You notice them in the mirror — a scatter of tiny red dots on your arm, chest, or face. Most small red spots on the skin are harmless. They come from tiny blood vessels near the surface, from the skin’s normal response to sun and aging, or from common inflammatory conditions like acne and eczema. … Read more
The circulatory system is your body’s delivery and pickup service. A pump (the heart) pushes blood through a closed network of tubes (blood vessels), and that blood carries oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste products to and from every tissue in your body. It is one of the first systems to form in a developing embryo … Read more
Contemplative practices are structured ways of directing attention inward — toward the breath, a word, an image, or the present moment — usually with the aim of steadying the mind or examining experience more closely. They work by engaging and training specific mental processes, especially attention regulation and emotional self-awareness. Meditation, prayer, journaling, and certain … Read more
Learning to love yourself is not a switch you flip or a feeling that arrives one morning. It is a set of skills you build over time, and research on self-compassion suggests those skills can be learned. The core of it is treating yourself with the same honesty and basic kindness you would offer a … Read more
Mental health stigma is a set of negative beliefs and attitudes that lead people to reject, fear, or devalue someone because of a mental health condition. It shows up in two main forms: public stigma, which is how others treat a person, and self-stigma, which is how a person turns those attitudes inward. The effects … Read more
The job of inspecting almost everything you eat belongs to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Meat, poultry, and processed egg products are the big exceptions, and those fall to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That split is the single most useful fact to know about how food safety works in America, and it explains … Read more
Sexually transmitted infections are caused by more than 30 different organisms that pass from one person to another mainly through sexual contact. Those organisms fall into three broad groups: bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Each group behaves differently inside the body, which is why some STIs are cured with a short course of antibiotics while others … Read more
Plan B One-Step and its generic versions are available at no cost to many people enrolled in Medicaid. The catch is how you get it. Medicaid covers emergency contraception in most states, but the rules depend on your state, your plan, and whether you buy it at a pharmacy counter or off the shelf. Walking … Read more
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head. It is diagnosed only after death, by examining brain tissue under a microscope. There is no test that can confirm it in a living person, and no treatment that can stop or reverse it. That single fact explains most of the … Read more
Most household liquids can go down the drain or into the trash, but the right method depends entirely on what the liquid is. Cooking oil, paint, medication, cleaning products, and automotive fluids each follow different rules. Getting it wrong can clog pipes, harm waterways, or create a hazard for sanitation workers. The short answer: water-based … Read more