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Relationship counseling, also called relationship therapy, includes all forms of counseling or therapy that address the relationship between two or more people with the support of a mental health professional. Relationship counseling can be for romantic partners, children and their parents, friends, or anyone looking to address relationship issues or strengthen their relationship. Learn more about relationship counseling, types, who needs it, and what to expect. What Is Relationship Counseling? Relationship counseling is any type of counseling or therapy conducted by a mental health professional and at least two or more people seeking support for their relationship....

After triple bypass surgery, most people stay in the hospital for five to seven days. Once you’ve returned home, it can take up to 12 weeks to fully recover. During this time, your healthcare provider will likely refer you to an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. Find out how to recover from triple bypass surgery, including recovery time and postoperative incision care. Surgery Follow-Up Upon discharge from the hospital you will have several follow up appointments with your healthcare providers....

While vitiligo mainly impacts the skin, it can also affect other body parts where melanocytes are present, such as the inner ears or the eyes. When vitiligo impacts the eyes, it can cause changes to vision, eye color, and eye health. Experts recommend routine eye exams for people with vitiligo to help monitor any issues. This article provides an overview of how vitiligo can impact the eyes. How Does Vitiligo Affect the Eyes?...

In 2010, the U.S. government pinned down the definition of health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people.” That means everyone, regardless of race, socio-economic status, geography, or circumstance, has the same shot at living a healthy life. It is a lofty goal, and to achieve it will require some pretty big changes at all levels—from individuals to society as a whole. What It Is The phrase “health equity” is often thrown around in the context of reducing health disparities—that is, specific gaps in health among populations that are specifically linked to socio-economic or environmental disadvantages....

Green has traditionally been called the rarest eye color. But new classifications say another color may be even less common—gray. Eye color is an inherited trait with multiple genes affecting the shade. Genes related to the production of pigments—melanin, eumelanin, and pheomelanin—dictate the color of your skin, hair, and eyes. A person’s eye color reflects a unique combination and concentration of pigments in the iris. This article looks at rare eye colors and the genetics of different eye colors....

Not all people with a brain tumor experience abnormal electrical activity in their brain known as seizures. But for those who do, a seizure is often the first symptom of the disease—and what jump-starts the process that leads to tumor diagnosis. The type of brain tumor and its location factor into why some people are more vulnerable to experiencing related seizures than others. Seizures can be frequent and continue throughout treatment for a brain tumor and can, among other things, compromise your independence and overall quality of life....

The history of HIV vaccine development has been marked by numerous setbacks and disappointments, with each apparent “breakthrough” presenting even more challenges and hurdles to overcome. Oftentimes it seems that for each step forward researchers take, an unforeseen obstacle sets them back by one and even two steps. In some ways, it’s a fair assessment, given that we have yet to see a viable vaccine candidate. On the other hand, scientists have, in fact, made enormous strides in recent years, gaining greater insight into the complex dynamics of HIV infection and the body’s response to such infection....

An X-ray, also known as radiography, is a medical imaging technique. It uses tiny amounts of electromagnetic radiation to create images of structures inside the body. These images can then be viewed on film or digitally. X-rays often are done to view bones and teeth, making them helpful in diagnosing fractures (broken bones) and diseases such as arthritis. A healthcare provider may also order an X-ray to look at organs and structures inside the chest, including the lungs, heart, breasts, and abdomen....

The Z-track method is an intramuscular injection (IM) technique used to ensure the medication stays in the muscle instead of leaking into the surrounding tissue. Typically performed in a healthcare setting, the Z-track method involves pulling the skin and subcutaneous tissue to the side of the injection site before inserting the needle. Once the needle is removed, the tissue is released. This creates a zigzag pattern or Z track of the needle path....

Hip pain is a common cause of discomfort in athletes and can be a frustrating problem to treat. In the past, just about any hip pain symptom was attributed to a “muscle strain”-type injury. While this can be a very common cause of hip pain in athletes, there are many other conditions that can sideline a player as well. Muscle Strain Muscle strain, or pulled muscle, occurs when a muscle is overstretched or torn....

Antineoplastic drugs are medicines used to treat cancer and other diseases. It’s a general name for drugs that stop tumor cells from growing and dividing. Antineoplastic drugs are also called anticancer drugs, chemotherapy, cytotoxic drugs, oncology drugs, and cancer drugs. The goal of antineoplastic drugs in cancer treatment is to stop or block the growth of cells in a tumor. These drugs may also treat arthritis, multiple sclerosis, benign (noncancerous) tumors, and other noncancer medical conditions....

Despite more than 35 years of research, scientists have yet to find a cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been a major breakthrough that does help suppress the virus, but it’s not a cure. And while there have been a few well-publicized cases in which HIV was said to have been cured—including that of Timothy Brown, aka the Berlin Patient—there has yet to be an approach that can consistently and safely eradicate HIV on an individual basis, much less a global scale....

You can think of autophagy as your body’s natural recycling program. From the Latin word that means “self-eating,” autophagy is a natural process that involves breaking down unneeded or damaged components within a cell and reusing them as the building blocks for cellular repair or the formation of new cells. Autophagy helps keep cells healthy. It can occur during sleep and other periods of short-term fasting, or be triggered by some medications....

The Bentall procedure is a type of serious open-heart surgery needed to repair the aortic root and the aortic valve, such as might be needed for an aortic aneurysm in this part of the aorta. The procedure is named for Hugh Bentall, who first performed and described it in 1968. What Is the Bentall Procedure? The Bentall procedure is a type of open-heart surgery to replace the aortic valve and aortic root (and sometimes more of the ascending aorta)....

Most birth control is safe for people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. However, contraceptives that contain hormones may need further evaluation by your healthcare provider. Effective birth control is an important issue for people with diabetes, as unplanned pregnancies can result in complications. For people with diabetes, weighing the benefits against the risks is essential in choosing the right birth control. This article will discuss how birth control affects diabetes and blood sugar....

Catuaba is a natural remedy derived from the bark of trees found in the Brazilian rainforest. Formulations vary depending on the type of tree selected; Erythroxylum caatingae, Trichilia catigua, Anemopaegma arvense, and Micropholis caudata are some possibilities. But all of them are said to stimulate the nervous system and offer aphrodisiac properties. The active ingredient in catuaba is believed to be alkaloids dubbed catuabines. Alkaloids are organic compounds from plants, some of which have psychoactive effects....

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the joints and some organs. These biological factors, as well as RA’s effect on quality of life, can lead to depression. People with RA are twice as likely to have depression as the general population. This is due to a complex relationship between the two conditions. In this article, learn more about the relationship between RA and depression, and why it’s so important for depression to be diagnosed and treated alongside it....

The term “gallbladder disease” describes any health problem that affects the gallbladder. While the most common cause of gallbladder disease is gallstones (called cholelithiasis), there are a number of other causes, including gallbladder inflammation (called cholecystitis), biliary dyskinesia, functional gallbladder disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and gallbladder cancer. Common Causes Gallstones are the most common manifestation of gallbladder disease and form as a result of too much cholesterol or bilirubin (a pigment that is made in the liver when red blood cells are broken down)....

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1) into law. The legislation included sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code, but it also capped off a tumultuous year of healthcare reform legislation. Throughout 2017, GOP lawmakers were persistent, although unsuccessful, in their effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare). But the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did eliminate the federal individual mandate penalty (shared responsibility penalty), starting in 2019....

Hypogonadism occurs when insufficient amounts of sex hormones—androgens in males and estrogen in females—are produced in the gonads of males (in the testicles of the scrotum) and ovaries of females. It can arise due to a range of factors, including aging, endocrine disorders, genetics, cancer treatments, and medications. Symptoms of hypogonadism vary based on age and sex at birth, ranging from delayed puberty in children to low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, irregular menstruation, hair loss, and fatigue in adults....