New guidelines for aches, pains, and strains
We’ve all been there before. A minor injury leads to a sore ankle, achy shoulder, or sore neck. You could do nothing, try to ignore it, and see if it gets better. Or you may be tempted to take something, especially if significant discomfort prevents you from doing your usual activities or keeps you up at night.
So, what’s the best initial treatment? For minor injuries, your options are many, including:
Home remedies. Common approaches are the “RICE” treatments — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation: applying cold to the sore area, wearing an elastic wrap to compress the sore area, rest, and elevation (such as p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
The Itchy, Bumpy Blues: How to Treat and Prevent Mosquito Bites and Related Conditions
Mosquito bites may be a nuisance, but fortunately, in the U.S., they tend to amount to nothing more than that. Upon being bitten, most Americans experience a bit of swelling and itchiness, and nothing more. However, there are exceptions to this, including stronger allergic reactions to bites and cases of mosquito-borne illness.
Insect and arachnid bites, including ticks, account for approximately 2,000 cases of malaria and 30,000 cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. annually. In addition, millions of people worldwide die of malaria each year. It is helpful to protect yourself against insect bites, not only to avoid pesk...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - June 7, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog Environmental Health Insect Bites & Stings Insects & Animals Outdoor Safety Source Type: blogs
A new look at steroid injections for knee and hip osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a common and potentially debilitating condition. It’s a degenerative joint disease (often called the “wear-and-tear” type) in which the smooth lining of cartilage becomes thinned and uneven, exposing the bone beneath.
Although osteoarthritis is tightly linked with aging, we now know there is more to it than age alone: genetics, weight, physical activity, and a number of other factors can conspire to make it more likely that someone will develop osteoarthritis while someone else won’t. Osteoarthritis is the primary reason that more than a million joints (mostly hips and knees) are replaced each yea...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 23, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Osteoarthritis Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Living with Crohn ’s disease: Recognizing and managing flares
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory condition that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Together with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s is one of the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Crohn’s affects approximately 500,000 Americans and is a chronic, lifelong condition that typically alternates between periods of relatively stable or absent symptoms (remission) and periods of symptom flare-ups that can last for days, weeks, or even months.
The goal of treatment is to induce remission and then to maximize the chance that patients stay in remission. However, almost everyone with Crohn’s diseas...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 26, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Garber, MD Tags: Digestive Disorders Health Source Type: blogs
Stopping the vicious cycle of rebound headaches
Rebound headaches, also known as medication overuse headaches, are caused by the frequent or excessive use of pain-relieving and/or antimigraine drugs to treat headache attacks that are already in progress. (Note that these are not the same as oral prophylactic or preventive medicines, which should be taken daily.) In other words, the same medications that initially relieve headache pain can themselves trigger subsequent headaches if they are used too often. Medication overuse headaches can be disabling, forcing people with this condition to take sick leave and to be less productive at work and home.
To be diagnosed with m...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 7, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Sait Ashina, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Headache Health Source Type: blogs
I became a cyborg to manage my chronic pain | Popular Science
I don't remember what it feels like to live without pain. At 15, I began feeling aching, stabbing, and burning sensations in my lower back and down my legs. Swallowing a few Aleve didn't help —in fact, nothing did. If I sit or stand for any period of time, or lift something heavy or fall, I pay for it, sometimes for weeks or months. I've slept on the kitchen linoleum, because the carpet felt too soft to stand.For 17 years, I went to doctor after doctor, undergoing scans, physical therapy, and just about every"alternative" treatment that promised relief. Despite some amazing doctors and the expensive...
Source: Psychology of Pain - August 25, 2019 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
Opioids for acute pain: How much is too much?
In this study, the researchers looked at opioid prescriptions in 2016, and the numbers are shocking. In the US, 22% of prescriptions written by dentists were for opioids, compared with just 0.6% for British dentists, and US dentists prescribed about 35 opioids per 1,000 population, compared to just 0.5 opioid prescriptions per 1,000 population in England. Additionally, the opioid prescribed in England was a relatively weak codeine-like drug, whereas in the US the majority of prescriptions were for hydrocodone, a stronger opioid with greater abuse potential.
When does an opioid prescription make sense?
It is simply impossib...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 24, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Scott Weiner, MD Tags: Addiction Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Kidney stones: What are your treatment options?
If you’ve been diagnosed with kidney stones (urolithiasis), you may have several options for treatment. These include medical therapy, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL), and ureteroscopy.
A brief anatomy of the urinary tract
The urinary tract includes
kidneys (two organs that filter waste and extra water from the blood)
ureters (two tubes bringing urine from each kidney to the bladder)
bladder (organ that collects urine)
urethra (a single tube through which urine in the bladder passes out of the body).
The evaluation for kidney stones
If your symptoms suggest kidney sto...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 18, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kevin R. Loughlin, MD, MBA Tags: Kidney and urinary tract Men's Health Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Is tramadol a risky pain medication?
All medications come with a dose of risk. From minor side effects to life-threatening allergic reactions, every decision to take a medication should be made only after the expected benefits are weighed against the known risks. You aren’t on your own in this: your doctor, your pharmacist, and a trove of information are available for your review. Recently, I wrote about how newly approved drugs often accumulate new warnings about their safety, including a gout medication that garnered a new warning due to an increased risk of death. Now, according to a new study, the common prescription pain medication tramadol may earn a...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 14, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Addiction Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Headaches: What to know, when to worry
Everyone gets the occasional when-will-this-day-end headache. These headaches may even follow a certain pattern. (Mine usually strike like clockwork if I miss my morning cup of French press coffee.)
But when is a headache cause for concern?
“Most bouts of regular headaches are not serious and can be treated on their own,” says Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the division of headache in the department of neurology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “However, being aware of the features of the different types of headaches can help you determine if your headaches are something more serious that requires...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 11, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Headache Health Migraines Source Type: blogs
Over-the-counter cold and flu medicines can affect your heart
As the cold and flu season continues this year, it is important to be aware that many of the most commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) remedies for congestion, aches, pains, and low-grade fevers contain medicines that can have harmful effects on the cardiovascular system. Chief among these medications are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and decongestants.
NSAIDs and your heart
Certain NSAIDs are associated with a small increase in the relative risk for developing a heart attack, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, increased blood pressure, and blood clots. NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation by inhib...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 20, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Mark Benson, MD, PhD Tags: Cold and Flu Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Source Type: blogs
NSAIDs: How dangerous are they for your heart?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly referred to as NSAIDs, are one of the most common medications used to treat pain and inflammation. Ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, and other NSAIDs are effective across a variety of common conditions, from acute musculoskeletal pain to chronic arthritis. They work by blocking specific proteins, called COX enzymes. This results in the reduction of prostaglandins, which play a key role in pain and inflammation. There are two types of NSAIDs: nonselective NSAIDs and COX-2 selective NSAIDs (these are sometimes referred to as “coxibs”).
There has been a growing body of evide...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 7, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christian Ruff, MD, MPH Tags: Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Source Type: blogs
Podcast: A Bipolar and a Schizophrenic Discuss Psychiatric Medications
Psychiatric medication gets a bad rap when it isn’t deserved, while simultaneously being seen by some as the end-all treatment for people living with mental illness. Our hosts both need their prescribed medication to live well, and that makes people around them ask questions ― some of which are weirder than others.
Tune in to this episode to hear what they have to say.
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
“It took me so much pride to get over that I needed psychiatric medication.”
– Michelle Hammer
Highlights From ‘Meds’ Episode
[1:00] What happens when Gabe and Michelle don’t take their m...
Source: World of Psychology - January 7, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: A Bipolar, a Schizophrenic, and a Podcast Tags: A Bipolar, A Schizophrenic, and a Podcast Medications Schizophrenia Source Type: blogs
Live the Wheat Belly lifestyle, get off prescription medications
Take a look at the list of medications people have been able to stop by following the Wheat Belly lifestyle.
These represent medications prescribed by doctors to, in effect, “treat” the consequences of consuming wheat and grains. They prescribe drugs to treat inflammation, swelling, skin rashes, gastrointestinal irritation, high blood sugars, airway allergy, joint pain, high blood pressure, leg edema and other abnormal effects caused by wheat and grains.
The list includes anti-inflammatory and pain medication, acid reflux drugs, injectable and oral drugs for diabetes, numerous anti-hypertensive agents, asthma i...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - October 27, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: News & Updates autoimmune blood sugar bowel flora cholesterol Gliadin gluten-free grain-free grains Inflammation undoctored Weight Loss wheat belly Source Type: blogs
Conflict of interest in medicine
Recent news reports described an “ethical lapse” by a prominent New York City cancer specialist. In research published in prominent medical journals, he failed to disclose millions of dollars in payments he had received from drug and healthcare companies that were related to his research. Why is this such a big deal? Disclosing any potential conflict of interest is considered essential for the integrity of medical research. The thinking is that other researchers, doctors, patients, regulators, investors — everyone! — has a right to know if the researcher might be biased, and that measures have been taken to minimiz...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 1, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Source Type: blogs
