For many college students, including me, studying abroad is one of the highlights of college. I’ve been waiting to figure out where and how I would study abroad since I watched my older siblings go off to exciting adventures in Morocco, Northern Ireland, and Ecuador. Yet, it always made...

IBS-D is irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea. The most common symptoms of IBS-D include: Sudden urges to have bowel movements Gas Abdominal pain or discomfort Frequent stools Loose stools Nausea The feeling of being unable to completely empty your bowels There are medications that can treat many of the...

Xifaxan, or rifaximin, is an antibiotic prescribed to help manage travelers’ diarrhea that is caused by noninvasive strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this case, it is for patients aged 12 years and older. Xifaxan is also prescribed to adults with liver failure. There are several side effects...

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a gastrointestinal disorder that can cause digestive problems. One of the treatment options for IBS is probiotics. A probiotic is a bacteria that we consume specifically for health benefits. The effectiveness of a probiotic will depend on what species of bacteria it is made...

Ixekizumab is an injectable biologic drug that helps to suppress the immune system. The drug is used to treat plaque psoriasis by binding to interleukin 17A (IL-17A), which is a chemical produced by cells in the body that stimulate immune reactions. Ixekizumab is also known as Taltz in the...

LIVALO is in the class of medications that are called statins. Statins, such as LIVALO, have been shown to effectively lower the amount of LDL cholesterol (otherwise known as “bad cholesterol”) in the bloodstream. Statins, in general, are often prescribed to help patients manage their cholesterol. This is because statins,...

Statins are the most common medication prescribed to help deal with cholesterol. However, there are other methods that you can try. One common alternative to statins is a cholesterol absorption inhibitor. A cholesterol absorption inhibitor prevents your small intestine from properly absorbing the cholesterol that you consume, meaning that...

ZETIA, or ezetimibe, is an oral tablet that helps to inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and other phytosterols. It is used in patients to treat high cholesterol. ZETIA will sometimes be given with other cholesterol-lowering medications. ZETIA is best used as part of an overall treatment plan for...

Repatha and Praluent are both drugs that can help to lower LDL  cholesterol. Repatha Repatha (evolocumab) is a human monoclonal immunoglobulin G2 that is used to help lower cholesterol levels in addition to diet and other LDL-lowering therapies, such as statins medications. Repatha comes in the form of an injection....

Statins are a class of drugs that help to lower cholesterol levels in the body by reducing the cholesterol produced by the liver. They do this by blocking the enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol. By reducing the production of cholesterol, statins can slow down the formation of...

There are several ways you can treat a toothache at home. Once you figure out what’s the root of your discomfort, you’ll be able to best determine how to relieve the pain, swelling, or any other symptoms you may be experiencing. However, if symptoms continue for longer than two days,...

There are many afflictions that can occur in the oral cavity, or mouth. Luckily, there are also numerous ways to treat these afflictions, including through the use of medications. Medications can help with tooth pain, infections, and anxiety caused by these problems. Pain management is often behind many of...

A tooth abscess is an infection that spreads from within the tooth to the tip of the root. The tooth has lost its ability to fight off infection, allowing for the spread of bacteria throughout the tooth. Tooth abscesses can be caused by poor oral hygiene or dental care,...

Toothaches are a pain within a tooth that can range from mild to severe. They can be caused by many things, including tooth decay, a fracture, damaged filling, chewing gum, grinding teeth, and the buildup of food debris between teeth. Injuries and other conditions can also cause tooth pain. Beyond...

Tooth pain is inconvenient and never a good time. There are several different ways to treat tooth pain caused by toothache. One of these is through a medication called Orajel. Orajel provides instant pain relief for many causes of pain, including tooth pain, through several different products. One of the...

There are medications that can be prescribed to help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. However, it may not be possible to eliminate your symptoms entirely. A doctor can prescribe these medications to help moderate constipation, diarrhea, and severe pain that hasn’t responded to anything else. Most...

Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS (with constipation; IBS-C), comes in a variety of forms as there is no single approach that will work for everybody. Patients with IBS-C will want to try changes in diet, exercise, stress management, as well as medication. Talk to your doctor to find...

One way to treat hepatitis C is with Mavyret, a prescription treatment that combines the two drugs glecaprevir and pibrentasvir. Mavyret has been approved to treat adults with chronic hepatitis C without cirrhosis. Those diagnosed with compensated cirrhosis can also take Mavyret. Mavyret is used to treat all six genotypes, or...

Chronic hepatitis C is a long-lasting liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus. It starts as acute hepatitis that begins within the first six months of being exposed to the hepatitis C virus. As many as 85% of the people who contract hepatitis C will develop long-lasting chronic Hepatitis...

Most hepatitis C treatments involve months of injections. These treatments have up to a 50% cure rate. However, most of these treatments involve some serious side effects. Newer hepatitis C treatments involve combinations of oral medications that are taken over the course of several weeks. The oral treatments are...

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes liver inflammation that can then lead to liver problems, including cancer. Even if the hepatitis C virus isn’t causing symptoms for you, you still need to treat it. Treating the hepatitis C virus helps to lower your chances of complications such as dangerous...

Most patients with genotype 1 of hepatitis C will be recommended one of four highly potent DAA (direct-acting antiviral) combination regimens. The difference in recommendation will be based on several factors. These include the hepatitis C virus subtype, the presence or absence of baseline NS5A resistance-associated substitutions (RASs), and...

Treatment guidelines for hepatitis C virus (HCV) are constantly evolving. Clinicians should frequently refer to the most recent recommendations of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (ISDA). Not all patients will be able to receive treatment immediately after the...

If you think you were exposed to hepatitis C, you’ll need to get tested. The first test will consist of checking if your body has been exposed to the hepatitis C virus. The test will check for antibodies, which help to fight off viruses like hepatitis C. There can...

Corticosteroids (Steroids) Corticosteroids (steroids), which include and , are an important part of the treatment of multiple myeloma. Corticosteroids can be used alone or in a combination with other drugs as part of the treatment process. In addition, corticosteroids can be used to help decrease nausea and vomiting that...

, or , is a proteasome inhibitor. It was the first proteasome inhibitor to be approved for cancer therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma. , produced by Takeda Oncology, is also used in the treatment of mantle cell...

Darzalex, otherwise known as daratumumab, is the first monoclonal antibody that has been approved for use in treating multiple myeloma. It can be taken either in combination with other medications or alone. For multiple myeloma patients who have received at least one prior treatment, Darzalex is used in combination...

, otherwise known as carfilzomib, is a proteasome inhibitor. It can be used in combination with low-dose or with Revlimid and low-dose for multiple myeloma patients that have received one to three prior treatments. It can also be used alone for multiple myeloma patients who have relapsed and have received...

Relapsed multiple myeloma (otherwise known as recurrent myeloma) is the name given to a returning multiple myeloma cancer after treatment has been completed and/or a period of remission has been experienced. There is no cure for multiple myeloma and so a relapse is a possibility for many patients diagnosed...

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the blood that is caused by the uncontrolled production of abnormal plasma cells. Currently, there is no cure for multiple myeloma, however, there are many treatment options available to patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Most treatments take a two-step approach: the first step...

, or , is an immunomodulatory agent. It is used in patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies that include ( or another proteasome inhibitor) and also Revlimid (). The patients must also have demonstrated disease progression on or within 60 days of completing...

Pneumonia, or the pneumococcal disease, is the most common in children. However, adults are at the greatest risk of it becoming serious, and in some cases, pneumonia in adults can even lead to death. There are two kinds of vaccines that can help to prevent pneumococcal disease. Children under...