Odor & SweatMyth buster
Cramps During Hot Work? Salt Tablets Are Not the Answer
NIOSH advises avoiding salt tablets for heat cramps and identifies symptoms that need medical help.
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Bladder & Pelvic FloorEvidence check
Holding Your Pee at Work: What a Study of 3,062 Women Found
Busy shifts, dirty restrooms and back-to-back meetings push many women to hold on. In a US survey of 3,062 women working full time, 11% limited restroom use at work most or all of the time. Those women more often waited until they couldn't hold any longer, hovered over the seat, and reported urgency and leaks. Here is what the study found, what it can't prove, and your right to a restroom.
Bladder & Pelvic FloorEvidence check
Hovering Over Public Toilets: What It Does to How Well Your Bladder Empties
Most women hover over public toilet seats. In a 1991 study of 80 women at a bladder clinic, crouching slowed urine flow by 21% and left 149% more urine behind. A later study of young women found no difference. Here is what four studies show, and what to do if your knees make sitting hard.
HairEvidence check
How Many Hairs a Day Is Normal to Lose? What Hair Counts Show
The usual answer is 50 to 100 hairs a day. A hair specialist's 2019 review points out that children counted under standard conditions shed about 11 hairs every five days, and suggests shedding is worth a look when it passes 100 hairs in five days. A dermatologist's pull test has a new normal too: two hairs or fewer. Here is why a count is a shaky guide, and what to track instead.
HairExplainer
How Much Facial Hair Is Normal for Women? The Score Doctors Use
Doctors judge excess facial and body hair in women with a 0-to-36 score built from nine body areas. In 633 women at routine job physicals, 22% scored 3 or more, and most of them already thought of themselves as hairy. Where the line for 'too much' sits depends on ancestry: a 2025 study of 9,829 women put it anywhere from 4 to 8. Here is how the score works and when hair growth needs a check.
Intimate HealthEvidence check
How Often Does Genital Herpes Come Back? Outbreaks Over Time
After a first genital herpes outbreak, the big question is how often it will return. In a study of 664 people, those with newly caught HSV-2 had a median of 5 outbreaks in the first year and those with HSV-1 just 1, and rates usually fell in later years. Women had fewer recurrences than men. But the virus can still shed without symptoms. Here is what the long-term studies show.
Breath & MouthMyth buster
How to Tell If Your Breath Smells: Why the Hand Test Fails, and What Works Better
Cupping a hand or licking your wrist feels like a quick answer. In a Tel Aviv University study, 52 volunteers who sniffed their own mouths and tongues didn't match what odor judges and lab tests found. The same team concluded there is almost no reliable way to judge your own breath. Here is what works better.
Breath & MouthMyth buster
Hydrocortisone Buccal Tablets: They Are Not Swallowed Like Ordinary Pills
Check the instructions for a mouth-ulcer tablet that dissolves against the sore.
Intimate HealthMyth buster
A Hymen Exam Cannot Prove Whether You Have Had Vaginal Sex
WHO says so-called virginity testing has no scientific merit and should not be performed.
Menopause & HormonesEvidence check
Hypnosis for Hot Flashes: What Clinician-Led and Self-Guided Audio Trials Found
Clinical hypnosis is one of the nonhormone hot flash treatments with the strongest rating from the Menopause Society. In a 2013 trial, five weekly sessions cut hot flashes by about 74% versus 17% with a comparison program. A 2025 trial found self-guided audio recordings also beat a sham recording, with a smaller difference.
Bloating & DigestionGuide
IBS With Diarrhea: Prescription Options and the Gallbladder Warning to Know
For IBS with diarrhea, a 2022 gastroenterology guideline gave conditional support to several prescriptions, including rifaximin, eluxadoline, alosetron, loperamide and low-dose tricyclic antidepressants, and advised against SSRIs. If you've had your gallbladder removed, one of those options is off the table.
Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
IBS: Hypnotherapy or a Low-FODMAP Diet? What Trials Show
The low-FODMAP diet is the best-known diet for IBS, but it's restrictive. In an Australian trial of 74 people, gut-directed hypnotherapy relieved gut symptoms as well as the diet, with about 71 to 72% improving in each group, and only hypnotherapy eased anxiety and low mood. A Dutch trial of 354 people found group hypnotherapy worked about as well as one-to-one sessions. Here is what the studies show.
