Posts

Researchers have now found a link between where a person with MS lives and their likelihood of developing both vision and mental health issues. However, more than latitude and sun exposure, this location-specific finding is based on socioeconomic factors. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore recently reported on two studies examining the impact of socioeconomic status on MS; the studies show links to increases in retinal nerve fiber damage and vision loss, and to depression and anxiety....

About 10 percent of people with psoriasis will experience some problems with their eyes, says Galen Foulke, MD, a dermatologist and assistant professor at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Some eye problems include uveitis, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, and iritis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). One reason the problem isn’t more widespread is because “The areas of your body that get a lot of sunlight exposure tend not to have psoriasis on them, and that includes your face and eyes,” Dr....

Graham, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) when she was 18, combines daily medication and other approaches to help control her vertigo. Still, it has had a severe impact on her quality of life. Graham says vertigo has been her most debilitating MS symptom. She no longer drives because her severe vertigo is unpredictable and scary. “It feels like when you go through a fun house, and there are those moving floors and flashing lights," she says....

“What helped me was sticking to the shade, eating very simple foods, staying extremely hydrated, and ingesting ginger each day — whether it was ginger tea, ginger chews, or ginger pills,” she says.Ideally, a flare won’t slow down your travel plans. “Getting you well and getting you to travel with as few restrictions as possible is what we hope for a lot of people,” says Karen Chachu, MD, assistant professor of medicine in gastroenterology, with a specialty in IBD, at Duke University School of Medicine in Raleigh, North Carolina....

If your doctor suspects you have meningitis, he or she will likely put you on a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics to fight potential nonviral types of infectious meningitis. Once the type of meningitis has been determined — viral, bacterial, fungal, or noninfectious — your doctor will provide a more specific treatment. How Is Viral Meningitis Treated? Antibiotics cannot kill viruses, and using antibiotics when there is no bacterial infection can have harmful effects, such as developing antibiotic resistance....

When researchers looked at different risk factors, they found that people with obesity were more than 5 times as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared with individuals at a healthy weight. A genetic predisposition was associated with a doubled risk of type 2 diabetes, and unfavorable lifestyle habits were tied to an 18 percent greater risk. The study also found that people with little genetic predisposition for diabetes still had a more than eight-fold greater risk of developing the condition when they were obese....

Keep these essential nonprescription supplies at home to ease your symptoms and lessen the effects of a flare. Antidiarrheal medications Diarrhea is a common symptom of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and unfortunately, it can get worse during a flare. If your case is more severe, you may want to use an antidiarrheal medication, such as loperamide. Talk to your doctor before taking any new OTC medication or supplement, and be sure to follow the dosing directions....

Parkinson’s is best known for causing symptoms related to movement (known as “motor symptoms”), such as tremors, muscle stiffness, slow movement (bradykinesia), and impaired balance. But it can also cause nonmotor, or nonmovement, symptoms, such as dementia; psychosis, or loss of contact with reality; mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and apathy; and sleep disorders such as insomnia. Many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s are the result of a loss of neurons in the brain that produce the neurotransmitter (or chemical messenger) dopamine....

An infrared sauna is a type of therapy that uses light to heat your body, explains Kelly Simms, ND, a doctor of naturopathic medicine in Chicago. But this light is infrared, which exist on the nonvisible light spectrum, she says. Infrared sauna therapy is different from traditional Finnish (dry heat) sauna bathing, which heats the air to higher temperatures, ranging from 150 to 195 degrees F. In a dry sauna, your body warms up from the hot air circulating around it....

Many have been forced to improvise, working all day on a personal computer that may be less than ideally situated in the home. At the same time, the lack of regular office routines may mean finding yourself hunched over the computer for longer stretches of time than previously. These factors can lead to poor posture that can be especially harmful to people with ankylosing spondylitis. This form of arthritis, which is characterized by inflammation of the spine and sacroiliac joints at the base of the spine, can lead to back pain as well as pain in other joints, including in the hips, shoulders, and sometimes arms or legs....

That finding, detailed in an article published July 30, 2018, in the Journal of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, is the latest in a series of longitudinal studies by Tuppett Yates, PhD, a clinical and development psychology professor at the University of California in Riverside, and Ana Marcelo, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. The report is the first to confirm that children under age 10 perceive and suffer from prejudice....

Video visits are just one way telemedicine is making medical care safer and more accessible. But here’s another telemedicine advance to put on your radar, especially if you’re among the more than 1.7 million adults in the U.S. with a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), or other implanted cardiac device, such as a pacemaker, or implanted cardiac monitor–loop recorder: Remote cardiac device monitoring. If you have an implantable medical device, remote monitoring allows your healthcare team to monitor your heart health and the function of your cardiac device without you having to be physically present....

In one study, published on July 27, 2020, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers analyzed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRIs) of 100 patients ages 45 to 53 who had recently recovered from COVID-19. Most — around 70 percent — had recovered at home, without requiring hospitalization. According to Valentina Puntmann, MD, PhD, a clinical cardiologist at Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, who led the study, all 100 patients were relatively healthy, even the 60 who had preexisting cardiovascular disease....

RELATED: Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment: Why Is It So Important? Rheumatoid Arthritis Initial Diagnosis There is no single test that can definitively diagnose RA. As with other illnesses, diagnosis of RA typically begins with your doctor getting your medical history and conducting a physical exam. You doctor will begin by asking questions about the symptoms you’re experiencing, including when and how they occur and how they’ve changed over time (if they have)....

What’s more, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, some drinks, foods, or substances can potentially make a drug more or less effective or increase the risk of side effects. Here are six common drinks people living with rheumatoid arthritis should know more about. 1. Grapefruit Juice This breakfast table staple is one of the beverages that’s a big drug-interaction culprit, says Dr. Jalloh. “Grapefruit juice blocks the protein known as CYP3A4 that helps the body process medications....

Skin redness or flushing is a common symptom of rosacea, with redness developing around the cheeks and spreading to the chin or forehead. Small blood vessels in your face may become more apparent, and some people experience eye symptoms and nose enlargement. (1) While rosacea can be distressing, your dermatologist can come up with a treatment plan to diminish redness, swelling, and acne-like pimples. Treatment is important because rosacea can worsen over time....

Whether you’re in it for the heart health benefits, for the convenience, or to one day slay the big 26.2-mile event, here’s a guide to get you started. It’s different from walking because when you walk, one foot is always on the ground. But with running, there’s a moment when both feet are off the ground. That’s what makes running a high-impact activity. Running is aerobic if you’re keeping your pace and energy expenditure fairly consistent....

Only about 10 to 20 percent of people treated for schizophrenia don’t experience a relapse, according to a review published in the journal BMC Psychiatry in 2013. Most people with schizophrenia have multiple relapses over time. “Complete remission of schizophrenia symptoms is uncommon," says Sophia Frangou, MD, PhD, a psychiatry professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. “Most people will experience a gradual recurrence of symptoms....

SGLT2 inhibitors aren’t your only option if metformin and diet and lifestyle changes aren’t lowering your blood sugar sufficiently. There are also medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists that your doctor may add to your SGLT2 inhibitor and metformin regimen. Ozempic (semaglutide) and Trulicity (dulaglutide) are examples of GLP-1 receptor agonists, and you will inject these medications rather than taking them orally in pill form. Only your doctor can determine if you might benefit from any of these meds, so be sure to discuss all your options thoroughly....

Here are links to more information on shingles and chickenpox during pregnancy: What to Expect’s Chickenpox and Shingles During and After PregnancyThe CDC’s and March of Dimes’ information for pregnant womenThe Mayo Clinic’s What Are the Risks Associated With Chickenpox and Pregnancy? It Happened to Them P90X workout founder Tony Horton told Self.com about a rare form of shingles he developed — the Ramsay Hunt syndrome — after ignoring shingles symptoms....