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Osteoporosis Archive

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Chronic gut inflammation: Coping with inflammatory bowel disease

Chronic inflammation in the gut may be due to inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. It’s unclear what causes IBD. Doctors suspect it’s a combination of factors, such as eating an unhealthy diet or using certain medications; altered gut bacteria; having a leaky gut; or genetics. The goal of IBD treatment is remission: suppressed symptoms, lower blood levels of inflammatory markers, and normal-looking bowel and tissue biopsies. Approaches to achieve remission and prevent flare-ups include medication, a healthy lifestyle, and possibly surgery.

Is your vision impaired? Tips to cope

Living with low or impaired vision comes with many challenges. Accessibility features on computer hardware and software, special devices, and adaptations to your home can help make daily life easier when living with a vision impairment.

What exactly is a hernia?

A hernia is an area of weakness in the abdominal wall muscles that allows contents of the abdomen to push through the wall and form a pouch. A small hernia may follow a "watch and wait" approach, while a larger and more painful one often requires surgery to repair.

Which disease starts first?

Among atherosclerosis, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, which are all related, cholesterol deposits start first.

Take on chronic pain where it lives

Chronic pain conditions are common in older adults. Managing pain at home can be as important as working with a doctor. There are numerous options for at-home pain management, including online workout programs, cognitive behavioral therapy programs, online support groups, and apps. Recognizing that you can take steps to decrease chronic pain is crucial to success.

Pick up the pace for better walking with peripheral artery disease

A small, randomized trial published online April 6, 2021, by JAMA found that people who took part in a high-intensity walking program for one year covered more ground in six minutes than people who’d taken part in a low-intensity walking program.

Man's best friend — and medicine's too?

Scientists are studying whether medical detection dogs can sniff out and identify disease in humans, such as cancer, infection, and Parkinson’s disease. Dogs might be useful because their noses have 60 times the number of scent receptors as human noses; that might make dogs able to detect scents given off by bacteria or diseased human cells. But it’s hard to get solid evidence about the accuracy of medical detection dogs. Scientists are also studying whether technology can replicate the same kind of detection.

Chronic inflammation and your joints

The immune system sometimes launches a chronic inflammatory response in certain joints. That leads to pain, stiffness, and joint damage known as inflammatory arthritis. It’s usually unknown what triggers the conditions. Types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and psoriatic arthritis. Treatments include medications, such as biologic or nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and lifestyle habits, such as exercising, avoiding processed foods, reducing stress, not smoking, and getting enough sleep. Wearing a splint or brace on affected joints and seeking physical therapy may also help ease pain.

Easing summer swelling

Lower leg and foot swelling is most often the result of an abnormal buildup of fluid, which doctors refer to as edema. Fluid tends to flow downhill, making it more likely to pool in the lower parts of the body. Excess fluid retention can be triggered by many things, including eating too much salt, heat, drinking alcohol, or standing for a long period of time. To reduce it, reduce dietary sodium, elevate the feet at the end of the day and wear support stockings.

Not yet ready for cataract surgery? Try these tips

Cataracts often affect vision as people get older. The surgery is quick and effective, but most cataracts progress slowly, so in the early stages you may want to make some adjustments to your home and daily behavior to make living with cataracts easier.

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