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People with atopic dermatitis (the most common type of eczema) and other forms of the condition often go through symptom-free periods (remissions) followed by flare-ups, when symptoms become severe. Eczema mainly causes dry, itchy skin, which inevitably causes people to scratch or rub the affected area. This can result in inflammation, rashes, blisters, and skin that “weeps” (oozes clear liquid), among other symptoms. Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections can also develop because eczema breaks down the skin barrier....

“Diet and lifestyle are of the utmost importance in terms of management of type 1 diabetes because what we eat significantly affects our blood sugar and the effectiveness of insulin,” says Juliana Shalek, MS, RD, CDN, and founder of The Nutrition Suite, LLC. “It’s not necessarily only what you’re eating, but how much and when. The type of carbohydrate matters, the amount matters, and the timing of it matters.” Eating well doesn’t have to be time consuming or difficult — and a little planning goes a long way....

The study, published in January 2020 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that adults with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed an SGLT2 inhibitor (sodium-glucose co-transporter-2) had a lower rate of gout than those prescribed a GLP1 receptor agonist, another type 2 diabetes drug class. Invokana (canagliflozin), Farxiga (dapagliflozin), and Jardiance (empagliflozin) are examples of SGLT2 inhibitors. “In light of these results, clinicians may lean toward SGLT2 therapy when additional anti-hyperglycemic therapy is being initiated in patients with type 2 diabetes that have frequent flares of gout,” says Kevin M....

— Lorrie, Ohio HPV (human papillomavirus) is spread through sexual contact and invades the cells of the vagina and cervix. Most women clear the virus without any special form of treatment, since the infected cells are shed from the cervix and vagina. However, in some women the virus is not cleared but rather remains in some of the cervical and vaginal cells. This persistence of HPV increases the risk of developing cervical cancer and, more rarely, cancer of the vagina....

Because magnesium is required for so many functions — more than 300, notes the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — there are long-term consequences for your health not just when you’re deficient, but when you have a low-grade chronic insufficiency, says Robin Foroutan, MS, RDN, who specializes in integrative and functional medicine at The Morrison Center in New York City. (1) “This is called the ‘triage hypothesis,’ which is the idea that your body needs all these vitamins and minerals to function optimally....

Aneurysms are most commonly found in the arteries of the brain or in the aorta — the largest artery in the body, which runs from the heart to the lower abdomen — but they can also form in other parts of the body. Although some people are born with diseases and health conditions that predispose them to aneurysms, and they can run in families, others develop them later on in life with no warning, says George P....

Why lupus develops “is yet to be discovered,” says Roberto Caricchio, MD, the chief of rheumatology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. But the cause of “the condition appears to be multifactorial,” he adds. Some contributors to the most common form of the disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, appear to be genetics, environmental factors, and hormones, according to Dr. Caricchio. In some families specific autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, may cluster, says Stacy Ardoin, MD, a rheumatologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus....

I am not aware of any connection between lytic lesions and anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications. If in addition to blood and urine studies, a bone marrow biopsy shows no evidence of multiple myeloma, the diagnosis of multiple myeloma would be highly unlikely, and other potential causes should be investigated. Lytic lesions — spots where bone tissue has been destroyed — can be seen in other cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer and kidney cancer....

In the short term, EPI symptoms can include the digestive symptoms mentioned above. “The classic symptoms of EPI are abdominal pain and steatorrhea, but these are not present in everyone with this condition,” says Shiv Desai, MD, a gastroenterologist at Austin Gastroenterology in Texas. “You need to lose 90 percent of the function of the pancreas prior to seeing the fat droplets.” As tempting as it may be to ignore the symptoms of EPI — because they don’t seem to be that bad at the moment, or because you‘re embarrassed to talk to your doctor about them — it’s important to get the right diagnosis and treatment to avoid the possible complications of the condition....

Shortness of breath or trouble breathingFatigueSwelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neckArrhythmias or palpitationsSyncope (fainting or briefly passing out)DizzinessLightheadednessFainting during physical activityChest pain, especially after physical exertion or heavy mealsHeart murmurs (unusual sounds associated with heartbeats)Heart failure (typically in the later stages of cardiomyopathy) A family history of cardiomyopathy, heart failure, or sudden cardiac arrestConnective tissue disease and other types of autoimmune diseaseCoronary artery disease or a heart attackDiseases that can damage the heart, such as hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis, or amyloidosisEndocrine diseases, including thyroid conditions and diabetesInfections in the heart muscleLong-term alcoholism or cocaine abuseMuscle conditions such as muscular dystrophyPregnancy-related issues...

People with familial hypercholesterolemia have elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — the so-called bad kind of cholesterol that builds up in blood vessels and can lead to blood clots and heart attacks — from the time they’re born. For these people, LDL levels can get even higher as they age. Left untreated, familial hypercholesterolemia often leads to hardening of the arteries, cardiovascular disease, and events like heart attacks and strokes long before people reach old age....

Chemotherapy drugsCorticosteroids, including prednisone and inhaled corticosteroids for conditions like asthmaTNF (tumor necrosis factor) inhibitors, which treat autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritisAntibioticsMedications that cause dry mouth, including antidepressants, high blood pressure meds, some antihistamines, pain medications, and others RELATED: Type 2 Diabetes Complications You Can Avoid Thrush and Breastfeeding Red, cracked nipplesSensitive, painful, itchy nipplesShiny or flaky skin on the areolaPainful nursingDeep, stabbing pain within the breast...

Read on to find the right one for your skin needs. Plus, are you skin-care savvy? Take our quiz and find out…Even if you don’t usually treat yourself to a spa facial, now’s the time. Regular treatments – if you can afford it, with follow-up care at home – can yield long-term benefits, like warding off wrinkles and keeping skin hydrated.Besides removing blackheads and exfoliating dry, flaky skin, facials help fade dark spots from long-term damage and bad habits....

Though weight loss should simply be the result of fewer calories consumed than expended, intriguing new research from Belgium shows there might be more to this simple math equation. Researchers wanted to determine if exercising on an empty stomach could be more effective at regulating insulin in people eating a diet high in fat than exercising after a meal. Twenty-seven young men were fed a high-calorie, high-fat diet over a period of six weeks and divided into three groups....

Unlike brain cancer, which originates in the brain and consists of brain cancer cells, brain metastases from lung cancer occur when cancer cells break off from the tumor in the lungs and enter the bloodstream or travel through the lymph system to the brain, where they multiply, according to Mayo Clinic. While metastatic lung cancer can rarely be cured, improvements in the detection and treatment of brain metastases are allowing people to live longer, with a higher quality of life....

Every five years, the Central Statistics Office carries out a detailed count of every person living in the country in the place they are sleeping on one particular night; it’s called Census Night. Last time, I was away from home on Census Night and was counted in my hotel room in Dublin as a “visitor.” This year the census form, along with the standard questions about household numbers, occupation, education, health conditions, and the like, included an open box for the nation to record their thoughts for the future....

Vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) is a rare condition in which the body’s immune response to a vaccine triggers the production of an antibody called anti-platelet factor 4 (APF4). These antibodies send the body’s clotting mechanisms into overdrive and cause large or widespread blood clots. The condition occurs only with adenovirus vaccines, including the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, and does not occur with the mRNA vaccines, though researchers don’t yet understand why this is the case....

Understanding Hypotension A blood pressure reading contains two numbers: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the top, or first, number in your blood pressure reading; it indicates the pressure within your arteries when your heart pumps out blood. Diastolic pressure is the bottom number, showing the pressure in your arteries while your heart is filling with blood. If your blood pressure is 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or lower, it’s considered normal....

After all, the words “multiple sclerosis” mean “many scars.” Most people outside of our community would think of those spots as causing the physical difficulties with which they might see us contend. Insiders know, however, that some spots are benign; some cause silent symptoms; our brains have worked around some via the process of neuroplasticity; and some cause cognitive rather than physical symptoms. The Mist of My Cog Fog Is Thickening Inside our MS bubble, we refer to this as cog fog, or cognitive fog....

“We’re biologically wired to have strong attachment needs that are more strongly tied to our primary caregiver (or caregivers) than any other human on the planet,” says Joseph Spinazzola, PhD, a psychologist in Melrose, Massachusetts, and the managing director of the Complex Trauma Treatment Center in Boston. When these bonds are tested and abused, it can certainly lead to trauma and pain long afterward. In the unapologetically titled memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, the child actor and star of iCarly Jennette McCurdy writes that her mother, Debra McCurdy, abused her physically, sexually, and emotionally until the elder McCurdy died of breast cancer in 2013....