Nosebleed – the medical term is epistaxis – rarely occurs during a migraine attack. However, a handful of patients have reported this to me during my 23 years of practice. Migraines may cause epistaxis in one or more ways. First, a sudden increase in blood pressure could be associated with acute pain. Second, you may have nasal congestion with widening of the tiny blood vessels called capillaries within the nose....

Dietary Choices What you choose to eat (and not to eat) can increase your risk of hypertension, per the Mayo Clinic: Too much sodium can cause your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.Since potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells, not getting enough of it can raise blood pressure. Causes of Secondary Hypertension When high blood pressure arises suddenly due to an identifiable condition, it’s called secondary hypertension....

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and stroke is the fifth leading cause. Produced by your liver, cholesterol is a dense, fatty substance that’s found in every cell of your body, and it is considered essential to many life-sustaining functions. It helps your body make hormones and vitamin D, and it’s also found in compounds that your body creates to help you digest food, such as bile....

“People are sick of deprivation, especially because extreme diets never work in the long term. I think mindful eating and taking a more gentle approach to healthy eating are more attractive to millennials and younger people who have seen their mothers’ relationship to food scarred by diet culture,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN, a nutrition expert and author of The Smoothie Plan. “It’s time for something different.” Mindful eating is one method that may provide an alternative to fad diets that are unsustainable, unhealthy, or simply not enjoyable....

If you fall in this camp, it’s possible that you have nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA). The name of this condition doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and it’s poorly understood by the general public and even by many doctors. But in recent years, the importance of recognizing and properly treating nr-axSpA has been demonstrated by several studies and supported by clinical recommendations. Here’s what you should know about nr-axSpA if you think you might have it, or if you’ve been recently diagnosed — including what this diagnosis does and doesn’t mean, and the latest recommendations for treating it....

That’s because type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, meaning it changes and usually becomes more complex to manage over time. As it progresses, your body may make less insulin or become more resistant to the insulin it does produce, so you may need to adjust your treatment. For example, if oral medication and lifestyle changes are no longer working to manage your diabetes, you may need to add a non-insulin or insulin injectable to your treatment plan....

Numerous studies have shown the positive effect moderate exercise can have on people who live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). One study, published in August 2019 in the journal BMC Pediatrics, found that eight weeks of consistent exercise led to a decrease in these inflammation markers. Like Heller, the study authors concluded that exercise is a viable way people with IBD can manage and even reduce their symptoms. Managing symptoms isn’t the only benefit of exercising when you have Crohn’s....

While there is no cure for IBS, management of IBS symptoms will help relieve your pain. Medication, dietary changes, and other lifestyle modifications can all help with IBS. Your doctor will work with you to figure out the cause of your IBS symptoms and create a treatment plan. Here’s what you need to know about the causes of IBS pain and how to treat it for relief. How a Sensitivity to Pain May Impact Your IBS When your belly gets crampy and painful, it’s most likely because of constipation or diarrhea....

Seasonal flu activity typically occurs between October and May, but the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) is reporting that 1.2 percent of patient visits in the first week of September were due to influenza-like illness, or ILI. ILI is defined as having a fever of 100 degrees F or higher and a cough or sore throat. On September 10, 2019, health authorities in California announced the first flu-related death of the flu season — a 4-year-old child from Riverside County....

Even when you slip up and light up, you have a choice: You can use the relapse as an excuse to continue smoking, or you can try to figure out why you did it and make a renewed attempt at quitting. Try to think of the lapse as a small setback, not a failure. Focus on the time you’ve spent not smoking, not on the fact that you had one cigarette....

For some reason, we feel that using a cane or walking stick is giving in to our disease. That a walker is a sign of disability rather than mobility. And that a wheelchair has nothing but negative connotations (think: “wheelchair-bound”) — even though everyone I know who uses a wheelchair considers it just that: a thing you use, like a car, a bicycle, or public transportation to get from point A to point B....

It’s not uncommon for people who’ve undergone pancreatic surgery — to remove a tumor because of pancreatitis — to develop EPI afterward, according to a review published in April 2020 in World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology. In some cases, EPI can be present even before a person has the surgery. Sometimes, surgeons must remove the entire pancreas, and other times they may only need to take a portion, says Timothy B....

A colonoscopy, in which a doctor threads a scope and a camera through the colon to inspect it for precancerous and cancerous changes, is considered the most thorough way to screen for colorectal cancer. But colonoscopies are invasive and require anesthesia as well as a colon cleansing prep that many people avoid. Because of this, doctors will often turn to at-home tests like Cologuard, which test stool samples for signs of blood and other cancerous changes as a first screen....

People who have hyperhidrosis have many resources available to them, including several online groups and forums, where they can connect with each other and share their stories and frustrations. But the reality is that you may often encounter people who have misconceptions about what “excessive sweat” really means. What Life Is Like for People With Hyperhidrosis Many people who have hyperhidrosis share these common experiences that those who don’t sweat excessively can’t relate to....

Change is never easy, but consistency is key — especially with skin care, says Heather Richmond, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with the Dermatology and Laser Surgery Center in Houston. Regular use of high quality skin care will make a huge difference over the long term, she says, but don’t expect results overnight, particularly when it comes to reducing signs of aging. Take retinoids, for example: They’re known to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, according to Harvard Medical School, but it can take up to six months of regular use before you’ll see improvements....

People who inject drugs, such as opioids, are at high risk of exposure to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) because the virus can enter the bloodstream via needles, syringes, non–needle injecting equipment — cookers, cottons, and rinse water — or even intranasal equipment, such as straws, says Elana Rosenthal, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore....

Although you may miss some of the confidence and autonomy you had before your COPD diagnosis, there are breathing “best practices” to help you regain control of your life. Breathing better can boost your health and your outlook. Your doctor may recommend that you enroll in a pulmonary rehabilitation program to help you learn about COPD. Over the course of several weeks, respiratory therapists cover topics that include proper nutrition, exercises you can do to strengthen your muscles and boost your energy, and the correct way to take your COPD medication....

Not coincidentally, it’s also the height of soup season. There’s just something about this classic comfort food that goes hand-in-hand with soothing respiratory illnesses — or fighting them off in the first place. Many soups contain the nutrients the Mayo Clinic advises getting more of when you’re not feeling well, mainly those that support your immune system, such as vitamins C and D, beta-carotene, zinc, probiotics, and protein. Plus, you can’t beat the delivery system: Soup is warm, goes down easy, and helps you stay hydrated, which is crucial when you’re fighting off germs, according to the Cleveland Clinic....

“Treatment of RA is very individual,” says Eric M. Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine in the rheumatology division at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The best approach? Don’t get swayed by misinformation about this disease. Work closely with your doctor to get the facts and understand your own situation. Here’s the truth behind common misconceptions about RA treatment. Myth: You can’t effectively treat RA symptoms. “RA symptoms are completely treatable,” says Dr....

But plenty of people are looking to celebrate without alcohol, for a variety of reasons. Luckily, an ever-increasing number of nonalcoholic options are just as festive as bubbly. In fact, in February 2021, a report by the beverage analysis firm IWSR forecast that the no- and low-alcohol drinks sector would grow 31 percent globally by 2024. Having some of these healthier alternatives to alcohol on hand on New Year’s Eve means everyone will feel invited to the party, including pregnant or nursing moms, those on medications that don’t mix with alcohol, designated drivers, and people in recovery....