If you are overweight or have obesity, losing weight can improve your health. It might also help you prevent weight-related diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and some cancers. A healthy diet is an important part of a weight-loss program. It:

• May include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
• May include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts
• Goes easy on saturated fats, trans fat, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars

The key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat and drink. A diet can help you to do this through portion control. There are many different types of diets. Some, like the Mediterranean diet, describe a traditional way of eating from a specific region. Others, like the DASH eating plan or a diet to lower cholesterol, were designed for people who have certain health problems. But they may also help you to lose weight. There are also fad or crash diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food you are allowed to eat. They may sound promising, but they rarely lead to permanent weight loss. They also may not provide all of the nutrients your body needs.

In addition to a diet, adding exercise into your daily life can help you to lose weight.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

An ear disorder is any condition that changes or harms the shape or structure of your ear. This can include abnormal ear shapes you're born with, injuries that change your ear's shape, and a growth on or in the ear.

Your ear has three main parts, and each one plays a different role in helping you hear:

• Outer ear. The part you see and the ear canal. It catches sound and sends them to your eardrum.
• Middle ear. When sound reaches your eardrum, it vibrates. These vibrations move through three small bones, called ossicles, that carry them further into your ear.
• Inner ear. Changes vibrations into nerve signals your brain understands as sound. It also helps you keep your balance.

Many conditions may affect your hearing or balance:

• Ear infections, the most common illness in infants and young children
• Tinnitus, a ringing or roaring in your ears
• Meniere's disease, which may be caused by fluid problems in your inner ear
• Ear barotrauma, an ear injury from sudden air or water pressure changes

Some of these conditions can also lead to hearing disorders and deafness.

Ear disorders may be caused by:

• Abnormal ear shapes you're born with, like microtia and anotia, which usually have no known cause. Sometimes they're linked to genes or certain medicines taken during pregnancy.
• Injury from hits, cuts, or bites can damage the ear.
• Growths that form after an injury, piercing, repeated cold water exposure, or years in the sun.
• Infections, like perichondritis, which often start from a cut or piercing.
• Bone growth in the middle ear, called otosclerosis, which can run in families.

Sometimes the only sign of an ear disorder is how your ear looks. Other symptoms may include:

• Changes in the size or shape of your ear
• Swelling, redness, or growths
• Pain or tenderness
• Scarring or changes in skin color
• Cuts or holes in the ear or eardrum
• Slow hearing loss, in some cases

To find out if you have an ear disorder, your health care provider may:

• Do a physical exam
• Look inside your ear with a lighted tool called an otoscope
• Order [imaging tests] to see bones or tissue more clearly
• Test your hearing
• Order a biopsy, to check if a growth is cancer

Sometimes, your provider may refer you to a doctor who specializes in care of the ear, nose, and throat.

Treatment for an ear disorder depends on the cause. Some may be treated with medicine. Others may need surgery to change the shape of the ear or remove a growth. If the disorder affects your hearing, you may need a hearing aid.

Most ear disorders that you are born with can't be prevented. But you can help to prevent some ear disorders by:

• Wearing head protection during sports
• Treating cuts and injuries
• Caring for new piercings
• Protecting your ears from cold water and the sun

The uterus, or womb, is the place where a fetus grows during pregnancy. In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg grows in the wrong place outside the uterus. It usually occurs in the fallopian tubes. These tubes carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. Sometimes, an ectopic pregnancy can occur in the ovaries, abdominal cavity, or the lower part of the uterus (cervix).

Ectopic pregnancies can't end in a healthy pregnancy because the egg cannot grow. If the pregnancy continues, the fallopian tube can burst. This can cause internal bleeding, which can be a life-threatening emergency that needs immediate surgery.

An ectopic pregnancy often happens because there is a problem with your fallopian tubes. But sometimes it's not clear why an ectopic pregnancy happens.

Factors that may increase your risk for an ectopic pregnancy can include:

• Previous ectopic pregnancy
• Prior pelvic, abdominal, or fallopian tube surgery
• Certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Endometriosis
• Becoming pregnant while using an intrauterine device (IUD) for birth control
• Becoming pregnant after a tubal ligation

Other factors that may increase your risk can include:

• Smoking
• Being older than age 35
• Infertility treatments

You may not notice any symptoms at first. Or you may have some of the usual signs of pregnancy such as a missed period, breast tenderness, or nausea.

Early signs of an ectopic pregnancy may be light vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain. Ectopic pregnancy can be a medical emergency. Get medical care right away if you have these signs:

• Abdominal (belly) pain
• Shoulder pain
• Vaginal bleeding
• Feeling dizzy or faint

An ectopic pregnancy can't be diagnosed without blood tests and an ultrasound. Your health care provider will do a pregnancy test to confirm that you're pregnant. They may do a pelvic exam to check for areas of pain, tenderness, or a mass.

An ectopic pregnancy needs treatment to stop any damage to your organs. Your provider will use medicine or surgery to take out the ectopic tissue.

Losing a pregnancy can be devastating. An ectopic pregnancy is like a miscarriage, but it must be treated to prevent problems. People cope with grief in different ways. It may be helpful to discuss your feelings with your provider or a counselor. Many women who have had ectopic pregnancies go on to have healthy pregnancies later.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Encephalitis is inflammation (swelling) of the brain. It can happen when an infection or medical condition that affects the brain activates your immune system. The inflammation can cause a wide range of symptoms. In extreme cases, it can lead to brain damage, stroke, or even death.

There are different types of encephalitis, based on what the cause is. The two main types are infectious encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis.

Infectious encephalitis is usually caused by a virus. In fact, viruses are the most common cause of encephalitis. Some of the different viruses that cause it include:

• Herpes viruses, including herpes simplex (HSV), the Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis) and the varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox).
• Viruses you can get if you are bitten by an infected tick, such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE virus) and Powassan virus.
• Viruses you can get if you are bitten by an infected mosquito, such as eastern equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, and La Crosse virus.
• Enteroviruses, which are a common group of viruses that mostly cause mild illness or respiratory infection. These infections usually happen in the summer and fall.

Bacteria, fungi, and parasites can also cause infectious encephalitis. But this is not common.

Autoimmune encephalitis happens when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells. It can be triggered by conditions such as certain cancers, benign tumors, and infections. Sometimes the cause is not known.

Anyone can get encephalitis, but you are more likely to get it if you:

• Have a weakened immune system, for example from having HIV or taking certain medicines. These could include medicines taken after an organ transplant, certain chemotherapy medicines, and specialized treatments for certain autoimmune diseases.
• Are a young child or older adult.
• Live in areas where there are ticks and mosquitoes that carry viruses that can cause encephalitis.

The symptoms of encephalitis can vary a lot, depending on how severe it is. Many people do not have any symptoms. Others may have mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, or body aches. If encephalitis becomes more serious, it can cause:

• Severe headache
• Stiff neck
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Behavior changes
• Drowsiness
• Muscle weakness
• Partial paralysis in your arms and legs
• Coma

Encephalitis can be dangerous in infants. Their symptoms may include:

• Fever
• Lethargy (weakness or drowsiness)
• Poor feeding
• Vomiting
• Body stiffness
• Unusual irritability or crying
• A full or bulging fontanel (the soft spot on the top of the head)

If you or your child is having symptoms of encephalitis, it's important to get medical care right away.

To find out if you have encephalitis, your health care provider:

• Will do a physical exam
• Will take your medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
• May do a neurologic exam
• May order imaging tests, such as a brain CT scan or MRI
• May order an EEG (electroencephalography), which use small electric sensors to measure your brain activity
• May order blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests

Most people with encephalitis will need treatment in the hospital. Depending on the cause, treatments may include antiviral medicines, antibiotics, corticosteroids, and other medicines.

For some types of encephalitis, there is no medicine to treat it. But rest, nutrition, and fluids can help your body fight the infection and relieve symptoms.

Some people may need physical, speech, and occupational therapy once the illness is under control.

There are steps you can take to help prevent encephalitis that is caused by infections:

• Use good hygiene, including washing your hands often with soap and water.
• Don't share food, drinks, utensils, and glasses with other people.
• Get vaccines for viruses that can cause encephalitis.
• Avoid mosquito and tick bites, for example by:
  • Wearing insect repellent with DEET or another U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent. Make sure to follow the instructions for using the repellant.
  • Wearing clothes that cover your arms, legs and feet.
  • Treating your clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin before you go in grassy or woody areas.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell. They help fight off infections and play a role in your body's immune response. They can also build up and cause inflammation.

Normally your blood doesn't have a large number of eosinophils. Your body may produce more of them in response to:

• Allergic disorders
• Skin conditions
• Parasitic and fungal infections
• Autoimmune diseases
• Some cancers
• Bone marrow disorders

In some conditions, the eosinophils can move outside the bloodstream and build up in organs and tissues. This can happen in many different parts of the body, including the esophagus, heart, lungs, blood, and intestines. Treatment of eosinophilic disorders can vary, depending on the cause and which part of the body is affected. Steroids are often part of the treatment.