Health Decision Guides

Dry skin is a nuisance. It can be a pain (literally). When dry skin cracks, it can give bacteria and other microbes entry to the body.

Dry skin can be a tip-off to some seemingly unrelated health problems. But most often dry skin is not a sign of a separate skin condition or other medical problem. Instead, it can come from taking long, hot showers, using harsh soaps, exposure to dry air, and other things that pull moisture from the skin.

This guide will help you discover what might be causing your dry skin.

Let's start by making sure you have only dry skin and not another skin condition as well.

Which of the following descriptions applies to your skin?

My skin is only dry and/or flaky.

My skin is dry and itchy?

My skin is dry, itchy and red?

My skin is dry and red, but not itchy?

None of the above describe my skin.

Although the appearance of your skin could still be just related to it being dry, you should make an appointment with your doctor or a skin specialist.

Meanwhile, please continue with our guide to learn about other factors that might be contributing to your dry skin.

Click here to continue.

Sorry to hear you have hand pain.

The goal of this guide is to provide information while awaiting evaluation with your doctor, or for additional information after you have seen him or her. Please keep in mind that this guide is not intended to replace a face-to-face evaluation with your doctor.

Hand pain may develop for a number of reasons -- fracture and infection are among the most serious while sprains and strains are among the most common. There are rare causes of symptoms that will not be included here and would require more detailed evaluation than this guide can provide.

Certain symptoms suggest a serious cause of hand pain that requires prompt attention. It's important to ask questions about these symptoms first.

Did your pain start following significant injury, such as a fall or an auto accident?

Yes, my pain began after a significant injury.

No, my pain did not begin after a significant injury

Good. That makes a fracture or serious ligament injury much less likely. Next are some questions that could help determine whether an infection or joint inflammation might be present.

Can you see swelling and/or redness in either (or both) of your hands?

Yes, I do have swelling and/or redness in my hand(s).

No, I do not have swelling or redness in my hand(s).

Welcome to the Decision Guide for Jaundice.

Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin and the whites of your eyes that results from accumulation of an intensely yellow natural substance, bilirubin. Bilirubin is contained inside red blood cells, and it is cleared out of the body in the digestive substance "bile," which drains from the liver and gallbladder. People who get jaundice usually also have dark yellow or brown urine from extra bilirubin.

If you have jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), this guide can help you to understand some of the most common causes that might explain your symptoms.

Jaundice needs to be evaluated by a doctor in every case, because it usually indicates a serious medical problem. You should contact your doctor so that you can arrange an urgent evaluation. If your healthcare provider is not able to see you today, he or she may recommend that you visit an emergency department for an immediate evaluation. This guide is intended only as an introduction to the topic of jaundice. It is not a substitute for a doctor's evaluation.

You will encounter a small number of survey questions about your medical history as you proceed through this program. Your answers to these questions will help us to personalize our information for you.

Click here to continue.

Your recent activity and possible exposure to infections could be an important clue to the cause of your jaundice.

Have you traveled out of the country in the last several weeks?

Yes, I have recently traveled.

No, I have not traveled out of the country.

Welcome.

The two main reasons for blacking out are insufficient blood flow to the brain and abnormal electrical activity within the brain (a seizure).

While both of these sound scary, in reality most episodes of blacking out are not related to life threatening health problems.

This guide is designed to provide insight into why you passed out. It is not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for evaluation by a health professional.

The questions are ones your doctor is likely to ask you. Your answers provide a path to better understanding of the common reasons for losing consciousness.

Let's begin.

Certain situations demand emergency medical care.

Do any of the following apply to you?

- Chest pain or shortness of breath before or after you passed out

- Bloody or black stools

- Severe headache

- Recent blow to the head

- A heart condition

Yes, one of those applies to me.

No, none of those apply to me.

Welcome to our guide, New and Severe Abdominal Pain in a Woman.

New and severe abdominal pain always needs to be closely evaluated by a doctor. It is frequently a sign of serious illness. This guide was not designed to substitute for office-based care.

If you are having new and severe abdominal pain, this pain may be frightening to you because of its mystery -- the abdomen contains many important organs that could be the source of your pain. It may seem like a daunting task for a doctor to diagnose the source of your symptom; in fact, there are more than a hundred medical conditions that commonly result in abdominal pain.

Despite the long list of possible causes for abdominal pain, your doctor will be likely be able to narrow down the possibilities to a short list after initial evaluation. Your experience may be less frightening to you if you understand the way that doctors begin to make sense of your symptom, and the reasons for ordering certain tests.

The purpose of this guide is to help you to understand a common way that doctors think through abdominal pain. This guide may also enable you to provide a more helpful medical history during your doctor's evaluation.

This guide was intended for people with new abdominal pain -- pain that has been present for less than two weeks. If your pain has been present for longer or is recurring from previous episodes, please visit our Guide for Recurring Abdominal Pain.

Let's get started.

Now let's identify where you feel the pain most strongly.

The middle third refers to an up-and-down stripe from the bottom center of your ribs, down through your navel (belly button) and ending above your pelvic bone.

The sides of the abdomen refer to the outer one-third on each side of the middle third.

When your body was first forming as an embryo, a part of your development included the "migration" or rearrangement of several of your body organs. The nerves that connected to your organs did not re-wire as the organs rearranged. For this reason, some organs cause pain in a location different from where they are now located.

A specific location of pain in your abdomen is a very valuable clue, but it does not always lay blame on the organs that are located in its vicinity.

Please select the location where your pain is felt most strongly:

In the middle third of my abdomen

On one side or the other

All over my abdomen

Welcome to our guide, New and Severe Abdominal Pain in a Man.

New and severe abdominal pain always needs to be closely evaluated by a doctor. It is frequently a sign of serious illness. This guide was not designed to substitute for office-based care.

If you are having new and severe abdominal pain, this pain may be frightening to you because of its mystery -- the abdomen contains many important organs that could be the source of your pain. It may seem like a daunting task for a doctor to diagnose the source of your symptom; in fact, there are more than a hundred medical conditions that commonly result in abdominal pain.

Despite the long list of possible causes for abdominal pain, your doctor will be likely be able to narrow down the possibilities to a short list after initial evaluation. Your experience may be less frightening to you if you understand the way that doctors begin to make sense of your symptom, and the reasons for ordering certain tests.

The purpose of this guide is to help you to understand a common way that doctors think through abdominal pain. This guide may also enable you to provide a more helpful medical history during your doctor's evaluation.

This guide was intended for people with new abdominal pain -- pain that has been present for less than two weeks. If your pain has been present for longer or is recurring from previous episodes, please visit our Guide for Recurring Abdominal Pain.

Click here to begin.

In this guide, we will start by identifying where you feel the pain most strongly. The middle third refers to an up-and-down stripe from the bottom center of your ribs, down through your navel (belly button) and ending above your pelvic bone. The sides of the abdomen refer to the outer one-third on each side of the middle third.

When your body was first forming as an embryo, a part of your development included the "migration" or rearrangement of several of your body organs. The nerves that connected to your organs did not re-wire as the organs rearranged. For this reason, some organs cause pain in a location different from where they are now located.

A specific location of pain in your abdomen is a very valuable clue, but it does not always lay blame on the organs that are located in its vicinity.

Please select the location where your pain is felt most strongly:

In the middle third of my abdomen

On one side or the other

All over my abdomen