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With many U.S. states passing laws that legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, you may be wondering if medical marijuana would be a helpful treatment option for your irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Learn about the potential benefits and risks of marijuana and what is known about its usefulness in addressing the symptoms of IBS. Medical Marijuana Marijuana itself is typically a mixture of the dried leaves and flowers (and less typically the seeds and stems) of Cannabis sativa, also known as the hemp plant....

Minimum value is a health insurance term that came into being with the Affordable Care Act and is used to measure whether an employer-sponsored plan is providing comprehensive health coverage. The details are codified into law in Section 26 U.S. Code 36B, which lays out the parameters for premium tax credit (premium subsidy) eligibility, along with additional IRS regulations that were published in 2014. This article will explain what minimum value is, why it’s important, and how it differs from some other related—but different—concepts and teminology....

While there are many strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is particularly notable because it is resistant to many standard antibiotics and may cause serious infections. Staph normally lives on the skin and sometimes in nasal passages. If an opening in the skin occurs, bacteria may enter the body and cause an infection. While MRSA infections are well-known to occur in people in care settings, such as hospitals, anyone can get MRSA....

Phthalates are chemicals found in hundreds of products. They are mainly used in plastics to help them become soft, flexible, and hard to break. Most people’s exposure to phthalates comes from food sources and personal care products. Phthalates are not intentionally added to foods, but they can transfer to food from other sources, including during preparation, processing, and packaging. Exposure to phthalates can be concerning because they are linked to serious health issues, including to pregnant women, unborn babies, and young children....

Generally, prostate cancer survival rates are very good with a five-year survival rate of 98%. There are, however, a number of factors that can influence survival rates, particularly for men with advanced prostate cancer. These can include: Stage of cancerRaceAgeDisease progressionTumor gradeDisease recurrenceSmoking Survival by Stage The stage of prostate cancer can be described by doctors using the tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) system. The TNM system was developed by the American Joint Committee on Cancer....

What Is Repatha? Repatha (evolocumab) is an injectable prescription medication used to lower LDL cholesterol (sometimes called “bad cholesterol”)—including high LDL levels caused by heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia —in adults and children 10 years and older. Repatha belongs to a group of drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors. It works by increasing the amount of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) your liver removes from your body. Repatha is available as a subcutaneous injection that you administer once or twice per month....

The responsive neurostimulation system (RNS) is an interventional treatment for epilepsy that’s based on delivering therapeutic electrical stimulation to the brain in response to a seizure. The system is composed of a small, implantable computer that’s placed in the skull and attached to one or two electrical wires, each with an electrode that is placed in or on the brain. NeuroPace currently produces the RNS system, which was approved by the U....

Multiple sclerosis (MS) occurs when your immune system malfunctions and attacks the fatty tissue (myelin) that insulates nerve fibers within your brain, spinal cord, and eyes. This may lead to various symptoms, including fatigue, blurry vision, pain, weakness, and numbness. The vast majority of patients with MS initially experience a relapsing-remitting course. They experience “relapses” or flare-ups of new or worsening neurologic symptoms followed by periods of partial or complete symptom recovery (“remission”)....

Terminal hair is the body’s thick, long, pigmented hair. The hair on your scalp is terminal hair, but it’s also found on other areas of the body. Terminal hair is one of the two types of hair that children and adults have. The other, vellus hair, differs from terminal hair in several ways. During puberty, increased hormone levels cause velus hair to turn into terminal hair in certain areas. A number of factors related to hormonal changes regulated by the endocrine system affect the development of terminal hair and influence when and how it grows....

There are many types of birth control pills available on the market today. The more recent evolution of the birth control pill includes continuous-cycle pills and extended-cycle pills. Continuous-cycle pills are taken without any hormone-free breaks, resulting in fewer or no periods. Extended-cycle pills are taken for two or more cycles without stopping, followed by a planned, hormone-free break during which you have a period. Continuous- and extended-cycle birth control pills are types of combination birth control, meaning that they contain both estrogen and progestin....

On the day of your vascular surgery procedure, your preparation will include a physical examination and an assessment of your vital signs. There are many different types of vascular surgical procedures—your operation may involve open surgery or minimally invasive techniques, and it can last between 30 minutes to several hours. You will begin to recover from surgery and anesthesia in the hours after your operation. You may need to stay overnight in the hospital—this depends on which type of vascular condition you have, and whether you have underlying issues that necessitate close monitoring....

In a new report published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers from all over the world have proposed a more comprehensive and clear definition of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Key Takeaways Up to 30% of adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder do not feel better when they take the medications that are typically used to treat it; what’s known as treatment-resistant depression (TRD).There has not been a standard definition or way of diagnosing TRD, which has made it hard for doctors to spot it—let alone treat it—in their patients....

Aortic stenosis is a type of heart valve disease caused by partial obstruction of the aortic valve. With aortic stenosis, it becomes relatively difficult for the heart to pump blood out to the body’s organs. Aortic stenosis can significantly impact cardiac function, producing significant symptoms, and may ultimately lead to death unless it is treated. Overview The aortic valve guards the opening between the left ventricle and the aorta. As the left ventricle begins to contract, the aortic valve opens in order to allow the blood in the left ventricle to eject out of the heart, into the aorta, and out to the rest of the body....

In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a first-of-its-kind report assessing the lifetime risk of HIV in the United States. Not surprisingly, people who live in the South (the region known to have the highest rate of new HIV infections) were seen to be at greatest lifetime risk. What surprised many was the fact that one specific group—Black men who have sex with men (MSM)—was reported to have a startling one-in-two chance of getting HIV in a lifetime, irrespective of their age or geographic location....

So-called “blue waffle disease” is a fake sexually transmitted infection (STI). It was concocted in 2010 by internet pranksters who claimed it turns the vagina blue and causes symptoms common to real STIs, like the itching associated with human papillomavirus (HPV). In an effort to convince people that blue waffle disease is real, they even went so far as to share a picture of real labia (folds of skin around the vagina) edited to look blue....

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world, and for good reason. It has been shown that coffee can improve energy levels, help with focus, and is rich in health-boosting antioxidants. For men, a daily cup of coffee may do more than just wake up the brain. Some research suggests that men who drink two to three cups of coffee a day have lower odds of developing erectile dysfunction....

A comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) is a set of 14 blood tests. It gives your healthcare provider valuable information about your body’s metabolism, which is how your body turns food into energy. The test gives information about your liver and kidney functioning, fluid balance, and electrolyte levels. It may be done to assess your general health or to diagnose and follow the course of certain diseases and their management. Also referred to as a metabolic panel, chemistry panel, or chem 14, this is a relatively common test that is done from a single blood draw....

In the fight against COVID-19, crowds have been enemy No. 1. After all, social distancing is one of the key methods of preventing the spread of the virus. But crowds can and do happen—and they haven’t always been predictive of the spread of the virus. Key Takeaways Public health officials warn that being in a crowd can increase your risk of COVID-19, but not all crowds have caused outbreaks.Factors like whether an event is held outdoors and if people are wearing masks matter, experts say....

Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS) are tests that use electrodes to detect, translate, and record the electrical signals in your muscles and nerve cells while they’re active and at rest. These tests are valuable diagnostic tools that help neurologists locate and determine the causes of diseases that affect your muscles and nerves, as well as assess how much damage there is. EMG, also known as an electromyogram or myogram, and NCS, also known as a nerve conduction velocity test, are nearly always performed during the same visit....

A fistulotomy is a surgical procedure used to treat a fistula, which occurs when two organs or tracts form an abnormal connection. Fistulotomy is most commonly used to treat uncomplicated perianal fistulas (those occurring in and around the anus). These typically occur when an abscess develops in perianal tissues and breaks through the walls of adjacent structures as it grows. Fistulotomy can help open and drain the pocket so that the tissues can heal and close the abnormal passage....