Over-the-counter cold remedies aren't off-limits if you have high blood pressure, but it's important to make careful choices.

Among over-the-counter cold remedies, decongestants cause the most concern for people who have high blood pressure. Decongestants relieve nasal stuffiness by narrowing blood vessels and reducing swelling in the nose. This narrowing can affect other blood vessels as well, which can increase blood pressure.

To keep your blood pressure in check, avoid over-the-counter decongestants and multisymptom cold remedies that contain decongestants — such as pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylephrine, naphazoline and oxymetazoline.

Instead:

• Choose a cold medication designed for people who have high blood pressure. Some cold medications don't contain decongestants. However, these medications may contain other powerful drugs, such as dextromethorphan, that can be dangerous if you take too much. Follow the dosing instructions carefully.
• Take a pain reliever. To relieve a fever, sore throat or headache or body aches, try aspirin or acetaminophen.
• Use saline nasal spray. To relieve nasal congestion, try saline nasal spray. The spray can help flush your sinuses.
• Soothe your throat. To relieve a sore or scratchy throat, gargle with warm salt water or drink warm water with lemon juice and honey.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Water, juice, tea and soup can help clear your lungs of phlegm and mucus.
• Increase the humidity in your home. Use a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer to moisten the air, which may ease congestion and coughing.
• Get plenty of rest. If you're not feeling well, take it easy.

Call your doctor if your signs and symptoms get worse instead of better or last more than 10 days.

The first treatment approach for high cholesterol in children involves lifestyle changes that can benefit the entire family: Lose weight, eat healthy foods, and exercise more.

In particular, avoid processed foods that contain large amounts of saturated fats, trans fats and sugars. Be more active throughout the day and minimize the amount of time spent in front of computers, tablets, televisions and phones.

Your doctor might suggest cholesterol medications if your child:

• Continues to have high cholesterol despite lifestyle changes
• Is at least 10 years old
• Has other health problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
• Has a genetic type of high cholesterol

It's important to reduce high cholesterol in children because the condition can lead to narrowed and hardened arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease later in life.

There's little evidence that cinnamon can lower your cholesterol, so cinnamon isn't recommended to treat high cholesterol. Although some cholesterol-lowering effects have been seen in animal studies, there's little evidence that this applies to humans. Most of the trials have shown no effect on blood cholesterol. Much more study is needed.

However, cinnamon can be a healthy way to add flavor to foods, especially in place of adding sugar or salt.

To reduce your cholesterol, focus instead on lifestyle changes:

• Limit the amount of saturated fats — including butter, cream, bacon and red meat — you eat.
• Limit the amount of trans fats — including shortening, partially hydrogenated oils — you eat.
• Lose excess weight.
• Eat heart-healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

If you can't reduce your cholesterol levels with lifestyle changes alone, your doctor is likely to recommend cholesterol-lowering medication.

Interest in using very high doses of vitamin C as a cancer treatment began as long ago as the 1970s when it was discovered that some properties of the vitamin may make it toxic to cancer cells. Initial studies in humans had promising results, but these studies were later found to be flawed.

Subsequent well-designed, randomized, controlled trials of vitamin C in pill form found no such benefits for people with cancer. Despite the lack of evidence, some alternative medicine practitioners continue to recommend high doses of vitamin C for cancer treatment.

More recently, vitamin C given through a vein (intravenously) has been found to have different effects than vitamin C taken in pill form. This has prompted renewed interest in the use of vitamin C as a cancer treatment.

There's still no evidence that vitamin C alone can cure cancer, but researchers are studying whether it might boost the effectiveness of other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or reduce treatment side effects.

There are still no large, controlled clinical trials that have shown a substantial effect of vitamin C on cancer, but some preliminary studies do suggest there may be a benefit to combining standard treatments with high-dose IV vitamin C. Until clinical trials are completed, it's premature to determine what role vitamin C may play in the treatment of cancer.

Yes. Hearing aid manufacturers continue to make improvements by developing hearing aids that are more effective for all types of hearing loss, including high-frequency hearing loss.

The advent of digital technology in the mid-1990s resulted in significant hearing aid improvements. Digital hearing aids can be adjusted to match an individual's unique hearing loss. With digital hearing aids, a computer chip converts incoming sounds into digital code and then analyzes and adjusts the signal based on your specific needs as revealed by your hearing test. The signals are then converted back into sound waves and delivered to your ears. The result is sound that's more finely tuned to your hearing loss.

Some additional improvements in digital hearing aids include:

• Better feedback (whistling) management
• Better noise reduction
• Better automatic volume adjustments
• Connectivity to devices with Bluetooth technology, such as cellphones and tablets

Open-fit hearing aids leave your ear canal at least partially open and are now state-of-the-art for high-frequency hearing loss. Open-fit hearing aids allow low- and mid-frequency sounds into the ear normally, so that only high-frequency sounds are amplified.

To find the best hearing aid for your situation, make an appointment with an audiologist to have your hearing tested and to discuss your specific needs. Together, you can decide which features will be most helpful for your hearing loss.

Because it may take some time to get used to a hearing aid, most states allow at least a 30-day trial period during which you can try out the hearing aid and return it if you're not satisfied. There may be some charges for the trial period.

High-fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener in sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. As use of high-fructose corn syrup has increased, so have levels of obesity and related health problems. Some wonder if there's a connection.

High-fructose corn syrup is chemically similar to table sugar. Controversy exists, however, about whether the body handles high-fructose corn syrup differently than table sugar.

At this time, there's insufficient evidence to say that high-fructose corn syrup is any less healthy than other types of sweeteners.

It is known, however, that too much added sugar of all kinds — not just high-fructose corn syrup — can contribute unwanted calories that are linked to health problems, such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high triglyceride levels. All of these boost your risk of heart disease.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend cutting back on added sugar, limiting it to no more than 10 percent of total daily calories. The American Heart Association recommends that most women get no more than 100 calories a day of added sugar from any source, and that most men get no more than 150 calories a day of added sugar. That's about 6 teaspoons of added sugar for women and 9 teaspoons for men.

If you're concerned about your health, the smart play is to cut back on added sugar, regardless of the type.

For most healthy people, a high-protein diet generally isn't harmful, particularly when followed for a short time. Such diets may help with weight loss by making you feel fuller.

However, the risks of using a high-protein diet with carbohydrate restriction for the long term are still being studied. Several health problems may result if a high-protein diet is followed for an extended time:

• Some high-protein diets restrict carbohydrate intake so much that they can result in nutritional deficiencies or insufficient fiber, which can cause problems such as bad breath, headache and constipation.
• Some high-protein diets include foods such as red meat and full-fat dairy products, which may increase your risk of heart disease.
• A high-protein diet may worsen kidney function in people with kidney disease because your body may have trouble eliminating all the waste products of protein metabolism.

If you want to follow a high-protein diet, choose your protein wisely. Good choices include soy protein, beans, nuts, fish, skinless poultry, lean beef, pork and low-fat dairy products. Avoid processed meats.

The quality of the carbohydrates (carbs) you eat is important too. Cut processed carbs from your diet, and choose carbs that are high in fiber and nutrient-dense, such as whole grains and vegetables and fruit.

It's always a good idea to talk with your doctor before starting a weight-loss diet. And that's especially important in this case if you have kidney disease, diabetes or other chronic health condition.

Finally, keep in mind that weight loss may be temporary, especially if you return to your previous way of eating. The best eating plan is one that you can stick to long-term.

Hip resurfacing has lost favor with many surgeons because it can increase the amount of potentially harmful metal ions in the bloodstream. It also has a risk of bone fracture just below the metal cap placed on the top portion of the thighbone — particularly in women with poor bone quality.

Unlike traditional hip replacement, hip resurfacing doesn't completely replace the "ball" of the hip with a metal or ceramic ball. Instead, the bone is reshaped and capped with a metal prosthesis. The hip socket is fitted with a metal cup.

As these metal surfaces rub together, there is the potential for wear and release of metal ions. This can cause reactions in some people.

The socket prosthesis for a traditional hip replacement is usually lined with a thick layer of hard plastic, so there isn't any metal-on-metal contact. However, the "ball" portion of an artificial hip is usually much smaller than what you're born with, so there's a higher risk that it might pop out of the socket (dislocate).

The risk of dislocation is much lower for hip resurfacing, because the ball portion of the joint can remain larger. This may make hip resurfacing a better choice for people who need to squat for work.

The best candidates for hip resurfacing are men under 60 who have strong, healthy bone. The risk of fracture is higher for older people, especially small-framed women whose bones have been weakened by osteoporosis.

Both Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are lymphomas — a type of cancer that begins in a subset of white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are an integral part of your immune system, which protects you from germs.

The main difference between Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is in the specific lymphocyte each involves.

A doctor can tell the difference between Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by examining the cancer cells under a microscope. If in examining the cells, the doctor detects the presence of a specific type of abnormal cell called a Reed-Sternberg cell, the lymphoma is classified as Hodgkin's. If the Reed-Sternberg cell is not present, the lymphoma is classified as non-Hodgkin's.

Many subtypes of lymphoma exist, and your doctor will use laboratory tests to examine a sample of your lymphoma cells to determine your specific subtype. Expect to wait a few days to receive results from these specialized tests.

Your type of lymphoma helps your doctor determine your prognosis and your treatment options. The types of lymphoma have very different disease courses and treatment choices, so an accurate diagnosis is an integral part of getting the care you need.

Drinking tea or warm lemon water mixed with honey is a time-honored way to soothe a sore throat. But honey alone may be an effective cough suppressant, too.

In one study, children age 2 and older with upper respiratory tract infections were given up to 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of honey at bedtime. The honey seemed to reduce nighttime coughing and improve sleep.

In fact, in the study, honey appeared to be as effective as a common cough suppressant ingredient, dextromethorphan, in typical over-the-counter doses. Since honey is low-cost and widely available, it might be worth a try.

However, due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning, never give honey to a child younger than age 1.

And remember: Coughing isn't all bad. It helps clear mucus from your airway. If you or your child is otherwise healthy, there's usually no reason to suppress a cough.