Cold sores come from HSV-1, a virus most Black adults carry. Here is how they look on brown and dark skin, what they get confused with, and how to treat one at the first tingle. ...
Posted Saturday, October 3rd 2026 at 3:15PM
(more)
From $0 at a Title X clinic to $489 for a self-order lab panel: what STD testing costs without insurance, what each panel actually tests for, and what to ask for so you are not under-tested. ...
Posted Saturday, October 3rd 2026 at 3:16PM
(more)
Jock itch on brown and dark skin usually looks brown, gray or purple, not the red patch in most photos. Here is how to recognize it, what it gets mistaken for, and how to stop it coming back. ...
Posted Saturday, October 3rd 2026 at 3:21PM
(more)
On brown and dark skin, genital warts are often brown or darker, not the pink bumps in most textbook photos. Here is what to look for, what else it could be, and how to get it treated safely. ...
Posted Sunday, October 4th 2026 at 7:06AM
(more)
Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and the coverage you pick starts January 1, 2027. Next year the most you'll pay for covered Part D drugs rises to $2,400, and your current plan can change its premium, drug list and doctor network even if you do nothing. Whether you're⦠...
Posted Tuesday, September 15th 2026 at 3:58PM
(more)
If your mammogram letter says your breast tissue is dense, read the line about your result first. Dense describes how your tissue looks on the images, and it isn't a cancer finding. Then get your full report, ask for a breast cancer risk assessment, and decide with your clinician whether an extra⦠...
Posted Tuesday, September 15th 2026 at 3:58PM
(more)
Open enrollment for 2027 Marketplace coverage runs November 1, 2026, through January 15, 2027, on HealthCare.gov. Pick a plan by December 15, and your coverage starts January 1. The larger tax credits that held premiums down through 2025 are gone. Under the IRS's 2027 figures, you're expected to⦠...
Posted Tuesday, September 15th 2026 at 3:58PM
(more)
Cold, dry weather can bring on both dry scalp and seborrheic dermatitis, the condition behind most dandruff. Dry scalp follows the same triggers as dry skin, like hot water and dry indoor heat. Dandruff itches, keeps coming back, can leave discolored patches or flaking near the eyebrows and nose, and needs an antifungal shampoo on the scalp. Crown breakage, thick plaques or a child's scaly bald patch need a dermatologist. ...
Posted Tuesday, September 15th 2026 at 3:58PM
(more)
Black Americans rarely get melanoma. When they do, they are far more likely to die of it, and it usually starts in the places nobody thinks to look: the sole of a foot, the palm of a hand, or a dark stripe running up a nail. ...
Posted Tuesday, September 1st 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
Medicare pays for hospice in full, and Black families use it far less than white families. Some of that is informed choice. A lot of it is a benefit nobody explained, at the worst possible moment to be reading paperwork. ...
Posted Tuesday, September 1st 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
A 988 call reaches a crisis counselor in about a minute, costs nothing, and does not require your name. Most contacts end on the call with no one sent to your door. Here is the whole sequence, what the counselor asks, and exactly when emergency services can enter the picture, checked against⦠...
Posted Tuesday, August 25th 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
You can ask for a Black doctor in a hospital, through your insurance, on Medicaid or Medicare, at a health center, and at the VA. Here is exactly what to say in each setting, and what the hospital can and cannot promise. ...
Posted Tuesday, August 25th 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
Most children with sickle cell disease now reach adulthood, and the deaths have moved to the years right after pediatric care ends. This guide covers the three things an adult with sickle cell disease needs: a comprehensive adult center, a written pain plan the emergency room will follow, and the⦠...
Posted Tuesday, August 25th 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
A PSA under 4.0 is not a clean result. Cancer turns up at every PSA level, so the question for a Black man is where his number sits for his age and which way it is moving. Here are the ranges, the baseline rule, and the next step at each level. ...
Posted Tuesday, August 25th 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)
Black dermatologists are about 3 percent of the specialty, so finding one takes a search plan, not a search box. Here is where to look, in order, the skin of color clinics worth a drive, and how to get well-read skin care when no Black dermatologist is within reach. ...
Posted Tuesday, August 25th 2026 at 7:00AM
(more)