LICE
Published July 28, 2024 | 
WHAT IS IT?
Lice-or “cooties,” as children call them-are tiny wingless insects that live on humans and animals (their hosts) and suck their blood. Adult lice, about the size of sesame seeds, range in color from gray to brown. You can see them clearly with a magnifying glass.
Three types infest people: head lice, body lice, and pubic lice (crabs). Each bites your skin, causing extreme itching, and is usually otherwise harmless. But if you scratch, you can break the skin and get other skin infections. In rare cases, lice can pass along typhus, a serious bacterial infection. Continue reading
OSTEOARTHRITIS
Published July 28, 2024 | WHAT IS IT?
Arthritis is a name for many joint problems that cause swelling, pain, and stiffness. Two types are common: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, which can be very serious, affects more than 2 million men, women, and children in the United States. It’s a system-wide disease that often inflames the joints but can also get into other organs. Osteoarthritis, from wear and tear in a joint, affects about 21 million people, most of them older adults. Continue reading
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Published July 28, 2024 | WHAT IS IT?
Arthritis is a name for many joint problems that cause swelling, pain, and stiffness. Two common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis, from wear and tear in a joint, affects about 21 million people in the United States. Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more than 2 million, is more serious; it often involves the whole body, causing swelling in the joints and sometimes inflaming organs such as the eyes and lungs. Continue reading
LOW BACK PAIN
Published July 28, 2024 | WHAT IS IT?
Almost all of us can expect to have pains in the lower back at least once in our lives. Low back pain strikes in many ways. You might feel a dull ache, sometimes along with burning, or even numbness or tingling. The pain may shoot down your buttocks and into your legs.
Low back pain can come on quickly, or it can get worse slowly over many days or weeks. Some people may have bouts of back pain on and off for weeks or months. It can be so severe that it turns daily life into a painful chore. Continue reading
BURSITIS AND TENDINITIS
Published July 28, 2024 | WHAT IS IT?
Every year more than 12 million Americans suffer from bursitis and tendinitis, two common injuries to soft tissues near the joints.
Bursitis affects a bursa, one of many small fluid-filled sacs that cushion muscles, bones, and tendons when you move. Tendinitis affects the tendons, hardworking bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. If you injure a joint or use it too much, a nearby bursa or tendon may swell. The result: pain-sometimes fiery and throbbing, sometimes sharp and aching. If you move the joint, the pain often feels worse. Continue reading
HERNIAS
Published July 28, 2024 | WHAT IS IT?
A hernia is a bulge of tissue that pushes through the muscles that should contain it. Hernias are also called ruptures. They happen most often in the abdominal wall, the sheet of muscle that covers the stomach, intestines, and kidneys. These are called abdominal hernias. Hiatal hernias, another common type, occur in the diaphragm, the layer of muscle that lies between the chest and the abdomen. Continue reading
HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY
Published July 28, 2024 | HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY
WHAT IS IT?
The hips are among the body’s largest weight-bearing joints. When they’re healthy, your hips allow you to move easily and painlessly. But for people with arthritis or hip injury, just walking can bring on stiffness and crippling aches.
Each year, more than 160,000 Americans have hip replacement surgery in which damaged parts of the hip bone are removed and artificial parts are implanted to take their place. Hip replacement surgery can help relieve pain and restore movement. Continue reading
OSTEOPOROSIS
Published July 28, 2024 | Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” It is a major health threat for more than 20 million people in the United States, mostly older women. As the name suggests, it makes bones less dense and less solid. They become brittle and easy to break.
Osteoporosis is the leading cause of fractures among Americans over 45. In that age group, most fractures happen in the spine, wrist, ribs, and hip. Vertebrae-the bones of the spine-may develop networks of tiny cracks called crush or spinal compression fractures. Crush fractures can lead to back pain, loss of height, and the rounded upper back known as dowager’s hump. Any of these can be the first sign of osteoporosis. Continue reading