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Getting a good night’s rest is vital for neurodiverse children – pediatric sleep experts explain why

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Most of us are all too familiar with the consequences of a poor night’s sleep – be it interrupted sleep or simply too little of it. If you’re a parent with kids at home, it often leaves you and your children on edge.

Children with neurodiverse conditions, such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, are ...Read more

Caring for older Americans’ teeth and gums is essential, but Medicare generally doesn’t cover that cost

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

C. Everett Koop, the avuncular doctor with a fluffy white beard who served as the U.S. surgeon general during the Reagan administration, was famous for his work as an innovative pediatric surgeon and the attention he paid to the HIV-AIDS crisis.

As dentistry scholars, we believe Koop also deserves credit for something else. To help ...Read more

Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Solving the puzzle: Autism diagnosis often takes longer for girls, whose symptoms can differ from boys'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SAN DIEGO -- Donning one of her favorite unicorn-themed nightgowns and perched comfortably in an extra large beanbag chair, Alyssa Tracy watches videos on her tablet.

It’s a quiet, early April morning at the Lakeside, California, home where the 10-year-old lives with her parents, Dustin and Debra Tracy, and older sister Grace Tracy, age 12.

...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Vulnerable Florida patients scramble after abrupt Medicaid termination

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

TAMPA, Fla. – Esther JeanBart leaned over her son’s wheelchair, caressing his face and trying to make him giggle. Gianni JeanBart was under the weather, but still his eyes rolled toward her and his mouth widened, cracking a smile.

Esther JeanBart said she has missed the sound of Gianni’s voice the most. In 2017, the U.S. Marine was in a ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Commentary: Health care is not a top issue in 2024. COVID-19 explains why

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In a striking departure from recent voting and polling trends, health care has tumbled to the 16th most important problem facing Americans today, according to new Gallup data.

At first glance, this shift is bewildering, especially considering the central role health care played in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles.

Americans now list the...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

On Nutrition: Questions about blood type diet and peanuts

Health Advice / Nutrition /

A college student in Illinois writes, “I’ve always been interested in nutrition and one of the things I see popping up all the time is something called the 'Blood Type Diet.' I know that losing weight has nothing to do with your blood type and you can lose weight with any diet. But there’s another part of this diet regarding lectins that I...Read more

Low Blood Pressure Prompts Concern About Blood Levels, Iron

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 23-year-old woman. Recently, my friend experienced a problem with high blood pressure, and for about five days, I followed her diet, which consisted of no added salt or sugar. While taking care of her, I checked my blood pressure once or twice, and it was normal. However, after almost five days, I measured it again and ...Read more

Advocating avocados

The U.S. imports tons of avocados from Mexico -- and some sources say that more than 2.7 billion pounds of those luscious green berries (yes, they are berries) are consumed by Americans every year, including more than 54 million pounds of guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday. But even so, only about 2% of Americans eat avocados daily or almost daily. ...Read more

NIAID/Zuma Press/TNS

It's taken 100 scientists two years to rename airborne viruses after COVID-19 mistakes

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Airborne viruses will be called “pathogens that transmit through the air” under new terminology the World Health Organization hopes will end a scientific rift that hampered the early response to COVID-19.

After two years of consultations involving over 100 scientists, a WHO-led working group agreed to the term to describe diseases caused ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Mayo Clinic Minute: What is pink eye?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Pink eye is extremely common in kids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public schoolchildren in the U.S. miss 3 million school days each year because of pink eye.

Dr. Tina Ardon, a Mayo Clinic family physician, explains what you should know about this contagious condition.

"Pink eye, or the medical term is ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

States want to make it harder for health insurers to deny care, but firms might evade enforcement

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

For decades, Amina Tollin struggled with mysterious, debilitating pain that radiated throughout her body. A few years ago, when a doctor finally diagnosed her with polyneuropathy, a chronic nerve condition, she had begun to use a wheelchair.

The doctor prescribed a blood infusion therapy that allowed Tollin, 40, to live her life normally. That ...Read more

Satjawat Boontanataweepol/Dreamstime/TNS

Mayo Clinic Minute: How often should you wash your hair?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

To shampoo or not to shampoo? That might be your question each time you head into the shower. Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, says, when it comes to the scalp and the hair, there's a new trend online where shampooing less is preferred. Here's what she would like you to consider when it comes time to washing your hair.

In the shower...Read more

Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Paris Hilton backs California bill requiring sunshine on 'troubled teen industry'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton is backing California lawmakers’ push to increase the transparency of residential teen therapeutic centers by requiring these programs to report the use of restraints or seclusion rooms in disciplining minors.

“We shouldn’t be placing youth in facilities without knowing what these children will be ...Read more

Michael Flippo/Dreamstime/TNS

When rogue brokers switch people's ACA policies, tax surprises can follow

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Tax season is never fun. But some tax filers this year face an added complication: Their returns are being rejected because they failed to provide information about Affordable Care Act coverage they didn’t even know they had.

While the concern about unscrupulous brokers enrolling unsuspecting people in ACA coverage has simmered for years, ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California health workers may face rude awakening with $25 minimum wage law

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nearly a half-million health workers who stand to benefit from California’s nation-leading $25 minimum wage law could be in for a rude awakening if hospitals and other health care providers follow through on potential cuts to hours and benefits.

A medical industry challenge to a new minimum wage ordinance in one ...Read more

MRI Not Recommended For Patient With Shrapnel Lodged In Skull

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a 3 mm piece of shrapnel lodged in my skull bone. This is a result of military action back in 1967. A recent X-ray continues to show the shrapnel after all these years. I would say that the piece is half in and half out of the skull bone.

At age 77, I am unable to have an MRI. I currently have Type 2 diabetes and a ...Read more

Metabolic syndrome can increase your risk of cancer

You've probably heard the old song, "Leg bone's connected to the knee bone, knee bone's connected to the thigh bone." Well, some connections in the body aren't so obvious.

According to a study of more than 44,000 patients, your risk of developing cancer over the next 10 years jumps by 30% if you have metabolic syndrome. It's diagnosed if you ...Read more

Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois House OKs measure to give mental health workers called to emergencies the same benefits as other first responders

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Lawmakers are moving ahead with a measure that would make mental health professionals who get sent on emergency calls alongside law enforcement eligible for the same benefits as other first responders if they’re also hurt in the line of duty.

Mental health advocates for years have pushed for a more holistic approach to ...Read more

Sugar cravings could be caused by loneliness, study finds

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

If you’ve spent a lonely night at home eating chocolates and/or ice cream, you shouldn’t feel guilty. That’s because loneliness can cause an intense desire for sugary foods, a new study found.

Published in JAMA Network Open, researchers linked brain chemistry from those who socially isolate to poor mental health, weight gain, cognitive ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

FDA announces recall of heart pumps linked to deaths and injuries

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A pair of heart devices linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 14 deaths has received the FDA’s most serious recall, the agency announced Monday.

The recall comes years after surgeons say they first noticed problems with the HeartMate II and HeartMate 3, manufactured by Thoratec Corp., a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories. The devices are...Read more