Information About Disease, Illness, & Conditions

Arthritis is a very painful disease, and is typically a result of the aging process. But it doesn't have to be. There are steps you can take to decrease your chances of getting arthritis, and this article explains how.

Pneumonia can be a killer. It is often a serious complications of other medical conditions. What exactly is pneumonia, and is it the same as pleurisy?

Mycobacterium leprae is the bacterium that causes leprosy. It damages nerves, perhaps by reprogramming Schwann cells or by hijacking macrophages in the immune system.

Urine can have many colors, ranging from black to colorless. A change in pee appearance may be unimportant or may indicate a serious health problem.

The pancreas makes digestive enzymes and essential hormones. Pancreatic disorders include inflammation, known as pancreatitis, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Colon bacteria make butyric acid. This acid improves the health of the intestinal lining. It may also reduce inflammation and decrease the risk of colon cancer.

With these gentle daily exercises, as well as the help of gravity inversion, you can improve your posture and ease your neck or shoulder pain.

Glial cells affect the activity of neurons, or nerve cells. Problems with astrocytes, a type of glial cell, may cause or worsen amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Jaundice is characterized by yellow skin and a yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes. It's caused by excess bilirubin and often indicates the presence of a health problem.

Hair loss for a woman can be devastating. If you are woman facing hair loss, the first step to combating it is to learn about it - the types and causes of hair loss and the myths surrounding it.

In this article I share what worked for me in terms of treating athlete's foot. I also discuss treatments for toenail fungus.

A detailed look on how to look after a loved one and help them recover from a liver transplant.

Rabies is found throughout the world, caused by lyssavirus that is transmitted through bite wounds. The disease is now treatable, though the success rates vary immensely.

Dust mites cause allergy problems and they live in the mattress and pillows. I found out that microfiber encasings helped, and I slept better. Here's my story.

If you have trouble falling asleep or maintaining a regular sleep pattern, foods with naturally high levels of melatonin can help you without the need for sleep medication.

Do you feel chilled but you don't have a fever? There are many possible reasons for why you may experience chills without a high temperature, and this article explores them.

Histamine has important functions but also causes the symptoms of hay fever. It's released from mast cells. Helpful techniques can prevent or reduce hay fever symptoms.

A biphasic sleep pattern is a type of segmented sleep that allows one to gain an extra 2 hours a day!! You could do a lot in 2 hours!!

A new treatment may stop beta cell destruction in the early stage of type 1 diabetes. The beta cells produce insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar.

This article is based on questions I’ve received from readers of my other tinnitus articles. This is a compilation of those questions and my answers.

Treponema pallidum pertenue is a spirochete bacterium that causes yaws. The disease has made a comback after being almost eradicated. In its most serious form it can cause deformities and disabilities.

Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme in body secretions that helps to protect us from infections. It's also present in eggs, where it may cause allergies.

Tangles of alpha-synuclein fibrils in the brain are a feature of Parkinson's disease. Under some circumstances, the substance also appears in nerves surrounding the gut. Evidence suggests that it can travel from the gut to the brain, where it may cause or contribute to Parkinson's disease.

Psoriasis is a chronic and recurring inflammatory condition of the skin. It has been linked to an increased incidence of obesity, heart disease, and strokes.

A step-by-step guide (with pictures) on getting your health information with your AncestryDNA results.

Sleep apnea was a major contributor to NFL star Reggie White's death at age 43. What is sleep apnea, and how is it treated?

Slipping rib syndrome occurs when one of the ribs intermittently slips out of place, thereby stretching the ligaments that support the front and back of the affected rib.

When the pain of costochondritis flares, it can feel like a heart attack. Once cardiac causes have been ruled out, you are often just given a prescription. Here are other healing treatment options.

The parathyroid glands produce a hormone that controls the amount of calcium in the blood. A problem with the glands may cause hypercalcemia or hypocalcemia.

The gallbladder stores bile, which helps fat digestion take place. Gallstones are solid lumps in bile that can cause a lot of pain when they enter bile ducts.

Difficulty sleeping spoils your day, undermines relationships, and makes you less effective at work. Many causes of sleep problems relate to your lifestyle. This article explains 13 gentle but effective changes you can make to help you get a good night's sleep and wake refreshed and raring to go.

Scabies mites burrow under the surface of the skin, causing a very itchy disease. Demodex skin mites are often harmless but may cause rosacea or blepharitis.

Proteus mirabilis is responsible for urinary tract infections in some people. The bacterium causes inflammation and the production of stones in the urine.

Most adults have the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in their body. The virus is either dormant or active. The active form causes mononucleosis, some types of cancer, and perhaps other diseases.

When you sing or speak, do you sound hoarse? If you keep losing your voice, you may have vocal nodules. Learn about vocal nodes and nodules: what causes them and how to avoid them.

The synovium is a membrane that lines the inside of many of our joints. Inflammation of the synovium is known as synovitis. Symptoms include swelling and pain.

Chronic back pain, stiff neck, frozen shoulders, and all posture-related pains can be prevented and cured with simple gravity inversion.

The symptoms of water retention (also known as fluid retention or edema) can sometimes be confused with the appearance of chronic diabetic skin blisters. Do you know how to tell the difference?

What is Rosacea and how is it identified? Learn about this inflammatory skin condition and how it is treated.

Toxoplasma gondii causes toxoplasmosis and may affect brain chemistry and our behavior. The pork tapeworm may enter our brain and cause serious health problems.

Escherichia coli is a bacterium that exists as different strains. Some strains live in our gut and are very helpful. Others cause foodborne illness and disease.

Urinary Tract Infections can occur in any person of any age. The one thing they have in common is that they totally suck. Learn at-home-treatment options and ways to prevent future infections.

When I went through chemotherapy, I had to figure out some critical things for myself. Here are the top 10 things I wish somebody had told me ahead of time.

Our faces can say so much about us—the mood we are in and the emotions we feel. However, look more closely, and it can also reveal something about our physical health.

My cluster headaches created intense pressure on the eye region. This article describes how I managed to get rid of these headaches without the use of medication.

Learn about the causes of dyshidrotic eczema, as well as both medical and home treatments for the condition.

Can fallen arches cause knee pain? Not only that, flat feet affect the entire body structure. Learn how the foot works and practice these simple exercises to cure the painful symptoms of fat feet.

Costochondritis is a painful and serious lifelong condition that affects many people of different ages. Chest pain, as well as back and shoulder pain, is one of its symptoms.

Sleep architecture is the amount of time spent in each sleep cycle. Abnormal architecture may be caused by sleep-disordered breathing, periodic leg movements, or other sleep disorders.

Bone spurs are projections or outgrowths that extend from a bone. They may press on nerves or other tissues, causing pain, numbness, or difficulty in moving.

Through the years, I have witnessed a few physicians determine the possibility of cancer by using the sense of smell. Cancerous moles exude an olfactory protein that non-cancerous moles do not.

When we touch objects, our hands are contaminated by bacteria on the surfaces of the objects. It's very important to wash hands regularly to prevent infections.

People with COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, suffer from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both of these disorders. Treatment slows lung deterioration.

Aspergillus is a mold that can live inside the human body, causing an infection called aspergillosis. Aspergillosis may be a minor, serious, or deadly illness.

Death is difficult to accept, and yet it is a part of life that we cannot change. Having a better understanding of the stages of the dying process will help ease the experience for all involved.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks joints. In chikungunya, a virus infects the body. Both diseases produce joint pain and may sometimes be confused.

The death of a loved one while sleeping can come as an enormous shock, particularly if the deceased had no known health issues. Some, however, view death while sleeping as the most peaceful way to go.

If your body does something unexpected, it's often a sign that something's wrong. One of the things that should never happen is bleeding from the belly button or navel.

In some cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a protein called SOD1 is misfolded due to a gene mutation. In mice, a copper compound can prevent the misfolding.

Measles and rubella (German measles) are viral diseases. They both produce a red body rash and can cause complications, but there are important differences between them.

Learn the signs and symptoms of diabetes, then ask your doctor for a simple blood test to determine if you have the disease

Solanine is found in green potatoes and other nightshade vegetables. It's poisonous at high concentrations. Some people say that nightshades make their arthritis worse.

Recovery from a pulmonary embolism takes a lot of time. Lung damage from blood clots is very serious. Based on my own experience with this condition, I will share what to expect during your recovery.

Chronic hives are a result of an underlying disease condition. My experience is with acute hives, which results from an allergic reaction that may occur only once in a lifetime.

Stress is one of the most common causes of adult acne today. In this article, we'll see how stress causes acne, how it worsens your acne, how you can manage your stress-acne, and other triggering factors.

In this article, common causes of high LDL cholesterol are discussed, and suggestions for improving cholesterol levels are given in the conclusion.

Three simple exercises to help you relax those muscles and help resolve your pelvic floor dysfunction. Gain control over your pelvic muscles with stretching and soft-tissue massage.

Scar tissue may form on or in our body when we're injured. It replaces damaged tissue but is sometimes troublesome. The appearance of scars can often be improved.

Blood platelets help blood to clot after an injury. A low platelet count caused by faulty platelet manufacture or platelet destruction may result in bleeding.

Biotech companies are striving to find new cancer treatments using immune therapies and targeted biologics. New detection and screening tests are also under development to diagnose patients earlier.

Having a sore throat at night is a problem that many people have. Sometimes, the problem fades away by daytime prompting individuals to shrug it off. Here are the possible causes of the condition.

Sleeping with a sleep apnea face mask and hose may seem difficult, but it is possible to get comfortable and get some rest using a CPAP machine using these tips and suggestions.

This article briefly summarizes the causes and implications of coronary heart disease and explains major risk factors for the disease.

Find out more about this frequently misdiagnosed type of headache. It's like a migraine but different. It's called a cervicogenic headache or migraine, and it's a real pain!

In GERD, acidic material in the stomach moves in the wrong direction and enters the esophagus, causing heartburn. Dietary changes may relieve or improve symptoms.

Osteoarthritis has become quite prevalent in our society, and there are several types. This article is based on my own experience with this condition, as well as my research.

Worms in humans are common, even in developed nations. They take a toll on a person's health, and cause horrific disfigurations and disease. Let's take a look at the most common of these parasites.

In someone with an anemia disorder, there are either not enough red blood cells in the blood or the cells contain abnormal hemoglobin. Symptoms range from mild to severe.

Most of us don't drink enough water which leaves us dehydrated and damages our health. Learn about the benefits of drinking more water as well as the easiest way to increase the amount of water you drink every day.

Pulmonary embolism recovery can be difficult due to the heart and lung damage that occurs. This article focuses on things that patients can do to help themselves throughout the recovery process.

Skin that bruises easily can be caused by a number of factors, including some medications. Here are some self-help ideas to help improve skin that is thin, easily bruised, or torn.

Flying increases the risk of blood clots, particularly for people with pulmonary embolism, DVT, Factor V Leiden, or thrombophilia conditions. Learn how to prevent blood clots while flying.

Sickled feet are considered as the bane in any form of dancing. It is also a problem of many athletes as well. Well there is that and rolling, which make two of the biggest issues out there. However, it should be noted that sickling of the feet when performing is a bit harder to get rid of.

In light of the U.S. government’s relaxation of rules surrounding the use of asbestos, now is a good time to look at the health concerns of this mineral.

Have you ever had a wound that took time to heal? Later on it progressed and caused a massive inflammation of your whole leg? Learn more about these disease with a case review of a 4 year old patient.

Cholesterol has vital jobs in our bodies. Excess LDL cholesterol is bad, but HDL cholesterol is good. Our diet helps to control the ratio between the two forms.

If you recently observed some white spots in your stool, you've come to the right place. Learn about the many reasons why this can occur.

Chilblains are painful red bumps that appear after chilled skin has been rewarmed. A boil and a carbuncle are painful skin abscesses formed by a bacterial infection.

Cervical osteoarthritis can be very painful. It can cause symptoms such as headaches and migraines, but it is often misdiagnosed. Learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatments for this condition.

Hiccups are caused by many factors. They are annoying but usually harmless. Sometimes they are more serious, however. Home remedies or medical treatment may help.

The normal blood glucose level is 80-90 mg/dL before meals, and up to 120 mg/dL after you eat. Understand that you can prevent and, in most cases, reverse type 2 diabetes with these simple changes.

Vitiligo is a skin disorder involving loss of melanin, the pigment that colors skin. It's most likely an autoimmune condition. A variety of potentially helpful treatments are available.

Tons of easy, fun, and successful breast cancer fundraising ideas that allow you to simplify your group's fundraiser planning and get down to the business of raising money for charity.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to say to a friend who is facing the loss of a loved one. Here are some words and verses that may provide comfort . . . as well as some advice about what NOT to say.

The maleficent stomach virus, also known as norovirus, is an epidemic around the world that spreads like wildfire. Here are some tips to protect yourself from this miserable experience.

Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates, which produce indole-3-carbinol in our digestive tract. The latter chemical is thought to decrease the risk of colon cancer. New research may explain how this process works.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium that lives in the nose of many people. It's often harmless but can cause a variety of diseases. Some of these are serious.

Many different bacteria live on our skin and in its upper layer. Most are harmless. Some may be helpful. A few become harmful under certain conditions.

Learn how to treat and prevent itchy ears.

Nearly 1,500 in Ohio need healthy lung transplants annually, but there are not enough donor lungs for them all. That changes now, because a leading university hospital can fix damaged lungs fast.