Is that why your fingers are blue? You’re enjoying a walk outside, but after a little while, your fingers start to tingle and feel slightly numb. You don’t have anything to cover your hands with, so by the time you get back inside, your hands are very red with some...
Why are you tired all the time? One morning, you’re sitting at your desk and feel like you could fall asleep right there. You figure that you didn’t get enough sleep the previous night. However, the next day, you feel the same way despite getting...
What’s causing your legs to swell? You've been on your feet all day at work and when you get home, you notice that your lower legs are swollen. While sitting on the couch to watch your favorite TV show, you prop your feet up on a couple of pillows. This seems to help....
How serious is it? Your skin is supposed to be the barrier that protects your insides from the outside world. Sometimes, it can fall prey to the very things it’s supposed to protect you against. One type of infection is especially concerning because it can result in...
Is it the cause of that lump? While performing your monthly testicular exam, you notice a small lump on one of your testicles. You go to the doctor and he confirms what you suspect…you have testicular cancer. How serious...
What causes it? You and your partner are trying to get pregnant, but have been struggling, so you get tested by your doctor. They inform you that you have an extra X chromosome and this probably the cause of your infertility. How does this happen? Can anything be done...
Why is your chest swollen? You’re in the locker room after gym class and look in the mirror while getting dressed. You realize that your breast area looks like it is swollen and when you touch it, it’s tender. Some of the other guys notice too and start making...
Why is your scrotum swollen? One evening when drying yourself after getting out of the shower, you notice that one side of your scrotum is swollen. It doesn’t hurt, so you decide to go to bed and check it in the morning. When you wake up, everything seems to be back...
Why are you having trouble urinating? You notice that you’re feeling the urge to urinate more frequently. Yet, when you’re in the bathroom, you have trouble getting starting and your urine tends to stop and start in the middle of going. What’s causing this to happen?...
Is that why your stomach hurts? One afternoon, you realize that your lower stomach is hurting slightly. When you go to the bathroom, you notice that you have discharge with a strong odor and it hurts to urinate. You go to the doctor and find out you have pelvic...
What is that lump? You’ve finished going to the bathroom and are wiping yourself when you notice a small lump on one side of your vagina. It doesn’t hurt, so you decide to see if it’ll get better in the next few days. Unfortunately, the area starts to hurt and causes...
Why are you itchy down there? You’ve been taking antibiotics for a urinary tract infection for the past several days. Now, you have a strong itching sensation in your vagina and you notice a white discharge. What is going on? How can you get rid of these annoying...
What is wrong with your breast? While getting dressed for the day, you notice that one of your breasts is tender, swollen and warmer than the other. The affected side has redness too. It didn’t appear this way yesterday. So, what caused this to happen? How can...
Why do you have a lump on your wrist? Your typing away on your keyboard and happen to look down. On your wrist, you notice a small bump. You gently press on it causing it to move, but it doesn’t hurt. Where did it come from? Should you be...
What is causing it? Unfortunately, you’ve probably experienced neck pain at some point in your life, which means that you know how much it can hurt. If you’re aching, your primary concern is to get it to stop. How can you do this? What causes...
Why won’t your legs stay still? Over the past few nights, you notice that when you’re trying to sleep, it feels like your legs just want to move. If you do reposition them, they feel better for a little bit, but a short time later, you have the same feeling. Why is...
What you need to know? When HIV/AIDS came on the scene, it caused a worldwide panic. At the time, it was considered a death sentence. As a result of years of research and hard work, advances have been made in treating and preventing it. People who have the virus are...
Why does it impact children’s bones? If you’re like most people, you might’ve heard about rickets from your grandparents or great-grandparents. This might lead you to believe that it’s something that you don’t have to worry about. While this is probably true, what...
Why is it no longer prevalent? If you’re familiar with the history of long-ago sailors, you probably know that many of them died from scurvy. What caused this to happen? Thankfully, it’s not as much of a problem nowadays. Why is it not something...
Where is it a problem? You’re planning a trip to South America. You go to your doctor to find out if they recommend any vaccinations prior to traveling. She tells you that one of the things you should consider getting is a vaccine for yellow fever. What is this? Why...
Yes, it’s still out there! You’ve recently got back from an awesome vacation. Several days after you get home, you start having a headache with weakness and stomach pain. Next, you develop a fever that seems to gradually be getting worse. Why are you...
Why you don’t need to worry You’ve probably heard of smallpox, but don’t know of anyone who’s ever had it. It was once a very common disease. Thankfully, it no longer is because it has been eradicated. What does this mean? Should you be worried about it coming back?...
Why do they hurt so bad? You wore a new pair of shoes to work today. Gradually, throughout the day your left heel has been bothering you and by the time you get home, it’s really hurting. You take off your shoes and notice that you have a blister in the area...
What causes them to occur? One day you’re getting ready to go hang out with your friends and notice a small, raised bump in your armpit as you put on your deodorant. You touch it and it moves around slightly but doesn’t hurt. What is it and why did it appear?...
Why does your scalp flake? You’re getting ready to go out on a date and put on your favorite dark-colored outfit before brushing your hair. When you’re finished, you notice that you shoulder has lots of little white flakes on it. What is causing them? How can you stop...
What causes it? We’ve all been there, you wake up in the morning before an important event and there it is on your face…a giant, red pimple. What are you going to do? There might not be much you can do that moment, but there are things that you can do to reduce...
Are they the cause of your child’s rash? Chickenpox used to be a common childhood illness. With the invention of the vaccine for it, the frequency of cases has diminished significantly. However, it’s still out there and poses a risk to some individuals. Do you fall...
What does it have to do with your throat? Your son wakes up complaining of a sore throat and you notice that he has a bright red rash on his face and neck. His temperature is high, so you take him to the doctor. You find out that he has scarlet fever. What caused it...
Is it the cause of your child’s rash? One morning when your daughter wakes up, you notice a rash on her face and she has a stuffy nose with a slight fever. She doesn’t seem overly sick, but by the next day, the rash has spread to more parts of her body. What is...
Why does it hurt when you chew? You’re eating your lunch and notice that the left side of your face has pain near your ear. When you gently touch the area, you notice that it’s swollen. Later, in the bathroom, you look in the mirror and that side of your face looks...
How contagious is it? In the United States, you don’t hear of people contracting measles that often. This is the result of vaccinations. However, the number of cases has started to climb. This is concerning since measles are highly contagious and can be...
Why do you fall asleep unexpectedly? You’ve noticed that in the past few weeks you’ve been increasingly drowsy during the day. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you feel like you could fall asleep in the middle of it. One day, you’re working at your desk when the...
What does this mean? Lately, you’ve been having headaches with blurred vision and occasionally vomiting. You figure that you’ve been stressed and aren’t taking care of yourself the way that you should. However, when you wake up in the back of an ambulance and the...
Why is half your face drooping? One morning while eating breakfast, you notice that half of your face feels different from the other side. By lunch time, you notice that the affected side is drooping and you’re having trouble closing your eyelid on that side. Are you...
What’s wrong with your baby’s back? You’re pregnant and in your second trimester, so you’re going for an ultrasound to make sure that your baby is developing appropriately. After the ultrasound, your doctor informs you that it looks like your baby has spina bifida....
What’s on your baby’s head? One day, after feeding your baby, you’re holding her and watching her sleep. You notice that there are some white, crusty areas on her head. You gently touch the areas, but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by them. What are these? What is...
Why is there a hole in your child’s heart? Some people are born with a hole in their heart. While in some cases, this is as serious as it sounds, in others, it isn’t. Some individuals don’t even know that they have an issue until they’re an adult. How do you know...
What is it? If you’re a new parent, you’ve probably have heard stories about infants who have died suddenly and for no apparent reason. Obviously, this is very concerning and may have you wondering what you can do to prevent this from happening to your child....
Why is your child having trouble breathing? You wake up one morning and find that your infant daughter is congested. At first, you don’t think too much about it because your 3-year-old son has had a cold the past few days. A day goes by and you notice that it seems...
How do you know if you have it? You’ve survived a tragic event and, initially, it has a significant impact on how you function every day, but, gradually, it gets easier. However, one day, out of the blue, you feel like you’re experiencing the situation all over...
Why must you do repetitive tasks? You’ve probably heard someone referring to another individual as have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) if that individual is particular about certain things, like being neat or clean. For the majority of people, even though they...
Why can’t you stop eating? We’ll all have our favorite foods that we enjoy. While it’s alright to partake in the occasional overindulgence, if you’re doing this on a regular basis, it can signify a problem. If you’re consuming large quantities of food and feel...
Why are you afraid of being alone? Despite your intense fear about being alone, you often get angry and have outbursts that cause others to leave. This results in you having many unstable relationships. If this sounds like your life, you might have borderline...
Why are you so nervous? At some point in your life, you’ve probably been nervous about something, like giving a speech or asking someone out on a date. This is a normal part of life. What happens though when your anxiety and fear over something lead you to avoid...
What causes it? Your blood vessels play a vital role in your body functioning correctly. So, when something happens to them and they don’t perform as well as they should, it can result in significant issues for your organs. Depending on the location of the issue,...
Are you at risk? An infection can occur anywhere in your body. Most infections are minor and your body’s immune system is able to fight it off without a problem. Some infections can be very serious because of the part of the body they impact. One of these areas is...
Why is your heart racing? You’re sitting in your favorite chair one lazy afternoon when all of sudden it feels like your heart is beating funny. You also feel slightly lightheaded and short of breath. When you check your pulse, you notice that it’s very fast....
What is it? You might never have heard of the word bradycardia before, but based upon the ‘cardia’ part of the word, you might guess that it has something to do with your heart. This is correct, but what exactly does it mean? Is it a serious issue? Is it...
What is it? A few years ago, SARS was in the news every where. There was a significant amount of concern regarding people traveling and spreading the deadly disease. Where did it come from? Why did it spread so quickly? Is it still an issue? Definition Severe acute...
What is it? It seems like that every time you turn on the TV there is a commercial advertising for a class action lawsuit for those who are suffering from mesothelioma or their families. Many people don’t know what mesothelioma is, let alone why there would be...
What's wrong with your lungs? For the past several years, you’ve noticed that you get short of breath when you do certain activities. No big deal, you just stopped doing them. Now, it seems like you’re short of breath all the time. What’s happening? Can it be...
What causes it to occur? Not too long ago in the news, they were talking about a respiratory condition that was referred to as ARDS. ARDS stands for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and is a serious illness. Who is most at risk for developing it? Can it be...