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Respiratory illness season is here, and with it typically comes snotty, stuffy noses. Earlier this fall a Food and Drug Administration panel concluded that oral phenylephrine—a common active ingredient in cold and allergy medicines—is useless at clearing up congestion. Now that many of these over-the-counter drugs officially don't work, what are some other remedies and medications adults and children can turn to? "It is always a hot topic," says Andrew Lane, a rhinologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center. "Whether it's the cold and flu season or allergy season, seems like year-round, congestion is one of the most common things that people come in to see us for." Lane treats nose and sinus problems and studies how the specialized cells lining the nasal cavity and sinuses participate in the body's immune response—and can contribute to chronic inflammation. He talked with Scientific American about what causes nasal congestion, as wel

Introduction Osteoarticular infections (OAI) is an umbrella term for inflammation usually due to bacterial infection of bone and/or joints. The term OAI includes osteomyelitis (OM), septic arthritis (SA), septic osteoarthritis, spondylodiscitis (SD), pyogenic sacroiliitis (PSI), septic tenosynovitis, and chondritis. Acute OAI are defined as the diagnosis within 2 weeks after the onset of clinical manifestations in a previously uninfected location (1, 2). Historically, Staphylococcus aureus has been described as the most prevalent microorganism involved in OAI in any age group (3). However, in recent years Kingella kingae has been described as the main causative agent of OAI in children aged 6–48 months (4). K. kingae OAI are usually characterized by a mild clinical presentation, minor increase in biological markers, and a better outcome than those caused by other bacteria, especially S. aureus (5). Children with S. aureus OAI tend to be older, have an associated fever, and a m

A sore throat is a common symptom of many illnesses, ranging from nonserious to life-threatening. Sore throat is also a sign of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the contagious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While it is rare, it is possible to have COVID-19 with a sore throat as the only symptom. A sore throat might also be the first or one of the earliest symptoms. However, fever is more likely to present first or with a sore throat. Additional early symptoms may include loss of taste and smell. It is also possible to have COVID-19 and not have a sore throat. This article will describe sore throat symptoms in COVID-19, sore throat linked to long COVID-19, non-COVID causes, treatments for a COVID-19 sore throat, and more.  AnnaStills / Getty Images Describing Sore Throat Symptoms in COVID No evidence suggests that a COVID-19 sore throat feels different from a sore throat related to another cause, including the common cold, strep throat

Because syphilis and LGV had been ruled out, doxycycline was discontinued and a regimen of valacyclovir 1 g every 8 hours for 3 weeks was started. The patient had a remarkable response to the antiviral agent. At his clinic follow-up 10 weeks after the completion of antiviral therapy, his symptoms had completely resolved. A sigmoidoscopy performed approximately 3 months after antiviral treatment ended revealed normal rectal mucosa and no evidence of masses. A biopsy performed at the time of the sigmoidoscopy did not show any histopathologic features consistent with HSV. Several infectious diseases can cause rectal mass conditions in patients with HIV infection, including syphilis, LGV, CMV infection, and HHV-8 infection. [1,2,3] HHV-8 in the setting of HIV infection often becomes relevant in individuals with very low CD4 T-cell counts, in whom it manifests as Kaposi sarcoma. Human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6), another member of the herpes virus group, could also be r

Ocular tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis remains a challenge as it is mainly achieved by detection of coexistence active systemic TB, or as in many cases is presumptive, based on a positive tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay [1]. Testing to confirm the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) in the eye is not commonly performed. In a study by the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS) group involving 962 patients from 25 centres, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing using ocular fluid samples was performed only in 59 patients (6.1%) [2]. While only a small subset of patients underwent these tests, a positive result (33 out of 59 patients, 55.9%) would definitely lead to the decision to start anti-tubercular treatment (ATT) [2]. We analysed data from all uveitis patients who underwent PCR including Mtb in the panel before or shortly during