Doctor giving needle to woman in exam room

Are Flu Shot Symptoms Contagious?

More than 40 percent of people who receive the flu shot experience side effects such as injection site pain, a low-grade fever, a cough or a runny nose. These symptoms are almost always mild and rarely last longer than a day or two.

Read more →
Midsection Of Woman Biting Lips

How to Make a Cold Sore Pop Fast

You may wonder if it's safe to pop a cold sore, but doing so can cause more pain, risk the spread of the infection, and does not speed overall healing. Instead, there are other ways you can speed up the healing process.

Read more →
Girl with chickenpox, antiseptic cream applied to the rash

A Rash Like Chickenpox

Similar rashes can occur with shingles, smallpox, herpes simplex virus type 1 or 2, coxsackie virus, echovirus and rickettsialpox. Doctors use certain features of the rash to distinguish a rash like chickenpox from a rash actually caused by chickenpox.

Read more →
Symptoms of Head Shingles

Symptoms of Head Shingles

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 3 people will develop shingles at some time during their life. The disease is caused by varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Read more →
chickenpox

How to Treat Chicken Pox in Adults

According to University of Alabama Medical School Professor Richard Whitely in the 2008 edition of “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine,” chicken pox strikes 90 percent of people before the age of 15.

Read more →

Fever Blisters & Orange Juice

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research estimates that 500,000 Americans experience their first bout of fever blisters every year. Fever blisters, also called cold sores, usually occur outside the mouth -- on the lips, chin, cheeks or nostrils. They are caused by the herpes simplex type 1 virus.

Read more →
Blonde woman wearing fluffy jumper

Popping a Fever Blister

The Academy of General Dentistry reports that 30 percent of Americans suffer from fever blisters, which are sometimes also referred to as cold sores or oral herpes. A fever blister usually ruptures spontaneously after four days, leaving behind a shallow pink ulcer that “weeps” highly infectious clear fluid.

Read more →
Middle age woman coughing

How to Relieve Dry Cough & Sore Throat

It’s common to have a dry cough and sore throat at the same time, as both can be triggered by environmental irritants or conditions such as allergies or infections. Most of the time, symptoms improve with a combination of home remedies and over-the-counter (OTC) medications.

Read more →
Beautiful young couple enjoying breakfast in their new home.

Are IBS Symptoms Worse in the Morning?

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, symptoms often seem worse upon waking, at least to patients affected by the disorder. According to gastroenterologist Chung Owyang, chief of gastroenterology for the University of Michigan Health System, in the 2008 edition of "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine,"

Read more →

What Are the Causes of Frequent Vomiting in Children?

All children vomit from time to time, but frequent vomiting should be taken more seriously. Children—especially young children—with frequent vomiting may require admission to the hospital for management of dehydration.

Read more →
Man suffering from sleeplessness

Why Are Shingles So Painful at Night?

Shingles strikes 1 million Americans each year, causing mild to severe and even debilitating pain, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Read more →
bruise at the lip

How Does a Cold Sore Heal?

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research estimates that 500,000 Americans experience their first cold sore every year. For most, the first episode is also the last. A smaller number---between 20 and 40 percent--suffer recurrent episodes.

Read more →
Sick woman lying with thermometer

About Prolonged Flu Symptoms

Millions of Americans contract the flu each year. In most cases, according to Dr. Raphael Dolin in “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine,” acute illness resolves within two to five days, although respiratory symptoms, such as cough and sore throat, may persist for up to two weeks.

Read more →
Raw chicken breast with knife

Long-Term Effects of Salmonella Poisoning

According to the World Health Organization, salmonella bacteria is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness around the world. In the United States, 1.4 million infections result in over 150,000 doctor visits, 15,000 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths each year.

Read more →

Salt and Cold Sores

Cold sores are itchy, painful sores caused by infection with one of two types of the herpes simplex virus, usually type 1. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research estimates that at least 45 to 80 percent of Americans have contracted the virus, most before the age of 10.

Read more →
Hand holding toilet paper

Harmful Effects of Chronic Long-Term Constipation

The National Institutes of Health defines constipation as having a bowel movement fewer than three times per week. People with constipation typically report dry, hard, compact stools that are difficult to eliminate.

Read more →

Home Remedies for Stomach Flu & Vomiting

Stomach flu is a common name for what doctors call viral gastroenteritis, according to the staff at MayoClinic.com. Symptoms of stomach flu include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, sometimes fever and—of course—vomiting.

Read more →
manifestation of herpes

Causes of Cold Sores Other Than Herpes

“Fitzpatrick’s Dermatology in General Medicine” explains that more than 90 percent of people eventually acquire the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores. About 60 percent experience symptoms so mild that they go unrecognized as cold sores.

Read more →
Urine test strips

Symptoms of a UTI from E. coli

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the single most common pathogen in both community and hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs), accounting for 80 to 90 percent of cases, according to "Infectious Diseases of the Female Genital Tract." In contrast to many other microorganisms implicated in UTIs, E.

Read more →
backache

Back Pain From Cesarean Birth

In the 2010 edition of "Williams' Obstetrics," Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chief of obstetrics for Encino-Tarzana Medical Center, reports that about 30 percent of births in the United States occur by Cesarean section.

Read more →