Vaccines and immunizations Archive

News coverage of a case of leprosy in central Florida may have made it seem like there is an increased threat the disease would spread. Misconceptions about this disease have persisted for a long time, but the facts are reassuring.

Validation is a valuable communication technique that can help people feel heard and understood. When used correctly it helps us understand  another person's feelings and establishes trust, particularly in situations with heightened emotions.

While the FDA rules for blood donation were revised twice in the last decade, one group — men who have sex with men — continued to be turned away from donating. Now new, evidence-based FDA rules will focus on individual risk rather than groupwide restrictions.

Involuntary tics are very common, with as many as one in five children experiencing them at some point. They may be temporary or long-lasting. Tic disorders like Tourette syndrome usually are diagnosed during childhood, though sometimes this happens later.

Tens of millions of people who've had COVID-19 suffer with persisting symptoms. The condition is called long COVID. Symptoms, such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and disrupted sleep, can seriously impair the ability to function at work and at home. Vaccines and antiviral drugs appear to offer some protection against getting long COVID. But more information is needed. The National Institutes of Health has committed over $1 billion to discover how to better diagnose, effectively treat, and ultimately prevent long COVID.

Biting bugs are a nuisance and sometimes can spread  illnesses like Lyme disease, Zika, or West Nile virus. To prevent bug bites, take simple precautions and learn how to choose and safely use insect repellents.

It's extremely rare for a child or teen to die suddenly because of a heart problem, but several conditions can increase the risk of sudden death. A policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics outlines four questions about personal and family health history that can help identify children who may be at risk.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are different, though they can have similar symptoms. IBS symptoms seem to arise from hypersensitive nerves and abnormal muscle contractions in the digestive tract, while IBD results from a problem with the immune system causing inflammation.

For neurodiverse children and their families, the landscape of friendships and social spaces can feel unwelcoming. Being more inclusive is a positive step, yet it takes more to create communities where everyone feels they belong.

A rapid heart rate—tachycardia—is a key feature of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a mysterious condition that involves the nervous system and can cause a constellation of symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, and brain fog, as well as pain in the chest, extremities, or elsewhere in the body. At least half of all cases of POTS are thought to be triggered by an infection (such as mononucleosis), which then spurs inflammation or an autoimmune response. Treatment includes drinking lots of water, eating lots of salt, and graded exercise training.