Your Health Questions
Answered by Professionals

Start by staying hydrated with water, broths, or oral rehydration solutions, and eat small, frequent portions of gentle binding foods such as the BRAT options Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast, plus saltines or oatmeal, then gradually add lean proteins and soft cooked vegetables as you improve. Avoid dairy except yogurt with active cultures, high fat or spicy foods, high fiber grains, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and alcohol; there are several factors to consider, and key details on probiotics, zinc, and when to seek care are outlined below.

Most sore throats are viral and improve within a week; for relief, take ibuprofen or naproxen, or acetaminophen if NSAIDs are not suitable, and combine with medicated lozenges or sprays plus home remedies like salt-water gargles, warm honeyed liquids, hydration, humidifier use, and voice rest. There are several factors to consider, including when a short course of oral steroids may help, when antibiotics are appropriate for suspected strep, and red flags that need medical care; see below for specific dosing, product options, and exactly when to get tested or seek urgent help.

There are several factors to consider; even after a full night in bed, daytime sleepiness often comes from irregular sleep schedules, fragmented sleep, diet or hydration issues, limited activity, or underlying problems like sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs, thyroid or iron deficiency, liver disease, medication side effects, depression, or anxiety. See below to understand more. If sleepiness persists or you have red flags such as loud snoring with gasping, morning headaches, confusion, or sudden sleep attacks, seek medical care, and see below for the full checklist of when to worry, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, testing your doctor may order, and practical steps to improve alertness.

There are several factors to consider: viral pneumonia can sometimes improve on its own, but bacterial pneumonia usually requires antibiotics, and delaying care can lead to complications like lung abscess, pleural effusion, sepsis, or respiratory failure. Recovery often takes weeks even when improving, with fever commonly lasting about a week and cough and fatigue lingering longer; see below for timelines, red flags, and guidance on who should seek care urgently.

Women over 30, sleep hygiene is essential for mood, focus, weight, heart, and hormone health; perimenopausal shifts, stress, evening screens and caffeine, irregular schedules, late vigorous workouts, and light or heat in the bedroom commonly disrupt sleep. Consistent bed and wake times, a cool dark quiet room, earlier exercise and meals, limited alcohol and caffeine, and a screen free wind down often restore deeper sleep and energy. There are several factors to consider that can shape your next steps. See below for pitfalls to avoid, how to track your sleep, and when to seek care for red flags like loud snoring or gasping, restless legs, or insomnia beyond 3 months, plus effective treatments such as CBT-I.

Women can lead a simple partner routine using a 4 second inhale, 2 second pause, and 6 second exhale for 5 to 10 minutes, synchronized together to lower anxiety, improve circulation, and strengthen connection to support ED without pressure. There are several factors to consider; see below for the step by step setup, practice frequency, tips for syncing, lifestyle add ons, realistic timelines, and when to seek medical care or a specialist for persistent symptoms or red flags.

Anxiety is a common, treatable cause of ED, and you can help without pressure by using open, blame free communication, normalizing occasional ED, and focusing on low pressure intimacy like sensate focus alongside simple stress reduction, better sleep, exercise, and limiting alcohol. If things do not improve within a few weeks, or if red flags like chest pain, prolonged or painful erections, or blood in urine or semen appear, encourage a medical evaluation and consider evidence based options such as PDE5 medications, counseling, and other therapies. There are several factors to consider, and the step by step scripts, mind body techniques, treatment choices, and warning signs that can guide your next steps are detailed below.

For fast relief, focus on tonight: keep your room cool, dark, and quiet, follow a 30 to 60 minute wind-down without screens, stop caffeine by early afternoon, avoid late alcohol, practice 4-7-8 breathing, and get out of bed after 15 to 20 minutes awake to reset. For adults 65+, the most effective path combines CBT-I for lasting results with careful use of melatonin (consider 2 mg prolonged-release) and only short-term sleep meds if needed because of higher risks like falls and next-day grogginess, and rule out sleep apnea, restless legs, or mood disorders. There are several factors to consider; see below for key details that can guide your next steps.

For adults 65 and older, better sleep comes from a consistent schedule, a cool dark quiet bedroom, a screen free wind down, limiting afternoon caffeine and evening alcohol, regular daytime exercise and morning light, brief early naps, and evidence based tools like stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation, and mindfulness. There are several factors to consider; see below for step by step routines, environment upgrades, and tips tailored to older adults. Seek medical advice for loud snoring or gasping, restless legs, significant daytime sleepiness, mood symptoms, pain, or medication related sleep disruption, since these can change the best next steps; details on when to get help and how to implement changes safely are outlined below.

There are several factors to consider: the often missed culprit is circadian misalignment, and other common causes include poor sleep quality from apnea or limb movements, underlying conditions, certain medications or substances, and an unhelpful sleep environment. See below for the complete answer with specific next steps like sleep diary tips, morning light and schedule resets, bedroom tweaks, which labs to ask for, when to consider a sleep study, and the red flags that should change your plan.

If cramps and diarrhea last more than 2 to 4 weeks or keep coming back, it is often more than a simple bug, with causes like IBS-D, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, SIBO, bile acid diarrhea, pancreatic insufficiency, and liver-related problems. There are several factors to consider; see below for urgent red flags, the step-by-step tests doctors use, and proven treatments and self-care tips that can guide your next move.

The one detail that changes everything is your hemodynamic stability (stable vs unstable); instability with dizziness, fainting, low blood pressure, fast heart rate, or large-volume bright red or maroon blood requires urgent care, while stable cases can often proceed with prompt outpatient evaluation such as colonoscopy. There are several factors to consider. See below to understand red flags, common causes, special considerations in cirrhosis, and what tests and treatments to expect so you can choose the right next step.

Doctors typically first rule out hemorrhoids and anal fissures for bright red bleeding, then consider diverticular bleeding, colitis infectious or inflammatory, colorectal polyps or cancer more likely after age 45 or with alarm features, medication related bleeding, and upper GI sources when stools are black. There are several factors to consider; see below for the stepwise evaluation, key symptoms that change urgency, which tests to expect, and how these details may guide your next steps.

Bowel urgency is a sudden, hard to delay need to pass stool with worry about not reaching a toilet, often seen in IBS, IBD, or infections, while frequent bowel movements means going more than usual, typically over three times a day, usually with better control and often due to diet changes, intolerances, or medications. There are several factors to consider. See below to understand more, including red flags like blood or weight loss and how tailored treatments differ by cause, which could affect your next steps and when to seek care.

Brain fog with daytime sleepiness has several causes, from lifestyle factors to medical conditions like sleep apnea, anemia, hypothyroidism, blood sugar problems, and, if you have liver disease risk, hepatic encephalopathy. There are several factors to consider and important differences that change next steps; see the complete details below, including red flags, specific tests to ask for, and when to seek urgent care.

There are several factors to consider: people often ignore bright red blood in stool by assuming hemorrhoids, feeling embarrassed, normalizing intermittent bleeding, fearing a serious diagnosis, or facing cost and access barriers. Any red blood merits evaluation because causes range from fissures and hemorrhoids to polyps, cancer, IBD, infections, diverticular disease, and angiodysplasia; seek care urgently with heavy bleeding, dizziness, abdominal pain, fever, weight loss, fatigue, or week-long bowel changes. See below for the full list of causes, red flags, and what tests and treatments can help prevent complications and catch cancer early.

Sleep apnea is usually managed rather than permanently cured, but some people can achieve resolution depending on the cause and treatment. Mild obstructive cases may resolve with weight loss and lifestyle changes; CPAP controls breathing while used but is not a cure; oral appliances can help in mild to moderate cases; and select surgeries like hypoglossal nerve stimulation or maxillomandibular advancement can be curative with proper follow-up. There are several factors to consider and important tradeoffs, so see the complete details below to understand options and which next steps to take with your clinician.

Yes, untreated sleep apnea can be life threatening, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias, and early death, but prompt diagnosis and treatment such as CPAP can sharply reduce these dangers; there are several factors to consider, and key details that could change your next steps are outlined below. Right now, do an online symptom check, speak with a doctor about a sleep study, and start simple steps like side sleeping, avoiding alcohol at night, elevating the head of the bed, and working on weight loss if needed. If you have chest pain, severe sleepiness while driving, or new palpitations, seek urgent care and then review the complete guidance below.

There are several factors to consider. See below to understand more. Clues for a sleep disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness despite enough time in bed, nonrestorative or fragmented sleep, insomnia, loud snoring or gasping, leg discomfort or an irresistible urge to move, and dozing in inappropriate situations, while burnout more often shows emotional exhaustion, cynicism, reduced effectiveness, and loss of motivation with otherwise normal sleep and quick sleep onset; see below for guidance on tracking symptoms, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, practical sleep and stress steps, when to see a specialist, and urgent red flags like nodding off while driving or choking gasps at night.

Cataplexy episodes are sudden, brief drops in muscle tone with preserved awareness, lasting seconds to a couple of minutes and ranging from eyelid or jaw slackening and knee buckling to complete collapse. Classic triggers are strong emotions like laughter, humor, surprise, excitement, anger, and pleasure, sometimes even a mild smile. There are several factors to consider; see below for key differences from seizures or fainting, when to seek evaluation, and treatments that could guide your next steps.

Sudden collapse with full awareness during laughter strongly suggests cataplexy, a hallmark of narcolepsy type 1, but conditions like vasovagal syncope, seizures, or cardiac problems can present similarly. Next steps include documenting episodes, seeing your primary care doctor, and asking for a sleep specialist or neurologist evaluation with tests such as overnight polysomnography and a Multiple Sleep Latency Test; seek urgent care if you have blackout, chest pain, shortness of breath, confusion, or seizure-like activity. There are several factors to consider; see below for specific red flags, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options that may change what you do next.

Sneaky early signs of Crohn’s disease include intermittent loose stools or cramping, urgency or tenesmus, subtle rectal bleeding, unexplained fatigue with low-grade fever or night sweats, appetite loss and mild weight loss, mouth or anal sores, and extraintestinal symptoms like joint pain, skin rashes, or eye irritation. There are several factors to consider. See below for the complete list of symptoms, risk factors, red flags, and the next steps that can impact your care, including how to track symptoms, which labs to request, when to contact a gastroenterologist, and when to seek urgent care.

There are several factors to consider: start by scoring yourself with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, then systematically review sleep habits, screen for sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea or narcolepsy, check for medical causes with basic labs, review medications and substances, assess lifestyle and stress, track patterns, and consider targeted sleep studies; see details below. Because persistent or severe sleepiness can signal urgent problems, the red flags and step by step guidance below can change which next steps you take with your clinician.

After you eat, the gastrocolic reflex and digestive hormones increase colon activity; when this response is exaggerated or malabsorption is present, food can seem to flip a switch and cause urgent watery stools. Common culprits include IBS-D, bile acid malabsorption, SIBO, celiac disease, dumping after stomach surgery, pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, and certain medications, with infections or IBD also possible. There are several factors to consider, including red flags like blood in stool, weight loss, fever, severe pain, dehydration, or jaundice that need urgent care; see below for the full list of causes, tests, and treatments that could change your next steps.

There are several factors to consider: morning diarrhea often reflects an exaggerated gastrocolic reflex or IBS-D and can be driven by stress and the morning cortisol surge, late or high-fat meals, caffeine or artificial sweeteners, certain drugs or supplements, infections, thyroid disease, IBD, and rarely liver disease. See below for the specific red flags that need prompt care such as blood in stool, high fever, significant weight loss, dehydration, or jaundice, plus practical fixes like earlier lighter dinners, limiting caffeine, stress management, medication review, targeted probiotics, and when to get stool, blood, breath tests or scopes to guide your next steps.

There are several patterns to consider: inflammation is suggested by blood or mucus in stool, nighttime or early-morning urgency that wakes you, and weight loss or fever; IBS tends to cause morning diarrhea tied to waking or meals with abdominal pain relieved by bowel movements and no alarm features; diet triggers show a predictable link to recent foods within about 6 to 8 hours, especially high FODMAPs, lactose or sugar alcohols, caffeine, or late fatty meals. See below for a quick pattern checklist, red flags that mean seek care, simple home steps such as a food-symptom diary and a brief low FODMAP trial, and when tests like fecal calprotectin or colonoscopy are warranted.

Once diarrhea reaches 2 weeks, it is considered persistent and you should stop waiting and arrange a medical evaluation; seek urgent care sooner for red flags such as dehydration, fever above 102 F, blood or black stools, severe abdominal pain, or notable weight loss. There are several factors to consider. See below to understand home-care steps, when to set a 10 to 14 day limit, which tests and diagnoses your clinician may pursue, and other details that can shape your next steps.

Persistent diarrhea lasting more than four weeks is rarely just something you ate; it often points to infections, inflammatory bowel disease or IBS, malabsorption such as celiac or pancreatic insufficiency, medication side effects, endocrine disorders, or bile acid issues after surgery. There are several factors to consider that could change your next steps, including red flags like fever, blood or mucus in stool, dehydration, weight loss, or severe pain, and how doctors diagnose and treat the cause; see below for complete details.

Diarrhea that wakes you from sleep is more likely from an organic condition than a functional one, commonly inflammatory bowel disease, infections, malabsorption (celiac, pancreatic insufficiency, SIBO), endocrine causes like hyperthyroidism, medication side effects, or complications of liver disease; IBS-D can do this but less often. There are several factors to consider; seek urgent care for dehydration, high fever, blood or black stools, severe abdominal pain, significant weight loss, or diarrhea lasting over 48 hours, and see below for the full warning signs, diagnostic tests, and treatments that could guide your next steps.

Visible mucus in diarrhea signals irritation of the colon and worries clinicians because it often points to infection or inflammation, including serious bacterial colitis or C. difficile, risk of dehydration, or a chronic condition like inflammatory bowel disease. Seek prompt care for red flags like fever, blood, significant abdominal pain, dehydration, recent antibiotics, or symptoms beyond 2 days; tests, home care, cirrhosis-specific risks, and when to see a specialist are detailed below.