Author: News Room

6 min readAs a child, I’d always loved mysteries found within the pages of books. Detective novels like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and other who-done-its. Little did I know that, as an adult, I’d be solving mysteries within my own body.It was easy to overlook the initial warning signs. As a healthy, competitive swimmer between the ages of 8 and 18, I glided through water for up to 3 hours daily. Stomach cramps would pop up occasionally, but they were easily dismissed—I’d waited too long to eat, perhaps, didn’t eat enough protein, or swam too soon after a meal.At age…

3 min readRead more real-life stories about women who’ve been misdiagnosed by doctors in Prevention’s series: I Was Misdiagnosed Not long after my 30th birthday, I began experiencing fleeting moments where it felt like my apartment was somehow tilting to the left. These moments were sporadic, and usually occurring when lying down, so I ignored them for a while. Then, two years later, I dropped 30 pounds in less than a month, and felt like someone was injecting me with adrenaline 24 hours a day. At that point, I knew something was seriously wrong. Distraught, I went to the doctor.…

4 min readAbout 10 years ago, I was walking down a flight of stairs in my house while simultaneously looking at a bunch of paint chips and pondering how the colors would reflect the light. I was distracted—as usual—and took a major tumble down the stairs, fracturing my ankle.This led to my moment of clarity.As I spent six weeks healing from the injury, I had plenty of time to consider what felt like my life’s failings. This was not my first injury caused by distraction: I’d sprained both ankles in college after trying to read while going up a flight…

✔️ Look for a roomy toe box. “When the toes can spread, the foot muscles can engage, and there is less stress on the fascia,” says Perez.✔️ Opt for a slipper with a heel counter. Slippers with a back tend to be more stable and better for plantar fasciitis than anything else. “In slippers that slide on and off you have to grip with your toes in order to keep them on when walking. This is problematic because it leads to an imbalance in your toe flexor muscles,” Perez adds.✔️ Prioritize arch support. “Memory foam slippers may feel cushioned initially,…

7 min readHave you ever had to pee so badly that the hair on your arms stands up and goosebumps spread across your skin? In 2013, this intense need to go to the bathroom would hit me suddenly and frequently—before college lectures, during workouts, and at all hours of the night. These urges would become all-consuming. And at 19 years old, that just seemed wrong. But it was just because I was drinking so much water, right? Maybe the food in the dining hall had been extra-salty lately, and I’d just been thirstier than usual. But no matter how much…

Choose soothing ingredients: Both Dr. Waldorf and Dr. Feely say to look for products containing occlusive ingredients, which create a barrier on the skin to prevent moisture loss. Petrolatum, silicone, squalene, lanolin, shea butter, and waxes all fit the bill. Humectants like hyaluronic acid and glycerin (which pull water into the skin like a sponge) are also helpful. A mild steroid, such as 1% hydrocortisone, can reduce inflammation if your lips are in pain.Steer clear of irritants: While cooling agents like camphor and menthol feel good upon contact, they “will sting and aren’t necessary to heal or improve lips,” says…

3 min readTia Mowry shares that it took her years to get her eczema properly diagnosed.The 43-year-old opened up about her disappointment in the lack of visibility for Black skin health, education, and resources. Mowry partnered with Aveeno’s Skin Visibility campaign to raise awareness of the underdiagnosis of eczema for African Americans. While you may recognize Tia Mowry as the happy and energetic twin from Sister, Sister, things were not always as cheerful as they seemed. The 43-year-old actress, wife, mother of two, and wellness entrepreneur recently revealed that she had been misdiagnosed for years with “sunspots” until finally learning…

4 min readThe health benefits of drinking coffee regularly are well-documented—and that’s before the morning pick-me-up from caffeinated coffee that so many people rely on. But if it’s decaf coffee vs. regular coffee, is one actually better for you than the other, caffeine content aside?“The primary difference between regular coffee and decaf coffee is that in decaf coffee, the beans undergo a process in which the caffeine is extracted before they are roasted,” explained Anar Allidina, M.P.H., R.D., a registered dietitian based in Toronto. This process doesn’t remove all the caffeine in the sip, but it comes close. “Decaffeinated coffee…

5 min read I’ve been dancing since I was 3 years old—my career really took off when I came in fourth on season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance. A couple of years later, when I was 23 (I’m 33 now), I was performing in arenas across America as an all-star with the SYTYCD national tour, but things started to feel off. I was exhausted all the time. The running joke with the other dancers was that they would always say to me, “Good night, Grandma!” because as soon as we got on the bus, I was out.…

4 min readIf you apply sunscreen in the morning and then promptly forget about it for the rest of the day, are you really getting the sun protection you need? It turns out, probably not. We asked dermatologists how often to apply sunscreen for the best protection, and sadly, once a day isn’t cutting it.If you only apply sunscreen once a day (or even less), you’re not alone. But forgetting to reapply often throughout the day doesn’t just result in an uncomfortable, itchy sunburn—it can also lead to potentially deadly skin cancer. In fact, our risk of developing melanoma doubles…