By: Kathy Hubbard. We’ve all heard about hot flashes, and night sweats, technically called vasomotor symptoms. You suddenly get warm and sweaty, your heart rate speeds up, and you might have trouble sleeping. You may also experience short-term memory problems and have trouble concentrating. And, you might gain weight, grow hair in unexpected places and have eye issues such as blurred vision, swollen and reddened eyes, and vision changes. Adult acne, dry mouth issues and bruising are common as are joint problems.

By: Kathy Hubbard. In the mid-nineties, a friend of mine told me that he lost 30 friends and acquaintances to HIV/AIDS in just one week. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Although cases have decreased substantially since the height of the epidemic, HIV and AIDS remain a persistent problem in the U.S. As a matter of fact, in 2022 there were almost 33,000 new cases of HIV infections resulting in over 19,300 deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 13 percent of people with HIV in the U.S. don’t know it.