If you’re like most men, you know that a blow to your testicles can be excruciatingly painful, even if the same strike to another part of your body wouldn’t even warrant a bruise. The pain usually lasts for no more than an hour, and no permanent damage is caused. If, however, you feel a sudden, [...]

Description and Possible Medical Problems With many medical problems, we never notice that anything’s wrong until it’s too late. It can flare up—either a new condition or a familiar one we thought we were all through with—and then it’s all we think about. A problem with the intestine called diverticulitis is like that. If you [...]

Description and Possible Medical Problems If you exercise regularly and are in relatively good shape, and you feel a sharp pain in your sternum, or breastbone, which runs from just below your chin to a few inches above your navel, you may jump to the conclusion that you’re having a heart attack. Don’t worry. Tenderness [...]

More than one observer has wryly noted that the moment we as a species stood up and began to walk on two legs instead of all fours, the need for back surgeons was born. Truthfully, from the moment we learn to walk, we ask a lot of our backs. As children, we learn that it’s [...]

If you think you have mononucleosis or chronic fatigue syndrome, see your doctor, who will do a physical exam that includes a throat culture. If you have mononucleosis, she will advise you to rest and drink plenty of fluids; antibiotics are not effective with mononucleosis since it is a viral infection. I also tell my [...]