“While antihistamines won’t stop the eczema flare-ups from happening, they will help to relieve some of the itchiness, and itchiness is the No. 1 complaint I hear from my patients with eczema,” says Debra Wattenberg, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York City. Atopic eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is the most common type of eczema, according to the National Eczema Association, and is considered similar to an allergic condition....

In assessing a person for antisocial personality disorder, a mental health professional will do a full psychiatric examination. This means that the mental health professional will ask the person a series of questions about their symptoms and behavior. They will ask how severe the behaviors and symptoms are, how frequently they occur, and how long they have existed. They may also give the person questionnaires to fill out, to see whether the person meets the criteria for other mental, behavioral, personality, or developmental disorders, notes MedlinePlus....

In five years, I’ve watched my social circles get smaller as grieving made me shrink into a more fearful version of myself, always crouching somewhere safe within my psyche to avoid experiencing the pain of loss, especially sudden loss. Often people say that grieving is lonely. And it is. When you grieve, whether a person, place, thing, or a state of being, you are actively calling back the love and affection you poured into that person or thing, trying to understand how to extend that care to yourself again....

I had just completed four rounds of a combination chemotherapy drug called AC (adriamycin and cyclophosphamide), aptly nicknamed “the Red Devil.” That was followed by a regimen of a chemotherapy drug called Taxol, and a drug called Neulasta, which was supposed to prevent my white blood cell count from dropping too low. But nothing had gone right. The Red Devil was, indeed, red and evil. The color, coursing through the IV, was red like Kool-Aid, but without the fun songs from a walking pitcher....

An estimated 8,500 people in the United States will likely be diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2018, according to the National Cancer Institute. In 2015, some 209,000 people in the United States were living with Hodgkin lymphoma. (1) With modern therapy, 85 percent of all patients area curable. Hodgkin Lymphoma: Two Main Types of Disease Lymphoma is a cancer that originates in the lymph node system, a network of vessels that is part of the immune system....

Marie Cooper, a former nurse, learned she had MS when she was 50 and could no longer ignore the numbness creeping up her legs and arms. Since then, the New Jersey resident has been on the MS roller coaster. She says her friends have been key to her coping with the effect of MS on her life, her family, her work, and her health. “I have wonderful friends who are very supportive,” says Cooper, a widow....

A study published in November 2016 in BMC Neurology found that the majority of people with MS reported one or more problems with sexual function, with lack of sexual interest (42 percent of women), and difficulty with erection (40 percent of men) being the most common issues. The study also noted that sexual dysfunction was directly affected by depression and fatigue. A more recent meta-analysis of other studies, published in Systematic Reviews in January 2021, found that sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in men with MS (63 percent)....

“HIV treatment today often involves a single pill once a day,” says Paul Volberding, MD, a professor emeritus in the department of medicine at the University of California in San Francisco, in contrast to the side-effect-heavy, multi-pill regimens of the 1990s described in an article in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. “The expectation is that people with HIV will have few, if any, side effects from treatment.” Researchers are still working to understand the long-term side effects of HIV treatment, and to distinguish them from physical changes that may be caused by the virus itself....

If it’s an emergency or you feel that you’re in immediate danger, call a suicide prevention hotline. (The number for anywhere in the United States is 988.) If you feel that it’s not an emergency, talking with a trusted physician or getting mental health counseling from a trained therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist can be a lifesaving step that can help you feel good again, says Doreen Marshall, PhD, vice president of mission engagement at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)....

Mentally, I was blocking out any thoughts besides: I just want to feel better. I just want to feel normal again. What is normal? I don’t even know. I was 28 years old, engaged (and planning to elope in Switzerland in a few months), and had a 9-month-old waiting for me at home. I was also eager to have another baby very soon. I had been experiencing symptoms — daily rectal bleeding, weight loss, and loss of appetite for over nine months....

We’re joined by Dr. Don Goldenberg, chief of rheumatology at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts and professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He’s author of the book, “Fibromyalgia: A Leading Expert’s Guide to Understanding and Getting Relief from the Pain That Won’t Go Away.” Announcer: The opinions expressed on this webcast are solely the views of our guests. They are not necessarily the views of HealthTalk, our sponsors or any outside organization....

I hadn’t played it up (my birthday was on a Monday this year, and I’m also a bit long in the tooth for a birthday bender), but my body felt like I’d spent the day windsurfing, horse riding, trampolining, and boxing a much better opponent. What’s Normal at My Age? Most of the feelings subsided over the ensuing week or so, but others have lingered as they fade. It’s making me wonder if any of the bits that are hanging around are a result of multiple sclerosis (MS), or if they’re just part of normal aging....

Liver disease is also a problem for people living with an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease (CD). In a study of 168 patients published in April 2017 in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, about 13 percent had both NAFLD and either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. The researchers also found that patients who had both IBD and NAFLD had a significantly longer duration of IBD. It’s been previously reported that up to 20 percent of people with IBD also have liver disease, the study notes....

Is it multiple sclerosis (MS), or is it just aging? When I put the question to Claire Yang, MD, and then followed on with Michelle Toshima, PhD, I got an answer that I hadn’t heard nor really considered before. That answer: “It doesn’t really matter.” Sometimes, the Cause Is Less Important Than the Effect It doesn’t matter whether difficult symptom X or adverse experience Y is age- or disease-connected. Just like it doesn’t matter if you were hit by a blue car or a green car when it comes to the “getting hit” part....

Major sports leagues — from football to baseball to basketball — have all found ways to get back in the game by adopting policies to keep players and staff protected. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing. The National Football League (NFL) had zero positive test results from players the week ending September 19, according to Bleacher Report. But the Tennessee Titans have now closed their facilities until Saturday after three players and five team personnel members tested positive for the coronavirus, according to ESPN....

Many people think that being depressed simply means feeling really, really sad. But you don’t have to be teary to be depressed. All of the behaviors mentioned above — and a myriad of others that affect how you think, feel, behave, and express yourself — can be signs of depression. One of those symptoms needs to be persistent feelings of sadness or emptiness, or a loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy, such as work, hobbies, seeing friends — even food and sex....

The lack of clarity hasn’t stopped consumers from using probiotics. According to a survey by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 14 percent of people ages 55 and older use them. The new study, published in June 2019 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that only about one-third of the probiotics purchased were associated with clinical evidence that suggests they’re effective. It’s challenging for consumers to know which probiotic they should buy, says the senior investigator, Dan Merenstein, MD, a professor of family medicine and the director of research programs for the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC....

Age 47 Title and Company CEO of MedWand Solutions Samir Qamar, MD, grew up around the world. The son of a United Nations diplomat, he lived in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. “My dad worked for the agricultural division of the U.N. and was responsible for feeding people around the world,” says Dr. Qamar, who currently lives in Las Vegas. “He would help feed millions of people. Many people consider food a basic human necessity....

In some men, using the drug — which comes as a topical solution or foam — once or twice a day can put a stop to hair loss from male pattern baldness (also called androgenetic alopecia) once it has started. And if you’re lucky, minoxidil (Rogaine) can even stimulate new hair growth. The key is to use it early, as soon as you start losing your hair, and continuously to keep up the results....

These days, it’s more “often wonder” than “sometimes wonder,” as it seems to happen more and more frequently. Sometimes I remember the infraction, but often enough I do not. Today I am sporting a goose egg in the middle of my forehead — I ran into the fan bonnet above the hob on Saturday; a deepening bruise on my thigh, where I ran into the corner of the bed in the dark last night; and a bloodied toe that I can’t remember stubbing for the life of me....