the exact ingredients you are putting into your sweet treat....

There is always a risk of transmission and acquisition of HIV in condom-less sex, for both women and men. While the risk tends to be higher among women due to biologic vulnerability (including the greater mass of mucosal tissues that HIV can breach), men are also at risk, with everything from concurrent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to circumcision status adding to that risk. Transmission Risk in Women HIV can be found in the blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid (“pre-cum”), or vaginal fluid of a person infected with the virus....

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rare, potentially life-threatening condition. Although scientists have recognized a connection between tampons and cases of TSS, At least half of reported staphylococcal TSS cases are not related to menstruation. Non-menstrual TSS can occur in a variety of clinical circumstances, including surgical and postpartum wound infections, mastitis, septorhinoplasty, sinusitis, osteomyelitis, arthritis, burns, cutaneous and subcutaneous lesions (especially of the extremities and perianal area), respiratory infections following influenza, and enterocolitis....

There’s no getting around it: If you have severe food allergies, you need to keep an epinephrine auto-injector (either EpiPen or Auvi-Q, or a generic equivalent) with you at all times. But if you don’t have health insurance—or even if you do have insurance but carry a huge deductible—you might wonder how you can pay for this very necessary drug, which may cost more than $600. Unfortunately, these injectors aren’t cheap, and you may need more than one (say, one to keep at school and another to keep at home for a child)....

Diagnosing yellow fever isn’t easy. If your healthcare provider suspects you have this disease, you should expect an array of lab tests. Early in the illness, standard tests may not give you a definitive answer as to whether you have yellow fever or something similar to it. It gets easier to diagnose in the later stages, though, at the point when it can become life-threatening. Self-Checks Currently, we don’t have an at-home test for yellow fever or the virus that causes yellow fever....

Liver disease is an umbrella term for any disease that damages the liver. The signs and symptoms of liver disease are not always obvious right away. When symptoms do appear, some of the most common include yellowing of the eyes and skin on lighter skin tones (jaundice), abdominal pain, swelling in the legs, and changes to the color of urine or stool. These signs and symptoms can vary depending on the underlying cause of liver disease and the individual person....

The lumbosacral angle describes the degree between the lumbar and sacral portions of the spine. It can have an impact on back pain and on the risk of a slipped disc in the lower back. Quick Spinal Anatomy Review The entirety of the spine from the neck down through L5, the lowest lumbar vertebra, rests on the top of the sacrum. This bottom joint, L5 - S1, is also known as the lumbosacral joint....

Fishing eye syndrome, also called mucus eye syndrome, is a rare disorder that typically affects one eye. It is characterized by excessive mucus production in your eye after a mechanical trauma. Typically, the mechanical trauma is removal of the mucus secretions, which causes damage to the eye’s cornea, the clear dome of tissue at the front of your eye. This in turn leads to increased production of mucus. Thus begins a cycle of mechanical ocular trauma where removing the mucus threads causes the body to respond by producing more mucus threads....

The retromandibular vein is located in the facial area in front of the ear. This is a paired vein, with one on each side of the face. This deep vein of the face drains deoxygenated blood from various parts of the head and itself drains into the jugular veins to return the blood to the heart and lungs. This article discusses the anatomy, variations, function, and clinical significance of the retromandibular vein....

Asthma can cause significant changes in the lungs over the short and long term. This can lead to a ​worsening of symptoms and an increase in their frequency. The first step to avoiding the complications of asthma and maintaining your respiratory health is learning to read the signs that your asthma is not well controlled. This article reviews what those signs are and how to recognize an asthma emergency. Reasons for Poor Asthma Control Asthma is caused by a sudden tightening of airway passages and the overproduction of mucus in the lungs....

In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that childhood trauma may have an impact on both the development and response to treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life. Key Takeaways A new study suggests that childhood trauma could impact both the development and response to treatment of multiple sclerosis later in life.Previous studies have found a link between childhood trauma and chronic conditions.Managing stress and other mental health issues is essential to taking care of a chronic illness....

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 5 women in the U.S. has experienced rape at some point in their lives, and 1 in 38 men has experienced completed or attempted rape. Accurate sexual assault statistics are hard to come by but, no matter which reports you’re reading, the number is too high. If you have been assaulted, it can feel as if there’s no coming back from the experience....

In temporal lobe epilepsy, seizures begin in the brain’s temporal lobe. The seizure episodes may result in diminished awareness or a complete lack of awareness, and they usually include unusual sensations, such as phantom smells or physical sensations. Some people with temporal lobe seizures will also experience stiffness and/or jerking of one or both sides of the body. This type of seizure may remain a focal seizure, which means that it only involves one area of the brain, or it may generalize, involving both sides of the brain....

If you are having balance issues or difficulty with functional mobility, your physical therapist is the perfect person to assess your condition. But how does your PT measure your functional balance, and can the test be done at home? The Functional Reach Test is a special test used as an outcome measure in physical therapy. It is used to assess your balance and functional motion after an injury or illness or when you may have limited mobility....

Newly diagnosed arthritis patients want to know their prognosis almost as soon as they hear the diagnosis. It’s only natural that you want to know what will happen and what to expect years down the road. Osteoarthritis is considered an old person’s disease, and is expected to get worse with age. How accurate is that, though? In reality, OA can occur in anyone with joint damage. It progresses rather slowly, and may be diagnosed as early as your 20s....