About half of young children who were tested for lead had detectable levels of the toxic metal in their blood, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday.

While most of the kids had relatively smaller amounts, about 2% had a level that is considered high. The research tracked more than 1.1 million...Read more

Q: My family has been using a lot of hand sanitizer during the pandemic. Is there anything harmful in it?

A: Washing hands with soap and clean water for at least 20 seconds is the best way for children to get rid of germs, including COVID-19. If soap and water are not available, children can use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 6-year-old son becomes anxious and agitated whenever it storms. I have noticed that this behavior has become more frequent since we had to evacuate last year for a few days due to a pending hurricane. What can I do to help my child overcome his fear of storms? He is always asking about the weather whenever we leave the house...Read more

It took years for Elle Moxley to get a diagnosis that explained her crippling gastrointestinal pain, digestion problems, fatigue, and hot, red rashes. And after learning in 2016 that she had Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, she spent more than four years trying medications before getting her disease under control...Read more

BALTIMORE -- Even as COVID-19 continues its rampage across the globe, an older health nemesis continues a more clandestine and increasingly deadly spread.

Typhoid infects an estimated 11 million people a year and kills more than 160,000, largely in Asian and African countries with poor water and sanitation systems. Long treatable with ...Read more

Linda Evangelista, whose face graced the covers of countless fashion magazines in the 1990s, said Wednesday that she had taken “a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years.”

The supermodel says she’s a victim of a cosmetic procedure gone wrong, and she has filed a lawsuit.

“To my...Read more

A year and a half into the pandemic, the long-feared specter of rationed health care — that is, the delay or denial of medical treatment to some patients who need it because there simply aren’t enough resources to go around — is perilously close to becoming reality. As unvaccinated coronavirus victims overwhelm hospitals, some states are ...Read more

CHICAGO -- As we lurch into fall and then winter, we also say hello to flu season, which starts in early to mid-September.

But we are also in the throes of a pandemic, and when we come down with sore throats and runny noses, how do we tell if it’s COVID-19 or something else?

The short answer is that there’s no rule, according to Dr. Mary ...Read more

The 2021 flu season is hitting us at the same time that millions of Americans are considering a COVID-19 booster vaccination.

The FDA has endorsed a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines by people with certain health conditions that compromise their immune systems, and for people age 65 and older.

In August, we spoke with Dr. ...Read more

Fever, upset stomach, diarrhea, sore throat, chills, coughing, sneezing and headache all can make you feel miserable. And when you're not feeling well, it sometimes can be hard to know exactly what's wrong and how you can help yourself feel better.

With flu season approaching, this is a good time to look at the symptoms of what is — and is ...Read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone over 6 months get a flu shot every season with rare exceptions.

Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, says getting vaccinated for the flu is safe. Billions of doses have been given for more than 80 years to prevent flu, reduce symptoms and protect...Read more

COVID-19 is infecting more kids, and the racial disparities of who is falling ill is similar to those among adults, an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows.

The age group 19 and younger saw nearly 4.9 million COVID-19 infections, over 39,000 hospitalizations, and 725 deaths nationwide through the end of August, according to the ...Read more

In recent months, some European airlines have banned the use of cloth face coverings to control the spread of the coronavirus during air travel, instead favoring surgical masks — sometimes referred to as medical or disposable — and N95 respirators.

It’s another salvo in the debate over the effectiveness of the ubiquitous cloth mask, which...Read more

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to a progressive group of lung diseases, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, that make it hard to breathe. Millions of people around the globe die each year because of COPD, and nearly 16 million people in the U.S. have a form of the disease.

The No. 1 cause of COPD in developed ...Read more

Although being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 dramatically reduces your chances of becoming hospitalized and dying from the disease, the shots don’t entirely eliminate risks of infection.

That’s why health experts have continued to urge people to practice other preventive measures — including wearing masks to benefit from an additional...Read more

Plant-based burgers have soared in popularity over the past couple of years. Are these meat alternatives healthier for you than the real thing? Introducing more plant-based foods in your diet is a good thing, says Katherine Zeratsky, a Mayo Clinic registered dietitian nutritionist, but pay attention to the ingredients.

It looks like a burger. ...Read more

September is Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn about four common rheumatic diseases: ankylosing spondylitis, gout, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and lupus.

Ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disease that can cause some of the small bones in your spine to fuse. This fusing ...Read more

CLAYTON, Mo. — The St. Louis County Council on Tuesday delayed a vote to confirm Dr. Faisal Khan as county health director until after they meet with him to discuss a possible new mask mandate as well as fallout from a contentious public meeting in July where he lost his composure.

Khan, as acting health director, appeared before the council ...Read more

Q: What are amino acids and how do I get them in my diet?

A: Amino acids are “building block” compounds that make up the proteins in the body. There are 20 amino acids that fall into three different groupings: essential, nonessential, or conditional. The term “essential” means that the body cannot produce the compound itself so it must ...Read more

It’ll come as no surprise that eating a healthy, balanced diet can benefit our bodies in so many ways. But have you ever thought about how food affects your mood? Sure, we’ve all turned to carbs like our favorite cookies when we’ve had a bad day, and we might think of typical comfort foods as mood-boosting because they’re easy to make ...Read more