Itching is a normal part of healing for most cuts, scrapes, and surgical wounds. It can also be an early warning sign of infection. The difference usually comes down to timing and what else is happening around the wound. A healing wound typically itches as new tissue forms and nerve endings regrow. An infected wound … Read more
Waking up with a mouth that feels like sandpaper is common, and it is usually fixable. Dry mouth at night happens when saliva flow drops while you sleep, often because of mouth breathing, certain medications, or a bedroom environment that dries out your airway. The most effective prevention combines simple habits, like breathing through your … Read more
A pregnancy is called high risk when the health of the mother, the baby, or both is more likely to be threatened than in a typical pregnancy. That label is not a diagnosis. It is a clinical judgment that extra monitoring or care may be needed. It can be assigned at the first prenatal visit, … Read more
Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining, and the things that make it worse fall into a few predictable groups: alcohol, cigarette smoke, NSAID pain relievers, large or greasy meals, and lying down soon after eating. Avoiding those triggers — and treating the underlying cause when there is one — is the core of managing … Read more
Ovulation is the release of a mature egg from one of the ovaries, usually once per menstrual cycle. It happens when a surge in a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) triggers the follicle holding the egg to rupture. The egg then travels into the fallopian tube, where it can be fertilized for roughly 12 to … Read more
“Popcorn lung” is a nickname for bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare condition in which the smallest airways in the lungs become inflamed and scarred. The scarring narrows those airways and can block airflow, and it does not reverse. The name stuck because a chemical used in some microwave popcorn flavorings was linked to cases in workers … Read more
Prebiotic foods are foods that contain specific types of fiber and other compounds your body cannot digest, but the beneficial bacteria in your gut can. Those bacteria ferment these compounds and use them as fuel. The result is a shift in the gut environment that supports the growth of helpful microbes over less helpful ones. … Read more
Yes, a cold is a virus. The common cold is a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by viruses — most often rhinoviruses. Antibiotics do not work against it because antibiotics target bacteria, not viruses. That single fact explains why colds are so common, why they spread so easily, and why treatment focuses … Read more
Galangal tastes sharper and more pine-like than ginger, with a citrusy edge and a peppery finish that ginger doesn’t have. Ginger is warmer and sweeter, with a rounder flavor that softens when cooked. Both are rhizomes — underground stems — and they look similar enough that people confuse them in the store. But they are … Read more
Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day, and every one of those beats pushes blood through a network of vessels that would stretch roughly 60,000 miles if laid end to end. The cardiovascular system is that heart, those vessels, and the blood inside them. Its job is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every … Read more