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As humans have evolved over time, certain people have developed responses to deal with unwelcome situations that we now refer to as phobias. The word phobia comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear, and is commonly used as a suffix to create a word for an irrational, abnormal, and ongoing fear that affects someone’s life enough to be considered a mental disorder.

Bronchitis is an increasingly common medical condition in the United States. According to reports by the CDC, approximately 9 million Americans are diagnosed with bronchitis each year with as many as 90% requiring treatment by a medical professional. In addition to the troubling physical symptoms that can occur with this infection, many adults affected by bronchitis a significant amount of rest in order to recover.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine takes insomnia so seriously that it has designated an Insomnia Awareness Day. According to their researchers, 30 to 35 percent of U.S. adults have at least brief bouts of sleeplessness. Around 10 percent have a chronic disorder. Left untreated, insomnia is more than a mere annoyance. In 2011, CNN reported that insomnia-related sick days and poor job performance drain $63 billion from the economy every year.

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans will develop a shingles infection at some point in their lifetime, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While shingles is often associated with those over the age of 50, anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for developing the viral infection, even children on rare occasions.

Myocardial infarction is the medical name for a heart attack. When the blood flow to a section of your heart muscle is blocked, the result is a heart attack. When this occurs, the blocked section is deprived of oxygen and begins to die if the normal flow of blood is not quickly restored.

The kidneys are a pair of organs located on either side of your spine, just above your waist. These organs are four to five inches long, and their function is to filter impurities from the blood, balance electrolytes in your body, and control blood pressure.

Health ailments affect all of us, but sometimes those problems hide, and they remain unnoticed over the course of some time, until they become serious enough to cause major complications. By staying educated about some of the associated symptoms of those ailments, we can protect our health, and stay functioning in our everyday lives.

Streptococcal pharyngitis, commonly known as strep throat, is a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (or group A streptococcus). Anyone can get strep throat, but it’s most common in children between the ages of 5 and 15.

The liver is an extremely important organ that plays a role in numerous functions in the body. It detoxifies, regulates hormones, takes part in protein synthesis and more. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when this organ begins to fail, many problems occur within the body.

Meningitis is an infection that affects the meninges, the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by bacterial, viral, or (in rare cases) fungal infections.