Once considered eliminated, measles is again on the rise with more cases this year already than in all of 2018.

Several incidents of measles in the Bay Area, including the recent case of a San Mateo resident at Google headquarters, have many wondering if they are at risk of getting infected. Here are some frequent questions about the highly ...Read more

After years of advocacy by injured patients, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered the makers of mesh devices for the repair of pelvic organ prolapse, or POP, to remove the products from the U.S. market, including mesh sold by Coloplast A/S and Boston Scientific Corp.

Women who were scheduled to have mesh implanted to treat pelvic ...Read more

It's Saturday morning and the women of the Contreras family are busy in Montclair, Calif., making pupusas, tamales and tacos. They're working to replace the income of Jose Contreras, who has been held since last June at Southern California's Adelanto ICE Processing Center, a privately run immigration detention center.

Jose's daughter, Giselle, ...Read more

Back pain during pregnancy isn't surprising, but it still deserves attention. You're gaining weight, your center of gravity changes, and your hormones are relaxing the ligaments in the joints of your pelvis. Often, however, you can prevent or ease back pain during pregnancy. Consider seven ways to give pregnancy back pain the boot.

1. Practice ...Read more

For decades, scientists have studied twins and triplets to measure how human characteristics are influenced by heredity and to what degree they can be altered by the surrounding environment.

But never have they tested an environment so unusual as the one described in a new study published Thursday: 340 days aboard the International Space ...Read more

Last October, Esteban Serrano wrenched his knee badly during his weekly soccer game with friends.

Serrano, a software engineer, grew up playing soccer in Quito, Ecuador, and he has kept up his sport since moving to the United States two decades ago.

He hobbled off the field and iced the knee. But the pain was so severe, he made an appointment ...Read more

There are many causes of bad breath, also called halitosis. Your mouth may be the source. The breakdown of food particles and other debris by bacteria in and around your teeth can cause a foul odor. If your mouth becomes dry, such as during sleep or after smoking, dead cells can accumulate and decompose on your tongue, gums and cheeks, causing ...Read more

She had a 5 percent to 13 percent chance of living past age 5, but she didn't know that. Rose Marie Bentley lived longer than most, making it to age 99.

Why such low odds for the beginning of her life? Bentley was born with a condition called situs inversus with levocardia, an abnormality where her liver and other abdominal organs were on the ...Read more

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads through coughing or sneezing.

"It's one of the most contagious infectious diseases," says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a Mayo Clinic pediatric infectious diseases specialist. "Measles infection is spread through the airborne route, which means you have to inhale the infectious virus. And ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Democratic congressional campaigns have already made health care an early focus of their 2020 messaging, and House Democrats bolstered that effort Wednesday with a symbolic vote that sought to once again put Republicans on record on the issue.

Eight Republicans sided with Democrats on the non-binding resolution, which passed the ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- There used to be a lot of health insurance horror stories like Charley Butler's.

After the Montana truck driver was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, his insurer balked at paying tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills and then moved to cancel his coverage over a preexisting medical condition.

These practices were ...Read more

Older adults and their families often wonder: Where's the best place to recover after a hip or knee replacement -- at home or in a rehabilitation facility?

Increasingly, the answer appears to be home if the procedure is elective, friends and family are available to help and someone doesn't have serious conditions that could lead to ...Read more

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. -- Whether he's snatching a heavily-loaded weight bar off the ground or pushing it overhead in the classic clean-and-jerk stance, Robert Strange is a living example of the revolution underway in heart valve-replacement surgery.

In May, the 82-year-old Solana Beach resident entered a clinical trial for a minimally-invasive ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: I had a fainting spell the other day, which had never happened to me before in my 64 years. I don't feel unwell, but a friend I was with at the time insists I should see my doctor. Is that necessary? What would they be looking for?

A: Yes, make an appointment to see your health care provider. Fainting, or passing out -- a ...Read more