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Sleep affects your mental and physical health.

Getting good sleep helps boost your mind and mood and can help prevent health problems. Women are more likely than men to have insomnia and other sleep problems.1 Changing hormones during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can affect how well a woman sleeps. But there are steps you can take to get the rest you need.

What are joints?

Your joints are places where two or more bones come together. Your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and knuckles are all joints. Your spine has joints, too.

But joints are more than bones. They include the soft tissues around them, such as cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Cartilage is the hard slippery flexible tissue that covers the ends of your bones at a joint. Tendons are tough, flexible bands that connect your muscles to your bones so you can move your joints. Ligaments connect the bones of the joint to each other to keep them stable when you move.

If you’re allergic to natural rubber latex, FDA has good news for you: in the future, you are less likely to be misinformed about the absence of this allergen in such products as medical devices. To avoid false assurances about this hazard to your health, FDA is recommending to manufacturers to stop using the labels “latex-free” or “does not contain latex”.

The reason for this recommendation is that the agency is not aware of any tests that can show a product contains no natural rubber latex proteins that can cause allergic reactions. Without a way to verify that a product is completely free of these proteins, a claim that it is "latex free" is scientifically inaccurate and may be misleading.

Noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing machines. Normally, you hear these sounds at safe levels that don't affect hearing. But sounds that are too loud or loud sounds over a long time are harmful. They can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss.

More than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. Hazardous sound levels are louder than 80 decibels. That's not as loud as traffic on a busy street. Listening to loud music, especially on headphones, is a common cause of noise-induced hearing loss. You can protect your hearing by

- Keeping the volume down when listening to music

- Wearing earplugs when using loud equipment

Your eyes are an important part of your health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you are seeing your best. Follow these simple steps for maintaining healthy eyes well into your golden years.

Have a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

You might think your vision is fine or that your eyes are healthy, but visiting your eye care professional for a comprehensive dilated eye exam is the only way to really be sure. When it comes to common vision problems, some people don’t realize they could see better with glasses or contact lenses. In addition, many common eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration often have no warning signs. A dilated eye exam is the only way to detect these diseases in their early stages. 

Background: The German government has made it mandatory to wear respiratory masks covering mouth and nose (MNC) as an effective strategy to fight SARS-CoV-2 infections. In many countries, this directive has been extended on shopping malls or public transportation. The aim of this paper is to critically analyze the statutory regulation to wear protective masks during the COVID-19 crisis from a medical standpoint.

Methods: We performed an extensive query of the most recent publications addressing the prevention of viral infections including the use of face masks in the community as a method to prevent the spread of the infection. We addressed the issues of practicability, professional use, and acceptability based on the community and the environment where the user resided.

Safety Goggles, Visors and Eye Protection

You may be somewhat aware of your possible risks for an eye injury, but are you taking the easiest step of all to prevent 90% of those injuries? Wearing the proper protective eyewear greatly reduces your risk of an eye injury and vision loss.

If you are not taking this step, you are not alone. According to a national survey by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, only 35 percent of respondents said they always wear protective eyewear when performing home repairs or maintenance. Even fewer do so while playing sports.

First Aid for Black Eyes, Lacerations and Scratches

If you have an eye injury, review these care and treatment recommendations. Most importantly, see an ophthalmologist or other medical doctor as soon as possible, even if the injury seems minor.

Skin contact is a potential source of exposure to toxic materials.  It is important to ensure proper steps are taken to avoid skin contact with toxic materials.  Most accidents involving the hands and arms can be classified under four main hazard categories: chemical exposure, abrasions, cuts, and heat.  Gloves are available that can protect workers from any of these individual hazards or a combination of any of these hazards.

Gloves should be replaced periodically, depending on frequency of use and permeability to the substance(s) handled.  Overtly contaminated gloves should be rinsed and then carefully removed after use.

Gloves should also be worn whenever it is necessary to handle rough or sharp-edged objects and very hot or very cold materials.  The type of glove material(s) that can be used in these situations include leather gloves, welder’s gloves, aluminum-backed gloves, and other types of insulated glove materials.

Careful attention must be given to protecting hands when working with tools and machinery.  Power tools and machinery must have guards installed or incorporated into their design that prevent the hands from contacting the point of operation, power train, or other moving parts.  To protect hands from injury due to contact with moving parts, it is important to:

On December 19, 2016, the FDA published a final rule banning powdered gloves based on the unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury to individuals exposed to the powdered gloves (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/19/2016-30382/banned-devices-powdered-surgeons-gloves-powdered-patient-examination-gloves-and-absorbable-powder). This guidance document has not been updated to reflect the ban. FDA is assessing how to revise this guidance to represent our current thinking on medical gloves.

This manual provides FDA’s recommendations for Premarket Notification (510(k)) submissions for medical gloves. It also provides our recommendations on how to comply with the Quality System regulation (21 CFR part 820). Previous revisions of this manual were entitled “Guidance for Medical Gloves: A Workshop Manual.” This edition, the “Medical Glove Guidance Manual” (manual), supersedes all earlier revisions and explains FDA’s current thinking on the requirements and recommendations for medical gloves that are marketed in the United States (U.S.).

N95 respirators and surgical masks are examples of personal protective equipment that are used to protect the wearer from particles or from liquid contaminating the face. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) also regulates N95 respirators. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates entities for compliance with worker safety rules and OSHA standards, including, for example, the proper use of respirators in different work environments. 

It is important to recognize that the optimal way to prevent transmission of microorganisms, such as viruses, is to use a combination of interventions from across the hierarchy of controls, not just PPE alone.COVID-19 Resources on Respirators and Masks.