Author: Reyna Baker

If you have asthma, choosing the right health insurance can help you get the treatments you need with less hassle. Asthma treatments fall into two main categories: Long-term medicines to control asthma, often taken every dayMedicines that give short-term relief from asthma symptoms, sometimes called “rescue medications” For people with allergies that trigger their asthma symptoms, allergy medicines can also help. Common medicines, such as corticosteroids, reduce inflammation in the airways. Newer drugs called “biologics” are made with cells from living organisms and interfere with inflammation in the first place. Read: You Don’t Have to Live With Uncontrolled Asthma >>Depending…

Almost 2 out of every 5 adults in the United States have high cholesterol, which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. This is dangerous for women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) because heart disease is their number one cause of death.Many people who have high cholesterol don’t know they do because there are no symptoms. Luckily, a simple blood test can check your cholesterol. And if it’s high, there are steps you can take that may help lower it, like taking cholesterol medications. What are cholesterol medications? Total cholesterol is made up of high-density lipoprotein…

Having high cholesterol can lead to heart disease or stroke. There are 3 kinds of cholesterol  Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol Triglycerides (type of fat in your blood) Together, they make up your total cholesterol.  Formula for total cholesterol = LDL + HDL + 20% triglycerides  Know your numbers There are no symptoms for high cholesterol. The only way to know is to get your numbers checked with cholesterol screening. The CDC’s optimal cholesterol level recommendations for people assigned female at birth: LDL cholesterol: about 100 mg/dL HDL cholesterol: ≥50 mg/dL Triglycerides: <150…

English Marzo es elmes de concientización de la EMVictoria Reese tenía 25 años cuando empezó a sentir adormecimiento y cosquilleo en sus piernas. Supo inmediatamente que algo estaba mal. Reese visitó a su proveedor de atención médica de cabecera, quien pidió que se haga una RM de sus piernas. Al no ver nada inusual en los resultados, sugirió que podría estar estresada o incluso deprimida debido a su ajetreado trabajo como asistente de un agente de talentos de Hollywood. Una semana después, Reese empezó a perder la vista y a tener episodios de migrañas que interferían con su vida cotidiana.…

English Marzo es elmes de concientización de la EM La esclerosis múltiple (EM) es un trastorno autoinmunitario que afecta a casi 1 millón de personas en EE.UU. y las mujeres tienen mayor riesgo que los hombres. Todavía no sabemos exactamente qué causa la EM, el trastorno ocurre cuando tu sistema inmunológico ataca a tu cerebro y nervios, más posiblemente debido a una combinación de factores medioambientales y genéticos. Los síntomas pueden variar de persona a persona, pueden ir y venir y también pueden parecerse a los de otros trastornos, así que el proceso para recibir un diagnóstico puede ser largo.…

March is MS Awareness Month.Victoria Reese was 25 when she began feeling numbness and tingling in her legs. She immediately knew something was wrong. Reese checked in with her primary care provider, who ordered an MRI of her legs. Seeing nothing unusual in the results, he suggested she might be stressed or even depressed because of her busy job as a Hollywood talent agent assistant. A few weeks later, Reese began having vision loss and migraine attacks that were interfering with her life. The numbness and tingling had moved to the side of her face. She went back to her…

English ¿Qué pasa después de que tú o un ser querido recibe un diagnóstico de cáncer pulmonar? Recibir un diagnóstico de cáncer pulmonar puede ser abrumante y traumático para los pacientes y sus familias. Por eso, el primer paso es tomar algo de tiempo para procesar las noticias. Luego, llega el momento de tomar algunas decisiones. Es comprensible tener una sensación de urgencia después de tener un diagnóstico de cáncer pulmonar, pero usualmente hay tiempo para considerar todas las opciones de tratamiento y tal vez incluso para obtener una segunda opinión antes de escoger un plan de tratamiento, dijo Pragnan…

What happens after you or a loved one receives a lung cancer diagnosis? Receiving a lung cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming and traumatic for patients and their families. So, the first step is to take some time to process the news. Then, it’s time to make some decisions. It’s understandable to feel a sense of urgency after getting a cancer diagnosis, but there is usually time to consider all treatment options and perhaps even get a second opinion before deciding on a treatment plan, said Pragnan Kancharla, M.D., a medical oncologist at MedStar Health. “Learning as much as we can…

Living with severe endometriosis made it hard for Annabelle Baugh, who uses they/them pronouns, to feel pleasure during sex. Afterward, they were nauseous, bloated, tired and in pain. It wasn’t until Baugh turned 43 that they learned they were at high risk for ovarian cancer. After getting a hysterectomy and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), they experienced their first orgasm and now lead a healthy and active sex life. It’s not normal for people to experience pain during sexual intercourse or penetration. Yet, about 3 out of 4 people assigned female at birth report experiencing painful sex, called dyspareunia. Experiencing pain…

Eating well is a great way to support your body during and after treatment for urothelial bladder cancer (UBC).  Focus on good nutrition with: A heart-healthy diet   Following a Mediterranean or other heart-healthy diet can help protect you from damaging inflammation. It may also help relieve treatment-related symptoms such as fatigue.  Heart-healthy foods Vegetables Fruit Whole grains Chicken Fish Nuts Legumes Olive oil  Fiber-rich foods  Foods that are high in fiber can help prevent digestive issues that you may experience as a side effect of cancer treatment. High-fiber foods Oats Chickpeas Lentils Apples Pears Almonds Avocados  Plenty of protein …