Sperm Meets Egg: Weeks 1 to 3 of Pregnancy. Something magical is about to happen! Watch as the ovulation process occurs, and then millions of sperm swim upstream on a quest to fertilize an egg. ... The egg travels down the fallopian tube, pushed by tiny hairs and awaits the arrival or sperm.

Remove Acne Marks

Subcutaneous Injection

5 Minute Butt and Thigh Workout for a Bigger Butt - Exercises to Lift and Tone Your Butt and Thighs

Most people start smoking when they are in their teens and are addicted by the time they reach adulthood. Some have tried to quit but have returned to cigarettes because smoking is such a strong addiction. It is a habit that is very difficult to break. There are many different reasons why people smoke.

Tobacco use is the most common preventable cause of death. About half of the people who don't quit smoking will die of smoking-related problems. Quitting smoking is important for your health. Soon after you quit, your circulation begins to improve, and your blood pressure starts to return to normal. Your sense of smell and taste return, and it's easier for you to breathe. In the long term, giving up tobacco can help you live longer. Your risk of getting cancer decreases with each year you stay smoke-free. Quitting is not easy. You may have short-term affects such as weight gain, irritability, and anxiety. Some people try several times before they succeed. There are many ways to quit smoking. Some people stop "cold turkey." Others benefit from step-by-step manuals, counseling, or medicines or products that help reduce nicotine addiction. Some people think that switching to e-cigarettes can help you quit smoking, but that has not been proven. Your health care provider can help you find the best way for you to quit.

Here are seven ways to start reining in your risks today, before a stroke has the chance to strike. Lower blood pressure. ... Lose weight. ... Exercise more. ... Drink — in moderation. ... Treat atrial fibrillation. ... Treat diabetes. ... Quit smoking.

Many women with hair loss suffer in silence, altering their hairstyle to hide thinning or patches. But the sooner you seek care, the better the chances of successfully treating it, says Mary Gail Mercurio, MD, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. It's not as uncommon as you may think: As many as 5% of women under 30 and 60% of those older than 70 are affected, she says. At the recent meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Miami Beach, Fla., Mercurio discussed common forms of hair loss in women and treatment options.

More than 1 million Americans suffer a heart attack every year. Traditional symptoms—chest pain or pressure, cold sweat, extreme weakness—are well known. But there are more subtle signs you’re having or are about to have a heart attack that can be easy to miss. If you experience any of the following symptoms, see a doctor. Noticing heart attack signs early and getting prompt treatment can save your life.

The examination room should be quiet, warm and well lit. After you have finished interviewing the patient, provide them with a gown (a.k.a. "Johnny") and leave the room (or draw a separating curtain) while they change. Instruct them to remove all of their clothing (except for briefs) and put on the gown so that the opening is in the rear. Occasionally, patient's will end up using them as ponchos, capes or in other creative ways. While this may make for a more attractive ensemble it will also, unfortunately, interfere with your ability to perform an examination! Prior to measuring vital signs, the patient should have had the opportunity to sit for approximately five minutes so that the values are not affected by the exertion required to walk to the exam room. All measurements are made while the patient is seated. Observation: Before diving in, take a minute or so to look at the patient in their entirety, making your observations, if possible, from an out-of-the way perch. Does the patient seem anxious, in pain, upset? What about their dress and hygiene? Remember, the exam begins as soon as you lay eyes on the patient. Temperature: This is generally obtained using an oral thermometer that provides a digital reading when the sensor is placed under the patient's tongue. As most exam rooms do not have thermometers, it is not necessary to repeat this measurement unless, of course, the recorded value seems discordant with the patient's clinical condition (e.g. they feel hot but reportedly have no fever or vice versa). Depending on the bias of a particular institution, temperature is measured in either Celcius or Farenheit, with a fever defined as greater than 38-38.5 C or 101-101.5 F. Rectal temperatures, which most closely reflect internal or core values, are approximately 1 degree F higher than those obtained orally. Respiratory Rate: Respirations are recorded as breaths per minute. They should be counted for at least 30 seconds as the total number of breaths in a 15 second period is rather small and any miscounting can result in rather large errors when multiplied by 4. Try to do this as surreptitiously as possible so that the patient does not consciously alter their rate of breathing. This can be done by observing the rise and fall of the patient's hospital gown while you appear to be taking their pulse. Normal is between 12 and 20. In general, this measurement offers no relevant information for the routine examination. However, particularly in the setting of cardio-pulmonary illness, it can be a very reliable marker of disease activity. Pulse: This can be measured at any place where there is a large artery (e.g. carotid, femoral, or simply by listening over the heart), though for the sake of convenience it is generally done by palpating the radial impulse. You may find it helpful to feel both radial arteries simultaneously, doubling the sensory input and helping to insure the accuracy of your measurements. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers just proximal to the patients wrist on the thumb side, orienting them so that they are both over the length of the vessel.

Maybe you're just really eager to get pregnant, or maybe you hope that your baby will be born at a certain time of year. Here are five ways to boost your chances of conceiving quickly – along with tips for a healthy pregnancy and guidelines on when to be concerned about a fertility problem. Tip #1: See your healthcare provider You can lay the groundwork for a healthy pregnancy even before you get pregnant. You're more likely to have a successful pregnancy when your body is up to the task. Schedule a preconception checkup with a doctor or midwife to find out whether you're in your best baby-making shape – and to learn what changes may help. You may not be able to get an appointment right away or resolve any health issues immediately, but taking these steps as soon as possible can help you conceive more easily in the long run. Tip #2: Plan for a healthy pregnancy When you're trying to conceive, eat nutritious foods, maintain a healthy weight, get regular exercise, and try to kick any bad habits (like drinking, smoking, or using drugs). Limit your caffeine intake to less than 200 milligrams a day (about 12 ounces of coffee). Any more than that may contribute to fertility problems. At your preconception appointment, discuss any medications you're taking and find out if they'll be safe to use during pregnancy. You can dramatically reduce the risk of certain birth defects if you begin taking folic acid at least one month before you start trying to conceive. Find out what else you can do ahead of time to give your baby a healthy start. Tip #3: Figure out when you ovulate The biggest secret to getting pregnant quickly is knowing when you ovulate (release an egg from your ovary). You ovulate only once each menstrual cycle, and there are just a few days during that time when it's possible to conceive. Knowing when you ovulate means that you and your partner can time intercourse to have the best chance of getting pregnant that cycle. You can use a few different methods to figure out when you ovulate. Our article on predicting ovulation walks you through them. This ovulation calculator also does the math for you by determining when you're most likely to be fertile. (If you have irregular periods, pinpointing ovulation could be difficult. Ask your provider for advice.) Tip #4: Have sex at the right time Once you know the timeframe your egg is likely to be released from your ovary, you can plan to have sex during your most fertile days, which is usually about three days before ovulation through the day you ovulate. You have a range of days for baby-making sex because sperm can survive for three to six days in your body. (Your egg survives for only about a day.) That means if you have sex on Monday, sperm can survive in your fallopian tubes until Thursday – or even as late as Sunday. If you're not sure when your fertile period will be, just have sex every other day. This means you'll have healthy sperm in your fallopian tubes whenever your egg gets released. (If you want to have sex more often than every other day, that's fine. It won't improve your chances any more, but it won't hurt, either.) Another tip: If you and your partner are waiting to have sex until your most fertile time, make sure you haven't gone through too long of a dry spell beforehand. Your partner should ejaculate at least once in the days just before your most fertile period. Otherwise there could be a buildup of dead sperm in his semen. (Ed. note: Vaginal lubricants including saliva, olive oil, and most water-based lubricants can slow down sperm. Ask your provider to recommend one that's safe to use when trying to conceive. Canola oil can be a good alternative.) Tip #5: Give sperm a boost Sperm have the best shot of fertilizing an egg when they're healthy, strong, and plentiful. Your partner can do several things to help: Cut back on alcohol. Studies show that drinking daily can lower testosterone levels and sperm counts, increasing the number of abnormal sperm. Skip tobacco and recreational drugs. These can cause poor sperm function. Try to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity can lower sperm count and slow down sperm. Get enough of certain key nutrients – like zinc, folic acid, calcium, and vitamins C and D – that help create strong and plentiful sperm. Don't use hot tubs and saunas or take hot baths because heat kills sperm. (Testicles function best at 94 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit, a couple of degrees cooler than normal body temperature.) The sooner your partner can make these changes, the better: Sperm take a while to mature, so any improvements now will yield better sperm specimens about three months from now. How long to try before getting help If you're going to get pregnant naturally, it's very likely to happen within the first six months. About 8 out of 10 couples have conceived by then. After that, how long you should keep trying before you seek help from a fertility specialist depends in large part on your age. Fertility declines as you get older, so if you're age 40 or older, get help from an expert right away. If you're 35 to 40, talk to a specialist after you've tried for six months with no luck. And if you're younger than 35, it's probably fine to keep trying for a year before seeking assistance. Of course, if you know of a reason you or your partner are more likely to have a fertility problem, make an appointment right away. There's no reason to wait in that case.

A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. Each of your knees has two menisci — C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thighbone. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully. Conservative treatment — such as rest, ice and medication — is sometimes enough to relieve the pain of a torn meniscus and give the injury time to heal on its own. In other cases, however, a torn meniscus requires surgical repair.

A tracheotomy or a tracheostomy: is simply an opening surgically created through the neck into the trachea (windpipe) to allow direct access to the breathing tube and is commonly done in an operating room under general anesthesia. A tube is usually placed through this opening to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. Breathing is done through the tracheostomy tube rather than through the nose and mouth. The term “tracheotomy” refers to the incision into the trachea (windpipe) that forms a temporary or permanent opening, which is called a “tracheostomy,” however; the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Lumbar puncture is a common emergency department procedure used to obtain information about the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for diagnostic and, less commonly, therapeutic reasons. Please refer to the full article on Lumbar Puncture for more details on the lumbar puncture procedure. Lumbar puncture is typically performed via “blind” surface landmark guidance. The surface landmark technique is reported to be successful in a high percentage of attempted lumbar punctures; however, surface landmark identification of underlying structures has been shown to be accurate only 30% of the time. [1] Unsuccessful identification of proper landmarks often leads to increased difficulty in obtaining CSF, if the procedure is performed, and a higher rate of complications. Few alternatives are available in these cases. If available, fluoroscopic-guided lumbar puncture may be performed. If not, treatment is sometimes initiated empirically without obtaining CSF. Disadvantages of using fluoroscopy include limited availability or necessary transport of the patient outside of the emergency department, inability to directly visualize the spinal canal, and inherent radiation exposure

A thyroid biopsy is a procedure in which a small sample of tissue is removed from the thyroid gland and looked at under a microscope for cancer, infection, or other thyroid problems. The thyroid gland is found in front of the windpipe (trachea), just below the voice box (larynx). A sample of thyroid tissue can be taken by: Fine-needle biopsy. Your doctor puts a thin needle through the skin and into the thyroid gland. Many thyroid specialists like to use a needle biopsy method rather than surgery. Open biopsy. Your doctor makes a cut (incision) through the skin to see the thyroid gland. This method is done when other tests have not found the cause of your symptoms. Core needle biopsy. Your doctor inserts a needle with a special tip and removes a sample of tissue about the size of a grain of rice.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. The bleeding results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help blood clot. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, which is also called immune thrombocytopenia, affects children and adults. Children often develop ITP after a viral infection and usually recover fully without treatment. In adults, the disorder is often long term. If you don't have signs of bleeding and your platelet count isn't too low, you may not need any treatment. In rare cases, the number of platelets may be so low that dangerous internal bleeding occurs. Treatment options are available.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness.

Use warm water and sea salt. Soak the wart for 10 to 15 minutes in warm salt water to moisten the skin. Scrape the dead skin layers off the wart using a nail file, pumice stone or mild sandpaper. You could also use your fingers, but wash them thoroughly before and after, as warts can easily spread.

Tension pneumothorax describes the progressive accumulation of air in the pleural cavity (normally a potential space) through a defect in the visceral pleura. This leads to positive pressure being maintained and increasing throughout the respiratory cycle causing vessels within the mediastinum to be compressed with catastrophic consequences if left untreated. Clinical signs include hypoxia, hypotension, tachycardia, reduced breath sounds and hyper resonance ipsilaterally, with tracheal deviation (away from the affected side) and distended neck veins being late clinical signs.

High cholesterol, or dyslipidemia, means that there is an imbalance of fats (lipids), circulating in your blood stream. Cholesterol is a fatty substance your body uses to make hormones and metabolize food.