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— Rosanna, Florida The best way to differentiate between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, and microscopic colitis (inflammation of the colon) is to have a colonoscopy and extensive biopsies done so your doctor can closely look at your colon and the tissues inside it. Colonoscopy findings in people with irritable bowel syndrome are generally completely normal, and antispasmodic treatments, whether herbal or prescription, often help. In ulcerative colitis, there are always visible ulcerations in the colon along with friability (easily broken tissue), scarring, and redness....

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)DyscalculiaDysgraphiaVisual processing disorderAuditory processing disorder As with dyslexia, symptoms of these co-occurring conditions will begin to appear early in a child’s life. Treating dyslexia can be difficult when other problems occur with the disability, but with the right support team and treatment plans in place, a person living with dyslexia and other difficulties will not have to struggle alone. There’s a term for children who are living with a disability like dyslexia but who are highly gifted in art, science, math, or another creative pursuit — “twice exceptional,” meaning that they have a condition that sets them apart and they also have great talent in a specific area....

But even though the flu shot has been around since the 1940s, and has been proven every year since to be the most effective way to prevent infection with the influenza virus, there are lots of misunderstandings and misconceptions about it. Whether you’re a fan of the flu shot and never miss a season, you’re wary of it, you simply forget about it, or you figure you won’t get sick — and if you do, it won’t be so bad — learning all you can about the vaccine can help you make informed decisions about it going forward....

Although organizers of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are maintaining tight restrictions to limit the number of COVID-19 infections, cases have been inching up. Chinese authorities said there were 308 positive cases of COVID-19 detected in people seeking to enter the “bubble” that Beijing has set up to reduce a pandemic risk at the events, according to The New York Times. Two-thirds of the positive tests were among people who came through Beijing Capital International Airport....

In our cardiology practice, approximately one-half to two-thirds of people who come in for evaluation of heart rhythm disorders already have high blood pressure. It is one of the most common causes of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke. We check blood pressure levels on all of our patients as a routine part of a heart examination. More often than not, I have the following conversation. “Mr. Smith, your blood pressure today is high at 160/85 mmHg,” I say....

It seems that whenever I hear someone utter a rather mundane phrase anymore, I’m brought up short, my hackles are raised, and I itch for an intellectual quarrel. The phrase is this: “I’m (or we’re) doing everything I (we) can to … ” We’re not. But that’s okay, and I wish people would stop saying that they are. What You Can Do vs. What You’re Willing to Do My PTAD (post-traumatic annoyance disorder — not a real thing, but you get where I’m going) probably began with politicians, then science deniers, saying that they were doing everything they could during the pandemic....

The director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser has authored more than 250 articles, chapters, and books on subjects related to psychoneuroimmunology, many with her late virologist husband, M. Ronald Glaser, PhD. The pair spent three decades focusing on the link between chronic stress — the kind endured by many family caregivers‚ and poor wound healing, greater infectious illness susceptibility, increased allergy symptoms, and other illnesses and conditions....

HS is typically concentrated in skin folds, such as the armpits and groin. This means there can be skin-to-skin friction in these areas during movement, which causes discomfort and pain. Even contact with clothing can hurt. At the same time, regular physical activity is especially beneficial for people with HS who are overweight, as research has found obesity to be a major risk factor for severe HS. And according to the American Academy of Dermatology, weight loss can reduce flare-ups, prevent HS from worsening, or even cure the condition — in part, at least, by increasing the amount of space within skin folds....

The task force conclusions are not surprising. To date, there are no good, reliable, low-risk ways to screen for cancerous tumors in the pancreas. But the report is fodder for growing discussions on how to best diagnose and treat one of the most lethal forms of cancer. Pancreatic cancer kills about 46,000 Americans a year, according to the American Cancer Society, and may soon surpass colorectal cancer as the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to some estimates....

The injectable formulation of cabotegravir and rilpivirine — sold under the brand name Cabenuva — is meant for patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) who are already virally suppressed, having reached a plasma HIV viral load at less than 50 copies per milliliter, a measure that indicates the virus is under control. RELATED: What Is HIV/AIDS? This injectable therapy from ViiV Healthcare, which is to be administered once a month by a healthcare provider, offers an alternative to maintaining viral suppression with pill-a-day therapies now available....

There are lots of reasons to be stressed in today’s world, but if you’re a middle-aged woman, you may be feeling less of it. Those are the findings of a recent study by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, published in the journal Women’s Midlife Health. The study found that “perceived stress” — a measure of confidence, control, and the ability to cope with life — decreased for middle-aged women over a 13-year period....

This cognitive style is called “dampening,” says Chloe Carmichael, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York. It involves suppressing positive emotions with thoughts such as, “I don’t deserve to be this happy” or “This good feeling won’t last.” For example, a new mother with postpartum depression might tell herself she doesn’t deserve to recover because she’s a bad mother for being depressed in the first place, Dr. Carmichael says. Why do people with depression think this way?...

Claims for canned, inhaled oxygen are intoxicating, to say the least. Who doesn’t want to relieve stress, ease muscle aches, increase energy, concentrate and focus more effectively, sleep better, slow the aging process, and recover quickly from jet lag and hangovers? If all of that sounds too good to be true, it undoubtedly is, which is why you should cast a doubtful eye on these oxygen products. Here’s what you need to know before you inhale....

Researchers observed that people who lost at least 5 percent of their body weight had an abundance of bacteria called Phascolarctobacterium. Those who failed to lose at least 5 percent of body weight had an increase of bacteria called Dialister. Dialister is a type of bacteria that increases the body’s capacity to metabolize carbohydrates, giving people an energy boost that results in extra calories stored in the body. The study results suggest that individualizing dietary advice based on the gut microbiome may lead to more effective weight loss strategies, say Purna C....

“Telemedicine [for example] is one of those tech-powered services that is revolutionizing how we deliver healthcare not just in the United States, not just in Europe, but around the world,” said Steve Koenig, the vice president of research at CTA. Koenig delivered opening remarks to the media on Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The show opens to the public January 5–7. COVID-19 Pandemic Fuels Telemedicine Use Koenig said CTA stats show that one in four adults attended a video meeting call in the past year for medical purposes....

The good news is that because diabetes and heart health are so closely linked, there are many steps you can take to help improve both health conditions. In addition to monitoring your diabetes, taking any prescribed medications for diabetes and heart issues, and getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet can help you manage your diabetes and your heart health. A Well-Balanced Diet for Diabetes and Heart Health While there’s no specific diet for people with diabetes, an overall balanced diet similar to the Mediterranean diet can help you keep your blood sugar within a healthy range....

James Pennebaker, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of the book Expressive Writing: Words That Heal, conducted some of the first studies that showed the benefits of expressive writing. In one, college students were asked to write about a difficult or emotionally disturbing event, while a control group of others wrote about what they had done over the previous two weeks....

When your cholesterol levels are too high, your risk of heart disease and other complications rises. That’s because cholesterol combines with other substances in your blood to build up on the walls of your arteries. This buildup can narrow and clog your arteries, reducing blood flow and setting the stage for a heart attack or stroke. Lifestyle factors like alcohol and tobacco use can also negatively affect your cholesterol numbers....

Whether or not you can depend on these glowing hunks of salt to improve your respiratory health, though, is up for debate. What’s the Tradition Behind Himalayan Salt Lamps? Salt lamps haven’t become a health trend just because they look nice. They’re born out of a long tradition of using salt to boost health. “It all started many years ago, mostly in Eastern Europe, with something called speleotherapy,” explains John Mark, MD, clinical professor of pediatric pulmonary medicine at Stanford University in California, referencing a natural treatment that dates back to the mid-1800s....

Lenacapavir is designed for heavily treatment-experienced adults with multidrug-resistant HIV who are not able to adequately manage the virus with their current treatment regimen. It is an injectable medication administered under the skin (subcutaneously) once every six months. Developed by Gilead Sciences, lenacapavir is the first of a new class of HIV medications called capsid inhibitors, which work by blocking the virus’s protein shell (the capsid), thereby interfering with essential steps of the virus’s life cycle....