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Coughing Up Blood

Patient education: Coughing up blood (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is coughing up blood? — Coughing up blood is when a person coughs up blood, either by itself or mixed with mucus. When mucus has blood in it, it can have streaks of blood, or the mucus can turn red or pink. The term doctors …

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Skin Warts

Patient education: Skin warts (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What do skin warts look like? — Skin warts are raised round or oval growths. They can be lighter or darker than the skin around them. Some warts have tiny black dots in them, often called seeds. Warts can appear alone or in groups that join …

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Dry Eye

Patient education: Dry eye (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is dry eye? — Dry eye happens when your eyes either do not make enough tears or the tears that they make evaporate (go away) too quickly. This causes your eyes to feel dry and irritated. The medical term for dry eye is “keratoconjunctivitis sicca.” Many …

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Drug Allergy

Patient education: Drug allergy (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is a drug allergy? — A drug allergy, also called drug hypersensitivity, is a bad reaction to a drug that happens when the body’s immune system responds to a drug as if it were a dangerous invader and tries to fight it off. The job …

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Complete Blood Count – CBC

Patient education: Complete blood count (CBC) (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is a complete blood count? — A complete blood count (also called a “CBC”) is a test that gives information about the 3 main types of cells in the blood. The cells include: â—ŹRed blood cells – These cells carry oxygen to your …

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Controlling Your Blood Pressure Through Lifestyle

Patient education: Controlling your blood pressure through lifestyle (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What does my lifestyle have to do with my blood pressure? — The things you do and the foods you eat have a big effect on your blood pressure and your overall health. Following the right lifestyle can: â—ŹLower your blood pressure …

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Lactose Intolerance

Patient education: Lactose intolerance (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is lactose intolerance? — Lactose intolerance is a condition that makes it hard for your body to digest milk and foods made with milk (called dairy products). If you have lactose intolerance and you eat dairy products, you can get diarrhea, belly pain, and gas. …

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Patient education: Generalized anxiety disorder (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate How do you know when anxiety is a medical problem? — Everyone feels anxious or nervous once in a while. That is normal. But being extremely anxious or worried on most days for 6 months or longer is not normal. This is called “generalized anxiety …

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Type 1 Diabetes

Patient education: Type 1 diabetes (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is type 1 diabetes? — Type 1 diabetes (sometimes called type 1 “diabetes mellitus”) is a disorder that disrupts the way your body uses sugar. All the cells in your body need sugar to work normally. Sugar gets into cells with the help of …

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Enlarged Prostate

Patient education: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate) (The Basics) Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate What is benign prostatic hyperplasia? — “Benign prostatic hyperplasia” is the medical term for an enlarged prostate. The prostate is a gland that surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder out through the penis) (figure 1). This gland often …