Our fear of fevers made us terrified of even a slight increase in body temperature. The shivers, the shakes, the chills—we’ve all experienced a fever at one time or another. When we take our temperatures and the thermometer reads anything above 99 degrees, many of us immediately believe we are afflicted with some kind of...
Category: <span>Patient Education</span>
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First aid for stroke: What do you do?
A stroke is a medical emergency. Quick intervention may increase a person’s chance of survival and reduce the risk of long-term disability. Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is blocked or limited. Each year, over 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke – that’s about one every 40 seconds. If someone is having...
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Nasal spray that stops ear pain as your plane lands: As GPs spending growing amounts of time on ear complaints, we assess a range of the treatments available
From infections to blockages, doctors spend a lot of time tending to ear issues It’s estimated nearly half of children’s visits to GP are for ear-related problems In recent years there’s been a boom in over-the-counter treatments from plugs that suck out water to gadgets that ‘pop’ blocked ears. But are they any good? Adam...
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Tired? Cracked lips? Brittle nails? You could be lacking in the ‘wonder vitamin’ – and carbs, stress and booze could be to blame
Vitamin B is crucial to help with energy, mood and brain power Stress and a bad diet can deplete the vitamin B stores in your body Some foods to incorporate into your diet are tuna, beans, nuts and squash Vitamin B3 could slash number of birth defects and miscarriages, experts say We’ve all had...
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How is hepatitis C transmitted?
Hepatitis C is a virus that affects how a person’s liver works. When someone has the hepatitis C virus, they may experience an acute hepatitis C infection, which is a relatively mild illness. However, most cases of hepatitis C are only found once the illness has become chronic, by which time an individual may have it for...
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Six foods that cause diarrhea
Diarrhea is a common condition with many possible causes. Some cases of diarrhea are due to infections. Sometimes it occurs as a side effect of medication, or as a symptom of other conditions, such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. This article focuses on foods that can cause diarrhea. Learn about foods that cause diarrhea,...
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Preparing for longevity—we don’t need to become frail as we age
Age-related frailty may be a treatable and preventable health problem, just like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, highlights a review in Frontiers in Physiology. “Societies are not aware of frailty as an avoidable health problem and most people usually resign themselves to this condition,” says Jerzy Sacha, Head of the Catheterization Laboratory at the University Hospital in Opole,...
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Choledocholithiasis: What you need to know
The term choledocholithiasis refers to a condition when a gallstone or gallstones become lodged within any duct of the bile system. The ducts typically involved are the common bile duct, the cystic duct, and the common hepatic duct. The gallbladder is a small organ located underneath the liver. Its primary function is to store...
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Thirteen home remedies for constipation
Constipation is an incredibly common problem. It’s thought to affect around 20% of Americans, resulting in 8 million doctor visits per year (1, 2). It can be caused by foods you eat or avoid, lifestyle choices, medication or disease. But for many people, the cause of their chronic constipation is often unknown. This is referred to as chronic...
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The WORST sports for damaging your knees, according to science – and it’s not just running
Long distance running, football, weightlifting and wrestling are worst on joints These sports found to raise risk of osteoarthritis by up to seven times This is compared to basketball players, boxers, and track and field athletes Study on elite athletes but shows some sports are rougher on joints than others Evidence osteoarthritis is rising in...