Common Questions

Supporting a Family Member With Addiction: Common Questions

Practical ways to help a loved one with a substance use problem while protecting your own health.

Supporting Someone Else: Common Questions

What actually helps when someone close to you is struggling with their mental health.

Surprise Medical Bills: Common Questions

Unexpected bills from out-of-network providers, and the federal No Surprises Act protections that limit many of them.

Suspected Heart Attack: Common Questions

Blockage of a coronary artery, cutting off blood supply to part of the heart.

Suspected Stroke: Common Questions

Interruption of the blood supply to the brain, from a clot or a bleed.

Swollen Ankles: Common Questions

Fluid building up in the lower legs and ankles.

Taking Medicines Correctly: Common Questions

Using prescription and over-the-counter medicines as intended.

Talk Therapy: Common Questions

Structured psychological treatments, also called psychotherapy, such as CBT, counseling and guided self-help.

Talking About Cancer: Common Questions

Communicating with someone who has a cancer diagnosis, and knowing what helps.

Talking to Clinicians About Pain: Common Questions

Communicating persistent pain in a way that leads to useful decisions.

Talking to Your Care Team: Common Questions

Getting the most from appointments when you see several services.

Teen Acne: Common Questions

Clogged pores, blackheads, whiteheads and pimples that become common in the teen years as hormones increase oil production.

Teen Driving Safety: Common Questions

The risks new teen drivers face and the steps families can take to reduce them.

Teen Mental Health and 988: Common Questions

Emotional well-being in the teen years, and how to get help, including through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Teen Sleep: Common Questions

The amount and timing of sleep teenagers need, which shifts later during puberty as the body clock changes.

Tendon Problems: Common Questions

Pain and dysfunction in a tendon, commonly the Achilles, rotator cuff or elbow tendons.

Testicular Self-Checks: Common Questions

Knowing what your testicles normally feel like, so that a change is noticeable.

Testosterone: Common Questions

The main male sex hormone, and what genuinely raises or lowers it.

The Body Clock: Common Questions

The roughly 24-hour internal rhythm that sets when you feel alert and when you feel sleepy.

The Childhood Schedule: Common Questions

The routine immunizations recommended through infancy, childhood and the teen years.

The Four Steps to Food Safety: Common Questions

The four core habits US food safety agencies promote at home: clean, separate, cook and chill.

The Sleep Environment: Common Questions

The temperature, light, noise and bedding conditions of the room you sleep in.

Thyroid Function Tests: Common Questions

Blood tests measuring TSH and thyroid hormones to assess thyroid activity.

Thyroid Lumps: Common Questions

Nodules or swelling in the thyroid gland, most of which are benign.

Tinnitus: Common Questions

Hearing sound that has no external source, commonly ringing or buzzing.

Tooth Decay: Common Questions

Destruction of tooth structure by acid produced when bacteria ferment sugars.

Toothbrushing: Common Questions

Mechanical removal of plaque with a fluoride toothpaste, twice a day.

Travel Insurance and Healthcare Abroad: Common Questions

Arranging coverage for medical treatment outside the US.

Travel Vaccinations: Common Questions

Immunizations recommended or required for travel to particular destinations.

Travelers' Diarrhea: Common Questions

Diarrhea picked up while traveling, usually from contaminated food or water.

Traveling with Medicines: Common Questions

Carrying prescription medicines abroad legally and safely.

Tuberculosis Basics: Common Questions

A bacterial infection that usually affects the lungs and can stay inactive in the body (latent TB infection) or cause illness (TB disease).

Type 2 Diabetes: Common Questions

A condition in which blood glucose runs persistently high because the body responds poorly to insulin and produces less of it over time.

Underactive Thyroid: Common Questions

Hypothyroidism: the thyroid producing too little hormone, slowing many body processes.

Understanding eGFR: Common Questions

An estimate of how much blood the kidneys filter per minute, calculated from a blood test.

Urinary Tract Infections: Common Questions

Infection of the bladder or urinary tract, far more common in women than men.

Using a Nurse Line or Urgent Care: Common Questions

The options between your regular doctor and the ER: after-hours lines, nurse advice lines, telehealth visits and urgent care centers.

Vaccination in Older Adults: Common Questions

The vaccines recommended for older adults, and for younger adults with certain conditions.

Vaccination in Pregnancy: Common Questions

The vaccines recommended during pregnancy to protect both parent and baby.

Vaccination: Common Questions

Training the immune system to recognize a pathogen without having to survive the disease first.