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If you have signs or symptoms of hyperthyroidism, it’s important that you have a medical evaluation so you can start treatment. Your healthcare provider will do a physical examination, review your medical history, and run detailed blood tests to come to a diagnosis; imaging tests, such as a thyroid ultrasound, CT scan, or thyroid uptake scan may also be needed. Hyperthyroidism can be managed, but it can cause complications if it’s not adequately treated, so an early diagnosis is best....

Petechiae are tiny red spots that appear on the skin and mucous membranes, which line the inside of your body. They indicate bleeding into the skin and usually appear red, brown, or purple. Petechiae often appear in clusters and may look like a rash. They can happen to anyone, but are most common in children. In order for the spots to be considered petechiae, they must be smaller than two millimeters wide....

Asthma symptoms can worsen in different environments and may vary throughout the year. For some people, asthma can be affected by the winter season. The dry, cold winter weather can irritate the airways. More time spent indoors means more exposure to indoor irritants, and if you have allergic asthma, allergens like pet dander and dust can worsen your symptoms. Winter can also bring an increased risk of viruses that can aggravate your asthma....

Bug bites are an all too common annoyance. They can not only ruin an evening outdoors, but, more seriously, they can lead to a range of infections in severe cases. When a bug bites a person and breaks the skin, bacteria that is usually harmless can enter the body and cause problems. Most bug bites do not require any medical intervention, but sometimes the bacteria can multiply and lead to an infection....

Joint effusion is swelling of the tissues in or around your joint due to extra fluids. It can cause a “puffy” appearance, pain, and stiffness. Common causes of joint effusion are infection, arthritis, or injury (including repetitive use injuries). When the accumulation of fluid is accompanied by inflammation of the connective tissues lining a joint, it is called joint effusion with synovitis. Joint effusion tends to affect larger joints such as the knee (sometimes called “water on the knee”), shoulder, elbow, or ankle....

Knee arthroscopy will entail several weeks or months of recovery in order to return to everyday activities. It is normal to have pain after the surgery, and restrictions will be put in place until your knee has healed adequately and acquired enough strength. Benefits of Surgery Knee arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure to repair or remove damaged structures in the knee joint that can be causing knee pain and limiting knee range of motion....

Lidocaine cream is an anesthetic used to temporarily numb the skin and surrounding tissues. Creams containing lidocaine are used to prevent and treat pain and discomfort during some medical procedures. Lidocaine cream also is available as an over-the-counter (OTC) medication that can be used to help with itchiness and pain from minor burns, scrapes, and insect bites. Creams and ointments that contain only lidocaine include: Aspercreme with Lidocaine BenGay Lidosense 4 LMX 4 RectaSmoothe Solarcaine Xylocaine This article explains how to use lidocaine cream, including specific situation for pregnant people, children, older people, and those with certain health issues....

What do we know about music therapy for cancer patients? We know that music has a large effect on us in general. It can make us smile when we’re feeling stressed. It can take us out of a robotic “do” mode and put us in touch with our “feeling side.” But what about people living with cancer? Do studies tell us what our hearts do—that music can make a difference?...

What Is Pegasys? Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-a) is a prescription medication administered via a subcutaneous (under the skin) liquid injection that is used as an antiviral drug treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatitis C (CHC) in both children and adults to treat compensated liver disease (cirrhosis of the liver) with the hope of clearing of the virus from the body. Pegasys is a combination of interferon and polyethylene glycol. The term “interferon” refers to signaling proteins that are naturally produced by healthy cells in the body to fight infection and other diseases....

What Is Prometrium? Prometrium (progesterone) is an oral prescription medication containing the hormone progesterone. It is used to prevent endometrial hyperplasia in postmenopausal people with a uterus who are also receiving conjugated estrogen tablets and to treat secondary amenorrhea (the absence of a menstrual period). This medication helps to regulate menstrual periods by bringing balance to the levels of progesterone in the body. Taking progesterone with estrogen can increase the risk of heart-related problems (e....

A rectovaginal fistula is a hole between the vagina and the rectum. A fistula is defined as an abnormal opening between a hollow organ and either another hollow organ or the outside of the body. The term rectovaginal describes the two organs that the opening lies between—the rectum and the vagina. This can cause gas, mucus, and stool to leak into the vagina and lead to unpleasant odors, infection, and other concerns....

Salvage therapy is treatment used when a disease does not respond to all other standard treatments tried. Salvage therapy is most often associated with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and cancer and suggests that your treatment options are limited. Even so, the term is not clearly defined and doesn’t mean that a person is at the end stage of their illness. Salvage therapy can take many forms, including a more expansive combination of standard therapies, clinical trials, and experimental drugs....

A wedge is a triangular pillow typically made of moderately firm foam that forms an angle between 20 and 40 degrees. When used in place of a regular pillow, a wedge can elevate the head 6 to 8 inches—a change in position that can benefit you if you snore, have frequent acid reflux, get swollen ankles, or have another condition that gets worse when lying down or sleeping on your back....

The ethmoid bone is a cube-shaped bone located in the center of the skull between the eyes. It helps form the walls of the eye socket, or orbital cavity, as well as the roof, sides, and interior of the nasal cavity. Very light and sponge-like in texture, the ethmoid bone is one of the most complex bones of the face. Anatomy The ethmoid bone has four main parts. The ethmoidal labyrinths consist of two hollow blocks of bone....

What Is Trandate? Trandate (labetalol) is an oral prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Trandate belongs to a class of medications called beta-blockers. Beta-blockers reduce the workload on the heart by causing it to beat more slowly and with less force. This helps to improve blood flow and lower blood pressure. Trandate is available in tablet form to be taken by mouth. What Is Trandate Used For? The U....

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. At this point, the virus has infected and killed so many immune cells that the immune system is severely impaired. Without defenses to ward off disease, a person with AIDS can develop severe and potentially life-threatening infections. AIDS does not occur in everyone with HIV, but it can if HIV is left untreated. This article takes a closer look at how HIV causes AIDS and the conditions and risks associated with this late stage of infection....

If you’re getting ready for the first, second, or booster dose of your COVID-19 vaccine, you may wonder about what side effects to expect and how to deal with them. Key Takeaways Most people have a sore arm right after being vaccinated, and more body-wide effects like fever and chills within 8 to 12 hours. Most side effects stop within 48 hours.The vaccine cannot cause a COVID-19 infection, so symptoms mean your body is building a healthy immune response....

Acne, at its most basic, is the blockage of the tiny openings in the skin, called pores. Acne is caused by three major factors: abnormal shedding of skin cells, overactive sebaceous (or oil) glands, and a proliferation of acne-causing bacteria. These factors can be triggered by hormonal changes within the body, which explains why acne is most common at certain life stages: puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. Common Causes For being the most common skin condition in the United States, affecting nearly 50 million people at any given time, it is a remarkably misunderstood condition....

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes intermittent pauses in breathing during sleep. It may be due to obstruction of the upper airway (obstructive sleep apnea) or failure of the brain to signal your respiratory muscles (central sleep apnea). The first choice of treatment for sleep apnea is positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Usually, this involves wearing a mask during sleep to pump compressed air into the lungs and keep the airways open....

Bentyl (dicyclomine) is an antispasmodic drug used to treat intestinal spasms and cramping in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional bowel disorders. Dicyclomine can be used both in adults and children and is available as a tablet, capsule, syrup, or injection. (Only the injection is still used under the trade name Bentyl.) Bentyl can cause side effects and interact with certain drugs, but the benefits may outweigh the risks when faced with severe IBS symptoms....