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Part of what makes COVID-19 so concerning is how innocuous initial symptoms can be. Just like the flu, COVID-19 most commonly begins with fever, tiredness, and coughing. However, many factors—ranging from cause to complications—set the two respiratory illnesses apart. Causes Different viruses cause influenza and COVID-19. Flu Causes All types of flu—the most common of which is influenza A—are caused by an influenza virus. There are hundreds of strains that mutate often....

If you and a healthcare provider have decided you need gastric bypass surgery to improve your health, you’ll soon start the journey to prepare for surgery. But surgery won’t happen immediately. Learn about where gastric bypass surgery takes place, what to wear and bring, and the adjustments you need to make in terms of food and drink or pre-operative medications. Location Gastric bypass surgery is performed by a bariatric surgeon under general anesthesia in a hospital....

GoodBelly Probiotic Supplement capsules are the newest product from GoodBelly, the company that sells probiotic juice drinks. The capsules contain the same strain as their juices: Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (LP299v). Let’s get you acquainted. The Probiotic GoodBelly’s Probiotic Supplement capsules each contain 10 billion live cells of LP299v. There have been a few small clinical trials on the efficacy of LP299V for IBS. In most of the studies, a four-week trial of this strain resulted in a reduction of abdominal pain, bloating and/or flatulence as compared to placebo....

Heartburn can last for a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the cause. If heartburn is due to something you ate, you will probably have symptoms until the food has been digested. Lying down or bending over can cause symptoms to return even after you’ve started to feel better. Heartburn is commonly treated with over-the-counter medications such as antacids. How Long Heartburn Lasts How long heartburn lasts depends on the underlying cause....

When you think of the long-term effects of smoking, you often think of lung disease and cancer. However, smoking can adversely affect other aspects of your health including your heart health. When it comes to cholesterol, it is not just about what goes into the stomach; it is also about what goes into the lungs. While it may be easy to understand how smoking can be blamed for conditions like mouth cancer, lung cancer, and emphysema, just how does cigarette smoke cause high cholesterol and heart disease?...

The rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States on the rise. From 2013 to 2014 alone, the number of syphilis cases jumped from 56,482 to 63,450, while gonorrheal infections have steadily increased year-on-year since 2009. Most strikingly perhaps, the number of chlamydia cases has nearly doubled in the course of a single decade, rising from 929,462 in 2004 to 1,441,789 by 2014. While it is well known that STDs can significantly increase a person’s risk of getting HIV, many people still don’t fully understand why this is or the ways in which STDs can readily facilitate infection—even in otherwise low-risk activities like oral sex....

There are more over-the-counter (OTC) acne treatment products on the market now than at any other time in history. This is good news if you have acne, but leads to the question: How do you choose one? Understand Your Options It’s normal to feel confused when trying to wade through the ever-growing mountain of acne products. But you can learn how to narrow your choices and pick the most effective OTC acne treatment product based on your needs and skin type....

Finding an orthopedic surgeon can be a daunting process, especially if you are already suffering from a hip, knee, or shoulder problem or other musculoskeletal ailment. Even more, the dilemma of finding a good surgeon may be amplified if you live in a remote area without a major medical center. While coming up with a list of candidates and deciding on your orthopedic surgeon may be a longer process for some than others, knowing that you’ve chosen the best available professional to perform your procedure can increase the potential for better outcomes and leave you feeling more confident about your surgery....

If you are uninsured or your insurance does not fully cover your prescriptions, getting the medications you need can be expensive. This is especially true if you have cancer.Let’s say you have a prescription for chemotherapy, but it causes stomach upset, so you need an anti-nausea medication to go along with it. Then the chemo has caused you to become ​anemic, so you need a prescription for an iron supplement. The list can go on and on....

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all over-the-counter (OTC) medications to have a Drug Facts label. This label provides basic information about a drug’s ingredients, instructions for use, and important safety cautions and interactions. This information will help you to select the correct medication and to use it properly. The Drug Facts label is only required for OTC drugs, and it is not used for dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal remedies....

The terms “inflammatory polyarthropathy,’ “inflammatory arthritis,” and rheumatoid arthritis” (RA) are often used interchangeably. While they are related, they don’t mean the same thing. RA is a disease, while the other two are ways of describing a particular case of arthritis (how many joints are affected and the genesis of the disease). The word “polyarthropathy” literally means “disease in many joints.” It’s used in the same context as “polyarthritis” (inflammation in many joints)....

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects more than a quarter of the adult population of the United States, or roughly 50 million people. OA can affect virtually any joint in the body, including the knees, hips, back, shoulders, hands, and fingers. It can be quite painful and debilitating, to the point that it interferes with daily living. There is a wide range of treatments for OA, from making lifestyle changes such as weight loss to taking pain medication to, in severe cases, surgery....

Strains or tears of the plantaris muscle at the back of the leg can cause pain and swelling similar to a calf strain or Achilles tendon tear. You may feel immediate pain, cramping, and other symptoms. Activities that involve lunging forward are often to blame for plantaris injuries. The plantaris muscle and tendon are in a similar location to other muscles of the calf and the Achilles tendon. Thankfully, recovery from a plantaris muscle injury is typically much simpler....

Saline drops are arguably the safest way to treat nasal congestion (“stuffy nose”) in infants and babies because they don’t contain any medicine. Rather, they are able to clear mucus and draw moisture from swollen nasal tissues with a sterile saltwater solution. Saline drops also allow you to control the dose more accurately. Saline sprays and mists are available, but they are best used in children one year of age or older....

The supraorbital nerve is a sensory nerve responsible for bringing sensation to the upper eyelid, forehead, and scalp. This is a terminal branch of the frontal nerve, which is an offshoot of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. Anatomy People have both a right and a left supraorbital nerve, located by each upper eye bone. The supraorbital nerve extends from the frontal nerve, which also divides into the supratrochlear nerve....

Vulvodynia is a chronic pain in the vulva, the exterior female genitalia. The pain or discomfort has no obvious cause and can affect the labia, clitoris, or vaginal opening. Phyllis Mate, a co-founder of the National Vulvodynia Association, provides insight into this condition. The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease defines vulvodynia as chronic vulvar discomfort or pain characterized by burning, stinging, irritation or rawness of the female genitalia....

Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology. Prognosis How to say it: Prognosis (prog-no-sis). What it means: The expected way that a condition or disease will unfold. Where it comes from: From the Greek “pro” meaning “before” and “gnosis” meaning “to know.” Where you might see or hear it: When you are given a diagnosis, your doctor might use the term prognosis when discussing what your life will look like from now on....

Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is a rare complication that can occur after undergoing a surgical procedure known as carotid arterial revascularization. The aim of revascularization is to prevent strokes caused by the narrowing of the carotid artery (the blood vessel which carries oxygenated blood to the brain). The term hyperperfusion is used to describe the increased arterial blood pressure that is characteristic of the syndrome. If not treated properly, CHS can lead to severe brain swelling (edema), intracranial bleeding, and even death....

Psoriatic arthritis is a complicated disease that is often mistaken for other conditions, including osteoarthritis (“wear-and-tear arthritis”), gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. It is caused when the inflammation associated with psoriasis extends beyond the skin to the joints of the hands, feet, knee, or ankle. While a primary care doctor may have the skills to help manage the condition, other specialists would be needed to deliver disease-specific care and treatment. The question is: which kind of specialist should you see?...

Lomotil is a combination of two drugs: atropine and diphenoxylate. Together, these two medications are used as an antidiarrheal. Lomotil works by preventing spasms in the muscles of the gut by causing them to relax. This drug also treats diarrhea by slowing the function of the bowel. Status as a Controlled Substance One part of Lomotil, diphenoxylate, is classified as a narcotic. This might seem concerning, but it’s important to note that when the drug is used correctly and as prescribed, there is only a small amount of diphenoxylate present....