My son has had multiple X-rays over the past six years, including abdominal X-rays for severe constipation, imaging after a head injury, and several chest X-rays for coughs and respiratory symptoms. Some X-rays had to be repeated because he moved.
I usually refuse chest X-rays when I’m confident he has a mild viral infection, and only agree when he has a fever or more severe symptoms. But this time, he went with his dad, and they did a chest X-ray for what seemed like a mild cough. They said he had airway inflammation.
Now I’m worried about his cumulative radiation exposure and whether some of these scans could have been avoided.
Should I be worried about the number of X-rays he’s had? Has anyone else dealt with this?

Hi everyone,

Two days ago I pet a stray cat (no collar) on the street in Thailand. It looked healthy and clean, and a local was also petting its head and said something that sounded like "long", which I think means "try it" (after some research). The cat walked towards me on its own after I called once or twice and never showed agressive behaviour.

I only petted the cat on its head and body, and it didn't scratch, bite or lick me. It only licked my shoe. Afterwards it did walk past my legs and rubbed its fur against them. The cat might have licked its own fur, before I pet it and it walked past my legs. I have a few mosquito bites on my legs, but nothing really bloody. They're more like red spots that I've scratched, or that have opened but dried into a small scab, and there are at most 4 of them (added pictures). I also have to add that I have a very light scratch on 2 finger tips of the hand which I pet with. I had these before petting the cat. The scratches are not deep, 1 or 2 layers of skin, and did not bleed before, during or after I petted the cat (added in pictures).

Now I'm wondering whether I should be thinking about catching any diseases from the cat, rabies in particular, or not. Does anyone know how this works and whether I should take any action?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Kind regards

This dead toe has been dead for quite a while and it did get worse recently (turn the whole toe purple) but everyone was saying to simply wait for it to all off but then I noticed that there’s more discoloration now which I find concerning. Earlier, I stubbed it pretty badly on the bed frame and it started bleeding and is extremely painful right now. I’m worried if I should get this checked already or if it’s okay to simply wait for it to fall off (which it hasn’t for months). Is this infected or is this normal for a dead toe that’s about to fall off.

Please help 😓 What should I do?

hey y’all! so i’m 18F turning 19 following wednesday, and i went to Kaiser wednesday night because i’ve been having vertigo which was something I’ve dealt with for a long while. they did blood work, urine sample, and CT scan, and everything was normal except my urine sample results showed i have a UTI. they prescribed me cefopoxodime 200 mg 6 pills and i had to take one pill every 12 hours so like 3 days essentially.

well, yesterday i took my first dose at 12:30 PM, and at 6:15, my arms were red and were hot when i touched them. also , i was getting cold as well , but my temp showed 98.1. i stopped taking it as per my mom’s advice, and she also advised i talk to my PCP. today i called my pcp’s office and the lady took my concerns and even marked it as urgent, and they’ll prescribe me new medication. another lady called me telling me that my pcp is aware and that they’re working to get me new medication. it might either come during the weekend or on Monday. the first lady also gave me the reference number as well.

in the meantime , will it spread ? i’m genuinely so scared y’all and my 19th birthday is on the 28th omg i don’t wanna be dealing with this 😭

30F, with asthma and EDS

Since February when I had a bad influenza case (confirmed by testing) that lasted a couple of weeks, approximately once a month I've been hit with a respiratory illness/sinus infection. Each time has almost exactly the same symptoms - starts with a mild sore throat and then usually overnight quickly develops into night sweats, cough (not an initial symptom but gets progressively worse and is the last one to recover), and other symptoms of congestion, runny nose, sometimes fever, etc. There is also severe sinus pain each time, but it tends to fade before other symptoms are completely gone. These symptoms usually keep me stuck in bed for 3-5 days and symptoms mostly resolve between 7 to 10 days (except maybe a lingering cough and slight congestion).

I've tried various OTC cold/flu and allergy meds, with no effect. After the third bout in May, I went to the doctor who suggested they were recurring sinus infections, prescribed some antibiotics and referred me to an ENT. Antibiotics did not seem to speed recovery. At the ENT (several weeks later so no symptoms at this point) they suggested I was not fully recovering back to normal between sinus infections, and an exam found a deviated septum as well as bilateral inferior turbinate hypertrophy as well as bilateral tonsil hypertrophy. He prescribed prednisone, amoxicillin, and flonase, and a CT scan following those.

At the follow up with the ENT post-CT scan he advised trying to manage it medically first rather than going to surgical intervention, and to come back if (when) the illness returned.

Between the end of June, when the Prednisone and amoxicillin were prescribed and the beginning of October there have not been any occurrences, but this week I came down again with the same set of symptoms and progression (starts as mild sore throat, rapidly escalated to sinus pain and pressure and a 102 fever, cough developed approx day 3 and has been worsening the last few days). We called the ENT back but he said it did not count as another sinus infection until 10 days without improvement and suggested I get tested for the flu and COVID.

My PCP is also booked out for months so the office scheduled me with an NP, who gave some recommendations (vitamins) to help lower my chances of getting sick again and collected a sample for the flu/COVID test.

At this point it doesn't matter to me what the issue specifically is - reoccurring viral infection, bacterial, whatever - I just need someone who can help me get to the root cause, because feeling ill for at least 7-10 days once a month nearly 5/9 months of the year with the only break being due to a seemingly aggressive round of steroids and antibiotics seems to me to be (1) not normal and (2) is really causing me a lot of mental and physical exhaustion. I also understand that my symptoms are non-specific and this most recent illness could be unrelated but I am really at my wits end with being sick.

for context, im 17, virgin (unless you count self pleasure bc i do do that time to time) and a lesbian so although i am scared im pregnant, unless i am the mother marry herself (no angels have told me im having the 2nd coming of christ so) theres no shot i dont think. this hasnt happened before although i have had a period that lasted a week longer than it should have a year ago. i also feel a bit nauseous and my stomach has been hurting but idk if it is or isnt related. i am however also extremely tired even though i have had a few good nights of sleep recently. idk what it is. ik google (big mistake) named hormones, cysts (which my mom did have before i was born), pregnancy, and changes in weight and diet which i did gain like 3 pounds over the summer but 3 probably wouldnt change a thing and if it did i think it would have been an issue before my weight plateaued. idk what it is and i am kinda concerned. might be stress bc of college and some pesky guy but i feel im lessed stressed than usual even with that. idk. i dont know if i should mentioned it to my mom bc i am scared that shell think i did somethingx

Basically I was hiking and jumped off of a 10ft or so builder. It immediately hurt fairly bad on my heel and I kept hiking a couple miles. It took me a while to get it fully checked but it turned out to be a a bone bruise.

A later MRI said this:

1. Possible contusion of the plantar posterior calcaneus and soft tissues.
2. Small ankle joint effusion.

What can I do to fix this faster?!? My podiatrist hasn’t been super helpful and she’s the only person I’ve gone to about this. It’s been 6 months now and it’s definitely gotten better but this is taking forever and I’m really worried.

I’m 44M and have lost approximately 90 lbs over the past year through calorie restriction, strength training, and cardio. Recent bloodwork continues to show mild anemia, although some values have improved.

Latest labs (October 13, 2026):

Hemoglobin: 12.7 g/dL (previously 12.3)
Hematocrit: 38.7% (previously 38.3%)
RBC: 4.25 million/µL (previously 4.14)
MCV: 91.1 fL
MCH: 29.9 pg
RDW: 12.7%
Reticulocytes: 0.7% (absolute 30,170/µL)

Ferritin: 178 ng/mL
Serum iron: 108 µg/dL
Iron saturation: 43%
WBC: 4.5 thousand/µL
Platelets: 201 thousand/µL
CRP: <3 mg/L
ESR: 11 mm/h

Other relevant labs:
Vitamin B12: 451 pg/mL (July)
Folate: 13.9 ng/mL (July)
TSH: 2.25 mIU/L
Creatinine: 1.06 mg/dL
eGFR: 89

I’m wondering whether prolonged weight loss, calorie restriction, or regular intensive exercise could contribute to this pattern, or whether hormonal causes should be investigated.

I am dealing with this unexplained mild anemia since June.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I’m a 44 year old woman, 5’3” and 206lbs. I have endometriosis, PCOS, fibromyalgia, and a history of chronic constipation since my late teens. I also take quetiapine and atomoxetine for ADHD.

About 2 weeks ago, I ended up in the ER after going around a week without a bowel movement. I tried a Fleet enema at home but nothing happened. I wasn’t in severe pain, but I hadn’t been able to pass gas for around 24 hours, had a lot of pressure and heaviness, and felt like I needed to pee but couldn’t.
The doctor did an ultrasound and was shocked at how full my entire colon was. He said my rectum measured 6cm on the ultrasound. I also had an X-ray, blood tests and another ultrasound. He ended up manually disimpacting me and giving me an enema, after which I managed to pass a normal sized bowel movement.

I was sent home and told to take Lax-A-Day twice a day, Senokot and increase my fluid intake. It’s now been 15 days, and despite following the instructions, I’m still barely passing anything. I’ve been taking two doses of Lax-A-Day daily, drinking around 93oz of water with electrolytes, and took 3 Senokot tablets a day for the first 5 days.

Since the impaction, I’ve only passed a few bowel movements, mostly watery diarrhea, and a couple of tiny amounts of very loose, narrow, tubular stool. I’m talking a few little pieces, nowhere near a normal bowel movement. I can pass gas again, but significantly less than before the impaction, when I was passing large amounts of extremely foul smelling gas.

I went to my doctor’s office for a follow up and was advised to take Metamucil, use Fleet enemas and take magnesium citrate. I was concerned about taking fibre in case I still had a large, hard stool stuck, so I spoke to a pharmacist. They advised me not to take the Metamucil for now and recommended drinking the entire bottle of magnesium citrate.

I took it shortly before writing this post and am waiting to see whether it works. Something else that may or may not be relevant is that in my early 30s, I had a stomach bug that caused severe vomiting, to the point that I threw up small chunks of what appeared to be stool.

I’m really worried because I’m still not emptying properly despite the laxatives and increased fluids. Could I still have a faecal impaction, or could there be a bowel obstruction or another underlying problem? What investigations would be appropriate at this point? Should I be asking for further imaging or a gastroenterology referral?

Sorry for the TMI, but I’m getting worried and would really appreciate any medical insight.

F 32

Tried to search the sub but didn't really find anything applicable.

So about six weeks ago now, I was sick for about two days. Cough, headache, malaise, all that. Took the day off work to recover. Since then, I feel perfectly fine, but the cough just WILL NOT GO AWAY. After about three and a half weeks I went to the doctor, they did a chest X-ray and confirmed everything was clear. She gave me an inhaler and a cough suppressant. It got a tiny bit better in that my chest doesn't hurt when I cough anymore, but I'm out of the meds at this point and otherwise still in the same condition. There's no mucus, or very little, and I have a persistent feeling of tightness at the base of my throat. Exercise doesn't seem to irritate it, but talking definitely does. I don't smoke, I don't have asthma, and I'm losing my mind. Help!

I'm [M28] I am not sure whether I am in the right place for this however I have been suffering with aches and numbness in my face for a while now which has now been accompanied by frequent head aches in different parts of my head, it comes and goes in waves and the headaches have only come on not to long ago and it doesn't feel like a it's a normal headache can't really describe it.

Anyways I went to the doctor back in August and booked me in for an MRI scan which I have now gotten for the 21st of this month and I am just wondering what it's like when you go in for an MRI scan.

My head aches don't seem to be getting any better as I have always suffered with facial numbness and i don't know whether it's linked to my mother as she suffers with bells palsy so I am kind of worried about the whole thing and just need some advice really thank you.

Female, Age 24, 5’3, 84lb, non smoker, not currently on meds.
I’ve been seen so many doctors and specialists over the years it’s not even funny. It feels like i’m going nuts and they don’t believe there’s anything wrong with me, yet another one of my finger tips started going numb today so I thought screw it time to crowd source and see if anyone has some ideas!
Current symptoms include:
-Tremors and body shakes, hands are the worse cant flex my right hand without inducing a violent tremor
-Severe muscle guarding in neck
-Chronic fatigue and brain fog
-Joint pain constantly
-Extremely difficult to wake up in the mornings(takes my bf like 15+ minutes to shake me awake and i sleep through at least 4 alarms on weekdays)
-rapid heart rate
-Migraines, sometimes with facial numbness
-Numbness/tingling in fingers and toes
-Coordination issues/clumsiness, legit have not been able to walk in a straight line in years
-Poor depth perception to the point where i run into things and knock cups or other items when reaching for them often
-Pads of feet have little to no feeling
-Hair loss, major lost about a third of my hair in the last year
-Chronic neck tightness/muscle guarding
-Weight stays around 82-86lbs despite trying to gain
-Loose stools and mucus in stool
-Frequent urination (often hourly)
-Urinary urgency and occasional leakage if I hold it too long
-Leg swelling/indentations from clothing or socks, lasting hours
-Bleeding gums/poor gum health
-Enlarged groin lymph nodes that have been present for months and fluctuate in size but never fully disappear
-Irregular menstrual bleeding since my January hospitalization
Medical history
Hospitalized in January for severe menstrual bleeding and almost needed a transfusion
Hospitalized last year for randomly passing out in my kitchen
Went into AFIB randomly when I was 21 and was hospitalized
Pelvic Congestion Syndrome
Nutcracker Syndrome
ADHD
Tachycardia/arrhythmia
Hypoglycemia
History of kidney stones(passed 2x)
Went gluten-free in May and had an improvement in energy, brain fog, sleep, neurological, and GI symptoms for the first couple months, but many symptoms have gradually returned despite staying gluten-free.
I’m adopted so I don’t know my family medical history
Most recent set of labs from new pcp:
TSH 1.090 uIU/mL
T4, Free(Direct) 1.56 no/dl
WBC 9.6 10*3/uL
RBC 5.26 10*6/uL
Hemoglobin 14.3 g/dL
Hematocrit 44.3%
MCV 84 fL
MCH 27.2 pg
MCHC 32.3 g/dL
RDW 12.9%
Platelets 373 10*3/uL
Neutrophils Absolute 6.4 10*3/uL
Lymphs Absolute 2.3 10*3/uL
Monocytes Absolute 0.7 10*3/uL
EOS Absolute 0.2 10*3/uL
BASO Absolute 0.1 10*3/uL
Immature Granulocytes Absolute 0 10*3/uL
Glucose 87 mg/dL
BUN 11 mg/dL
Creatinine 0.73 mg/dL
eGFR 118 mL/min/1.73m2
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 15
Sodium 139 mmol/L
Potassium 4.6 mmol/L
Chloride 100 mmol/L
Carbon Dioxide Total 21 mmol/L
Calcium 10.1 mg/dL
Protein Total 7.9 g/dL
Albumin 4.8 g/dL
Globulin Total 3.1 g/dL
Bilirubin Total 0.9 mg/dL
Alkaline Phosphatase 49 IU/L
AST(SGOT) 21 IU/L
ALT(SGPT) 14 IU/L
TIBC 398 guys/dL
UIBC 334 ug/dL
Iron 64 ug/dL
Iron saturation 16%
B12 798 pg/mL
Folate(Folic Acid) Serum >20 ng/mL
Hemoglobin A1c 5.0%
Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy 34.5 ng/mL
C-Reactive Protein, Cardiac 5.94 mg/L
Anti-CCP AB, IgG/IgA 5 units
ESR 12 mm/hr
Ferritin 56 ng/mL
ANA by IFA Rfx Titer/Pattern negative

from may this year:
iron saturation 9%
iron total 19
hemoglobin and hematocrit low end and history of blood work showing significant lows going back 4 years, as low as 10.4, averaging 12.5 or under
vitamin d 29
mcv 83.5
iron total 32
prealbumin 19
EMA-iga negative
intrinsic factor blocking negative

imaging:
no bowel thickening severe inflammation or narrowing on recent CT in January
enlarged appendix from CT this month

let me know if you’d like to know about other tests! i can look to see if i had them done.

thank you all in advance!

all i did was go to a happy hour in dc and sit on the patio :( i was wearing ballet flats and jeans so this is roughly all the skin that was exposed on my lower legs. first pic is the day after happy hour and second and third are from today.

do i need a doctor?? itch lotion? to stop scratching??

24f and no known major allergies, though i generally have seasonal allergies and an autoimmune disorder (so my body often overreacts to stuff like this).

My 5-year-old daughter has been having some really strange pain in her left upper thigh for the past couple of days, and I’m wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar.
The weirdest part is that she’s completely normal most of the time. She runs, jumps, plays, and walks with absolutely no issues or limping.
But when she sits on the toilet or in her car seat, she starts complaining that her upper thigh hurts. Sometimes she cries pretty hard. Once she’s been sitting for a while, she may calm down, but when I lift her up (under her arms, with her legs hanging), she cries in significant pain. When I set her down, she limps for maybe a minute before going right back to walking completely normally. She’ll go the entire school day without complaints (it seems to be mostly when sitting on toilet or car seat when her legs hang)
She recently recovered from a lingering respiratory virus, so I’m wondering if that could be related.
We saw her pediatrician today. During the examination, the doctor bent/moved her leg while she was sitting with her legs dangling, and she cried pretty intensely. There was no visible redness or swelling. The pediatrician mentioned possible transient synovitis but wasn’t certain, and recommended giving it a few days and getting bloodwork if it doesn’t improve.
She’s otherwise acting completely normal, with no known fever.
I’m really freaked out about what it could be if she is suggesting bloodwork if it doesn’t clear up. Bc it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. It’s been like 3 days now.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their child? Did it turn out to be hip-related, muscular, or something else?
I’m following up with her pediatrician, but I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences.

Is there any cold medicine that can help you fall asleep at night, I'm think coming down with one and sometimes they keep me up at night.

So it feels numb and its like leather. I don't know if its some sort of build up. Lately, I wear slippers around the house, barefoot whenever I'm in my bedroom and for outside, I wear crocs. If I pinch it, it feels like some thick skin.

for some context, i do have scarred tonsils already and have previously suffered with tonsil stones, but have just noticed today these white spots on both tonsils? no pain and no other symptoms just these, tonsils don’t appear to be more swollen or red than usual, i do have regular mostly unprotected sex and worrying a bit about this🥲🥲

F (36), suffering from insulin resistance, I'm taking 850 metformin and 10mg escitalopram for depression and anxiety.
So since july-aug i started getting horrible pains on the upper part of my stomach, like right between the ribs. It comes and goes, sometimes gets better with omeprazol sometimes it doesn't, i made changes in diet and also got a endoscopy and colonoscopy, both came negative for anything (no h pylori). 2 days ago the pain got so unbereable that i started sweating cold and i thought i would pass out but after 3 minutes or so it disappeared, today it happened again and i went to the urgent care here in m ycountry and i was told it was "irritable bowels" but my bowels don't hurt, it's my stomach... they keep saying exercise more and drink more water, but i stopped going to the gym because it hurts to "bounce" and i drink at least 700ml (my waterbottle) a day, if not more.
Tomorrow i have another doc appointment with a gastroenterologist but i am unsure if they will tell me im ok like all doctors i've seen have told me, can anybody guide me on how should i speak to the doctor ? maybe im not being clear with my problems or whatever.

It's stressing the fuck out of me that all my labs always come "fine"

I have asked every single specialist I see what this is on my feet and no one knows for sure. Some context: 44, female, I have a myriad of chronic medical conditions (Sjogren’s, Gastroparesis, hx of Thyroid Cancer) and likely undiagnosed stuff ( Eosinophilia, chronically high Neuteophils). For the past 4 my feet have looked like this- reddish/purple blotches. Doesn’t change, and doesn’t hurt. When pressed, they disappear for a second then return. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!

For the past week and a half, I have been feeling a pain in my lower right rib. It’s an annoying throbbing pain, and I’m guessing it’s either I pulled a muscle or a growth spurt. Right when I realized that I was feeling the pain in my ribs, I made sure to eat, drink, and use the bathroom more, and the pain still wouldn’t go away. I don’t know if I should see a doctor about this or not

27, Female. In March 2026 my ex partner reached out saying they tested positive for ureaplasma and suggested I get checked. I checked in May 2026 and was told by my doctor it came back negative. In October 2026 I did my regular STI testing and asked for Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma to be added on just incase. When I checked my results online I saw the results from May 2026 and it said I was positive for Ureaplasma despite my doctor indicating I was negative. She apologized for the mix up and told me that my October 2026 result had come back negative despite not ever doing treatment and said the body can naturally get rid of Ureaplasma on its own. So my questions are:
1) Would you still take the Doxy incase the second test was a false negative
2) If yes, should my current partner treat as well?
3) Has anyone else naturally cured it or is this fake news?
• I should note I have had ongoing vaginal issues for years from yeast infections after my periods, lichen simplex chronicus, etc. but never burning with urination. I am not sure if these things ive experienced are related to Ureaplasma or not, so I cant say for certain it has ever been Ureaplasma causing symptoms.

I'm 20 male and yesterday I had an erection and my gf sat on my lap afterward. It hurt a bit because of all the weight being pushed against my dick, so I asked her to get off. I'm concerned about letting her sit on my lap because I get hard and I've read about Peyronie's disease and how it can is caused by the penis being bent and injured while erect. Do I need to be concerned about this incident? I'm afraid of sitting on an erection causing injury to my dick.

Im not sure if this is even the place to post this but i just need to let it out..

I feel so lost. For 2+ months ive had constant daily thoughts and urges to harm my toddler in lethal ways.
Ive cried, panicked and even tried to run away..i just dont know what to do anymore…ive called my
Gp and theyve given me antipsychotics along with my antidepressants.

Nothing seems to be taking it away and I’m starting to think its just who i am and that I’m a monster, i feel nothing when i look at him just empty, dark misery…even writing this is making me feel a tad sick.

I look at other mothers with their kids and i know that this isn’t normal but i just can’t seem to get rid of it or get better? I’ve even been to the hospital and sat for 5 hours in a&e just to try and get help but nothing!!! I’ve just recently found out I’m pregnant with baby no2 and I can’t even see myself being here to see my baby be born.

I don’t know the point in this post but i guess i just wanted to vent about how my love that i once had for my son has vanished and I’ve now got this desire to hurt him. I’m just so tired and sad.

I was walking home from the train station (less than a mile and slightly downhill). About halfway home started to feel dizzy and sudden urge to consume sugary foods. Went into the shop to buy snacks and started sweating. By the time I got home (less than 5 minutes from the shop)I had sweated through a vest into my shirt which had visible patches. What on earth happened to me?