If you’ve ever discussed menopause with the women in your family, you may have some idea of what to expect. Women who’ve been there and done that will often discuss their experience with the symptoms, such as hot flashes, irregular periods, and moodiness, but rarely will they tell you how they happened to manage their menopause symptoms. Unfortunately, menopause is still a taboo subject for a lot of women, but there is no need to suffer in silence. To help, we’ve compiled a list of effective ways to cope and manage menopause symptoms: 1. Hot flashes Hot flashes often begin during perimenopause, the transition stage of menopause, and can last between three to five years. They are typically worse during the year after the last menstrual period, but for some they may go on indefinitely. For unknown reasons, a midlife woman’s inner thermostat is reset at a lower temperature and hot flashes is the body’s way of cooling itself. The outward signs include sweating and pink or reddened skin, but inwardly, women may experience anxiety, tension, and heart palpitations before a hot flash begins. The most effective means of managing hot flashes includes avoiding triggers, such as spicy foods, hot beverages, warm air temperatures, caffeine, alcohol, and stressful situations.

Unfortunately, many Americans are experiencing an increased price for prescription drugs. Often, a great way to shop for discounts on your medications is through one of the many prescription drug programs that are currently available. Read on to learn how drug programs like these help alleviate the price, and how to find trustworthy programs, how to find the very best prices on your health needs, and finally how to shop for your medications safely and securely: 1. The purpose of prescription discount programs Prescription discount programs are intended to supply consumers with a way to lower their costs for prescription drugs. The programs typically provide a discount card or discount coupon so that the patients can keep more of their cash in their pockets. The cards are free of charge, and you can use them even if you’re insured. 2. Pharmacy discount card process What a Prescription Discount Program does is negotiate with pharmacies on the discount purchases of bulk drugs. Once the negotiations are agreed upon, consumers will then have the necessary means to get their medications at an affordable price. As the RX savings card gets used, your pharmacy sends a payment to the discount program. It can be thought of as being some sort of referral fee that your pharmacy pays.

Nasal polyps are growths that line the passages of the nasal or sinuses. They are noncancerous, painless and soft. They end up growing because of inflammation caused from chronic rhinitis that occurs from things such as allergies or asthma. The majority of the time, there are no symptoms associated with polyps but the larger they grow, the more symptoms that will occur. Some nasal polyps symptoms that can occur are a loss of taste, snoring, chronic nasal congestion, postnasal drip and even a decrease in the sense of smell. Nasal polyps also can cause bad breath for a variety of different reasons, such as: 1. Allergies Having allergies may lead to inflammation in the sinuses and the nasal passages. This inflammation can lead to polyps. Allergies can lead to an increase in bad breath. This is due to destructive bacteria that are in the mouth. Typically, the bacteria is kept under control by saliva, which will wash the bacteria away. Since allergies can lead to a dry mouth, the bacteria ends up sticking around. This allows the bacteria time to sit and create a smelly gas byproduct. Ways to help reduce this are to make sure to drink plenty of water.

Hepatitis is a disease that causes severe damage and inflammation to the liver. Though not fatal, some forms of hepatitis can cause serious liver damage. This can cause complications such as cirrhosis (or scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, and liver failure. Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that attacks the liver cells. It can be spread by blood-to-blood contact, if a patient comes in contact with infectious secretions or fluids via the following sources: Sharing needles or personal care items such as razors, etc. Healthcare needle injuries. Babies born to mothers who are hep C positive. Getting a tattoo or piercing with unclean equipment. Although rare, having unproteced sex with a hep C positive individual. Patients who’ve undergone blood transfusions, blood products, or organ donations prior to 1992. Symptoms and signs of hepatitis C can vary. Some symptoms can appear within weeks, and some can take years. The phase where symptoms do not readily occur is called Acute phase. Acute hepatitis C infection can be cured, does not always become chronic, and studies reveal that approximately 15%-25% of patients react to antiviral therapy. The most common symptom of hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver, known as cirrhosis.

An overactive bladder can be self diagnosed early if you pay attention to the signs that are directly in front of you. There are many different symptoms of overactive bladder OAB that will be detailed below, but the key is to pay attention to trends over a longer period of time. It sounds trite, but simply keeping a journal of symptoms is really the best way to divorce yourself from the emotion of self-diagnosis to understand if you have an issue. The following conditions will help guide the way as you determine the severity of your issues: 1. Sudden need to urinate A telltale sign of an overactive bladder is having a frequent need to urinate in a situation that feels like an emergency. There is no worse feeling that getting that urge in a situation where facilities are not around. This creates a panicked feeling that will take the joy out of any situation. 2. Uncontrolled urge to urinate Another sign of an overactive bladder is when you feel like you cannot control the urge to urinate. There are so many different feelings that your body is regulating, but when your urge to urinate cannot be regulated consistently it is time to start taking notice of that condition and determine the frequency.