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Red Light Treatments For Neuropathy Don't Show Much Benefit

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have neuropathy in my left foot. It feels very hot on the bottom. My neurologist thinks it is from my sugar level, but I got my A1C down from 6.2% to 5.6% and do not have neuropathy in my right foot. A friend said that he has had some relief with red light treatment, but he experiences tingling in his feet. Does red light ...Read more

How to reduce your risk for STIs

Unprotected sex, AKA sex without the use of a condom, is astoundingly common. Among teens and young adults, fully 69% report recently having unprotected sex. No wonder around half of sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, such as gonorrhea and syphilis show up in teens and 20-somethings. Older adults aren't much more careful. New information ...Read more

University of Minnesota strengthens case to treat COVID-19 with metformin, not ivermectin

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

MINNEAPOLIS — Patients with COVID-19 had lower viral loads if treated with metformin, according to new University of Minnesota research that argues for broader use of the cheap anti-diabetes drug and against the controversial use of ivermectin.

Thursday's published findings helped connect the dots and explain why metformin in a U-led clinical...Read more

Healthy teeth are wondrous and priceless – a dentist explains why and how best to protect them

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

At an auction in England in 2011, one of John Lennon’s teeth sold for just over US$31,000.

How much are your teeth worth?

Teeth are amazing little miracles. They light up our smiles, we use them to speak and we chew with them more than 600 times at every meal.

Yet, in a society where 1 out of 5 Americans ages 75 and ...Read more

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New heated drug baths provide hope for patients with stomach cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Mayo Clinic researchers used a new approach to chemotherapy to more than double the typical survival rate for patients with stomach cancer and peritoneal metastasis, which is cancer that has spread to the lining of the abdominal cavity, according to a study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Stomach cancer, which is also called ...Read more

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Your cellphone may be causing nearsightedness, now at epidemic levels

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Around half of the global population could need corrective lenses by 2050 — a health care burden that already costs Americans an estimated $7.2 billion annually. It’s because myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is at epidemic levels, according to Rochester Institute of Technology professor Andrew Herbert.

With May being Healthy Vision ...Read more

Night Sweats And Hot Flashes Continue For Over Two Decades

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 72 years old and otherwise fairly healthy, but I am writing to you in desperation. I have talked with every doctor I have had in the past 15 years, and no one has been able to give me any help. I have had severe hot flashes for over 22 years, and I am miserable. The first eight years consisted of night sweats when I ...Read more

Vitamin D -- a hormone workhorse for your health

Vitamin D is an interesting vitamin since it's actually a hormone. It's mostly produced by exposure of your skin to sunlight -- about 10% of your body's active vitamin D comes from foods you eat. When your body produces vitamin D from the sun and absorbs it from food, the liver and kidneys convert it into the hormone calcitriol.

In your body, ...Read more

Lauren Owens Lambert/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

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

Dying From a Broken Heart

Health Advice / Scott LaFee /

Between 2011 and 2018, the number of women hospitalized for heart attacks declined at a greater rate compared to men in a study of six different high-income countries. However, in all six countries, women had higher mortality rates and were less likely to receive cardiac interventions, such as catheterization or treatment to restore blood flow...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

Winifred Brown/U.S. Army/U.S. Army/TNS

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