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Have you ever wondered if your runny nose, sneezing and itchy watery eyes were related to your asthma? It turns out that your hay fever, referred to as seasonal allergic rhinitis by your healthcare provider, is a significant risk factor for the development of asthma. Asthma and hay fever often exist together. As many as 80% of asthmatics have some form of hay fever. Do You Have Hay Fever Symptoms? As with asthma symptoms, hay fever symptoms will vary from person to person....

When the warmer temperatures of the year arrive, so do the outdoor festivities, which usually involve planning your trips, cleaning the swimming pool, and, of course, firing up the grill. Grilling is a favorite pastime for many during the spring and summer months. But if you’re following a cholesterol-lowering diet, you may feel a little limited in the foods that you can cook on the grill. The good news is that grilling is not reserved for just fatty, high-calorie meats....

Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology. Word of the Week: Diagnosis How to say it: Diagnosis (die-ag-no-sis) What it means: Identifying a disease or cause of symptoms. Where it comes from: From Greek, diagnōsis, “to know.” Where you might see or hear it: If you go to see a healthcare provider because you are having symptoms such as a sore throat and a headache, they will ask you questions and might do some tests to figure out what is causing you to feel unwell....

Occipital nerve stimulation, also known as peripheral nerve stimulation, is a surgical procedure used to treat chronic headaches and facial pain that does not respond to other kinds of pain-relief therapy. Pain management is essential for those with a headache disorder to maintain a healthy quality of life. Occipital nerve stimulation is a last-resort procedure after other, less invasive therapies have failed. This article provides an overview of occipital nerve stimulation, the conditions it may treat, how to prepare for the procedures, and outcomes....

Evidence suggests that, in certain people, certain types of emotional stress can increase the risk of chronic heart disease and even trigger acute cardiac crises. Very severe episodes of emotional stress—stress that shocks—can be particularly harmful and can even precipitate acute cardiac conditions. Examples include the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, business failure, being a victim of violence, exposure to natural (or man-made) disasters, or serious conflicts within a family....

After a heart attack, once things have stabilized a bit, it is natural to begin wondering about when it is safe to resume sexual activity. This question is one your healthcare provider should answer for you as a matter of course, without waiting for you to ask. But there’s so much for healthcare providers to discuss with you after a heart attack, and so little time to do it, that sometimes this vital question gets missed....

Wondering what the best diet program is? U.S. News and World Report evaluated and ranked 35 diets with input from a panel of health experts. To be top-rated, a diet had to be relatively easy to follow, nutritious, safe, and effective for weight loss and preventing diabetes and heart disease. Tied for second (the winner for the 5th year in a row) was the government-endorsed Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet....

After almost two years, we’re still learning to live with the COVID-19 pandemic. But many of us started paying more attention to our personal health and trying to control what we can. We turned to guided meditation. We trembled in downward facing dog while trying to peek at Yoga With Adriene on screen. We also scrolled on social media for hours, at times neglecting sleep. In a series, Verywell explored different trends that have emerged since the pandemic....

An active ingredient is the component of a medication that’s responsible for its effects. In addition to providing a therapeutic benefit, an active ingredient can also cause adverse or unintended effects that could cause mild discomfort, or worse. When medication is prescribed for you, the beneficial effects should outweigh the adverse effects. Furthermore, adverse effects should be tolerable. If the active ingredients in any medication cause substantial or intolerable side effects for you, then the drug is usually discontinued....

Allergy shots, or subcutaneous immunotherapy, have been given for over a century for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Allergy shots are also used for venom allergy, but they are not used for treating food allergies. Allergy shots involve the administration of an allergen (such as pollens, pet dander, molds, and dust mites). It would seem like this would worsen allergy symptoms, but when allergens are injected in low doses, the immune system sometimes responds to the allergens similarly to how it responds to a vaccine....

An antigen is a molecule that stimulates an immune response by activating leukocytes (white blood cells) that fight disease. Antigens may be present on invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and transplanted organs, or on abnormal cells, such as cancer cells. Learn more about antigens and how the immune system interacts with them to protect you. The Immune System The human body relies on certain defenses to help keep sickness at bay....

Apokyn (apomorphine hydrochloride injection) is used to alleviate Parkinson’s disease symptoms during off periods. You can give it to yourself by injection. Off periods are the times when you experience a re-emergence of your Parkinson’s disease symptoms. These periods occur as your Parkinson’s disease treatment wears off in-between your regularly scheduled doses. Apokyn is thought to have its effect on Parkinson’s disease symptoms by stimulating the dopamine receptors in the brain....

A forearm fracture occurs when there is a fracture of one or both of the bones of the forearm. The two bones of the forearm are the radius and the ulna. Both bones are important for proper motion of the elbow and wrist joints, and both bones serve as important attachments to muscles of the upper extremity. The most common types of fractures occur due to a fall onto the hand, or a direct blow to the forearm (commonly seen in altercations, sports injuries, and car accidents)....

You can have celiac disease if your main symptom is constipation, rather than diarrhea, and if you have chronic constipation along with other celiac disease symptoms, you should be tested for the condition. Decades ago, healthcare providers used to think that celiac disease only occurred in children—specifically, only in children who appeared malnourished and who had frequent watery diarrhea. But years of further research has shown that many celiacs, both children and adults, suffer from constipation or from alternating constipation and diarrhea....

The most effective treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly the relapsing-remitting types, are disease-modifying medications. That’s because these drugs can actually slow down the progression of MS and reduce the number of relapses a person experiences. It’s easy to see, then, why it’s important to begin a regimen of disease-modifying treatment as soon as possible after finding out you have MS. If you’re hesitating, though, it might help to know that you’re not alone: Other folks have balked at taking MS drugs for various reasons....

The cuspids are among the most recognizable teeth in the mouth due to their pointed shape and extended length. Also known as canine teeth (or “fangs” or “eye teeth” if referring to the upper teeth), the cuspids are located between the incisors (the narrow-edged teeth at the front of the mouth) and the premolar teeth. Role of the Cuspids A person will typically have four cuspids: two uppers (known as maxillary cuspids) and two lower (known as mandibular cuspids)....

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder in which a faulty gene causes the mucus in the body to become thick and sticky, not slippery like it is supposed to be. The thick mucus can build up in organs in the body, which can cause many problems. It is estimated about 40,000 people in the United States live with cystic fibrosis. This article will review the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, who gets it, and how it can be diagnosed....

Are you seeing double? Double vision is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object. The images may be displaced horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or rotationally in relation to each other. What Is Double Vision? Double vision usually occurs when the eyes are misaligned, or not pointed at the same object, causing us to see two different images. Both images are sent to the brain which we process as double vision....

Femcon Fe is the first chewable combination birth control pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that, when taken every day, can help prevent pregnancy. Each pills contains 0.4 milligrams (mg) of norethindrone (a progestin) and 35 micrograms (mcg) of ethinyl estradiol (estrogen). Femcon Fe pills are 92% and 99.7% effective in preventing pregnancy. This means that with typical use, only 8 of every 100 users will become pregnant during the first year of use....

There are plenty of sweetener options that we can add to our coffee, tea, and treats—from sucralose and erythritol to classic table sugar. Key Takeaways Rare sugars are found in natural sources like raisins, figs, and corn, but in limited amounts. Rare sugars contain very few calories and are not considered to be an “added sugar” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Studies have shown that rare sugars are a viable table sugar alternative for people with diabetes because they do not raise blood glucose levels....