“When you talk to people about hernias, they tend to focus on groin hernias, which are the most common — and they are primarily a male problem,” says Stephen Ganshirt, MD, vice chief of surgery at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital in Illinois. But other types of hernias are actually more common in women, while still others occur at similar rates in men and women. Hernias occur when an organ or tissue bulges through a weak spot in the wall of muscle that’s holding it in....

Saliva Testing: The Wave of the Future for HPV-Related Head and Neck Cancer Screening? What’s new A test for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in saliva might be a way to significantly improve early detection of head and neck cancer (HNC), according to research published September 21 in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. Not all HNC is related to HPV, but HPV-related HNC is on the rise in the United States....

The article has been edited for length and clarity. Everyday Health: You were a gene counselor before testing was more widely available. What tools did you have to help identify people who might be at higher risk? Ellen Matloff: I worked at Yale before testing became available for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. [BRCA1 testing became available in 1995; BRCA2 in 1996.] We would take a detailed personal and family history, called a pedigree, and based on that alone we made risk assessments....

Many of us will have, by now, blocked the painful memory of our first spinal tap (technically a “lumbar puncture,” but the older name lends to the medievalness of the procedure in my book). The pain of having a needle the thickness of a small child’s finger plunged between our vertebrae is better left to the mist of memory. I will not, however, forget the bolt of lightning that shot down my hips, through my leg exploding in my feet and — I’m pretty sure — causing thunder in the hospital corridors....

Like type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes develops when liver, muscle, and fat cells don’t respond well to insulin — a hormone that regulates glucose (sugar) levels in the blood. As its name suggests, gestational diabetes develops only in pregnant women. It’s caused by changes in the body (including changing hormone levels) during pregnancy, and causes high blood glucose levels. If left uncontrolled, the condition may be harmful — or even deadly — to both the woman and her child, and can increase both of their risks of developing type 2 diabetes later in life....

The USPSTF’s decision aligns with guidelines from organizations like the American Cancer Society (ACS), which also recommends that preventive colorectal cancer screening begin at age 45 among adults with no symptoms of colorectal cancer who have an average risk of developing the disease at some point in life. Both the USPSTF and ACS state that colorectal cancer screening should continue through age 75 for all Americans and that screening should be performed only on a case-by-case basis among Americans ages 76 to 85....

“I would come home on Friday nights after work and sit on my couch and cry,” says Shannon, now 28. She loved drinking and had always sought out friends who felt the same way. They weren’t hard to find. “One of the things that was coming up over and over and over again for me was, ‘I’m going to have no friends,’” she says. But she persisted with her sobriety, and gradually she realized she was wrong about the friend thing....

Well, not so much. Social media use can have dangerous effects on how young women think about their bodies. Amy Kranzler, PhD, an attending psychologist at Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, New York, explains: “Young adulthood is a particularly important time in the development of identity, personal values, and self-esteem, and it is also a time of shifting interpersonal influences. For these reasons, young adult women may be particularly influenced by messages that they encounter via social media....

Hives can be quite itchy, not to mention irritating. While they bring an obvious physical burden, they can hinder emotional well-being too, often isolating individuals socially and affecting performance at work and school, especially if a person has been struggling with hives for a long time, says Sarina Elmariah, MD, PhD, a board-certified dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. RELATED: Tips for Better Skin From Experts and Readers Like You!...

The experts on your healthcare team can answer important questions and provide valuable information about your diagnosis. The number of providers you’ll see will depend on the type of skin cancer you have and how advanced it is. RELATED: Sunscreen Glossary: A Guide for Decoding Every SPF Term You Need to Know The Health Professionals Who Treat Skin Cancer Here are several types of specialists who may be involved in treating skin cancer....

The illness usually spreads between people by breathing in air that contains these organisms or by touching a surface with germs on it. AllergiesDrynessIrritantsStraining your throat musclesGastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)Tumors of the throat, tongue, or larynx (voice box) Cold and flu seasonsHaving close contact with someone who has a sore throat or coldSmoking or exposure to secondhand smokeFrequent sinus infectionsAllergiesAttending day careAge (children and teens are more likely to develop sore throat or strep throat)Weakened immunity due to conditions such as HIV or diabetes, or treatment with chemotherapy drugs or chronic steroids, which can lower resistance to infections...

Strokes can occur at any age, but stroke risk increases as you get older. While not every stroke can be prevented, there are many steps you can take to reduce your risk. It’s important to recognize the signs of a stroke, and to call 911 for emergency medical attention if you think someone is having one. Getting treatment quickly may prevent death or disability. (1) The type and severity of stroke symptoms depend on the area of the brain that is affected....

That began to change in more recent decades, with studies showing about 0.8 to 1.5 million cases a year being reported worldwide between the years 1970 to 2007, per the Cureus article. Some theories for the reasons behind this uptick include increases in antibiotic resistance and changes in prescription patterns due to the awareness of this growing problem. Persistent feverChillsPain, tenderness, and swelling in the throat and neck Risk Factors Being immunocompromisedEnvironmental conditions...

Stage 1 Localized Lyme disease, in which the infection is focused in one area of the bodyStage 2 Early disseminated Lyme disease, in which the bacteria has begun to spreadStage 3 Late disseminated Lyme disease, in which the bacteria has spread throughout the body Early Symptoms of Lyme Disease The most common feature of localized Lyme disease is a slowly expanding skin lesion or rash known as erythema migrans (EM). This rash usually develops 3 to 30 days (7 to 14 days on average) after the disease-transmitting tick bite....

Tinea pedis (Athlete’s foot) ringworm on the feet Tinea cruris (Jock itch) ringworm on the groin, inner thighs, and buttocks Tinea barbae Ringworm on the beard area Tinea faciei Ringworm on the face Tinea manuum Ringworm on the hands Tinea capitis Ringworm on the scalp Tinea unguium (Onychomycosis) ringworm on the fingernails and toenails Tinea corporis Ringworm on other parts of the body, such as the arms or legs...

When you’re sick, your immune system signals the release of chemicals that increase inflammation and help stop the spread of viruses, bacteria, or fungi. In the case of sepsis, the immune system’s inflammatory response to an infection is dysregulated. This causes widespread, dangerous inflammation throughout the body that can lead to poor blood flow and blood clots. (2) Sepsis can also lead to organ failure and death. According to a study from 2019, body organs and systems that are more likely to fail, either individually or together (called multi-organ failure), in a severe sepsis state include: (3)...

What Causes Diabetes? “Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease — the body’s immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin,” a hormone, says Andjela Drincic, MD, associate professor of internal medicine in the division of diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The exact cause is not known, but it’s probably a combination of the genes a person is born with and something in the environment that triggers the genes to become active....

The symptoms of a panic attack during pregnancy are no different from a panic attack at any other time: Rapid heartbeatChest painShaking or tremblingBreathing difficultyDizziness “People feel like they’re having a heart attack,” Hassan says. “Some women feel like they’re going to die.” Women who have a history of panic attacks are more likely to experience panic attacks when they are pregnant. However, women who have never had a panic attack in their lives may find themselves experiencing them during pregnancy, Hassan says....

So how often should you test your blood sugar? The answer depends mostly on the status of your health and the demands of your daily life. People with type 2 diabetes should take a blood sugar reading at least once a day. Some may need to test as frequently as seven times a day. Whether you need to or are able to perform more frequent testing depends on a number of factors:...

The designation was made last month in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases, the ICD-11, “which provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe,” according to the WHO. Rather than classify the condition as a sexual disorder, the WHO lists it in the ICD-11 under “impulse control disorders.” The concept isn’t new, says Rory Reid, PhD, a research psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA in Los Angeles, who specializes in impulse control disorders, such as gambling and hypersexuality....