Functional dyspepsia: Causes, treatments, and new directions
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common condition, loosely defined by some physicians as a stomach ache without a clear cause. More specifically, it is characterized by the feeling of fullness during or after a meal, or a burning sensation in the mid-upper abdomen, just below the rib cage (not necessarily associated with meals). The symptoms can be severe enough to interfere with finishing meals or participating in regular daily activities.
Those with FD often go through multiple tests like upper endoscopy, CT scan, and gastric emptying study. But despite often-severe symptoms, no clear cause (such as cancer, ulcer disease, ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Vikram Rangan, MD Tags: Digestive Disorders Mind body medicine Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Making telemedicine more inclusive
As a primary care physician at an academic community health care system in Massachusetts, I received a rapid introduction to telehealth this year. Within days after Massachusetts declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19, almost all of our patient visits became telemedicine visits. Our staff reached out to patients to inform them of different ways they could get in touch with their doctor. Many would be able to gain access to health care through a health app connected to their healthcare web portal, or through a phone call or video call. The enormous potential of telehealth was apparent to me with...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Meera Sunder, MBBS, MRCOG Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Health care disparities Health trends Source Type: blogs
What should you do during a psychiatric medication shortage?
You have finally found a medication to treat your depression that your body tolerates well. It has taken your psychiatrist months to find the optimal dose (after two failed medication trials). The COVID-19 pandemic hit, but in spite of your new daily stressors, you seem to be doing relatively well. That is, until you hear that your antidepressant medication is now in short supply. What can you do?
Mental health treatment during COVID-19
With the increased stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, prescriptions for medications to treat mental illnesses have increased more than 20% between February and March 2020. Sertraline, or Zolo...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH Tags: Behavioral Health Mental Health Source Type: blogs
Protesting in the time of COVID-19
We’ve known for a long time that racism is a deeply ingrained public health issue resulting in real, tangible health disparities. For people of color, racism results in unequal access to quality education, healthy food, livable wages, affordable housing, and medical care. We also know very well that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting our communities of color. Studies show that Black, Latinx, and Native American patients are much more likely to get infected and die from COVID-19 than whites.
Research also shows that Black, Native American, and Latino men are far more likely than whites to be killed by police, the mu...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 1, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Source Type: blogs
Marijuana may be risky for your heart
Now that marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use in many states, growing numbers of Americans — including older people — are imbibing this popular drug. In fact, the percentage of people ages 65 and older who said they used some form of marijuana almost doubled between 2015 and 2018, a recent study reports.
Compared with prescription drugs, the health consequences of using marijuana are not nearly as well studied. But converging evidence suggests that the drug may be harmful for the heart, according to a review article in JACC: Journal of the American College of Cardiology. More than two million Americans wi...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 1, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Heart Health Marijuana Source Type: blogs
How to help your young child cope with the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful for all of us, and this includes our youngest children.
It’s easy, and tempting, to think that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers aren’t affected by the pandemic. The truth is, though, that that life has changed for them, too — and for some of them it has changed dramatically. Even if the change is mostly positive for them — such as having their parents home all the time — it’s still a change that can be confusing and unsettling. Young children are less able to understand the nuances of all of this; for them, the world truly is all about them. And they also have very ac...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Anxiety and Depression Behavioral Health Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Can controlling blood pressure later in life reduce risk of dementia?
This study was so successful at reducing the risk of mild cognitive impairment by lowering high blood pressure that it ended early, because the data and safety monitoring board felt that it was unethical to continue the control group. However, the dementia endpoint had not yet reached statistical significance — likely because of this early termination. Thus, while the study succeeded in one sense, it ultimately concluded that treating systolic blood pressure to below 120 mmHg (versus lower than 140 mmHg) did not reduce risk of dementia.
A new analysis of many studies
Because SPRINT-MIND and many other prior studies have ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Andrew E. Budson, MD Tags: Brain and cognitive health Healthy Aging Heart Health Hypertension and Stroke Source Type: blogs
Brain plasticity in drug addiction: Burden and benefit
The human brain is the most complex organ in our body, and is characterized by a unique ability called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to our brain’s ability to change and adapt in its structural and functional levels in response to experience. Neuroplasticity makes it possible for us to learn new languages, solve complex mathematical problems, acquire technical skills, and perform challenging athletic skills, which are all positive and advantageous for us. However, neuroplasticity is not beneficial if we develop non-advantageous learned behaviors. One example of non-advantageous learning is habitual drug misuse ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 26, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Maria Mavrikaki, PhD Tags: Addiction Mental Health Source Type: blogs
How risky is a hug right now?
“Can I get a hug?”
It’s a simple question for a simple act that’s been especially missed because of COVID-19 distancing. “Human beings need social contact,” says Dr. Eugene Beresin, executive director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “We are not hermits. We are not solo pilots. We are pack animals.” Not that it needs more promotion, but along with feeling connected, a hug has been shown to help fight off a cold and help your mood when dealing with conflict.
But even as restrictions have started to loosen, the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Steve Calechman Tags: Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Risks and Prevention Safety Source Type: blogs
Autoimmune lung disease: Early recognition and treatment helps
A man who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) five years ago sees his rheumatologist for a follow-up visit. Fortunately, his arthritis is well controlled through medication. He can walk and do all his daily activities without pain. But over the past six months, he’s been feeling short of breath when climbing stairs. He has an annoying dry cough, too. COVID-19? That’s ruled out quickly. But a CT scan of his chest reveals early fibrosis (scarring) of the lungs, most likely related to rheumatoid arthritis. “I can finally walk normally, and now I can’t breathe when I walk!” says the frustrated patient, whose...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Paul F. Dellaripa, MD Tags: Arthritis Autoimmune diseases Health Inflammation Lung disease Source Type: blogs
Daily decisions about risk: What to do when there ’s no right answer
Let’s face it: there’s still a deadly virus out there and it’s not going away anytime soon. And that means we all must make a lot of decisions that involve personal risk. And for many of these daily decisions, there’s no single right answer: no Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, World Health Organization recommendations, or expert advice exist. And as more places lift restrictions keeping people at home, more questions arise:
Is it safe to go to the grocery store? And, how often is okay?
How safe is it to fly on a commercial airline? Get a haircut? Go out to dinner?
Should I avoid a friend whose daughte...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Infectious diseases Prevention Source Type: blogs
4 parenting tips to break the negativity loop
“It’s a beautiful day outside,” you say, smiling. Your son replies, “It’s supposed to rain later.” You share, “That game was fun!” Your daughter adds, “I messed up one of my turns.”
If you find that your child tends to channel Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh and has difficulty seeing some of the bright moments in a day, below are some ways to help them interrupt a negativity loop. The first tip works well for all ages. Choose the other tools depending on whether your children are younger or older.
Start by validating emotions
Parents have a lot of wisdom to share with their children, and their advice often ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jacqueline Sperling, PhD Tags: Adolescent health Behavioral Health Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Probiotics — even inactive ones — may relieve IBS symptoms
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gut-brain disorder that can cause a variety of uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain and diarrhea, constipation, or a mix of the two. IBS can reduce quality of life, often results in missed school or work, and can have a substantial economic impact.
Physicians diagnose IBS by identifying symptoms laid out in the Rome Criteria, a set of diagnostic measures developed by a group of more than 100 international experts. Limited diagnostic testing is also done, to help exclude other conditions that could present with similar symptoms.
Although the precise cau...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 22, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Anthony Lembo, MD Tags: Digestive Disorders Health Probiotics Source Type: blogs
The plight of nursing home residents in a pandemic
For anyone living in a nursing home or other long-term or assisted-living facility, these are particularly difficult times. I’ve heard more than one resident complain bitterly about feeling trapped in their rooms, having meals left outside their door (rather than gathering in the dining room with friends), and not being allowed to participate in their routine activities or have visitors. “They’re treating me like a prisoner,” said one resident I know. Yes, for many, it’s feeling more like a prison than the place they knew as home before the pandemic.
And yet there are good reasons for all the restrictions. A rece...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 19, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Caregiving Healthy Aging Source Type: blogs
Olive oil or coconut oil: Which is worthy of kitchen-staple status?
Coconut oil has developed a cultlike following in recent years, with proponents touting benefits ranging from body fat reduction to heart disease prevention. Sadly for devotees, the evidence to support these assertions remains rather sparse.
But there is plenty of research to suggest that other plant-based oils have advantages over their animal-derived counterparts, particularly when it comes to heart health. So which is best? While no specific type should be hyped as a panacea, one variety isn’t getting the press it deserves: olive oil.
The case for olive oil continues to grow
Olive oil is a staple fat in the Mediterran...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Emily Gelsomin, MLA, RD, LDN Tags: Healthy Eating Source Type: blogs
