According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 21 percent of HIV-positive people across the country have also tested positive for a past or current hepatitis C (HCV) infection, although the danger varies greatly depending on your personal risk factors. If you have both conditions, that alone places you at increased risk for liver damage compared with those who have hepatitis C only. “Coinfection with hepatitis C and HIV usually represents an intersection of risk factors for each virus,” says Kenneth E....

If you’ve been living with severe eczema, you know that, when it flares, you develop “red, flaky patches that can occur throughout the body,” notes Marisa Garshick, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical Center and a dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York City. “Severe eczema tends to be when the patches are thicker or more widespread or involve certain areas that can make it disruptive to quality of life....

Why are all those fluids so critical? Well, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) they play a role in regulating body temperature, mood, and cognition. And, according to the Sleep Foundation, being well-hydrated may lead to better sleep. But hydration can be surprisingly tricky. Most of us don’t think to drink until we feel thirsty — and by then, we may already be dehydrated. And the effects of dehydration go beyond thirst....

Some past research found that people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who were taking thiopurines — immunosuppressive medications such as azathioprine or mercaptopurine — were at an increased risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC) and melanoma, which is less common and more life-threatening. But a systematic review published May 2020 in the journal JAMA Dermatology found no significant link between immunotherapy treatment and an increased risk for skin cancer in patients with inflammatory conditions such as IBD, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis....

Migraine, particularly migraine with aura, can cause transient global amnesia, a sudden and brief loss of memory. For many people with migraine, particularly children and younger adults, research suggests that brain fog and temporary memory loss can occur before, during, or after a migraine attack and even in between attacks, the American Migraine Foundation (AMF) notes. In addition, a rare form of migraine, hemiplegic migraine, may cause more lasting brain function problems, including long-term memory loss, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)....

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) published two sets of guidelines in the journal Gastroenterology: one for IBS-C, where patients experience constipation; and one for IBS-D, which involves diarrhea. These guidelines detail for the first time what interventions patients should try, as well as the best times to consider newer drugs as opposed to older medications, according to a statement from the AGA. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects up to 35 million Americans, is a chronic gastrointestinal condition that impairs proper functioning of the small and large intestines, often causing cramps, diarrhea, constipation, and irregular bowel movements....

The intravenous drug, teplizumab-mzwv (Tzield), is for adults and children 8 years and older who are at high risk for type 1 diabetes but haven’t yet been diagnosed with the condition and have not yet become reliant on insulin shots. Tzield is in a new family of medicines that slow the immune system’s attack on insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, which is the underlying cause of type 1 diabetes. “Today’s approval of a first-in-class therapy adds an important new treatment option for certain at-risk patients,” said John Sharretts, MD, the director of the Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a statement....

Rykindo is administered via intramuscular injection once every two weeks, delivering risperidone via long-acting and extended-release “microsphere” technology. These microspheres release medication at a gradual, steady rate. The injection needs to be administered by a healthcare professional. Risperidone Has Long Been Used to Treat Schizophrenia and Bipolar I Risperidone was first approved by the FDA in 1993 to treat symptoms of schizophrenia, according to StatPearls. A long-acting injectable form of risperidone was first approved by the FDA in 2003 and sold under the brand name Consta....

State and county authorities are advising medical practitioners and healthcare providers to be on the lookout for additional cases. Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a potentially crippling and even deadly infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person, invading the brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in 200 cases leads to irreversible paralysis. The polio vaccine, however, is highly effective at stopping polio, and the shot continues to be included in the CDC’s standard child immunization schedule....

It’s not known if men with a BARD1 alteration have an increased risk of cancer, and it is possible that this mutation raises the risk of other cancers in both men and women. Although BARD1 and BRCA1 collaborate with one another, they are separate genes. People with BARD1 defects typically don’t have BRCA1 mutations. (2) You might consider testing if your family members have gene abnormalities, you develop BARD1-related cancer, or you have other risk factors....

Dealing with hearing loss can be frustrating and leave you feeling isolated from family and friends. It can affect your ability to function in the workplace or at school. And some research suggests it raises a person’s risk of dementia. Fortunately, there are solutions to help you start hearing better. “Some people with hearing loss require higher levels of sophistication to overcome certain aspects of the nature of their hearing loss and to most effectively improve overall communication,” says Beth Humphrey, a doctor of audiology in the department of audiology and speech pathology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Knoxville....

— Lynn, Florida It could be a condition called angioedema. Some types of angioedema are allergic and others are not. Angioedema shows up as dramatic swelling that happens unpredictably, commonly affecting the face, ears, hands or feet, or genitals. It usually doesn’t hurt, although the skin can feel tight, and it lasts several days and then goes away, leaving no marks behind on the skin. It can begin at any point in life....

Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent is the only licensed high-dose inactivated flu vaccine. It contains 4 times the antigen (the part of the vaccine that helps the immune system build up protection against flu viruses) compared with standard-dose inactivated flu vaccines. As reasons for the preference, the healthcare providers cited superior efficacy compared with a standard-dose flu shot and total years of real-world data, according to the survey findings, which were released on June 22....

He tried a few ways, but she wasn’t understanding. Finally, thinking of the words and concepts his daughter did know, he tried something else. “All gone?” he said. His daughter repeated it: “All gone?” She walked over to one of her baby books, and opened to a picture of a child turning a cereal bowl upside down. “All gone,” she repeated. And with that, Schonfeld says, she seemed to understand....

Sometimes I see gems I may have missed. Often, I see memories of wonderful experiences with dear ones. And, if I look hard enough, I usually find lessons that I’d forgotten I’d learned. I’m a couple of months past the 21st anniversary of my diagnosis with multiple sclerosis (MS) and a couple of weeks away from a mid-decade birthday. It seemed like a good time for one of those annual(ish) pauses....

Several things can help reduce the severity and length of symptoms. Rest Is Essential Immediately Following a Concussion The most important step in concussion recovery is getting plenty of rest, which is necessary to help the brain heal. People with a concussion should get plenty of sleep at night and rest during the day. If you live alone, ask someone to stay with you for the first 48 hours so they can look out for problems, including changes in your behavior or difficulties concentrating or understanding....

There was a time not long ago when experts relied heavily on patient interviews to identify any food or foods contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which is the species of listeria that causes illness in people. Health officials would ask patients with listeria infections what they’d eaten, and these food logs would be compared to identify potential culprits. (1) RELATED: The Signs and Symptoms That May Mean You Have a Listeria Infection Health officials also use a form of analysis called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to identify related strains of listeria....

A review published in September 2017 in the journal Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland) found that family support could play an important role in improving diabetes management and treatment. It had a positive impact on overall health and symptoms in people with type 2 diabetes and was associated with the following: A healthy dietImproved psychological well-beingBetter blood sugar controlImproved self-management behaviors, such as taking medication as directed “Clearly, family members and friends play a crucial role in helping people with diabetes succeed and live a healthy and happy life,” says Omar El Kawkgi, MD, an endocrinologist with Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin....

I often talk about the central nervous system — which can be so savagely attacked by MS — as our bodies’ electrical system. We all know that our computers need to stay cool; so, too, do our brains. Heat is notorious for bringing on pseudoexacerbations, or short-term worsening of MS symptoms. In a pseudoexacerbation — unlike an MS relapse — no new damage is being done in the central nervous system....

There is no playbook for maintaining emotional health during a global pandemic, and people are struggling. In fact, the Disaster Distress Helpline, a federal crisis hotline run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), reported a 338 percent increase in call volume from February to March. This represents an 891 percent increase compared with March of last year. An article published April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine cautions that although the literature on the mental health consequences of epidemics is sparse, large-scale disasters are often associated with increases in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder, a broad range of mental health disorders (including anxiety and depression), domestic violence, and child abuse....