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Chronic venous insufficiency: What to know

Chronic venous insufficiency: What to know

Venous insufficiency occurs when the valves in a person’s veins do not work properly. This means that the veins are less able to transport blood back to the heart. Venous insufficiency is fairly common. According to the Society for Vascular Surgery, it affects up to 40 percent of people in the United States. It is […]

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LEEP procedure: What to expect

LEEP procedure: What to expect

LEEP stands for loop electrosurgical excision procedure. Doctors perform them to detect or treat cervical cancer. During a LEEP, an electrical current passes through a loop of wire. A doctor uses the wire to cut abnormal cells from the cervix. They send a sample of these cells to a laboratory to detect signs of cancer […]

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What causes patches of dry skin?

What causes patches of dry skin?

Dry skin patches can have many causes, including allergies, dermatitis, and psoriasis. Determining the cause of dry skin allows a person to find the right treatment. Dry skin is a common problem during the winter months, when the skin is exposed to colder temperatures and lower levels of moisture in the air. In these cases, […]

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HIV and a dry cough: What to know

HIV and a dry cough: What to know

HIV can cause a dry cough and other symptoms that affect the lungs and respiratory system. A dry cough may occur because HIV reduces the body’s ability to fight off infection and other diseases. However, respiratory problems can have many causes that are not necessarily linked to HIV. A person with persistent or severe respiratory […]

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Missed periods and ovarian cancer

Missed periods and ovarian cancer

A person may miss a period for a number of common reasons. Ovarian cancer is a rare cause of a missed period. Ovarian cancer affects the ovaries, which are female reproductive organs that sit on either side of the uterus, or womb. This type of cancer may develop from various cell types in the ovaries […]

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Red meat raises heart disease risk through gut bacteria

Red meat raises heart disease risk through gut bacteria

Scientists have uncovered further evidence of how a diet rich in red meat interacts with gut bacteria to raise the risk of heart disease. A diet rich in red meat may affect heart disease risk by triggering the production of certain metabolites in the gut. They found that people who ate red meat as their […]

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How your imagination can help you overcome your fears

How your imagination can help you overcome your fears

In your imagination, you can do anything. Riding a dragon? Piece of cake. Imagination is what fuels creativity and allows us to come up with innovative solutions. New research assessing brain scans shows that our imagination can also help us get rid of our anxieties and fears. Your imagination is a powerful tool that you […]

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How to identify and treat scaling skin: A picture guide

How to identify and treat scaling skin: A picture guide

Scaling skin is dry, cracked, or flaky skin. Also known as desquamation, scaling skin happens when the outer layer of the skin, called the epidermis, begins to flake off. Scaling skin may arise when an injury or a medical condition damages the outer layer of skin. Some conditions interfere with the structure and moisture content […]

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What to know about high blood pressure during pregnancy

What to know about high blood pressure during pregnancy

A woman can develop high blood pressure, or hypertension, at any point during pregnancy. High blood pressure is affecting more and more pregnant women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of pregnant women who developed high blood pressure in the United States almost doubled between 1993 and 2014. High […]

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Diabetes: Are you over-monitoring your blood sugar?

Diabetes: Are you over-monitoring your blood sugar?

Many people living with type 2 diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels on a daily basis, but does that really make a difference to health? A new study suggests that they may be over-monitoring. Many people with type 2 diabetes are testing their blood sugar levels too often, new research finds. According to a recent […]