Also called: Shots
Today, children in the United States routinely get vaccines that protect them from more than a dozen diseases such as measles, polio and tetanus. Most of these diseases are now at their lowest levels in history, thanks to years of immunization. Children must get at least some vaccines before they may attend school.
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Genetic tests are tests on blood and other tissue to find genetic disorders. About 900 such tests are available. Doctors use genetic tests for several reasons. These include
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A disease is rare if fewer than 200,000 people in the United States have it. There are close to 7,000 rare diseases and about 25 million people in the U.S. have one. Many rare diseases are caused by changes in genes and are called genetic diseases.
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Also called: Low vision
Vision impairment, or low vision, means that even with eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery, you don’t see well. Vision impairment can range from mild to severe. The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. Other eye disorders, eye injuries and birth defects can also cause vision loss.
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Dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances meant to improve your diet. They can come as pills, capsules, powders and liquids. Supplements do not have to go through the testing that drugs do.
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Also called: Discoid lupus, SLE, Subacute cutaneous lupus, Systemic lupus erythematosus
If you have lupus, your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This can damage your joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. There are many kinds of lupus. The most common type, systemic lupus erythematosus, affects many parts of the body. Discoid lupus causes a rash that doesn’t go away. Subacute cutaneous lupus causes sores after being out in the sun. Another type can be caused by medication. Neonatal lupus, which is rare, affects newborns.
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Your mind works a lot like a computer. Your brain puts information it judges to be important into “files.” When you remember something, you pull up a file. Memory doesn’t always work perfectly. As people grow older, it may take longer to retrieve those files. Some adults joke about having a “senior moment.”
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Brain tumors are growths inside your skull. They are among the most common types of childhood cancers. Some are benign tumors, which aren’t cancer. They can still be serious. Malignant tumors are cancerous.
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When you are ready to have your baby, you’ll go through labor. Contractions let you know labor is starting. When contractions are five minutes apart, your body is ready to push the baby out.
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A genetic disorder is a disease caused by a different form of a gene called a variation, or an alteration of a gene called a mutation. Many diseases have a genetic aspect. Some, including many cancers, are caused by a mutation in a gene or group of genes in a person’s cells. These mutations can occur randomly or because of an environmental exposure such as cigarette smoke.
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