Bubonic Plague Symptoms

Any migraineur could tell you that there is no such thing as a "one size fits all" migraine. According to the American Migraine Foundation, one billion individuals worldwide suffer from the affliction, and I'd bet money that the triggers and symptoms vary wildly for each of those billion people. Personally, I've been getting chronic migraine headaches for over 40 years. They run in my family; my relatives pass down neurological conditions the way other families hand down fine china. One of the things I've noticed as I've aged is that my symptoms have evolved over time. As a child, I'd have all of the classic signs, including nausea and vomiting. Now, I don't have any stomach issues related to migraines, but my neck turns into a hard rock the moment that the headache begins. It's nearly impossible for me to turn my head, and the pain in my neck only makes the migraine worse, which then makes the neck pain worse, and soon it becomes a vicious cycle. ...

Polio or poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by poliovirus invading the nervous system. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiff neck, and sudden onset of floppy arms or legs. In severe cases, it can lead to permanent paralysis or even death. Children under 5 years of age are most vulnerable to the disease.

sv_sunny/Getty Images You probably remember when you got your first period, as it was likely a pretty life-changing experience (for better or worse — cramps and period blood stains, we're looking at you). But somehow, all of your knowledge about first periods has flown out the door now that it's time for your tween or teen's first period, right? We get it — it's a totally different experience when you're helping someone else navigate the strange, emotional, messy, and ultimately beautiful world of menstruation. First, let's define menstruation, AKA a period. When the menstrual cycle begins each month, estrogen levels increase, causing the lining of the uterus to thicken so it can support a fertilized egg and develop into a pregnancy. If a fertilized egg doesn't show up, the uterus lining will shed and get pushed out of the uterus in the form of blood. The menstrual blood that comes out of the vagina is partly blood and partly tissue from inside the uteru...

Published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe and part-funded by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, the study identified that people with multiple respiratory conditions were most likely to develop depression and anxiety later on. This has possible implications for future healthcare services if the Covid-19 pandemic brings about increases in long-term respiratory issues. The study confirms the importance of integrating mental health support early into care plans for those with multiple physical health conditions. This is the first study of this scale to assess how specific patterns of physical health conditions are associated with common mental health conditions later in life, including anxiety. Lead author, Dr Amy Ronaldson from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London said: "Our large-scale analysis has shown that people with two or more physical health conditions...

Nearly everyone wakes up with a headache now and then, but if starting your day in pain has become a normal occurrence, that's a sign that something's amiss. But because our bodies are so complex, there are many potential causes of morning headaches and it can be difficult to identify the root cause of your pain. "It's important for anyone with headache that's affecting their life to see a doctor so they can be properly evaluated and not just rely on self-treatment or self-diagnosis," says Simy Parikh, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University. A good physician will do a neurological exam, ask about your medical history and really listen to your story to figure out why you're waking up with headaches. "Many people think that because headaches are so mundane — everybody in the world could experience headache and just about everyone does at some point in their life — that it's not som...

New babies don't come with an instruction manual, but they do leave clues about the state of their health. Hiding in a baby's diaper is a wealth of information, and many new parents understandably find themselves spending a lot of time and energy trying to decode the messages left for them -- the amount, the color, the consistency -- and what it all means. So what does the content of a baby's diaper say about their health? And when should you be worried about what's in the diaper? Here's expert advice. How Much Poop Is Normal? "A lot," says Kenneth Wible, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri and pediatrics medical director at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. "It depends somewhat on diet," Wible says. "Babies who are breastfed generally have more and thinner stools than babies who are formula fed. But five to six stools per day is pretty normal." While it's a go...

Like the rest of the body, your penis changes as you get older — in appearance, function, and potential for health problems. Most of these changes are normal and don't require medical attention. In many cases, the penis changes because of conditions affecting the rest of your body, such as reduced circulation, hormonal shifts, changes in the nature of your skin, and other factors. But there are symptoms that can affect the sexual and urinary functions of the penis to the point where a medical evaluation may be necessary. It's helpful to know what to expect so that you won't be surprised or overly worried — a number of age-related problems can be treated, while others can be prevented or delayed. Once the penis stops growing and maturing — usually in your early 20s — it doesn't change much for the next several years. But as plaque starts to build up in the arteries throughout the body and testosterone levels start to dip (typically in your 40s), changes t...

AUSTIN, Texas — Tens of thousands of Texas children with autism are unable to receive certain types of therapy because it is still not covered by Medicaid.  What You Need To Know Applied Behavior Analysis is one of the most widely recognized and effective therapies for kids with autism In 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a budget bill that included a directive for Medicaid to cover medically necessary ABA therapy The state's Health and Human Services Department hasn't implemented the program yet A spokesperson said the department plans to have Medicaid-covered ABA services available by February 2022 One Texas mom says it was devastating when she realized Medicaid wouldn't cover Applied Behavior Analysis, which she says is life changing for her son.  "He is the sweetest, most angelic little boy. I mean he's perfect, you know, to us," said Jill Browning.  Like most four and a half year olds, Colter Browning is full of life and energy. Ab...

A veterinarian in the United Kingdom has successfully carried out what is believed to be the first corneal surgery on a tiger and has saved the animal's eye.  BBC News reports a 17-year-old Sumatran tiger named Ratna that lives at Shepreth Wildlife Park near Cambridge has recovered after surgery to restore her eyesight.  America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Ratna had a cataract removed from her left eye years before she and her daughter were moved to the wildlife park in 2019.  Staff had been keeping a close watch on the tiger's eye, as she needed daily eye drops, and noticed the condition of Ratna's eye was deteriorating as she developed a problem in her conjunctiva, the pink part of the eyeball.  It was discovered she had a corneal ulcer.  "I think perhaps she'd managed to jab her eye on a stick of bamboo in her enclosure," David Williams, a surgeon from the ...

Dr. Tim Martindale has treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients. But in April 2020, he was in a one-on-one battle with the virus. As a doctor, he recognized the physical symptoms. "I had severe headache, incredible blood pressure changes, overall fatigue, terrible body and joint pains, nausea and panic," he explained. But Dr. Martindale says the panic and other mental symptoms were new for him. "The very first day I felt the symptoms, I had sudden... overall it hit my body hard. I felt it was if an evil entity had overtaken me and was rapidly coursing through my body and triggering all kinds of reactions. And I basically had to stay up all night long trying to deal with the symptoms I was having, including faster pulse, elevated sky-high blood pressure and incredible pain. So that first night I thought, 'Wow, this is hugely impactful, very difficult, and I can imagine if it doesn't stop doing this spiraling out of control stuff, I would need to be in...

Brain aneurysms usually aren't quite like what you see on TV— when someone is alive one moment and dead the next. But aneurysm ruptures can be devastating. About one-third of people who experience them die, frequently immediately. However, many make a partial or full recovery.  What Is an Aneurysm?  An aneurysm is a weak spot on a blood vessel that causes it to bulge until it ruptures. Though aneurysms can be found anywhere there are blood vessels, they are most common in the heart's main blood vessel, the aorta, and in different parts of the brain. Aneurysms can exist for years without detection, and there are some very rare cases in which people have a genetic predisposition to them.  We don't yet have a full understanding of why aneurysms happen. One thing we do know, however, is how to lower your risk of an aneurysm rupturing: Keep your blood pressure in the normal range and refrain from smoking, which is thought to have an inflammatory or irritating effect on b...

Meningitis itself isn't a disease, just a description meaning that the tissues around the brain and spinal cord have become inflamed. In the United States, bacterial infections can cause meningitis, as can enteroviruses, mumps and herpes simplex. But a high proportion of cases have, as doctors say, no known etiology: No one knows why the patient's brain and spinal tissues are swelling. This was the case with the Dhaka outbreak. C.H.R.F. is one of the premier microbiology labs in Southeast Asia and is in charge of tracking meningitis in the country for the World Health Organization. "Every meningitis case that comes in, we culture," Saha told me. "We do antigen tests for pneumococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Hemophilus influenzae and G.B.S.," or Group B streptococcus — the four infections most likely to cause meningitis. "Then we do a much more sensitive and specific test for Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, since that causes the highest proportion o...

I can admit, with only a mild quaver in my voice, that although "Heartburn"—Nora Ephron's novel, from 1983, a fictionalization of the end of her marriage to the philandering journalist Carl Bernstein—is good, often great, with moments of real dazzle and zing, it's maybe not the very best work in the vast Ephron œuvre. The narrator, Rachel Samstat, is a food writer and cookbook author in her late thirties, seven months pregnant with her second child. She's recently become aware that her husband ("a fairly short person") is not only having an affair with a woman in their social set ("a fairly tall person with a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs, never mind her feet, which are sort of splayed") but had the audacity to fall in love with her. Now everything in Rachel's life is exploding in slow motion. The plot is low-stakes parlor drama—infidelity, family secrets, drunken marriage proposals, a litt...

But while it has been possible to identify ways that schools can help prevent B.M.I. increases, it has been harder to figure out how to replicate those conditions when classes aren't in session. For example, only about three million of the 22 million children who receive free or reduced-price lunch during the school year get the meals they're eligible for over the summer. Those meals are typically more balanced nutritionally than the cheaper, calorie-dense fare that families resort to when food is scarce. Inconsistent access to food can also cause physiological changes that heighten the risk of obesity; school closures and job losses during the pandemic greatly increased the number of children without a stable source of nutrition. In June 2020, more than 27 percent of U.S. households with children were experiencing food insecurity; in about two-thirds of them, there was evidence that the children, in addition to adults, weren't getting enough to eat — more than 5.5 times th...

You wake up in the middle of the night and there it is: a menacing presence that you can first feel and then see when you open your eyes. Scared like the dickens, you try to scream and bolt — but you can't. It's like you're paralyzed or being held down by the evil presence. What in the world is happening? Three words: sleep paralysis demons. It's a thing, and you're not the only one who's experienced it. Read on to learn more. What is this "demon" that leaves you trapped in your body, unable to move or scream? It depends who you ask. For some it's a faceless, shapeless presence trying to suffocate them. Others describe it as a creepy old hag with claws. Some see an alien and experience what they believe is a full alien abduction. And for others, the demons look like a dead relative. Different cultures have different explanations for sleep paralysis demons. Canadian Inuit attribute the sleep paralysis to spells of shamans. Japa...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the joints and can affect the neck. According to a 2018 literature review, a person will rarely experience RA symptoms in the neck in the early stages of the condition. In this article, we look at how RA affects the neck. We also discuss the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis. RA is an inflammatory arthritis. The immune system attacks the lining of joints, called the synovium, causing inflammation. The top two vertebrae in the spine, known as C1 and C2, are joints lined with synovium. This means that RA can affect this part of the spine. RA usually affects smaller joints first, such as those in the hands. As the condition progresses, it can affect other areas of the body, including the cervical spine, or neck. This can cause pain, stiffness, and restricted movement. While RA in the neck is rare in the first stages of RA, it can occur in 80% of long...