Conditions & Diseases

Accord­ing to the Cen­ter for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion (CDC), approx­i­mate­ly eight to ten per­cent of the Unit­ed States pop­u­la­tion will become sick with an influen­za (flu) virus each year. Addi­tion­al­ly, the aver­age Amer­i­can will catch between two to three colds per year. A cold and the flu are both caused by viral infec­tions and pro­duce a vari­ety of unpleas­ant symp­toms. Colds often are accom­pa­nied by nasal con­ges­tion and/​or a run­ny nose, sneez­ing, cough­ing and a sore throat. Flu virus­es can cause sim­i­lar symp­toms as well as fatigue, fever, head and body aches, and for some, diar­rhea and vom­it­ing. While there is no cure for either ill­ness, sev­er­al over-the-counter med­ica­tions and home reme­dies may offer symp­tom relief.

When you’re sick, one of the first ques­tions you may ask your­self is, ​“Is it a cold, flu, or COVID-19?” Here are some ways you can differentiate.

You have a sore throat. Is it strep throat or a virus? Learn about the dif­fer­ences, and about the types of infec­tions that can cause a sore throat.

As trees grow bare and the weath­er becomes cool­er, many of us are prepar­ing for a long win­ter ahead. A part of this prepa­ra­tion involves plan­ning for flu sea­son cou­pled with COVID-19. We answer com­mon ques­tions you may have about this year’s flu season. 

The begin­ning of this sum­mer saw the much-antic­i­pat­ed and dread­ed ​“cica­da inva­sion,” an event where two dif­fer­ent types of cicadas — those that emerge every 13 years and those that emerge every 17 years — made their simul­ta­ne­ous appear­ance. While the buzz of cica­da wings and the sight of their emp­ty exoskele­tons has dimin­ished, the effects of this unique phe­nom­e­non are still being felt in Chica­go and its sur­round­ing suburbs.

The ear­ly signs of Parkinson’s dis­ease aren’t always easy to spot. Here are 5 of the ones you might not be as famil­iar with.

There are many types of kid­ney tests to check your kid­ney func­tion and look for signs of dis­ease. Here’s what you can expect if you need to get tested.

What is glau­co­ma? Are you at risk? How is it treat­ed? Here’s what you need to know about glau­co­ma, eye pres­sure, and vision loss.

From hydra­tion to exer­cise, there are many ways to improve your kid­ney health, pre­vent kid­ney dis­ease, and slow down the pro­gres­sion of disease.

Did you know that when skin can­cer is detect­ed ear­ly, the 5‑year sur­vival rate for melanoma is 99%? Under­stand­ing the risk fac­tors, warn­ing signs and steps for iden­ti­fy­ing melanoma is the best way to detect this skin can­cer ear­ly when it is most treatable.