Dr. Ilkay Munoz-paris M.D.

What is a vaccine?Vaccines are products that enable a person to develop immunity against certain diseases. A vaccine can be given through needle injections, by aerosol, or by mouth. The polio vaccine is given in the form of mouth drops that contain live but weakened organisms. The vaccine gets into...

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a disease that occurs due to the reappearance of the varicella-zoster virus, which is the causative agent of chickenpox. Shingles usually starts with a skin rash. These skin rashes occur either in the form of a band or a strip covering a small area on your...

What is Meningitis?Meningitis is the swelling or inflammation of the meninges, which are the three specific membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord. The primary function of the meninges is to protect the central nervous system. Meningitis is an uncommon infection that affects the delicate...

There are several types of pneumonia that vary in their degree of seriousness. Pneumonia caused by a viral infection can make people feel very sick with fever, cough, and tiredness. However, viral pneumonia tends to go away on its own after some time. A "walking pneumonia" is a mild case of...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer are two ends of the same spectrum. Though vastly different in core characteristics, they share many symptoms such as painful wheezing, a persistent cough, and the production of copious mucus. Both these diseases have similar causes and...

IntroductionOrthopnea is the medical term used when referring to the occurrence of dyspnea (shortness of breath) when you are lying flat. This symptom is often a sign of heart failure. However, orthopnea can also be due to other health conditions. Dyspnea (shortness of breath) is not the same with...