Brucellosis

Getty Images When the temperature begins to drop, respiratory illnesses like cold and flu start to rise. So now is the time of year to take inventory of what's in your medicine cabinet and stock up on the essentials to avoid any last-minute trips to the store if you get sick.  One thing to keep in mind: While a number of over-the-counter remedies can bring relief to the bothersome symptoms that accompany seasonal illnesses, it's important to touch base with your health care provider when you start to feel sick, says Paul O'Rourke, M.D., an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University...

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is present in respiratory droplets. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through droplets can infect people, thus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A new study published in the journal Vision investigates the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in tears and eye secretions and describes the ocular symptoms in patients with COVID-19. Study: SARS-CoV-2 in Conjunctiva and Tears and Ocular Symptoms of Patients with COVID-19. Image Credit: goffkein.pro / Shutterstock.com COVID-19 symptoms Patients with COVID-19 often present with fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle weakness and pain, as well as various gastrointestinal symptoms. Patients with severe COVID-19 may also develop bilateral pneumonia and hypoxemia. When severe COVID-19 leads to cytokine storms, multiple organs can get affected. SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in tears and conjunctival secretions, mostly in patients with severe COVID-19. These patients also de...

Yes, but it's rare. It can happen if you touch a cold sore, then touch an area of broken skin or a mucous membrane (that's the moist, protective lining found in places where your body opens to the outside -- mouth, nose, genitals). That can lead to a herpes skin infection. To prevent this, wash your hands and don't touch the cold sore.

Highlights for lactulose Lactulose oral solution is available as both a generic drug and as brand-name drug. Brand name: Generlac. Lactulose is also available as a rectal solution. The rectal solution is only given as an enema by a healthcare provider. Lactulose oral solution is used to treat constipation. It's also used to treat a brain problem called portal-systemic encephalopathy. This problem is a complication of severe liver disease. Lactulose oral solution is a prescription drug that's available as the brand-name drug Generlac. It's also available as a generic drug. Generic drugs usually cost less. In some cases, they may not be available in every strength or form as the brand-name versions. Lactulose also comes as a rectal solution. This form is only given as an enema by a healthcare provider. Why it's used Lactulose oral solution is used to treat constipation. It's also used to treat a brain problem called portal-systemic encephalopathy. This problem is a c...

image: The intestinal inhabitant Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most dreaded hospital germs. © NIAID view more  Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Most people have already experienced first-hand how important a healthy microbiome is when they had to take a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Unfortunately, the drug does not only destroy the pathogens. It also affects the 'good' bacteria in the bowel that otherwise occupy the most important niches and help fend off pathogens. This p...

Phovia is highly effective for treating superficial and deep skin infections. This article is sponsored by Vetoquinol. Superficial bacterial folliculitis, also called superficial pyoderma, is a commonly diagnosed dermatological condition in dogs. 1,2 These infections are secondary to primary conditions affecting normal skin barrier function (eg, allergic skin disease, trauma, burns), keratinization (eg, nutritional deficiency, liver disease), and immune regulation (eg, neoplasia, autoimmunity, endocrinopathy). 2 Cats less commonly develop superficial pyoderma perhaps because of decreased adhesion of staphylococci to feline corneocytes, but the primary issues causing infection are similar to those seen in dogs. 3-8 The primary pathogen associated with superficial pyoderma in dogs and cats is a normal resident of the skin, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius , but other flora may be involved. 2,8-12 As the normal homeostasis of this organism is disrupted from a primary disease, these gram...

Ease your depression symptoms. Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, but there are differences. "In terms of brain biology, think of anxiety as an elaboration of fear or threat and depression as an elaboration of defeat — psychic exhaustion — or loss-grief or heartbreak," says Dr. Michael Thase, professor of psychiatry and chief of the Division of Mood and Anxiety Disorders Treatment and Research Program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Despite these differences, many people are diagnosed with both; and depression and anxiety are, in fact, often treated with the same medications. Antidepressants don't cure depression, but they can reduce symptoms. Finding the right antidepressant may take some trial and error. The first try may work, but if it doesn't, or if you find the side effects too bothersome, your physician can prescribe a different drug. There are many options available, and most patients find one, or a combination, that works w...

Allocation of a second-line home medication for patients with refractory convulsive status epilepticus did not have an effect on clinical seizure cessation, according to study results published in Neurology . Up to half of patients with status epilepticus are benzodiazepine non-responders. As this is the standard first-line therapy, there remains an urgent need for determining which second-line therapies effectively reduce seizures. The objective of the current study was to determine whether a second-line anticonvulsant medication that is part of a patient's home regimen can influence outcomes for patients with benzodiazepine- refractory convulsive status epilepticus. Researchers conducted a tertiary analysis of the Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial which was a double-blind comparative study. Patients (N=232) with status epilepticus who presented at 57 emergency departments in the United States with ongoing convulsive seizures were randomized to...

Multiple initiatives around Mass and Cass are moving ahead, as the city begins to notice people about tent removals, the trial court sets up to begin its "community response" sessions there on Monday and prosecutors mull using more "stay-away" orders for people charged with crimes. Officials from Acting Mayor Kim Janey's administration told reporters on Friday that they've worked out their "encampment policy" as Janey's executive order last week required, so they could begin giving notice to the hundreds of people on the street "as soon as" later that day. The policy includes giving the "unsheltered individuals" in a tent 48 hours notice, contacting them multiple times and working to match them up with a shelter or treatment bed before removing the tent, officials said. The city conducted a count last week of people on the street, taking down info and asking for answers to questions of what they are looking for. Official...

More than three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans come from animals. Numerous scientists are confident that SARS-CoV-2 is among them, likely originating in bats. For many adults alive today, COVID-19 is not the first brush with a dangerous zoonotic disease, one that can move from animals into people. Just in the last two decades, outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, swine flu, avian flu, West Nile virus—and others—have occurred around the world, while other established infections, such as malaria and dengue, continue be a global concern. While COVID-19 understandably continues to command much of the world's attention, scientists, veterinarians, physicians, and others are working to prepare for future threats. Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine is launching the Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases to address precisely these types of animal- and human-health challenges by bringing together world-class expertise in infectious diseases, immunology, ag...