Health News

CBP will not vaccinate migrants against flu

US Customs and Border Protection will not vaccinate migrants, even though three children who had been in US custody died after contracting the flu. The cases all occurred since December. “In general, due to the short-term nature of CBP holding and the complexities of operating vaccination programs, neither CBP nor its medical contractors administer vaccinations…

More women should be assessed for BRCA mutations, new recommendations say

More women should be assessed for harmful mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that can increase risk of certain cancers, according to new recommendations. Previously, it was recommended for women who have a family history of breast, ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer to be assessed for harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. That recommendation was…

E-cigarettes change blood vessels after just one use, study says

A new study is the latest to show changes in cardiovascular function after vaping e-liquids, though in this case, those liquids didn’t even contain nicotine. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Radiology, concluded that vaping temporarily impacts blood vessel function in healthy people. Using MRI scans, it found, for example, changes in blood flow…

‘Red flag’ laws can play a role in preventing mass shootings, study says

Determining how to prevent mass shootings in the United States has been a complicated debate, but there’s new evidence that one intervention could play a role in reducing the violence: “red flag” orders. Extreme risk protection order laws, colloquially known as “red flag” or ERPO laws, allow the temporary removal of guns from people deemed…

Prescription omega-3s can help some heart patients

For people with very high triglycerides, doctors generally recommend exercise and dietary changes, and if that doesn’t work, statins, fibrates or niacin. But a new advisory from the American Heart Association says that prescription omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce very high trigylceride levels by 20 to 30%, and the medications can be used safely…

New study raises questions about how fluoride affects children’s development

Water fluoridation has been hailed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the top great public health achievements of the 20th century, but a new study raises questions about its role as a potential neurotoxin in utero. The study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, found that increased…

Having kids makes you happier — once they’ve moved out

Having children will make you happier than staying childless, according to a new study, but not until later in life, when they have flown the nest. A team of researchers led by Christoph Becker at Heidelberg University in Germany found that parents tend to be happier than non-parents in old age, but this only holds…

UK steps up fight after losing ‘measles-free’ status

The United Kingdom says it will take steps to halt the spread of misinformation about vaccines as a result of losing its “measles-free” status after the highly infectious disease was declared eliminated in the country three years ago. Measles, which is almost entirely preventable with two doses of vaccine, is making a comeback globally. In…

Scientists bid farewell to the first Icelandic glacier lost to climate change. If more melt, it can be disastrous

Scientists say they are bidding farewell to Okjökull, the first Icelandic glacier lost to climate change, in a funeral of sorts. Researchers will gather Sunday in Borgarfjörður, Iceland, to memorialize Okjökull, known as Ok for short, after it lost its status as a glacier in 2014. The inscription, titled “A letter to the future,” on…

‘Mommy can’t do this for much longer’: Waiting for a liver transplant, she prepares her family for the worst

Erika Zak and her family moved across the country more than a year ago to be near the Cleveland Clinic. They wanted to be ready at a moment’s notice for a liver transplant that could save her life. She and her husband, Scott Powers, thought the move would last three months, maybe five. That she…

There’s lead in Newark’s water. A mom worries her 5-year-old is ‘being poisoned’

Bryce Thomas’ toy prehistoric reptiles nosedived into the cold, soapy tap water in the kitchen sink, scooping up schools of imaginary fish, when his mother started weeping in the living room. “If I don’t advocate for him, the city isn’t going to advocate for him,” Shakima Thomas cried. “I don’t trust they’re doing everything they…

Mother dies of Ebola in Congo’s South Kivu province, baby under care

A 24-year-old woman has died after contracting Ebola in the South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the World Health Organization. Her 7-month-old son, who is also confirmed to be infected with the Ebola virus, is receiving treatment, WHO said on Twitter on Friday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the patients…

15 million children don’t have money for school supplies. Here’s how you can help them

Going back to school can be scary for kids. There’s peer pressure, homework and tests. But 15 million children living in extreme poverty in the US face far more basic fears — not having the supplies to learn or not knowing where they’ll get their next meal, especially on weekends. Here’s what’s being done and…

New treatment approved for drug-resistant tuberculosis

The US Food and Drug Administration approved a new treatment for highly drug-resistant tuberculosis, offering new hope in the fight against the world’s most deadly infectious disease. TB most affects the lungs and can be particularly difficult to treat. Drug-resistant strains are on the increase due to incomplete and challenging courses of treatment that last…

FDA reveals proposed graphic warnings for cigarette packs and ads

Warning labels on cigarette packages could soon be more graphic, warning that “Smoking reduces blood flow to the limbs, which can require amputation,” and “Smoking causes bladder cancer, which can lead to bloody urine.” The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a proposed rule that requires tobacco companies to place new graphic health…

Taking ‘Miracle’ solution as cure for autism or cancer is the ‘same as drinking bleach,’ FDA says

People should stop using the “Miracle” or “Master” mineral solution products sold online as cures for autism, cancer, HIV, hepatitis, flu, acne and a host of other illnesses and diseases, the US Food and Drug Administration warned Monday. The products — known by various names, including Miracle or Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Supplement, MMS,…

Over a third of American kids who don’t smoke are exposed to it anyways. Most are below the poverty line.

More than a third of American young people who don’t smoke have been exposed to secondhand smoke, according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers looked at nonsmoking youth from 2013 to 2016 and found that 35.4% of those ages 3 to 17 had been exposed to…

‘It is raining plastic’: Scientists find colorful microplastic in rain

It’s raining plastic — that’s what a survey of rainfall in Denver and Boulder, Colorado, concluded recently. The rainfall survey, titled “It is raining plastic,” was put together by scientists at the US Department of the Interior and US Geological Survey. They couldn’t see the plastic with their naked eyes, but found it using a…

Exposure to polluted air is like smoking a pack a day, study says

Long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ground-level ozone, is like smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day for many years, a new study says, and like smoking, it can can lead to emphysema. The study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, is the largest of its kind. It looked at exposure to air…

Minnesota is the latest state to report patients with severe lung disease after vaping

Minnesota health officials have identified four cases of severe lung injury that could be connected to vaping, similar to what could be dozens more cases in nearby Wisconsin and Illinois. The Minnesota Department of Health said it’s unclear whether these cases are somehow connected. While officials said they don’t yet know the exact products used,…

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