But the steroids for treating severe asthma weren’t helping him to breathe easier or feel better. And a recent a study presented at the European Respiratory Society’s annual meeting in Barcelona, Spain in September supported Gaudet’s sentiment. Researchers found that people with severe asthma are less likely to respond to steroid treatment than those with mild asthma. The study was based on data from 300 children and 700 adults, some with severe asthma, some with mild to moderate asthma, and some without asthma....

In reality, esophageal spasms are uncontrolled contractions of the muscles that normally work to move food down the esophagus from the mouth to the stomach. Gastric acid that surges into the esophagus as a result of GERD is one of the suspected causes and aggravators of esophageal spasms. GERD: Esophageal Spasm Symptoms There are two main types of esophageal spasm. Both of these conditions have been linked to the damage GERD causes by repeatedly bathing the nerves and muscles of the esophagus in stomach acid....

“There is a debate about whether one condition causes another or if one is associated with the other,” says Jennifer Castro, MD, a general and laparoscopic surgeon at the Hampton VA Medical Center. ”People can have a hiatal hernia without GERD. And others can have GERD without a hiatal hernia. If they have both, it’s uncertain whether the hiatal hernia caused GERD.” According to the book, Hiatal Hernia Surgery, published in August 2017, suggests that the relationship between these conditions is relatively intertwined and has clinical significance....

In fact, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) reports that among adults with hearing loss, fewer than 30 percent, age 70 and older, currently use or have used a hearing aid. What’s more, only 16 percent of adults ages 20 to 69 with hearing loss have used a hearing aid. Here’s what you need to know about hearing aid costs and how to lower the overall price....

We sat down with Hanna to discuss her current work and to learn more about her perspective on wellness. What are you working on now? I’m validating the first integrative stress assessment tool, the Stress 360, as well as a new tool that will predict the best stress management strategy based on Stress 360 data. I’m also working on several stress mastery training programs, and doing research looking at the effect of stress on the brain and nervous system....

Don’t beat yourself up. “It’s completely normal for weight to fluctuate by a few pounds, even within the same day,” says Kim Yawitz, RD, a private practice dietitian in St. Louis, Michigan. “On a day-to-day basis, body weight can rise and fall due to fluid retention, hydration levels, bathroom habits, and medication use.” There are several other potential culprits for your fall weight gain. Celebratory events, for one, can play a part....

It has been a long winter, so the occasional rays of sunshine bring me newfound hope every day. I am watching daffodils and little daylily sprouts showing themselves in the garden. They look as hopeful as I feel. As I’ve watched them rise up in recent days, I’ve realized there’s a lot for me to look forward to. A Planned Home Addition Gives Me Hope Next year at this time, I will be standing in a room closer to the flowers....

In the summer of 2003, 17-year-old Miller was looking forward to his senior year of high school and his final year on the football team. One day, he casually scratched his chest and felt a lump behind his right nipple. He thought it was odd but not alarming. His family lacked medical insurance at the time, so Miller casually mentioned it to the doctor who performed his football physical. “He said, ‘Let’s keep an eye on this....

Now that’s all changing. “We have taken good care of patients with telehealth,” says Raymond Cross, MD, director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. Telehealth is medical care given by a doctor via a video or audio call on a computer, tablet or phone, rather than an in-person consultation. And while the COVID-19 pandemic may have encouraged many doctors to start doing virtual appointments — and sped up the e-health trend in general — telemedicine is here to stay, suggests a study published in September 2020 in the journal Gastroenterology....

“Your job is to find somebody who maps onto the concerns you have, somebody you feel comfortable with, and somebody who you believe will be helpful and supportive to you,” says Lynn Bufka, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and associate chief of practice transformation at the American Psychological Association (APA), where she works on healthcare policy issues and improving mental health care delivery. You’re looking for someone with both the professional expertise to counsel you on whatever you’re coping with, as well as a personality that clicks with you....

Probiotics are also popular. A report published in February 2019 in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology stated that 3.9 million people in the United States regularly take probiotic supplements, and that the worldwide probiotic market is estimated to be $37 billion. Who Should — and Shouldn’t — Take Probiotics? For most healthy people, probiotics are safe to consume, explains Niki Strealy, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian in private practice in Portland, Oregon, who specializes in digestive health....

Particularly if you’re doing a quick pickle session (more on that below), you can preserve many of the vitamins and minerals in the produce while having different flavor options, says the Boston-based Erin Kenney, RD. “This is a great way to increase your amount of fruits and vegetables in general, and get more servings throughout the day,” she says. Healthwise, adding more fruits and veggies to the end of your fork is a wise choice for several reasons....

Fear not: If someone has shared their struggles with you, it’s likely because they trust you. And that means just offering to sit with them and listen can be healing for your loved one. “Friends and family are important in helping someone cope with an anxiety disorder mainly because they make the individual feel supported, accepted, and reassure them that they are not alone,” says Karol Darsa, PsyD, a trauma psychologist and the founder of the Reconnect Center, an integrative trauma treatment center in Los Angeles....

Unlike nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which primarily relieve the pain, swelling, and stiffness associated with psoriatic arthritis, immunosuppressant medications can help prevent permanent joint damage, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation. (Note: Although you can buy some NSAIDs like ibuprofen without a prescription, always talk with your doctor before you begin using them.) Francis C. Luk, MD, a rheumatologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, says that immunosuppressants can counter the potentially harmful effects of cytokines — small proteins produced by the immune system that fight infection and trigger inflammation....

About a year and a half ago, I set out to lose nearly two decades of weight I had put on thanks to desk jobs, poor eating, and an out-of-control soda addiction. At 5 feet 10 inches tall and 208 pounds (lb), I was looking to get to a goal weight of 168 lb, which is closer to what I weighed in college. Knocking some of the obvious targets out of my diet — Coca-Cola, pizza, bagels, and pasta — made a quick dent in my weight, and got me to 188 lb....

“One of our main findings was that people who do intermittent fasting lose about the same amount of weight as people on a regular calorie-restriction diet that cuts out 500 calories a day,” says lead author Krista Varady, PhD, researcher and professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Additionally, Dr. Varady notes that intermittent fasting appears to help with metabolic health. “It did help lower blood pressure,” she says....

This week, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, spends some time answering questions from host Serena Marshall. Listen and subscribe on Apple, Stitcher, or Google so you don’t miss the next one. And if you like what you hear, a five-star rating goes a long way in helping us spread the word! Below are a few edited excerpts from this week’s interview with Dr. Hahn. Right now there are nearly a dozen vaccines in phase 3 clinical trials or wrapping them up....

But fasting for weight loss is a relatively recent phenomenon, one that has become increasingly popular, in part because it seems to work, at least for some people. Intermittent fasting (IF) has also gained a lot of attention recently because celebrities have endorsed the plan, and there have been recent releases of new IF diet books. Studies have shown that periodic sessions of IF — in which a person limits their meals to a certain window of time, with a fixed period of eating little or nothing — can boost weight loss, reduce waist circumference, and lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and total cholesterol, according to a review of research published in September 2021 in the journal Nutrients....

“Yes,” says Brian Lacy, MD, PhD, a gastroenterologist and a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. “We understand that COVID can affect the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, leading to symptoms of nausea, vomiting, abdominal fullness or pressure, bloating, and diarrhea. In fact, there are more COVID receptors in the GI tract than in the lungs. We now recognize that a COVID infection is one cause of persistent diarrhea....

Sometimes, however, you may want to approach exercise with caution. Abstaining from food and drink for a set time — a practice known as fasting — is one of those instances. Is It Safe to Work Out if You’re Fasting? For the most part, it’s okay to work out if you’re fasting, “especially if you’re already generally healthy,” says William Dixon, MD, an emergency medicine physician and a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University in California....