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Over-the-Counter (OTC) Pain Relievers

Triptans

• eletriptan (Relpax)
• rizatriptan (Maxalt)
• zolmitriptan (Zomig)
• frovatriptan (Frova)
• naratriptan (Amerge)
• sumatriptan (Imitrex)
• almotriptan

According to Everyday Health network site Migriane Again, triptans come in many forms, including oral pills, nasal sprays, nasal powder, and injections. Non-oral methods (e.g., nasal sprays and injections) can be more effective for people experiencing the migraine symptom of nausea or vomiting as the digestive system tends to slow during an attack.

Ergots

Gepants

• atogepant (Qulipta)
• rimegepant (Nurtec ODT)
• ubrogepant (Ubrelvy)
• zavegepant (Zavzpret)

5-HT1F Receptor Agonists (Ditans)

Antiemetics

• chlorpromazine
• prochlorperazine (Compro)
• metoclopramide (Reglan)
• droperidol (Inapsine)

Antihypertensive Medications

• propranolol (Inderal LA or Innopran XL)
• metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor)
• timolol (Betimol)

Antidepressants

Antiseizure Drugs

The exact way in which these medications prevent migraine attacks is unclear. You would take them as a daily or twice-daily dose.

Botox

CGRP Monoclonal Antibodies

CGRP antibody drugs include:

• eptinezumab (Vyepti)
• erenumab (Aimovig)
• fremanezumab (Ajovy)
• galcanezumab (Emgality)

Corticosteroids, or Steroids

Nerve Blocks for Acute Migraine Pain Relief

Emergency Medication for Intractable Migraine

Those drugs may include:

• Antiepileptics
• Triptans
• NSAIDs
• Steroids
• Muscle relaxants
• Antipsychotic medications

Ideally, your emergency migraine treatment plan should include:

• Your diagnosis
• Any relevant information about your medical history
• Your doctor’s recommendations for the safest and most effective medications for you
• Your doctor’s signature and contact information

Stretching is one of the fastest and most reliable pain relief methods for plantar fasciitis.

When you have plantar fasciitis, it’s common to have tightness in a number of places, says Schuyler Archambault, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist and the owner of Arch Physical Therapy and Fitness in Boston.

Common tight spots include the plantar fascia (the thick band of tissue on the bottom of your foot that connects your heel to your toes), Achilles tendon (the tendon that connects your calf muscles to your heel), and calves, she notes.

Stretching loosens the plantar fascia and surrounding tissues, and this can reduce the inflammation that causes pain associated with plantar fasciitis, says Lori Addison Grant, a doctor of podiatric medicine and a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon at Orlando Health Physician Associates in Maitland, Florida.

But stretching is only one piece of a plantar fasciitis treatment plan, Dr. Archambault says, so it’s a good idea to see a podiatrist or physical therapist for plantar fasciitis. In addition to stretching and rest, they might recommend self-massage, over-the-counter pain relievers, and sleeping in a splint that keeps your foot stretched overnight, Dr. Grant says.

Powdered milk dropped in popularity over the past few decades, but it has experienced a bit of a resurgence in recent years, especially during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. If your power is out, all you need to do is add the powder to water and mix.

If you’re vegan or lactose-intolerant, look for a Tetra Pak shelf-stable dairy-free milk that matches dairy milk’s nutritional profile as closely as possible. Unsweetened soy milk, for instance, is a great alternative.

Shelf life: Dry milk, three to five years at cool temperatures; Tetra Pak milk boxes, six months

Film, modeling, and TV icon Brooke Shields, 59, wants to redefine what aging looks like for women. In her new book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, the former child star takes an open and unapologetic approach to challenging society’s expectations of older women who are “past their prime.”

In the memoir, the mother of two shares her journey to empowerment and confidence — one not without humbling detours. Here are five key experiences she describes in her book.

She Battled Depression (and Tom Cruise)

Early in the book, Shields recounts the difficult decision to tell her fans about the postpartum depression she experienced after the birth of her first daughter, Rowan.

At first, she was reluctant to open up, afraid she would become a “sob story.”

“While I’ve learned to have no shame about experiencing postpartum depression (about 1 in 8 women experience symptoms), it was not exactly something I was proud of, especially in 2005, when it was far less openly discussed than it is today,” Shields writes.

The actor was “gobsmacked” a few months later when actor Tom Cruise publicly attacked her use of antidepressants and called her choice to open about it “dangerous.”

Shields admits that earlier in her life, she may have remained quiet — but the episode took place a month after her 40th birthday, and her thought process was shifting from “everyone knows better than I do” to “I know myself best.”

She clapped back with an op-ed in The New York Times defending herself and her choice, using data to refute the actor’s claim that she should have relied on vitamins and exercise to combat her depression, while pointing out that Cruise was criticizing her without having experienced the condition himself.

“Today, I know what is best for me, and I feel certain that trusting myself — and prioritizing myself — will only benefit me,” Shields concludes.

She Takes Hormone Therapy for Menopause Symptoms

When Shields began dripping in sweat in the middle of shooting a movie scene, it didn’t occur to her that it might be a hot flash, even though she had recently turned 50.

The film star “hadn’t given much thought to menopause before this moment,” she writes. Flash forward almost 10 years, and the conversation about menopause is picking up thanks to many celebrities and investments in menopause care.

Shields found relief from symptoms with low dose hormone replacement, a treatment she calls a “personal decision” and“incredibly helpful.”

What else can improve the experience of menopause? Sharing about it with other women, she says. And not only more talk, but more of a focus on the peace, emotional growth, and creativity that comes with age, and not just the unpleasant symptoms.

She Experienced Trauma at the Hands of a Doctor

After the birth of her daughters, Shields decided to have labial reduction surgery because of the painful chafing she had experienced since high school. “It hurt and it was in the way,” she writes.

Post-surgery, the surgeon informed her that, along with her scheduled surgery, he also “tightened her up a little bit,” and gave her vaginal rejuvenation surgery — without her consent.

Shields never took legal action against the doctor, but she was angry and unhappy with the results.

After a lifetime of believing that doctors knew best, the star now says her first instinct is, “I know myself better than you do. I’ve lived in this body for almost 60 years. … I know my body,” she writes.

She Prioritizes Well-Being Over Unrealistic Beauty Standards (Despite the Occasional Botox Shot)

We live in a world where unrealistic beauty standards are the cultural norm, writes Shields. And the actor has a unique perspective, given that she was labeled one of the world’s great beauties at a very young age.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown tired of being preoccupied with achieving a certain standard of beauty. It’s exhausting!” she says.

While it’s easy to get caught up in the pursuit of eternal youth, Shields encourages readers to focus on what truly matters: self-acceptance. But she admits she isn’t ready to sit back and embrace everything that comes with aging, and acknowledges turning to hair dye to cover her grays, the occasional Botox treatment, and Fraxels, which are laser treatments to improve skin tone.

“But I’ve begun to shift my focus to what I feel comfortable with rather than what I assume will please others,” she writes. Shields advocates for a balance of self-care and self-acceptance — one where women can prioritize their well-being while also learning to love themselves as they are.

She’s Learned to Take Risks and Tolerate Fear of Failure

Great opportunities are not reserved for the young, says Shields. New adventures, challenges, and successes can come at any age — but you may have to play a role in creating it.

In 2024, Shields started her own business, Commence, a line of haircare products for women over 40. This new role has required her to raise capital, learn the ropes of getting a startup off the ground, and open herself up to possible rejection or even failure.

“I’ve learned by now how to sit in that fear (of failure) and tolerate it, rather than let it drive me away from something I want. And if a new endeavor does go up in smoke … well, we’ve all lived through worse,” she writes.

Drinking just one cup of tea brewed in a single-serving bag may expose you to billions of microplastic particles — substances that have been linked to a wide variety of health issues, like heart problems, fertility issues, and certain cancers.

Polypropylene was the worst offender, releasing about 1.2 billion particles of microplastics per milliliter (mL) of tea water, the study found. Cellulose released roughly 135 million particles per mL, and nylon-6 released about 8.2 million particles per mL.

“This is a lot, so if you drink a lot, you are exposed to a lot,” says Martha Gulati, MD, a professor and director of preventive cardiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

Microplastics and nanoplastics are far too tiny to detect as you go about your daily life. Microplastics are less than 5 micrometers in size — thousands of times smaller than a grain of rice — and nanoplastics are below 1 micrometer. They are ubiquitous, too, and can be found in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.

How Worried Should You Be About Using Tea Bags?

“It is hard to know how worried people should be regarding exposure to microplastics in general, much less in their tea,” says Samantha Bear, a senior research scientist at SimpleLab, a water testing startup in Berkeley, California. Bear wasn’t involved in the new study.

She points out that this field of science is still new, and a lot of the evidence to date is based on findings from lab experiments and animal studies.

Still, “There is growing concern about the potential health impacts of ingesting microplastics because of their potential to cause effects in the gut microbiome and the hormonal system, inflammation, or increased cancer risk,” says Luz Claudio, PhD, a professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

“Even though this is a very active area of research and the full effects of microplastics in the body are not fully understood, we definitely don’t want to add to the already high exposure through regular tea consumption if we can avoid it, because this could lead to accumulation in the body over time,” Dr. Claudio says.

Dr. Gulati concurs: “I know we are at the earliest stages of understanding microplastics, but I recommend we avoid them as much as possible, given the data that is emerging,” she says.

How to Minimize Exposure to Microplastics in Tea

While it may be hard to completely avoid microplastics in your tea, there are steps you can take to limit your exposure, says senior study author Alba García-Rodríguez, PhD, an assistant professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain.

“Loose-leaf tea is one of the most effective ways to minimize exposure to micro- and nanoplastics,” Dr. García-Rodríguez says. “By avoiding tea bags altogether, you eliminate the risk of plastic contamination from the bag itself.”

Your best bet to reduce exposure to microplastics with loose tea is by brewing it with stainless steel or glass infusers, García-Rodríguez advises. Another good option is brewing loose tea in a kettle and straining it afterwards to remove the leaves from your drink.

If you want to keep buying tea in disposable tea bags, look for plastic-free bags and don’t assume that organic tea is automatically risk-free, García-Rodríguez adds.

“While organic tea often refers to how the tea leaves are grown, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the tea bags are free of plastics,” García-Rodríguez says. “To avoid exposure, look for brands that specifically advertise plastic-free or biodegradable tea bags made from plant-based materials like paper, hemp, or cornstarch.”

To help set yourself up to cope, acknowledge your mental health — and the emotions you’re feeling — even as you’re dealing with the situation. Simple coping mechanisms can shift your mindset to a more meditative state amidst the chaos and trigger the brain to release hormones that will help to regulate the nervous system, Rittenhouse says.

“Existing in a constant state of fight-or-flight causes exhaustion, anxiety, difficulty nourishing and sleeping properly, and impairs immune functioning, none of which will help coping and rebuilding in the weeks and months to come,” says Margot Rittenhouse, a licensed professional clinical counselor who treats patients with anxiety, generalized mental health issues, and eating disorders as director of clinical services with Alsana, and is based in Los Angeles.

In other words, taking care of your mental health now allows you to better deal with the challenges ahead.

Here are some ways you can cope when you’re living through a natural disaster.

1. Allow Yourself to Feel the Feelings

“Allow the brain and body to do the work to process what has happened,” Rittenhouse says. “This is part of the process of grieving and coping. It is uncomfortable, and it is necessary.”

2. Take Things One Step at a Time

Don’t try to tackle everything all at once — that’ll just leave you feeling overwhelmed and in a heightened state of stress, Yadush says. “Instead, prioritize safety and basic needs before long-term planning,” he says.

Tackle the physical stress you’re feeling as well. A helpful goal is to move from the fight-or-flight state into a more regulated one, Rittenhouse says.

“When you’re within hours or days of experiencing a traumatic natural disaster, important skills to tap into are mindfulness, grounding, and deep breathing,” she says.

3. Lean on Others for Support

The support of those around you could protect your mental health. “It provides emotional validation, practical assistance, and a sense of belonging, which can be a buffer against feelings of isolation and helplessness,” Yadush says.

As weeks pass, volunteers and offers from loved ones may wane, but the need for support doesn’t necessarily go away. “Do not feel ashamed or hesitate to communicate your needs regardless of the time that has passed,” Rittenhouse says.

4. Limit News and Social Media Consumption

5. Return to Your Routine

6. Engage With the Community Around You

“Community engagement and acts of service can be incredibly healing as they offer connection and highlight the resilience of our humanity,” Yadush says.

7. Avoid Making Major Decisions

Of course, if you’ve been displaced, you may have no choice but to decide where to move or rebuild. In those instances, approach the decision carefully and seek input from your social circle when your decision-making abilities aren’t at their peak, Yadush says.

8. Be Honest With Little Ones

“You want to provide them with a sense of stability and normality amidst the uncertainty, but this can sometimes cause more harm than good if that promise turns out to be untrue,” Rittenhouse says. Saying “I hope our home or school will be okay” rather than “Our house or school will be fine” is a more helpful approach, Rittenhouse says.

9. Talk to a Professional

“Recovery doesn’t follow a straight line, and struggling months later is not ‘wrong’ or a sign of failure,” Yadush says. Allow yourself grace and space as you grieve and cope, Rittenhouse says.

The Takeaway

• Living through a hurricane, wildfire, flood, or other natural disaster can leave you feeling stressed, anxious, fearful, or guilty.
• While there are plenty of immediate logistical to-dos, it’s important to take care of your mental health during the disaster rather than kicking it down the line.
• There are several expert-suggested ways to cope, including giving yourself permission to feel the emotions that come up, getting back to your usual routine, and taking part in the community’s recovery efforts.

The “organic” designation isn’t necessarily a measure of how healthy or nutritious a food is. Instead, it’s about the farming and processing practices used.

”The USDA sets the rules for what is organic — everything from what you feed your livestock to what kinds of pesticides you are allowed to use to what kind of records you have to keep,” says Neva Hassanein, PhD, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Montana in Missoula.

In organic farming, natural products like compost and manure are used to help plant growth and soil health instead of chemical fertilizers, and certain crops that won’t be sold are planted in between harvests to enrich the soil, explains Melissa Bell, a research coordinator at North Carolina State Extension’s Center for Environmental Farming Systems.

Instead of using synthetic pesticides, organic farmers protect their crops from pests by regularly checking for them, growing different crops in different seasons to disrupt the pests, and using certain organic pesticides when absolutely needed, Bell adds.

Processed foods that contain multiple ingredients (such as chips, crackers, cookies, or frozen meals) can qualify for one of four organic claims, depending on their contents:

• “100 Percent Organic” This label is for foods that are made up entirely of organic ingredients.

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• “Organic” To use this label, foods may contain up to 5 percent of certain non-organic ingredients on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

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• “Made With Organic Ingredients” A food with this label must be made up of at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients, and any non-agricultural products used (like enzymes and acids) must be on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

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• Specific Organic Ingredients If a food doesn’t specify a percentage of certified organic ingredients, it can’t use the word “organic” in its packaging, except in the ingredients list, to designate specific organic ingredients.

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How to Get Organic Certification

Organic vs. Non-GMO Food

“Non-GMO means the food in question has not been genetically modified in any way,” says Stacey Woodson, RD, a registered dietitian based in Philadelphia. A food cannot be labeled organic if it’s genetically modified. “Therefore, organic food is automatically non-GMO, but non-GMO is not necessarily organic,” Woodson says.

Although cancer that has metastasized, or stage 4 cancer, is not curable, it can be treated. These options depend on the type of cancer, its severity, and the patient’s wishes, Shatsky says.

“The treatment focus for stage 4 solid cancers is controlling the cancer, prolonging life and controlling symptoms caused by the cancer,” she says.

For example, if a patient has metastatic breast cancer, the provider will treat the cancer that has spread in the same way as the original cancer in the breast. Treatments could include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy.

Doctors call this type of treatment “palliative intent treatment.” The goal is “to control the cancer with the least toxic therapies to maintain quality of life for as long as possible,” she says. The treatment is generally lifelong, because most cancers will start growing again if treatment stops.

It’s possible for patients to live for many years with metastasized cancer. A few types of metastases can be cured, including melanoma and colon cancer.

When evaluating medical information online, Shatsky says to be an informed consumer.

“It’s extremely important to go to evidence-based resources for information on cancer in general, as there is an enormous amount of misinformation about cancer out there,” Shatsky says.

7. Pack Your Child’s Epinephrine Injectors in Your Carry-On

If you’re traveling by air, make sure your child’s epinephrine auto-injector is stored in your carry-on, so you have easy access to it in an emergency. Pratt recommends storing it in a clear plastic bag to make it easier to go through security. “You usually have to separate it from your other items, since it does have a needle,” she notes.

8. Choose the Right Restaurant

Depending on your child’s food allergy, some restaurants will be riskier to eat at than others. For example, if your child has a peanut allergy, it’s wise to avoid certain Asian restaurants, such as those serving Thai, Chinese, or Indian cuisine, because nuts are frequently used in their dishes.

9. Review the Menu Ahead of Time

Many restaurants have their menus online, so you can take a look and figure out which foods will be on the safer side, Codispoti notes.

10. Talk to the Waitstaff

Nowadays, many restaurants ask if anyone has a food allergy. But if they don’t, it’s important to let them know. “Be really clear with the waitstaff or even the manager about your child’s particular allergy,” says Pratt.