The ulnar nerve controls sensation and movement in sections of the arm and hand. It is best known for its location, as it runs through the “funny bone” in the elbow. When your ulnar nerve is bumped in this spot, it causes an electric shock sensation down your arm and hand that most people have experienced at least a few times. This nerve can become impaired due to traumatic injury or overuse of the arm....
Vitiligo affects people of all genders and skin colors and can appear at any age. However, many people begin to experience the coloring changes before 20 years of age, and some even start in early childhood. Living with vitiligo, especially in childhood and adolescence, can be difficult. This overview article discusses vitiligo in children, diagnosis, treatment, and more. What Is Vitiligo? Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes areas of the skin to lose color or pigmentation....
Weighted blankets, also known as gravity blankets, have been used for years by mental health professionals as a form of pressure therapy, often to relieve anxiety. Today, these blankets have become popular in the mainstream, made with or without their traditional pellet weighting. The blankets, weighing anywhere from 5 to 30 pounds, are touted as offering benefits for adults who hope to relieve stress or improve sleep. They also calm children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as seniors living in residential care homes....
Experiencing a sexual assault may involve a wide range of emotional and psychological responses. Confusion is very common. First off, what is a sexual assault, and does it always involve rape? The Difference Between Rape and Sexual Assault Rape is forced sexual intercourse or penetration by the offender (including physical force and psychological coercion). Rape can involve both women and men who are victims (or perpetrators). It occurs between heterosexuals as well as homosexuals (same-sex rape) and more....
Several issues can cause your knees to give out. A ligament or meniscus tear are obvious ones, but knee instability can also be due to arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, nerve damage, injuries such as dislocation, or a few other causes. Knee weakness and instability may begin suddenly or develop slowly over time. It may be the only symptom you have, or your knee may also hurt, pop, bruise, or swell....
Early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) symptoms include slurred speech and muscle weakness, which eventually progresses to paralysis and death. Although ALS affects men more than women, some factors may increase women’s chances of getting the disease earlier in life. This article discusses ALS in women, including symptoms, causes, and prognosis. How Common Is ALS in Women? ALS is about 20% more common in men than women and is most likely to occur in people who are between 40 and 70 years old....
Arthritis is a chronic disease, so learning how to best manage it is essential. It takes time to find the best combination of medications, treatments, and lifestyle modifications that will allow you to cope with pain and other challenges. But by exploring and implementing these suggestions, you’ll be one step closer to living your best possible life despite arthritis. Emotional When you are living with pain or restrictions to your usual activities, it is natural to have feelings of anxiety, fear, anger, and sadness at times....
Exercises can help with arthritis in the big toe because they increase range of motion and strength. Stretching and strengthening exercises can also help your toes become more flexible and relaxed, effectively reducing stiffness and risk of injury and improving joint function. Depending on your arthritis severity, you may be restricted to shorter and gentler exercises at first, but sticking to an exercise routine will help increase your joint mobility. Once your active range of motion (AROM) is better, you will be able to increase exercise length and intensity....
Ataxia is the term used to describe the loss of coordination in the body. This loss of coordination can manifest as a loss of balance, slurred speech, stumbling, a wide gait, or a variety of other symptoms. Ataxia can be a symptom of an underlying disease, such as multiple sclerosis, or it can be the cause itself. While ataxia is used most often to describe certain symptoms like loss of balance, it also describes a group of degenerative diseases of the central nervous system....
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by severe mood changes, and often presents itself differently in women. Diagnosing and treating bipolar disorder in women may present its own unique challenges. Read more about the causes and symptoms of the condition, as well as its treatment methods in women. Causes What causes bipolar disorder is still unclear. Researchers are trying to understand more about how specific neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine and serotonin), as well as activity in the brain, contribute to bipolar disorder....
Up until now, there’s no concrete evidence that breast cancer affects your baby from developing properly in the womb. You cannot pass cancer on to your baby, and there isn’t any evidence that your baby will develop cancer because you had breast cancer while you were pregnant. However, that doesn’t stop it from being a primary health concern. Breast Cancer and Fertility Three things can potentially affect fertility in people who have breast cancer: the type of cancer treatment used, the type and stage of your cancer when it is diagnosed, and your age....
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes an immune system reaction in response to consuming gluten, triggering white blood cells to attack the lining of the small intestine. When untreated, this can eventually cause the organ to erode. The condition is associated with a host of potential complications in fertility, gestation, and postpartum life. This is particularly true for people who have the condition but haven’t been diagnosed, as well as those who live with the condition but do not follow a gluten-free diet....
Losing one’s vision can be frightening, and losing the ability to care for yourself is something none of us want to ever think about. Many of us don’t realize how much we rely on visual cues to accomplish all that we do in a single day. Vision loss—even mild vision loss—can be devastating and life-changing. Some conditions that cause slow vision loss include: Glaucoma Macular degeneration Retinitis pigmentosa Whether it happens to you or someone you love, all sorts of emotions may be experienced....
Conditions that affect your immune system, such as eczema and asthma, often occur together. In fact, about 20% of adults who have eczema (also called atopic dermatitis) also have asthma. This isn’t a coincidence—these conditions are both triggered by inflammation. Learn more about the link between eczema and asthma in this article. Eczema and Asthma: The Link The exact causes of both eczema and asthma are not known. However, both conditions lead to excess inflammation in your body....
Ewing’s sarcoma - sometimes also called Ewing sarcoma - is a rare and aggressive bone cancer that affects adolescents. It typically starts with vague and non-specific symptoms such as fever, weight loss, and fatigue, then progresses to intense pain and swelling at the tumor site. These tumors can grow in any bone or soft tissue in the body, but it commonly affects long bones, such as the femur, or flat bones like the pelvis or chest wall....
What Is Finacea? Finacea (azelaic acid) is a topical prescription medication that treats a chronic skin condition called rosacea. It fights skin bacteria that cause boils (painful infection of a hair follicle), acne (hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin), and swelling. It is available as a topical gel or foam to apply to the skin. What Is Finacea Used For? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Finacea to treat rosacea, a skin condition characterized by redness and/or bumps on the face....
Graves’ disease is a condition that involves too much thyroid hormone, which is produced by an overactive thyroid gland. This is called hyperthyroidism. During pregnancy, untreated hyperthyroidism may lead to life-threatening complications for you and your baby. Graves’ disease is the most common type of pregnancy-related hyperthyroidism. Graves’ disease can run in families. Anyone can get it, but it most often develops in biological females under 40—in other words, during potential childbearing years....
In the United States, Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is mainly seen in people with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. For people with HIV, the treatment is focused on managing the underlying disease. Local and systemic (whole-body) therapies may also be needed to treat KS tumors on the skin, mouth, digestive tract, or airway. Other forms of KS affect older men of Mediterranean or Eastern European origin, organ transplant recipients, and African people without HIV....
Your primary care physician (PCP) or pediatrician or other healthcare provider may have been the one to diagnose your or your child’s asthma, and there are some times when them managing care makes sense. However, seeking out an asthma specialist such as a pulmonologist, allergist, or respiratory therapist is often ideal for many reasons. Above all, asthma specialists focus their practices on asthma and conditions like it and are more likely to be on top of that latest research in the field....
In March, as COVID-19 began to spread throughout the U.S., igniting a national public health crisis, Sarah Fulton turned 26 and found herself without health insurance. Her birthday meant she no longer qualified for coverage under her parents’ insurance plans. Without employer coverage, Fulton took on the task of enrolling in Marketplace coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Key Takeaways The open enrollment period for federal marketplace coverage ends on December 15, and later in 10 states and D....
