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What Is Butrans? Butrans (buprenorphine) skin patches are a prescription opioid pain medicine used to manage severe around-the-clock pain. It is not used to treat acute pain. Butrans works by binding to various opioid receptors in the body to relieve pain. It works as a partial agonist on the mu-opioid receptors. It also works as an antagonist on the kappa-opioid receptors, an agonist at the delta-opioid receptors, and as a partial agonist at the opioid receptor-like (ORL-1) receptors....

The use of alcohol can impact your treatment in a number of ways, any or all of which may be relevant when considering your cancer treatment. Bone Marrow Function The first and most surprising effect that alcohol can have is in relation to how your bone marrow functions. Alcohol can actually interfere with healthy production of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets in your bone marrow. For patients with blood and marrow cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, bone marrow function may already be strained as a result of their disease....

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes someone to stop breathing intermittently while they sleep. The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which the soft tissue in the back of the throat relaxes and blocks airflow. If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase your risk of a number of serious and potentially fatal health complications, such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Research suggests that over 38,000 people die in the U....

Use of the gluten-free diet in autism is controversial (most medical studies don’t report any benefit). But some parents maintain that the diet (mainly a variant of it that also eliminates milk products) has helped their autistic children. Could the diet work because those children actually have celiac disease, with celiac causing their symptoms of autism? In the vast majority of cases, that’s unfortunately not the case, and going gluten-free won’t help your child’s autism....

Everyone experiences stress from time to time. Often, stress is acute (short-term) and goes away quickly. When stress persists and becomes ongoing, it is known as chronic stress. In the short term, stress can be beneficial. It helps you avoid danger, handle immediate situations, and build resiliency. However, if stress becomes prolonged, occurs too often, or isn’t managed well, it can have negative health effects. Read on to learn more about chronic stress and how it can be managed....

What Is Dupixent? Dupixent (dupilumab) is a medicine given by injection to treat eczema, a condition also known as atopic dermatitis that causes red and itchy skin. Dupixent is a monoclonal antibody, or more specifically, an interleukin-4 antagonist. It works by blocking the release of certain proteins in your body that can cause inflammation. Blocking inflammation leads to decreased skin redness and irritation. Dupixent is a prescription drug, which means you need an order for it from your healthcare provider....

When presented with the words ear cancer, most people’s response is, “What’s ear cancer?” While we know quite a bit about other types of cancers, many of us may not have heard of ear cancer—and with good reason. Ear cancer is exceptionally rare. Still, it’s important to know what to look for because while rare, some forms of ear cancer are aggressive and potentially dangerous. What Is Ear Cancer? Ear cancer usually starts as skin cancer on the external ear or in the ear canal, but it can also develop in other structures of the ear such as the eardrum, the temporal bone (the bone above your ear), ossicles (hearing bones), mastoid (bone behind the ear), facial movement nerve, and inner ear organs of hearing and balance....

Edema is the medical term used to describe swelling associated with injury, inflammation, or fluid overload. It can affect a small area, large area, or even the entire body. Edema is the result of the small blood vessels leaking fluid into tissues. When fluid builds up, tissue swells. Symptoms There are various different types of edema, and each has different health risks that go along with it. The symptoms of each type of edema are dependent upon the type, location, and cause....

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that play an important role in your body’s immune response to help fight off infection. Like other white blood cells, eosinophils are produced in the bone marrow and travel to different tissues throughout the body to protect against infection and disease. In healthy individuals, eosinophils make up less than 5% of white blood cells circulating throughout the body. The body increases eosinophil production as an immune response to certain threats, such as allergies (e....

Hashimoto’s disease, also called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are a result of the body’s immune system attacking healthy issues because it thinks they are diseased. With Hashimoto’s, immune cells are attacking the thyroid gland. This attack causes inflammation and impairs the thyroid’s ability to make enough thyroid hormone. Researchers don’t know why this happens, but they think genetics might be to blame and risk is higher for people with a family history of autoimmune and thyroid conditions....

Hernia surgery repairs a condition in which internal organs or tissues protrude through abdominal muscles—usually in the lower abdomen or near the groin. On the day of your treatment, you’ll need first to undergo final health evaluations and work with the anesthesiologist to be placed on either localized or general anesthesia. Most hernia surgeries in America (about 70% for inguinal hernias) are performed as open surgery. Laparoscopic hernia repair is an option depending on the expertise of the surgeon....

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, painful skin condition that causes abscesses, cysts, and scarring on the skin. The lesions usually occur near hair follicles where there are sweat glands, such as in the groin, bottom, breasts, or armpits. You may be concerned about whether having HS puts you at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or developing more severe symptoms. Research regarding HS, COVID-19, and related medications is ongoing as scientists continuously learn more about the disease....

Light therapy glasses look a little futuristic, casting a blue light over the eyes and onto the face. In some ways, they are. But light therapy delivered via glasses also relies on science that is as old as time. The use of light therapy glasses may be helpful to manage circadian mood and sleep disorders like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), insomnia, and jet lag. They may offer a boost of energy on a winter morning....

Initial diagnosis of Peyronie’s disease may be based on self-report of curvature of the penis and/or pain with erection. The healthcare provider may also ask questions about other symptoms or use a structured questionnaire designed for men who may have Peyronie’s disease. However, in order to determine the extent of the disease, a physical examination is often needed. Sometimes this will consist only of the healthcare provider examining the flaccid penis and seeing if plaques or scars can be felt....

Lisinopril is an ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitor that is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). This prescription medication, which is available as a tablet or a liquid, can also be used to treat heart disease and diabetic kidney disease. Lisinopril can begin lowering blood pressure within hours of the first dose, but you might not feel any different when you’re on the medication. Here’s what you should know about taking lisinopril, including how quickly it lowers blood pressure....

A trigger finger is a common condition that affects the finger joints. People with the condition often wake up with a finger “stuck” in the palm of their hand. When they try to straighten the finger, it hurts. It can also cause a snapping sensation—that’s why the condition is called “trigger finger.” This article will go over the ways that you can treat trigger finger, including simple steps you can take at home and medical treatments....

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition that affects the digestive system, which is responsible for breaking down and absorbing food. While the most common symptoms are abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea, some people with IBS also report having back pain. Experts believe this could be due to intestinal discomfort or what’s known as “referred pain,” in which the brain accidentally signals IBS pain to be felt in a different area of the body....

The iliopsoas muscle is the major flexor of your hip joint. It’s made up of three muscles: the iliacus, the psoas major, and the psoas minor. These muscles work together to flex your hip, as well as stabilize your hip and lower back during activities like walking, running, and rising from a chair. Your body has two iliopsoas muscles: one at the left hip, and one at the right hip. Injury to the iliopsoas may cause hip pain and limited mobility....

Both lens replacement surgery and laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) aim to correct nearsightedness (you have difficulty seeing at a distance), farsightedness (you have trouble seeing at all ranges), and other vision issues so you can be as independent of glasses and contact lenses as possible. The difference is in how these make this happen. With lens replacement surgery, also known as refractive lens exchange or clear lens extraction, as the name suggests, it’s all about the lens....

What Is Lidoderm? Lidoderm (lidocaine) is a topical medication used on different surfaces of the body to relieve pain and itching from certain conditions. It belongs to a class of medication known as local anesthetics. Lidocaine works by blocking pain signals sent by nerves, causing a temporary loss of feeling in the area applied. Lidocaine is available in various forms. Lidoderm is a prescription-only transdermal patch (lidocaine patch 5%) often used to treat pain from post-herpetic neuralgia, a chronic complication of shingles....