Pain medication and pharmaceuticals are usually the go-to methods of alleviating muscle pain, headaches, toothaches and most kinds of physical trauma experienced. Pharmaceutical pain medication sometimes comes with the risk of negative side effects, drug interactions and sometimes abuse.  For centuries, however, traditional healers and early doctors administered essential oils, herbs and alternative therapies as...

Foodborne illnesses commonly come with stomach upset, vomiting, and fevers. However, they can become serious, leading to other health issues, like meningitis, kidney damage, arthritis, brain and nerve damage. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year about 48 million Americans get a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die....

Dimethyl sulfoxide, commonly known as DMSO, is a colorless liquid compound that manufacturers derive as a byproduct of the paper-making process. Scientists initially discovered it in Germany in the late 19th century. Today, they use DMSO in many products, including paint removers, cleaners, makeups, and even as a flavoring agent in specific foods. Nature also...

The body is remarkably good at healing. However, some parts of it are more adept than others. One example is cartilage in the knee. It has no direct blood supply, making it harder to mend, and some tears can’t recover without surgery. Now, surgery can stimulate repair or replace cartilage in the knee from another...

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a medical condition that causes widespread pain alongside fatigue, sleep problems, and difficulty thinking, often called “fibro fog.” However, it is still widely debated as to the cause of fibromyalgia. The debate centers around whether fibromyalgia is linked to autoimmune disorders, where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. The general...

Ordinarily, the immune system protects the body from foreign, illness-causing cells. However, autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s defense system begins mistakenly attacking healthy cells instead. There are over 80 types of known autoimmune diseases, and they can appear in almost every part of the body. Therefore, each disease comes with its own unique symptoms,...

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the world’s most prevalent brain disorders, being extremely difficult to treat. Alzheimer’s affects millions of people globally, making it one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. Glutamate, an essential neurotransmitter responsible for regulating functions such as mood and memory, can also encourage the toxic buildup of tau proteins, which are...

The U.S. tariffs’ impact on retirees is a growing concern for many individuals on fixed incomes. While tariffs are often discussed in terms of international trade, their consequences reach far beyond trade deals—they affect the everyday lives of American retirees in ways that are sometimes overlooked. From higher healthcare costs to a rise in consumer...

Almost 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association report. This illness is known by its symptoms such as memory loss, poor thinking skills, and behavorial changes. One of the main risk factors is age, an inevitable for everyone on Earth. Despite being such a prevalent disease, researchers have...

The first warning signs of illness can be very obvious. Experiencing an upset stomach? That might be because of something you ate. Do you have sudden chest pain and tingling in the left arm? This might be a good time to head to the ER. Unfortunately, not everything your body tells you is that straightforward....

In 2021, researchers developed a treatment that harnesses rapidly moving molecules to repair tissues damaged by a spinal cord injury. The same researchers recently applied the same treatment to damaged cartilage cells in a new study. It was found that the therapy activated the gene expression needed for cartilage regeneration within only four short hours....

Brittany Burnette was working as a nursing home director in Tennessee in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the nation. When vaccines became available in January of the following year, Brittany got her shot in the hopes of protecting her patients from getting infected. Six months later, she started experiencing pain in her hips that...