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When you need to better understand your spine diagnosis, being able to distinguish between key terms can make a world of difference in understanding why one course of treatment is recommended and another is not. Terms that describe back pain and its associated conditions are varied and might include sciatica, neuritis, radiculitis, radiculopathy, neuropathy, referred pain, or radiating pain. One thing is certain: They all have to do with the nervous system in some way....

Relational trauma refers to trauma that happens within a close relationship. This can be the result of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or enmeshment. Although this can occur in adult relationships, this pattern of trauma often occurs when there are traumatic interactions between caregivers and children during critical development phases. These interactions impact the child’s brain and create negative attachments that shape the way the child interacts with others throughout their life....

A resident is someone who has graduated from medical school and is completing a post-graduate training program. An attending physician is a board-certified physician who has completed their residency training. Residents are supervised by attending physicians. When you receive care from a resident, you are also receiving care from their attending physician. This means you’ll benefit from the experience and knowledge of both providers. This article discusses what makes an attending and a resident....

Obstructive sleep apnea may have some surprising signs and symptoms of the condition. You may expect it in someone who is overweight, snores loudly, and repeatedly wakes up gasping out of sleep. However, there may be other symptoms that suggest the presence of the disorder. Consider some of these alternative signs and whether the underlying cause might be due to untreated sleep apnea. Depression There is a lot of overlap between problems with sleep and problems with mood....

Ammonia is a toxic waste product produced by bacteria in the intestines during protein digestion. Under normal circumstances, ammonia is processed in the liver, where it is turned into a less toxic chemical called urea and eliminated through the urine. When a person cannot process ammonia, it can build up in the bloodstream. High ammonia levels (hyperammonemia) can lead to symptoms including headache, vomiting, coma, and, in some cases, even death....

Therapeutic ultrasound is a treatment commonly used in physical therapy to provide deep heating to soft tissues in the body. These tissues include muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments. Ultrasound in physical therapy is different than diagnostic ultrasound. With the latter, healthcare providers use ultrasound to see the inside of the body. For example, diagnostic ultrasound lets healthcare providers check on a fetus during pregnancy. This article explains how therapeutic ultrasound works and when it’s used....

Making the decision to start therapy is a big, personal step toward prioritizing mental health and improving overall well-being. Whether considering therapy for the first time or returning to get some support, it can be overwhelming to determine which type is the best fit. At its core, therapy provides a safe and nonjudgmental environment where patients can identify problems and goals and work collaboratively with a therapist to achieve them....

From coughing, itching, and sneezing, to watery eyes, airborne allergies can be a pain. It can be challenging to find relief as the allergens that trigger them may be found inside your home or outdoors. Read more about the most common airborne allergies, their symptoms, prevention, and treatment methods. What Are Airborne Allergies? Airborne allergies are the allergies that occur when your immune system has an overreaction to an airborne allergen (aeroallergen)....

If you’re using COBRA health insurance, chances are you’ve lost (or left) your job, gotten a divorce, aged off a parent’s health plan, or your spouse transitioned to Medicare or passed away. Any of these situations can make your finances fragile and your bills harder than usual to pay. Likewise, the stressfulness of these situations can make you prone to lose track of details here or there. Although the deadline to pay your COBRA health insurance premium is a bad detail to forget, you aren’t the first person to be late paying your COBRA premium....

One way to reduce your monthly drug costs is to find pharmacies that offer them either free of charge or at a very low price. While this may sound too good to be true, there are drugstores (usually larger retail chains) that aim to build customer loyalty by reducing the retail price of their high-volume prescription medications. These include antibiotics, diabetes drugs, prenatal vitamins, and hundreds of popular generic medications....

ALK-positive lung cancer is a type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in which the cancer cells have a mutation in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. The mutation is a gene rearrangement: an abnormal fusion of ALK and another gene, echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4). This fusion causes cell enzymes (specialized proteins) to send signals to mutated cancer cells instructing them to divide and multiply more quickly than usual. The result: the spread of lung cancer....

What Is Amoxil? Amoxil (amoxicillin) is a penicillin antibiotic used to treat a large variety of bacterial infections. It works by binding to penicillin-binding proteins of bacteria. These bacteria are essential to the creation and maintenance of bacterial cell walls. If left alone, bacteria can rapidly multiply in the body and cause harm. Amoxil inhibits these penicillin-binding proteins so that susceptible bacteria are unable to continue replicating, killing the bacteria. This action is known as bactericidal killing....

This article about generic drugs is based on information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Whether you have prescription drug coverage or not, if you use generic drugs when appropriate for your health condition you can save money – often 80 to 85% less than the brand name drug. But, are generic drugs safe? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic medications are as safe and effective as the brand-name equivalent....

Liquid silicone injections are the subject of much controversy, thanks to sensational news stories about celebrity cosmetic procedures gone wrong. Yet there are some doctors that swear by the benefits of liquid silicone as a dermal filler and/or lip plumper, but they are usually from outside the United State. Is liquid silicone safe to inject for cosmetic purposes? For more than 60 years, liquid injectable silicone has been used for soft-tissue augmentation, drawing mixed reactions from the public and medical community....

Makeda Robinson, MD, PhD, is an infectious disease specialist currently studying virus-host interactions in emerging viruses at Stanford University. Each week, Dr. Robinson breaks down complicated COVID-19 topics and addresses pressing public health concerns. One of the most perplexing issues surrounding COVID-19 is why it manifests itself so differently in different people. Why is the disease mild for so many and extremely deadly for others? While preexisting chronic diseases can make a person more vulnerable to COVID-19, they’re not enough to explain the wide discrepancy in symptoms....

The transition to menopause can come with a range of symptoms, including weight gain, thinning hair, dry skin, and mood changes. Many people also experience intense moments of heat called hot flashes, especially at night when they’re trying to sleep. Key Takeaways Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause, affecting approximately 80% of people going through the transition.According to a recent study, a sedentary lifestyle may lead to more nighttime hot flashes, which can have a negative effect on a person’s quality of life and even play a role in their cardiovascular disease risk....

Hemorrhoids occur when pressure causes the veins or blood vessels in the anus or lower rectum to swell and become irritated. About 40% of people with hemorrhoids experience no symptoms. For those with internal hemorrhoids that are symptomatic, bleeding is the most commonly reported symptom. Most of the time, hemorrhoids can be treated at home, but more serious cases may need in-office procedures or surgeries. Read on to learn how bleeding from hemorrhoids can be managed....

Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelids that can cause them to become swollen, irritated, and red. It’s also characterized by crusty dandruff-like flakes on your eyelashes. This condition can be caused by having too many bacteria on your eyelids at the base of your eyelashes or a blocked or irritated oil gland on your eyelid. In this article, we’ll discuss the different types of blepharitis, symptoms, risk factors, and treatments for this condition....

There are a variety of factors that go into how health insurance premiums are determined. The rules vary significantly depending on the type of coverage, and in some cases, on the state where the policy is issued. Two types of rating—community rating and experience rating—are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but there’s a middle ground too, called modified community rating, which is used by a wide range of health plans....

Cytokine storm syndrome is a group of related medical conditions in which the immune system produces too many inflammatory signals. Cytokine storm symptoms can be mild and similar to the flu or severe and life-threatening, potentially leading to organ failure and death. Although experts are learning more every day, cytokine storm seems to be at least part of why some people develop life-threatening symptoms from COVID-19. This article discusses cytokine storm syndrome, including its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment....