Health Topics A-Z

Puberty

The years when the body develops into an adult body, driven by rising sex hormones.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Supervised exercise and education for people with chronic lung disease.

Radon Testing

Testing indoor air for radon, a radioactive gas from soil and rock that you cannot see, smell or taste.

Rate of Weight Loss

How quickly weight can be lost in a way that is safe and likely to be sustained.

Raw Milk

Milk from cows, goats, sheep or other animals that has not been pasteurized, a heat treatment that kills harmful germs.

Reading an Explanation of Benefits

The statement your health plan sends after a claim, showing what the provider charged, what the plan paid and what you may owe.

Reading Recipes Critically

Judging whether a recipe fits the way you actually eat before you cook it.

Reading the Nutrition Facts Label

The standard FDA panel on packaged foods that lists serving size, calories and key nutrients.

Recognizing an Emergency

The symptoms that mean calling 911 rather than waiting.

Recognizing Yourself as a Caregiver

Providing unpaid support to someone who could not manage without it.

Reducing Cancer Risk

The changeable factors linked to lower cancer risk.

Reducing Food Waste

Buying, storing and using food so that less of it is thrown away.

Rehabilitation After a Heart Event

A structured program of exercise, education and support after a heart attack, heart surgery or other cardiac event.

Rehabilitation After Surgery

Regaining strength and function after an operation.

Reporting Side Effects

The FDA MedWatch program, through which anyone can report a suspected reaction.

Resistance Training

Exercise that loads muscle against resistance, whether from weights, bands or body weight.

Returning to Activity After Illness

Rebuilding capacity after a significant illness or hospital stay.

Returning to Work After Illness

Getting back to work after a period of sick leave.

Returning Traveler Illness

Illness developing during or after travel, and what needs urgent assessment.

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)

A common respiratory virus that usually causes cold-like symptoms but can cause serious lung infections in babies and older adults.

Running for Beginners

Progressing from walking to continuous running, usually through run-walk intervals.

Safe Disposal of Medicines

How to get rid of unused or expired medicines so they cannot be misused or harm children, pets or the environment.

Safe Firearm Storage

Storing firearms in ways that keep them out of reach of children, teens and anyone at risk of harming themselves or others.

Safe Home Canning

Preserving food in jars at home using tested methods that destroy germs and seal the jar.

Safe Internal Cooking Temperatures

The minimum temperatures, measured with a food thermometer, that meat, poultry, seafood and egg dishes need to reach to kill harmful germs.

Safe Lifting at Work

Lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling loads as part of work.

Safe Sleep for Infants

Ways to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related deaths in babies under 1 year old.

Saturated Fat

The fat found mainly in butter, fatty meat, cheese, cream, coconut oil and palm oil.

Sciatica

Pain radiating down the leg from compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve.

Screen Time and Mood

The relationship between device use, particularly in the evening, and sleep and mood.

Screen Use and Eyes

Digital eye strain: the discomfort, dryness and blurring associated with prolonged screen use.

Sedentary Time

Time spent sitting or reclining while awake, separate from how much you exercise.

Self-Management

The day-to-day decisions a person makes about their own condition.

Sensitive Teeth

Short, sharp pain in response to cold, heat, sweetness or touch, from exposed dentin.

Sepsis

The body's extreme response to an infection, damaging its own tissues and organs.

Setting Rehabilitation Goals

Agreeing what recovery is actually for, in terms of specific activities.

Severe Bleeding

Controlling blood loss that will not stop on its own.

Sexual Function

Difficulties with desire, arousal, pain or orgasm, in any gender.

Sexual Health in Later Life

Sexual activity and risk in older adults, an area routinely left out of both advice and services.

Sexual Health Services

Confidential services providing testing, treatment, contraception and advice.