Bullous pemphigoid (bull-us pem-fuh-goyd) is a rare skin condition that causes itchy, hive-like welts or fluid-filled blisters. It may affect a small area of your body or it may be widespread. Blisters may occur anywhere, but often develop on flexural areas of your skin, such as under your armpits (axilla), around your groin or on your stomach (abdomen). In some …

Bulimia nervosa, also called bulimia, is an eating disorder. Eating disorders are mental health conditions that can be potentially life-threatening. If you have an eating disorder, you may have an obsession with food and weight. This obsession can harm your physical and emotional well-being. Bulimia nervosa can be defined as a pattern of eating characterized by: Consuming an unusually large amount …

Buerger’s disease (thromboangiitis obliterans) is a rare disease of the blood vessels in your arms, legs, fingers and toes. Inflammation in your blood vessels makes it hard for your blood to flow through them. Blood clots can form, which create obstacles inside your blood vessels. As a result, you can have pain and damaged tissues starting in your fingers and toes and spreading to your arms …

Bruxism is when you clench, grind or gnash your teeth. It usually occurs subconsciously, and it can happen when you’re awake or asleep. Many people grind their teeth every now and then, especially during stressful times. But if you do it a lot, it can put extra strain on your teeth and jaws, leading to dental damage, headaches, jaw pain and …

Brugada syndrome is a disease that can cause an abnormal rhythm in your heart’s lower chambers (ventricles). This irregular heart rhythm, ventricular fibrillation (v-fib), prevents your heart from pumping blood to your brain. When this happens, you faint. V-fib can lead to sudden cardiac death. This often happens while you’re at rest or asleep. Out of all the sudden cardiac deaths that happen, researchers blame Brugada syndrome …

Brucellosis (pronounced “bru-cell-OH-sis”) is a disease you get from the bacteria Brucella. It can cause vague symptoms like fever, joint pain and sweating that come and go over a long time. Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning you get it from animals. It’s also sometimes called undulant fever, Malta fever, Mediterranean fever and many other names. Who does brucellosis affect? Brucellosis …

Bronchiolitis is a viral infection that affects children younger than 2 years old. It causes the airways (bronchioles) in your child’s lungs to narrow, which makes breathing difficult. If your child develops this infection, you may notice they have symptoms similar to a common cold (runny nose, cough) in addition to noisy breathing (wheezing). The infection is seasonal. It’s more likely to occur during …

A broken wrist, or wrist fracture, can occur in any of the 10 bones that make up your forearm and wrist. These include your: Radius: Larger forearm bone. Ulna: Smaller forearm bone. Carpal bones: Eight small bones located at the base of your hand. The most common broken wrist bone is the radius. Hand surgeons call this a distal radius fracture. Types of wrist fractures …

A broken toe, or toe fracture, is a common injury. The bones in your toes are tiny and vulnerable, so they can break easily. Even though these bones are small, injuries to them can be quite painful. In addition, all the bones in your feet and toes work together when you walk. So, when you break one, it can affect how your …

A broken rib is a common injury that occurs when one of the bones in the rib cage breaks or cracks. The most common causes are hard impacts from falls, car accidents or contact sports. Many broken ribs are simply cracked. Cracked ribs are painful. But they don’t cause the problems that ribs that have broken into pieces can. The …