Wellness Articles
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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Living & Wellbeing
Caregiver Support: A Guide to Self-Care for Caregivers
A mother helps her daughter through dialysis at night and goes to work without sleep.1 A wife cares for her husband as he spends 110 days recovering from treatment for acute myeloid leukemia in a hospital 250 miles from home.2 A son quits his job to support his mother after she suffers a series of strokes.3Each caregiver’s story is different, but their combined efforts serve as a lifeline to millions of people. Caregivers support children, parents, grandparents, family members, spouses...
Living & Wellbeing
How Climate Change is Affecting the Spread of Lyme Disease—and 5 Things You Need to Know About the Disease
As the weather gets warmer, many of us will be spending more time outside, indulging in our favorite summer activities—and exposing ourselves to the elements, including a booming tick population. The incidence of Lyme disease has more than doubled over the last 24 years1 because populations of disease-carrying Ixodes ticks, better known as black-legged or deer ticks, have increased and expanded their ranges.2You don’t need to cancel summer adventures, but understanding ticks, the impact of...
Living & Wellbeing
Severe COVID-19 and the Continuing Importance of Protecting High Risk Populations
The concept of "severe COVID-19" can be a frightening one, especially when the term itself is so often misunderstood or confused with having self-assessed severe symptoms of COVID-19.Approximately 80% of those who test positive for COVID-19 have mild to moderate illness.1 But adults 50 and older and people of any age with certain underlying health conditions are at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19. That adds up to two in five people worldwide who are at increased risk for severe COVID...
Living & Wellbeing
Adolescents with Alopecia Areata: What Caregivers Should Know
A lot of kids just want to fit in.1 But for too many, hair loss makes them stand out. For the one in 1,000 children and teens diagnosed with alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the hair follicles, hair loss can create practical challenges.2,3Youth with AA might feel too self-conscious for selfies, refuse to go out without a hat, or decline invitations to swimming parties or sports leagues for fear their wigs will fall off. In a 2017 study of 69...
Living & Wellbeing
How to Dispose of Unused Medicine Responsibly to Protect the Environment
Would it surprise you to learn that taking prescription medication is part of the daily routine for an estimated 60% of adults in the United States?1 Each prescription comes with extensive instructions about how to take the medication but offers little guidance on how to dispose of unused medicine. Responsible medication disposal is important. Improper disposal of unused or expired medications has the potential to result in pharmaceuticals getting into the environment.2 In fact, pharmaceuticals...
Living & Wellbeing
Five Ways Climate Change Impacts Our Health—and What We Can Do About It
It took a split second, recalls Louise Proud. Something in the air triggered an asthma attack in her 18-month-old daughter. The baby’s lips turned blue as Proud rushed her to the hospital in a panic. Thankfully, the healthcare team helped the child breathe normally, and she was back to herself quickly. But Proud’s sense of safety and stability didn’t snap back so readily. For her, it was a moment of realization about how the environment and health are intimately linked. Proud, who is Vice...
Living & Wellbeing
Heartburn, Acid Reflux, or GERD: What’s the Difference?
For many Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is as much an excuse to dig into snacks as it is to tune in for the game. Each year, we eat more than a billion chicken wings and 10 million pizzas.1,2 Then we wash it all down with more than 300 million gallons of beer. The resulting heartburn is often enough to raise antacid sales at 7-Eleven by 20% the day after the big game.1For about 60 million Americans, heartburn isn’t an aggravation isolated to one Sunday in February, but a condition they experience...
Living & Wellbeing
8 Common STDs: What You Need to Know
For many, isolation has been an inescapable part of life during COVID-19. However, new sexually transmitted disease (STD) data indicate that people are still managing to get together and contract more than just the coronavirus.In 2021, more than 2,000 babies were born with syphilis that they contracted from their mothers, according to preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data on STDs. That figure represents a 108% year-over-year increase.1While the data are still being...
Living & Wellbeing
Finding Breakthroughs in Sickle Cell Disease: Patients and Advocates Lead the Way
In most types of clinical research, a large number of patients participate in studies that explore an experimental treatment or approach. This decades-old process is how some of the most impactful, and even lifesaving therapies have come to be, from cancer drugs to COVID-19 vaccines.1 But what happens when scientists need to study a rare disease, one that doesn’t affect a high percentage of people? And what if those who are affected don’t participate because of social disparities...
Living & Wellbeing
A Ticklist for Staying Safe While Spending Time Outdoors
Whether you like camping, taking the dog out for a walk, or simply spending time enjoying nature, it’s always good to be aware of how you and your family can help protect yourselves when you’re outside. Depending on where you live and spend your time, mosquitoes can carry diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus, Zika, and yellow fever.1,2 Also high on the watchlist are ticks, which are second only to mosquitoes for spreading disease in humans if infected with bacteria, viruses, or parasites.3...
Living & Wellbeing
Are You at Risk for a Blood Clot?
NBC News war correspondent David Bloom was the image of health. In 2003, he was a 39-year-old avid tennis player. His work brought him to Iraq, where he was embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division, advancing toward Bagdad. Ultimately, it wasn’t the war, but a blood clot that killed Bloom, according to a TODAY.com account of his death.1One night, he went to sleep out under the stars on a tank fender. He called his wife, Melanie, and mentioned that he had leg cramps. The symptom appeared natural...
Living & Wellbeing
Eczema vs. Psoriasis: What’s Causing My Itchy Skin?
Getting patches of red and itchy skin that may come and go could have you wondering: Is it eczema or psoriasis, and what’s the difference? Eczema and psoriasis are two distinct skin diseases that may require different treatment plans.1Although they may be difficult to tell apart, a dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in skin conditions) can spot the differences between these two non-contagious and common skin conditions. That’s why it’s important to speak to your healthcare provider to get...
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