The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new guidance on managing type 2 diabetes — including relaxing the long-term blood sugar target called hemoglobin A1C. The A1C is a blood test that gives doctors an estimate of your blood sugar level average over the past few months. For most adults, the American Diabetes Association… read on >
Warts are caused by a virus and can appear anywhere on your skin. When warts develop on your feet, they are called plantar warts. Walking barefoot raises your risk of developing plantar warts, which generally arm harmless but may spread and cause pain. The virus spreads readily in warm and moist environments, such as in… read on >
Even when you are asleep, your brain continues to hear and process sound, the National Sleep Foundation says. Noise can wake you, shift you between different stages of sleep and even cause a change in your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s more likely that noise will affect sleep during sleep’s earlier stages. And it… read on >
Heart disease used to be thought of as a man’s issue, but women are unfortunately catching up. And though it’s still also thought of as an older person’s disease, lifestyle factors in your younger years can make you more susceptible. So it’s never too soon to protect heart health. Young women in particular aren’t always… read on >
Seeing too many social media posts from friends about their fitness activity can harm your body image, a new study contends. “When people received more posts about exercise, it made them more concerned about their weight — more self-conscious — and that’s not a good thing,” said study co-author Stephen Rains. He’s a professor of… read on >
A growing number of U.S. kids are ending up in the intensive care unit after overdosing on prescription painkillers or other opioids, a new study finds. Researchers found that between 2004 and 2015, the number of children and teens admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit for an opioid overdose nearly doubled. That included teenagers… read on >
Teenagers who use e-cigarettes expose themselves to cancer-causing toxins, particularly if they choose fruit-flavored products, a new study reports. Urine tests revealed elevated levels of five different toxins in the bodies of teens who use e-cigarettes (often called vaping). And all of the toxins are known or suspected carcinogens, said lead researcher Dr. Mark Rubenstein,… read on >
Your teeth are incredibly strong, and with the proper care and regular dental visits, you can keep them that way. The American Dental Association offers these “tooth truths”: Tooth enamel, which is 96 percent mineral, is the hardest substance in the body. Your teeth can exert an average of 200 pounds of pressure when you… read on >
Temporarily boosting the dose of inhaled steroids may not do much to reduce the frequency of severe asthma flare-ups in children, according to two new studies. Short-term increases in inhaled steroids might even be tied to slightly slowed growth in kids, one of the studies suggested. Asthma flare-ups in children are common and many doctors… read on >
If watching the Winter Olympics made you want to try some new sports, go slow and ease into them, sports medicine experts caution. “The biggest issue we see are people who push too hard when trying something for the first time, and it gets out of control,” said Dr. Jayson Loeffert, a sports medicine doctor… read on >
