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“A good quality bidet, when used and maintained properly, will deliver superior hygiene care,” says Christine Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. “Toilet paper hygiene can have consequences — from not wiping clean to those being overzealous in wiping.” Wiping too hard can cause red, itchy, dry skin. Even worse is wiping with sharp or broken fingernails, which can cut the skin and also cause stool to be trapped under nail surfaces, Dr....

Abnormal findings on an initial brain MRI occur in approximately 65 to 80 percent of patients with a first attack of optic neuritis, and follow-up of patients with an abnormal MRI showed that 80 to 90 percent of these people developed definite multiple sclerosis. This data is what compelled your neurologist to say that you have a high likelihood of MS. In addition, there is a rough correlation between the number of lesions on the initial MRI and the time until the next attack of symptoms....

What’s Actually in a Sports Drink? Sports drinks often contain carbohydrates — usually some type of sugar or a calorie-free artificial sweetener. These beverages also contain water as well as electrolytes — minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. We need electrolytes to maintain proper fluid levels in our bodies, and we lose electrolytes when we sweat, according to Michigan Medicine. Are Sports Drinks Really Full of Sugar? It depends, and you really need to read the labels....

Gas in the stomach is primarily caused by air a person swallows while eating or drinking, and it’s released from the mouth as a burp. Gas that is passed by flatulence is caused by the body’s inability to absorb or digest some carbohydrates in the small intestine. Once this undigested food passes into the small intestine, bacteria break it down, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and sometimes methane. High-fiber foods like beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grainsCarbonated beveragesChewing gumEating too quickly or talking while chewing, which results in swallowing more airDrinking through a strawConsuming artificial sweetenersChronic intestinal diseases like celiac disease and food intolerances, such as lactose intoleranceBacterial overgrowth in the small bowel...

And if you’re tuned in, you’re likely well aware that a central narrative in the drama is the sibling conflict between Harry and his older brother, William, the Prince of Wales and the first in line to the British throne. While the brothers (William, 40, and Harry, 38) have long been depicted as close — acting as each other’s support during and following the 1997 death of their mother, Princess Diana — Harry describes his brother in the book as his “beloved brother and archnemesis....

As the highly transmissible new omicron variant adds anxiety to the holiday season, even among people who are vaccinated, testing is crucial so that people who are infected don’t unknowingly spread the virus to others. Testing is also needed so scientists can understand the level of disease in a community and identify hotspots. The good news is there are now more coronavirus testing options than ever, including over-the-counter kits for home use that can provide results in minutes....

“Numerous studies have found that Avandia use is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, especially for heart failure,” says Joshua Wallach, PhD, lead author of the new study, published in February 2020 in BMJ. Dr. Wallach is an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut. “However, the effect of Avandia on (heart attacks) has been more uncertain,” Wallach adds. For the current analysis, Wallach and colleagues examined data from 136 clinical trials to see whether Avandia (rosiglitazone) was associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, heart failure, heart-related deaths, and fatalities from other causes....

What Is Basil, and Where Does It Come From? Basil is a fragrant herb of the Lamiaceae family of mint plants. Its leaves, fresh or dried, are used to season dishes and heal ailments throughout the world. (1) Food historians believe basil originated in India, but these days it is cultivated in many Asian and Mediterranean countries, and many others, including Hungary, Indonesia, Morocco, and the United States. (2) Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) Sweet and spicy, it ranges from small-leaf varieties to larger-leaf forms such as Genovese basil, which is enjoyed in Italian cuisine such as pesto....

Foot and heel pain tends to arise in more severe cases of ankylosing spondylitis, according to Tara Perry, an occupational therapist at Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “The foot and heel pain presents like very severe arthritis,” she explains. “It can feel like walking on daggers with every step.” If you experience foot pain, one of the most important things you can do is choose the right shoes....

If you have diabetes, you know monitoring and controlling your blood sugar is one of the most important parts of managing the disease. Whether you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, accurate testing can not only help you make adjustments to your diet and daily routine, but it can also help reduce symptoms and prevent possible diabetes health complications, such as nerve damage (neuropathy) and kidney problems. But to properly monitor blood sugar, you’ll need a functioning, high-quality blood sugar monitor (also called a glucose meter)....

“Meal delivery kits can be great for people who lack time to shop for food and cook,” says Kelly Kennedy, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Everyday Health. And because many of them are full of fresh fruits and vegetables, they’re often a better choice than other types of fast food, she says. But for the approximately 3 million people in the U.S. who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), — ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — it can be hard to find a meal delivery service that offers easy-to-make foods that won’t trigger a flare....

Although probiotics have been around since the early 1900s, they have recently gained popularity due to their ability to treat a wide range of ailments. Research also suggests that probiotics can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy body-mass index, according to a meta-analysis that reviewed 20 studies that was published in May 2016 in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. But what exactly are probiotics? In short, probiotics are live bacteria that help balance the bacteria in your gut, and keep your digestive system functioning properly....

If you’re like many people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you probably notice that when your stress level rises, your symptoms get worse. RELATED: The Science Behind Stress and Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms It’s a connection that took years for Aberdeen Allen to notice. Allen, a scientist in Parlin, New Jersey, was diagnosed with RA nearly two decades ago, but it was only four years ago when he realized how stress impacted his disease....

Biosimilars fall under the umbrella of biologics, a category of drugs used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) since 1999. In the past 20 years, a number of different biologic drugs have been approved to induce and maintain remission of both UC and Crohn’s disease. Biosimilars are like generic drugs, with a key difference: The active ingredient in generic drugs is identical to that of the name-brand drugs they’re modeled after....

Read on to learn more about these differences — and why nearly everyone who’s diagnosed with hepatitis C today can be cured. Chronic hepatitis C takes a greater toll on Black Americans Black Americans account for about 13 percent of the U.S. population but 20 to 23 percent of diagnosed hepatitis C infections, according to a study published in January 2020 in the journal Hepatology Communications. “This disparity has been present and consistently shown since we as a field started measuring racial differences in hepatitis C infections,” says Heather Bradley, PhD, an epidemiologist with the Georgia State University School of Public Health who authored the 2020 report on hepatitis C infections by race....

Bonnie Pointer and her three sisters formed the quartet The Pointer Sisters in 1969. The daughters of a minister, the sisters grew up singing gospel music in Oakland, California, before pursuing careers as professional vocalists who played with genres that ranged from scat vocals to country ballads, according to Fox News. Bonnie was credited with writing the 1975 funk track “How Long (Betcha’ Got a Chick on the Side),” which was later sampled by the rap group Salt-N-Pepa....

“Since a key component of therapeutic action is forming a solid, trusting working relationship with the therapist, individuals with BPD may not feel safe exposing their fears and feelings to their therapist, and can be emotionally very reactive to slights, perceived or real,” Dr. Ochoa says. Sometimes individuals with BPD are also reluctant to share traumatic experiences or talk about painful histories, Ochoa says. Finally, some people may feel depressed and hopeless, and quit therapy because they believe nothing can help their situation, she explains....

The ongoing threat and challenges posed by COVID-19 have led to a lot of continuous stress and dread for many, says Cassandra Aasmundsen-Fry, PsyD, a clinical psychologist with Mindwell Modern Psychology and Therapy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “The pandemic is the perfect storm for burnout.” But what is burnout exactly? And can it be used to explain what you’re feeling right now? Still, many doctors, psychologists, and other experts take a broader view and say burnout can set in outside of work, too....

While the scientific evidence supporting these and other potential medicinal roles for the product is, at best, limited — and, in some cases, nonexistent — some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have recently been experimenting with this type of vinegar in an effort to manage a number of symptoms. “I think people with MS, like anyone else, start following trends they see covered in the media or things they see mentioned on social media,” says Vijayshree Yadav, MD, a neurologist and Tykeson Family Term Professor in wellness research, as well as MS Center director at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland....

But how can you make sure you get the most out of your dose or two? Does your diet matter? How about lifestyle choices? If you have these questions, you’re not alone. There are even supplements on the market that claim they can boost your immune system, increasing the effectiveness of your vaccine. Whether that’s true — and whether you can really optimize your body’s vaccine response — is up for debate....