Health Advice
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Tribal health leaders say feds haven't treated syphilis outbreak as a public health emergency
Natalie Holt sees reminders nearly everywhere of the serious toll a years-long syphilis outbreak has taken in South Dakota. Scrambling to tamp down the spread of the devastating disease, public health officials are blasting messages to South Dakotans on billboards and television, urging people to get tested.
Holt works in Aberdeen, a city of ...Read more
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces $33 million in funding for California veterans' mental health
Gov. Gavin Newsom formally proclaimed Monday as Veterans Day in California, which came with a major announcement.
The California Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $33 million in grants to seven counties through the California Veterans Health Initiative. The grants will go to preexisting community organizations that provide mental ...Read more
A bitter pill: As pharmacies shutter, Pitt experts wonder about the impact on access
It's no longer a new trend: Large retail pharmacies have been shuttering hundreds of stores across the nation. But an interactive map by University of Pittsburgh pharmacy researchers may help the public visualize the volume of those closures over the past 10 years — and glean the impact the closures may be having on the health of communities. ...Read more
Sugar detox? Cutting carbs? A doctor explains why you should keep fruit on the menu
One of my patients – who had been struggling with obesity, uncontrolled diabetes and the cost of her medications – agreed in June 2019 to adopt a more whole-food plant-based diet.
Excited by the challenge, she did a remarkable job. She increased her fresh fruit and vegetable intake, stopped eating candy, cookies and cakes and cut ...Read more
How RFK Jr.'s health proposals would stack up in practice
WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is lined up to advise the incoming Trump administration on its health policy agenda, has floated broad plans to “make America healthy again.” But how he will accomplish his wide-ranging agenda is still a question mark.
Kennedy’s suggestions have ranged from gutting parts of the Food and Drug ...Read more
Don't throw out expired COVID-19 tests, FDA says
You probably have a cabinet full of rapid COVID-19 tests you’ve accumulated. The expiration dates have come closer and closer, with some tests even reaching them.
The Food and Drug Administration, however, has said those expiration dates are subject to change, providing a list of the tests that have had their dates extended.
COVID-19 rapid ...Read more
Strength training early in life can set up kids and adolescents for a lifetime of health and well-being
“Aren’t they a little young for that?”
This is a question I used to hear regularly from parents when I’d recommend strength training for the kids I worked with, whose ages ranged from 6 to 18 years old, in youth sports. During my four years as a strength and conditioning coach, I often received questions from parents about the...Read more
Seasonal affective disorder: More than feeling sad
During certain seasons of the year, you may notice changes in your energy level, sleep and interest in activities.
Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression that is related to the changes in seasons. Symptoms typically appear in the fall, continue through the winter months and eventually go away in the spring or summer.
...Read more
3 days after running a marathon, her aorta tore
The new partner at the law firm where Zach Williams works heard him talking about what happened to his wife.
Amber Williams was 35 and seemed perfectly healthy when she felt excruciating chest pain. She'd had an aortic dissection, and it's often diagnosed during an autopsy.
"That's a weird way for you to tell me you're a widower," the partner ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q and A: Does vitamin C help us when we're sick?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Growing up, I was told to drink orange juice when I had a cold because "vitamin C is the cure." Does vitamin C actually help us when we're sick? What are its benefits?
ANSWER: Vitamin C supports our immune systems, helps our bodies heal wounds, protects our joints and contributes to collagen formation, the main protein in the ...Read more
Washington state reports nearly 1,200 whooping cough cases so far this year
This year could shape up to be the worst year for whooping cough Washington has seen in over a decade.
State health officials counted 1,193 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, across 31 counties as of Nov. 2, according to the Department of Health's most recent update. This time last year, the state had reported 51 cases.
Washington is not ...Read more
A look at those who could be on Trump's health team short list
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to involve anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his next administration in some capacity, but whoever else he picks to run the major health agencies will have a major impact on the GOP health agenda of the next four years.
Top posts require Senate confirmation, meaning ...Read more
Asymptomatic people may carry avian flu
New research has revealed that even asymptomatic people carry the avian flu virus, suggesting that infections among dairy workers may be more common that presumed — and underscoring the need for better workplace protection.
In a study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Thursday, eight of 115 dairy farm workers, or 7%, who ...Read more
Most Philadelphia nonprofit health systems had improved financial results in fiscal 2024
PHILADELPHIA — All but two nonprofit health systems in Southeastern Pennsylvania improved their financial results in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Despite the improvement, sixof 11 systems tracked by The Inquirer still lost money and two — Jefferson Health and Temple University Health System — effectively broke even. The sector is ...Read more
Military veterans are disproportionately affected by suicide, but targeted prevention can help reverse the tide
America’s military veterans make up about 6% of the adult population but account for about 20% of all suicides. That means that each day, about 18 veterans will die by suicide.
In the U.S., the overall rate of suicide has largely increased since the start of the millennium, but veterans are disproportionately represented among this ...Read more
A quick return to school and light exercise may help kids recover from concussions
During cheerleading practice in April, Jana Duey’s sixth-grade daughter, Karter, sustained a concussion when she fell several feet headfirst onto a gym floor mat. Days after, Karter still had a headache, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise.
Karter rested for a week and a half at home in Centennial, Colorado, then returned to school ...Read more
Chaplain celebrates 4 birthdays: The day he was born, plus 3 more when his life began again
When Richard A. Thompson III walks through hospital corridors or on their grounds with families of loved ones who are injured or sick or dying; when he sits at the bedside, often holding the hands of patients; when he talks and listens to people whose pain is physical, emotional or both, he empathizes with what they're going through.
"My job is...Read more
Bill of the Month: Toddler's backyard snakebite bills totaled more than a quarter million dollars
This spring, a few days after his 2nd birthday, Brigland Pfeffer was playing with his siblings in their San Diego backyard.
His mother, Lindsay Pfeffer, was a few feet away when Brigland made a noise and came running from the stone firepit, holding his right hand. She noticed a pinprick of blood between his thumb and forefinger when her older ...Read more
As nuns disappear, many Catholic hospitals look more like megacorporations
ST. LOUIS — Inside the more than 600 Catholic hospitals across the country, not a single nun can be found occupying a chief executive suite, according to the Catholic Health Association.
Nuns founded and led those hospitals in a mission to treat sick and poor people, but some were also shrewd business leaders. Sister Irene Kraus, a former ...Read more
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