For patients and caregivers, understanding clinical progression, diagnostic imaging results, and pharmacological treatment options is vital for managing acute and chronic health conditions.
Antibiotics are medications prescribed by your physician to help fight off foreign bacteria that can make you ill. Not only do harmful bacteria make you sick, but they are also easily spreadable to others.
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Chest congestion caused during pregnancy is normal and should not cause any harm to your growing fetus. While uncomfortable at times, congestion does not usually cause any other problems during pregnancy unless it's associated with another illness.
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Potassium chloride, a salt substitute, simulates sodium chloride or salt to add flavor to food. As with any chemical ingested in significant quantities, use of potassium chloride in large amounts creates medical risks, but potassium chloride is not classified as a poison.
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Overdosing on vitamin B-6 supplements can potentially cause nerve damage and birth defects for your unborn child -- as well as for health risks for you. However, it is important for pregnant women to get enough dietary B-6, since a B-6 deficiency can also cause birth defects.
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Consuming cod liver oil or other fish oils is a good way to get essential omega-3 fatty acids. Unlike other types of fish oil supplements, however, cod liver oil is available in liquid form as well as pill form. Knowing the differences between the two may help you decide which makes the better fit for your needs.
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Ocular migraines are migraines that affect vision. An ocular migraine generally starts as a blind spot in one's peripheral vision that increases over time. Although triggers and causes of migraines vary, certain foods have been shown to trigger or worsen migraines more than others.
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Exercise is beneficial for heart, lung, bone and tissue health. However, exercise can sometimes lead to unknown pains that can alarm unsuspecting exercisers. Pain in your sternum -- or breast bone -- during exercise can occur as the result of a variety of conditions or injuries.
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Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a repetitive stress injury that occurs in the muscles and tendons on the outside of the elbow. Tennis elbow injuries typically occur from athletic or everyday activities that overwork the muscles of the wrist and arm and can lead to chronic pain if left untreated.
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Chronic liver damage can result in the replacement of normal liver tissue with non-functioning scar tissue. Advanced liver damage is called cirrhosis, and glucose intolerance is a common feature of this condition.
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Stretch marks typically come in two variations: the reddish purple marks that snake across your skin or the white and silvery marks that leave depressions on the skin. These differences are determined by the age of the stretch mark. Red ones are new and white ones are old.
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Oral fluid drug tests are a popular choice with employers and with parents who want to test their teens for drugs. Among oral fluid drug tests, the swab type is the most common.
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A certain amount of breathlessness during exercise is normal, especially when engaging in a sport as demanding as running. Increased activity leads to faster breathing, which brings oxygen into the body to help lower building levels of carbon dioxide in the body during exercise.
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Viral gastroenteritis, commonly known as a stomach virus, is a very uncomfortable illness that most people experience at some point in their lifetime. It is highly contagious and can be acquired from contaminated food, poor sanitation or contact with an infected individual.
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Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) that cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. According to the Mayo Clinic, both Crohnβs and ulcerative colitis cause severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. They can even lead to malnutrition.
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Facial flaking that resembles scalp dandruff is more common than you might think. Millions of Americans experience some degree of facial flaking. Seborrheic dermatitis is the most likely cause of this embarrassing symptom.
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Abdominal hernias usually occur when there is a weakening or defect in the muscles and tissues of the abdominal wall. When strain is placed on the abdominal wall, part of the intestines can break through the weakening wall, causing a mass to protrude from the abdomen.
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Pneumonia is a medical term used to describe an infection within the small air sacs in your lungs. This infection can affect both children and adults and is caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses or fungi) that invade the airway passages.
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Moles are a fleshy cell growth on the surface of the skin. They can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired (appearing after birth). Moles are smooth and round, irregularly shaped, or wart-like in appearance.
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Aspirin has been a mainstay in treating pain and inflammation since it was isolated from willow tree bark in the 1800s. Since then, many NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen and naproxen have provided pain relief.
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Menstrual odor is usually mild and not detectable by those around you. Still, occasionally it may be strong enough to become problematic, and you need to take steps to eliminate it. If no infection is present, this means just a few simple changes in your menstrual routine.
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