For patients and caregivers, understanding clinical progression, diagnostic imaging results, and pharmacological treatment options is vital for managing acute and chronic health conditions.
Some women do not make enough progesterone, one of the dominant female hormones, to achieve and maintain a pregnancy. They may take progesterone supplements to increase progesterone levels before and during early pregnancy. Others take progesterone as part of hormone replacement therapy.
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Getting pregnant, a complicated hormonal event, requires an interplay of hormones released at exactly the right time to develop, mature and release an egg from the ovary, and then to implant it in the uterus.
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The nose is a common site for skin cancer, due to its exposure to the sun. Skin cancer will affect one in five people over their lifetime, with the highest risk group being those with light skin, eyes and hair. Fortunately, cancer on the nose is easily visible.
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Excess weight puts a strain on every part of your body, including your ankles. Having to bear additional weight puts stress on bones, tendons and ligaments.
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When you feel hungry, eating should make you feel better. But for some people, eating makes them feel worse, due to a drop in blood sugar that occurs within one to three hours after they eat certain types of meals, according to Frank Jackson, M.D. of Jackson/Siegelbaum Gastroenterology.
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Redline energy drink, made by Vital Pharmaceuticals, which trades as VPX, is marketed as an energy booster and weight-loss drink, sold in health food stores and health clubs. Ingredients include a number of stimulants, including dehydrated coffee, yerba mate, green tea and yohimbine.
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Twilight anesthesia, more commonly known as conscious sedation or sedation analgesia, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, consists of intravenous medications to decrease pain, reduce anxiety and facilitate relaxation during procedures such as minor surgery.
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Quinine, a bitter tasting powder made from the bark of the cinchona tree, is known mainly for its use in malaria treatment.
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Babies have delicate skin, so they develop rashes more easily than adults. Because their skin is thin and unmarked by hair, old scars, sun spots and other skin conditions acquired with age, rashes also might be more visible on babies.
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The jaw consists of two bones, the maxilla, or upper jaw, and mandible, or lower jaw. Pain in the lower jaw can occur from many different causes, and can be acute or chronic. Pain may also occur from conditions in the jaw bone itself or may be "referred" pain from problems in nearby regions, such as the mouth or neck.
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D-mannose, a type of sugar, has become a popular alternative treatment for preventing and treating urinary tract infections. Unfortunately, nearly all the evidence on the effectiveness of D-mannose is anecdotal, without clinical studies to back it up.
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Colostomies divert stool from the colon to an opening on the abdominal wall. While many colostomies are permanent, some are placed temporarily to allow damaged bowel to heal after infection or removal of a portion of the intestine.
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Dangerously high blood glucose levels--over 300 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)--can cause life-threatening complications. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs mostly in type 1 diabetics, but can occur in type 2 diabetics in some cases. In DKA, insulin stores are exhausted and fats are broken down to use as energy.
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Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that commonly occurs on the lower extremities—including the feet, which are prone to edema (swelling) in people with poor foot circulation, like diabetics and those who are sedentary.
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Canker sores, small painful ulcers can occur anywhere in your mouth, making life miserable for several days. Apthous ulcers, the medical term for canker sores, can be confused with cold sores, but the two are not related.
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Thumb and wrist pain can significantly interfere with your daily activities. The bones, joints, ligaments and tendons in the thumb and wrist can all suffer injury or inflammation that leads to pain.
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While drug addiction in pregnant women can affect fetal development, drug addiction in fathers doesn't normally affect the baby at the time of birth. Addiction can affect sperm quality and development, but these defects usually cause early miscarriage rather than birth defects.
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Facial bruising is a common occurrence in small children, whose foreheads often connect with countertops or tables at face height. Toddlers often "take it on the chin"
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Although both high and low calcium levels in the blood can cause muscle symptoms, low levels are typically the culprit behind muscle cramping. Low serum calcium levels, medically termed hypocalcemia, or high calcium levels, called hypercalcemia, most often are related to causes other than dietary intake.
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If your child has croup, she may not feel like eating or drinking. In croup, inflammation in the upper airway, which includes the larynx and trachea, makes breathing difficult. A child with severe croup can't eat at all and needs hospitalization. If your child has mild croup, it's important to keep her hydrated.
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