Stroke Archive

Toenail fungus, ingrown toenails, and brittle or cracked fingernails are common nail problems that affect older adults. They can make hands and feet unsightly and sometimes even painful. Treating these problems and preventing them from returning often takes a trial-and-error approach, diligence, and patience. Strategies include a combination of home remedies, over-the-counter medication, and good hygiene and grooming habits.

A 2025 study suggests that sleeping nine or more hours nightly is associated with worse cognitive performance, an effect that's stronger among people with symptoms of depression.

A 2025 study suggests that women who score highly on a brain health measurement incorporating physical, lifestyle, social, and emotional factors face lower stroke odds.

Someone with a new diagnosis of diabetes might feel overwhelmed by the many strategies required to help control the disease. It helps to add several experts to the care team. Soon after a diagnosis, it's a good idea to schedule appointments with a dietitian, an eye doctor, an endocrinologist, and a certified diabetes educator. It's also helpful to add other experts as needed to the team, such as a physical therapist, a podiatrist, a social worker or an aging life care manager, and a certified health coach.

Tennis leg refers to a strained calf muscle, usually the gastrocnemius. A person can injure the muscle during activity when planting the foot down hard or suddenly changing direction. This might happen during sports, such as tennis, or even while walking or jogging. Mature athletes, who are prone to injury, are vulnerable to the injury. Treatment can involve resting, elevating, and icing the calf muscle; wearing a compression sock; taking painkillers; getting physical therapy; and having surgery.

The flu virus triggers bodywide aches and pain by causing inflammation. People can ease flu aches by staying hydrated; taking warm showers; and using over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve).

Semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist used to treat diabetes and obesity, may also help people with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a severe stage of fatty liver disease, suggests a 2025 study.

Increasing potassium levels while lowering sodium may be more effective in lowering high blood pressure than reducing dietary salt alone, particularly for men, according to a 2025 study.

The digestion process slows as one ages, causing digested food to take its time moving along the gastrointestinal tract from the stomach through the intestines. The longer food stays in the digestive tract, the more opportunity there is for gas to be produced and build up, resulting in bloating. Recurrent bloating also can be caused by people's reactions to certain foods, especially those that contain sugars called FODMAPs. Adjusting one's diet to avoid trigger foods and taking over-the-counter remedies can help prevent and manage problem bloating.