Tuberculosis explained, from exposure to recovery
Tuberculosis often sounds like a disease of the past, but recent federal data tell a different story. The United States reported 10,260 tuberculosis cases in 2025, a figure that remains well above pre pandemic levels even after a slight decline from the year before. Not everyone infected with tuberculosis bacteria actually gets sick. The distinction […]
Gestational diabetes doesn’t have to derail your pregnancy
Gestational diabetes affects a meaningful share of pregnancies in the United States, yet many expecting parents encounter the term for the first time only after a routine test comes back abnormal. The condition develops when hormones produced by the placenta interfere with how the body uses insulin, the hormone responsible for keeping blood sugar in […]
Kidney stones, decoded from cause to treatment
Kidney stones rank among the most common and most painful conditions a person can face, yet many people know surprisingly little about them until one strikes. A kidney stone forms when minerals and salts in urine, including calcium, sodium and uric acid, clump together into hard deposits. Some stones stay as small as a grain […]
Goitre isn’t always what it seems
A swelling in the neck can send anyone straight to a search engine, and thyroid enlargement, known clinically as goitre, is one of the most common reasons people end up there. Doctors say the vast majority of cases turn out to be benign, but distinguishing a harmless swelling from an early cancer requires careful evaluation, […]
10 Facts about Hepatitis that reveal a growing health threat
Hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, yet many misunderstand what it is and how it spreads. The disease refers to inflammation of the liver and can range from a short term illness to a long lasting condition that causes serious health complications. Public health experts continue to raise awareness because many infections go […]
Ovarian cysts just got a simpler follow up rule
Ovarian cysts are turning up more often in postmenopausal women, largely because more people are undergoing imaging for unrelated reasons and cysts get spotted along the way. That discovery almost always triggers the same anxious question, whether the finding signals cancer. Updated clinical guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists aims to answer […]
Hydrocephalus treatment may be entering a new era
Hydrocephalus, sometimes described as water on the brain, occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up faster than the body can clear it, causing the brain’s fluid filled chambers to expand. That fluid normally cushions the brain and carries away waste, but when its production or drainage falls out of balance, the resulting pressure can cause serious […]
Skin infections explained, from cellulitis to scabies
Skin infections develop when bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites break through the skin’s surface and take hold, often triggering pain, swelling and visible changes in color. They differ from ordinary rashes, which involve irritation or swelling without necessarily involving an infectious cause, though a rash can sometimes signal one. Broadly, skin infections fall into four […]
Food safety surveillance just lost a critical layer of protection
Roughly 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illness every year, with about 128,000 hospitalized and 3,000 killed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For decades, a federal surveillance system called FoodNet has served as one of the country’s most reliable early warning tools for catching outbreaks before they spread. That system […]
Cancer’s path from one cell to a life changing diagnosis
The human body runs on trillions of tiny building blocks called cells, each one following a precise set of instructions to keep everything functioning. Occasionally, one of those instructions gets garbled, something like a typo slipping into an otherwise clean message. That error is what doctors call a mutation, and in rare cases, it sets […]