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A period, also called menstruation, is when you shed the lining of your uterus. It generally occurs every month if you are not pregnant. Changes in your hormones caused by your body not being pregnant signal your uterus (womb) to shed the lining you’ve grown during your cycle. Some people may experience physical and psychological symptoms before their period. These symptoms are collectively known as premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. Symptoms may also occur during your period....

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by phases. The most noticeable phase involves active, acute symptoms. Each phase is defined by certain symptoms, with a range in the severity of symptoms during each phase. Phases of schizophrenia are: ProdromalActive or acute episodesResidual When someone is experiencing an acute schizophrenic episode, active psychotic symptoms can be frightening. It can be challenging to help someone you care about when they are experiencing an acute schizophrenic episode, but there are things you can do to better understand the disease and help them through it....

Sinus surgery is used to clear obstructions and correct abnormal pathways in the sinuses so that you can breathe easier. It is an option for people with severe chronic sinusitis (sinus infections), atypical sinus structures, and growths in the sinus cavities. Sinus surgeries are often complex, and procedures rarely involve just one sinus or one area of the nose. Instead, many structures are typically operated on using a variety of surgical techniques....

Whether you are a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, sports medicine physical therapy (PT) may be appropriate for you. This type of PT can not only assist you in recovering from an injury, it can actually help prevent one from developing in the first place. Many sports medicine physical therapists have a background in athletic training, and some may be board-certified sports clinical specialists (SCS) through the American Physical Therapy Association....

A stomach biopsy allows your healthcare provider to examine your stomach tissues under a microscope. This can help your provider diagnose conditions that affect your stomach and digestive tract. An invasive test called a gastric biopsy is done if your healthcare provider suspects a specific condition. Tissue samples are taken with tiny tools at the end of a long tube that is inserted down your throat during a procedure called an endoscopy....

Just over one in 10 people have diabetes in the United States. With so many individuals affected by this disease, people have sought natural remedies to better manage their diabetes. Numerous claims have been made that dietary supplements can help to manage blood sugar levels and the complications of diabetes. Some studies have supported the potential benefits of supplements to help manage diabetes, and in other areas there is more research needed to better understand their effects"?...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the importance of using telehealth to provide care for patients. Telehealth may be the future of medicine and allow you, the patient, to visit your physician or healthcare professional using digital means, like a computer or tablet. Many healthcare providers’ offices are taking precautions to maintain social distance and to limit the number of people that visit their offices each day. Telehealth allows you to receive care while staying safe at home....

Noticing a bump on your eyeball might upset you. Most of the time, bumps on the eyeball happen because of environmental exposure and aren’t harmful. Anytime you notice something is off with your eyes, you should talk to a doctor. More serious causes of eyeball bumps, like benign tumors, can cause vision loss. Some cancers can also cause bumps on the eye. Below, we take a closer look at some types of eyeball bumps and outline symptoms, causes, and treatments for each....

If you recently gave birth, are currently breastfeeding, and are not yet ready for another baby, you may wonder which birth control option is right for you. This article will discuss the safety of breastfeeding while using birth control, potential benefits and risks, contraceptive options for breastfeeding parents, and the importance of timing when beginning birth control postpartum. Is Birth Control While Breastfeeding Safe? Overall, birth control is safe while breastfeeding and won’t impact the health of you or your baby....

Ankylosing spondylitis, a type of chronic inflammatory arthritis primarily affecting the spine, is an unpredictable and variable disease. There is no cure for it, and its cause is unknown. Fortunately, it is treatable and manageable, and most people who get an early diagnosis and start treatment right away can have full and productive lives. To help you better understand ankylosing spondylitis, this article will highlight key facts and statistics about the condition, including who is at risk, its effects on mortality, and screening and early detection....

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a relatively new diagnosis. A person with ARFID limits the amount and/or type of food that they eat. However, ARFID is much more than just being a “picky eater”—a person with ARFID might avoid a wide variety of foods because they have sensory sensitivity, apparent lack of interest in eating, or a concern of an adverse consequence of eating, such as a fear of vomiting or choking....

Balloon angioplasty, also known as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive procedure done to widen narrowed or obstructed blood vessels. The procedure accesses a blood vessel via a catheter inserted through an incision in the skin. It is typically used to treat atherosclerosis caused by the buildup of plaque in a blood vessel but can also treat other conditions associated with narrowing or blockage of a blood vessel....

While it is rare, men can develop breast cancer. In the United States, approximately 2,700 men develop breast cancer each year, and it is estimated that 1 out of every 1,000 get the disease sometime in their lifetime. In comparison, about 1 in 8 people assigned female at birth develop breast cancer. Outcomes of breast cancer treatment vary depending on the stage (how much cancer there is and how far it has spread), grade (aggressiveness of the tumor), tumor type (which area of breast tissue it originated in), and a person’s overall health....

Cholesterol is a fat-like waxy substance that moves through the blood. All the cells inside your body have and use cholesterol because it is important for making hormones, vitamins, and other cells. Your liver can make all the cholesterol the body needs, but you can also get cholesterol from dietary sources. Too much cholesterol in the blood may lead to cardiovascular disease that affects the heart and blood vessels. This article addresses how cholesterol levels are measured and how they affect your body....

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has stopped a clinical trial that was studying the use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. Key Takeaways The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has stopped a clinical trial investigating the use of convalescent plasma, citing no benefit as a COVID-19 treatment.Experts say that the COVID-19 vaccines are a better option for providing immunity.While it’s no longer a research priority, there are studies still looking at convalescent plasma’s potential as a tool to fight the new COVID-19 variants....

Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes are numbers assigned to each task and service that you can get from a healthcare provider. For example, a routine check-up or a lab test has a code attached to it. CPT codes are used to track and bill medical, surgical, and diagnostic services. Insurers use CPT codes to determine how much money to pay providers. The same CPT codes are used by all providers and payers to make the billing process consistent and to help reduce errors....

What Is Cytotec? Cytotec (misoprostol) is a prescription medication used to prevent stomach ulcers in people taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Although labeled as an ulcer medication, misoprostol is also commonly used in combination with Mifeprex (mifepristone) to end an early pregnancy (abortion). Cytotec is a synthetic prostaglandin. Prostaglandin is a protective chemical naturally released in the body. NSAIDs can reduce the natural amount of prostaglandins in the stomach and intestines, leading to indigestion and ulcers if used long-term....

While COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. are only meagerly rising, reports of people taking a deworming medication intended for pets and livestock are skyrocketing. Accordingly, poison control center calls are surging too. While some people believe the drug, called ivermectin, will prevent or treat COVID-19, there is currently no evidence to support this. Key Takeaways Despite FDA guidelines urging against the practice, some doctors are prescribing ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 infections....

Eosinophilic asthma, also known as e-asthma, is one of the most common subtypes of asthma diagnosed in adulthood. Eosinophilic asthma occurs when a high number of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, inflame the lungs. Why this occurs is unknown. Because lung samples can be difficult to obtain, elevated numbers of blood eosinophils are often used a surrogate for diagnosis in patients with difficult to control asthma. Allergic asthma is not the same as eosinophilic asthma....

There’s a complex relationship between seizures and alcohol. Heavy, long-term alcohol use and withdrawal from alcohol can lead to seizures. Alcohol can also trigger seizures if you have epilepsy and often interacts poorly with anti-seizure medications. In this article, learn what alcohol does to the brain, how it can lead to seizures, and what you need to know about alcohol use if you already have a seizure disorder. How Alcohol Affects the Brain Alcohol affects the way brain signals travel and communicate....