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CDC, FDA, USDA answer big questions about the growing bird flu outbreak

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Representatives with multiple agencies including the CDC, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday discussed the latest news about bird flu in the U.S.

The agencies are continuing to test milk, dairy products and meat to ensure they can not spread the virus, and working to monitor farm ...Read more

Can a 911 drone stop your bleeding? It'll fly to Florida emergencies for DIY rescues

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A Florida county will be one of the first in the nation to dispatch a drone that responds to 911 calls.

On Wednesday, Manatee County was set to launch a new pilot program that uses a drone to deliver a defibrillator, a tourniquet, or naloxone — an opioid-overdose antidote — to emergency scenes. The program is meant to reduce response times ...Read more

Power outages linked to heat and storms are rising, and low-income communities are most at risk, as a new NYC study shows

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Many Americans think of power outages as infrequent inconveniences, but that’s quickly changing. Nationwide, major power outages have increased tenfold since 1980, largely because of an aging electrical grid and damage sustained from severe storms as the planet warms.

At the same time, electricity demand is rising as the population ...Read more

Baby orangutan born at Tampa's Busch Gardens via C-section was a rare feat

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

TAMPA, Fla. — Luna loved the ultrasound game.

The 26-year-old orangutan at Busch Gardens would come up to the mesh screening that separates the primates from the humans that care for them and happily present her belly.

Dr. Maria Spriggs, chief veterinarian at Busch Gardens, would use that play time to put an ultrasound probe on Luna’s ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: Spring into asparagus

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Asparagus is a seasonal favorite.

The folklore

Asparagus, whose name means stalk or shoot in Greek, was first cultivated about 2,500 years ago in Greece, where it was used medicinally to treat toothaches and help prevent bee stings. Considered a delicacy since ancient times, this dainty and nutritious spear continues to be a delicious ...Read more

5 healthy reasons to crave more cauliflower

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The goodness of cauliflower goes beyond its ability to become almost anything you can imagine in the kitchen — a crust, a “wing,” a rice, a mash, and the list goes on. Cauliflower’s mild flavor, satisfying texture, and chameleon-like versatility makes it not only a hearty and nutritious add-in as is, but also an inventive and savvy swap ...Read more

Cellulitis: How long does it take to heal on legs?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Cellulitis is an infection of the deep layers of the skin. It develops when bacteria enter through a cut, bite, or wound — including tiny breaks in cracked, dry skin. Common skin-dwelling bacteria, Staphylococcus or Streptococcus, are the usual culprits. Although cellulitis can occur anywhere on the body, the most common location is the lower ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q&A: What is cholangiocarcinoma and how is it treated?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My mother has been experiencing unusual and persistent fatigue, abdominal pain, and jaundice. After undergoing a CT scan, her doctor diagnosed her with cholangiocarcinoma. What is this type of cancer? And what treatment options are available?

ANSWER: Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare cancer that develops from the bile ducts, which ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Using lasers on the brain to treat seizures

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For roughly a third of people with epilepsy, medication does not control their seizures. Depending on where those seizures originate in the brain, laser therapy can be an option for adults and children.

It's treatment for epileptic seizures that uses a laser on the brain.

"LITT is laser interstitial thermal therapy," says Dr. Jamie Van Gompel,...Read more

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Exposed to Agent Orange at US bases, veterans face cancer without VA compensation

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

As a young GI at Fort Ord in Monterey County, California, Dean Osborn spent much of his time in the oceanside woodlands, training on soil and guzzling water from streams and aquifers now known to be contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants.

“They were marching the snot out of us,” he said, recalling his year and a half stationed on the ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Reasons to be a living kidney donor

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Nearly 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for kidney transplant, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Finding a donor kidney that is compatible and matches the right blood and tissue types can be the biggest challenge, especially when the donor pool isn't as large as the number of people who need a ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Good carbs for optimal health

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Do you push away the breadbasket or opt out of any meal that includes macaroni? If so, chances are you are one of the millions of people watching your carbs, or carbohydrates.

Dr. Christine Nguyen, a Mayo Clinic family physician, says not all carbs are bad, and there are plenty of foods with good carbs. Fiber-rich foods like whole grains, ...Read more

‘It’s a deep emotional ride’ – 12 young people in Philly’s toughest neighborhoods explain how violence disrupts their physical and mental health

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In 2023, 410 people were murdered in Philadelphia – more than a quarter of them under age 25. In addition to the people who died, countless others lost loved ones and people they relied on.

As a social scientist who studies different forms of violence and how they affect a person’s health, I know that the violence young people in ...Read more

Cancer patient raises funds for research, provides support for others

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ATLANTA — As Kim Airhart battles her own cancer recurrence, she continues to raise funds and awareness for ovarian cancer research and provide support for other women fighting the harrowing disease.

Statistically, patients diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer have a high rate of recurrence, but Airhart hoped she would be a unicorn. Through ...Read more

US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

If you needed long-term care, could you afford it?

For many Americans, especially those with a middle-class income and little savings, the answer to that question is absolutely not.

Nursing homes charge somewhere around US$100,000 a year, while frequent visits from a paid caregiver may set you back more than $5,000 a month. ...Read more

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To stop fentanyl deaths in Philadelphia, knocking on doors and handing out overdose kits

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA -- On a narrow street lined with row houses and an auto body shop in the Kensington neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Marsella Elie climbs a home’s front steps and knocks hard on the door.

A middle-aged man appears with a wary look on his face.

“Hello, sir, how are you doing today?” asked Elie, wearing a royal-blue jacket ...Read more

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What Florida's new 6-week abortion ban means for the South, and traveling patients

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Monica Kelly was thrilled to learn she was expecting her second child.

The Tennessee mother was around 13 weeks pregnant when, according to a lawsuit filed against the state of Tennessee, doctors gave her the devastating news that her baby had Patau syndrome.

The genetic disorder causes serious developmental defects and often results in ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Treatment and research of glioblastoma

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Considered the most aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma grows rapidly, destroying healthy tissue. Globally, approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed each year with glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is a type of cancer affecting glial cells, which connect nerve cells and support brain function.

"It tends to be a tumor that also tends to ...Read more

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California strikes deal for cheaper overdose-reversing medication

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

California struck up a new deal with Amneal Pharmaceuticals on Monday to bolster the state’s supply of the opioid overdose-reversing medication naloxone at a much lower price for schools, police departments and others trying to ease the toll of fentanyl.

The deal would put the price tag for a two-dosage pack of FDA approved naloxone, often ...Read more

North Carolina health plan discriminates against transgender workers, federal appeals court rules

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A divided federal appeals court ruled that North Carolina’s state health insurance plan discriminated against transgender patients by not covering gender-affirming care.

Transgender state workers sued the state in 2019 over a coverage exclusion in the State Health Plan for treatments for gender dysphoria, the medical term ...Read more