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Respiratory illnesses are up nationwide. Here are the COVID, flu and RSV hotspots
If it feels like everyone around you is fighting off a cold or recovering from the flu, it may be because respiratory illnesses are running rampant in most of the United States, and cases are only increasing.
The overall respiratory illness activity level in the U.S. was rated as “high” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on ...Read more
Medicaid expansion debate will affect other health policy issues before Montana Legislature
HELENA, Mont. — A last-minute change to a 2019 bill put an end date on Montana’s Medicaid expansion program, setting the stage for what is anticipated to be the most significant health care debate of the 2025 Montana Legislature.
In recent interviews, legislative leaders predicted a vigorous debate over keeping the Medicaid expansion ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q and A: So your kids were gifted noisy toys: Now what?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My teenager received new headphones for Christmas while my preteen asked for a drum set. It's been a bit noisy around here. How can I protect their developing hearing?
ANSWER: Hearing loss often is thought of as something that happens to the elderly. But we live, work and play in a noisy environment, and hearing loss affects ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: What to do if your infant or toddler hits their head
Just like older kids, babies and toddlers can get concussions. In fact, little ones face some extra risks. But it can sometimes be harder to recognize the signs of concussion, a type of mild traumatic brain injury, in infants and toddlers. They may not have the language skills yet to tell you how they feel.
The impact from a bump, blow or jolt ...Read more
Heart-protecting advice for a peak experience in the mountains
Whether it's a wintry visit to a snow-covered ski resort or a summertime hike in an alpine park, a vacation in the mountains can be breathtaking. Literally.
"There is less oxygen available to breathe at higher altitudes," said Dr. William K. Cornwell, an associate professor of cardiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in ...Read more
Health care AI, intended to save money, turns out to require a lot of expensive humans
Preparing cancer patients for difficult decisions is an oncologist’s job. They don’t always remember to do it, however. At the University of Pennsylvania Health System, doctors are nudged to talk about a patient’s treatment and end-of-life preferences by an artificially intelligent algorithm that predicts the chances of death.
But it’s ...Read more
Putting your best foot forward
The human foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles, and tendons. That means there's a lot that can go wrong! No wonder 81% of Americans report foot problems at some point.
When you have chronic or acute foot pain, the repercussions range from loss of balance and increased risk of falling to inability to walk or do aerobics ...Read more
Long-Term Use Of High-Dose Gabapentin Causes Great Concern
DEAR DR. ROACH: Am I a doomed man? When I was 25, I survived a battle with testicular cancer. The good news is that 45 years later, after two kids and three grandkids, I'm in good health. The only medicine I take is gabapentin for peripheral neuropathy that was caused by the chemotherapy drugs I received during the cancer treatment. One or ...Read more
New noninvasive asthma test may help doctors tailor treatment for kids
Impacting millions of children in the U.S. alone, asthma can be particularly problematic to diagnose with specificity — leaving the majority of kids without treatments that target their subtype of the condition.
Using a new, noninvasive nose swab test, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have for the first time detected multiple ...Read more
Indiana state senator moves to scrap hospital monopoly law he helped create
On the heels of a scuttled hospital merger between rivals in Terre Haute, Indiana, a state senator introduced a bill that would forbid similar mergers in the future.
Last year, nonprofit Union Health tried to acquire the only other acute care hospital in Vigo County by leveraging a state law it helped create that allows hospital monopolies. Now...Read more
The US health care system is flawed by design
The middlemen that comprise a growing share of America’s convoluted health care system find themselves in a bind. The public is angry about the inflated costs and opaque dealings that govern their access to medical care. Lawmakers, despite recent setbacks, are eager to respond. Intermediaries have become an obvious target for blame and reform....Read more
Wildfire smoke from the LA fires is a hidden health cost
Los Angeles has experienced some of the world’s worst air quality this week as smoke from massive wildfires blankets the region and threatens the health of far more people than the fires themselves. And that will end up adding to the economic toll.
Almost 180,000 have been forced to flee their homes and at least 10,000 structures have been ...Read more
Doctors, nurses press ahead as wildfires strain Los Angeles' health care
The rapidly spreading wildfires that have transformed much of Los Angeles County into a raging hellscape are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders, and nursing homes.
At least one medical clinic burned down. Senior patients...Read more
With more Americans able to access legalized marijuana, fewer are picking up prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications – new research
In states where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal, fewer patients are filling prescriptions for medications used to treat anxiety. That is the key finding of my recent study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
I am an applied policy researcher who studies the economics of risky behaviors and substance use ...Read more
Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk – an expert on how alcohol affects the body breaks down a new government report
Many people use the new year to reflect on their relationship with alcohol. Just-released government guidelines are giving Americans another reason to consider a “dry January.”
Over the past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of...Read more
Doctors, nurses press ahead as wildfires strain Los Angeles' health care
The rapidly spreading wildfires that have transformed much of Los Angeles County into a raging hellscape are not only upending the lives of tens of thousands of residents and business owners, but also stressing the region’s hospitals, health clinics, first responders, and nursing homes.
At least one medical clinic burned down. Senior patients...Read more
The warning signs to notice if someone is freezing to death
You don’t have to actually freeze to death in order to die of cold.
And according to the Mayo Clinic, people who are dying of cold usually don’t realize it.
As sleet, snow or cold rainfall is expected in metro Atlanta on Friday amid freezing temperatures, Southerners who aren’t used to these conditions need to be careful to protect their...Read more
On Nutrition: Questions from readers
Along with starting a few resolutions for the new year, I checked my mailbag. Joyce M. writes, “I enjoyed your column on cranberries in the Dallas Morning News. Several of the health benefits were new to me, but I was educated on cranberry production by elderly Wisconsin relatives who worked on the farms.
“For years I have bought extra ...Read more
High blood pressure in pregnancy a risk factor for early heart disease
A new study has revealed a significant link between a common pregnancy complication and early heart disease in women.
Researchers found that women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were at higher risk of developing coronary artery disease at an earlier age. In addition, they found that women with these disorders were ...Read more
Blood Pressure Level Fluctuates After Getting Off All Medications
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 89 and in good health. For six months, my systolic blood pressure was 113 mm Hg. Then, 10 days ago, it dropped to 88 mm Hg for a week. For today and the past week, it's been 187/93 mm Hg. I was on a blood pressure medication, but my doctor took me off of it when my blood pressure was low. I am currently off of all ...Read more
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