Hypoglycemia happens when the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood drops below the range that’s healthy for you. It’s also called low blood sugar or low blood glucose. Hypoglycemia is common in people with diabetes, especially Type 1 diabetes. For most people with diabetes, hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar level is below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 3.9 millimoles …

Long QT syndrome refers to an issue with your heart’s electrical system taking longer than normal to recharge between heartbeats. The QT interval is the section on an electrocardiogram (ECG) report that represents the time it takes your heart muscle to contract and then recover. Put another way, it’s the time it takes for your electrical system to fire an impulse through your ventricles …

Tetanus (pronounced “teh-tuh-nuhs”) is a bacterial infection that affects your nervous system. When the bacteria enter your body, they create a poison (toxin) that causes painful muscle contractions. Tetanus is commonly called lockjaw because it causes your neck and jaw muscles to lock up. A vaccine can prevent tetanus. Who does tetanus affect? Anyone can get tetanus, but the disease is more common …

Morphea (mor-FEE-uh) is a rare condition that causes painless, discolored patches on your skin. Typically, the skin changes appear on the belly, chest or back. But they might also appear on your face, arms and legs. Over time the patches may become firm, dry and smooth. Morphea tends to affect only the outer layers of your skin. But some forms …

Your liver is a large and powerful organ that performs hundreds of essential functions in your body. One of its most important functions is filtering toxins from your blood. While your liver is well-equipped for this job, its role as a filter makes it vulnerable to the toxins it processes. Too many toxins can overwhelm your liver’s resources and ability to function. …

Listeria infection is a foodborne bacterial illness that can be very serious for pregnant women, people older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems. It’s most commonly caused by eating improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products. Healthy people rarely become ill from listeria infection, but the disease can be fatal to unborn babies, newborns and people with …

Liposarcoma is a group of very rare cancers that begin in your fat cells. You can develop a liposarcoma in any part of your body, but these tumors typically begin in your belly, arms and legs. Healthcare providers treat liposarcoma with surgery to remove tumors. Some types of liposarcoma may come back, requiring additional treatment and long-term follow up to catch new liposarcomas before …

A lipoma is a round or oval-shaped lump of tissue that grows just beneath the skin. It’s made of fat, moves easily when you touch it and doesn’t usually cause pain. Lipomas can appear anywhere on the body, but they’re most common on the back, trunk (torso), arms, shoulders and neck. Lipomas are benign soft tissue tumors. They grow slowly and …

Lip cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control, resulting in tumors (solid tissue masses) or lesions (abnormal areas of skin) on your lips. Most lip cancers (about 90%) are squamous cell carcinoma. This type of cancer starts in the cells located in your skin’s outer layer. Less common types are basal cell carcinoma and melanoma. Lip cancer can develop on either your upper or lower lip, …

Neurodermatitis is a non-life-threatening skin condition involving itching and scratching, usually on just one or two patches of skin. It is also called lichen simplex chronicus. The itch can occur anywhere on the body but is most commonly found on the arms, shoulders, elbows, legs, ankles, wrists, hands, back of the neck or scalp. The anal and genital areas and …