Mayo Clinic Health Matters

A hernia occurs when a part of the intestine pushes through a weak spot in the stomach muscles. A hernia creates a soft lump or bulge under the skin.In children, hernias usually occur in one of two places:  An inguinal hernia occurs in the groin area.  An umbilical hernia occurs near the belly button.  Inguinal hernias in newborns and children result from a weakness in the abdominal wall that's present at birth. Sometimes the hernia will be visible only when an infant is crying, coughing or straining during a bowel movement. An inguinal hernia isn't necessarily dangerous, but surgery may be recommended to fix an inguinal hernia that's painful or enlarging. Inguinal hernia repair is a common surgical procedure and can be performed as an open or minimally invasive procedure. Umbilical hernias are most common in infants, but they can affect adults as well. In an infant, an umbilical hernia may be especially evident when the infant cries, causing the bellybutton to protrude. This is a classic sign of an umbilical hernia.Children's umbilical hernias often close on their own in the first two years of life, though some remain open into the fifth year or longer. Umbilical hernias that appear during adulthood are more likely to need surgical repair.On this edition of the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Angela Mattke, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician and host of "Ask the Mayo Mom," discusses treating hernias in children with Dr. Stephanie Polites, a pediatric surgeon in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The rapid spread of COVID-19 due to the omicron variant continues, and experts expect a January surge across the U.S. "This is spreading unlike anything we've seen in the U.S.," says Dr. Gregory Poland, head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.  "Over the last seven days, we're now averaging about 400,000 or so new cases a day."While people who are fully vaccinated can get breakthrough infections and spread the virus to others, COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent severe illness. Mayo Clinic experts urge people to protect themselves by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask. Being fully vaccinated, including getting a booster when eligible, offers the highest protection possible against COVID-19. "The good news is, for those who are immunized and boosted, we are winning the battle," says Dr. Poland. "Getting immunized is basically a weapon against this virus."On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland discusses the omicron surge and the importance of vaccines and boosters for COVID-19.Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Blood donations typically drop off around the holidays, making National Blood Donor Month in January and important time to share the message about saving lives by giving blood. The COVID-19 pandemic also has affected blood donations."The COVID-19 pandemic has really had an adverse effect on us recruiting and collecting blood donors in general," says Dr. Justin Juskewitch, associate medical director of Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Services. Millions of people need blood transfusions each year. Some may need blood during surgery. Others depend on it after an accident or because they have a disease that requires blood components. Blood donation makes this possible. "The inventory of today was the donations of yesterday," explains Dr. Juskewitch. "So paying it forward is also a really great way of helping take care of others. And then those others will be there for you when you meet your time of need. It's a great way to start the new year."On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Juskewitch discusses how to become a blood donor. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As 2021 comes to a close, the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast looks back at the impact of COVID-19 over the past year. "I think the thing that I look back on is the amazing speed with which science moved," says Dr. Gregory Poland, head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "When this all began in 2020, COVID-19 was absolutely blank slate. Now we have three vaccines in the U.S., and antiviral and monoclonal antibody treatments. That's really incredible."Despite the rapid scientific advancements, the U.S. still reached a grim milestone of 800,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more people died of the disease in 2021 than in 2020. COVID-19 has affected all aspects of life including the way people live, work, and go to school."It has been a profound wake-up call. I think we've developed an awareness of how fragile life and human health is. I think good things will come out of this," reflects Dr. Poland. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland joins host Dr. Halena Gazelka, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist, for a COVID-19 pandemic year in review.Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Treatment for certain cancers can affect sexuality, causing a range of signs and symptoms that can make sex more difficult. Sexual side effects from cancer treatment are common for men and women. Cancer in their pelvic area, including bladder, prostate, rectal, cervical, vaginal or vulvar cancer, can make it difficult to resume sex after treatment. "A surgical procedure, especially to the pelvis, can really impact the nerve endings and pelvic muscles that are directly involved in our sexual response," explains Dr. Jennifer Vencill, a Mayo Clinic psychologist and sex therapist. Chemotherapy and radiation also can have direct effects on sexual function. Other cancer treatment effects on sexuality may be less direct."We see these as a cascade effect of treatment," says Dr. Vencill. "This commonly comes up with loss of libido or decreased desire for sexual activity that could be indirectly related to anything from fatigue to nausea because of chemotherapy to body image concerns. Loss of libido could also be related to pain that has come from a surgery. We see these indirect effects often with our patients."Having cancer also affects emotions. For instance, people with cancer may feel anxious and worn out about their diagnosis, treatment or prognosis. These emotions also can affect their attitude toward sex and intimacy with a partner.Dr. Vencill explains that feelings of stress, anxiety and depression are common for cancer patients and their families. "In general, psychological and emotional stresses are barriers to sexual health. Of course, cancer and cancer treatment are a major life stressor," says Dr. Vencill.Dr. Vencill suggests that patience, exploration and support are key to sexual health after cancer.On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Vencill discusses how cancer and cancer treatment can affect sexuality and why it is important to be your own advocate. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Racial equity in health care has been a topic of discussion in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many inequities in the health care system. Racial and ethnic minority groups are being disproportionally affected by COVID-19, due to a long list of factors."Race is a particularly important aspect of COVID-19 in terms of diagnosis and treatment, mainly because people of color and people of ethnic minorities are often in jobs that make it harder for them to access health care," says Dr. Abinash Virk, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases physician. "They may also have difficulty accessing testing. Therefore, there's a delay diagnosis."The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines social determinants of health as the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, play and worship that affect their health risks and outcomes.Dr. Virk explains that community engagement is an important step to developing trust and improving equity in health care."As healthcare providers, it's important for us to listen to people's individual concerns and to continue to educate people with scientific, nonbiased information so they can believe in us," says Dr. Virk. "What we've found through the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through the vaccination program that we've had over the last year, is that community engagement has been really important in terms of getting people to understand how COVID-19 affects them and how they can mitigate their risk." On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Virk discusses racial and gender equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For people with epilepsy and movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, electrical stimulation of the brain can be part of their treatment. "Many of the diseases that we think about as neurological diseases are diseases of circuitry in the brain," says Dr. Kai Miller, a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon. "And one way we can interact with those circuits in order to have patients have improvement in their symptoms is to use electrical stimulation." Brain stimulation treatment also may help people with psychiatric illness and direct brain injuries, such as stroke. But understanding how brain networks interact with each other is complicated. To improve and expand treatment options, Mayo Clinic and Google Research are using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a new algorithm to improve brain stimulation devices."Artificial intelligence is a set of mathematical and statistical tools that we can use to distinguish different types of brain measurements," explains Dr. Dora Hermes, a Mayo Clinic biomedical engineer and researcher on the project. "There is a lot we can do with artificial intelligence or machine learning tools. And in this case, we used it to distinguish different types of inputs to a particular brain area in an automated fashion." On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Drs. Miller and Dr. Hermes, first author and senior author on the AI algorithm study, respectively, discuss the use of artificial intelligence to improve brain stimulation treatments.Read more about the work of Mayo Clinic and Google Research on AI and brain stimulation devices. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It's so common that most children have been infected with the virus by age 2.RSV can cause severe infection in some people, especially premature infants, older adults, people with heart and lung disease, or anyone with a weak immune system.In severe cases, RSV infection can spread to the lower respiratory tract, causing pneumonia or bronchiolitis — inflammation of the small airway passages entering the lungs. Signs and symptoms may include:  Congested or runny nose Dry cough Low-grade fever Sore throat Sneezing Headache Treatment for RSV generally involves self-care measures, but hospital care may be needed if severe symptoms occur.On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Ask the Mayo Mom host Dr. Angela Mattke, Mayo Clinic pediatrician, is joined by Dr. Jay Homme, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, and Dr. Jim Homme, a Mayo Clinic pediatric emergency medicine physician, to discuss what parents and caregivers should expect for RSV and bronchiolitis this season. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

More Americans are now eligible for COVID-19 booster doses as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine booster for 16- and 17-year-olds late last week. Previously, only those 18 and older were eligible.Early research suggests that a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine improves protection against severe disease caused by the omicron variant, according to Pfizer.Mayo Clinic experts say, regardless of the variant, prevention of infection works. Getting a booster offers the highest protection possible against COVID-19."Omicron infection rates are picking up rapidly," says Dr. Gregory Poland, head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "If we do not take the proper precaution over the holiday, we are going to see a January omicron surge."Dr. Poland explains that there are two threats — delta and omicron COVID-19 variants — but there is a solution. "Masking and boosting — those are key to protecting yourself and your family."On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland discusses the latest on COVID-19 variants and shares advice on how to stay safe this holiday season.Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

When it comes to itchy, red skin, it’s possible that psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, could be the cause. "Psoriasis and eczema are both skin reactions to the inflammation or immune system coming to the skin and causing a reaction," says Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist.Psoriasis is thought to be an immune system problem that causes the skin to regenerate at faster-than-normal rates. This rapid turnover of cells results in scales and red patches.Eczema results from irritants or allergens. It's common in children, but can occur at any age. And people with eczema often have other sensitivities, including asthma, hay fever or food allergies.Both are long-term chronic conditions that don’t have a cure but can be treated. It is important for people with psoriasis or eczema to seek care to control flares-ups and improve their quality of life."Anticipate a lifelong relationship with your dermatologist or primary care provider so that we can take care of your skin over time and keep track of the treatment and management of your condition," explains Dr. Davis.On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Davis helps explain the similarities, differences and treatments for psoriasis and eczema. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy