Most cases of tetanus in the United States occur in people who have not received a tetanus shot. This combination vaccine, known as DTaP, offers protection from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). When tetanus does occur, it’s a medical emergency that can take months to fully recover, and 1 out of 5 people who get tetanus will die. The death rate is higher for infants who are left untreated, and children who get tetanus may need weeks of hospital care....

They’re all real, they’re all annoying, and now they have a cousin: the cramp you can’t stretch. I woke on a recent autumn morning with the feeling that something had changed since I’d closed my eyes the night before. It wasn’t one of those foreboding feelings you get when you know you slept on it wrong, and it will likely get worse as your day progresses. Rather it announced itself in full-throated fury as soon as I stepped from the bed....

The Fruit Flush Diet: Basics The Fruit Flush diet is a severe three-day detox session during which you will: Drink at least 12 glasses of bottled or filtered water each dayAvoid non-water beverages, including coffee and teaEat any type of fresh fruits (no frozen, dried, or canned fruits), preferably organicHave salad in the evening — all non-starchy, preferably organic, vegetablesAvoid exercisingConsume supplemental protein drinks The Fruit Flush Diet: Pros The main strength of the Fruit Flush diet is that it encourages you to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, which are an essential part of a healthful diet....

Fifty-three million U.S. adults, or 21 percent of the population, own at least one smart speaker, according to a 2019 survey conducted by National Public Radio and Edison Research. A March 2019 report predicts that the global health virtual assistant market, which includes smart speakers and chatbots, is expected to reach $3.5 billion in 2025. The promise of voice technology goes well beyond delivering general health information to consumers. It could serve as a bridge between healthcare providers and patients to facilitate remote diagnostics, care, and monitoring of therapeutic compliance....

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and other health mangles have wrung me nearly dry since that Christmas clemency, so it was both easy and rather required that I stay close to base. But even in a state of doubled fatigue, I was acquiring a moat between Milltown Cottage and even our closest neighbors. There’s Only So Much Online Solitaire One Can Play I did have to amend my first recollection, as I had been further afield than 2 miles....

In fact, between 45 and 56 percent of all people with plaque psoriasis develop it on the scalp, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). Interestingly, “there are also people who only have scalp psoriasis,” says Jerry Bagel, MD, a dermatologist in East Windsor, New Jersey, and a member of the National Psoriasis Foundation board. Scalp psoriasis can run the gamut from mild — with thin scales or plaques that are hardly discernible — to severe, with plaques and scales that cover the scalp, forehead, back of the neck, and the skin around the ears....

“The hips are so important,” says Lan Boehme, a physical therapist for UCLA Health in Los Angeles. She works with many people in the entertainment industry, including lighting technicians who need to maintain mobility to do their jobs. Many of her patients complain of hip pain as the condition progresses, she says. The good news is there are many things you can do to prevent or reduce hip pain and stiffness....

“Sinus infection, allergies, and other causes of nasal obstruction can make breathing difficult at night,” says Samer Fakhri, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. “Anything that causes you to breathe through your mouth prevents your nose from warming, filtering, and moistening the air you breathe and can result in a high level of sleep disturbance.” In addition, breathing through your mouth (instead of your nose) can result in more problems....

While TB is easily passed from person to person under certain circumstances, it generally doesn’t spread through casual contact. How Can You Get TB? TB is a highly contagious bacterial infection that can quickly spread if not caught, isolated, and treated early. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease, and can be caught by breathing in the air that an infected person has contaminated through: BreathingCoughingTalkingSingingSneezing TB germs must be forced into the air, and to get a tuberculosis infection you must breathe in those germs....

For the review and meta-analysis, which was published in March 2021 in Movement Disorders, researchers examined data combined from nine previous studies that followed individuals with type 2 diabetes over time to see if they developed Parkinson’s disease. They found type 2 diabetes associated with a 21 percent increased risk of Parkinson’s and with faster symptom progression. Parkinson’s causes muscle stiffness, tremors, impaired balance, and slow movement, in addition to cognitive and sleep issues, according to the National Institute on Aging....

It’s especially important to protect yourself this year, as both the flu and COVID-19 will be spreading at the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out. It’s even possible to have both infections simultaneously. (Luckily, at this point, people with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] don’t seem to be at greater risk of being infected with COVID-19 than people without IBD, according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation....

Esophageal Cancer: Stages and Survival Rates The esophagus is a long, muscular tube that joins your mouth to your stomach. Esophageal cancer is classified into four stages, 0 through IV. In the earliest stage of esophageal cancer, the cancer affects only the lining of the esophagus. At this point, it is generally easy to treat and survival rates are high. But as cancerous cells grow and spread, a larger tumor forms in the esophagus, and often spreads to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, and eventually to other organs in the body....

It’s important to note, though, that these diseases are not skin cancer. The affected skin cells themselves are not cancerous. Instead, cancer develops in the white blood cells known as T lymphocytes, or T cells, which regulate the immune system and help the body stave off infections. These malignant T cells travel from the blood to the skin tissue, accumulating in the skin and forming patches, plaques, or tumor nodules....

That means no sugar, grain, dairy, legumes, or beans on the paleo diet. No highly processed cookies or cakes. And no foods with added hormones or artificial ingredients. As for what’s on the paleo menu, think meat, fish, vegetables, and limited amounts of fruit, nuts, and seeds. “That’s about it,” Dr. Hyman says. It may not seem like much, but what you’re left with are nutrient-packed foods, many of which are excellent sources of fiber, which helps you feel satisfied and full....

The stage defines the location of the cancer, how much it has spread, how big it is, and how aggressive it is. Knowing the stage of cancer is important because it typically determines your treatment options. A cancer is referred to by the stage it’s given when you’re first diagnosed, even if it worsens to a different stage. How Doctors Stage Cancers Doctors use different tests to determine a cancer’s stage....

But what does “plant-based diet” mean, anyway? Is it the same thing as being vegetarian or vegan? Or does this diet just mean you make an effort to pack more veggies into your meals? Technically, all of the above interpretations are correct. “Some people use the term ‘plant-based diet’ as a synonym for the vegan diet,” says Summer Yule, RD, a nutritionist in Hartford, Connecticut. “Others may use the term in a broader way that includes all vegetarian diets, and I’ve also seen people use ‘plant-based’ to mean diets that are composed mostly, but not entirely, of plant foods....

While there are people with antisocial personality disorder who fit those stereotypes, and while a very high percentage of violent offenders in prison have antisocial personality disorder, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not refer to people with antisocial personality disorder as sociopaths, nor does it equate the two terms. Personality disorders are conditions involving long-term patterns in which a person’s feelings, self-perception, and behavior stray substantially from the norms of their society and culture....

If you’re conflicted about the choice, you’re experiencing cognitive dissonance — the discomfort, tension, or anxiety that results from holding two conflicting beliefs at the same time. (1) “It’s not a bad thing, although it kind of gets a bad rap,” says Michele Leno, PhD, a psychologist and founder of DML Psychological Services in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In the new job scenario, you know you can only accept one offer, but there are aspects of both that are appealing to you, which is why and how you experience dissonance....

The condition is sometimes called infective endocarditis, and it can damage your heart, causing serious complications. Though infective endocarditis is potentially life-threatening, most people who are treated with antibiotics recover. FeverChillsFatigueMuscle or joint achesHeadachesNight sweatsShortness of breath and chest painSwelling in feet, legs, or abdomen Unexplained weight lossBlood in the urineRed spots on the soles of your feet or palms of your handRed, tender spots under the skin of your fingers and toesTiny purple or red spots in the whites of your eyes or inside your mouthTenderness in the spleen...

Sometimes it’s fine. But other times the cursor seems to stick in one place, and I can’t get on with the job at hand. When that job is my next book, it can be annoying. That it happens on and off and then on again — well, that’s just “MS annoying.” I had to bring it in because even though it’s still an intermittent problem, it was getting more frequent....