Articles that explain common symptoms: the possible causes, what you can reasonably do yourself, which tests help and when to see a doctor urgently. A symptom checker cannot examine you; if something feels seriously wrong, seek care.
Ulcerative colitis has no official four-stage system. Doctors classify it two ways: by how much of the colon is inflamed (ulcerative proctitis, proctosigmoiditis, left-sided…
Epilepsy is diagnosed mainly from a detailed account of what happened during and around the seizures, usually with input from someone who witnessed them.…
Crohn's disease is not directly inherited, but it does run in families. Up to 1 in 5 people with Crohn's has a relative with…
To get rid of bloating, start with the cause: swallowed air, gas from fermentable foods, constipation, hormonal shifts, or an underlying digestive condition. For…
Many people live for years, and often decades, after a COPD diagnosis. Survival depends less on the stage label than on whether smoking continues,…
People with fibromyalgia most often rank widespread, shifting pain, deep unrefreshing fatigue and "fibro fog" as the hardest symptoms to live with, followed by…
A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament, the tissue connecting bone to bone at a joint; a strain injures a muscle or the…
Ringing in the ears, tinnitus, is a sound the brain produces when hearing pathways are irritated or under-stimulated, most often from age-…
Nothing dissolves lung mucus, but you can move it. The methods with the strongest evidence are controlled coughing and huffing (a forced exhale with…
Hiatal (hiatus) hernia pain in women is most often felt behind the breastbone as burning or pressure, and in the upper middle abdomen just…
Pneumonia itself is not contagious, but many of the germs that cause it are. Viruses and bacteria such as those behind flu, colds and…
Green is generally considered the rarest common eye color, found in roughly 2% of people worldwide. Gray eyes may be rarer still, under…
Most doctors consider anywhere from three bowel movements a day to three per week normal, as long as stools pass comfortably and your pattern…
Genital warts themselves do not usually stay for life. Many clear on their own, and treatment can remove visible warts, though they often return…
Many people with Parkinson's can keep driving safely, especially in the early years, because a diagnosis alone does not determine ability behind the wheel.…
Yes, pancreatitis can be fatal, though most cases are not. Around 4 in 5 episodes of acute pancreatitis are mild and settle within about…
A sprain injures a ligament, the tough tissue that connects bones at a joint; a strain injures a muscle or the tendon that anchors…
How long someone lives with cirrhosis depends mainly on whether the liver is still compensated. In compensated cirrhosis, where the liver copes without major…
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