COVID’s rampage through the country’s nursing homes killed more than 172,000 residents and spurred the biggest industry reform in decades: a mandate that homes employ a minimum number of nurses.

But with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the industry is ramping up pressure to kill that requirement before it takes ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What is the difference between sudden cardiac arrest and a heart attack? Who is at risk for both, and what safety measures can we take?

ANSWER: Sudden cardiac arrest may occur in various conditions when someone, while active (playing basketball or walking with friends), collapses and passes out. Their blood pressure drops, and...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worried that a drink of infected raw milk could cause the H5N1 bird flu virus to jump to people, state health officials have ordered that all raw milk and cream from a Fresno-based dairy farm be pulled from store shelves.

Consumers should return any purchased milk to the store where it was bought, they add.

“...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's conservatives said Wednesday they are inclined to uphold state laws in half the nation that prohibit the use of hormone treatments for transgender teens.

Led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., they said there is an evolving medical debate over the use of puberty blockers and sex hormones for adolescents who...Read more

DENVER — Colorado has experienced a surge in walking pneumonia this fall, most notably among very young children who aren’t usually as susceptible to the illness, according to health officials.

Bacterial infections that cause the mild lung infection reemerged nationwide this year for the first time since the start of the pandemic, peaking ...Read more

Driving through downtown Dallas, you might see a striking banner hanging at the U-turn bridge, near the Walnut Hill exit on Central Expressway (US 75): “Stop Fluoridation!” Below it, other banners demand action and warn of supposed dangers.

It’s not the first time fluoride has been at the center of public debate.

Since ...Read more

Desserts are always a fun treat, but during the holidays they often become more of a mainstay in our diet as we celebrate. When talking about dessert and healthy eating, often there’s a recommendation to have fruit for dessert. Fruit is a delicious way to get a variety of nutrients and should be eaten daily. However, there are times when you ...Read more

Have you ever perused the produce stands at a farmers market and realized items like eggs, berries, and other produce are kept out? Then you get home and you’re not sure whether these foods can stay in a cute bowl on your counter or if they should be stored in the refrigerator.

The truth is, farm fresh produce and dairy have a different ...Read more

Nantucket, a beautiful, 14-mile-long island off the coast of Massachusetts, has a 40-point resiliency plan to help withstand the buffeting seas surrounding it as climate change takes a toll. Perhaps we can all benefit from creating individual resilience plans to help handle the big and small issues that erode our sense of well-being. But what is...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband and I recently noticed our 5-year-old daughter was having difficulty blinking and eating, and one side of her face was drooping. The pediatrician referred us to a plastic surgeon who diagnosed her with facial paralysis. What is facial paralysis and what are the treatment options? Will this require surgery?

ANSWER: ...Read more

When Tara Garcia was born, her skin was tinted blue. This meant a lack of oxygen in her body. Doctors told her parents the baby girl may not make it through the night.

After being transferred to another hospital, doctors found the problem: The two main arteries in her heart were reversed, scrambling the normal pathway for blood through the body...Read more

DENVER — Colorado has a serious shortage of primary care and mental health treatment statewide, but experts say some of the state’s plans to address that could at least chip away at the problem.

Despite the perception that provider shortages are a rural problem, none of Colorado’s 21 health regions — including Denver and the surrounding...Read more

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. It includes conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. People with IBD may experience persistent symptoms like frequent diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal pain and fatigue.

There is no cure and no exact cause, though researchers continue to look at ...Read more

Since last week’s recall of cucumbers across the United States and Canada, more cucumbers have been recalled and more people sickened with salmonella.

Here’s the latest on the situation:

What other cucumbers have been recalled?

Last Wednesday’s SunFed Produce recall of whole cucumbers from Sonora, Mexico, grower Agrotato S.A. de C.V. ...Read more

Oatmeal is a nutritious, inexpensive and versatile way to incorporate whole grains into your diet and help you start your morning off right.

Oats made history when they became the first food with a Food and Drug Administration health claim label in 1997. This claim was related to heart health and showed that intake of whole oat products ...Read more

Within days of Donald Trump’s election victory, health care entrepreneur Calley Means turned to social media to crowdsource advice.

“First 100 days,” said Means, a former consultant to Big Pharma who uses the social platform X to focus attention on chronic disease. “What should be done to reform the FDA?”

The question was more than ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Cannabis-related emergency room visits are on a downward trend in Carroll County, according to Maryland Department of Health statistics.

The health department’s interactive dashboard, which debuted last week, displays data for cannabis-related emergency room visits since 2019. The data are based on visits when the patient’s ...Read more

In mid-May, Mandi Rokx had a 3-month-old baby and a letter from a Florida agency warning that they both would be cut from Medicaid, the health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities.

Under a Florida law passed in 2021, Rokx was supposed to receive 12 months of continuous coverage after giving birth. But the letter from ...Read more

More people living in rural areas of the United States are dying from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases – a trend that emerged after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and appears to be driven by deaths among people under 65, a new study found.

Rural residents also continue to have higher cardiovascular death rates than...Read more