Medical bills can be confusing and stressful. But with some basic know-how and organization, you can manage them and avoid overpaying for your health care. After you receive a health care service, you get: A medical bill from your provider. If you have no health insurance, this is the amount that you pay. If you're...

Finding the right nursing home can help you feel safe and cared for. A good first step to choosing a nursing home is to make a list of homes you might be interested in. Talk to family, friends, doctors, and others to get recommendations of good nursing homes. If you can, it's good to plan ahead so you have time to learn...

Provides links that give tips, like making the most of your appointment and getting better care at lower costs. Also includes links on understanding lab results and deciding whether to get a flu vaccine.

Provides links to info on cancer. Topics covered include breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and cancer pain. Links to info that can help you make a decision on diagnostic or screening tests. Includes info on treatment choices.

Covers how you can start eating healthier. Looks at making small changes toward healthier eating habits. Offers advice on dealing with barriers to healthy eating. Includes how healthy eating can help lower your risk for disease.

When you're ready to make some changes to your eating habits, having a plan for how you'll get started can help you succeed. Healthy eating is about balance, variety, and moderation. It means that you eat enough, but not too much, and that you eat a variety of foods that give you the nutrients you need to stay healthy...

Briefly discusses common causes that make a young baby or child cry. Offers interactive tool to help decide when to seek care. Also offers home treatment tips.

A computed tomography (CT) scan uses X-rays to make detailed pictures of structures inside of the body. During the test, you lie on a table that is attached to the CT scanner, which is a large doughnut-shaped machine. The CT scanner sends X-ray pulses through the body. Each pulse lasts less than a second and takes a...

Covers the basics of obesity. Discusses health risks such as hypertension related to having excess body fat. Focuses on lifestyle changes you can make, like healthy eating and exercise. Includes information on weight-loss medicines and surgery and on creating a long-term plan with your doctor.

Having support from people in your life is one thing that helps make healthy eating a lot easier. Support for healthy eating can come in many different forms. It might be: A friend who notices how you're eating better. A family member who doesn't tempt you when you're trying to eat less of certain foods. A coworker or...

Pain can be caused by many things, such as an injury, a surgery, or a health problem like low back pain or cancer. Long-term pain that isn't controlled can make it harder to enjoy life. But there are ways you can learn to manage pain. And managing pain can have a lot of benefits, like being able to do more activities or...

Many people are affected by mental health problems such as depression or panic disorders. These problems can make it harder to think clearly, manage how you feel, and work with other people. Sometimes you may feel helpless and hopeless. But you're not alone. Talking with others who suffer from these problems may help...

Local anesthesia is a method to deliver pain control medicine to a specific area. It can be injected or applied to the skin or mucous membranes to numb an area and its surrounding tissues. Local anesthesia does not make the person sleepy or relieve other pains. But it may be used along with other medicines that have...

What is an environmental illness? An environmental illness can occur when you are exposed to toxins or substances in the environment that make you sick. These health hazards may be found where you live, work, or play. Maybe you have headaches that only occur on weekends. Or maybe you began to feel sick and got a rash...

Each Decision Point is designed to guide you through a key health decision. Decision Points combine medical information with your personal values to help you make a wise health decision. See a list of: Decision Points about medical tests. Decision Points about medicines. Decision Points about surgeries. Decision Points...

What is anorexia? Anorexia is a type of eating disorder. People who have anorexia usually have a very low body weight because of an intense fear of gaining weight. They may not eat enough food because of this fear. Some people with anorexia make themselves vomit to avoid weight gain. Sometimes they exercise too much...

What is child care? Child care is short-term care by someone other than a parent. There are two basic types of child care: individual and group. Individual providers. These providers care for only your child or children. The provider may be a family member or friend, a nanny, an au pair, or a babysitter. Group...