Understanding Outpatient Surgery
More than 60 percent of elective surgery procedures in the United States are now performed as outpatient surgeries.
Understanding Your Osteoarthritis Medication
Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, most often affects weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips. It also can affect the hands and spine.
Use Caution with Pain Relievers
Over-the-counter pain relievers are safe and effective when used as directed. It's when a person doesn't follow the label's advice that problems may occur.
Use Your Medications Wisely
Although most medications are safe when you take them the right way, some drugs can cause dizziness, loss of consciousness, bleeding, irregular heartbeats, and other side effects in some cases.
Using a Surgeon's Tools to Erase the Years
It's called plastic surgery, but there's no plastic involved. In this case, "plastic" refers to the ability of the surgeon to reshape the skin, the face, or other body parts. With advances in technique and an aging population, plastic surgery is more popular than ever.
Using Allergy Medications
Keep these guidelines in mind when looking for allergy relief.
Using Antibiotics Safely and Wisely
Antibiotics have been misused so much in recent years that doctors now face an alarming problem. Bacteria that once were easily controlled have become resistant to many antibiotics.
Vaccine Offers Hope for Children’s Earaches
Earaches are common during childhood, but a vaccine can ease the pain for thousands of kids.
What Every Parent Should Know About Vaccinations
Where can you as a parent turn to for the facts about vaccine safety? The first place to go is your child's doctor.
What Is a Personal Health Record?
A personal health record is a documentation of your medical history and care. Although health care providers routinely keep such medical records, you can create your own record, and records for other family members.
What Is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows and pinches the nerves, resulting in back and leg pain.
What the Inside of Your Nose Reveals
Doctors usually don't look inside your nose unless they have a specific reason. Usually, they are looking for an infection or allergy. Sometimes, they're looking for other sources of your breathing problem, such as a deviated septum, the term doctors use to describe a misalignment of the cartilage that runs down the center of your nose.
What Those Blood Pressure Numbers Mean
The two blood pressure numbers indicate how much pressure builds up in the arteries as the heart beats and between beats.
What to Do if Your Child Needs Surgery
If having surgery makes you nervous, imagine how it can seem for a child. By helping the youngster anticipate and face those fears, you can ease the trauma and smooth the way for a quicker, easier recovery.
What to Know About Herbs and Surgery
Experts recommend that all herbal supplements be stopped two to three weeks before surgery. That's because these herbs can have side effects that could make surgery more dangerous for you.
What to Know About Joint Replacement Surgery
Many factors are used to determine the need for joint replacement surgery. Some of the factors that you and your doctor will consider are the extent and nature of the damage to the joint in question.
What to Look for on OTC Drug Labels
Always read the label. All OTC medicine labels have detailed usage and warning information to help you choose and use the products.
What You Need to Know About Hearing Aids
If your doctor recommends a hearing aid, these suggestions can help you determine which kind will suit you best.
When and How to Stop Antidepressant Medication
Deciding when and how to stop taking several popular antidepressants is something you should always discuss with your health care provider.
When to Call Your Child's Health Care Provider
For parents of a newborn, first-time parents, or any anxious mom or dad, it may be hard to tell a true health threat that needs a doctor's attention from a frightening, yet simple, illness that doesn't require medical treatment. Most sniffles, sneezes, and stomachaches don't need medical attention. But how do you know when it's time to call the doctor?
When You’re Taking Heart Medications
These medications are life-giving and powerful. It's important to take them just as your doctor has prescribed.
Where to Get Medical Care
Many forms of emergency treatment take place outside the emergency room, and even many surgeries are performed in locations other than a hospital operating room.
Who's Who in Health Care
This list of health care professionals, which excludes doctors, can help you understand the wide array of people called upon to render care.
Why Doctors Remove Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens, a clear, soft structure behind the pupil that works much like a camera lens. The top cause of cataracts is aging. In fact, more people over 70 have cataracts than not.
Why the Doctor Asks for a Urine Sample
Few tests can match the routine urine analysis for telling your doctor what's going on inside your body.